Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 297th day of the year. There are 68 days remaining in 2017.

Daily Briefing

Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 297th day of the year. There are 68 days remaining in 2017.

The clock:

• 14 days until the 2017 election (11/7/2017)
• 90 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
• 135 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 378 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1,106 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

• POLL: Gov. Gary Herbert is still the most popular elected official in Utah. 67% of Utahns say they approve of his job performance, which is a slight downtick from previous polls [Utah Policy].
   
• An internal email from the Utah Democratic Party shows leaders are considering a candidate recruitment plan designed to cut down on the number of primary elections the party has in 2018 [Utah Policy].
   
• A legislative task force says it's time for the state to have more control over the Utah Transit Authority, but they're not sure how to go about accomplishing that objective [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• A federal court has upheld the conviction of San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman for riding an ATV into a closed off area in southern Utah [Deseret News, Tribune].
   
• 13 Democratic members of Congress are urging President Donald Trump to not change the boundaries of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments [Tribune].
   
• Residents in Big Cottonwood Canyon want to incorporate the town of Brighton and are taking steps to put the question on the ballot [Deseret News].
   
• The Weber School District says they've taken disciplinary action against five Weber High School students who posted a video to social media showing them shouting racial slurs [Deseret News, Tribune].

National headlines:

• Congressional Republicans are worried that President Trump's penchant for freelancing on policy proposals could scuttle their best chance to pass changes to the tax code in decades [New York Times].
   
• President Trump on Monday said tax reform would not touch tax benefits for 401(k) plans, which takes an idea that Republicans were considering to pay for a big tax cut off the table [Washington Post].
   
• President Donald Trump is heading to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to try and convince GOP senators to get on board with the administration's tax reform plan [The Hill].
   
• Senior White House aides are working with an outside political group to sell tax reform to Americans [Politico].
   
• The four Army Special Forces soldiers ambushed in Niger were possibly lured into an ambush by a terrorist organization seeking to become aligned with ISIS [NBC News].
   
• The U.S. Special Forces ambushed in Niger waited more than an hour for nearby French forces to assist them. Four soldiers were killed and two others were injured [Washington Post].
   
• The widow of one of the Special Forces soldiers killed in Niger says President Trump struggled to remember her husband's name during a condolence call that has since sparked controversy [New York Times].
   
• Despite protests of ignorance, the Trump administration informed members of the U.S. Senate that troops were operating in Niger months ago [Roll Call].
   
• The White House is rushing to send condolence letters to the families who have lost servicemembers after President Trump made the false claim that he has already contacted most of those families [Roll Call].
   
• Drain the swamp? #1 A small Montana company with just two employees won a $300 million contract to rebuild Puerto Rico's electrical infrastructure. Whitefish Energy is based in the hometown of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke [Washington Post].
   
• Drain the swamp? #2 The Environmental Protection Agency is ramping up the personal security detail for Administrator Scott Pruitt. The agency is increasing the number of people on the security team from 18 to 30, who will provide round-the-clock protection for Pruitt. The increase will cost more than $2 million annually [CNN].
   
• Drain the swamp? #3 Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has helped conservative groups pull in millions of dollars in donations since 2014, but critics say those groups operate "scam PACs" that raise money from small donors, then spend those funds on overhead and consultants [Politico]. 
   
• More than 200 cities submitted proposals to host the new Amazon.com headquarters [Recode].

On this day in history:

• 1648 - The Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War in Europe.
   
• 1861 - The first transcontinental telegraph line across the United States is completed.
   
• 1901 - Daredevil Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to go over Niagra Falls in a barrel.
   
• 1929 - "Black Thursday" stock market crash on the New York Stock Exchange.
   
• 1962 - The blockade of Cuba was in effect, with a ring of U.S. warships and planes under orders to block further arms deliveries to Fidel Castro.

Today At Utah Policy

Gary Herbert remains Utah's most popular elected official
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
GOP Gov. Gary Herbert remains the most popular politician holding a major office in Utah, a new UtahPolicy.com poll shows....

Utah Democrats may try to keep candidates from running to avoid primary elections
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Utah's Democratic Party leaders are considering a plan to cut down on the number of contested primary races they'll have next year, hopefully leading to more election wins in November....

Policy News

National Association of Counties Large Urban County Caucus to host symposium in Salt Lake County
 The National Association of CountiesLarge Urban County Caucus Symposium will be held Oct. 25-27 in Salt Lake County, Utah. ...

SLCC Tanner Forum on Social Ethics hosts NPR's Mara Liasson
Salt Lake Community College's 2017 Tanner Forum on Social Ethics is hosting NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson Nov. 8 on the SLCC South City Campus in the Grand Theatre, 1575 S. State Street, Salt Lake City....

Fox Files: 'The Olympic Spirit'
Who else is excited about the Governor's announcement last week that Salt Lake City has formed an Olympic Exploratory Committee to host the 2026 or 2030 Winter Games?...

State Trade and Expansion Program (STEP)
Funded in part through a grant with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the World Trade Center Utah State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) seeks to help Utah businesses enter and expand into dynamic global markets....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Stewart and Frist: The indispensable role of America in the world

Editorial: Whether Love or McAdams wins that Congress seat, it's good for Utah

Poll: Three in four Utahns support legalizing medical marijuana

Jason Chaffetz is early front-runner for Utah's 2020 governor's race

Utah judge won't rule on Gary Ott's custody case following his death. A fight over the former recorder's estate could last years.

Appeals court upholds conviction of San Juan Commissioner Phil Lyman for leading protest ATV ride

Critics of the campaign for Canyons School District's $283M bond are eager to follow the money - if only they could

Utah voters evenly split on the Count My Vote initiative to rely solely on primary elections

Democrats urge President Trump not to shrink Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments

Task force says UTA needs to be reformed, but it can't agree how to do it

Ott saga grows political as Republicans urge Gill to resign and Dems point at GOP hypocrisy

Deseret News

Natalie Gochnour: Dispatches from Jordan and Israel, pt. 1: Making Utah a premier global business destination

Editorial: Congress must act to determine international data sovereignty

Court affirms San Juan commissioner's conviction in ATV protest ride

Election officials verify petition seeking incorporation for Brighton

Group of Utah retirees backs tax increase for schools, Medicaid expansion

Legislative task force rejects three options for UTA governance

Other

Weber County leaders seek study into changing county government style (Standard-Examiner)

National Headlines

How Iowa Became An Obamacare Horror Story (Politico)

The Men Taking Classes to Unlearn Toxic Masculinity (The Cut)

All the president's men and women: Trump-like leaders proliferate (USA Today)

House Conservatives Say Tax Bill Draft Is Coming Within Days (Bloomberg)

Border wall prototypes a first small step on Trump campaign promise (Reuters)

Gold star wife: President has been caring for me, my family (FOX News)

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions vows to use Al Capone tactics to bring down MS-13 (New York Daily News)

Firm Tied to Trump Dossier Tries to Block House Subpoena (Bloomberg)

Kate Steinle case that led to debate over US sanctuary cities, Trump's call for wall is under way in court (FOX News)

Can a Powell-Taylor ticket at top of the Fed really work? (MarketWatch)

Coal industry tells FERC the last 7 years was a catastrophe it must now fix (Washington Examiner)

Wise Words

Exercise

"Our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security." John F. Kennedy
 

Lighter Side

Mascot

"Let me just say something as a Mets fan. The Yankees may have more World Series rings than anyone but they'll never have what the Mets have, a mascot with a giant baseball for a head. That belongs to us." Jimmy Fallon