• As President Trump visited the southern border Thursday, he inched closer to declaring a national emergency and using executive authority to build a border wall.
• The idea would be to take emergency funds from the Army Corps of Engineers as well as unspent disaster relief funds earmarked for hurricane damage in Puerto Rico and Texas and repurpose it toward the wall.
• Trump told reporters that if Democrats don't agree to a deal funding beefed up border security, "probably I will do it. I would almost say definitely."
• Some Republicans like Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are encouraging Trump to use emergency powers to build the wall.
• Other conservatives are wary of the idea, worrying what the next Democratic president could do with that kind of authority.
• Imagine President Elizabeth Warren declaring a national emergency on guns!
• Read more on that HERE.

• As promised, House Democrats are moving legislation to reopen parts of the government piece-by-piece.
• Three bills - one funding the U.S. Dept of Agriculture and the FDA, another funding Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and another funding Financial Services - passed the House this week.
• Alabama's Republican Reps. Robert Aderholt, Mike Rogers, Martha Roby, Mo Brooks, Bradley Byrne and Gary Palmer all voted against the measures, while lone Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell voted for them.
• Byrne, Rogers and Brooks have been the most outspoken on the issue, each doing multiple interviews and speeches, and even sponsoring legislation in support of the president's position.
• Roby went to the House floor last night to urge Democrats to agree to border security funding.
• None of the House-passed bills are expected to be taken up by the Senate.

• It's no secret that Huntsville is a federal town.
• Between Redstone Arsenal, NASA and the FBI, the government accounts for a big share of the workforce and economy.
• So what happens in a town like that when the government shuts down?
• Thankfully, the largest share of federal workers in Huntsville are with the Department of Defense, which is fully funded and operational.
• But for the 5,000 or so others working at places like NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the FBI's complex on Redstone, things are about to get tight. That's also true for many of the local businesses that depend on shopping or dining revenue from those workers.
• Today will be the first day many federal workers won't see a paycheck. Of course, furloughed employees will get backpay once the government re-opens, but there's no apparent end in sight for the shutdown.
• Jay Reeves went to Huntsville to visit with some of those impacted by the shutdown to see how they're faring and what they're saying.
• Read his full story HERE.

• Members of the Alabama Supreme Court and appellate courts will be sworn into office today.
• Chief Justice-elect Tom Parker, Justice-elect Sarah Steward and Justice-elect Jay Mitchell will be invested, sworn into office and robed.
• So will incoming Court of Criminal Appeals Judges William Cole and Richard Minor and incoming Court of Civil Appeals Judges Christy Edwards and Chad Hanson.
• Justice Tommy Bryan, who was unopposed in the 2018 election, will only need to be sworn in.
• These investiture and oath of office ceremonies are a big deal and will see most of the state's legal and political leaders attending.
• The ceremony is scheduled for 10:00 at the RSA Activity Center Downtown.

• After days of back and forth over U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pullout American troops from Syria, a U.S. military official said Friday the process of withdrawal has begun, declining to comment on specific timetables or movements.
• Col. Sean Ryan, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, said "the process of our deliberate withdrawal from Syria" has started.
• "Out of concern for operational security, we will not discuss specific timelines, locations or troops movements," the Baghdad-based official said.
• Full story HERE.

• You probably saw that former State Rep. Ed Henry has told the federal court he intends to plead guilty.
• The Hartselle Republican was indicted in June on federal charges stemming from a kickback scheme.
• Prosecutors said Henry paid a doctor's office that referred patients to back to his company for chronic pain management. Can't do that.
• During his time in the Alabama Legislature, Henry was an anti-corruption crusader and led a push to impeach then-Gov. Robert Bentley.

• New self-professed Democratic Socialist Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is already making enemies in the House Democratic Caucus.
• Politico's Rachael Bade reports that Dems are growing tired of her not being a team player on things like House Rules and feeding a grassroots movement to give her a top committee spot well before her time.
• They also fear "AOC" using her 2.2 million Twitter followers and growing clout to support primary challenges to less liberal Democrats.
• As the late Walder Frey would say, how's that for pomposity?
• “Does she want to be an effective legislator or just continue being a Twitter star?” a left-leaning House Democrat told Rachael.
• “There’s a difference between being an activist and a lawmaker in Congress.”
• Very true. Read the full story HERE.