Jones Starts His Post-Senate Life As CNN Contributor
Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones made his debut Friday afternoon as a political commentator on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper broadcast.
Jones, a Democrat, developed a reputation during his Senate term for working both sides of the aisle to persuade both political parties to support legislation. He said Friday that President Biden needs the Republicans to buy-in to his $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill.
“But, a bipartisan bill is always a work in progress, and Biden needs the Republicans to buy-in over the next few weeks or within a month,” he added.
The former senator said national leaders must see the urgency of the relief bill because of the new strains of COVID-19 that have surfaced, the problems in the rollout of vaccines and the country being ill-equipped to deal with the virus.
Jones left the Senate this month after his reelection loss to Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville. He also accepted a position as a spring 2021 fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service.
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
Alabama’s racial, ethnic health disparities are ‘more severe’ than other states, report says
Data from the Commonwealth Fund show that the quality of care people receive and their health outcomes worsened because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What’s your favorite thing about Alabama?
That's the question we put to those at our recent News and Brews community pop-ups at Hop City and Saturn in Birmingham.
