Good morning!  Here’s your Daily News for Wednesday, June 13, 2018. 

1. House takes a swing at immigration. 

• House Republicans are divided over the issue of immigration.
• A handful of moderates have joined with Democrats to start a “discharge petition” to get a vote on legislation granting a pathway to citizenship for immigrants. That means they can bring the bill up out of order and against the will of leadership if they get enough signatures.
• Others in the conference want a tougher approach. Their bill makes the path one to residency, not citizenship, and includes a boost to border security and other provisions to crack down on illegal immigration.
• To avoid an embarrassing situation in which the House passes a bill that a majority of Republicans oppose, Speaker Paul Ryan appears to be splitting the baby.
• He’s allowing both bills to come to a vote on the floor next week.

Why it matters

• I doubt either of these bills can pass as written. And, even if one did, there’s little chance the Senate would even give it the time of day before this Congress is finished.
• That means next week’s votes will matter for two reasons: politics & positioning.
• Politics: with Members of Congress facing midterm primaries, many will be eager to showcase their support for an immigration plan their voters favor, whichever that may be.
• Positioning: the votes will “take the temperature” of the House, the media and the general public on immigration reform. That will instruct how Congress and the White House approach the issue next year.
• As Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows points out, they can always amend the tougher legislation to make it more palatable.
• Read more HERE.

2. North Korea: the latest

• We’re 24 hours out from the Singapore Summit. What do we know?
• Not too terribly much, actually.
• With some media automatically criticizing anything Trump does and other media automatically praising anything Trump does, it can be hard to make heads or tails about what’s going on.
• There are reasons to be optimistic, points out Victor Cha, who formerly worked on the Asia desk for the National Security Council. His piece “Trump and Kim have just walked us back from the brink of war” is worth a read.
• Also, former NSA Director James Clapper says “we’re in a much better place” with North Korea now than we were before because we’re talking diplomacy, not war.
• There are reasons to be skeptical as well.
• New York Times columnist Nick Kristof, who writes about North Korea a lot, says Kim Jong Un took advantage of Trump’s willingness to negotiate.
• It’s also worth pointing out that the agreement signed has a lot of similarities to other agreements between the United States and North Korea over the last 20 years.
• Let’s hope it’s the start of a peaceful resolution to this mess.
• Btw, if you’re rooting for any deal to happen regardless of the negative consequences just so Trump wins and the libs lose, you’re doing it wrong.
• Also, if you’re rooting for a peace deal to fail just because Trump is the one making it, you’re really doing it wrong.

3. What we learned from other states’ primaries. 

• South Carolina Congressman Mark Sanford lost his primary reelection last night. He was a Trump critic and the president tweeted a brutal takedown / endorsement of his opponentthree hours before polls closed.
• Of course, media is making it all about Trump. But wait a minute.
• South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a close ally of Trump who won the president’s full endorsement weeks ago, was forced into a runoff after failing to get more than 50 percent of the vote.
• So, maybe Trump is an important factor, but not the ONLY thing voters care about?
• In Virginia, Corey Stewart won the GOP nomination for Senate. He’ll challenge Sen. Tim Kaine in the fall but will likely lose because he has spent a lot of time talking about Barack Obama’s birth certificate and Confederate symbolism – two things that don’t earn you swing votes in a purple state.
• And don’t miss this: Dennis Hof, a Nevada brothel owner and star of the HBO adult reality series “Cathouse,” won a Republican primary for state Legislature. He beat a three-term incumbent. What can you say? It ain’t easy, amirite?
• Read a full rundown of state primaries HERE.

4. Skip Tucker: Goldfinger and the art of negative campaigning

• If it’s Wednesday, we’re reading Skip Tucker.
• In his latest piece for ADN, Skip gets into one objective of negative campaigning that isn’t often talked about: poisoning the well.

Goldfinger’s scheme was genius. He wanted inside Ft. Knox to access the $130 billion gold reserve. When Bond told him he was mad, that he could never move that much weight, Goldfinger laughed and said, “I don’t intend to steal it, Mr. Bond. I will detonate a dirty nuclear bomb to contaminate it.”

• How does Skip connect the classic Bond villain Goldfinger with negative campaigning? You’ll have to read his full column to find out.

5. News Briefs. 

Trade barrier

• Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee hit a roadblock Tuesday in his attempt to get a vote on trade legislation that would require congressional approval of tariffs imposed in the name of national security.
• Corker’s amendment targeted President Donald Trump’s tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on imported aluminum, as well as future tariffs imposed by presidents who invoke their authority to curb imports in the interest of national security. Under his bill, such tariffs would qualify for an expedited review and vote by Congress.
• Corker sought to attach his proposal to must-pass defense legislation now before the Senate, but his attempt to force a vote was defeated when Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., objected.

Don’t be this town

• The town of Paint Rock has decided to ban media and out-of-towners from its council meetings without prior approval.
• The council has also outlawed the recording meetings and that posting a handful of public records online to any unauthorized media source is “strictly forbidden.”
• “What goes on in Paint Rock is the business of the people who live in Paint Rock,” said mayor Brenda Fisk.
• Let me know how that works out for you.

Where we work

• AL.com’ s William Thornton took a look at the largest employers in each Alabama County.
• The list is interesting for a lot of reasons.
• It’s a reminder of how homegrown companies are still the lifeblood of some communities.
• It shows just how many education employees we have and how influential they can be.
• One thing I’d like to know for the counties with the Board of education as the largest employer: who’s the next largest employer?

Headlines.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – House Republicans offer two separate bills on immigration.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Skip Tucker: Goldfinger and the art of negative campaigning.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Former JeffCo deputy accused of domestic violence, sexual assault.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Alabama town bans media, out-of-towners from meetings.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Senate trade proposal hits roadblock in win for Trump.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – In South Carolina primary, ardent Trump backer defeats Rep. Mark Sanford.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Mother charged in death of infant found in hotel freezer.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Despite rhetoric, Roby and Bright compiled conservative records in Congress

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Montgomery population estimates drop below 200k, lowest since 1999.

DOTHAN EAGLE – Columnist Steve Flowers’ Inside the Statehouse:  Analysis of gubernatorial primaries.

AL.COM – Alabama contenders for Trump’s presidential pardon list.

AL.COM – Bessemer City Council gives mayor go-ahead to make deal with Amazon on facility.

AL.COM – 90 percent of commenters oppose Alabama Medicaid work plan.

AL.COM – Seven Alabama State Parks earn nine TripAdvisor Hall of Fame awards.

AL.COM – Columnist John Archibald:  Paint Rock, Alabama: The most unAmerican town?

AL.COM – 148 Alabamians still MIA from Korean War.

AL.COM – Contributor Robert Wilkerson:  Why our schools are failing.

AL.COM – Clear paths for Steve Marshall and Troy King in tight AG runoff.

AL.COM – Columnist Kyle Whitmire:  Childcare is now a legitimate election expense, but we still have a long ways to go.

AL.COM – MasterBrand Cabinets closes Auburn plant, 445 lose jobs.

AL.COM – Columnist Roy Johnson:  Born into historic Alabama farm family, new Women’s Fund CEO plants seeds against poverty.

AL.COM – What’s the biggest employer in every Alabama county?

AL.COM – Contributor Clete Wetli:  Where’s the Republican fix for healthcare?

ALABAMA POLITICAL REPORTER – Columnist Josh Moon:  There is no apology for Jeff Sessions.

DECATUR DAILY – Medicaid work requirement may put working poor in no-win situation.

FLORENCE TIMES DAILY – UNA trustees to consider banded tuition plan.

FLORENCE TIMES DAILY – Grant will help low-income homeowners weatherize homes.

TUSCALOOSA NEWS – John Merrill right to question Ethics Commission vote.

ANNISTON STAR – President Trump and the bloody dictator.

ANNISTON STAR – Editor Phillip Tutor: Alabama’s poor need Ivey, Maddox.

WASHINGTON POST – Trump celebrates Singapore accord with North Korea, but substance has yet to be revealed.

WASHINGTON POST – House to vote next week on two competing immigration bills after Republican negotiations on a compromise fall short.

WASHINGTON POST – Reporters thought this video was North Korea propaganda. It came from the White House.

WASHINGTON POST – Alabama town bans media, out-of-towners from meetings.

NEW YORK TIMES – Republican Voters Embrace Trump-Style Candidates

NEW YORK TIMES – AT&T’s Time Warner Takeover Wins Judge’s Approval in Defeat for Justice Dept.

NEW YORK TIMES – What to Watch as Federal Reserve Prepares to Raise Interest Rates

NEW YORK TIMES – The New Obamacare Lawsuit Could Undo Far More Than Protections for Pre-existing Conditions

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