By Brian Lyman | Editor
This morning we bring you the debate over tolls for a new Mobile Bay bridge project, then move north to the battle for a central Alabama congressional district.
The Mobile Bay causeway and city skyline at sunset. (Getty Images)
ELECTIONS 2026
By Ralph Chapoco
Building a new Mobile Bay bridge and bayway will be reliant on a $2.52 billion federal loan. And to pay that loan, officials plan to impose tolls after completion of a first phase in 2031 that will eventually go up automatically each year. Democrats and Republicans in coastal Alabama have both criticized the plan, which has started to enter some local legislative races.
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Hoover (left) is seeking his seventh term representing Alabama's 6th Congressional District. He faces Democratic nominee Maurice Mercer (right), a former member of the Pelham City Council. (Photos courtesy of the candidates; photo illustration by Brian Lyman)
ELECTIONS 2026
By Forrest Terrell
The race for Alabama’s 6th Congressional District features U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Hoover, and former Pelham City Council member Maurice Mercer, the Democratic nominee in a district rated solidly Republican. Palmer, a stalwart conservative, has expressed support for President Donald Trump’s war in Iran and has prioritized the budget deficit. Mercer said he would prioritize affordability issues and work to end the war.
Advocates for transgender rights rallied outside the Statehouse in Trenton, New Jersey, on Jan. 5, 2026. (Dana DiFilippo/New Jersey Monitor)
COMMENTARY
By Brian Lyman
There are signs that the relentless attacks on transgender Americans — in Alabama and around the country — appear to be fizzling with voters. But in my column this week, I write that those attacks are likely to continue, even after Election Day. It’s not a question of political expediency: the attacks represent a political mindset that prioritizes control over democracy, attacks that quickly spread to universities and other minority groups.
ICYMI
Most US House races aren’t competitive. What does that mean for how lawmakers govern? | Jennifer Shutt, DC Bureau
The percentage of people without health insurance is growing | Shalina Chatlani, Stateline
Federal regulators crack down on organ donation groups | Nada Hassanein, Stateline
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