Good morning! After a weeklong reprieve, the rain is coming back this week. Here’s your Daily News for Monday, July 30, 2018.

1. Doug Jones talks tariffs, Trump nominations, and 2020.

• I caught up with U.S. Sen. Doug Jones last last week for a sort of unintentional exclusive interview (for most of the time).
• Jones was relaxed and candid talking through the issues of the day: tariffs (the reason he was in town), his impending decision on President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, and his reelection prospects for 2020.
• Here’s a teaser quote from his answer to my question about whether he was surprised by Trump’s EU announcement:

“I really wasn’t that surprised. Only because it just makes so much damn sense, okay? There was nothing that came out of that that was this “aha” moment or an extraordinary thing.

“Our trade with the European Union is not that much out of balance to begin with. It’s really not. There are some things we can do better. There’s some things that they can do better. But, the fact is what came out the other day was really very normal.”

• Read the full interview HERE.
• I’ll try to get the audio up. Who knows, maybe in the form of a podcast??

2. Schools get guidance on arming administrators.

• Some Alabama schools are starting back this week. Most are starting within the next two weeks, actually.
• That was a short summer for many reasons, among them being the task of getting local education leaders up to speed on a new state policy allowing some trained administrators to be armed to respond to potential threats.
• The School Sentry Program – a joint agreement between the Department of Education and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency – was signed by Gov. Kay Ivey in May.
• Now, schools are getting guidance on how to go about implementing it.
• State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey has sent a memo to school systems emphasizing that program is voluntary and outlined a suggested multi-step process for schools that want to participate.
• Read more about how that is proceeding and Dr. Mackey’s memo itself HERE.

A message from The Prosper Group

• The Prosper Group would like to congratulate our clients in Alabama who won their primary races this year!
• From websites to emails to online ads to social media, we helped our clients in many ways. One great example – with a budget of $175,000, we placed over 350 ads that were viewed more than 18 million times (yes – 18 million!) – resulting in big wins for our clients.
• We would love to help YOU win in November! If you would like to learn more about our work in Alabama, please tap or click here.

3. Go deeper: Expanding Mobile’s shipping channel. 

• An Alabama State Port Authority plan to enlarge the shipping channel in Mobile Bay is moving forward.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has opened a public comment period on the $388 million proposal.
• Alabama State Port Authority Director Jimmy Lyons says widening and deepening the port is needed for Mobile to stay competitive as Alabama’s Port City.
• Sen. Richard Shelby frequently talks about how expanding Mobile’s capacity as a port – including by widening and deepening the shipping channel – could unleash more economic potential than any other single project statewide.
• There are concerns, though. Particularly from the seafood industry and those concerned about erosion on Dauphin Island.

4. News briefs, or, what you may have missed. 

Economy surging

• The American economy continues to surge.
• Our global domestic product (GDP), which really means the total output of goods and services, grew by 4.1 percent in the second quarter. That’s the largest growth in four years.
• Economist are saying the growth is due to consumers spending more from the tax cuts and producers rushing exports out the door to get ahead of tariffs.

Caroline’s weekend stories 

• ADN reporter Caroline Beck had some interesting stories over the weekend focusing on the Governor’s race.
• One was about Maddox’s debate challenge and how this debate situation compares to other years. I particularly enjoyed the videos of previous debates. (Riley-Siegelman 2002!).
• The other was about Gov. Ivey’s response to Maddox’s ethics plan, which was essentially that most of what he is proposing has already been done.
• You can catch it all in her Weekender Digest HERE.

Wastewater problems

• The Montgomery Advertiser’s Melissa Brown did a deep diveinto the myriad problems with sewage and access to sanitary systems in rural Alabama.
• It’s a stinky problem that maybe we don’t like to think about or talk about much, which is why it is so important for reporters like Melissa to bring it to our attention.
• When you think about quality of life, are there many things more basic than having sanitary plumbing?
• Give her story (which is one of a three part series) a read HERE.

5. One fun read: McDonald’s Monopoly. 

• Do you remember the McDonald’s Monopoly game?
• Of course you do.
• You were always one game piece away from major wealth and endless quarter pounders, right?
• Well it turns out there’s a reason you never won anything beyond a free Arch Deluxe. There was a major scandal behind the whole thing, which included a police officer, a mob boss, strip club owners and a drug cartel.
• This story from The Daily Beast might be the most interesting thing you read this week.

Headlines.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Doug Jones on tariffs, Trump nominations, and 2020.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – US economy surges to 4.1 percent growth rate in Q2.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Port Authority plan to enlarge Mobile’s shipping channel under consideration.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Shelby: Alabama Airports to receive $25 million in grants for improvements.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Schools get guidance on plan to arm administrators.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Maddox calls for ethics reforms, Ivey says they’re done.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Caroline Beck: What’s the big deal with debates?

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Doug Jones keeping an open mind on Kavanaugh.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Wastewater treatment is a problem in the rural South. Who is working to fix it?

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Here’s why Alabama’s Open Record Act is important to you.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – After runoff win, Kirk Hatcher wants to focus on jobs.

DOTHAN EAGLE – No mystery to Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh’s gun views.

DOTHAN EAGLE: Dothan gun club emphasizes “safety first”

YELLOWHAMMER NEWS – Sales tax holiday gimmick? Think tank argues temporary breaks are bad public policy.

YELLOWHAMMER NEWS – VIDEO: Trump’s chaotic trade strategy, 20 percent of Democrats view ICE favorably, Walt Maddox’s chances are just Alabama media hype, and more on Guerrilla Politics!

DECATUR DAILY – Farmers face ‘roller coaster’ of developments in July.

ANNISTON STAR -Alabama’s pain from Trump’s terrible tariff proposal.

ATHENS NEWS COURIER – Farm heritage days celebrate ag, tractors.

SELMA TIMES JOURNAL – Editor Will Whaley:  The governor candidates should discuss state issues.

DECATUR DAILY – Rising backlash as US firms seek Trump’s steel tariff waiver.

LAGNIAPPE – Columnist Ken Robinson:  Alabama could be an unintended trade war casualty.

AL.COM – March For Our Lives to retrace Freedom Riders’ path through Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma.

AL.COM – Alabama skateboard builder making Hollywood connection.

AL.COM – Governor’s office defends plan to arm Alabama school administrators.

AL.COM – Tuskegee Airman who went missing during World War II identified 73 years later.

AL.COM – Dirty Business: How Alabama conspired against its own people.

AL.COM – Intern Lily Jackson:  Journalists are my heroes, why aren’t they yours?

WASHINGTON POST – Trump threatens again to shut down federal government over border-wall funding.

WASHINGTON POST – Koch group condemns ‘divisiveness’ and ‘lack of leadership’ in Washington.

WASHINGTON POST – ‘Deleted’ families: What went wrong with Trump’s family-separation effort.

NEW YORK TIMES – The Decline of the Civil War Re-enactor

NEW YORK TIMES – G.O.P. Faces Another Midterm Threat as Trump Plays the Shutdown Card

NEW YORK TIMES – New York Times Publisher and Trump Clash Over President’s Threats Against Journalism

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