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Morning must reads for Monday, September 11, 2017

Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 254th day of the year. There are 111 days remaining in 2017. This is the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., in which nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives.

The clock:

• 36 days until ballots for the 2017 general election are mailed to voters (10/17/2017)
• 57 days until the 2017 election (11/7/2017)
• 133 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
• 178 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 421 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1,149 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

• SCOOP: Sources close to Mitt Romney tell UtahPolicy.com the former presidential candidate is preparing to run for U.S. Senate if Sen. Orrin Hatch decides to retire [Utah Policy].
   
• POLL: Mitt Romney would be in prime position to win a U.S. Senate race over Democrat Jenny Wilson, as 64% of Utahns would vote for him in a hypothetical matchup. Wilson runs much better against Sen. Orrin Hatch, getting 45% to Hatch's 34%. Republicans Chris Stewart and Matt Holland would be in a close contest with Wilson [Utah Policy].
   
• Our "Political Insiders" disagree with President Donald Trump's decision to end DACA. They also are pessimistic that Congress will be able to pass some sort of meaningful immigration reform before the DACA policy ends in March [Utah Policy].
   
• PODCAST: On this week's "Beg to Differ," Bryan Schott and Mike Winder speak with Ciriac Alvarez, a 17-year resident of Utah who would be impacted by Trump's decision to end DACA as her parents, undocumented immigrants, brought her here when she was 5-years-old [Utah Policy].
   
• Rep. Chris Stewart voted against a measure to raise the debt limit and provide more than $15 billion in disaster aid following Hurricane Harvey. Reps. Mia Love and Rob Bishop voted in favor of the legislation [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• The Utah GOP Central Committee was unable to come to a decision on whether to continue their lawsuit against SB54. Meanwhile, organizers for Count My Vote could re-launch their ballot initiative as soon as this week [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Lily Eskelsen Garcia, the former Utahn who now leads the largest teacher's union in the nation, blasted President Donald Trump for "creating fear in children" with his policies [Tribune].
   
• Salt Lake County gets nearly $400,000 to cover the increased legal costs from Operation Rio Grande [Deseret News].
   
• A legislative task force is discussing a proposal to have the state take over the Utah Transit Authority under the purview of a new Secretary of Transportation [Tribune].

National headlines:

• Hurricane Irma hit Florida on Sunday, leaving more than 3 million homes and businesses without power. Florida's emergency management director says he hasn't heard of catastrophic damage, but "that doesn't mean it doesn't exist" [Associated Press].
   
• Special counsel Robert Mueller is planning to interview six former and current top White House advisors as part of his probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election [Washington Post].
   
• During an interview on "60 Minutes," former White House strategist Steve Bannon called the firing of former FBI Director James Comey the biggest mistake in "modern political history" [NBC News]. Bannon also called out Republican leadership in Congress for thwarting President Donald Trump's agenda [Washington Post].
   
• Hillary Clinton said in a Sunday interview that she will not run for another political office again, but says she will remain involved in politics [New York Times].
   
• Clinton, promoting her forthcoming book, says she believes President Donald Trump was able to defeat her in the 2016 election by stoking racial tensions [Washington Post].
   
• President Donald Trump's surprise debt limit deal with Democrats may have boosted Speaker Paul Ryan's standing among the rank and file members Republicans in the House [Politico].
   
• President Trump's deal with Democrats in Congress to raise the debt limit and fund the government through December may actually reduce the chances of Congress passing tax reform [Bloomberg].

On this day in history:

• 1609 - Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan and the indigenous people living there.
   
• 1789 - Alexander Hamilton is appointed the first Secretary of the Treasury.
   
• 1944 - The Allied invasion of Germany begins near the city of Aachen.
   
• 1950 - President Harry Truman approved military operations north of the 38th paralell during the Korean War.
   
• 2001 - Two hijacked aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, while a third smashes into The Pentagon, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania in a series of coordinated suicide attacks by 19 members of al-Qaeda. A total of 2,996 people are killed.
   
• 2012 - The U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya is attacked, resulting in four deaths.

Today At Utah Policy

Poll: Romney wins matchup - and likely will run if Hatch doesn't
By LaVarr Webb and Bryan Schott
In a hypothetical 2018 U.S. Senate contest, Mitt Romney runs much stronger than other Republican candidates against Democrat Jenny Wilson, according to a new poll commissioned by UtahPolicy.com and conducted by Dan Jones & Associates....

Exclusive: Mitt Romney planning to run for Senate if Orrin Hatch retires
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Sources tell UtahPolicy.com that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is preparing to run for Senate in 2018 if Sen. Orrin Hatch decides to retire....

'Political Insiders' disagree with Trump's decision on DACA
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Our "Political Insiders" say they disagree with President Donald Trump's decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA program....

Beg to Differ podcast: The unpredictable path of Hurricane Trump
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
President Donald Trump rolled his own party in Congress this week by making a deal with Democrats. Does this portend stormy weather in Washington going forward?...

Policy News

Pluralsight chooses to expand at home
The Governor's Office of Economic Development announced Utah-based Pluralsight will expand in the state, adding approximately 2,400 jobs, $86.2 million in new state revenue and an estimated $371.7 million in capital investment....

AvidXchange to expand in Utah
The Governor's Office of Economic Development announced AvidXchange, Inc. will expand its Utah operation, adding up to 218 jobs to the community, nearly $1.8 million in new state revenue and $3.5 million in capital investment....

SLCC among nation's top 'Innovative Colleges for Adult Learners'
The national magazine Washington Monthly named Salt Lake Community College to its list of "Twelve Most Innovative Colleges for Adult Learners."...

Davis County 'Meet the Candidate' Nights for municipal elections 2017
The League of Women Voters of Davis County will host eight Meet the Candidate Nights in September and October enabling the citizens of Davis County to meet their respective candidates for Mayor and City Council prior to Election Day....

GOP Senators introduce Employee Rights Act
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), the senior Republican in the United States Senate and a member and former Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the Employee Rights Act in the United States Senate....

Utah ACT composite scores rise slightly in 2017; Reading, science scores up, English down, Math holds steady
In 2017 42,580 Utah students 97 percent of whom are public school students took the ACT college entrance exam and posted an average score of 20.3, one-tenth of a point higher than in 2016, according to data released by ACT. Nationally, composite scores rose from 20.8 ...

Developing tomorrow's workforce through Career and Technical Education
Innovation through collaboration: successful education initiatives supplement your workforce development efforts....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Orrin Hatch: Obamacare doesn't deserve a bailout

Op-ed: Utah is a great place to be a Republican - especially after 3 decades in liberal Oregon

Op-ed: Operation Rio Grande is driven by fearmongering

Op-ed: The future rests with Utah's youngest residents - so expand the Child Care Dependent Tax Credit

Op-ed: SLC's dangerous Rio Grande neighborhood needs urgent help, not empty platitudes from The Tribune

Editorial: Police have a heavy burden - an individual's actions can tarnish the whole force's reputation

Feds set to 'lop and scatter' trees near Price to improve sage grouse habitat

In new book, Hillary Clinton compares Utah's Jason Chaffetz to villain from 'Les Miserables'

Task force considers closer state control of scandal-tainted UTA

Utah's Bishop, Love back Harvey funding relief and credit increase; Stewart opposes it

Northwest Shoshone want American Indian vs. Mormon 'Sham Battles' to stop, but Wellsville mayor hopes for 'compromise'

GOP chairman gets caught between moderate, right-wing factions battling over election-law lawsuit

John Curtis: the Republican congressional hopeful, one-time watch salesman and ... sock enthusiast?

Deseret News

Frank Pignanelli & LaVarr Webb: Off-year political rumors and speculation

Op-ed: Who is to blame for Salt Lake's Rio Grande?

Op-ed: What happens when teachers aren't in control of education?

Editorial: Mother Nature reminds us of the need for preparedness

Stewart votes against, Bishop, Love vote for disaster aid, debt limit increase

S.L. County gets $368K grant to hire attorneys for Operation Rio Grande cases

Hill Air Force Base saying goodbye to F-16

State School Board OKs Utah's Every Student Succeeds Act plan

In wake of financial turmoil, League of Cities and Towns appoints new leader

Rural commissioners pan out-of-state green energy development

Utah GOP takes no action on SB54 lawsuit

Other

Forum for voter redistricting slated for Monday evening at Weber State (Standard-Examiner)

Jenny Wilson, Senate candidate, sees 'chaos and havoc' in Washington (Park Record)

National Headlines

Notes from meeting with Russians said not to be damaging to Trump family (Politico)

New Data: Illegal Voters May Have Decided New Hampshire in 2016 (PJ Media)

With 220 languages spoken in California, courts face an interpreter shortage (Los Angeles Times)

Vast new intelligence haul fuels next phase of fight against Islamic State (Los Angeles Times)

Trump calls for a tax reform 'speed-up' in light of Hurricane Irma (Reuters)

North Korea 'secretly helped by Iran to gain nuclear weapons', British officials fear (Telegraph)

AccuWeather predicts economic cost of Harvey, Irma to be $290 billion (AccuWeather)

Bannon declares war with Republican leadership in Congress (Washington Post)

Demonstrators clash in Portland, Vancouver rallies; multiple arrests made (Oregonian)

Here's Why DeVos Has A Point About Due Process (Daily Caller)

European Finance Ministers Want to Force Tech Companies to Start Paying More Taxes (Gizmodo)

Wise Words

American Foundation

"America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand." Harry S Truman
 

Lighter Side

Faith

"We haven't heard much about Russia lately, but this is interesting. They did an international survey, and most countries now have more confidence in Vladimir Putin than Donald Trump. Out of 37 countries, 22 of them said they have more faith in Putin. Other countries are now watching "Rocky IV" and hoping Drago wins." Jimmy Kimmel