AL Political Reporter: “Regions spokesman Jeremy King told APR by phone Saturday that the decision came after company executive met Tuesday with representatives from Black Lives Matter Birmingham, Faith in Works and Alabama Students Against Prisons. Those groups had asked the bank to stop doing business with CoreCivic, which is set to build two of Alabama’s three…

CNN: “Former President Donald Trump’s five impeachment defense attorneys have left a little more than a week before his trial is set to begin, according to people familiar with the case, amid a disagreement over his legal strategy.It was a dramatic development in the second impeachment trial for Trump, who has struggled to find lawyers…

NY Times: “John Weaver, a longtime Republican strategist and co-founder of the prominent anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project, has for years sent unsolicited and sexually provocative messages online to young men, often while suggesting he could help them get work in politics, according to interviews with 21 men who received them. His solicitations included sending…

News & Observer: “A better ground game. An earlier start. A more inclusive approach. A willingness to listen. Those are some of the things Democrats say they need if they are to duplicate their Georgia counterparts’ electoral success in North Carolina. What they don’t need, they say, is a single figure who can lead them…

Atlanta-Journal Constitution: “After suffering major losses, Georgia Republicans enter a new election cycle in a dire political position, according to an exclusive Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll that found leading Democrats earned significantly higher ratings than their GOP counterparts…. Adding to the Republican struggles, a narrow majority of Georgians backs the Democratic-led effort to convict Trump on…

Atlanta-Journal Constitution: “Georgia voters would be required to make copies of their photo ID and mail them to election officials twice before being allowed to cast an absentee ballot, according to a bill introduced Wednesday. The legislation, Senate Bill 29, would create a photo ID requirement for voting outside of polling places in Georgia. Voters would…

The Hill: “Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) said this week he is considering a 2022 gubernatorial run, setting up a potential challenge against incumbent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R).  “It’s something I’m going to think about,” O’Rourke told Buzz Adams on Texas radio station KLAQ on Monday. O’Rourke went on to hit Abbott’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic,…

The Progressive Pulse: “Republican appointees to the State Board of Education (SBE) fired a volley of criticism at the state’s new social studies standards Wednesday, charging that the language in the revision is “divisive” and “politically charged.” Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson led the attack, doubling down on complaints he made earlier this month about the new standards, which the state board could approve next week. “I do not like the tone of…

AP: “On a vote of 24-9, three Republicans joined the chamber’s Democrats in advancing a resolution censuring Amanda Chase, a senator from suburban Richmond who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor. The vote followed a long debate that featured scathing rebukes from Chase’s colleagues on both sides of the political aisle. Chase then launched into a…

AL Political Reporter: Is Trump a great President, or one of the greatest Presidents? Alabama Republicans are deciding now: “The resolution as written includes the line: “President Donald J. Trump was one of the greatest and most effective Presidents in the 245-year history of this Republic.” The resolution cites several of what Republicans view as…