7. Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats addressed the Aden Holloway arrest by saying now is not the time to ignore a kid you’ve built a real relationship with, emphasizing support and standards in the program, leaving the door open to him returning to the team.

6. Alabama’s congressional delegation led a U.S. House floor tribute honoring the airmen killed in the Iraq plane crash, paying respects to the fallen from the Birmingham-based Vulcan refuelers unit members and their families while highlighting their service and sacrifice.

5. Candidate for U.S. Senate and U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) wrote an op-ed in Yellowhammer News blasting Democrats over the DHS shutdown threat, warning it will cost American lives by weakening border security and immigration enforcement.

4. The Alabama State House passed a bill closing party primaries, advancing legislation to prevent crossover voting in both parties’ primaries, though its future in the Senate remains uncertain.

3. The Reason Foundation’s Brayden Myers found Alabama’s unrealistic pension assumptions are putting the state in debt, with overly optimistic investment return projections creating unfunded liabilities and long-term fiscal risks for the Retirement Systems of Alabama.

2. Governor-elect National Championship-winning Coach U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) labeled former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent a member of the “Deep State” after Kent resigned over his opposition to the Iran war, accusing him of leaking and undermining national security efforts.

1. The UK, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and the Netherlands have now agreed to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz amid Iranian threats to disrupt traffic and close the waterway, as Operation Epic Fury continues, with media outlets suggesting the battle is a stalemate or saying that, despite overwhelming success, President Donald Trump is losing.

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Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN.