Feb 19, 2025

On this date in 1807 former US Vice President Aaron Burr was arrested in Washington County in what would become the state of Alabama a decade later, on treason charges. He was accused of assembling troops to try to take Spanish-held territory. He was later acquitted.

Today's report follows. Thanks for reading,

Ike

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One of last year's biggest political frenzies started right here in Alabama when the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen human embryos had the same rights as children, seemingly putting in-vitro fertilization services in jeopardy.

In an election year, that led to Democrats claiming that Republicans will take away IVF rights and many Republicans rushing to show that they're not anti-IVF.

While details in the creation and handling of human embryos may not be settled, IVF access had another moment this week. AL.com's Howard Koplowitz reports that President Trump signed an executive order to create a task force that'll explore ways to make IVF more affordable.

Trump has credited U.S. Sen. Katie Britt for bending his ear on IVF rights after the court decision that set off the political firestorm.

On Tuesday, Britt thanked Trump for the executive order on social media: “IVF is profoundly pro-family, and I’m proud to work with President Trump on ensuring more loving parents can start and grow their families.”

Federal layoffs have now hit NASA, according to reports, and Marshall Space Flight Center said it's complying with orders from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, reports AL.coms John R. Roby.

A statement from Marshall read, in part: “At this time, Marshall is only processing employees who accepted OPM’s Deferred Resignation Program, and it is premature to discuss any potential impacts to our workforce.”

The Deferred Resignation Program offered to pay federal employees through September if they voluntarily resigned.

Last week, President Trump told agencies to start releasing probationary workers. Those are usually new hires who are still in their standard probationary period.

NASA employs around 18,000 people nationally. Nearly 7,000 of those work at Marshall. Reporting from both ArsTechnica and ABCNews had around 10% of the NASA workforce nationally laid off through either the buyouts or the probationary firings.

There are always a couple thoughts that accompany government layoffs: We feel bad for those who are directly affected by a job loss, and we hope they at least put the government/taxpayers in a better financial position.

With any NASA cuts I'm going to add a third: We hope they don't eliminate the positions or defund the people who are watching that asteroid that's scheduled to be in our neighborhood in 2032.

The NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System in Chile reported the rock, which could be as wide as a football field, back in December.

AL.com's Leada Gore reports that the probability of the asteroid hitting Earth has grown to 3.1%. That's a 1-in-32 chance. So it's not likely, but it's a lot more likely than the usual asteroid pass that makes the news.

That's not enough of a probability to panic, but certainly worth keeping an eye on. Forbes reported that if it were to hit Earth, it would strike at 38,000 mph and have an impact 500 times the power of the atomic bomb we dropped on Hiroshima.

The asteroid won't be visible again for a few years, and experts say more data will likely lower that probability.

So don't sell your 2033 season tickets just yet.

The Alabama Senate passed a bill that would give the governor more control over the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, reports AL.com's Mike Cason.

The bill has been changed significantly since it was introduced. Originally, it would've made big changes to the State Board of Veterans Affairs, but under the new version, the board's structure remains intact with 17 spots filled by members nominated by veterans service organizations and appointed by the governor.

What did survive Senate changes was that the VA commissioner would become an appointee of the governor and part of the governor's cabinet. Currently, the board appoints the commissioner.

The background here is last year's disagreement between state VA Commissioner Kent Davis and Gov. Kay Ivey. The governor asked the board to fire Davis, it didn't, and so Ivey, who's the board's chair, cited her authority as governor to overrule the board and remove him anyway.

The bill passed 21-9 and now heads to the House.

In 1967, model and reality star Cynthia Bailey of Tuscumbia.

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