Everything you need to know to start your Friday morning from UtahPolicy.com

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Utah's Daily Policy Resource | Brought to you by Utah Policy

Message Center

Get UtahPolicy.com's smart political news and analysis on LinkedIn. Join our group here.

Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning must reads for Friday, August 11, 2017

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 223rd day of the year. There are 142 days remaining in 2017.

John Curtis still leads the 3rd CD GOP primary race, but his lead is shrinking. The Salt Lake County GOP extends their investigation into Julie Dole. Donald Trump thanks Vladimir Putin for expelling U.S. diplomats.

The clock:

4 days until the 2017 Utah primary election (8/15/2017)88 days until the 2017 election (11/7/2017)164 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)209 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)452 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)1,180 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

NEW POLL: John Curtis continues to lead in the 3rd District GOP primary, but Chris Herrod appears to be eating into his lead. Tanner Ainge is way behind in third place, but his campaign says their internal polling shows a much closer race [Utah Policy].
The amount of outside money creeping into the 3rd District GOP primary race is inching closer to $1 million [Utah Policy].
Bob Bernick bemoans the outside advertising flooding the 3rd District GOP primary, saying these groups from outside of Utah treat voters like they're stupid [Utah Policy].
The United Utah Party says the state should stop using taxpayer money to pay for closed party primary elections [Utah Policy].
The Salt Lake County GOP says they will extend their investigation into interim County Recorder Julie Dole, who is accused of hiding former Recorder Gary Ott's deteriorating mental condition to protect her job [Deseret News, Tribune]. Dole released an open letter defending herself, claiming the investigation is a smear campaign [Fox 13, KUTV].
The plan to crack down on crime in the Rio Grande area in downtown Salt Lake City is changing by the minute as state officials scramble to open up jail beds for offenders [Tribune].
The group aiming to put a medical marijuana citizen initiative on the 2018 ballot gets the go-ahead from the state to start gathering signatures [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune, KUTV].
Sen. Orrin Hatch is rising to the defense of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell following a series of attacks by President Donald Trump over his inability to push the GOP health care bill through the Senate [The Hill].
Utah County officials have begun counting mail-in ballots for next week's primary election [Daily Herald].
Racist flyers from a purported white nationalist group have popped up on the University of Utah campus [Tribune].
Utah Valley University officials confirm they plan to build a campus in Payson [Daily Herald].

National headlines:

What?!! President Donald Trump actually thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for expelling more than 750 U.S. diplomats from Russia because it helps the U.S. "cut down our payroll" [Politico].
Trump held court with reporters on Thursday for nearly half an hour. During the discussion, he took pot shots at Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said he has not considered firing special counsel Robert Mueller, and claimed his plan to kick transgender troops out of the military is a "great favor" to the armed services [New York Times].
President Donald Trump said Thursday that his threat to bring "fire and fury" to North Korea if they continue threatening the United States maybe wasn't strong enough rhetoric [New York Times].
China state media said they would remain neutral in any conflict between North Korea and the United States...unless the U.S. strikes first and tries to overthrow Kim Jong Un's regime [Fox News].
A national poll shows 82% of Americans are fearful of nuclear conflict with North Korea [Axios].
Congressional investigators want to question President Donald Trump's longtime personal secretary as part of the probe into Russia's involvement in the 2016 election [ABC News].
Former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort, one of the central figures in the investigation into Russia's involvement in the 2016 election, has hired a new legal team [Reuters].
Congressional Republicans are debating whether they should make a proposed tax cut package retroactive, which could give the economy a boost [The Hill].
Senate Democrats are upset that President Donald Trump's nominees for the federal bench are only meeting with Republicans before they are up for confirmation to lifetime appointments to the judiciary [Politico].
President Donald Trump says the opioid crisis is a national emergency, which would give states and other federal agencies to fight the problem [CNN].
A new national poll shows about 80% of Americans say it's time for Congress to end the effort to repeal and replace Obamacare [Associated Press].
Boring but important. Four top cyber security officials are leaving the U.S. government, which could hamper efforts to deter hacking of federal computer systems [BuzzFeed].
CNN has severed ties with Jeffery Lord, one of President Donald Trump's most vocal supporters after he tweeted the words "Seig Heil!" at a prominent liberal activist [CNN Money].

On this day in history:

1929 - Babe Ruth became the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career.
1934 - The first federal prisoners arrived at Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay.
1965 - Deadly rioting and looting broke out in the predominantly black Watts section of Los Angeles.
1972 - The last United States ground combat unit leaves South Vietnam.
1984 - President Ronald Reagan joked "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." He made the comments while preparing for his weekly radio address.
2006 - The Transportation Security Administration banned all liquids, gels, and aerosols from passenger cabins on airliners one day after a thwarted terrorist attack.

Today At Utah Policy

Poll shows Curtis still leading in 3rd District GOP primary race but Herrod is closing By Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott A new poll by Dan Jones & Associates finds Provo Mayor John Curtis still leading in the GOP 3rd District race with 31 percent of the vote -- but former state lawmaker Chris Herrod has closed considerably....

Bob Bernick's notebook: How stupid do they think we are? By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor With all of the negative TV, radio and flyer ads running in the U.S. 3rd District GOP primary race, you have to ask this:How stupid do these out-of-state sponsors think Utahns are?...

Spending by outside groups in Utah's 3rd CD approaching $1 million ahead of Tuesday's primary By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor The amount of outside independent spending in Utah's 3rd CD is inching closer to a cool $1 million....

Call your shot. What will be the order of finish in Tuesday's GOP 3rd CD primary election? By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Polls show that the race for the GOP nomination in Utah's 3rd CD is coming down to the wire. What do you think will be the order of finish for the three candidates? Vote now....

United Utah Party calls for state legislature to refuse taxpayer money for closed primary elections By Press Release The United Utah Party today called on the state legislature to stop spending taxpayer money on closed primaries. ...

Weekly survey: Will Hatch run again in 2018 By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Sen. Orrin Hatch has not yet said definitively whether he plans to run for another term in 2018 or retire. What do you think he'll do? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Policy News

Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report Outdoor Notes--Tribune: Utah Hike of the Week: Timpanogos Cave--Tribune: Hike to a cold, dark place part of the journey for teens in Utah youth program--Tribune: 'Glamping' destinations popping up all over Utah for a taste of luxury in the outdoorsWeekend EventsNew Films-- 1...

Utah Patients Coalition approved to begin collecting signatures for 2018 medical cannabis initiative Utah Patients Coalition has received approval from Lt. Governor Spencer Cox to begin gathering signatures to qualify for the November 2018 ballot....

Nominees announced for 5th District Court vacancy The 5th District Judicial Nominating Commission has selected nominees for a vacancy on the 5th District Court. ...

Register for the Utah Global Forum Register now for the Utah Global Forum, an event that facilitates dialogue on how businesses can expand beyond local boundaries and develop an import and export strategy to expand into the global marketplace....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Super PACs dump $853,000 into Utah special election to replace Chaffetz

Open SLC race in District 3 features a familiar face and two challengers who've knocked on 5,000-plus doors

Where's the Love? Congresswoman's constituents say they were left off her invite list

New party seeks to end state funding for closed Republican primaries

Salt Lake County GOP discusses investigation into acting Recorder Julie Dole, but postpones potential action

Opening 300 new jail beds leads to last-minute shuffling, changes in lead-up to secretive 'Operation Rio Grande'

Utah approves signature-gathering for 2018 medical marijuana initiative

Study: Utah isn't toughest on DUIs - only No. 8 - before its new law kicks in

Provo Mayor John Curtis' lead is shrinking in 3rd District race

Deseret News

Op-ed: Time to get the 'Trigger Trash' out of Saratoga Springs

Op-ed: The 'New West's' big lie

Editorial: Leaders must combat youth violence

Park City lawyer nominated to state alcohol commission

NPR: Feelings about Trump are dividing Utah candidates

Rep. Mia Love hasn't held public town hall in 628 days, Democratic group says

6 who dropped out or were disqualified still on Utah County ballots

Salt Lake County GOP extends investigation into acting recorder

Curtis continues to lead Herrod, Ainge in latest 3rd Congressional District primary poll

'Now the real work begins': Medical cannabis advocates cleared to collect initiative signatures

Other

Editorial: The most unglamorous election happens to be the one you need to vote the most in (Daily Herald)

Utah County starts official counting of vote-by-mail ballots (Daily Herald)

National Headlines

New York Times guilty of large screw-up on climate-change story (Washington Post)

Judge orders writer of NY Times' Palin editorial to testify (Associated Press)

Blowback from staffer scandal burns Wasserman Schultz (Politico)

Bill O'Reilly set to make first appearance on CNN (CNN)

Defense Secretary Mattis begins tech outreach with Amazon visit (Reuters)

U.S. destroyer challenges China's claims in South China Sea (Reuters)

Political tensions depress world stocks (AFP)

A surge of migrants crossing into Quebec tests Canada's welcome (New York Times)

Trump: 'The opioid crisis is an emergency' (CNN)

Federal judge orders State Department to search for more Clinton Benghazi emails (CNN)

Are Trump's Staff Turnovers Abnormal? (National Review)

Wise Words

Bargains

"Man is an animal that makes bargains: no other animal does this - no dog exchanges bones with another." Adam Smith

Lighter Side

Nine Months

"Hospitals in Chicago have seen the number of baby deliveries double this month. Which would be remarkable, until you realize that's exactly nine months after the Chicago Cubs won the World Series." James Corden

Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers.

Webb Publishing, LLC, 44 West Broadway #2502, Salt Lake City, UT 84101 SafeUnsubscribe™ newsletter@newslettercollector.com Forward email | Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by info@utahpolicy.com in collaboration with Try it free today