Damage crews are combing an area in southwest Jefferson County as a possible tornado site. At least four people were injured and taken to a local hospital in the Bessemer and McCalla areas near Interstate-459. Jason Holmes is a Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Birmingham. He says preliminary data shows a twister is likely to blame for the injuries and damage in that area…
“We have had numerous reports of trees and powerlines down and a few reports of some structures damage. We do not know the extent of the damage but we will be out in that area.”
Holmes says forecasters were caught off guard when the conditions worsened in that area last night. ?
Both Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton walked away with victories from Super Tuesday in Alabama. Each contender stormed through much of the South by clinching victories built on rallying key bases. Clinton claimed a commanding primary victory over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders with about eighty percent of the vote. Trump won more than forty percent of the GOP vote in Alabama. That’s double the result for Texas Senator Ted Cruz who came in second. Both winners had campaigned heavily in the state leading up to Super Tuesday. ?
Trump and Clinton were declared the projected winners in Alabama just minutes after the polls closed. The campaign of U.S. Senator Richard Shelby took over two hours more to declare a decisive victory. Shelby's four Republican opponents used Donald Trump's outsider status to argue the veteran Alabama lawmaker has been in office too long. The voters apparently disagreed by giving Shelby at least sixty percent of the vote. The Senator ignored his competitors…
“Well, I think I don’t have to respond to it. The people responded tonight—overwhelmingly. The AP just called the race for me. I appreciate the people’s confidence in me and my record in Alabama, and that’s a good send off to Washington.”
Still, observers say this was Shelby hardest primary race in years. The Senator’s name has been mentioned to become chairman of the Senate Appropriations committee. He heads the banking committee and once led the intelligence committee. ?
It was also a good night for most Republican incumbents in Alabama. Members of Congress and the state Supreme Court beat GOP challengers. It wasn’t all good news, however. Two incumbents serving in the Alabama Board of Education are heading to runoffs. That includes the board's vice president and a member appointed by Governor Robert Bentley. Congressional representatives Martha Roby, Mike Rogers, Bradley Byrne and Robert Aderholt defeated challengers to represent their districts. ?
