University of Alabama President says there has been an “unacceptable rise” in COVID cases on campus. The problem is the public has no framework or data to understand what “unacceptable” might mean.
Stuart Bell says the “margin for error is shrinking.” Again, no framework to contextualize that, despite repeated requests from faculty, staff, students, parents and journalists.
Full email here, shared to me from a faculty member.
This follows a communications blitz from late Friday afternoon after UA imposed new restrictions but wouldn't say what exactly prompted them montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/202…
All we know at this point is the touted 1% re-entry rate, which seems...outdated, at best, at this point. And that >90% of on-campus quarantine beds were available on Thursday, Aug. 20. Hopefully we'll get more data early this week to give us a better idea of where campus stands
FWIW, student newspaper @TheCrimsonWhite reported out leaks from a meeting between a VP and student leaders on Friday. The VP alluded to a high positivity rate found **among a small group of student who were re-tested after suspected exposure** cw.ua.edu/65562/top-stor…
Then the University, in response to that coverage, said the information taken out of context) was "grossly misleading"
On Thursday evening, UA told me no data would be released until the end of add/drop on Aug. 26, which is the official end of "re-entry testing." But @keelykbrewer rightly pointed out that Pres. Bell the next day said a data dashboard would go live tomorrow. So I guess we'll see!
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A Southern Baptist policy leader applauded Biden for choosing not to seek reelection, calling it a "rare" and "selfless" act to walk away from power. A day later, he was removed from his position. tennessean.com/story/news/rel…
This is the latest development in an ongoing internal tug-of-war in the Southern Baptist Convention between mainstream conservatives and a further right-leaning faction. But it's also a window into the current political landscape.
Leatherwood applauded B's decision while criticizing/warning evangelicals of Harris' policy positions. Statements like his & from conservatives like Romney and Pence feel fairly milquetoast in the political parlance of a former era. They seem to be anathema today.
I'm currently in the press room for a minute monitoring the Senate feed, which just started -- You can hear the crowd singing in the hallway beyond the chamber through the audio as Lt. Gov. McNally begins to address the Senate. @KDFiscus is on scene with the crowd.
McNally sent Gov. Lee a letter in support of 4 security measures to “increase and modernize security” at Tennessee schools. All would be changes to schools, no changes to gun access.
Two Nashville lawmakers spent the morning with Covenant School families, a heartrending wait for parents to learn if their kid was one of the school
shooting victims.
Hours later, at the state Capitol, tempers and emotions flared:
"You need to hear it: The sound of the mother when she was told that she would never see her child again. I've never heard a sound like that," Rep. Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville said. "It's indescribable."
Nashville police say a school shooting suspect is dead after an active shooter emergency at a private Green Hills pre-6 grade school. Fire officials have reported "multiple" patients so far tennessean.com/story/news/202… via @Tennessean
Breaking news situations are chaotic, and I always urge folks to be mindful of what they amplify on social media.
@rachelannwegner is on scene for the @Tennessean, and we'll keep you updated as we're able to verify accurate information.
Officials have staged a family reunification site at Woodmont Baptist Church on Woodmont Boulevard, about 2 miles from Covenant School.
Many Republicans contend the law's intent was to shield doctors who perform abortions for the life of a pregnant patient or to prevent debilitating injury.
But the law doesn't contain that exception. It provides a defense doctors can use *after* they're charged with a felony.
I pressed Gov. Lee on this today and asked if he'd support changes to the law to better protect physicians in those circumstance. Lee says the law already does that.