1. Trump is coming to Bama

• In case you haven’t heard, President Donald Trump is ready for some football.
• He’s coming to the Alabama-LSU game Saturday in Bryant Denny Stadium. It was first reported by Sports Illustrated.
• Trump has been in the sporting mood lately. Saturday will be his third visit to a high-profile sporting event in as many weeks. Last month Trump attended Game 5 of the World Series in Washington, and he traveled to New York on Saturday to watch an Ultimate Fighting Championship match at Madison Square Garden.
• Unfortunately, all this was announced after Nick Saban had concluded his press conference for the day, so there was no opportunity to get a priceless reaction from the Crimson Tide head coach. No doubt he is thrilled about all the outside distractions coming to Tuscaloosa this weekend.
• Honestly, I’m not sure the state can handle it. There could very well be a red-lit gravitational singularity in Bryant-Denny come sundown Saturday.
• Just want to say good luck and best wishes to all the state politicians trying to squeeze in a selfie with President Trump this weekend.

 

2. Graddick: Release is not a right

• Parole hearings resume in Alabama today after a two-month delay.
• Board of Pardons and Paroles Director Charlie Graddick stressed Monday that release from prison before a sentence is complete is not due all inmates.
• “People think that every inmate has the right to be considered for parole, they have the right to be calculated under a certain formula whether or not to be brought up to be considered for parole, but they’ve got to earn that parole right,” Graddick told reporters from the lobby of the board’s new rented space in east Montgomery.
• “We are charged to protect the public in this state from people reoffending,” Graddick, a former judge and Alabama attorney general, said. “We’ve got to look at their risk and that is the board’s responsibility.”
• He also said Alabama’s crowded prisons should not play into the board’s decisions.
• Read the full story from ADN’s Caroline Beck HERE.

 

 

3. Inside Alabama Politics

• The Jeff Sessions question (with polling and whatnot);
• A whole new ballgame in the AL-2 race;
• Who’s after Montgomery Probate Judge job;
• The next big legislative special election;
• Latest unaccompanied minors numbers;
• What’s happening in the Tyson fish kill case;
• The Medical Marijuana issue could get interesting;
• On prison reform, county jails could complicate matters; and
• A court battle in the making.

 

 

4. Elections in 4 states offer tests of 2020 voter enthusiasm

• Gubernatorial and legislative elections in four states Tuesday will test voter enthusiasm and party organization amid impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump and a fevered Democratic presidential primary scramble.
• Results in Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia won’t necessarily predict whether Trump will be reelected or which party will control Congress after the general election next fall.
• However, they will be a barometer for how parties are getting their voters to the polls one year out of the big 2020 election.
• Read more from our old friend Bill Barrow HERE.

 

 

5. Dana Beyerle: Looking back on Iran in 1979

• Iran on Monday broke further away from its collapsing 2015 nuclear deal with world powers by doubling the number of advanced centrifuges it operates.
• The announcement — which also included Iran saying it now has a prototype centrifuge that works 50 times faster than those allowed under the deal — came as demonstrators across the country marked the 40th anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover that started a 444-day hostage crisis.
• Dana Beyerle, who spent decades as one of the most respected State House reporters in Alabama, remembers that time 40 years ago.
• In fact, he had a crazy experience with the Iranian regime as a young reporter trying to break the big story back in those days.
• In a new column for Alabama Daily News, Dana is sharing his story.
• Here’s an excerpt:

• Read Dan Beyerle’s full column HERE.

 

 

Headlines.

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