EXCLUSIVE: Fox drops contract with Sarah Palin -- CHRISTIE TO ANNOUNCE soon – POWER PARTNERSHIP: LaBolt, Vietor, Favreau merge firms Presented by Amazon

By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; [email protected]), and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; [email protected])

EXCLUSIVE: Fox News will not renew its contract with Sarah Palin, whose bombastic appearances have been a cable staple since the former Alaska governor’s failed run on John McCain’s ticket in 2007. When asked for comment, a Fox News spokesperson confirmed the network had amicably parted ways with the governor on June 1.


Palin, 51, is expected to make occasional guest appearances on Fox and Fox Business, and will appear on other networks and cables. She has a show on the Sportsman Channel, does a lot of speeches, and will announce a new publishing project soon.

When Palin was at her zenith, she made frequent appearances, and Fox installed a camera at her house. But executives consider her less relevant now, and her appearances were sometimes hampered by the vast time difference with Alaska. She remains a huge conservative force on Facebook, with 4.5 million fans – twice that of Rand Paul, who has the biggest reach in the 2016 field. She also has 1.15 million Twitter followers.

Palin’s Facebook page got a new look at midnight, including a new cover photo with a quote from her announcement speech in Dayton, Ohio: “I didn’t get into government to do the safe and easy things. A ship in harbor is safe but that’s not why the ship is built.”

She’ll remain heavily involved in GOP congressional and gubernatorial primaries for 2016, and many candidates have reached out to her. This week, SarahPAC is donating to over 40 candidates. She is currently out in the mail to several thousand SarahPAC donors with a half-hour documentary DVD detailing her impact on Republican politics over the past 3 cycles. See a trailer. http://bit.ly/1dfzDAn

IF YOU ONLY CLICK 1 THING – Posted at 4:45 a.m.: 20,000-word New Yorker story by Lawrence Wright, “Five Hostages: Families whose children were held captive in Syria felt that U.S. officials had abandoned them. So they secretly joined forces”: “Through ... interviews with David Bradley, the owner of ... Atlantic Media, and the families of hostages James Foley, Steven Sotloff, Theo Padnos, Peter Kassig, and Kayla Mueller ... the untold story of a secret, behind-the-scenes civilian effort to save the five men and women from Islamist extremists when it seemed that the U.S. government had abandoned the cause. Wright’s ... account ... details the stories that have in part prompted the White House’s ... change in U.S. hostage policy.” http://nyr.kr/1RvA1bH

FIRST LOOK -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal announces for president today: “Over the weekend, ... Jindal sat down with his wife, Supriya, and three children Selia (13), Shaan (11) and Slade (8) to have a family meeting about running for President A video ... was filmed with a GoPro that was mounted in a decorative bush in the backyard of the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion. ... The Jindal children peppered their mom and dad ... Are we going to be invited to the announcement? What do we have to wear? ...

“Shaan (the Governor’s middle child and Commissioner of the family’s fantasy football league) is going to take over his dad’s Persicope account at the announcement to give a behind-the-scenes account of the event.” Facebook video http://on.fb.me/1QPq65K

HAPPENING TODAY – Sen. Ted Cruz speaks at 10 a.m. at Heritage, “The People vs. the Washington Cartel: Restoring Liberty in the Age of Cronyism.” Per a senior Cruz adviser: “Cruz will use his bully pulpit ... to talk about how the Washington cartel of political elites and lobbyists continue to benefit from insider deals and a rigged system at the expense of Main Street ... Look for Cruz to name names in his fight to get government out of the business of picking winners and losers. This is the Ted Cruz conservatives love.” Livestream http://herit.ag/1Hdmw0K

SIREN – “Christie to announce 2016 bid as early as next week,” by Alex Isenstadt:

“Christie is in the final stages of preparing his 2016 presidential bid, with a formal announcement possible as soon as next week ... The governor’s planning has intensified ... On Monday, his campaign-in-waiting announced that he’d hired two additional staffers in New Hampshire ... Earlier this month, Maria Comella ... departed the governor’s official office to take a senior position at his” PAC. http://politi.co/1N8ZfeA

--In N.H., Suffolk University shows Trump in 2nd – Release: Bush 14%, Trump 11%, Walker 8%, Rubio 7%, Carson 6%, Christie 5% http://bit.ly/1GyewRp

--LATE-NIGHT BEST – “Jon Stewart Basks in the Awesomeness of Donald Trump’s Crazy Media Blitz” – Video: http://bit.ly/1BA46os

--NYT A1, below fold, “Walker, Set for Bigger Stage, Faces Home Revolt,” by Trip Gabriel in Madison: “Leaders of ... Walker’s party, which controls the Legislature, are balking at his demands for the state’s budget. Critics say [his] spending blueprint is aimed more at appealing to conservatives in early-voting states ... than doing what is best for Wisconsin. Lawmakers are stymied over how to pay for road and bridge repairs without raising taxes or fees, which Mr. Walker has ruled out.” http://nyti.ms/1LAQsSa

HOT IN HILLARYLAND -- “Shakeup continues at pro-Clinton super PAC,” by Glenn Thrush: “Kim Kauffman, a longtime [Guy] Cecil associate, will take over as deputy executive director in charge of finance for Justin Brennan, who has been on the job since January; Brennan ... is leaving to take a senior fundraising role with Ted Strickland’s campaign for Senate in Ohio. Cecil ... has also tapped the group’s first-ever digital director, Tara McGowan, reflecting Priorities’ intention to invest significant resources in social media and online advertising. ... Priorities’ ... director of research, Patrick McHugh, is being promoted to ... deputy director.” http://politi.co/1TNbtyT

--NEW HILLARY VIDEO, “Equal”: “All love is equal. It’s time for marriage equality. Stand with Hillary Clinton in the fight for all LGBT Americans to be able to live, learn, work, and marry free from discrimination”: http://bit.ly/1TNbtPk

-- NEW RUBIO VIDEO, “Pawn Stars’ Rick Harrison Spots A Good Investment [and sees one in Rubio]” http://bit.ly/1GHhXIN

OBAMA NEAR VICTORY ON TRADE – “The GOP’s 2016 trade divide: It’s Cruz and Paul vs. Rubio and Graham in the party’s latest ideological split,” by Manu Raju: “Rubio’s mum posture ... underscores how divisive the issue has become in Republican presidential politics. While a vast majority of Republicans in both houses of Congress voted to advance the trade agenda, a vocal segment of the GOP base has aggressively attacked the plan.” http://politi.co/1LAUlGS

--ELIZABETH WARREN in Boston Globe, “Trade agreements should not benefit industry only”: “America’s current trade policy makes it nearly impossible to enforce rules that protect hard-working families, but very easy to enforce rules that favor multinational corporations.” http://bit.ly/1eGP4TU

** A message from Qualcomm: To combat the ever-increasing traffic congestion in metropolitan areas, Qualcomm has developed wireless smart city technologies to better relay traffic information. This will help reduce CO2 emissions through improved traffic management and more accessible electric vehicle charging. Why Wait™. http://bit.ly/1Gw9FCU **

OFFICIAL OPENING of Politico’s new headquarters in Arlington -- PICS from M. Scott Mahaskey: Robert and Elena Alllbritton cut the ribbon http://bit.ly/1NhJSRT ... http://bit.ly/1HdnhH7 ... Jim VandeHei’s “Jim! 2016” T-shirt from Robert http://bit.ly/1KbQ3sm ... The champagne http://bit.ly/1BLGNbD ... John Harris, Miki King, Jim VandeHei, Kim Kingsley, Robert and Elena Allbritton, Susan Glasser http://bit.ly/1GyeCZd ... A toast, from many of the 460 Politicos worldwide http://bit.ly/1BA5kzV

OBAMA ALUMNI – “Fenway Strategies & The Incite Agency Form Partnership”: “For the past two years, our firms have applied the lessons we learned from over a decade in politics to help businesses and organizations transform the way they communicate. ... [W]e’ve established a growing presence on both coasts, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington. ... From now on, Fenway’s speechwriting and message development team will be able to work seamlessly with Incite’s crisis communications and digital team. ... Sincerely, Ben LaBolt, The Incite Agency ... Jon Favreau & Tommy Vietor, Fenway Strategies.”

--“Lisa Jackson headed for bigger role at Apple,” by Tony Romm: “Former EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson ... has served for more than two years as Apple’s vice president of environmental initiatives, focusing on finding ways to use greener materials in Apple products and reduce the carbon footprint of the company’s data centers. Now, Jackson is adding policy and social initiatives to her title.”

TOP STORY -- “Confederate license tags in cross hairs, but not in South Carolina,” by Ben Schreckinger: “Even as five governors called for the removal of Confederate flags from license plates in their states on Tuesday, leaders in the state that kicked off this week’s purge of Confederate symbols are taking it one flag at a time. As South Carolina lawmakers push through plans to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of their Statehouse, they’re not touching over a thousand other Confederate flags that will still be displayed on state-issued license plates.” http://politi.co/1Iy1YLh

--“Group That Fueled Dylann Roof’s Hate Is Subsidized by U.S. Taxpayers,” by Center for Public Integrity’s David Heath and Carrie Levine: “Roof wrote that he was never the same after discovering a website with ... ‘pages of these brutal black on white murders.’ ... The Council of Conservative Citizens Inc. is listed by the [IRS] as a nonprofit organization ... Such groups pay no federal taxes.” http://bit.ly/1BAh99h

--HOW IT’S PLAYING: N.Y. Times 4-col. lead, “Calls Rise to Remove Symbols of Confederacy: States and Stores Recoiling After Massacre”

--NYT Quotation of the Day: Paul THURMOND, a Republican state senator in South Carolina and son of Strom Thurmond, a former senator and segregationist presidential candidate, explaining that he would vote to remove the Confederate battle flag from the State House: “Our ancestors were literally fighting to keep human beings as slaves, and to continue the unimaginable acts that occur when someone is held against their will. I am not proud of this heritage.”

DON LEMON PROFILE – WashPost Style section lead, “When CNN gives viewers Lemon, ratings don’t sour: Anchor, known for stunts, fills unusual role at staid network,” by Paul Farhi (online: “Does Don Lemon offend you? For CNN, that might not be a problem”): “CNN President Jeff Zucker told GQ[:] ‘There’s certainly a lot of interest in Don Lemon, and that’s a good thing for Don and for CNN. ... Don is a little bit of a lightning rod. Frankly, we needed a little bit of lightning.’ On Friday, ... Lemon’s 10 p.m. program, ‘CNN Tonight With Don Lemon,’ beat Fox News’s Sean Hannity among ... younger viewers.” http://wapo.st/1TNbVwR

VOTE FOR #PLAYBOOKNEW10: Jeannette 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: http://bit.ly/1Iwc7Ii

NEW WIKILEAKS FUROR – USA Today lead story, “WikiLeaks: U.S. spied on French Presidents ... eavesdropping as recently as 2012,” by David Jackson: “Documents said the [U.S.] eavesdropped on presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac as well as [current leader Francois] Hollande ... Hollande was holding an emergency meeting with French security officials” today. http://usat.ly/1TNbZNg

--Politico Europe’s Nicholas Vinocur: “NSA phone taps targeted not just the presidents ... and their immediate entourage but a vast circle of officials including members of parliament ... and the former French ambassador to Washington, Pierre Vimont ... the mobile phone of Sarkozy.” http://politi.co/1FAtc1s

--“US says not targeting Hollande's communications” – AFP: “‘We are not targeting and will not target the communications of President Hollande,’ said [NSC] spokesman Ned Price, without addressing what might have been done in the past.”

TRENDS – WSJ B1, “This Summer, How About a Workcation? Growing number of employees are asking the boss for permission to combine work, vacation,” by Rachel Emma Silverman: “Workers ... pay for lodging and travel, but may take conference calls or write project updates from a resort or rental home, spending off-hours sightseeing or being with family, without having the time counted against their vacation days. ... In 2013, the average worker took 16 vacation days, down from 20.9 in 2000, according to ... U.S. Travel Association.” http://on.wsj.com/1Iy8hOG

SENATE 2016 -- “Conservative super PAC plans to spend millions on 2016 Senate race,” by WMUR’s John DiStaso: “Ending Spending Action Fund on Wednesday will announce ‘Commitments Kept NH,’ an effort it says will include an aggressive grassroots component and a ‘multi-million dollar, multi-platform paid media effort, including television, radio and online advertising.’” http://bit.ly/1fzD6eX

IRAN LOBBYING -- “$1.4 million ad buy targets Obama’s Iran deal,” by Burgess Everett: “[T]he American Security Initiative, a bipartisan group chaired by former senators, unleashes an ad blitz, urging eight senators from both parties to oppose any nuclear deal that doesn’t allow ‘unconditional inspections’ of Iran’s nuclear facilities. The target list includes Chuck Schumer of New York ... and John Thune of South Dakota, the GOP’s chief message man.” http://politi.co/1fzArBX

THE NEW ECONOMY -- “This is How Uber Takes Over a City,” by Karen Weise in Bloomberg Businessweek: “Although Uber promotes itself as a great disrupter, it’s quickly mastered the old art of political influence. Over the past year, Uber built one of the largest and most successful lobbying forces in the country, with a presence in almost every statehouse. It has 250 lobbyists and 29 lobbying firms registered in capitols around the nation, at least a third more than Wal-Mart Stores.” Live at 7 a.m.: http://buswk.co/UberLobby

HAPPENING TOMORROW -- Politico hosts a conversation exploring how millennials are impacting the future of environmental sustainability. Are millennial lifestyle choices and technology making cities more sustainable? How are young voters transforming environmental politics? RSVP: http://bit.ly/1Gp1ExO

LINGO – “Move over, millennials: You’re already obsolete,” by Business Insider’s Jay Yarow: “Step aside, millennials! ... The new hot thing? ‘Centennials.’ What’s a centennial? A younger, better version of a millennial.” http://read.bi/1BA0OS7

KATIE COURIC talks to SEAN PARKER: “The former Facebook President is committing hundreds of millions of his own money to fight cancer and help find a cure for deadly peanut allergies, among other things. He also opened up about how he thinks Facebook could become a thing of the past as technology evolves.” http://yhoo.it/1GyehFU

HAPPENING TONIGHT – The congressional women’s softball game is tonight at 7 p.m. at Watkins Recreation Center, 420 12th Street SE (Metro: Eastern Market) with the Bad News Babes playing against the Congressional team. The Bad News Babes roster: Jill Agostino, Christina Bellantoni, Lisa Desjardins, Elise Foley, Emmarie Huetteman, Caroline Horn, Kasie Hunt, Brianna Keilar, Tamara Keith, Abby Livingston, Carolyn Ryan, Lynn Sweet, Shawna Thomas, and Amy Walter, coached by Dave Espo, Carl Hulse, and Frank Thorp.

--The Congressional roster: Sens. Kelly Ayotte, Shelley Moore Capito, and Kirsten Gillibrand, Reps. Joyce Beatty, Cheri Bustos, Kathy Castor, Katherine Clark, Donna Edwards, Renee Ellmers, Tulsi Gabbard, Michelle Lujan Grisham, Kristi Noem, Martha Roby, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Kyrsten Sinema and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

REMEMBERING CHARLS WALKER – American Council for Capital Formation “Founder and Chairman Emeritus Dr. Charls Walker ... was a true lobbyist’s lobbyist and had a real presence in Washington when he launched the ACCF nearly four decades ago. ... He was at the epicenter of every major tax reform debate since the 1970s. At the same time, cared deeply about U.S. economic policy, especially our tax system. As an economist, he could easily interchange data and numbers with a laymen’s view of the political landscape.” Tribute http://bit.ly/1ft7TtV

SILICON VALLEY FYI -- “Instagram’s overhauled search: real-time instead of real bad,” by Wired’s Jessi Hempel: “The new Explore page, which users find by clicking the magnifying glass to the left of the center ‘camera’ button, offers users three ways to surface content. ... Instagram will highlight trending places in a box across the top of the screen ... [U]sers can scroll sideways to see curated collections of photographs that members of Instagram’s community team cull from the most popular Instagrammers’ feeds. ... Instagram will highlight trending hashtags in the center of the screen, promoting the most popular tags.” http://wrd.cm/1BLFObA

--“Palantir Valued At $20 Billion In New Funding Round” http://bzfd.it/1fzAX2M

-- Business Insider’s Antonio Villas-Boas: “Google ... announced ... ‘undo send’ ... [R]eload Gmail, otherwise you won’t find the feature. Then click the gear icon on the top left of your inbox, and click Settings in the menu that pops up. You’ll be taken to the general settings in the ‘General’ tab. Look/scroll down to find the undo send feature, and click the box to enable it.” http://read.bi/1N8Y7Yv

BUSH ALUMNI -- KEVIN SULLIVAN’s new eBook, “Breaking Through: Communications Lessons From the Locker Room, the Board Room and the Oval Office” – He emails us: “I always tell people when it comes to once in a lifetime jobs, I’ve had three: The Dallas Mavericks, NBC and the White House. The eBook is a collection of comms lessons and stories.” $5.99 on Amazon http://amzn.to/1JVqVFW

ENGAGED -- Third Way’s senior media relations manager Whitney Mitchell got hitched to ESPN college basketball writer Eamonn Brennan. The proposal happened over the weekend during a thunderstorm in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Eamonn was supposed to be setting up a game of Scrabble in the other room and when Whitney walked in the board read “WILL YOU MARRY ME.” Pic http://bit.ly/1N96hQD

--Rowan Bridge, a national reporter for BBC Radio 5live, to Dr. Elaine Vickers, who teaches doctors and nurses the science behind cancer treatments; he proposed at the top of cable mountain in Zion National Park in Utah. Pic (with Rowan wearing a Morning Joe hat): http://bit.ly/1K9zATO

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Rick Reynolds … Judy Lemons, former long-time CoS to Nancy Pelosi

BIRTHDAYS: Matt Continetti ... Roger Fisk, Obama advance alum ... George Pataki … Ralph Reed … Ed Traz, Republican mail consultant … Texas Tribune’s Morgan Smith … Gretchen Hamel, founder of Highline Strategies … Mike Gula, a Republican fundraising consultant ... Jesse Stinebring of Civis Analytics and Obama alum … New America Foundation’s Heather Hurlburt ... Facebook’s Melinda Arons, an ABC News alum … Ricki Peltzman ... Sara Shannon … Kathleen Hartnett … Sarah Dale … Roger Fisk … Kim Fenske … Kelda Helen Roys ... Tita Thompson Freeman ... Benjamin Tomchik of American Insurance Association ... Neal Becton ... David Sprunt ... singer Solange Knowles is 29 (h/t AP)

DESSERT – “Tumblr Post ... Describes Every Pixar Movie,” by BuzzFeed’s Simon Crerar: “Pixar, 1995: What if toys had feelings Pixar, 1998: What if bugs had feelings Pixar, 2001: What if monsters had feelings Pixar, 2003: What if fish had feelings Pixar, 2004: What if superheroes had feelings Pixar, 2006: What if cars had feelings Pixar, 2007: What if rats had feelings Pixar, 2008: What if robots had feelings Pixar, 2009: What if dogs had feelings Pixar, 2012: What if Scotland had feelings Pixar, 2015: WHAT IF FEELINGS HAD FEELINGS.” http://bzfd.it/1IdgH2a

** 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™. http://bit.ly/1Gw9FCU **

Follow us on Twitter Anna Palmer @apalmerdc



Jake Sherman @JakeSherman