If you’re into national defense or space — or a potential combination of the two — you’ll want to check out today’s podcast. We talk with reporter John R. Roby about what recent announcements from President Trump might mean to North Alabama.

The rest of today’s report follows. Thanks for reading,

Ike

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defense-space-and-alabama-under-trump-ii/id1256660459?i=1000691059587

Proposed expanded firearm restrictions

A bill in the Alabama Senate would extend firearm restrictions to more people who have been charged with a crime, reports AL.com’s Heather Gann.

The bill is from state Sen. Will Barfoot, a Montgomery Republican.

Currently, state law prohibits people from possessing a firearm if they’ve been convicted of a violent crime or a misdemeanor offense of domestic violence — or if they have a protective order against them for domestic abuse or are of unsound mind.

Barfoot’s bill would also prohibit possession by those who’ve been charged with the above crimes even if they haven’t been convicted.

There are a couple other things the measure would do. It would:

• increase the penalty for discharging a firearm into an occupied building or other designated space from a Class B felony to a Class A felony.
• allow the parole board to revoke parole and courts to revoke probation for subjects who are found in possession of firearms.

Backing Trump’s play

U.S. Senator from Alabama Tommy Tuberville is sponsoring a bill to put President Trump’s DEI executive order into law, reports AL.com’s Howard Koplowitz.

The president’s order dismantled diversity, equity and inclusion programs in federal departments and agencies. As we’ve learned more with each White House administration, the next president can step right in and remove Trump’s order.

For example, theoretically, before we check out of this life we might be able to vacation on the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America, the Gulf of Labor, the Gulf of Reagan, the Gulf of Coexistence and the Gulf of Denali. Just depends on who gets to be president along the way.

What Tuberville’s Dismantle DEI Act would do is to codify the DEI order so that Congress would have to act to take it away. The bill was also introduced in the House of Representatives by Republican Congressman Michael Cloud of Texas.

A prep football legend

Citing unnamed sources, AL.com’s Ben Thomas reports that UMS-Wright head football coach Terry Curtis is expected to announce his retirement this morning.

It would end one of Alabama’s most prolific high school coaching careers. Curtis won 284 games and eight state titles over 26 years with the Bulldogs. And he was already a decade into his career when he took the UMS job. He previously coached at Shaw and Murphy, his alma mater.

Overall, he finishes with record of 361-105. The 361 wins place him second all-time in state history, only two wins behind Central-Clay County’s Danny Horn.

And how’s this for consistency? Curtis had only four losing seasons: His first year at each of his three schools, and also this past fall, when UMS was 6-7 but reached the state quarterfinals.

Hey, Paul: Welcome back

Paul Finebaum is an Alabamian once again, reports AL.com’s Mark Heim.

Finebaum was a sports columnist for the Birmingham Post-Herald and the Mobile Press-Register before hosting the Paul Finebaum Radio Network from 2001-2012. He left Alabama when the SEC Network launched “The Paul Finebaum Show” out of Charlotte, N.C. According to ESPN, Charlotte will continue being the home for the show.

But for Finebaum and his wife, Linda, the personal residence is now in Mountain Brook.

According to the Birmingham Business Journal, Finebaum’s 12,000-square-foot home was listed at a shade over $5.1 million.

More Alabama News

Born on This Date

In 1947, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore of Gadsden.

The podcast

We talk missile defense, space and Alabama’s potential role under President Trump with AL.com reporter John R. Roby.

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