POLITICO Playbook: NIKKI HALEY goes where men feared to tread

Good Tuesday morning. GAME CHANGE -- " Inside the Republican reversal on the Confederate flag," by Eli Stokols and Katie Glueck: "After a weekend that proved to be a political disaster for the GOP ... party officials and several campaigns quickly fell in line behind the decision to remove the flag. And for South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Lindsey Graham, ... the wrenching debate provided an opportunity, both politically and economically. ... Haley, an Indian-American just starting her second term, and Tim Scott, the first African-American senator from a Southern state who she appointed in 2013, have emerged as the faces of South Carolina's new Republican Party.

"While they point to their electoral success as evidence of a changing state, they've still been torn between competing interests - party stalwarts who cling to the Confederate flag as an important symbol of their heritage and pro-business critics who say the flag's shadow is holding the state back." https://politi.co/1BIFdao

By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; mallen@politico.com), and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; dlippman@politico.com)

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--PLAYBOOK IN-BOX - From a top GOP operative: "Nikki Haley just catapulted herself to the top of the veep list."

--HOW IT'S PLAYING : L.A. Times, top of A1, cols. 1-5, "Hate may bring down a flag" ... WSJ A1, cols. 2-5: "Governor: Time to Furl Flag" ... NYT 2-col. lead, "Governor Joins the Call To Take Down Rebel Flag: Noting South Carolina's Pain, Haley Wants Symbol Gone From Capitol Grounds" ... USA Today lead story, "SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR: 'MOVE THE FLAG': State's leader acknowledges 'tough history' on racial issues" ... WP 1-col. lead, "Rebel flag must go, says S.C. governor."

FIRST LOOK - The RNC is leaning into the data wars, launching @RNCdata today - RNC chief of staff Katie Walsh to email friends: "Today, we are launching a new twitter handle, @RNCData, designed to keep you and other interested parties updated on our data on a daily basis. This will allow our closest friends and allies to have regular insight into where we are and how we can work better together."

--"How a 25-Year-Old Blogger Took Down Apple," by Time's Jack Dickey: Taylor "Swift has benefited from a cultural change-many millennials are more sympathetic to corporations than their predecessors might have been." https://ti.me/1Rse5hq

STRATEGERY -- "Scott Walker's $20 million push to lay groundwork for presidential run," by WashPost's Jenna Johnson, Matea Gold and Philip Rucker in Madison: "To build a war chest for his all-but-official presidential campaign, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has been inviting wealthy prospective donors here for a series of private, leisurely dinners - 10 to 20 people at a time - at the top of the Edgewater, a luxury hotel with sweeping views of this capital city. ... But the reaction to his likely candidacy has been notably cooler in another key venue, New York City, where Walker has struggled to make inroads among the powerful and monied financial community - in part because of his strident opposition to gay marriage and other positions on social issues.

"One billionaire hedge fund manager got into a long argument with Walker over same-sex marriage and then pulled his support because of it ... The contrast highlights the central challenge facing Walker as he prepares to formally begin his campaign next month: how to expand his aw-shucks, socially conservative Midwestern appeal to the broader Republican Party and to the country as a whole." https://wapo.st/1Ngd6R5

AMY CHOZICK COSMO PROFILE - "How I Got the Hillary Clinton Beat at The New York Times": "Chozick's life is almost entirely dictated by Hillary Clinton. The New York Times reporter was a member of both Clinton and Barack Obama's traveling press in 2008 and is back on the Clinton beat this election cycle. Chozick's byline now appears regularly on the Times front page, but the Texas native knew almost nothing about politics when she started covering Clinton. She talked to Cosmopolitan.com about starting at the bottom, why there's no such thing as a boring journalism job, and her suspicion that she's on a terrorist watch list." https://bit.ly/1HayvMv

--2016 PLAYERS - "Hillary ... Hired Julian Castro's Senior Advisor," by BuzzFeed's Adrian Carrasquillo: "Clinton has hired Betsaida Alcantara as director of media planning ... Alcantara, 31, served as a senior advisor to Julian Castro at ... HUD... where she headed the communications team." https://bzfd.it/1Li4dHI

"BRIAN AND I ARE GOOD" -- LESTER HOLT, on his second night as anchor of the renamed "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt," will anchor tonight from the NBC News Washington bureau on Nebraska Avenue, after some meetings there today. We had a brief phone conversation with Lester two and a half hours before his debut last night. (Hope he didn't mind the poppy L.A. Fitness soundtrack in the background - or our run to the locker room mid-conversation to grab a phone charger as we plunged to 2%.)

--On the role of evening newscasts: "[A]t the end of the day, people ... want to come back to newscasts like ours because you get a half hour of the hits, runs, and errors of the day, with perspective. And I think that the evening news broadcasts are still viable -- and probably more necessary than ever -- in a very noisy environment."

--On what will change: "We're taking the broadcast on the road more to big stories like the Baltimore riots, like the Amtrak crash ... And we're taking the broadcast to California to strengthen our exposure on the West Coast. Those are some of the things that were done early on to play to my strengths and my desires, and we'll continue to tweak.

"But here's the bigger headline: This broadcast that I came aboard was already in really good shape. Obviously, it's a tight, competitive environment. But this is a strong program with a strong staff, and so it didn't require wholesale change. I'm mindful that we've got a loyal audience ... But, over time, I'm sure it will change. It's hard to articulate to you right now how, but it will."

--On his message when he addressed his staff yesterday: "I just had a few words thanking them for their perseverance and for keeping their heads up and maintaining the standards of the broadcasts. My biggest message was just to take care of each other and watch out for each other. I wanted them to know, and they already knew, that ... as we go into this new chapter, there are a lot of eyes still on this organization after what we've been through ... [W]e're still under a lot of scrutiny ... But everyone is performing admirably."

--On talking to Brian Williams: "Brian and I spoke shortly after the announcement last week. It was a terrific conversation. We both recognized that we had been wanting to pick up the phone and call each other but that there was certainly a fair amount of awkwardness. But we are friends -- none of this comes between the two of us. I thanked him for his support that he has expressed publicly and privately. And I let him know that we value him and we care about him and I wish him nothing but the best. I would characterize it by saying that Brian and I are good."

** A message from Qualcomm: The car of the future will be full of exciting and useful technology. Enhanced safety, in-car wireless charging, 3D navigation, and improved infotainment options are just some of the ways Qualcomm is already making the fully connected car a reality. Why Wait?. https://bit.ly/1Gw9FCU **

VOTE FOR #PLAYBOOKNEW10: Jeanette Rankin, Eleanor Roosevelt, Abigail Adams, Henrietta Lacks, Susan B. Anthony, Helen Keller, Martha Rountree, Alice Paul, Nellie Tayloe Ross, and Sojourner Truth. Some of our contestants included Wayne Berman, Michelle Jaconi, Jake Tapper, Sara Bonjean and Jon Allen. Vote for your favorite: https://bit.ly/1Iwc7Ii

--BEN BERNANKE on Brookings.edu, "Say it ain't so, Jack": "[A] better solution is available: Replace Andrew Jackson, a man of many unattractive qualities and a poor president, on the twenty dollar bill. Given his views on central banking, Jackson would probably be fine with having his image dropped." https://brook.gs/1QNeD6y

FOURTH QUARTER -- "White House climate strategy hits its stride," by Andrew Restuccia: "The EPA on Friday proposed new fuel efficiency rules for heavy-duty trucks, the agency recently took the first step toward cutting airplane emissions, and its planning to curb methane emissions from new oil and gas operations. That's on top of the Interior Department's plans to regulate hydraulic fracturing on federal lands, EPA's proposal to veer the country's ethanol trajectory away from Congress' goals, and new water rules that have enraged agricultural groups." https://politi.co/1eFAaxd

--NYT A14, "White House Memo: Obama Lowers His Guard in Unusual Displays of Emotion," by Julie Hirschfeld Davis: "President Obama, whose cool, no-drama style has for years set him apart from the extroverted politicians so common in Washington, has been getting emotional lately. It has happened at the White House and on Capitol Hill as he makes the case for parts of his legacy that are at risk, like his health care law and trade agenda, or when he speaks about slain hostages, civilians killed by drones and racially motivated shootings. Longtime colleagues say they are witnessing a more human side of the commander in chief than they have seen before." https://nyti.ms/1fvBS4p

HILL HAPPENINGS -- "House conservatives lash out at Boehner's 'culture of punishment,'" by Lauren French and Jake Sherman: "The group is irate at what one called a 'culture of punishment' that ... Boehner's leadership team has instituted against dissenting members - most recently the removal of Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) from a subcommittee chairmanship after he bucked Republican leaders on an important procedural vote. ... The more credible threat by House conservatives would be to begin voting with Democrats on procedural motions, which would effectively block GOP leaders from advancing favored legislation." https://politi.co/1NgdT4n

DAVID BROOKS, "Fracking and the Franciscans: What Pope Francis misses": "[O]ver all the encyclical is surprisingly disappointing. Legitimate warnings about the perils of global warming morph into 1970s-style doom-mongering about technological civilization. ... Hardest to accept, though, is the moral premise implied throughout the encyclical: that the only legitimate human relationships are based on compassion, harmony and love, and that arrangements based on self-interest and competition are inherently destructive. ... You would never know from the encyclical that we are living through the greatest reduction in poverty in human history....

"You would never know that in many parts of the world, like the United States, the rivers and skies are getting cleaner. ... Fracking has ... been an enormous boon to the nation's wealth and the well-being of its people. ... [I]f we had followed his line of analysis, neither the Asian economic miracle nor the technology-based American energy revolution would have happened." https://nyti.ms/1SFxeyW

ATLANTIC's new cover story, "A World Without Work: For centuries, experts have predicted that machines would make workers obsolete. That moment may finally be arriving. Could that be a good thing?" by Derek Thompson: "When [economists and technologists] peer deeply into labor-market data, they see troubling signs, masked for now by a cyclical recovery. And when they look up from their spreadsheets, they see automation high and low-robots in the operating room and behind the fast-food counter.

"They imagine self-driving cars snaking through the streets and Amazon drones dotting the sky, replacing millions of drivers, warehouse stockers, and retail workers. They observe that the capabilities of machines-already formidable-continue to expand exponentially, while our own remain the same. And they wonder: Is any job truly safe?" https://theatln.tc/1eFA9JL ... See the cover. https://bit.ly/1IbGpUJ

PIC DU JOUR - "Smiling Ronald Reagan statue revealed in California Capitol" https://yhoo.it/1H9W8CX

REMEMBERING WALTER SCHEIB -- "Ex-White House chef Scheib remembered for magnificent meals" - AP/Taos: "From spending more than a decade preparing food for some of the world's most influential people as the White House executive chef to appearing on the Food Network's 'Iron Chef America' show in 2006, Walter Scheib is being remembered for his culinary creations and charity work. Scheib's body was found Sunday night after a weeklong search that started when his girlfriend reported him missing." https://yhoo.it/1eFAsnN

"CAMPBELL BROWN to Launch Non-Profit Education News Site That Won't Shy From Advocacy," by WSJ's Lukas I. Alpert: "Next month, Ms. Brown will be launching a non-profit, education-focused news site called The Seventy Four, which she says refers to the 74 million school-age children in classrooms across the U.S. ... The site - which will launch July 13 with 13 employees - is well-funded, with an annual budget of $4 million." https://on.wsj.com/1LqRzHd ... Link to release https://bit.ly/1CqmPhd

LIST DU JOUR - "A state-by-state look at governors' trade trips abroad" - AP: https://yhoo.it/1Iw7fD1

SILICON VALLEY FYI -- "Facebook gaining ground on YouTube in video ads," by Reuters' Eric Auchard and Leila Abboud: "London-based Ampere predicts a new advertising 'arms race' between the two rivals, neck and neck in terms of audience sizes with around 1.4 billion to 1.3 billion monthly active users, respectively for Facebook and YouTube. That means consumers are likely to be forced to see more ads, but also enjoy a richer range of video programming as a result ... The Internet will overtake TV advertising in 12 key markets, representing 28 percent of global ad spending by 2017." https://reut.rs/1Cq3cWx

STATE OF THE ART - Lincoln Labs' "Digital campaign guide: a blueprint for a tech-driven organization": "In order to utilize digital tools and analytics in an impactful way, advocacy organizations need to 1) pay technical staffers competitive salaries (good talent is not cheap), 2) create a cultural atmosphere conducive for digital people ... 5) be aware of the two-sided social media sword, 6) make digital a native part of the campaign, 7) engage in an authentic and timely way on social media, and 8) most importantly, the organization needs to accept a willingness to fail." https://bit.ly/1K7S3A7

LATE-NIGHT BEST - "John Oliver Recreated an Old AOL Ad to Show What the Internet Is Really Like for Women" - Video https://slate.me/1Gkx4Fz

TRANSITIONS -- "Ash Carter Announces Maura Sullivan as the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs": "Sullivan, the current Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, will be ... taking over the position from ATSD Brent Colburn, who will be stepping down in July."

--Katy Summerlin , formerly of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, started this week as Press Secretary for Rep. Doug Collins (GA-09).

--Anthony "Rek" LeCounte is leaving Liz Mair's comms. firm to become the new digital media manager with the American Legislative Exchange Council.

NATIONAL SECURITY -- "Iran's Forces and U.S. Share a Base in Iraq," by Josh Rogin and Eli Lake on Bloomberg View: "U.S. soldiers and Shiite militia groups are both using the Taqqadum military base in Anbar, the same Iraqi base where President Obama is sending an additional 450 U.S. military personnel ... Some inside the Obama administration fear that sharing the base puts U.S. soldiers at risk. The U.S. intelligence community has reported back to Washington that ... some of the more extreme militias have been spying on U.S. operations at Taqqadum ...

"That could be calamitous if the fragile relationship between the U.S. military and the Shiite militias comes apart and Iran-backed forces decide to again target U.S. troops." https://bv.ms/1eFAEn3

--WashPost A1, below fold, "Taliban has a key Afghan city within its grasp for the first time since 2001," by Kabul bureau chief Sudarsan Raghavan in Kunduz, Afghanistan: "Taliban forces were less than four miles from this strategic northern city Monday after seizing control of two key districts over the weekend, triggering fears that they could capture their first Afghan city since U.S.-backed forces toppled the hard-line Islamist regime in late 2001." https://wapo.st/1K7YaEJ

IRAN LOBBYING -- Secure America Now is launching today a multistate heavy digital component on the Iran Deal. There's a very compelling TV ad along with it as well of a woman whose father was sadly killed. 3 senators being targeted initially: Blumenthal, King and Schumer. https://www.stopthebadirandeal.com

--"United Against Nuclear Iran is launching a multi-million dollar campaign this week to make sure U.S. negotiators don't back down and offer more concessions. ... The effort ... will include full-page ad buys in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, along with television spots and grassroots outreach."

--"J Street, the country's largest pro-Israel, pro-peace organization is launching IranDealFacts.com- a new website that backs a six-figure digital advertising campaign in support President Obama's efforts to secure a nuclear deal with Iran."

FIRST LOOK -- Sergio Bustos to AP -- South Regional Editor Lisa Marie Pane to email the staff: "Please join Terry Spencer, David Scott and me in welcoming Sergio Bustos to the AP. Currently the political and Sunday editor at The Miami Herald, he will join us as our new political writer in Florida."

MEDIAWATCH -- "Jeanne Cummings leaves Bloomberg for WSJ," by Hadas Gold: "Cummings ... joined Bloomberg in 2011, and last year acted as a liaison between Washington operations and the ... Bloomberg Politics project. Earlier this year she was moved from her role with Bloomberg Politics and had been writing columns for Bloomberg View. Her official role with the Wall Street Journal, likely in a political editing capacity, will be announced in the next few weeks." https://politi.co/1BydPf2

--"How Megyn Kelly Became the New Star of Fox News," by Variety's Ramin Setoodeh and Brian Steinberg : "Viewers and critics are often befuddled, because they never know where she stands. She sounds like a Democrat on social issues (she's long defended the transgender community) but a Republican on fiscal matters. Kelly tells Variety she's not a member of the GOP. ... 'I'm an independent.'" https://bit.ly/1Cq3VqW ... See the cover.https://bit.ly/1N40rQx

--"CNN's GoPro antics rile Supreme Court," by Dylan Byers: "The Supreme Court of the United States briefly removed media interns from its press room on Monday after a CNN intern was caught recording video footage with a GoPro camera that he had strapped to his chest ... The intern, Walbert Castillo, had been assigned to serve as 'a runner,' relaying the court's opinions ... In addition to his runner duties, Castillo had been asked to wear a GoPro camera to record the event for an episode of CNN's digital video series, 'Being Moody,' hosted by reporter Chris Moody." https://politi.co/1JfMAIS

BUSINESS BURST -- "[H]ome sales are finally surging," by AP's Josh Boak: "Real estate has gotten hot again. Home sales are on pace for their best year since 2007. First-time buyers are streaming back into the market. Prices are skyrocketing, aided by a stronger job market and tantalizingly low mortgage rates that are creating pressure for buyers to act fast." https://yhoo.it/1Iw2SYt

-- Financial Times second front, "US appetite for hostile takeovers hits post-crisis high: $108bn in deals rejected at weekend as companies look to use cheap funding," by James Fontanella-Khan : "Senior bankers said that the stigma of carrying out an unsolicited takeover bid had diminished as some shareholders push cash-rich companies to create value via deals rather than doing more share buybacks." https://on.ft.com/1SFsZne

HAPPENING THU.: The NFL "will hold a technology briefing on Capitol Hill [in HC-5], focusing on how the League is currently utilizing technology to prevent and diagnose injuries, including concussions, as well as funding research to support next generation technology-all with the goal of improving and advancing player health and safety."

WEEKEND WEDDINGS: On Saturday, David Tyson, senior associate at SmithBucklin and a proud N.C. State Wolfpack alum, [married] Jessica Marie Miller in High Point, NC. Bipartisan h/t to fellow Wolfpack alums Andrew Bates (D) and Justin Bartolomeo (R). Pic https://bit.ly/1Iw6Tw0

BIRTHDAYS: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is 67 ... JP Fielder ... Paul Tewes ... Kirk Whitworth ... Politico's Adam Lerner ... Amber Moon, comms. director for Sen. Gary Peters and a Kay Hagan alum ... Tyler Anderson of Governor McAuliffe's Common Good VA PAC (h/t Morgan Finkelstein) ... longtime GOP fundraiser Dana Graham Harris, president of H2 Capital Consulting ... Luke Bassett, climate change advisor to DOE and DNC alum ... Jeff Carter, chief of strategic comms for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ... Tom Frechette ... Walter Sabbath ... Greg Hale ... Julie McInerney ... Andrew Roos ... Dorothy Mauro ... Tina Karalekas ... Natasha Chambers ... Robin Strongin ... Steven C. Stombres ... "American Idol" ex-judge Randy Jackson is 59 ... country singer Katie Armiger is 24 (h/ts AP)

DESSERT -- "Vibrating, rollicking 4-D seats in theaters growing," by AP's Ryan Nakashima : "With domestic movie theater attendance stagnant in recent years, more theater owners are looking to provide these immersive jolts to goose both moviegoers and box office revenues. ... [S]ouped-up models like the one at L.A. Live can take up an entire auditorium decked out with strobe lights and pneumatic lifts. With the summer movie season in full swing, movies like 'San Andreas,' 'Jurassic World,' 'Ant-Man' and 'Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation' are being programmed by motion artists with the bumps and sways necessary for the seats to come to life." https://yhoo.it/1QNifFH

** A message from Qualcomm: When will the future arrive? While the rest of the world wonders, Qualcomm is at work developing cutting-edge wireless technologies. We are the inventors, the restless innovators continually pushing forward. When Qualcomm connected the phone to the Internet, the phone became smart. When we connect billions more things, our lives will be even smarter. Why Wait?. https://bit.ly/1Gw9FCU ** 

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