Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall recently filed a 20-state amicus brief in an effort to shield Amish communities in rural New York from state-sponsored backlash for exercising their religious freedoms. The legal action holds New York accountable for leveling “massive penalties” on Amish only private schools in rural New York in response to parents of the students electing, for religious reasons, not to vaccinate their children in accordance with the state’s vaccine mandates.

The brief was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and specifically alleges that New York violated the First Amendment rights of parents to exercise their religion and raise their children according to their deeply held beliefs. Almost every other state in the country accommodates religious objections to school vaccine requirements.

“New York has so little regard for religion that it will seek out, harass, and threaten Amish communities that want only to live out their faith amongst themselves,” Marshall said. “Parents should not be forced to choose between their children’s schooling and their fundamental rights. Unfortunately, we’re seeing a growing trend of hostility toward religious liberty. I was shocked to learn that members of the New York legislature had called such religious beliefs ‘fake’ and ‘garbage.’

“We need to resist this hostility before it infects the federal courts too.”

RELATED: Alabama AG files lawsuit to block Biden’s proposed radical gender policies in schools across America

The states taking part in the brief argue that the First Amendment was designed to protect religious minorities, like the Amish. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly defended parental rights in the areas of religious education and the religious upbringing of one’s children. The brief also explains that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York wrongly found that New York’s repeal of religious accommodations was “neutral and generally applicable.”

Additionally, they believe that the law discriminates against religion because it permits students to be unvaccinated, so long as they give “health” reasons, not religious ones.

The legal representatives of the group of states emphasized that public health is not a legitimate reason to trample on the rights of conscience, and they fear that States like New York and the federal government will continue to encroach on these essential freedoms.

The Alabama-led coalition also included: Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten

7. Trump organization found guilty of tax evasion

• They may have actually got a victory over former President Donald Trump for once in court. After multiple attempts, a jury in New York has found the Trump organization guilty of 17 counts of tax evasion and could face a $1.6 million fine.
• Trump himself was not charged but that did not stop the media, their Democrats and the courts from making it about the former president because he gave bonus checks to employees and housing, which those employees did not disclose to the IRS. Trump Organization’s longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg said, “It was my own personal greed that led to this.”

6. Alabama election may be challenged over “scribbles”

• The Conecuh Country sheriff’s election contest in not over yet. The one-vote margin in the race makes every vote count and now there are questions about whether a few voters meant to vote straight ticket or were defacing the Democrat Party logo. A lawsuit is now pending.
• Two of the votes counted for the declared winner, Democrat Conecuh County Sheriff Randy Brock, are being challenged by his opponent because they were counted at straight Democrat votes when no marks were made inside the oval while they alleged two GOP votes were discounted even though markings were made in the oval. Lawyers for the Republican challenger argue the count is incorrect “due to the defacement of Alabama Democratic Party logo” and alleged there “was a miscalculation, mistake, or misconduct in counting, tallying, certifying, or canvassing” which would change the outcome. 

5. Yawn.

• Social media and the usual suspects praised the classless behavior of U.S. Capitol police who snubbed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy at a ceremony honoring Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6. The tacky display was praised by the “why are people so mean” segment of society.
• The flawed premise that these two men were somehow OK with what happened that day or, more ignorantly, caused the events of that day is incredibly misguided. However, our society has already shown that any form of disrespect given to Republican politicians, not named Cheney or Kinzinger, will be praised by our media and pop culture.

4. Potential legislative agenda on economic development has leadership support

• Alabama could be heading toward a rough economic year, as is most of the country, but the state’s legislative leaders appear to be ready to push a pretty aggressive legislative agenda on economic incentives.  The Joint Legislative Study Commission on Renewing Economic Development Incentives, which has lawmakers and representatives from the business community, is recommended the reauthorization of the incentives programs.
• Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed (R-Jasper), and Speaker-designate Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) all support reauthorizing these economic development incentives to help Alabama to compete in landing industry and increasing investments in the state.

3. Twitter files drama continues

• The media downplays Twitter’s suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story. It is just a massive company, campaigns, and actors from the government working to suppress a true negative story about a presidential candidate’s son as fake.
• Twitter’s CEO Elon Musk has now announced the firing of former FBI attorney James Baker, and now former Twitter attorney, over “suppression” of information inside the company. Musk tweeted, “In light of concerns about Baker’s possible role in suppression of information important to the public dialogue, he was exited from Twitter today.” 

2. COVID-19 mandates on the military nearing their end

• It looks like the military’s vaccine mandate will finally end. Service members will be left alone because the House Republican majority will demand it end or they will hold up the National Defense Authorization Act. Hopefully, the military will reinstate those who have been separated by this mandate and give them back pay, return their rank and grant them time in service.
• Alabama’s own U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) is over this, as are most Americans, he notes that recruiting is being crushed with the Army only meeting 52% of its goal. Moore adds, “the pandemic has been declared over, but the military continues to uphold a standard that is affecting force readiness. This is particularly troubling given the CDC’s guidance that makes little distinction between the vaccinated and unvaccinated.”

1. Warnock win, Democrats hold 51-49 lead in U.S. Senate for 2 years

• The last election of 2022 ends the same sad way as the other midterms did with Republicans underperforming and Democrats winning a seat they never should have won. The turning point for Warnock was when he flipped multiple counties from the general election to last night, Warnock won 51.4-48.6.
• Fox News’ Sean Hannity, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich all opined that the Republican defeatism and failure to acknowledge the importance, validity and safety of early voting hurt Republicans greatly.

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday to uphold the right of U.S. Air Force members to seek religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association, was joined by attorneys general in 22 other states in filing a September brief in support of the airmen’s case.

In hailing the court’s decision, Marshall asserted that Air Force personnel should not have to sacrifice religious liberty while serving in the Armed Forces.

“An airman may sacrifice much serving his country. That sacrifice should not include his right to religious liberty,” said Marshall. “We have protections in place to ensure that an Airman enjoys largely the same rights to religious liberty as his fellow citizens. Those include the Free Exercise Clause and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

“This appeals court ruling underscores that the religious liberty of Air Force personnel cannot be trampled by the government.”

RELATED: COVID-19 mandate and federal overreach crusader: AG Steve Marshall

The attorney general detailed that after the Air Force mandated service members receive the COVID-19 vaccine, nearly 10,000 branch personnel requested exemptions on religious grounds. According to Marshall, the Air Force granted only 135 exemptions, with most that qualified having been scheduled to retire soon after.

“[I]n February, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of Air Force service members seeking religious-liberty exceptions to the vaccine mandate,” he said. “In March, a federal district court ruled in their favor, placing a preliminary injunction barring the Air Force from disciplining any member for claiming a religious-liberty exemption to the vaccine mandate.

“After the Air Force appealed the federal district court ruling, I joined with 20 fellow attorneys general in supporting the statutory and constitutional rights of the Airmen who were denied their rights. The victory this week in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ensures the injunction protecting religious exemptions will continue in effect for Air Force members, including those on active duty, in the reserves, in the Air National Guard, and in the Space Force.”

Alabama’s chief law enforcement officer and the 22 other attorneys general filed a brief in April before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the Defense Department’s similar failure to grant religious exemptions for military personnel from COVID-19 inoculation.

Marshall also filed an August brief supporting Navy personnel’s right to seek religious exemption from the branch’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Alabama was joined by Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming in filing the brief.

Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

The state of Alabama will be immune from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) expected decision to add the COVID-19 shot to the agency’s Vaccines for Children Program.

A CDC advisory committee voted Wednesday to recommend the COVID-19 shot’s addition to the program, which would make the vaccine free for children across the United States. The agency is anticipated adopt the recommendation today.

While the CDC’s action could make the shot mandatory for children in many states, Alabama is shielded from the decision due to state law. States hold the ability to determine whether or not the CDC’s scheduled vaccines for children are required for school admittance.

Attorney General Steve Marshall told Yellowhammer News the addition of a new vaccine has no impact on Alabama’s inoculation schedule due to the state non-adherence, statutorily or by practice, to the CDC’s current schedule.

NOTE: The CDC’s vote this week on child immunizations and the COVID-19 vax will not impact Alabamians. Read up on our law here: https://t.co/F2UJFXC9EB

— Attorney General Steve Marshall (@AGSteveMarshall) October 20, 2022

Senate Bill 267, passed by State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) in May 2021, banned vaccine passports in the Yellowhammer State. Included in one of the bill’s provisions is the prohibition of public schools requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for students.

Shortly after the bill was signed into law, Marshall issued a public notice detailing the law’s interpretation.

“[N]o government, school, or business in Alabama may demand that a constituent, student, or customer, respectively, be vaccinated for COVID-19 or show proof of his or her vaccination for COVID-19,” the attorney general’s notice stated.

Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

“We Dare Defend our Rights,” reads Alabama’s official state motto. This maxim was put to the test during the Biden administration’s COVID-19 mandate campaign.

Emerging as a champion against federal overreach, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall employed every legal option at his disposal to combat federally instituted masking and vaccination decrees.

For his efforts, Marshall became subject to routine criticism from liberal in-state media and left-wing ideologues.

Undeterred by the political left’s opposition to his fight, Marshall insists that “if I worried about social media, I wouldn’t be doing this job very long.”

In a recent conversation with Yellowhammer News, Marshall detailed Alabama’s efforts to combat the administration’s unconstitutional pandemic-era decrees.

Nearly a year has passed since President Joe Biden announced his administration’s intentions to utilize the power of the federal government to mandate vaccination upon vast portions of the American public.

“One thing that we knew very quickly, not only in our office but our colleagues around the country, is that we would be part of this pushback against what we believed, and now has been confirmed, were the illegal actions of the administration,” said the attorney general.

When asked what the governing party’s motivations were in issuing the edicts, he suggested that they were acting on the concept that the federal government holds the power to embark on such an ambitious policy quest.

“I think the motivation is this belief that the federal government gets to make all the decisions, and that’s just simply not the way our constitutional structure works,” Marshall advised. “And specifically, within the context of federalism is the idea that a majority of the authority to govern the day-to-day lives of the people are left to the states and not the federal government as a whole.”

While garnering no support from left-wing media, Marshall noted the overwhelming support his office received from Alabamians over its fight against the administration’s pandemic rules.

“It’s almost universal support,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many times I get stopped by people on the street, people that I see at the grocery store say, ‘Thank you for being willing to engage in that fight.’ … My job is to follow the rule of law and to embrace the sovereignty of Alabama to make decisions.”

According to Marshall, the administration’s actions were blatant assaults on state sovereignty. When such an infringement occurs, the attorney general declared that it is his duty to combat it.

“And when you see our Legislature clearly does not engage in any effort to legislate in this area that has historically been the role of states to decide inoculation regimes or vaccine policies involving its citizens, for the federal government to suddenly attempt to exercise power there, you know it’s my responsibility to push back,” he said.

For Marshall, utilizing the courts to push back against federal overreach extends well beyond COVID-19 mandates.

“Although much of the discussion here is kind of about vaccines and the overreach of the federal government, part of the reason we engage in these fights is not only the specific issue that’s involved and whether or not that violates the law, but also it’s really continuing to draw the line in the sand with the federal government about their authority and their ability to impact decisions that go on at the state level,” he said.

“To the extent we don’t fight, every time we give the federal government and inch they’re going to take a yard,” Marshall said. “And so, when we fight the spectrum of these cases, not just in the vaccines but in the cases in which we’re involved, there’s a broader policy of federalism and the rule of law in play. I think it’s very important for Alabama’s voice to be heard.

“I’m very pleased that I have the opportunity to work with colleagues across the country as we have these various battles.”

Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

7. Joe Biden was on a tear last night, it was pretty crazy

• President Joe Biden continued escalating his rhetoric at an event last night in Wilkes-Barres, Pa., to promote his gun control message. The news media and the Democrats love this side of Biden, suggesting this is the path Biden needs to keep going down. Biden, who will give a speech on the “soul of the nation” soon, also ironically commented on rhetoric, saying he didn’t expect politics to be “pattycake” and asking “where the hell are we?”

• While speaking to the crowd, Biden targeted gun owners saying, “And for those brave, right-wing Americans who say it’s all about keeping America — keeping America as independent and safe: If you want to fight against a country, you need an F-15. You need something a little more than a gun,” adding, “No, I’m not joking. Think about this. Think about the rationale we use — that’s used to provide this. And who are they shooting at?  They’re shooting at these guys behind me.” The guys behind him were police officers.

6. Gay pride flags come down in Madison City Schools

• Teachers in Madison were told that it was time to take down their gay pride and other political flags. Teachers and students missed the point completely with one student telling WHNT in Huntsville, “Even if they say it is just policy, they’ve [put] themselves on the side that they believe in, and that side is homophobia.”

• Parents have made themselves crystal clear in Alabama and elsewhere, that they do not want the teachers to indoctrinate their children in politics or cultural issues. Eventually, educators will need to accept this or we will have these issues non-stop. Madison City Schools is being pretty clear, “Allowing teachers and staff to display flags on school grounds with respect to political, religious, or cultural issues may create an environment of exclusion for some students who hold different viewpoints on sexuality, religion, or politics.”

5. Nurses in Tuscaloosa are about to go on strike

• Nurses in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Augusta and Atlanta, Ga. are planning to go on strike due to working concerns at VA facilities. The group planning to strike is National Nurses United.

• The protest is set for the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center. Jennifer Giles, a nurse practitioner at the facility, has said they need leadership “to demonstrate they are wholly committed to the highest quality of care for the veterans we serve. We know that if we have better working conditions, including better staffing and flexible schedules, we will be better able to recruit and retain experienced nurses to care for our veterans.”

4. Tourism could generate about $24 billion in Alabama

• During the Alabama Governor’s Conference on Tourism, Gov. Kay Ivey announced that Alabama is likely to see more than $24 billion in revenue for 2022. This estimate comes from the Alabama Tourism Department Director Lee Sentell.

• Ivey went on to say, “in the past 10 years, our industry has more than doubled. We have grown from $11 billion to more than $24 billion this year. And since I have been governor, I am extremely proud that our tourism industry has grown by $10 billion.” In 2021, Alabama also saw the second highest revenue generated from tourism on record.

3. Lawsuit challenging electronic vote counting

• There is an attempt to block Alabama from using electronic ballot counting machines for the November midterm election, in a lawsuit heard by Madison County Circuit Judge Greg Griffin. There have been claims that electronic counting could be tampered with and is unreliable.

• A hearing on the case was held yesterday, but Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has previously asked for the case to be dismissed, saying the lawsuit is based on speculation. An attorney for plaintiff Jay Hinton suggested hand-counting votes, saying “it may be difficult. But you know what? Constitutional rights are often difficult to preserve.”

2. Alabama’s Democrat candidate for governor has lost an endorsement somehow

• Yolanda Flowers is the formerly pro-life Democrat candidate for governor, a decision that has made many pro-choice Alabama Democrats very unhappy. Strangely, she has now lost the endorsement of a pro-life Democrat group; Democrats for Life America has announced that they have removed an endorsement of Flowers.

• The group says Flowers has changed her views on abortion after her endorsement and are upset they expended resources to the candidate. To their point, Flowers sounds very pro-choice now, “I’ve always stated that women have the right to do they want to do health-wise for their own bodies,” adding, “People just took that out to left field, but I’ve always been pro-choice.”

1. Marshall is joining suit against military vaccine mandates

• In an effort to do away with the vaccine mandate for U.S. military members, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined the lawsuit of the U.S. Navy SEALs v. the Biden administration.

• Marshall has released a statement on his involvement, saying, “Many thousands in uniform are being denied their constitutional rights by the Biden administration’s blanket refusal to grant their wishes for religious exemption from the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. U.S. military personnel deserve and are indeed entitled to the same First Amendment protections of their religious liberties as any other American citizen.”

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Monday he had filed an amicus brief to a lawsuit on behalf of U.S. military personnel against the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The U.S. Navy SEALs v. Biden lawsuit features 35 Navy service members, who are assigned to Naval Special Warfare Command Units, challenging the administration’s vaccine decree on the basis of First Amendment protections.

The plaintiffs, who were not granted a religious exemption from the edict, are asserting their rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment’s free exercise clause.

In a statement announcing the brief’s filing, Marshall railed against the progressive administration’s “heavy-handed approach” to its mass vaccination campaign.

“Perhaps more than any other of President Biden’s vaccine mandates, his heavy-handed approach has been most profoundly felt by the U.S. military,” said Marshall in a release. “Just over a year ago, military personal were ordered to begin taking COVID-19 vaccinations and many who asserted religious objections to the vaccine were summarily denied. Records indicate that while more than 4,000 Naval active duty and reserve sailors submitted requests for religious accommodations, all but a few dozen had their requests denied.”

According to Alabama’s chief law enforcement officer, service members are entitled to religious exemptions from forced vaccination.

“Many thousands in uniform are being denied their constitutional rights by the Biden administration’s blanket refusal to grant their wishes for religious exemption from the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate,” he said. “U.S. military personnel deserve and are indeed entitled to the same First Amendment protections of their religious liberties as any other American citizen.”

Marshall joined state attorneys general from Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming in filing the brief before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Last Friday, a federal appeals court ruled that the Biden administration cannot enforce its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors in the state of Alabama.

Due to its participation in a lawsuit seeking to halt the mandate, Alabama, along six other states and the Associated Builders and Contractors, will be free from the decree’s enforcement.

In the ruling, which was issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, the three-judge panel’s majority outlined that only the parties that joined the lawsuit would be granted relief from the administration’s mandate.

Issued by the White House in September 2021, Executive Order 14042 dictated that certain federal contractors mandate their respected workforces to become vaccinated against COVID-19.

The following month, Attorney General Steve Marshall joined a lawsuit with the six other state attorneys general in an effort to prohibit the “lawless and authoritarian” mandate’s implementation in their respected states’ jurisdictions.

The lawsuit alleged that the edict was “untenable” for state agencies that perform contract services for the federal government. The plaintiffs pointed to the “billions of contracting dollars” that could be in jeopardy if the contractors fail to comply with the executive order.

In a statement celebrating the ruling, Gov. Kay Ivey said Friday the court’s decision was a victory for “common sense.”

“Here in Alabama, we continue to fight for common sense, and today’s ruling is another win for not only common sense, but for freedom,” she said. “Many Alabamians, myself included, were strongly opposed to these outrageous mandates, and we fought back and won. I am proud to continue standing up for Alabamians.”

Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration required all troops and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) personnel to become inoculated against the virus.

Earlier this year, Republicans in Congress unsuccessfully attempted to pass a bill to rescind the vaccine mandate and reinstate any members of the military who were separated from service due to noncompliance with the decree.

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise), unrelenting in the fight against the requirement, recently led a letter to DOD Secretary Lloyd Austin asking him to rescind the mandate in wake of the latest easing of requirements by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“To ensure the continued safety and readiness of our country’s bravest men and women,” the letter reads, “and to reflect the most up to date guidelines released by the CDC, we request that the military immediately reverse it’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement for all military personnel and civilian contractors. We also request that those who were unfairly forced to separate from the military be given the option to be reinstated with back pay.”

Along with the letter, Moore also released a statement calling service members being terminated over the vaccine mandate a “purge of patriots.”

“With updated CDC guidance for the unvaccinated, the Department of Defense’s final fig leaf justifying its purge of patriots for refusing vaccination has been stripped away,” said Moore. “During a time of global turmoil and missed recruitment targets reaching the level of a national security crisis, the military has absolutely no justification for sacrificing readiness in favor of virtue signaling and the appeasement of this administration’s political base. The military vaccine mandate must end, and all our servicemembers so cruelly separated due to this disastrous policy must be rehired with full backpay.”

Woke Pentagon policies are purging patriots from our military and leading to recruitment shortages approaching the level of national security crisis. With the government’s own science no longer justifying a military vaccine mandate, Secretary Austin must side with servicemembers. https://t.co/0zG6PQut5Y

— Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) August 23, 2022

Joining Moore’s letter were U.S. Reps. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas), Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.), Ben Cline (R-Va.), Randy Weber (R-Texas), Bill Posey (R-Fla.), Greg Steube (R-Fla.) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla).

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” Weekdays 9-11am on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee

As an increasing number of Alabama academic institutions are opting to remove mask mandates, Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday called for the remaining schools and universities that have such requirements to end forced mask-wearing.

The governor pointed to the state’s COVID-19 data, which she said indicated that mask mandates were no longer necessary for students.

“I applaud the Alabama schools and universities who have made the decision to end mask mandates,” stated Ivey. “Given the health data we’ve seen in Alabama and across the country, I encourage all schools to continue removing these mandates — we don’t need them in Alabama.”

Ivey asserted that parents should have the final say for their children in the mask debate and touched on the state’s successful legal fight against the Biden administration’s COVID-19 mandates.

She added, “As a former teacher, I know well that parents should be in charge of making the best decisions for their kids, not government. That’s why here in Alabama, we don’t have covid state government mandates — we sued President Biden over his mandates, and we won. I believe in the good people of our state and will always protect their freedoms.”

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

7. Second union vote in Bessemer in underway

• There’s already been one vote held on whether to join the Wholesale and Department Store Union at the Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, but the votes to unionize fell short. Now, there’s a second vote on the matter being held after there were integrity concerns with the first vote.

• The effort to unionize has been supported by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and President Joe Biden. Amazon spokesman Barbara Agrait said that it’s the employee’s choice to unionize and added, “As a company, we don’t think unions are the best answer for our employees. our focus remains on working directly with our employees and making Amazon a great place to work.”

6. Joe Rogan under fire for the same thing Joe Biden did

• Podcaster and America’s most prominent media personality Joe Rogan is under fire again, this time for a compilation of his utterances of the uncensored n-word in the past. Spotify’s Rogan has issued an apology saying it’s a “most regretful and shameful thing.” The clips show him quoting people using the word and not one clip shows him using it with malice. The release comes after Spotify announced it would not be removing him from the platform over his airing of differing vaccine viewpoints. The Spotify CEO has already said that Rogan still won’t be removed, much to the chagrin of the mainstream media that has made him public enemy number one.

• As always, if the media didn’t have double standards, they would have none at all because Rogan’s apparent crimes of quoting people accurately found him using the exact language our current president has. Now-President Joe Biden used the n-word repeatedly in the past, including in a viral clip where he quotes then-Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights William Reynolds in which he stated, “We already have a [n-word] mayor; we don’t need another [n-word] big-shot.” The instances are exactly the same but treated very differently.

5. Invasion could happen any day, but criticizing the U.S. approach is Russian disinformation

• Russia has continued to show that it may very well invade Ukraine, and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has confirmed this. He said that the invasion could be “any day” and added, “If war breaks out, it will come at an enormous human cost to Ukraine, but we believe that based on our preparations and our response, it will come at a strategic cost to Russia as well.”

• Alternatively, White House press secretary Jen Psaki and State Department spokesperson Ned Price have pushed back on questions about the handling of the Russia/Ukraine conflict, calling some of the questioning “Russian talking points” and “misinformation.”

4. Marshall files new lawsuit against Biden mandates

• Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has filed an amended complaint against the coronavirus vaccine mandate from President Joe Biden that apply to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which would require all health care workers to get the vaccine or risk losing funding for their facility.

• Marshall argued, “Circumstances have dramatically changed,” adding, “The mandate was promulgated in response to the Delta variant, which now accounts for only 0.1 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the United States.” He noted the vaccine doesn’t work as well against the Omicron variant. Marshall went on to explain that the mandate is damaging “the healthcare labor market across the nation—especially in rural communities—and does not account for the pandemic’s changing circumstances.”

3. Allow exceptions to constitutional carry

• State Representative Shane Stringer (R-Citronelle) wants to offer some exceptions to constitutional, permitless carry for firearms to address concerns by some groups, mostly business, school and law enforcement groups.

• Stringer said that some of these issues also relate to current law. He advised, “Currently, you can carry a firearm into a sporting event or school if you have an Alabama permit. They actually want to do away with that provision…I think the schools will still be able to prohibit firearms on their campuses if they choose.” Stringer went on to add, “The sheriffs have asked for a lot of different stuff, including wanting to make this apply to only Alabama citizens – which the Constitution applies to everybody, so we couldn’t do that…We’re still working with them.”

2. School choice push could be too late this year

• House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) has shown that he’s not as hopeful for State Senator Del Marsh’s (R-Anniston) school choice effort, which is also going to be carried in the State House by State Representative Charlotte Meadows (R-Montgomery).

• Ledbetter said, “[R]ight now we’ve got 25 days to go in the session, it’s kind of late. And I think that the bill has got to be vetted a lot. I think what’s good for some areas may not be good for others…certain areas – my district is a good example of that…So I don’t know if you would take a shotgun approach to try to fix education. I think it’s good to have to be more laser-focused.”

1. Hospitalizations are falling

• Coronavirus cases have already been decreasing across the state, and now hospitalizations have started to follow. According to the president of the Alabama Hospital Association Dr. Donald Williamson, “While inpatient hospitalizations are clearly trending in the right direction, ICUs are still a problem.”

• In just over a week, hospitalizations in Alabama went from 2,961 to 2,540, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health, but the Alabama Hospital Association has been reporting about 500 ICU coronavirus patients, 300 of which are on ventilators.

When protesters were rampaging through American cities, the American media looked at the carnage and pretended the people protesting were “mostly peaceful” despite the images to the contrary.

When Americans, and now Canadians, protested mandates, the media heavily implied the motives were hateful and the results were chaotic.

This is not new. It lines up directly with how the media treated the Tea Party with disdain and heaped praise upon the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Watch:

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9AM weekdays on WVNN and on Talk 99.5 from 10AM to noon.

7. Katie Britt: U.S. should back out of Beijing Olympics 

• U.S. Senate candidate Katie Britt is advocating for the United States to not compete in the 2022 Winter Olympics set to start in Beijing, China. Britt deemed the games, which are set to begin in February, the “Olympics of genocide.”
• Britt brought up concerns of China’s human rights violations they’ve committed against their own citizens and added, “[F]or us to allow such a celebration, such a monumental event to occur right there in the midst of it, is disgusting. And I understand that we have many people who have trained or years to be there, and certainly, everyone wants them to have that opportunity.” Britt also said that “standing up against genocide is far more important than anything else we could possibly do.”

6. There’s another variant

• Another coronavirus variant has been discovered in 40 countries and is being called BA.2. Worldwide experts have tied the variant to about 8,000 cases. Cases have been found in the United States, UK, Germany, Australia, India and more.
• So far, experts believe BA.2 is a variant from the Omicron variant, but there is very little information available on the variant beyond that. Denmark, Norway and Sweden have seen an increase in the variant and it has become the dominant variant.

5. Biden vaccine mandate is pulled as new vaccine is being developed

• President Joe Biden’s administration is now officially ending their private employer vaccine mandate after losing multiple battles at the federal court and Supreme Court level. The Biden administration is ending its legal battle over the mandate, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is pulling the rule off their website while asking for all court cases related to it to be dismissed.
• A new coronavirus vaccine is being developed and tested by Pfizer to help prevent infection from the Omicron variant. Currently, adults are being enrolled in tests to see how the vaccine holds up under a study. Pfizer vaccine research chief Kathrine Jansen said they “recognize the need to be prepared in the event this protection wanes over time and to potentially help address omicron and new variants in the future.” Other studies have found that a second booster shot doesn’t offer additional protection against the Omicron variant. The new study will include people ages 18-55, with a maximum of 1,420 participants.

4. Troops could be sent to Europe soon

• As Russian troops and artillery have been flown to Belarus, President Joe Biden says that it’s likely U.S. troops will be sent into Europe in the “near term” to counter Russia’s forces that threaten Ukraine.
• If there is a large military operation posed against Ukraine by Russia, then troops would likely be placed at NATO countries that are considered the front lines in this scenario. Americans were already encouraged to evacuate the country, and Biden has already compared the movements to World War II.

3. Ukraine sovereignty must be defended, U.S. sovereignty is another story

• There were a record number of migrants apprehended at the southern border in 2021, and while President Joe Biden and his administration have maintained a “Remain in Mexico” policy, in December, only 267 migrants were enrolled in the program. The program was only re-established on December 6 after being ordered by a federal judge. Additionally, only 19% of families were placed under Title 42 at the border, which allows for the expulsion of migrants. These figures have created more concern over how the border is being handled. Now, single men are being let in without minors and being dispersed around the country.
• This does not mean that American politicians aren’t serious about border security. It just means they aren’t serious about American border security. But, when it comes to Ukraine, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is pushing for immediate passage of legislation that would spend $500 million in American tax dollars to keep Russia from entering Ukraine and threatening their sovereignty.

2. Coronavirus relief spending plan advances

• The Alabama Legislature’s plan on how to spend $772 million in relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act has advanced after the State House of Representatives voted in favor of the plan 100-1.
• The State Senate also voted on the plan, which passed 26-1. Most of the projects in the funding will be focused on broadband, water and sewer, health care services, and unemployment. The funding was expected to be approved since it had already passed last week as well.

1. Regulate and tax gambling in Alabama

• State Senator Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) said that he will continue to push for legislation on gaming, especially gaming that’s already happening in Alabama, ensuring that the activity is regulated and taxed. Albritton is currently attempting to go about this without a constitutional amendment.
• Albritton said that a lot of gaming is already happening in Alabama, despite it not being legal statewide. He advised that his “concept is going to be to put the state in a position that we can capture all of this activity, all of these transactions at one time through one legislation to capture it all and put the state in charge of that – to control it, regulate it, tax it – and doing that by setting up the proper gaming commission, but initiating that without a [constitutional amendment].”

As the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments earlier this month in consideration of the legality of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 private employer vaccine mandate, a petition filed by the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and its Alabama chapter proved influential in the court’s decision to strike down the edict.

Mandated through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the rule instructed businesses with 100 or more employees to adopt a vaccine-or-test rule for their workers. If employees opted against accepting the COVID-19 vaccine, they would be forced to undergo regular virus testing and wear a mask while on the job.

Concerned that the rule would harm its membership, ABC filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court challenging the Biden administration’s mandate. ABC argued on behalf of Alabama’s construction industry that the OSHA rule would have adverse effects on the labor force, contending that it would intensify the issue of skilled labor shortage in the state and across the nation.

The association also argued that the mandate would serve to exacerbate the national supply chain crisis and further increase the cost of essential materials. ABC argued that the penalties applied to companies that were found to be in violation of the OSHA rule would harm both employers and employees alike.

Upon considering ABC’s appeal and weighing the validity of other arguments brought before the high court, justices ruled the OSHA private employer vaccine decree to be unlawful by a 6-3 vote.

According to ABC of Alabama president Jay Reed, the Supreme Court’s decision to rule against the administration’s vaccine mandate was a victory for the construction industry and asserted that jobs would not be adversely impacted by what the association deemed to be an overreaching edict.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling lessens restrictions on our member firms and safeguards their ability to perform their projects successfully and provide jobs for their employees across Alabama,” stated Reed. “We’re pleased with the Court’s decision to strike down the Biden Administration’s overreaching vaccine-or-test rule for businesses. The responsibility for making decisions regarding COVID-19 protocols should be in the hands of individual businesses—not the federal government.”

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday issued a response over the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private employers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) decree forced businesses with more than 100 employees to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for its workers or force them to regularly test for the virus.

The high court’s conservative justices, who outnumber the liberal justices six to three, ruled the Biden administration’s OSHA rule to be beyond the scope of the executive branch’s powers.

In her State of the State address earlier this week, Ivey outlined the state’s efforts to defeat against the Biden administration’s vaccine edicts. On Thursday, the governor commended the Supreme Court for halting the mandate’s enforcement.

“During my state of the state address earlier this week, I reaffirmed my commitment to fighting back against D.C. overreach and calling out their political games and nonsense when I see it,” noted Ivey. “Ever since the White House rolled out their scare tactic plans to try to force the COVID-19 vaccine on Americans, I assured the people of Alabama that we were standing firmly against it.”

She continued, “I said that we would win this battle in the courts, which is why I supported Alabama taking legal action against the Biden Administration’s failed attempt to mandate this vaccine. Today, the Supreme Court gave us a major victory by stopping OSHA’s vaccine mandate for large employers from going into effect.”

While celebrating the court striking down the private employer vaccine decree, Ivey conveyed her dissent to its decision to uphold the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) vaccine mandate for health care workers.

Ivey concluded, “However, I completely disagree with the Supreme Court’s decision to let the mandate on health care workers move forward. At a time when hospitals around the country are experiencing shortages and burnout in staff, why would they then run more off with an overreaching mandate by the president? I do not believe the White House is equipped to tell health care professionals they know better when it comes to medical advice.”

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major defeat to President Joe Biden as it struck down his administration’s private employer COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The mandate, implemented through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), forced businesses that employ more than 100 workers to force vaccination upon its workforce or subject them to regular virus testing.

The court voted six to three along ideological lines to halt the mandate’s enforcement.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall in early November filed a legal challenge on behalf of the state against the president’s decree.

Marshall in a statement commended the court’s ruling prohibiting the president’s private employer vaccine edict from going into effect.

“I applaud the U.S. Supreme Court’s stay of Biden’s private-employer vaccine mandate, which affects the greatest number of Americans. This is a win for the Constitution over the most overreaching of Biden’s unlawful, unconstitutional, and un-American mandates, which sought to force some 80 million employees to submit to vaccinations or lose their jobs,” proclaimed Marshall. “As I noted when Alabama filed its legal challenge to the private-employer vaccine mandate, not only is this mandate based on a faulty public health premise—that workplace immunization will stop the spread of COVID-19—but it is based on an utterly flawed legal premise as well.”

He added, “As the Supreme Court majority opinion stated succinctly: ‘Although Congress has indisputably given OSHA the power to regulate occupational dangers, it has not given that agency the power to regulate public health more broadly. [The private-employer vaccine mandate] certainly falls in the latter category.’

While the high court blocked the Biden administration’s OSHA decree, it upheld the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) health care worker vaccine mandate. In mid-November, the State of Alabama filed suit against the CMS mandate.

Marshall expressed his disappointment over the court’s decision allowing the health care worker mandate to remain in effect.

“I am, however, greatly disappointed with the Court’s decision regarding the Biden administration’s healthcare-worker vaccine mandate,” stated the attorney general. “As with the private-employer vaccine mandate, the healthcare-worker vaccine mandate far exceeded any power Congress gave the administration, and the mandate will cause many frontline healthcare workers to find new work, precisely at a moment when hospitals around the country are struggling to find doctors and nurses.”

Marshall indicated that by the Supreme Court upholding the mandate, its enforcement could hold adverse consequences for the state’s health care industry.

“By allowing this vaccine mandate to continue, the Court has further empowered the federal administrative state, eroded state sovereignty, and likely guaranteed worse health outcomes in Alabama and beyond, as overburdened healthcare workers are stretched thinner still,” asserted Marshall.

Republican-appointed Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who have served as swing votes in multiple cases, joined the court’s liberal justices in upholding the edict.

Marshall conveyed his support for the court’s conservative justices’ dissent in which they pointed to the constitutionally-limited powers of the federal government’s executive branch as to why they voted against the mandate’s enforcement.

The attorney general concluded, “As Justice Alito, joined by Justices Thomas, Gorsuch, and Barrett, explained in dissent: ‘Today’s decision will ripple through administrative agencies’ future decision making. The Executive Branch already touches nearly every aspect of Americans’ lives. . . . Neither CMS nor the Court articulates a limiting principle for why, after an unexplained and unjustified delay, an agency can regulate first and listen later, and then put more than 10 million healthcare workers to the choice of their jobs or an irreversible medical treatment.’”

Republican members of Alabama’s congressional delegation applauded the court striking down Biden’s private employer COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

According to U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville), the Biden administration’s issuance of the mandate was a prime example of federal overreach.

“The Supreme Court made the right decision. The employer mandate issued by the Administration was too broad and heavy-handed – a one-size fits all requirement that did not take into account the realities of workplaces and our economy,” stated Aderholt. “I’m thankful we have a high court that will rein in this type of government overreach.”

U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) declared the ruling to be a victory for personal health care autonomy.

“This decision from the Supreme Court is a huge win for limited government and individual liberty,” stated Palmer. “A person’s right to make their own health decisions does not disappear during a pandemic. This OSHA mandate was an egregious example of government overreach. No one should be compelled by law or burdensome regulation to receive a vaccine that they do not want, for whatever deeply held reason.”

He added, “The concurring opinion of the Court confirms the concerns a number of my colleagues and I raised in a letter to OSHA a few months ago. OSHA simply does not have the authority to mandate individuals to act against their personal beliefs and undergo forced vaccinations. As the opinion states: ‘[OSHA would have] almost unlimited discretion—and [there would be] no “specific restrictions” that … “fully constrai[n]” the agency.’”

#SCOTUS reaffirms what Republicans have said all along – @POTUS' employer vaccine mandate is an abuse of executive power and unconstitutional. The vaccine decision should be made between patient & physician – & it shouldn’t be a question of take it or get fired.

— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) January 13, 2022

Great news! SCOTUS has blocked the Biden administration's unconstitutional COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private businesses.

Americans in the private sector should have never faced the threat of losing their jobs due to presidential overreach. https://t.co/1f5dqwCOB3

— Mike Rogers (@RepMikeRogersAL) January 13, 2022

🚨BREAKING: The Supreme Court just blocked the Biden administration's unconstitutional vaccine mandate for businesses with over 100 employees. The American people will not stand for Biden's vaccine mandate. The final battle is not over – I will keep fighting for our freedoms!

— Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) January 13, 2022

Bam!

Supreme Court blocks Biden OSHA vaccine mandate, allows rule for health care workershttps://t.co/bUt3etK0DM

— Jerry Carl (@CarlForAlabama) January 13, 2022

Great news! https://t.co/Bs4m4m7Zrz

— Gary Palmer (@USRepGaryPalmer) January 13, 2022

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

Monday, Attorney General Steve Marshall officially qualified his candidacy for reelection at the Alabama Republican Party headquarters in Birmingham.

Marshall, while making official his bid to serve a second term as Alabama’s chief law enforcement officer, outlined his office’s priorities over the next four years.

“It has been a privilege to serve as Attorney General for the last five years. Being Attorney General is a professional passion of mine to be able to work with law enforcement in our state,” stated Marshall. “There is still work to be done, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve another four years.”

The attorney general pointed to his support of enabling law enforcement to effectively combat rising crime rates and made mention of his efforts to shield Alabamians from the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

“Number one, doing the things we need to do to support Alabama law enforcement to keep Alabama communities safe. Over the last year, we’ve seen a rise in violent crime,” added Marshall. “We want to be very proactive in giving law enforcement the opportunity to deal with those issues. Second, we will continue to defend Alabama’s sovereignty. As recently as last week, being engaged in the push back against the Biden vaccine mandates and to be able to make sure that we defend Alabama’s ability to make decisions about what’s best for the people of this state.”

The primary election will take place May 24, 2022.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

7. Infrastructure improvements coming to Huntsville

• With Meta building new Facebook facilities in the Huntsville area, there will be even more benefits to the area through infrastructure and education, as they have expanded on their initial investment. Huntsville director of Urban and Economic Development Shane Davis advised, “They like our business climate and environment and our investment into infrastructure and the workforce quality that is here.”
• There is likely to be an increased revenue for Huntsville City Schools, traffic improvements and a $2.8 million sewer extension. Meta will provide $2.5 million for these expansions and improvements. Davis said this is “a significant shot of revenue…and added growth in North Huntsville.”

6. Cuomo won’t be charged in nursing home deaths

• The investigation into former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s (D) handling of the coronavirus pandemic and how his decisions may have impacted deaths at nursing homes has concluded, and the Manhattan district attorney’s office will not be charging Cuomo.
• Cuomo’s attorney Elkan Abramowitz said that he had been “contacted today by the head of the Eder Care Unite from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office who informed me that they have closed its investigation.” Abramowitz added he “was told that after thorough investigation…there was no evidence to suggest any laws were broken.”

5. Judge orders in favor of Navy Seals in vaccine lawsuit

• A group of 35 Navy Seals that challenged President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for service members has won an injunction from a federal judge on religious grounds. The ruling is the first such win against the vaccine for members of the military.
• The judge said that the way the Navy handled religious exemptions violated the First Amendment rights of the Navy Seals and cited the sacrifice of these very service members. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor wrote, “The COVID-19 pandemic provides the government no license to abrogate those freedoms. There is no COVID-19 exception to the First Amendment. There is no military exclusion from our Constitution.”

4. The Capitol isn’t any safer than last year

• Democrats are currently preparing to celebrate their own holiday on January 6 as they review every moment of the U.S. Capitol riot in 2021. Now, some Republicans have been criticizing their treatment of the riot as the Capitol hasn’t been made any safer.
• A memo was released by U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-IL) asking, “[W]hy was the Capitol so unprepared?” Davis went on to write that Democrats are “no closer to finding out what led to the catastrophic security failure.” He also said, “Nothing has changed to make the Capitol campus safer from future attacks. Instead, Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats have focused their time and attention on going after former President Trump and those associated with him –even if those associates are their own colleagues.”

3. Battle over firearm permits ratchets up

• Many sheriffs across the state have made it clear that they don’t support permitless carry, also called constitutional carry, but now, State Representative Shane Stringer (R-Citronelle) has criticized the strategies used by some sheriffs to slow the creation of a database of those prohibited from owning a firearm.
• Stringer said, “I’m getting word that some of the sheriffs are putting pressure on ALEA to slow this database down…that concerns me. That doesn’t sound like someone who is concerned with officer safety or community safety.” He added that this is a strategy from the “Democrat playbook.”

2. Booster shots can now go to those as young as 12

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that children 12-15 years old can now get booster shots from Pfizer for the coronavirus. This is being done as another measure to counter the Omicron variant.
• The guidance on when to get a booster shot has also been altered. Previously, the recommendation was to get a booster six months after your second shot, but now that has changed to five months after your second shot. FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said this “may help provide better protection against both the Delta and Omicron variants.”

1. 10-day quarantine is here to stay in Alabama

• While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has changed the recommended quarantine time for the coronavirus from 10 days down to five days, the Alabama Department of Public Health will continue with 10 days as schools restart.
• State Superintendent Eric Mackey clarified that this shortened quarantine time “is not applicable to schools,” as this suggestion was given for businesses and employees. ADPH said they “cannot recommend shorted isolation be adopted in schools until the CDC updates its documents.”

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Durant on Monday announced that his campaign this week will launch an “Alabama First” tour in an effort to bring his message directly to voters across the state.

A first time candidate for public office, Durant thus far has centered his campaign’s messaging around him being a “political outsider.” In his bid to replace the retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Durant is running on what he refers to as his “real-world experience” as a military veteran and business owner.

The “Black Hawk Down” U.S. Army aviator and Huntsville defense contractor has placed an emphasis on targeting President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates, an issue which polling has indicated to be of importance to the Republican base.

According to a release from his campaign, Durant’s “Alabama First” tour will see the candidate continue to speak on halting vaccine mandates, protecting constitutional rights and taking aim at “career politicians.”

In announcing his campaign’s tour, Durant stated his intentions to take his outsider’s message directly to the grassroots.

“In Washington, career politicians who have never had a real job make awful decisions that hurt middle-class families and small businesses in Alabama,” proclaimed Durant. “I’m running for Senate to change that. We need leaders with the real-world experience to get the job done.”

He concluded, “Like President Trump, I’m a political outsider. I’ve spent my life defending our country and building a successful business. I look forward to traveling around our state and talking with Alabamians who are ready for new leadership in Washington.”

Durant on Tuesday will officially qualify to appear on the Alabama Republican Party ballot as a candidate for the open U.S. Senate seat at the party’s Birmingham headquarters.

The primary election is scheduled to occur on May 24, 2022.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

7. Race being used to consider who receives treatment

• It’s been announced by the New York Department of Health that while coronavirus treatment supply is struggling, the state will give priority to non-white citizens to receive treatment. This will include pill-form treatments and monoclonal antibody treatments. This is happening elsewhere, too.
• The release from the department says, “Non-white race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity should be considered a risk factor, as longstanding systematic health and social inequities have contributed to an increased risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19.”

6. Alabama still has $1.5 billion in coronavirus relief funds to spend

• It’s still unclear how the remainder of the coronavirus relief funds will be spent in Alabama, with the current balance at $1.5 billion. It’s expected that the Alabama Legislature will give more direction once in session, which begins January 11.
• Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Reed (R-Jasper) said most of the money is likely to go to regional and local projects, with some going to health care providers and hospitals that have been impacted during the pandemic. Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund chairman Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) advised, “I want this money to be invested in the future, not paying for the past. I want this money to go into matters that will make a difference for the next generation.”

5. January 6 is the media’s new favorite holiday, and they will celebrate all week

• It’s expected that some findings from the January 6 committee investigating the U.S. Capitol riot could be released soon. No actual date has been announced, but the findings will be released over the next few months.
• The committee has been investigating for months, but very little has been released yet. U.S. Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) stated, “The full picture is coming to light, despite President Trump’s ongoing efforts to hide the picture. I don’t think there’s any area of this broader history in which we aren’t learning new things.”

4. Possible victory on vaccine mandates is getting closer

• The U.S. Supreme Court case challenging President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate will present oral arguments on January 7. This effort has been building since Biden issued the initial mandate, with many states, including Alabama, challenging the mandate.
• Fresh off a victory regarding the Head Start program’s vaccine mandate, Attorney General Steve Marshall has filed multiple lawsuits against the mandate, including against the portion including private employers through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as one against Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

3. Wild weather over the last few days for Alabama

• Icy and snow-covered roads, black ice, power outages, warming stations, closed schools (even though most are closed), cold temperatures across the state and a few inches of snow in North Alabama on Sunday and Monday have caused issues across the state.
• The National Weather Service announced that there were two tornadoes in North Alabama over the weekend, with one in Madison and Limestone Counties. There were several businesses in Hazel Green that were damaged from an EF-0 tornado. There was a second tornado in the Triana area that was also confirmed to be an EF-0. Some homes were impacted by the tornado in Triana.

2. Stop going to the ER for a coronavirus test

• As Omicron coronavirus cases rise, some people have taken to going to hospitals to get a coronavirus test. However, many Alabama hospitals are asking people to stop coming to the emergency room for a test, unless they are having symptoms that require medical attention. This is not only an Alabama phenomenon. It is happening everywhere because of mandates for negative tests for people to return to work/school and asymptomatic people who want tests after being exposed.
• Hospitals like East Alabama Medical Center have seen an influx of people with mild symptoms coming to the hospital. In a press release, the hospital said, “This is creating a difficult situation for staff and non-COVID patients alike. While COVID positivity rates have ranged between 25-45 percent this week, testing through Eds should be limited to patients who are experiencing symptoms that are not manageable with over-the-counter medicines and who could require hospitalization.” Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci is suggesting more testing for asymptomatic people, which will make things worse.

1. Omicron-related changes for schools 

• The effectiveness of masks being worn by most kids is already in question, and children are generally not at risk of severe illness from the coronavirus, but school systems all over the state are hell-bent on appearing that they are doing something. Some school systems are going to virtual learning, while others have decided that masks need to be worn regardless of vaccination status.
• Corey Kirkland, Public Health administrator at the Alabama Department of Public Health, is pushing the masking of all kids. He said,  “I know before some kids went to school and still wore their mask and that is certainly something the parents need to consider going forward.”

The State of Alabama this past weekend scored another legal victory against the Biden administration as a federal court awarded the state an injunction against its Head Start COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates.

Attorney General Steve Marshall in late December joined 23 other states in filing a lawsuit in the Western District of Louisiana to block the administration’s mandates. The lawsuit was led by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry.

The mandates would have forced Head Start program employees and volunteers to become vaccinated against COVID-19. Additionally, the mandates would have required Head Start pupils as young as two-years-old to wear face coverings for a majority of the time while attending preschool.

In reacting to the injunction, Marshall noted that the federal court order was handed down on New Year’s Day, something he advised to be of rare occurrence.

“Once again the federal executive branch has overstepped its legal authority to make laws and once again a federal court has agreed with the State of Alabama that such overreach is unconstitutional and should be stopped,” stated Marshall. “In a rare New Year’s Day order, the Western District Court of Louisiana enjoined the Biden administration from enforcing its vaccine mandate for Head Start workers and its mask mandate for toddlers.”

Marshall’s office stated that the Alabama Department of Human Resources and the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, as well as the state’s Head Start teachers, staff, volunteers and students would have been affected by the mandates.

Marshall asserted that the legal victory would ensure that Head Start programs would be able to maintain rather than terminate staff members who chose to not comply with the mandates.

“The order affects 24 states, including Alabama, which brought suit against the mandate. This victory will help ensure that numerous Head Start programs will continue to operate rather than have to fire teachers and cut back services to children,” he added. “And this win will forestall the nonsensical and damaging practice of forcing masks on two-year-olds.”

According to the attorney general’s office, the court “bluntly noted” that the administration’s move to circumvent Congress in issuing the mandates was “more fitting a monarch than a president.”

“The issue in this case is not whether individuals should take the COVID-19 vaccine, but whether federal agencies can mandate individuals to take a vaccine or be fired,” continued Marshall. “In this Court’s opinion, the Executive branch has declared it has the authority to make laws through Federal agencies. A crossroad has clearly been reached in this country. If the Executive branch is allowed to usurp the power of the Legislative branch to make laws, then this country is no longer a democracy—it is a monarchy.”

Alabama’s chief law enforcement officer indicated that the administration’s move to bypass Congress to implement the mandate violated the U.S. Constitution’s arrangement of separated governmental powers.

“This two-year pandemic has fatigued the entire country. However, this is not an excuse to forego the separation of powers. If the walls of separation fall, the system of checks and balances created by the founders of this country will be destroyed,” declared Marshall. “In the words of Thomas Paine, ‘Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.’ Common Sense (1776).”

The attorney general concluded, “This issue will certainly be decided by a higher court than this one. This issue is important. The separation of powers has never been so thin.”

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

The fate of President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates could soon be forged as the U.S. Supreme Court is set to take up the controversial decrees.

The nation’s high court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on January 7 regarding legal challenges to the Biden administration’s private employer and health care worker COVID-19 vaccine rules.

Thousands of Americans are expected to descend upon the nation’s capital in late January to protest the administration’s vaccine edicts. The effort has been dubbed “Defeat the Mandates — an American Homecoming.” The movement’s organizers assert that the effort was organized by a diverse group of Americans who fear their jobs could be at risk should Biden’s vaccine mandates become implemented.

The protesters’ sentiments mirror those held by a large share of Alabamians. A poll conducted in October showed that nearly 65% of the state’s citizenry was opposed to mandated COVID-19 vaccination.

In its efforts to shield the citizenry from the Biden mandates, the State of Alabama adopted both legal and legislative strategies to combat what it considers to be executive overreach.

In late October, Gov. Kay Ivey issued an executive order which directed all entities under the authority of the state’s executive branch to coordinate with the Alabama Attorney General’s office to support vaccine mandate-related litigation that the state would bring against the federal government.

Just days after the governor issued her executive order, Attorney General Steve Marshall filed suit on behalf of the state to block the Biden administration’s federal contractor COVID-19 vaccine mandate. According to Marshall, the rule is not presently enforceable as Alabama recently emerged victorious in achieving a nationwide injunction against the decree.

Nearly a week after the first lawsuit was filed, Marshall issued a legal challenge against Biden’s private employer vaccine edict. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule requires employers with 100 or more employees to force vaccination upon its workers or subject them to weekly virus testing.

Additionally, the State of Alabama in mid-November filed a lawsuit to block the enforcement of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers.

As the high court nears its hearing date regarding the private employer and health care worker vaccine edicts, Marshall recently expressed optimism that the Supreme Court would rule that the administration overstepped its legal authority in issuing the mandates.

Alongside Alabama challenging Biden’s vaccine decrees in the judicial system, state lawmakers in early November opted to address the issue in a specially called session of the Alabama Legislature. While the special session was necessary to address the decennial redistricting process, lawmakers came to the conclusion that legislation was needed to solidify protections for those who could be adversely impacted by the mandates.

The supermajority Republicans enjoy in the legislature allowed for the passage of Senate Bill 9, authored by State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Daphne), which directed Alabama employers to “liberally construe” workers’ exemption requests from COVID-19 vaccination.

On the federal level, Republican members of Alabama’s congressional delegation have, through legislation or other means, attempted to block and defund the administration’s COVID-19 vaccination rules. However, such attempts have been to no avail as Democrats currently control both chambers of Congress and the White House.

The State of Alabama is seeking to score a major victory, along with a number of other Republican-led states, in defeating the Biden administration in what has been one of the most controversial political issues of 2021.

Many observers believe the Supreme Court’s current makeup to be favorable to opponents of the mandates as the bench’s conservative justices hold roughly a six to three conservative majority.

Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL

7. Unruly airline passenger is not Rosa Parks

• More information is available about a former Playboy playmate and former NFL cheerleader who was arrested after striking and spitting on another passenger during a mask dispute. Apparently, before Patricia Cornwall’s actions were caught on tape, she was asked to wait for the beverage cart to pass and responded by asking, “What am, I Rosa Parks?” Upon hearing this, the male passenger she later struck told her she “isn’t black … this isn’t Alabama and this isn’t a bus,” which set off the confrontation.
• Believe it or not, this is not the first person on an airline to invoke Rosa Parks recently over masking up. Adam Jenne was wearing thong underwear and a “Let’s Go, Brandon!” T-shirt when he was removed from an airplane before comparing his plight to Parks.

6. Fauci says the United States should have a vaccine requirement for air travel

• As coronavirus cases rise in the United States due to the Omicron variant, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that the country needs to consider placing a vaccine requirement for those traveling by air domestically.
• Fauci advised, “When you make vaccination a requirement, that’s another incentive to get more people vaccinated. If you want to do that with domestic flights, I think that’s something that seriously should be considered.”

5. Coronavirus quarantine time cut in half

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shortened the quarantine time for people who have tested positive for the coronavirus again. The quarantine time has now gone from 10 down to five days.
• According to the CDC, the most infectious period for those with the virus are the few days before and after symptoms begin. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky also spoke about the Omicron variant, saying, “Not all of those cases are going to be severe. In fact, many are going to be asymptomatic. We want to make sure there is a mechanism by which we can safely continue to keep society functioning while following the science.”

4. New coronavirus cases double in Alabama over the last week

• The seven-day average for new coronavirus cases in Alabama has doubled to 1,750 over the last week, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. This is the highest number of new cases since October.
• Leading up to Christmas, there were three straight days of over 2,000+ cases, and the positivity rate is now sitting at 18.2% over the last week. This is a 143% increase and the highest number since mid-September. Both that number and the total number of tests being conducted have skyrocketed. Facilities that are doing testing are reporting that people are seeking out tests without symptoms.

3. Brooks and Britt agree that Mobile community should get final say in I-10 toll bridge

• U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) has joined those saying that the toll situation with the new I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway should be decided by those within the community.
• Brooks said, “This is predominantly a local issue that is very important to Mobile and Baldwin Counties…I will support whatever it is that the local officials, local community, local citizens come up with as a solution.” U.S. Senate candidate Katie Britt previously spoke out against using tolls and maintained that “local leaders know best, and we need local solutions to problems.”

2. Battle over constitutional carry will pit lawmakers against sheriffs

• The state legislature could consider a constitutional carry bill in the 2022 legislative session, and State Senator Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa) said that the current permit process is an infringement on people’s Second Amendment rights. He argued, “[Y]ou should not have to pay a fee to fulfill your right as a citizen of the state and country…you shouldn’t have to pay a fee to defend yourself, your family, your properties – and it’s a right.”
• However, removing the permit process for concealed carry of firearms has also been seen as a threat and risk to public safety. Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran recently raised these concerns, saying he’s putting lawmakers “on notice.” He added they are taking a “grave risk” and “that all law enforcement in this county are opposed” to constitutional carry. Cochran stated, “[T]hey’re going to take a grave risk if they pass this bill and then a police officer or citizens are killed, and we can call it directly back to that thing.”

1. Biden acknowledges the main tenet of his campaign was garbage

• President Joe Biden has actually sided with many Republican governors on the issue of how to handle the coronavirus pandemic, admitting, “There is no federal solution. This gets solved at the state level.” This came after Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (R) raised the issue over the potential of federal decisions overstepping states. 
• However, much of his statement isn’t reflected in Biden’s action since there are still vaccine mandates put in place by the president. Biden did say, “This is not like March of 2020…We’re prepared and we know what it takes to save lives, protect people and keep schools and businesses open. My message to governors is simple. If you need something, say something.” The president also announced that the federal government was using 1,000 medical personnel to take the place of those sidelined by his vaccine mandates.

7. Biden extending student loan moratorium

• After the announcement that student loan payments would resume in January 2022, it’s now been announced that payments will be stalled until May 1, 2022. President Joe Biden said this is due to the burden of financial recovery from the pandemic.
• Biden declared, “We know that millions of student loan borrowers are still coping with the impacts of the pandemic and need some more time before resuming payments.” Among the 36 million Americans that have student loan debt, this totals over $1.37 trillion. The push for wiping out student loans in totality will continue as college graduates demand their employees pay for the degrees they received.

6. State Rep. Greer continues pushing to eliminate ‘good time’ releases

• State Representative Lynn Greer (R-Rogersville) has spoken more about his bill that would do away with prisoners convicted of manslaughter being released early from prison for “good time,” which comes after Sheffield Police Sgt. Nick Risner was shot and killed allegedly by a man released early on manslaughter charges, Brian Lansing Martin.
• Greer explained that in Alabama, a sentence can be dramatically reduced by not getting into trouble while a person is in prison. Sometimes this means that people who already got a plea deal for murder to manslaughter are released early. Greer advised, “It’s getting a little tough in the Alabama Legislature to pass anything that toughens up on crime, but we’re going to work extra hard on it, and I hope we can.”

5. Mobile likely to vote against constitutional carry

• While the idea of constitutional carry has been supported by some in the state, it’s expected that the Mobile County commissioners will vote against constitutional carry by supporting a resolution to maintain current law. This is also supported by Sheriff Sam Cochran.
• Constitutional carry would be the ability to carry a concealed firearm without first getting a permit. Legislation for constitutional carry will be presented to the Alabama Legislature in the upcoming session.

4. Club for Growth endorses another congressman in Alabama

• The pro-business/anti-tax organization founded by Grover Norquist, Club for Growth, has endorsed U.S. Representative Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) for reelection in Alabama’s second congressional district. Moore accepted the endorsement, saying, “I appreciate Club for Growth for their endorsement and for recognizing that I am already doing the job the people I serve elected me to do.”
• In its endorsement of Moore, Club for Growth PAC president David McIntosh said, “In his first year in the House, Rep. Barry Moore has proven to be a true economic conservative who has fought against the Establishment to support lower taxes, fewer regulations, and term limits.” In Alabama, Club for Growth has also endorsed U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville) in his run for U.S. Senate.

3. AG Marshall filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration

• President Joe Biden recently issued a mask mandate for students and mask and vaccine mandate for employees, but Attorney General Steve Marshall has filed a lawsuit against the mandate.
• Marshall outlined, “The Biden administration clearly has no plans to back down from its errant pursuit of nationwide vaccination. Likewise, the State of Alabama has no plans to back down from its righteous pursuit of nationwide injunctions.” Marshall added, “[T]he harm will be felt by the rural pre-school children who will be left with no place to go if their centers shut down. A program that the federal government created is at risk of being destroyed by those who claim to care most about its participants.”

2. Alabama could lose the College Football Playoff without playing a game

• The surging Omicron variant and regular testing of asymptomatic players could throw the College Football Playoff into chaos. Even though the University of Alabama Crimson Tide has a high vaccination and booster rate, the team could still face a situation where it would be forced to forfeit its first-round game and miss out on the championship.
• Alabama recently implemented its COVID-19 safety protocols (masks and social distancing) after Nick Saban announced multiple coaches tested positive. Under the new plan announced by the College Football Playoff management committee, there are multiple scenarios where a team or multiple teams could be disqualified. Then, depending on how this plays out, a national champion could be declared without a game being played. There is even a scenario where there is no national champion at all.

1. First at-home treatment for coronavirus approved

• As government officials around the country call to cancel your Christmas, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a pill form of coronavirus treatment created by Pfizer. The medication is called Paxlovid and can be used in the early stages of the coronavirus at home. Supplies are still limited, but it’s viewed as a step in the right direction for treatment and Pfizer could make 65,000 pills available this week.
• It’s likely that there could be another treatment approved soon from Merck. Dr. Gregory Poland from the Mayo Clinic said of Paxlovid, “The efficacy is high, the side effects are low and it’s oral. It checks all the boxes. You’re looking at a 90% decreased risk of hospitalization and death in a high-risk group—that’s stunning.”