Britt in prime time

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt of Enterprise was back before a national audience in probably the biggest way since her rebuttal to President Biden’s State of the Union speech in March.

Britt spoke in prime time during the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, reports AL.com’s Mike Cason.

No surprises here as Britt mostly stuck to this cycle’s campaign topics and her wheelhouse of home, family and pocketbook concerns. She blamed the Biden administration for the inflation that has prices higher than they were four years ago. She said that under Biden’s watch, opportunity, property, security — and even the president himself, in a jab at his debate performance — are in decline.

But, said the senator, American would get back on track under another Trump administration.

By the Numbers

95.5%

That’s the chance of Donald Trump winning Alabama’s electoral votes in November’s election, according to the Election Betting Odds website. That figure ties Arkansas for the highest in the nation.

The site averages live odds from FTX.com, Betfair.com, PredictIt.org, Smarkets.com and Polymarket.com.

Tuskegee syphilis study’s whistleblower

The whistleblower who helped end the Tuskegee syphilis study has died of Alzheimer’s disease, reports The Associated Press.

The Tuskegee study is one of, if not the, most infamous medical-research scandals in American history. Beginning in 1932, researches studied around 400 syphilis-positive Black men in Tuskegee to see how the disease would progress over time. Antibiotics were developed and available during the next decade, but that treatment was withheld so the study could continue.

Reportedly, this wasn’t a big secret inside the medical community. Peter Buxtun was working as a federal public-health employee in San Francisco in the 1960s when he became aware of the study. He made several complaints over the next few years until the AP picked up the story in 1972. The attention led to Congressional hearings, a $10 million lawsuit settlement, the end of the Tuskegee study and new research ethics rules.

Buxtun’s empathy could’ve been influenced by his family history. His Jewish family had immigrated to the U.S. from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. He died in Rocklin, California.

Peter Buxtun was 86 years old.

Back-to-school tax holiday

Even as summertime weather roars on, signs of back-to-school are creeping up on us.

AL.com’s Williesha Morris reports that this weekend, from Friday at 12:01 a.m. until Sunday at midnight, is the annual sales tax holiday.

That means the state’s 4% sales tax will be lifted on qualifying items. Many cities and counties participate, but all of them don’t. So local taxes may apply. The Alabama Department of Revenue website has a list of participating municipalities as well as qualifying items.

They includes many kinds of clothes, books and school supplies. Among the items the state has on the non-qualifying list are hip waders, ballet shoes and goggles — which might ruin your Friday outfit plans.

Saban’s SEC Championship picks

SEC Media Days kicked off Monday in Dallas, of all southeastern cities, and present was a new character in the SEC football world.

ESPN college football analyst Nick Saban.

AL.com’s Creg Stephenson reports that, when he was prompted by SEC Now host Laura Rutledge, Saban picked Georgia and Texas as a likely pairing in the SEC Championship in December.

It should be noted that Saban also said “I believe in our Alabama team too and I believe in Jalen Milroe. … I just think the question marks in the secondary, until those get resolved, it’s hard to sort of jump on that bandwagon.”

Quoting

“It will help academic achievement and also aid us in better developing our students for the workforce going back to the good ole fashioned communication and social interaction.”

Fairhope High School Principal Jon Cardwell, as a growing number of schools and school systems consider cell-phone and social-media bans during school hours.

More Alabama News

Born on This Date

In 1947, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman of Mobile.

In 1958, current Congressman Mike Rogers of District 3.

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