7. U.S. Reps. Dale Strong (R-Monrovia) and Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) introduced legislation to promote the development of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and micro-reactors, aiming create more power, enhance energy production, and reliability, particularly in the Tennessee Valley. The bill calls for the Department of Energy to build and demonstrate two reactor projects by 2034, with at least one located near an existing or retired nuclear site, such as Alabama’s Bellefonte Nuclear Plant.
6. Congressional leaders reached a deal to avert a government shutdown by advancing a three-month stopgap funding bill that extends federal funding until Dec. 20. The agreement includes emergency funding for the Secret Service and FEMA but omits the voter registration restrictions sought by former president Donald Trump.
5. The FBI’s “2023 Crime in the Nation Report” shows a significant decline in violent crime, with homicides down 11.6% and reported rapes down 9.4%, while car theft rose by 20%. This marks the largest year-over-year drop in murders in 20 years, though violent crime rates remain higher than pre-pandemic levels but the suggestion that this is a full picture of the country has drawn plenty of skepticism as the numbers mean 2022-2023 violent crime has dropped 3% but the media’s narrative of plummeting crime and safer streets is technically correct, the best kind of correct, but not being felt by citizens.
4. Israel escalated its military operations against Hezbollah, killing hundreds people in Lebanon as part of a new phase of conflict. Amid accusations of “extermination” from Lebanon, Israel insists the strikes are necessary to neutralize Hezbollah, while the group vows to continue fighting until a ceasefire in Gaza is reached.
3. Federal prosecutors allege Ryan Routh, appearing in court to stand accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, had written a letter admitting to his failed plan and had been surveilling Trump’s golf course and Mar-a-Lago estate for a month before his arrest. Routh expressed his motives in a letter that echoed the rhetoric of Trump’s Democratic opponents, viewing Trump as a threat to peace and unfit for the presidency. His manifesto-like writing reflects how deeply anti-Trump discourse has permeated some individuals’ mindsets, raising concerns about the potential consequences of such political rhetoric.
2. In the wake of a mass shooting in Birmingham that left four dead and 17 wounded, Alabama lawmakers and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin are renewing calls for stricter penalties on Glock switches, illegal devices that convert semi-automatic pistols into fully automatic weapons. State Rep. Neil Rafferty, University of Alabama at Birmingham football head coach Trent Dilfer (for some reason), and others argue for the urgency of state legislation to address the rise in gun-related homicides, with proposed penalties including mandatory prison sentences for those caught with the devices.
1. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin took aim at State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham) after she suggested the National Guard might need to step in due to rising crime in the city, sharing headshots of lawmakers on Facebook with a “not you” remark over Givan’s photo. Givan, citing understaffing in the police department, warned that without more officers, the city may need backup to handle the escalating violence.
