7. Manchin: Keep Iran sanctions in place 

• President Joe Biden’s administration is considering a new nuclear deal with Iran, but U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) is calling for sanctions to not be lifted and no deal be made. Manchin pushed to keep sanctions in place in a new letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 
• Manchin said, “[W]e should not reward Iran with sanctions relief before they demonstrate verifiable efforts towards curbing their malign influence holistically; including their nuclear ambitions, terrorism financing, and dual-use-weapons development.” Manchin went on to mention the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which he said “is a terrorist organization.” He added, “We must not be shortsighted in the use of sanctions relief to mitigate our present energy challenges.” 

6. Lew Burdette wants the old out

• Gubernatorial candidate Lew Burdette has released a new television ad for his campaign. In announcing the release, he said, “It’s time to be out with the old and in with the new. He also promised to “bring new energy and new leadership to Alabama.”
• In the ad, Burdette is on a football field saying, “In Alabama, we love our football, don’t we? If any of our coaches performed like lifetime politicians in Montgomery, would any of them have a job at the end of the season? No! Just like this old football here, it’s time to be out with the old and in with the new.”

5. Alabama will receive a settlement in opioid epidemic case

• Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that Alabama has been granted settlements from multiple pharmaceutical companies that were involved in the opioid epidemic. The settlements will total $276 million from Endo Pharmaceutical, Johnson & Johnson, and McKesson.
• There are three remaining claims with Purdue Pharma, Insys Therapeutics, and Mallinckrodt. Marshall said the current “settlement agreements affirm my decision to decline participation in the national opioid settlements, which do not adequately acknowledge the unique harm that Alabamians have endured and would have redirected millions of dollars to bigger states that experienced a less severe impact.”

4. No Way, Jose

• On the heels of the attention Governor Kay Ivey is receiving for her latest gimmicky campaign ad on illegal immigration, the governor has announced that she was joining the newly-formed American Governors’ Border Strike Force with 25 of her fellow governors.
• Ivey accurately decried President Joe Biden’s lack of leadership at the border and said it is time for action. She stated, “Last year, illegal border crossings surged to a 20-year high, which also means we have dangerous drugs flowing into our country.” She added, “Here in Alabama, we’re going to enforce the law, and I’m proud to join my fellow governors on this mission to protect our states and nation. We will continue doing all we can here in Alabama to protect our border and our citizens.” Other than sending National Guard troops to the border, it is not clear what Ivey has done on the issue besides cut a great ad.

3. Biden administration to challenge the ruling striking down the mask mandate

• The Department of Justice announced that they would not challenge the mask order unless the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tells them to. A few hours later, the DOJ announced that it would challenge the ruling.
• The court battle will be over whether or not the CDC could extend the order until May 3. The argument they used to extend the order was to allow for more time for science to be collected on the matter. The order had been in place for 441 days, so the CDC thinks waiting two more weeks was needed to decide whether the order works.

2. Mask mandates at airports are dropping

• After a federal judge moved to block the federal mask mandate that applied to travel, such as on buses and airplanes, some, but not all, airports followed suit. Now, Alabama airports are quickly moving to drop mask requirements throughout the state.
• Airports in Huntsville, Birmingham, Mobile and Montgomery have all removed their mask requirements. While airports are removing requirements, airlines are also following suit. Mobile Airport Authority president Chris Curry said, “It’s just a matter of removing the signs around the airport. I still expect about 30% of passengers will still be wearing masks.”

1. Trump rally canceled in Birmingham

• President Donald Trump had been ready to hold a rally in Birmingham on June 18, but this event has been postponed for what were called “unforeseen circumstances.” Trump is expected to travel to Mobile for an event on July 9. This could mean there is no endorsement coming in the U.S. Senate race.
• Trump’s event that had been scheduled for Birmingham was highly anticipated since it was scheduled only three days before the potential U.S. Senate runoff election. Trump is expected to endorse either Mike Durant or Katie Britt in the current race since previously removing his endorsement from U.S. Representative Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville).