Morning must reads for Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 235th day of the year. There are 130 days remaining in 2017.
The clock:
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55 days until ballots for the 2017 general election are mailed to voters (10/17/2017)
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76 days until the 2017 election (11/7/2017)
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152 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
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197 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
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440 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
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1,168 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
Today's political TL; DR -
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SCOOP: State leaders expect Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to recommend a drastic reduction in the size of the Bears Ears National Monument, possibly going so far as to shrink the protected area to just 160,000 acres [Utah Policy].
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Officials are shifting to "Phase two" of Operation Rio Grande, which will focus on treatment for substance abusers, but the funding for the program is still uncertain [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
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Rep. Mia Love, the only Republican member of the Congressional Black Caucus, says she would not support that group's push for the impeachment of President Donald Trump [Utah Policy].
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Updated primary election results push Sherrie Hall Everett into second place in the race for Provo mayor by 18 votes over Odell Miner [Deseret News].
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Rep. Chris Stewart says President Donald Trump's plan to send more troops to Afghanistan could help end the 16-year-old war there [Tribune].
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A legislative audit says a turf battle between the State Bureau of Investigation and the attorney general's Investigations Division is hurting cooperation between the two entities [Tribune].
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The state forester says there have been 397 human-caused fires on state and private land this year, most are the result of "stupid human tricks." The cost to fight those fires has surged to $18 million [Deseret News, Tribune].
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The Canyons School District board will put a $283 million bond to voters in order to pay for school construction [Deseret News].
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The commander of Hill Air Force Base says that facility has a $3.4 billion economic impact on Utah [Deseret News].
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The Utah County Commission is moving toward establishing a committee to ensure ethical behavior from prosecutors [Tribune].
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Tech leaders are pushing toward taking a bigger role in guiding public education in Utah [Tribune].
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The feds want Utah to prove the state can pay more than $1 billion for the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline [Tribune].
National headlines:
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President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Arizona where he unleashed a number of divisive and dishonest attacks against the media and members of congress. He blamed the media for racial tensions in America and accused them of being anti-American. At one point he lied about CNN turning off the live feed of the rally (they didn't). He also threatened to shut down the government over funding for his proposed border wall and hinted he was going to pardon controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio [Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, Fox News].
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump haven't spoken to each other in weeks as their relationship continues to disintegrate. McConnell privately doubts President Donald Trump will be able to salvage his presidency following the failure of the healthcare bill. Trump also reportedly blames McConnel for not protecting him enough from the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election [New York Times].
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Another poll, another low point for President Trump's approval ratings. After his disastrous response to the Charlottesville violence, only 39% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing [Politico].
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The first excerpts from Hillary Clinton's book about why she lost the 2016 election to Donald Trump are out. In the tome she says Donald Trump's attempts to intimidate her during the presidential debates "made her skin crawl" [Axios].
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President Trump is getting behind an NRA-backed bill to restrict the National Park Service from regulating hunting and fishing within national park boundaries [McClatchy].
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Louise Linton, the wife of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, is taking fire for shaming a woman for being poor on social media after she was criticized for posting pictures of her lavish lifestyle on Instagram [New York Times].
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Military leaders are taking a more prominent role in the Trump White House and helping to keep the president in check [Washington Post].
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President Donald Trump has proposed creating a joint U.S.-Russia cyber security unit, but proposed legislation would not let that happen without congressional approval [Reuters].
On this day in history:
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79 - Mount Vesuvius began stirring on the feast day of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire.
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1775 - Britain's King George II proclaimed the American colonies in a state of open rebellion.
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1927 - Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Boston for the murders of two men during a 1920 robbery.
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1939 - Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression treaty, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
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1966 - Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the moon.
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1990 - West and East Germany announce they will reunite on October 3.
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1991 - The World Wide Web is opened to the public.
Today At Utah Policy
Utah leaders expect Zinke to recommend dramatic downsizing of Bears Ears
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
U.S. Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke is set to release his suggestions on the size of national monuments established by previous presidents and for Utahns that means will the 1.35-million-acre Bears Ears designation by Barack Obama stand?...
Phase two of Operation Rio Grande focusing on treatment for drug offenders, but funding still uncertain
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
More than 420 people have been arrested in the "Operation Rio Grande" lawlessness/homeless crack down, but now starts the critical "Phase Two," where qualifying offenders and homeless folks are diverted into aggressive mental health and substance addiction programs....
Congressional Black Caucus to discuss supporting impeachment for Trump; Mia Love won't endorse that step
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
The leader of the influential Congressional Black Caucus says he wants the group to discuss whether or not to support efforts to impeach President Donald Trump. The group's only Republican member, Rep. Mia Love, says she's not on board with that attempt....
Weekly survey: Will Operation Rio Grande have a lasting impact?
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
State officials are on phase two of the three-phase Operation Rio Grande to clean up the lawlessness around the homeless population in downtown Salt Lake City. Will the plan be a permanent success, or will any benefits just be temporary? Vote now in our weekly survey....
Policy News
WTC Utah and UServeUtah announce 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance partnership
World Trade Center Utah and the Lt. Governor's Commission on Service and Volunteerism are teaming up to promote community engagement on the Sept. 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance. ...
Inland Port Committee launches feasibility study
The Utah Inland Port Committee has contracted with Cambridge Systematics to begin an in-depth assessment of potential sites for an inland port in the state....
Local Headlines
Salt Lake Tribune
Editorial: Reyes can do more for Utah's DREAMers
Silicon Slopes moves to give Utah tech leaders a greater voice in education, public policy
Feds ask state to prove it can pay for proposed Lake Powell Pipeline
Have you been pitched tires in central and southern Utah? Even a legislator has a story.
Rep. Chris Stewart meets with Utah refugees, hears about their fears of Trump
There's a turf war between the state's two big crime-fighting units, audit finds
Rep. Chris Stewart applauds Trump, says sending more troops to Afghanistan could 'actually win this thing'
Denied by a state committee, Salt Lake County's treatment dreams may come true through Operation Rio Grande
Deseret News
Op-ed: Attorney General Sean Reyes has emerged as a strong yet collaborative leader
Op-ed: The Road Home connects Utahns with services to deal with homelessness, trauma and addiction
Editorial: Utah needs expanded infrastructure and a balanced housing market
Updated primary election results in Utah County show change in Provo mayoral race
Chamber joins tech advocates to elevate economic punch
HAFB has $3.4 billion impact on local economy, commander says
Rep. Chris Stewart donates school supplies Utah Refugee Services Office
Lawmakers hear advice on restoring Utah Lake, planning water development
Canyons District to ask voters to bond for $283 million to build schools
FBI sees no evidence of rise in hate rhetoric, extremism in Utah
Rio Grande arrests mount to 423 as leaders announce timeline for new treatment beds
Protesters decry arrests in Rio Grande neighborhood
Other
Utah County commits to forming committee to look at prosecutor misconduct (Daily Herald)
Sherrie Hall Everett overtakes Odell Miner by 18 votes in Provo mayoral race after latest election results (Daily Herald)
Park City politicians, developers monitor the sale of Deer Valley (Park Record)
National Headlines
Big data finds the Medieval Warm Period no denial here (The Spectator)
Anti-Trump AG Raked In Campaign Donations From An Oil Tycoon With Ties To Putin (Daily Caller)
Trump says US will 'probably' end NAFTA (Associated Press)
At Rally, Trump Blames Media for Country's Deepening Divisions (New York Times)
US Navy 7th Fleet commander to be dismissed, official says (CNN)
Mulvaney ribs Gowdy about his hair on Twitter; Gowdy pokes back (CNN)
Bundy Ranch standoff trial ends with zero guilty verdicts (AZcentral)
7 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2018 (The Hill)
Pittenger asks: Why aren't liberals condemning Black Lives Matter and others? (Miami Herald)
Dakota Access Pipeline owner sues Greenpeace, arguing it broke organized crime law (Washington Post)
Trump rejects wealthy friends' pleas for help (Politico)
Best Prize
"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." Theodore Roosevelt
Family Reunions
"The dating site OkCupid is banning white supremacists. So, white supremacists will have to look for love where they usually do - family reunions." Jimmy Fallon
