1. Doug Jones kicks off reelection campaign.

• Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones officially launched his reelection campaign Sunday night, casting himself as a moderate against Republican criticisms that he is too left-leaning.
• Invoking the campaign theme of “One Alabama,” Jones said he is a senator who represents all of Alabama and will fight for everyone in the state.
• “No matter the zip code you live in, your race, your religion, your disability, your economic status — no matter who you love— we all want to succeed in a world where no one, no one is left behind,” Jones said.
• The campaign kickoff comes less than 21 months after Jones won an improbable special election to succeed Jeff Sessions in the U.S. Senate. Of course, Jones’ success was due in part to the implosion of Roy Moore, the former Alabama chief justice who faced accusations of sexual misconduct and pursuing young women while in his 30s.
• This time around, Jones may not have the good fortune of facing Moore, whose popularity has waned among the Republican electorate in recent polls.
• The GOP has wasted no time targeting Jones. The National Republican Senatorial Committee purchased a truck billboard to drive around Birmingham all day attacking Jones for being “liberal” and “siding with socialists.”
• Jones acknowledged and responded to the socialist charge saying, “If that’s the best they’ve got… Bring it on.”
• “There is no way … if they look at my record they can say I’m a liberal.. I keep telling people. ‘I’m just Doug. I do what I think is right for the state.'”
• Congressman Bradley Byrne, who is among several Republicans vying to take on Jones next November, was more specific in rattling off the wedge issues that will likely come to define that general election.
• “Whether it was voting against Judge Kavanaugh, supporting on-demand abortions, or advocating for gun control, Doug is totally out of touch with Alabama,” Byrne said.
• Read the full story from Kim Chandler HERE.

 

2. Congress returns.

• They need to pass a National Defense Authorization Act, and there’s plenty of disagreement over the details from the House, Senate and White House. Border wall funding, the Space Force, our posture toward Iran, and the nuclear arsenal are among some of those sticking points. Read more at Defense News HERE.
• They need to fund the government. Last year, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby helped orchestrate some budget magic that saw Congress enact most appropriations bills on time for the first time in a long time. It remains to be seen whether they can pull it off again amid this year’s much more partisan atmosphere. The Senate Appropriations Committee will be marking up four of the 12 titles this week: Defense; Energy & Water; State & Foreign Ops; Labor/HHS/Education. Read more on that from Roll Call HERE.
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has signaled his priority will be to continue confirming Trump-appointed judges and administration officials. Dubbed the “Grim Reaper” for House-passed bills, McConnell embraces the criticism as a badge of honor.
• On the gun safety front, McConnell is taking a wait and see approach to determine what policy initiatives President Donald Trump will support and sign into law. Legislation on background checks and “red flag” mental health measures have been discussed, but won’t likely come to the floor until McConnell has assurances from the White House.
• “We’re in a discussion about what to do on the gun issue in the wake of these horrendous shootings. I said several weeks ago that if the president took a position on a bill so that we knew we would actually be making a law and not just having serial votes, I’d be happy to put it on the floor. And the administration is in the process of studying what they are prepared to support, if anything. And I expect to get an answer to that next week. If the president is in favor of a number of things that he has discussed openly and publicly, and I know that if we pass it it’ll become law, I’ll put it on the floor,” McConnell told Hugh Hewitt last week.
• Read more from AP’s Lisa Mascaro HERE and from the Washington Post’s Paul Kane HERE.

 

3. Ivanka Trump in Alabama Tuesday.

• Daughter and special adviser to the president Ivanka Trump will visit Alabama on Tuesday for a special workforce development announcement.
• The White House announced Trump will visit the Alabama Robotics Park in Decatur where the state’s community college system has partnered with outside industry to build a state-of-the-art training facility for workers in the robotics industry. Robotics are widely used in the automotive industry, and the park was cited as instrumental in recruiting the Mazda-Toyota auto manufacturing facility now under construction in nearby Huntsville.
• Trump is expected to announce new program opportunities related to workforce development and apprenticeship. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration announced a new Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship program through the Department of Labor that aims to help students and workers gain skills directly applicable to careers in the trades.
• In June, Ivanka Trump and Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta co-wrote an op-ed announcing the new program.
• “Our nation needs to empower more industries and professions to embrace apprenticeship opportunities… This program would enable industries to come together through associations, consortia, nonprofits and other mechanisms to offer skills education to American students and workers,” they wrote.
• Also, as you can see, Ivanka Trump is sporting a new hair cut.
• Read more HERE.

 

4. ICYMI.

• As ADN’s Mary Sell was first to report, Former Attorney General Troy King is running for Congress in AL-2;
• As Caroline Beck writes, a new report shows that Alabama ranks 44th in the nation when it comes to educational opportunities and performance;
• In states like Alabama with more restrictive abortion laws, more women are seeking abortions across state lines;
• The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles abruptly canceled more than 100 parole hearings scheduled for next week, citing unspecified concerns about victim notification;
• Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate says samples of Alabama’s hemp crop are in line with state law’s low THC levels.

5. AP Top 25 .

• The Southeastern Conference now has three of the top four spots in the Associated Press poll, and five of the top ten.
• LSU jumped from #6 to #4 after their big win over Texas Saturday, leap-frogging Oklahoma and Ohio State.
• Auburn moved up to #8 and Florida moved to #9 after Texas’ loss and Michigan’s poor performance against Army sent them down the polls.
• See those storylines and others along with the full poll results HERE.

 

News Briefs.

• TUSKEGEE, Ala. (AP) — Officials are trying to encourage more tourism in the Alabama city of Tuskegee and surrounding Macon County.
• The east Alabama town of 8,500 is home to Tuskegee University and Moton Field, where the nation’s first black military pilots trained during World War II. It’s also the birthplace of civil rights icon Rosa Parks.
• Leaders hope to capitalize on that history and more next month at what’s being called the inaugural African American/African Cultural Heritage Tourism Conference.
• News outlets report the town and Tuskegee University hope to bring the community together to promote cooperation and tourism in the area.
• University President Lily McNair says culture and tourism are growing areas, and the event could benefit the area.
• The five-day conference opens Oct. 4. It will feature speakers and events around town.

• WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Saturday he canceled a secret weekend meeting at Camp David with Taliban and Afghanistan leaders after a bombing in the past week in Kabul that killed 12 people, including an American soldier, and has called off peace negotiations with the insurgent group.
• Trump’s tweet was surprising because it would mean that the president was ready to host members of the Taliban at the presidential retreat in Maryland just days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. More than 2,400 U.S. troops have been killed since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan to go after the Taliban, which were harboring al-Qaida leaders responsible for 9/11.
• “Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the major Taliban leaders and, separately, the President of Afghanistan, were going to secretly meet with me at Camp David on Sunday,” Trump tweeted Saturday evening.
• “They were coming to the United States tonight. Unfortunately, in order to build false leverage, they admitted to an attack in Kabul that killed one of our great great soldiers, and 11 other people. I immediately cancelled the meeting and called off peace negotiations,” he wrote.
• Full story HERE.

• OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and lawyers representing local governments both said Sunday that they’re interested in continuing negotiations to settle lawsuits over the toll of the opioid crisis a day after two state attorneys general told colleagues that their talks with the company were at an impasse and that they expected the company to file imminently for bankruptcy.
• The statements add another layer of uncertainty to attempts to strike a deal with a company that’s portrayed as a prime villain in the national opioid crisis.
• In a statement, the company said, “negotiations continue and we remain dedicated to a resolution that genuinely advances the public interest.”
• The company said it is prepared to defend itself in litigation, but that “Purdue Pharma believes a settlement that benefits the American public now is a far better path than years of wasteful litigation and appeals.”
• Earlier in the day, Paul Hanly, a lead lawyer for the group of local governments, unions, hospitals and others suing the drug industry in federal court, said in a statement that any breakdown in talks didn’t represent his group of clients.
• Those plaintiffs, he said, “will continue to explore resolution of our clients’ claims against Purdue and the Sacklers, whether with or without the states and within or without bankruptcy court.”
• A bankruptcy filing, if it happens, could change the landscape instantly for a complicated series of lawsuits.
• Full story HERE.

 

Headlines.

 

 

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