Good morning! Here’s your Daily News for Monday, May 7.

1. Lights, camera, action: Updated ad rundown. 

• If last week’s polling showed us anything, it’s that most of the candidates for statewide office have some work to do in raising their visibility amongst the electorate.
• For better or worse, the most effective way to do that is through television advertising.
• With less than a month to go until the June 5 primary elections, it’s go time if you want your TV ad campaign to penetrate.
• I’ve updated my rundown of TV ads from all the major candidates HERE.
• New additions include ads from all four AG candidates (Alice Martin, Chess Bedsole, Troy King & Steve Marshall), and Lt. Gov candidate Rusty Glover. Plus, I’ve taken the existing ads and embedded them all in one place so it is easy to compare.
• Don’t see your ad? I probably haven’t received it! Shoot me an email at [email protected] with a YouTube link and some information about your ad buy.
• I’ll also be creating a new rundown for State Senate and House races this week, so please send me those ads as well!

2. Alice Martin’s Bentley interview problem gets worse. 

• AP’s Kim Chandler obtained emails showing that Alice Martinsought the Attorney General appointment from former Gov. Robert Bentley even before Luther Strange vacated the post. That story HERE.
• Why is that news? A few reasons…
• First, Martin has repeatedly downplayed her interest in the Bentley appointment saying it wasn’t really an interview, etc. The issue came to a head last month on the “Matt & Aunie” radio show when the hosts confronted Martin about her past statements on air. Chandler’s reporting only makes that severely awkward interview sound worse.
• Second, Martin now has conflicting versions of when she was and wasn’t leading the investigation of Bentley.
• Her statement to Chandler says she “played no active role” in investigating Bentley after seeking the appointment. That would mean January 26, 2017, the day she sent an email asking for an interview.
• But Martin has previously talked a lot about leading the investigation far past that. She spoke at length about it on her first Murphy show appearance. Then, she told a GOP crowd in Butler County, “I never asked for anything from Robert Bentley on an appointment. By law, just as Kay Ivey became your governor, when Bentley appointed Strange to the Senate, I by law became your acting Attorney General. But, it only lasted about 36 hours because I was leading the Bentley investigation.”
• And when Matt Murphy asked Martin about the propriety of her asking Bentley for an appointment while investigating him, she said if it was okay for Strange it was okay for her. Not that she was no longer leading the investigation, just that it was ethically passable.
• So once again, Martin is in conflict with the public record and her past statements.
• I don’t get it. This is such an unforced error.
• Why play down interest in the Bentley appointment when there are records showing otherwise?
• Why play up leadership of the Bentley investigation only to later say you played no active role?
• This sticky issue just became a lot stickier, I’m afraid.

 A SPECIAL OFFER FROM THE MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER

• I’m pleased to announce that The Montgomery Advertiser is offering a special introductory gift with a discounted subscription rate for Alabama Daily News readers.
• As you know, The Advertiser is Alabama’s largest daily and the paper of record for the Capital City. Smart, insightful stories from Brian Lyman often set the pace for Alabama political news.
• Subscribe today to get unlimited access to The Advertiser on all platforms – mobile, desktop, and in print.
• This offer is only for Alabama Daily News subscribers who currently do not have an Advertiser subscription and is only available for a limited time.
• Click HERE to take advantage of this offer now.

3. Supreme Court: Montgomery school sale can go forward.

• The Alabama Supreme Court has cleared the way for the state to sell a Montgomery county school as part of its turnaround plan for the state’s most troubled system.
• Members of the Montgomery Board of Education and the Alabama Education Association sued to stop the sale of Georgia Washington Middle School.
• Last month, Interim State Superintendent Ed Richardson said those “delaying tactics” would force the state to cut as many as 200 teachers jobs and layoff 400 support personnel.
• The ruling would seem to allow Richardson’s turnaround plan to go forward.
• It also could portend how the Court is likely to rule on AEA’s suit to block Montgomery’s first public charter school.
• LEAD Academy has sought the same expedited ruling from the court, so it’s possible a ruling could be coming sooner rather than later.
• Read more from AP HERE.
• Read Andrew Yawn’s report for the Montgomery Advertiser HERE.
• ALSO Read new State Superintendent Eric Mackey’s Q&A sesh with the Advertiser HERE.

4. Big week for Trump Admin on international front. 

The Trump Administration faces important tests internationally this week.

• Iran: President Trump will decide this week whether the United States will stay in the Iranian nuclear deal or pull out. Given all he has said, plus the revelations from last week, chances are we are pulling out.
• North Korea: The White House is supposed to confirm the plans for a summit between North Korean, South Korean, and American leaders over North Korea’s nuclear program. Some are saying North Korea’s nuclear problem is far more complicated and harder to deal with than Iran’s, so that’s encouraging.
• Israel: Plans are underway to officially move the American embassy to Jerusalem. Many see this as a long-overdue move, but it could cause an uptick in violence in the region.

That’s a lot of plates to be spinning at once. Good thing Secretary of State Pompeo was confirmed.

Also, if he needs any help, there’s always Rudy Giuliani.

5. One fun thing: the two Jason Isbells.

• My friend and well-travelled Alabama politico Jason Isbell made a Facebook post the other night about going to see his namesake in concert. Political Jason Isbell is something of a singer, too, so there’s a more than one connection, you see.
• It helps to have friends – or friends of friends – in high places. My friend Taylor Hill, who is a photographer in New York, saw the post and shared it with the tour manager, who invited political Jason Isbell back stage to meet rock star Jason Isbell.
• “We straight up talked about pronouncing our name and genealogy more than anything. I told him I was glad he’s holding up the namesake so well. It can’t be a easy for the not so famous Harvey Weisteins of the world after all. He cracked up.”
• I thought it was pretty cool. Read Izzy’s facebook post HERE.

Headlines.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Updated: On the Air: Rundown of Candidates TV ads.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Fundraising reports: major candidates.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Martin sought AG appointment from Bentley while investigating him.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Re-enactment of 1963 ‘children’s crusade’ set in Birmingham.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Cavanaugh leads fundraising in Lt. Governor primary.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Court clears way for sale of Montgomery school.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Ivey’s GOP challengers release health information.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS: Immigration detention prolonged in Alabama’s ‘black hole’.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Why this guy picks his girlfriend up in a different themed car every day.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS -Coast Guard responds to barge fire near Mobile.  

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Hawaii volcano spews lava 200 feet high, destroys dozens of homes.  

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Giuliani confounds, contradicts as he defends Trump in the media.

AL.COM – Columnist John Archibald:  Donors betting on Alabama’s second in command.

AL.COM – Donald Trump Jr.: ‘No more fumbles like Alabama’ in West Virginia Senate race.

AL.COM – Rosie O’Donnell donations to Doug Jones campaign exceeded federal legal limit.

AL.COM – How Alabama lawmakers swung and missed on civil asset forfeiture.

AL.COM – Huntsville’s nLogic named Boeing’s Supplier of the Year.

AL.COM – Fire at Michigan supplier plant halts some production at Mercedes.

AL.COM – Columnist Dana McCain:  Christian women: Not your punching bag.

ATHENS NEWS COURIER – Independent in mix for House 4 seat.

CULLMAN TIMES – Bussman, Gudger on the issues.

SELMA TIMES JOURNAL – Drug court helps addicts get new chance at life.

TROY MESSENGER – AWARDING EXCELLENCE: Gov. Kay Ivey speaks at Chamber Banquet.

ANDALUSIA STAR NEWS – Memorial to lynching victims includes 5 from county.

ROLLING STONE – On a Hill in Alabama, the Lynched Haunt Us

DECATUR DAILY – United Launch Alliance workers on strike.

TUSCALOOSA NEWS – Former Alabama football star graduates after 15 years in prison.

GADSDEN TIMES – Etowah Detention center called a ‘black hole’.

MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER – Autauga schools consider non-lethal weapons in classrooms.

WASHINGTON POST – Republicans whose jobs once seemed safe are struggling for a 2018 survival strategy.

NEW YORK TIMES – In Fight Against Violent Crime, Justice Dept. Targets Low-Level Gun Offenders.

NEW YORK TIMES – Giuliani Says Trump Would Not Have to Comply With Mueller Subpoena

NEW YORK TIMES – Trump Says He Got Rid of Obamacare. The I.R.S. Doesn’t Agree.

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