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Daily Briefing

Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 325th day of the year. There are 40 days remaining in 2017.

The clock:

• 42 days until candidates can declare their intent to gather signatures for the 2018 election (1/2/2018)
• 62 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
• 107 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 108 days until the filing period for candidates in the 2018 election opens (3/9/2018)
• 114 days until the filing deadline for the 2018 elections (3/15/2018)
• 119 days until the statewide GOP caucus meetings (3/20/2018)
• 151 days until the GOP State Convention (4/21/2018)
• 217 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018)
• 350 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1,078 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

• Utah legislative leaders are struggling to cut down on the staggering number of bills filed for the upcoming legislative session. One unnamed lawmaker has opened a whopping 82 bill files ahead of the 2018 session [Utah Policy].
  
  
• The Sutherland Institute's Boyd Matheson opts against running for U.S. Senate in 2018. That clears the path for Mitt Romney to run should Orrin Hatch retire next year [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox returns to Utah after a week in Puerto Rico helping with relief efforts following Hurricane Maria [KSL].
  
  
• A group of Utahns rally against the GOP-led tax reform plans currently winding through Congress, saying they would harm big families and students [Deseret News, Tribune].
  
  
• Utah is on the hook for $349,000 in attorneys fees in order to settle a lawsuit against the controversial "ag-gag" law, which a judge struck down as unconstitutional [Deseret News].
  
  
• Kane County officials would like to see the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument shrunk significantly into two much smaller areas [Tribune].
  
  
• The committee exploring whether Utah should bid to host the 2026 or 2030 Winter Olympic games met for the first time on Monday. The group says Utah should not vie to host the games again unless that effort can be profitable [Tribune].
  
  
• Utah wins an award for having one of the top state government websites [Deseret News, Tribune].
  
  
• Transportation officials say Thanksgiving travelers should expect big delays along the Wasatch Front Wednesday evening [Tribune].

National headlines:

• The Justice Department is suing to block a proposed mega-merger between AT&T and Time Warner [New York Times].
  
  
• A study finds the House GOP tax reform plan would add $1.3 trillion to the national debt [Washington Post].
  
  
• The Trump administration has returned North Korea to the list of state sponsors of terrorism. The designation means new sanctions will go into effect on the rogue nation [New York Times].
  
  
• The government may be headed toward a shutdown next month if House Speaker Paul Ryan includes a fix for undocumented immigrants who came to the country as minor children as part of a year-end spending bill [Politico].
  
  
• A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from cutting off funds for so-called sanctuary cities [CNN].
  
  
• The FCC is planning to repeal Obama-era net neutrality regulations [Politico].
  
  
• A second woman has come forward accusing Sen. Al Franken of sexual misconduct. After the revelation, many liberal groups called for Franken's resignation [Politico].
  
  
• Democratic Rep. John Conyers settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 with a former employee who alleged the longtime Congressman fired her because she would not acquiesce to his sexual advances [BuzzFeed].
  
  
• Veteran journalist Charlie Rose has been suspended after eight women alleged lewd and gross behavior from Rose toward them, including unwanted sexual advances, obscene phone calls and walking around naked in front of them [Washington Post].
  
  
• The New York Times has suspended star political reporter Glen Thrush after numerous women accused the White House reporter of acting inappropriately toward them [Vox].
  
  
• The Trump administration announces they will end temporary immigration protection for Haitians in the U.S. by July 2019 [CNN].
  
  
• More and more Facebook employees are coming forward to say the internet giant is putting profits ahead of the best interests of its users [Axios].
  
  
• A dozen U.S. State Department employees are accusing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson of violating a federal law that would prevent foreign militaries from using child soldiers [Reuters].
  
  
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel may call for snap elections after she was able to form a governing coalition [BBC].
   
• The Argentine navy is desperately searching for a submarine that went missing last week [CNN].

On this day in history:

• 1620 - Plymouth Colony settlers sign the Mayflower Compact.
  
  
• 1789 - North Carolina ratifies the U.S. Constitution and is admitted as the 12th state.
  
  
• 1877 - Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph.
  
  
• 1905 - Albert Einstein's paper that leads to the formula E = mc is published in the journal Annalen der Physik.
  
  
• 1922 - Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia becomes the first female U.S. Senator. Her appointment was temporary, as she served just 24 hours.
  
  
• 1985 - U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard is arrested for spying after being caught giving Israel classified information.
  
  
• 1986 - National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents allegedly implicating them in the Iran-Contra affair.

Today At Utah Policy

One lawmaker has reportedly opened 82 bill files ahead of the 2018 session By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor Republican leaders in the Utah House and Senate are looking at ways to cut down on the number of bills being filed each general session....

Weekly survey: Should Sen. Al Franken resign? By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor At least two women have accused Democratic Sen. Al Franken of groping them without their consent. Should he resign from the U.S. Senate? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Sutherland Institute's Boyd Matheson not running for Senate in 2018 By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Boyd Matheson, the President of the Sutherland Institute, says he will not run for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Sen. Orrin Hatch next year. Matheson had toyed with the idea for a few weeks before opting not to run....

Policy News

Fox Files: 'Where will you be on May 10, 2019?' Governor Herbert recently called a meeting of the Golden Spike Commission, a group of Utahns tasked with planning the 150th-anniversary celebration of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad....

Case study - Snap Inc.'s 50 jobs make large impact Snap Inc., the creator of Snapchat, announced it will expand its operations to Utah. The company's $1.8 million capital investment will add up to 50 jobs and $2.5 million in new state revenue....

Help create a vision for the Point of the Mountain area The Point of the Mountain Development Commission invites you to attend a workshop to help create a vision for the future of the Point of the Mountain area....

Wise Words

Motivation

"You cannot push any one up a ladder unless he be willing to climb a little himself." Andrew Carnegie

Lighter Side

Slogan

"Two more women have come forward accusing Roy Moore of making unwanted advances at the mall, which explains that new slogan, "Amazon: So you don't run into Roy Moore at the mall." Jimmy Fallon