Friday's news briefing from Utah Policy: Weber County GOP, Lynn Hemingway, James Comey, Donald Trump, and spending cuts.

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Situational awareness - April 13, 2018

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City, and happy Friday the 13th! I hope your triskaidekaphobia isn't too bad today

The Weber County GOP wants to punish signature-gathering candidates. Rep. Lynn Hemingway drops his re-election bid. James Comey's book leaks. Trump proposes re-joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

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Tick Tock

3 days until the signature-gathering deadline for statewide ballot initiatives (4/16/2018) 8 days until the Utah GOP State Convention (4/21/2018) 15 days until the Utah Democratic State Convention (4/28/2018) 24 days until the final day a veto override session may begin (5/7/2018) 74 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018) 208 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018) 291 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019) 938 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Take a minute and subscribe to the "Bernick and Schott on politics" podcast. Listen to Utah's best political analysis while you're on the go. Hosts Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick have more than 60 years combined experience covering Utah politics, so they bring you knowledge and insight that's unprecedented. You can subscribe using iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher.

Here are the news stories driving Friday

"North Korea style"

Some Republican candidates in Weber County are upset that the rules for the election at the county convention are tilted toward candidates who don't gather signatures while severely punishing signature-gatherers [Utah Policy].

Hemingway heads for the exit

Democratic House member Lynn Hemingway drops his re-election bid due to his wife's illness [Utah Policy].

Return of the mainstream?

Bob Bernick writes that mainstream Utah Republicans are trying to wrest control of the GOP away from some of its more extreme members [Utah Policy].

What a week!

Veto override session. Rob Bishop for Governor? Mia Love raises (and spends) a lot of money. Mitt Romney qualifies for the ballot. Donald Trump's lawyer gets raided. Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick tiptoe through a minefield of news for our latest week-in-review [Utah Policy].

If you'd rather listen on the go, download the podcast here [Utah Policy].

Other Utah headlines

Sen. Orrin Hatch says anyone who is advising President Trump to fire special counsel Robert Mueller that they don't have the nation's best interests at heart [The Hill].
Entrance fees will go up by just $5 at Utah's national parks. The Interior Department originally wanted to double fees but scrapped the plan after public pushback [Tribune].
Lisa DeRees drops out of the race for Grand County Clerk/Auditor [Moab Times-Independent].
Weber County sheriff candidate Kevin Burns is staying in the race despite the fact his job in the sheriff's office ended after an investigation found a major breach in the way the agency handled evidence, which he was in charge of [Standard Examiner].
Three gun rights rallies are scheduled around Utah on Saturday [Associated Press].

National headlines

Fired FBI Director James Comey's forthcoming memoir has leaked. One of the initial stories from the book focuses is President Trump's was focused on disproving unconfirmed allegations in a dossier that President Trump was filmed by Russians interacting with prostitutes in a hotel room in Moscow [Washington Post].
It's now doubtful that President Trump will sit down for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation following the raid on his lawyer's office [NBC News].
Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, has a reputation for recording conversations. Trump's allies now worry those recordings are in the hands of federal investigators following the raid on his offices by the FBI [Washington Post].
A new national poll finds most Americans support special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign [Washington Post].
The Trump administration is working on a proposal to claw back as much as $60 billion from the massive $1.3 billion omnibus spending bill President Trump signed last month. It's unlikely Congress will go for the measure [Politico].
President Trump is proposing rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade deal he pulled the U.S. out of shortly after becoming president [New York Times].
Republicans in Congress are scrambling to save seats in districts that Trump won handily in 2016 as GOP leaders fear a rising Democratic wave in November [Politico].
Boring but important: A federal judge ruled that the Justice Department cannot tie funding for local police departments to requirements that they assist federal immigration agents [New York Times].
Defense Secretary James Mattis says troops that are sent to the border with Mexico will have "no contact with migrants" [Washington Post].
President Trump has ordered an audit of the Postal Service following his claims that Amazon.com is paying cut rates for shipping [Politico].
President Trump is planning on pardoning Scooter Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, who was convicted of lying to the FBI and obstruction of justice in the 2007 leak of the identity of Valerie Plame, a former covert CIA operative [ABC News].

On this day in history

1742 - George Frideric Handel's Messiah makes its world-premier in Dublin, Ireland.
1861 - Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces.
1870 - The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded.
1932 - Democrats accused the Hoover administration of wrecking the economy, plunging millions into misery and engulfing the government in debt due to extravagance.
1943 - The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson's birth.
1976 - The U.S. Treasury reintroduces the two-dollar bill.

Today At Utah Policy

'North Korea style'? Weber County Republicans move to punish signature-gathering candidates at convention By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Some Republican candidates in Weber County are decrying convention rules that they say give candidates who eschewed the signature gathering route to get on the primary ballot an unfair advantage while severely punishing those who unsuccessfully tried to use the signature pat...

Manual override! - Bernick and Schott on politics Ep. 369 By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick The Utah Legislature votes to hold their first veto override session since 2011....

Bob Bernick's notebook: The mainstream fights back By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor Some "mainstream" GOP delegates are preparing to fight back against what they perceive as inappropriate and disruptive actions by a minority of the party's State Central Committee....

Hemingway won't run for re-election By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Rep. Lynn Hemingway, D-Salt Lake City, announced on Thursday he is withdrawing from his re-election bid for his HD40 seat in 2018. He missed most of the 2018 legislative session because of his wife's illness....

Podcast: Bernick and Schott on politics Ep. 369 By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott tiptoe through this week's minefield of political news....

Weekly survey: Will Romney get a primary challenger? By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Mitt Romney will likely qualify for the primary ballot through the signature gathering route. Do you think Republican delegates will force him into a primary at this month's GOP convention? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Policy News

Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report Weekend EventsOutdoors Report--Tribune:Utah resorts made do, out-of-state guests came through, to salvage a low-snow ski season--Tribune:Entrance fees to go up by $5 at Utah's national parks - and most others across U.S. - after feds scrap plan to double some of those charge...

USTAR, WTC Utah connect Utah companies to incubators, investors in Mexico Utah companies attending a trade mission led by Governor Gary R. Herbert to Mexico this week had the opportunity to explore opportunities to collaborate with entrepreneurs at Startup Mexico, a nonprofit enterprise incubator, and meet with potential investors during a pitch e...

Westminster announces Christine M. Durham as 2018 commencement speaker Westminster is pleased to announce Christine M. Durham as the college's 2018 commencement speaker....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Op-ed: Cutting state income taxes not a silver bullet for economic growth

Even brief exposure to air pollution increases risk of flu and other respiratory infections in children

Gehrke: LDS Church's stance on medical marijuana doesn't make sense

Entrance fees to go up by $5 at Utah's national parks - and most others across U.S. - after feds scrap plan to double some of those charges

Despite more than a hundred complaints by residents, Utah regulators still struggle to find wood-smoke offenders

Deseret News

Jay Evensen: Would a postcard pay for the national debt?

Op-ed: Health care organizations must skate to where the puck is going to be

Editorial: The best regulatory policies are those with a light touch

Rep. Lynn Hemingway withdraws from Utah House race

Washington highway safety official on Utah trip talks marijuana and impaired driving

Rep. Rob Bishop may be 'testing the waters' for Utah governor's race

Is Utah a good place for millennials?

Utah collected $71M in school fees in 2017, audit finds

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch calls foul on media coverage of Zuckerberg hearing

Other

Editorial: Congress' questions to Mark Zuckerberg hardly inspire confidence in fixing Facebook (Daily Herald)

As Weber Co. GOP convention looms, candidate-selection process draws fire (Standard-Examiner)

National Headlines

Russian state TV tells viewers to pack essentials for WW3 bomb shelters (Mirror)

Comey Book: Classified Info Would Have 'Cast Serious Doubt' On Loretta Lynch's Independence In Clinton Email Investigation (Daily Caller)

Trump To Take Another Look At TPP (Daily Caller)

4 in 10 millennials don't know 6 million Jews were killed in Holocaust, study shows (CBS News)

House GOP pushes back plans to vote on making individual tax cuts permanent (CNBC)

Arizona Governor Agrees To 20 Percent Raise For Protesting Teachers (NPR)

Speaker Ryan resists calls to step aside for quicker transition to new GOP House leader (Washington Post)

Stormy Daniels' 'Make America Horny Again' shows postponed, canceled (USA Today)

On heels of spending binge, balanced-budget vote fails in House (Washington Post)

California Today: Could the State Weather a Recession? (New York Times)

Interior backs off tripling fees at national parks, but $12 billion maintenance backlog remains (Seattle Times)

Wise Words

Action

"After all is said and done, more is said than done." Aesop

Lighter Side

Massage

"Hillary Clinton just called the Russian president a world-class misogynist. When Trump heard that, he was like, "Wait, he gives massages too?" Jimmy Fallon

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