Situational awareness - April 12, 2018

Lawmakers to hold veto override session

By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor

Lawmakers will head back to the Hill for their first veto override session in 15 years.

Read more...

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Situational awareness - April 12, 2018

Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City.

Bishop testing the waters for a possible gubernatorial run. The Utah Legislature votes to hold a veto override session. Paul Ryan heads for the exit.

Spotted at the opening night of Hamilton in Salt Lake City: Republican U.S. Senate Mitt Romney and Democratic Utah House candidate Chris Neville.

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Tick Tock

• 4 days until the signature-gathering deadline for statewide ballot initiatives (4/16/2018)
• 9 days until the Utah GOP State Convention (4/21/2018)
• 16 days until the Utah Democratic State Convention (4/28/2018)
• 25 days until the final day a veto override session may begin (5/7/2018)
• 75 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018)
• 209 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 292 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
• 939 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

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Here are the news stories driving Thursday

Scoop: Bishop 2020?

Rep. Rob Bishop has been polling to test the waters for a possible gubernatorial run in 2020 [Utah Policy].

Veto override!

Lawmakers vote to hold the first veto override session in Utah in nearly a decade [Utah Policy].

Other Utah headlines

• Utah's congressional delegation reacts to the shock news that House Speaker Paul Ryan will not run for re-election in 2018. Rep. Rob Bishop is being named as a "dark horse" candidate to replace him [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Rep. Chris Stewart says there's a sense of urgency to respond to Syria's use of chemical weapons on civilians, but doesn't think it will lead to a greater confrontation with Russia [Deseret News].
   
• A Utah judge nixes a lawsuit brought by environmental groups who alleged county commissioners violated the state's open meetings law when they met privately with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke [Tribune].
   

National headlines

• House Speaker Paul Ryan announces he's retiring at the end of the current term, stunning many in Washington and sending shockwaves through the 2018 midterms [New York Times].
   
• Ryan says he will stay on until January of 2019, but other Republicans want him to step down sooner to give them a leg up on replacing him. Some think Ryan may be forced out sometime this summer [Axios].
   
• Former White House strategist Steve Bannon is pitching a plan to Republicans on how to thwart the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller [Washington Post].
   
• The FBI raid on the office of President Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, sought records on the "Access Hollywood" tape in which Trump is heard bragging about sexually assaulting women [New York Times].
   
• Senate Republicans will take up a bill to protect the special counsel if President Trump tries to fire him [Politico].
   
• President Trump wants to cut some spending out of the $1.3 trillion omnibus bill he signed last month, but he's running into resistance from congressional Republicans [Politico].
   
• Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg faces another round of questioning from Congress [CNN].
   
• A woman who had an affair with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens accuses him of forcing her into a sexual encounter according to a report from lawmakers investigating his behavior [Politico].

On this day in history

• 1861 - The Civil War begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
   
• 1865 - Mobile, Alabama falls to the Union Army.
   
• 1945 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in office; Vice President Harry S. Truman becomes President upon Roosevelt's death.
   
• 1961 - Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first manned orbital flight aboard Vostok 1.
   
• 1981 - The first U.S. space shuttle flight takes place.
   
• 1999 - President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving "intentionally false statements" in a civil lawsuit; he is later fined and disbarred.

Today At Utah Policy

Bishop reportedly testing the water for a possible gubernatorial run in 2020
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
 Guess who is doing some polling on the 2020 governor's race?...

Lawmakers to hold veto override session
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Lawmakers will head back to the Hill for their first veto override session in nearly a decade....

Weekly survey: Will Romney get a primary challenger?
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Mitt Romney will likely qualify for the primary ballot through the signature gathering route. Do you think Republican delegates will force him into a primary at this month's GOP convention? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Wasatch Consumer Price Index takes slight dip in March
By Press Release
The Zions Bank Wasatch Front Consumer Price Index decreased 0.1 percent from February to March on a non-seasonally adjusted basis....

Policy News

Westminster announces Christine M. Durham as 2018 commencement speaker
Westminster is pleased to announce Christine M. Durham as the college's 2018 commencement speaker....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Editorial: Tax hikes on families may be justified. But not by stealth.

'We're dying': Feds hear from Utahns fighting on the frontline of the state's rural opioids crisis

Utah's Rob Bishop could be a 'dark horse' candidate for House speaker after Paul Ryan retires

New Utah law is forcing Grand County to change its nonpartisan form of government, and that has set off partisan fighting

'Anyone can lobby': Utah judge slams environmental group's lawsuit over commissioners' private meetings with feds

Salt Lake City gives $200,000 to support arts, cultural events in the city

Utah Legislature to call veto override session - extending battle with Gov. Gary Herbert over separation of powers

Mayor Biskupski: Salt Lake City tax, spending proposals for roads, police, housing and transit have 70 percent public support

Deseret News

Op-ed: Sens. Mike Lee and Bernie Sanders make an unlikely pair in defending the Constitution

Op-ed: Let's keep the Creator in our national monuments

A. Scott Anderson: What are the biggest issues, challenges and opportunities facing Utah?

Boyd Matheson: A look behind the curtain - why Ryan's departure hurts Utah and the country

Op-ed: Lake Powell Pipeline is part of a comprehensive water plan for southern Utah

Ralph Hancock: The tension between morality and security in the immigration debate

Jay Evensen: 'Overwhelming' support for tax hike?

Editorial: Salt Lake City lawmakers must remember that taxpayers are people, too

Rep. Chris Stewart: 'Greater sense of urgency' to respond to Syrian attack

Report: Utah is only state where GOP leaders haven't demonized Muslims since 2015

Legislative leaders announce they'll call a veto override session

Why social capital is more important than social media

Paul Ryan decision 'red alert' for GOP, but Romney may be exception

Other

Republican Utah County Commission candidates talk bankruptcies, increasing number of commissioners (Daily Herald)

National Headlines

Donald Trump warns Putin his missiles are coming 'fast and smart' (The Sun)

Nominee to lead State Dept.: Soft policy on Russia 'over' (Associated Press)

Paul Ryan won't run for re-election (Axios)

McCarthy and Scalise front-runners to replace Paul Ryan (The Hill)

California governor, a frequent Trump critic, agrees to limited National Guard role at Mexico border (Washington Post)

I Downloaded the Information That Facebook Has on Me. Yikes. (New York Times)

DOJ gives Nunes access to document that launched FBI's Russia probe (CNN)

Former Republican House Speaker Is Advising A Marijuana Corporation (NPR)

Trump signs 'FOSTA' bill targeting online sex trafficking, enables states and victims to pursue websites (Washington Post)

Sarah Sanders says no decisions have been made yet on Syria (CBS News)

'I have not burned the place down': Trump appointee defends his leadership of consumer watchdog (Washington Post)

Wise Words

Educated Mind

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle

Lighter Side

Garbage

"The makers of Pokmon Go have announced that they will use the app to encourage and reward players for walking around and picking up garbage on Earth Day. While the makers of Tinder have ALWAYS encouraged people to pick up garbage." Seth Meyers