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Situational awareness - February 7, 2019

Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City.

Thursday's news at a glance: Utahns oppose lawmakers changing or repealing Prop. 4. Lawmakers advance their Medicaid expansion proposal with changes. Democrats ramp up the investigation into President Trump's finances.

Talk to us! Send us your news tips, suggestions, complaints or feedback here.

The UtahPolicy.com daily newsletter gets you up to speed on the top local and national news about politics and public policy. Our news is curated by Managing Editor Bryan Schott, along with help from Golden Webb. ((Click here to subscribe))

TICK TOCK

Today is the 38th day of the year. There are 327 days remaining in 2019.

35 days until the final day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (3/14/2019)

86 days to the Utah State Republican Party Organizing Convention (5/4/2019)

116 days until the municipal election filing period opens (6/3/2019)

120 days until the municipal election filing period ends (6/7/2019)

187 days to the 2019 Utah primary elections (8/13/2019)

271 days to the 2019 municipal elections (11/5/2019)

354 days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature (1/27/2020)

362 days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses (2/3/2020)

630 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

• Op-ed: Abortion of children with Down syndrome hints at eugenics
• Jay Evensen: Resolution on separating families at border ties committee in knots
• HB81 asks Utah State School Board to reimagine how school counselors serve students
• Group says oil and gas leases will ruin ancient cultural artifacts in Utah
• Bill intended to clarify what Utah health educators can teach about contraception stalls in committee
• How a Gold Star wife's visit to Washington gave more meaning to the death of her husband
• Bill that would ban abortions solely based on Down syndrome diagnosis heads to House floor
• Utah House committee passes bill to prohibit handheld use of cellphones while driving
• Utah House committee passes replacement for voter-approved Medicaid expansion

Salt Lake Tribune

• Connor Boyack: Car sharing shouldn't be criminalized at the airport
• Op-ed: UTA should not forget the Midvalley Connector BRT plan
• Michelle Quist: Listen to the people and keep Proposition 3
• Utah lawmakers advance bill to clean up rail emissions
• Utah lawmakers advance bill on radioactive waste; some fear it paves the way for depleted uranium
• Candidate field grows for open at-large Salt Lake County Council seat
• A state lawmaker says a San Juan County split should be on the table, after a court-ordered redistricting that 'disenfranchised' his voters
• No shutdown ahead for Utah government as state lawmakers approve bare-bones budgets to keep things running
• 'I had no idea it was such a small group.' Historical list of women in the Utah Senate fits on one page.
• Three Utah House Republicans - including the bill sponsor - voted against Medicaid replacer bill in committee
• Ban on hand-held cellphone use by drivers finally headed to a floor debate after years of failed attempts
• Sponsor of bill on Down syndrome abortion ban says this year's version sidesteps constitutional issues

Other

• Romney staffer visits Ogden council, talks of plan to turn historic Golden Spike area into a national historical park (Standard-Examiner)

NATIONAL HEADLINES

8 days until the government runs out of funding.

House Democrats supercharge the investigation into Trump. The House Intelligence Committee announced they would begin looking into President Donald Trump's finances and whether Russia or other foreign powers have influence over Trump or his family - https://nyti.ms/2SwUsQZ

Trump lashes out at Democrats as investigations ramp up. Trump called House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff a "political hack" and said the investigations are "political harassment" - https://wapo.st/2MVzGVH

Congress works toward a funding deal to avoid another shutdown. Negotiators are working toward an accord to increase fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border without giving President Trump the money he's demanding for a border wall - https://wapo.st/2Sy1Rzl

"There will not be another shutdown." Speaker Nancy Pelosi said shutting down the government again is an issue that will be "too hot to handle," and lawmakers have no appetite for another shutdown - https://politi.co/2SxDsKd

Mueller probe appears to be winding down. Another prosecutor is leaving Mueller's team, which observers say is a sign the investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia is coming to an end - https://cnn.it/2SEVUkt

Woah! In 2006, Donald Trump demanded $20 million to put his name on a tower in Moscow. A Ukranian-Russian made the claim during an interview with Bloomberg News - https://bloom.bg/2SAe7PZ

President Trump attended just 17 intelligence meetings in the last 85 days. Intelligence officials say the president participates in relatively few in-person intelligence briefings and does not regularly read the daily intelligence summary prepared for him - https://nbcnews.to/2StWLUX

2020 watch:

• Nearly 60% of Democrats say former Vice President Joe Biden should make a run for the White House - https://cnn.it/2SxBGZz
• Elizabeth Warren is doing some serious damage control right now. She says she may have identified as American Indian on other documents after it was revealed she did so on her Texas State Bar registration - https://politi.co/2SrPB3B
• Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who is expected to launch her presidential bid on Sunday, reportedly had three people decline to run her campaign because of her history of mistreating staffers - http://bit.ly/2SrPFAn
• If Howard Schultz launches an independent bid for the White House in 2020, a survey finds it would provide a boost for President Donald Trump's re-election chances - https://bloom.bg/2SCjgqE

What the heck is going on in Virginia? The #3 leader in Virginia, Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring, admitted Wednesday he dressed in blackface in college. The admission is yet another scandal engulfing the executive branch - https://wapo.st/2N0soQV

Polls! Polls! Polls!

• 74% of Americans say they back a proposed wealth tax on people with at least $50 million in assets - http://bit.ly/2SCJnO8
• Republicans are divided on whether wearing blackface is a problem. 36% of Republicans say it's acceptable, while 38% say it's not. 78% of Democrats say it's not acceptable - http://bit.ly/2SAIVAa

Farmers are getting hit hard by Trump's trade policies. U.S. agricultural exports are plunging and the average farm income has dropped to a nearly 15-year low, exacerbating a financial crisis in America's heartland - https://politi.co/2SwiGLg

The White House will introduce a program to boost economic security for women around the globe. The initiative, led by Ivanka Trump, will help bolster the global economy - https://nyti.ms/2SEvkHQ

Someone keeps sending Republican Sen. Ben Sasse mean fortune cookies. The cookies contain messages wishing creative forms of punishment on him - http://bit.ly/2SxC9ef

Department of conspiracy theories:

• Even though she appeared in public earlier this week, conspiracy theorists still insist Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg is dead - https://wapo.st/2Su0T7m
• Trump supporters are sharing a picture on social media they say shows Hillary Clinton wearing blackface. The photo is clearly not Clinton - http://bit.ly/2SEUAhu

The five warmest years on the planet have occurred since 2014. Last year was the 4th warmest year on record, trailing 2015, 2016 and 2017 according to figures from NOAA. Nine of the 10 warmest years in history have occurred since 2005 - http://bit.ly/2SxXZOP

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1795 - The 11th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified. The Amendment restricts the ability of individuals to sue states in federal court.

1962 - The U.S. bans all Cuban imports and exports.

1964 - The Beatles arrived in the United States for the first time and immediately set off a frantic wave of "Beatlemania."

1973 - The U.S. Senate voted to set up a committee to investigate a break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters in Washington's Watergate Complex.

1984 - U.S. astronauts Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart made the first untethered spacewalks.

2018 - White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter announced his resignation amid domestic abuse allegations from two of his ex-wives.

Policy News

More National Headlines

• The complete and utter collapse of Virginia's Democratic Party (CNN)
• Covington Catholic teen threatens to sue 54 news outlets, lawmakers and celebrities (Washington Times)
• Mnuchin says Trump's economic plan is working and 'we're not going back to socialism' (CNBC)
• Elizabeth Warren's slow-motion nightmare continues (Washington Examiner)
• Rep. Steve Scalise says House Dems refused to let him testify at gun violence hearing (FOX News)
• Trump says he wants to boost US legal immigration because unemployment is so low (FOX News)

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