• Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed medical marijuana legislation Monday as Republican opposition to the issue faded after decades of debate
• The program will allow people with a qualifying medical condition to purchase medical marijuana with the recommendation of a doctor
• More than a dozen conditions, including cancer, a terminal illness, depression, epilepsy, panic disorder and chronic pain would allow a person to qualify

• President Joe Biden said Monday that the U.S. will share an additional 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines with the world in the coming six weeks as domestic demand for shots drops and global disparities in distribution have grown more evident
• The doses will come from existing production of Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccine stocks, marking the first time that U.S.-controlled doses of vaccines authorized for use in the country will be shared overseas

• Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called on state lawmakers Monday to convene for a special session this week to consider bills involving allocating federal coronavirus relief funds and a prohibition on mask requirements in schools
• Lawmakers will focus on allocating the more than $1.5 billion Utah is receiving from the American Rescue Plan, as well as updating or fixing errors made in bills that passed the general session this past spring
• They will also weigh a resolution condemning acts of anti-Asian hate and an extension of the state drought emergency

• A legislative session that began amid a surge in coronavirus cases ended Friday with Missouri lawmakers passing a legal shield against pandemic-related liability lawsuits as their final action
• The legislation would prohibit COVID-19 liability lawsuits against businesses and health care providers unless plaintiffs can prove they were exposed and sickened by the coronavirus and that the entity engaged in “reckless or willful misconduct”

• Sunday tailgaters could buy beers earlier in the morning and a pandemic allowance for carryout cocktails could become permanent under a bill passed by the Missouri Legislature
• The bill expanding the availability of alcohol won final approval Friday in the House while some lawmakers touted it as a benefit for small businesses and the tourism industry
• When restaurants had their indoor capacities limited during the coronavirus pandemic, the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control temporarily relaxed rules so they could sell mixed drinks to go

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