Good morning! I’ll be honest, I’m a little hop’d up on cold medicine so forgive me if I get a little loopy. Here’s your Daily News for Monday, June 11, 2018. 

1. All eyes on Trump & Kim as summit begins.

President Trump arrived in Singapore last night where his summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is set to begin today.

It’s kind of crazy how we got here – Rocket Man taunts, Olympic side eye, big secret envelopes. But, here we are and there are a few things you should know to be smart on the subject.

Below are some of the best reads you can use to be informed about the most important subject in the world right now.

• David Sanger and Troy Griggs of the New York Times go through the Nine Steps Really Required to Disarm North Korea.
• Alex Smith at NBC News looks at North Korea through the lens of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and tries to figure out what he means by saying the U.S. could offer “unique assurances” to the rogue nation.
• What about the South Koreans? Brian Murphy of the Washington Post analyzes where South Korean President Moon Jae-In stands and how he has held these delicate peace talks together.
• Shadows of Iran? President Trump just nixed the Iran nuclear deal, to the applause of many. The stakes and issues are not identical here, but what if he can’t get a better deal than Obama got with Iran, Politico asks.

2. NYT looks at gambling in Alabama. 

• Lotteries, casinos, sports betting – all the gambling iterations you can think of are likely to be public policy issues debated in the next term of the Alabama Legislature.
• Of course, that means they should be policy issues discussed publicly during the campaign.
• That hasn’t happened a whole lot yet, but it will.
• Setting the table is Alan Blinder of the New York Times, who takes a bit of an outsider’s look (he went to school in Tuscaloosa) at the gambling issue and what Alabama’s policymakers could be grappling with in the years to come.
• Read his piece HERE.

3. Axon confirmed to federal bench. 

• The U.S. Senate has confirmed Annemarie Carney Axon to serve as District Judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
• Axon is a Mountain Brook native and a partner at Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff & Brandt, LLC, where she has concentrated on fiduciary and probate litigation.
• Sen. Richard Shelby congratulated Axon, the first of five Trump nominations to the federal bench in Alabama awaiting confirmation.
• “Annemarie Axon is exceptionally qualified to be a U.S. district judge,” Shelby said. “Her strong, respectful temperament and commitment to impartiality make her well-suited for this esteemed position.”
• During her appearance before the Judiciary Committee, Axon said, “our democracy demands an independent judiciary whose decisions are based exclusively on the law, as it is written.”
• She assured senators that she would conduct herself and her courtroom ”in a manner that strives to leave people with the conviction that they were treated fairly, respectfully, and that they followed the law, regardless of the outcome.”
• Congratulations!

4. Marshall takes census argument to DC

• Attorney General Steve Marshall was in Washington late last week making the case for his lawsuit attempting to change the way Census figures are tabulated.
• As Gannett correspondent Deborah Berry reports, Marshall testified before the House Judiciary Committee urging Members to support the state’s push for the Census not to count undocumented immigrants when deciding the number of congressional seats for each state.
• “Not only would this skewed result rob the state of Alabama and its legal residents of their rightful share of representation, but it plainly undermines the rule of law,” Marshall told the House Judiciary’s subcommittee on Constitution and Civil Justice.
• “If an individual’s presence in our country is in violation of federal law, the question is why should the states in which they reside benefit from their illegal status?”
• Marshall’s testimony caught the attention of some immigration activists, including at Mother Jones and Talking Points Memo.
• TPM Tierra Sneed writes:

“His lawsuit is parallel to the push for a census citizenship question, but if successful, could have just as drastic of an effect, if not more. Whereas the Trump administration has claimed it needs census citizenship data for Voting Rights Act enforcement (a claim viewed skeptically by voting rights activists), the Alabama lawsuit explicitly seeks to exclude undocumented immigrants from how U.S. congressional seats are apportioned.”

5. I wrote a column.

• Here’s my latest column: Election yields few surprises, sets up interesting runoffs. 
• If you were reading along with Alabama Daily News throughout last week’s elections, you’ll find a lot of it pretty familiar.
• Still, I’d appreciate you giving it a read and, if you are so inclined, sharing it with others.
• If you’re a newspaper publisher or editor, please feel free to print it. All I ask is that you include my slugline at the end (including the hyperlink for any online story).

Headlines.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – UAB to pay $25k per game to lease downtown stadium.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – University of Alabama increases tuition at system campuses.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Annemarie Axon confirmed to federal bench in Alabama.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Final preparations made for Trump-Kim summit.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Agent saw security lapses at Florida school before massacre.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Auburn beats Florida 3-2 in walk-off single, evens series. 

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Justice delayed: Forensic scientists face crushing backlog that clogs judicial system.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Data analysis: who owns the homes demolished by the city?

DOTHAN EAGLE – Juvenile crime puts a strain on county budgets.

DOTHAN EAGLE – Columnist Carl Leubsdorf:  Will this president defy the law?

DOTHAN EAGLE – Contributor Ed Rogers:  The Trump-Sessions relationship could be at a breaking point.

AL.COM – The fight over arming teachers could define Alabama political races this fall.

AL.COM – Birmingham mayor names city’s first LGBTQ liaison.

AL.COM – Alabama school system files lawsuit against university.

AL.COM – Disowned GOP candidate Jim Bonner seeks money for possible recount.

AL.COM – Columnist Cameron Smith:  Bury my heart in the Gulf of Mexico.

AL.COM – Contributor Frances Coleman:  So you’re depressed. Welcome to the club (and it’s a big one).

AL.COM – Columnist John Archibald:  Alabama Legislature’s moral watchdog now faces the pen.

ANNISTON STAR – Veterans of Korean War hope summit brings peace.

ANNISTON STAR – The Anniston Star:  Gay wedding-cake ruling narrow enough for both sides to celebrate.

ANNISTON STAR – The Alabama effect of Trump’s trade war.

CULLMAN TIMES – Veterans Treatment Court shaping up for Cullman area.

CULLMAN TIMES – Family of Stephen Griffith donates $25,000 to Cullman Area Mental Health.

DAILY MOUNTAIN EAGLE – Ed Howell:  Election ends with a bang.

DAILY MOUNTAIN EAGLE – It’s Tallulah time.

ANDALUSIA STAR NEWS – Contributor Nancy Blackmon:  Should politicians consider biblical teachings?

LAGNIAPPE – State plan to arm administrators catches educators off guard.

LAGNIAPPE – Sons of Confederate Veterans unveil new monument in Spanish Fort.

GADSDEN TIMES – Project SEARCH makes transition to adulthood easier for those with special needs.

DECATUR DAILY – School safety panel will not look at guns, DeVos says.

DECATUR DAILY – Drones’ role in agriculture increasing.

DECATUR DAILY – Arrest of second Morgan lawmaker described as ‘embarrassing,’ not reflective of area.

DECATUR DAILY – In the money: PACs pick campaign favorites.

DECATUR DAILY – Lottery vote gets support from some local GOP lawmakers.

FLORENCE TIMES DAILY – Aging Alabama needs an army of millennial nurses.

FLORENCE TIMES DAILY – Workforce Readiness Institute for Educators begins Tuesday.

FLORENCE TIMES DAILY – Character counts, even in politics.

WASHINGTON POST – Trump accuses Canadian leader of being ‘dishonest’ and ‘weak’.

WASHINGTON POST – Goodbye to net neutrality. Hello to an even-bigger AT&T?

WASHINGTON POST – Trump removes U.S. from G-7 joint statement over escalating feud with Canada’s Trudeau.

WASHINGTON POST – ‘They just took them?’ Frantic parents separated from their kids fill courts on the border.

WASHINGTON POST – Cavity country:  Rural America has too few dentists — and too few patients who can pay.

NEW YORK TIMES – In the Trump Administration, Science Is Unwelcome. So Is Advice.

NEW YORK TIMES – How Good Is the Trump Economy, Really?

NEW YORK TIMES – Justice Dept. Won’t Defend DACA in Texas-Led Lawsuit

NEW YORK TIMES – ‘Drama, Action, Emotional Power’: As Exhausted Aides Eye the Exits, Trump Is Re-Energized

NEW YORK TIMES – Columnist Nicholas Kristof:  North Korea, Trump and Human Rights

NEW YORK TIMES – Alabama’s Longtime Hostility to Gambling Shows Signs of Fading. 

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