By Brian Lyman | Editor
If you harbor any beliefs that the two major political parties in Alabama are the same, you ought to read Andrea Tinker’s story this morning about candidates’ decidedly opposite views on the CHOOSE Act.
Students walk to class at Collinsville Elementary School in Collinsville, Alabama on Feb. 10, 2026. (Eric Schultz for Alabama Reflector)
EDUCATION
By Andrea Tinker
The CHOOSE Act is an effective voucher program providing up to $7,000 in tax credits per child for non-public school expenses, like private school tuition. With the program scheduled to go universal next year amid what could be a difficult education budget, candidates have different ideas about its future. A recent poll showed Alabamians divided over the program, though a plurality said the state spent too much on vouchers.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is urging President Donald Trump to embargo diesel fuel exports as rising costs impact farmers in his largely agricultural state. (Screenshot from committee webcast)
DC BUREAU
By Ashley Murray
Diesel prices hit a national average of $6.51 a gallon on Monday, up over $1 in just month and significantly higher than the $3.69 a gallon price a year ago. With many House Republicans in tight races beginning to distance themselves from President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa called for a ban on diesel exports to protect farmers in his state. The White House said Monday it has no plans to do so.
Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states are federally protected as a threatened species. (Terry Tollefsbol/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
By Alex Brown, Stateline
The director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a directive last week that said the killing of an endangered species did not violate federal law if the action was not “intentionally directed” at an animal. The rollback goes much further than officials originally told the public, and wildlife experts and advocates said the policy would render the federal Endangered Species Act effectively meaningless.
ICYMI
CNN, MS Now, Politico sue Trump over White House ban | Jennifer Shutt, DC Bureau
Medical groups, patients sue Trump administration over Medicaid work requirements | Nada Hassanein, Stateline
Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over Title X grant funding for pregnancy prevention efforts | Kelcie Moseley-Morris, Stateline
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