Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 321st day of the year. There are 44 days remaining in 2017.

Daily Briefing

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 321st day of the year. There are 44 days remaining in 2017.

The clock:

• 46 days until candidates can declare their intent to gather signatures for the 2018 election (1/2/2018)
• 66 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
• 111 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 112 days until the filing period for candidates in the 2018 election opens (3/9/2018)
• 118 days until the filing deadline for the 2018 elections (3/15/2018)
• 123 days until the statewide GOP caucus meetings (3/20/2018)
• 155 days until the GOP State Convention (4/21/2018)
• 221 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018)
• 354 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1,082 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

• It was a busy week in Utah politics. Understand what happened and why with our week-in-review [Utah Policy]. Here's a podcast if you prefer [Utah Policy].
   
• Bob Bernick says revamping Utah's nomination system will allow the moderate middle to break away from the extremes on both sides [Utah Policy].
   
• All four of Utah's members of the U.S. House vote for the GOP tax reform package that passed on Thursday [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Early in the 2018 Utah Legislature lawmakers will vote on a massive legislative package to clean up Utah's public education law [Deseret News].
   
• House Speaker Greg Hughes is urging other counties in Utah to sue opioid manufacturers after Salt Lake County filed a similar suit this week [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• Lawmakers want to make sure the millions of dollars they're spending to remedy Salt Lake City's homeless problem is going where it needs to [Tribune].
   
• Sen. Orrin Hatch is co-sponsoring a bill that will boost the federal database for firearm purchases [Tribune].
   
• Iconic journalist Bob Woodward speaks in Salt Lake City. He says the current political climate is the "final exam for democracy" [Deseret News, Tribune].

National headlines:

• The U.S. House passed their tax plan on a party-line vote on Thursday. Here's what's in the bill and how it affects every taxpayer in America [Washington Post].
   
• The U.S. Senate passed their tax reform plan on Thursday evening. A non-partisan analysis of the Senate plan says the bill would drop large tax increases on Americans making under $75,000 per year while giving tax cuts to the wealthy [New York Times].
   
• A woman says Democratic Sen. Al Franken forcibly kissed and groped her during a USO tour in 2006. Franken has apologized for the incident and has called for a Senate ethics investigation into his behavior [New York Times].
   
• A new poll from Alabama shows Democrat Doug Jones has opened up an 8-point lead over embattled Republican Roy Moore. The Alabama GOP is standing by Moore in next month's election [Washington Post].
   
• The Senate Judiciary Committee says Jared Kushner did not turn over documents he promised to give them as part of the investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 election. Specifically, Kushner did not provide emails about WikiLeaks and a "backdoor overture" from Russia during the campaign [Washington Post].
   
• Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak says it would take him more than 20 minutes to name every Trump administration or campaign official he's met with or spoken to on the phone [CNBC].
   
• A Turkish national who was in prison for skirting sanctions on Iran is now reportedly cooperating with special counsel Robert Muller's probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn [NBC News].
   
• President Donald Trump's approval ratings have dropped to a new low and have been on a downward slide for three straight months. 59% of Americans disapprove of Trump's job performance [The Hill].
   
• The public corruption case against Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez ends in a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Following the announcement, Menendez vowed to enact revenge on his opponents who sought to take advantage of the political damage from the trial [New York Times].
   
• The White House plans to ask Congress for $45 billion more for disaster relief [Reuters].
   
• The controversial Keystone pipeline leaked 210,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota [Associated Press].
   
• The FCC has relaxed media ownership rules that will allow broadcasters to own more television stations in a single market [Variety].

On this day in history:

• 1558 - The Elizabethan Age begins with Britain's Queen Elizabeth I ascended to the throne upon the death of her half-sister, Queen Mary.
   
• 1800 - The U.S. Congress holds its first session in Washington, D.C.
   
• 1869 - The Suez Canal in Egypt was opened, linking the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.
   
• 1871 - The National Rifle Association is granted a charter by New York.
   
• 1969 - NBC angered football fans when it pre-empted the final minute of an Oakland Raiders-New York Jets game to air the movie Heidi.
   
• 1989 - Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution began following the put down of a student demonstration by riot police.

Today At Utah Policy

Waiting for all hell to break loose - Bernick and Schott on politics Ep. 350
By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick
Sen. Orrin Hatch's office says Bears Ears will be cut back dramatically while Grand Staircase-Escalante may be cut in half....

Bob Bernick's notebook: The value of the moderate middle
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
What happens in Utah when top political party officeholders lose the support of their right wing or left wing party loyalists?...

Stimulating economic growth through corporate recruitment
By Derek Miller, President and CEO, World Trade Center Utah
With all the news about Utah competing to win Amazon's second HQ, this is a good time to look behind the scenes at how corporate recruitment enhances Utah's economic prosperity....

Weekly survey: Should Roy Moore drop out?
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
There are growing calls for Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore to drop out of December's special election amid mounting allegations he had inappropriate sexual contact with teenaged girls. Do you think he should remain the race? If he wins, should the U.S. Senate expel him a...

Podcast: Bernick and Schott on politics Ep. 350
By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick
Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott guide you through the week that was in Utah politics. ...

Policy News

Speaker Hughes educating counties about options to confront big pharma
Speaker Greg Hughes and DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge for Utah Brian Besser are attending the Utah Association of Counties annual conference in St. George to discuss the opioid epidemic impacting every county in our state....

Clean air festival in SLC Saturday
Senator Luz Escamilla (D Salt Lake) and Salt Lake City YouthCity Government, are encouraging the public to attend the Breathe Clean Festival on Saturday at Salt Lake City's Glendale Public Library....

Hatch, Feinstein, Toomey introduce bill to aid child pornography victims
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)-the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee- alongside Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Pat Toomey (R-PA), introduced the bipartisan Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act, named for t...

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Op-ed: Boosting tax burden on graduate students won't help the economy

Utah's high school sports association drops its lawsuit against the state and state school board

In the past 10 days, twice as many Utahns signed up for solar panels every day than usually do in a month

Hatch, Lee join GOP in rubber-stamping Trump's judicial nominees, even one who has never tried a case

Utah's House members praise passage of GOP tax bill

Utah's Sen. Hatch backs 'common-sense solution' to improve gun background check records after Texas rampage

After millions spent on homelessness, Utah lawmakers have a question: 'Did we get what we paid for?'

Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes marshals Utah counties to sue Big Pharma

Deseret News

Jay Evensen: Here's something to mull for Thanksgiving - life in U.S. is far better than in the past

Op-ed: Addressing false assumptions about the death penalty

Greg Bell: Seema Verma, Operation Rio Grande and the Justice Reinvestment Initiative

Op-ed: Don't crack down on opioids while hurting the chronic pain sufferer

Editorial: Societal pillars of economics and culture are inextricably linked to the family

Rep. Mia Love calls Sen. Al Franken's alleged sexual misconduct 'sickening'

All four of Utah's U.S. House members vote for GOP tax plan

First up on lawmakers' 2018 plate? Passage of revised education code

House Speaker Greg Hughes calling on all Utah counties to sue over opioid epidemic

Other

Editorial: John Curtis is officially a congressman, now what? (Daily Herald)

Editorial: Fireworks bill improves Utah safety and air quality, but we can still do better (Standard-Examiner)

National Headlines

Senator Al Franken Kissed and Groped Me Without My Consent, And There's Nothing Funny About It (KABC)

GOP leaders weigh drastic plan to save Alabama Senate seat (Politico)

Chairman Steps Down As NPR Grapples With Harassment Crisis (NPR)

Saudi Arabia king to step down and hand over the crown to his 32-year-old son (Daily Mail)

House passes GOP tax bill, upping pressure on struggling Senate effort (Washington Post)

After mistrial, Menendez speaks of 'resurrection,' but joy may be short-lived (Washington Post)

Texas sheriff calls out anti-Trump truck decal, sparking free speech debate (CNN)

Gillibrand Says Bill Clinton Should Have Resigned Over Lewinsky Affair (New York Times)

ICE touts arrests of alleged MS-13 gang members (The Hill)

Hispanic Caucus denies membership to Republican Curbelo (Politico)

Trump Considers Naming Mulvaney Interim CFPB Director (Bloomberg)

Wise Words

Politics

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." John Quincy Adams
 

Lighter Side

Flying Ubers

"Los Angeles apparently will be one of the first cities to get flying Ubers. L.A. is perfect, because who is more qualified to fly you through the sky at 5,000 feet than an out-of-work actor-deejay-dog walker?" James Corden