Good morning! Cousin Harry gets married tomorrow to the lovely and charming Meghan Markle. America wins again. Here’s your Daily News for May 18. 

1. Todd’s job rescinded.  

Other Todd

• Retiring State Rep. Patricia Todd will no longer lead a LBGT rights group in Florida.
• As kind of predicted, One Orlando rescinded the offer after Todd’s tweets about Gov. Kay Ivey. That story HERE.
• Director Christopher Cuevas did not hold back in his comments, calling it “weaponizing queerness” and “a form of psychic and emotional violence.”  Read his whole statement HERE.

Reaction

• Asked about the development, Ivey told Jon Paepcke “that’s her business.” Yeah it is.
• I’ve always liked and respected Rep. Todd. She even set me straight when I was wrong about her dogs and cats bill years back.
• We shouldn’t rejoice in anyone’s misfortune, but she brought this on herself. And, to her credit, she is taking responsibility on the radio this morning.

More

• I think (and really hope) we’re done here but, if you want to read further, here are some links.
• Rep. Todd is appearing on the Matt & Aunie show this morning. It’s sure to be some good radio, and you can listen live (or find the podcast later) here.
• The Montgomery Advertiser’s Brian Lyman writes about this incident’s impact on Alabama’s gay community. That story HERE.
• AL.com’s Kyle Whitmire piles on Scott Dawson for his role in the episode. His piece HERE.

2. Farm Bill up in the air.

• That’s Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Majority Whip Steve Scalise.
• They’re tired because they’ve been up all night trying to figure out how to get a vote on the Farm Bill today.
• It’s in trouble and might not pass. Yes, the Democrats are opposed to it. But, the real trouble is Republicans.
• The Freedom Caucus is doing what it does best and jamming up the works in order to try to get a vote on the conservative immigration bill.

State of Play

• We’ll probably know by mid-morning whether or not there will be a vote.
• A lot of members from agricultural states won’t be happy if this thing doesn’t get a vote. That includes Congressman Mike Rogers, who offered a good explanation of what the Farm Bill does yesterday.
• Rep. Martha Roby spoke out on the House floor yesterday urging her colleagues to take up the Farm Bill and pass it.

Why it matters

• It’s doubtful this Farm Bill would pass the Senate in its current form. The immigration bill SURELY wouldn’t.
• What matters here is momentum. House members are all up for reelection, and it doesn’t help if they can’t show momentum on big issues.
• It will frustrate GOP leaders and President Trump if factions within the party scuttle the bill.

Keep up

• If you want to keep up with the latest on the Farm Bill, Politico’s Rachael Bade is a plugged in reporter and worth a follow.
• There’s also Matt Fuller, but he’s an acquired taste.

4. Plumbing up the leaks. 

• Remember all those crazy leak stories from last week?
• President Trump and Press Secretary Sarah Sanders finally had enough of it.
• The White House is cleaning house in the comms office, and some innocent people might get caught in the fray.
• Can’t blame them, though. The leaks were out of control.
• Don’t miss in Maggie Haberman’s NYT piece how this one guy apparently taped meetings with the president to show off to his friends.
• I mean, every politico has bragged, however sublty, about their special access to the boss, but come on.

4. Campaign update.

• McCarthy and Scalise are happy and energized now (maybe not Luke Messer so much) because the prospects for the Republicans maintaining their House Majority are getting stronger.
• Economic confidence is surging and with it, President Trump’s approval. Democrats keep electing far-left candidates. And even the Mueller investigation might become a campaign plus for the GOP, writes Alex Pappas.

New ads

• Rep. Martha Roby has a new TV ad touting her record to support military installations in Alabama.
• State Sen. Gerald Dial has a new jingle-y ad up for his race for Commissioner of Agriculture.
• Both have been added to the updated ad rundown. (Don’t forget to send me your ads)

Endorsements

• Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin endorsed Walt Maddox yesterday. Maddox has locked up a lot of endorsements from Democratic heavyweights.
• The NRA yesterday announced its endorsement of Gov. Kay Ivey and Attorney General Steve Marshall. I missed it at the time, but the NRA has also endorsed Rep. Martha Roby for her reelection. That’s the kind of thing you put in mailers to gun owners.

It has been a week so how about we all take a breather and come back to campaigns on Monday?

5. One fun thing: Laurel, Yanni… Covfefe?

• If you haven’t played the Laurel of Yanni game, it’s probably time you did.
• Like the “is the dress blue/black or gold/white” thing from a few years ago, the phenomenon is a play on how our senses perceive wavelengths differently.
• Yesterday, the White House got in on the game as figures from the West Wing took the test. You have to watch to the end for the finale, though. And don’t be embarrassed if you have to Google convfefe.
• Have a great weekend.

Headlines.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Updated: Candidates air TV ads.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – LBGT group rescinds Todd’s job offer after Ivey comment.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Woodfin endorses Maddox in governor’s race.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – More sex abuse charges filed against Alabama evangelist.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Ahead of Trump summit, Kim Jong Un crafts careful message.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Gina Haspel confirmed as CIA Director.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Rule would take U.S. funds from clinics discussing abortion.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Alabama’s ‘political punching bags’: Campaign rhetoric concerns LGBTQ community.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – LEAD Academy opening date hinges on Supreme Court ruling.

DOTHAN EAGLE – Key dates, information voters need to know before the June 5 primary.

DECATUR DAILY – State paying for outside legal help in court battles over Montgomery schools.

DECATUR DAILY – Officials confident Lawrence will see jobs from Toyota-Mazda suppliers.

GADSDEN TIMES – Columnist Rick Holmes:  Hard times in the Rust Belt.

ANNISTON STAR – After denials, RMC to close Jacksonville hospital June 30.

ANNISTON STAR – JSU to use Jacksonville hospital for nursing program, housing students.

ANNISTON STAR – The Anniston Star:  Rumors false, then true, about RMC Jacksonville.

OPELIKA-AUBURN NEWS – He just wanted a burger: Civil rights pioneer made history.

AL.COM – Randall Woodfin endorses ‘proven leader’ Walt Maddox for governor.

AL.COM – Patricia Todd’s job offer rescinded after Kay Ivey ‘gay’ tweet.

AL.COM – Gov. Kay Ivey, AG Steve Marshall get NRA endorsement.

AL.COM – Patricia Todd, Scott Dawson set to appear on ‘Matt and Aunie’ to discuss Kay Ivey backlash.

AL.COM – Parties retain seats in special elections for Alabama Legislature.

AL.COM – Febreze freshens up Alabama town after poop train rolls on.

AL.COM – Percent who say they are ‘satisfied’ with America’s direction at highest level since 2005.

AL.COM – Columnist Kyle Whitmire:  Show us your hand, Scott Dawson.

AL.COM – 90,000 Alabamians could be hit by food stamp changes.

AL.COM – How will allegations about Ivey’s personal life change the race for governor?

AL.COM – Columnist John Archibald:  Alabama paralysis will doom sports betting.

AL.COM – Mercedes slowly ramping up SUV production next week following supplier fire.

WASHINGTON POST – Union vote on Saturday could end ULA strike.

WASHINGTON POST – White House, House GOP leaders reopen talks on immigration.

WASHINGTON POST – Here’s how big a rock you’d have to drop into the ocean to see the rise in sea level happening now.

WASHINGTON POST – A robot helped a sick high school senior experience graduation from the hospital.

NEW YORK TIMES – Trump Administration to Tie Health Facilities’ Funding to Abortion Restrictions

Front pages (Images link to newspaper websites, which you should visit and patronize)