Morning must reads for Friday, May 12, 2017

Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning must reads for Friday, May 12, 2017

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 132nd day of the year. There are 233 days remaining in 2017. Today is the 113th day of Donald Trump's presidency.

Donald Trump changes his story about James Comey. Jeff Sessions wants tougher penalties for drug offenders. Mike Lee suggests Merrick Garland should be the next head of the FBI.

The clock:

• 8 days until the Utah Republican State Convention (5/20/2017)

• 36 days until the Utah Democratic State Convention at Weber State University (6/17/2017)

• 179 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)

• 255 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)

• 300 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)

• 543 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)

• 1,271 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

• Sen. Mike Lee floats former Supreme Court Nominee Merrick Garland as a possible replacement for fired FBI Director James Comey [Utah Policy].
   
• Bob Bernick argues that the Utah GOP is making moves to marginalize Democrats in Salt Lake County even further [Utah Policy]. 
   
• Get smart fast! Understand what happened during the last week in Utah politics with our week-in-review [Utah Policy].
   
• Whiplash! President Donald Trump contradicts the official White House explanation for firing FBI Director James Comey, saying he was going to terminate Comey no matter what the Justice Department recommended [Politico].
   
• President Donald Trump reportedly asked James Comey for his loyalty at a private dinner shortly after Trump took office. Comey only pledged "honesty" to the president, which likely led to his ouster [New York Times].
   
• Our divided country. Trump's most ardent supporters say the president is being held to an unfair standard by Democrats and the political left [New York Times].
   
• This whole Comey affair means Trump has picked a fight with the FBI, which could easily escalate [Vanity Fair].
   
• Attorney General Jeff Sessions issues orders to federal prosecutors to charge defendants with the most serious charge they can prove, which reverses an Obama-era policy that was designed to avoid triggering mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related charges [Washington Post].
   
• House and Senate Republicans plan to begin working on a budget in the next month that will balance within a decade, which means drastic cuts to domestic programs and entitlement reform [Axios].
   
• President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a commission to probe his unfounded allegations of voter fraud during the 2016 election [Politico]. 
   
• The LDS Church announces they're nixing Boy Scouts for older teenagers. Instead, they'll create their own programs for boys age 14 through 17 [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• The State Records Committee voted to keep Salt Lake City's deliberations over picking sites for new homeless shelters away from public view [Tribune].
   
• A judge will decide whether the Mountain Accord group is subject to Utah open meetings laws [Tribune].
   
• Stephen Cope is not your traditional candidate for Mayor of Provo. The 27-year-old identifies as gender non-binary, plus Cope is likely the first LGBT candidate for that office [Tribune].

On this day in history:

• 1932 - The body of the kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was found in a wooded area of Hopewell, N.J.
   
• 1937 - Britain's King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey.
   
• 1949 - The Soviet Union announced an end to the Berlin blockade.
   
• 2002 - Former President Jimmy Carter began a visit to Cuba. He was the first president, in or out of office, to visit the island since communists took over in 1959.

Today At Utah Policy

Bob Bernick's notebook: Sorry, Salt Lake City Democrats
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
It’s part of my job as a political reporter to look into the souls of Utah politicians, and perhaps see part of the dark side....

Lee suggests Trump name Merrick Garland for FBI Director
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Sen. Mike Lee suggested Thursday that President Donald Trump pick Judge Merrick Garland to replace James Comey as the head of the FBI....

There's no tent big enough to contain the Trump circus - Bernick and Schott on politics #328
By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick
What a crazy week in Utah and national politics!...

Podcast: Bernick and Schott on politics #328
By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick
Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott discuss the week in Utah politics....

Netflix's hyper-political 'Master of None' is very, very accurately titled
By Jared Whitley
The reception of Netflix’s original content has been extremely scattered. People loved Daredevil but had no patience for Iron Fist. Stranger Things captured headlines and awards while Marco Polo was a disaster....

Policy News

Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report
Outdoor Notes--Tribune: Utah Hike of the Week: Canyon Hollow Trail and Ghost Falls in Corner Canyon --Tribune:Grab your binoculars: Spring on Great Salt Lake means baby birds galore--Tribune:Amazing Earthfest in Kanab set to celebrate public lands of American WestWeekend Eve...

Governor appoints Eisenman, Beck to the Third District Juvenile Court
Gov. Gary R. Herbert has appointed Susan Eisenman and Steven Beck to fill current vacancies on the Third District Juvenile Court....

Rep. Stewart hosts opioid disposal roundtable with Mayor McAdams
Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) and Mayor Ben McAdams (Salt Lake County), along with the Salt Lake County Health Department and the Utah Drug Enforcement Agency hosted a roundtable to discuss ways to facilitate the proper disposal of controlled substances....

World Trade Center Utah to host forum in Utah County to help companies go global
World Trade Center Utah and Nu Skin are hosting an International Business Forum in Utah County on May 15 from noon to 2 p.m. to highlight the importance of international business to Utah’s economy and educate more than 250 business, community and ed...

38-15-1: Salt Lake Chamber federal policy update
In light of last week’s House vote, the Salt Lake Chamber policy team wanted to provide an update on what to expect from Congress in the coming weeks on healthcare, tax reform, and the budget/appropriations bills....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Editorial: Salt Lake City still too secretive about homeless shelter site search

State eyes 625 new jobs from $2.3M in tax breaks

University of Utah will hire independent auditor to examine funding, work of Huntsman Cancer Institute

Who should run the FBI? Sen. Mike Lee suggests Merrick Garland, the man Republicans refused to consider for the Supreme Court

Meet the gender nonbinary candidate for mayor who's 'not the traditional Provo image'

Chuck Norris meets with Utah fans, says he'd accept job as FBI leader if America needs him

Rolly: Candidate for Utah GOP boss wants party purity reviews for lawmakers

Judge must rule on whether Mountain Accord subject to open meetings law

Split vote keeps records of homeless shelter site discussions secret

Deseret News

A. Scott Anderson: Chamber collaboration helps Utah succeed

Jay Evensen: Would we stop rioting at airports if we dressed nicer?

Op-ed: An open letter to the U.S. Congress

Sen. Mike Lee suggests former Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland to head FBI

Governor's Office of Economic Development incentives to add 600 jobs

Other

Editorial: More steps needed to address drug abuse crisis (Daily Herald)

Ogden City Council mulls measure meant to show support to immigrants, Latinos (Standard-Examiner)

What would happen if Hill Air Force Base closed? Here's what a new report says. (Standard-Examiner)

National Headlines

11 possible contenders to replace Comey (Politico)

FBI No. 2 did not disclose wife's ties to Clinton ally, records show (FOX News)

Trump Picks Voter ID Advocate for Election Fraud Panel (New York Times)

ICE announces largest anti-gang crackdown in agency history (Washington Post)

Tillerson says US won't be rushed on climate change policies (Washington Post)

Trump effect on full display in the Senate Thursday with a majority embracing a trade-deal opponent (Washington Post)

Gov. Jerry Brown urges Republican 'penance' for healthcare vote, warns of the impact on California's budget (Los Angeles Times)

Oil is flowing in the Dakota Access pipeline, but protesters aren't giving up (Des Moines Register)

In Its Fight Against U.S. Shale Oil, OPEC Risks Lower for Longer (Bloomberg)

Airlines Fret About Laptop Ban From Europe During Peak Season (Bloomberg)

Trump says he 'may align' tax reform and infrastructure (The Hill)

Wise Words

Constitutional Interpretation
"Our peculiar security is in the possession of a written Constitution. Let us not make it a blank paper by construction." Thomas Jefferson

Lighter Side

Good Tip
"Ivanka Trump has a new book of business advice for women. Tip No. 1 is "Be your rich dad's favorite daughter." Conan O'Brien