• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday launched a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, acquiescing to mounting pressure from fellow Democrats and plunging a deeply divided nation into an election year clash between Congress and the Commander-in-Chief.
• The probe centers on whether Trump abused his presidential powers and sought help from a foreign government to undermine Democratic foe Joe Biden and help his own reelection. Pelosi said such actions would mark a “betrayal of his oath of office.”
• Trump, who was meeting with world leaders at the United Nations, previewed his defense in an all-caps tweet: “PRESIDENTIAL HARRASSMENT!”
• At issue are Trump’s actions with Ukraine. In a summer phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky , he is said to have asked for help investigating former Vice President Biden and his son Hunter. In the days before the call, Trump ordered advisers to freeze $400 million in military aid for Ukraine — prompting speculation that he was holding out the money as leverage for information on the Bidens. Trump has denied that charge, but acknowledged he blocked the funds and later released them.
• Trump has authorized the release of a transcript of the call, which is to be made public today.
• “You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call,” Trump said.
• Trump has sought to implicate Biden and his son in the kind of corruption that has long plagued Ukraine. Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company at the same time his father was leading the Obama administration’s diplomatic dealings with Kyiv. 
• The move to formally advance an impeachment inquiry is a major step and a major political risk for Democrats. Polls have consistently shown most Americans don't favor impeachment, so the burden will be on Pelosi and other Democratic leaders to make the case for why such an extraordinary step is warranted.
• Read more HERE.

• The Alabama Farmers Federation’s FARMPAC on Tuesday endorsed Tommy Tuberville in the U.S. Senate GOP primary.
• More than 100 farming leaders from across the state met at ALFA’s Montgomery headquarters to hear from candidates and decide which to support. In the end, they chose Tuberville, the former Auburn head football coach.
• Endorsements in several other races were also made.
• The Farmers Federation endorsement is a big boost for Tuberville as he seeks elected office for the first time. For decades, ALFA has been known for grass roots organization via its extensive network of producers throughout the state. Previous endorsements have been decisive in close races, and last year 161 of 163 ALFA-endorsed candidates won their elections.
• “Alabama Farmers Federation was founded to give farmers a voice in the political process and to advocate for issues important to rural families,” Federation President Jimmy Parnell said in a written statement. “Candidates are eager to meet with this group because they understand the value of the FarmPAC endorsement. As representatives of rural communities across this state, these county leaders reflect the values, concerns and hopes of many Alabamians.”
• Full story HERE.
• Also more on the endorsement to come via Inside Alabama Politics.

• CULLMAN, Ala. (AP) — Former Alabama Senate Majority Leader Zeb Little has pleaded guilty to theft charges.
• Attorney General Steve Marshall's office announced Tuesday that Little entered the guilty plea last week. According to court records, Little, who was a lawyer, admitted to stealing money from clients.
• Court records indicate the thefts occurred in 2015 and 2016.
• He agreed to pay $74,000 in restitution. A judge has not set a sentencing date.
• Marshall's office said the case began when a client complained of missing funds. The office said an investigation revealed Little was steering settlement money to himself in personal injury cases instead of paying clients' medical bills.
• The Alabama Bar Association's directory indicates Little is no longer a practicing lawyer.
• Little, a Cullman Democrat, served in the Alabama Senate from 1998 to 2010.
• Story link.

• BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The government is still investigating the brutal slaying of Emmett Till, a black teenager whose death helped spur the civil rights movement more than 60 years ago.
• A Justice Department report issued to Congress about civil rights cold case investigations lists the 1955 slaying of 14-year-old Emmett Till as being among the unit's active cases, The Associated Press was the first to report Tuesday.
• Till, who was from Chicago, was abducted and beaten to death hours after he whistled at a white woman while visiting Mississippi. His body was found in a river days later.
• The investigation, closed in 2007, was reopened after a book published two years ago indicated a key witness had lied.
• A cousin who was with Till the night he was abducted said he was encouraged that the case is still under review but anxious for a resolution.
• "We want them to go ahead and do something," said the Rev. Wheeler Parker, 80. "What is the holdup?"
• Full story from Jay Reeves HERE.

• BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A new project is highlighting some of the places in Alabama that played a role in the civil rights movement.
• An online, oral history presentation called "Voices of Alabama" features photos of historic sites and interviews with some of the people who worked with the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The state was a hotbed of the movement at the time.
• The parsonage where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. lived in Montgomery is included. So are other places including a home in Selma where landmark demonstrations were planned, as well as churches in Birmingham that played a role in the movement.
• The project features 20 sites total. It was assembled by the New York-based World Monuments Fund and the Alabama African-American Civil Rights Heritage Sites Consortium.
• Story link.

• GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama coroner who served as a local college's EMS program director has been indicted on a felony charge of using his position for personal gain.
• News outlets report 49-year-old Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown was booked into jail Monday and released minutes later. His bond was set at $5,000.
• A Sept. 6 indictment made public after his booking says the wrongdoing is believed to have happened while Brown worked at Gadsden State Community College. It's unclear if he still holds the role, though he's not listed on the school's online directory. The indictment doesn't detail the allegation.
• Brown was first elected coroner is 2006 and stepped into the role the next year. Court records don't show whether he has an attorney who can comment on his behalf.

• ANNISTON, Ala. (AP) — Court documents show an Alabama woman has agreed to plead guilty to embezzling nearly $500,000 from a church.
• Federal prosecutors say 41-year-old Angela Cheatwood is charged with wire fraud in a scheme involving Sacred Health of Jesus Catholic Church and Sacred Heart School in Anniston.
• A plea agreement signed by the woman shows she already has admitted her guilt. She is due in court on Oct. 10.
• Documents filed in Birmingham say Cheatwood began working as church bookkeeper in 2005. Authorities say she took about $484,000 from the Catholic parish and school by writing unauthorized checks to herself from the church bank account.
• Authorities say she also took cash from fundraisers and donations.
• The alleged thefts occurred from 2013 to 2018. Cheatwood faces up to 20 years in prison.