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Situational awareness - December 16, 2019

Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City.

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Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:

• Cox leads Huntsman by double-digits among Utah Republicans.
• Hemmert drops out of the CD4 race.
• Democrats call for Trump's removal in impeachment report.

Trivia winner

Congratulations to Mike Mower! He was the third reader (out of dozens) who correctly identified Jason Chaffetz as the first Utah member of Congress not to live inside of the district they represented.

As our winner, Mike gets to ask the next Friday trivia question.

TICK TOCK

Days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 42 (1/27/2020)

Days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses: 49 (2/3/2020)

Days to the Utah presidential primaries: 78 (3/3/2020)

Days to the final day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 87 (3/12/2020)

Days to the 2020 Utah primary elections: 197 (6/30/2020)

Days to the 2020 election: 323 (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

• Pignanelli & Webb: Politicians won't be getting any peace this holiday season
• Sen Mike Lee: Community can play a bigger role in public education
• Gov. Gary Herbert: Why Utah needed tax reform
• Editorial: Tax reform amounted to a job half done
• How big is the debt owed by Utah state government?
• Utah first state to receive approval for plan to keep kids out of foster care
• Judges tosses ex-Utah A.G.'s $80 million lawsuit against FBI, state prosecutors
• Judge puts citizenship ruling for American Samoans on hold
• Will there be a referendum on Utah's tax reform?
• Cox ahead of Huntsman in race for governor, poll shows
• Fight continues over Washington County's proposed corridor
• 'My car is my lifeline': Homeless have nowhere to park after South Salt Lake prohibits on-site parking near men's center

Salt Lake Tribune

• Chris Stewart: The Fairness for All Act is a better way forward
• Op-ed: Lee's immigration bill will give Silicon Slopes the high-tech workers it needs
• Utah charter school enrollment dips for the 1st time in at least a decade
• Legacy Parkway will allow big rigs, higher speed limit after neighbors again fail to halt Jan. 1 changes
• Audit says Utah agency and 911 centers should work to reduce unnecessary call transfers
• What's next for Utah's tax reform bill and what does it mean for you?
• Utah Rep. Ben McAdams finds himself in a no-win situation on impeachment
• Spencer Cox leads Jon Huntsman in latest 2020 Utah governors poll

Other

• 2020 defense bill includes almost $100 million for new Hill AFB facilities (Standard-Examiner)
• West Haven, Plain City annexation talk spurs call for legal opinion (Standard-Examiner)
• Utah lawmakers OK tax overhaul, measure will cut taxes by $154.5 million (Standard-Examiner)

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NATIONAL HEADLINES

658-page impeachment report

The House Judiciary's report on impeachment accuses President Donald Trump of committing "multiple federal crimes." The report also says Trump "betrayed the people of this nation" and calls for his removal from office [Politico].

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Impeachment trial wrangling

Senate Democrats sent a letter to Republican leaders asking that acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton be called to testify in an impeachment trial against President Trump [New York Times].

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Economy

Fears that the U.S. economy is heading toward a recession have dimmed following a series of interest rate cuts and impending trade deals [Washington Post].

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Democratic debate

Seven Democratic presidential hopefuls will debate in Los Angeles on Thursday [AP].

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Afghanistan

The Trump administration is preparing to announce the drawdown of about 4,000 troops from Afghanistan [CNN].

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China

The government secretly expelled two Chinese diplomats this fall after they drove on to a military base in Virginia. They appear to be the first Chinese officials suspected of espionage in more than 30 years [New York Times].

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North Korea

The U.S. warned North Korea that if the country carries out a major weapons test in the coming days, it could escalate tensions between the two countries [New York Times].

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BUSINESS HEADLINES

• Op-ed: Lee's immigration bill will give Silicon Slopes the high-tech workers it needs (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Dominion Energy and partner look to transform Utah hog waste into energy (Deseret News)
• Fast-rising personal debt driving Lending Club's success (Deseret News)

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Policy News

Act Now! Registration for the trade mission to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is now open
The cities of Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Dubai offer tremendous opportunities for Utah companies interested in increasing their footprint in the Middle East. On this trade mission, delegates will engage with high-level business and investment leaders, receive market briefings by in-country experts and the U.S. Commercial Service, attend VIP networking receptions, participate in company visits and take part in customized B2B meetings.

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CYBER24 Episode 63: Pemex hack and preventing ransomware
Cybercrime isn't a uniquely American phenomenon. Recent high-profile attacks on Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil monopoly was hit with ransomware demanding $5 million comes just months after a similar attack on Norwegian aluminum producer Norsk Hydro. The former was offered a discount by hackers if they paid right away (which they did not) while the later refused to pay at all and has spent a reported $71 million to clean up the mess.

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More National Headlines

• U.S. economy shakes free of recession fears in striking turnaround since August (Washington Post)
• US trade representative says phase-one trade deal is 'totally done' and will double exports to China in two years (CNBC)
• Hidden by impeachment: One of Trump's 'best weeks yet' (Washington Examiner)
• House Dems attend Trump's holiday party amid impeachment (Axios)
• Sanders retracts endorsement of controversial congressional candidate (CNN)
• Student who sued NYU for anti-semitism: Trump has 'empowered' Jews on campus (New York Post)
• Britain's divide isn't North v South or red v blue. It's between the ugly intolerant Left and the rest of us (Daily Mail)
• Opponents warn of staff exodus as US breaks up lands bureau (Associated Press)
• U.S. has world's highest rate of children living in single-parent households (Pew Research Center)
• Cory Booker leads nine Democratic presidential hopefuls in asking DNC to change debate rules (Boston Herald)
• Is marijuana linked to psychosis, schizophrenia? It's contentious, but doctors, feds say yes (USA Today)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1773 - The Boston Tea Party took place as American colonists boarded a British ship and dumped more than 300 chests of tea overboard to protest tea taxes.

1777 - Virginia becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.

1944 - Germany launched a counteroffensive in World War II that became known as "The Battle of the Bulge."

1978 - Cleveland, Ohio defaulted on its financial obligations, the first American city to do so since the Great Depression.

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