Senate Passes Prison Reform Bill,Draft General Fund Budget “Bleak”
Prison reform and the General Fund budget were at the top of the agenda for Alabama legislators this week. Thursday, the Alabama senate passed a comprehensive bill aimed at relieving Alabama’s overcrowded prison system. Earlier this week, state lawmakers got a sneak peek at what the budget could look like next fiscal year if the state pulls in no new revenue.
Here to recap the week is Don Dailey. He’s the host of Capitol Journal on Alabama Public Television, and he joins WBHM’s Rachel Osier Lindley each Friday with the latest from Montgomery.
Hate groups in the US decline but their influence grows, report shows
In its annual Year in Hate and Extremism report, released Thursday, the Southern Poverty Law Center said it counted 1,371 hate and extremist groups, a 5% decline. The nonprofit group attributes this to a lesser sense of urgency to organize because their beliefs have infiltrated politics, education and society in general.
The U.K. hands Chagos Islands over to Mauritius but says it will secure a U.S. base
The Chagos Islands are in the middle of the Indian Ocean and home to a strategic military base on Diego Garcia.
White House agrees to keep migrants in Djibouti for now, blasts federal judge’s ruling
The judge says the administration "unquestionably" violated his earlier order, which stated migrants cannot be deported to a country other than their own without having adequate notice and a chance to object.
Why did university police chase a student and his baby across a graduation stage?
Jean Paul Al Arab and his 6-month-old led police on a brief foot chase during a University at Buffalo ceremony. The school said the grad violated rules about who can participate in the commencement.
Supreme Court allows Trump to fire members of independent agency boards — for now
At issue is President Trump's firing of NLRB member Gwen Wilcox, who still has three years left on her term, and Cathy Harris, who still has four years left on her term as a member of the MSPB.
Vaccine advisers to the FDA recommended changes to COVID vaccines
Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration met Thursday to help decide which variant of the virus that causes COVID should be targeted by updated versions of the vaccines.