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| The UtahPolicy.com daily newsletter gets you up to speed on the top local and national news about politics and public policy. Send news tips or feedback to bschott@utahpolicy.com, or message us on Twitter. Situational awareness - May 29, 2020Good Friday morning from Salt Lake CityTICK TOCK32 days to the 2020 Utah primary elections (6/30/2020)158 Days to the 2020 election (11/3/2020)236 days to inauguration day (01/20/2021)241 days to the start of the 2021 Utah Legislature (1/25/2021)Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:Gov. Herbert confirms he asked Thomas Wright to drop out of the race for governor, but denies he offered him a deal to do so. Protesters in Minneapolis overrun and set fire to a police station. President Trump signs an executive order targeting perceived bias in social media, but experts say it's likely unenforceable.FRIDAY TRIVIALet's find out how much you know about Utah's public transit system. How many miles of public transit rail service (Trax or FrontRunner) are operating in Utah today? Send your guesses to me at mailbag@utahpolicy.com. We'll select a winner randomly from the correct responses. Good luck. Thanks for subscribing to Utah's must-read daily political news rundown.If you know of friends or colleagues who would benefit from our daily news roundup, please encourage them to sign up for our newsletter.Today At Utah PolicyBob Bernick's notebook: Plot thickens on Herbert/Wright chatBy Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor Well, as you can say about so many political problems, the plot now thickens.Wright says it's 'unfortunate' his private conversations with Gov. Herbert were leaked to the public By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Thomas Wright says he's disappointed in the story that Gov. Gary Herbert asked him to drop out of the GOP race for governor was made public, but he adds he thinks his campaign has been energized by the drama.Herbert confirms he asked Wright to drop out, but denies any deal By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Gov. Gary Herbert confirmed the story, first reported by UtahPolicy.com, that he asked former Utah GOP chairman Thomas Wright to drop out of the Republican race for governor and endorse Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, Herbert's chosen successor. But Herbert denied he offered financial or political support for a future campaign. OTHER UTAH HEADLINESDeseret News Op-ed: Experts warn of a suicide surge related to COVID-19. They may be right A. Scott Anderson: Young graduates have been hit hard by the economic crisis - but they're also the first to help Masks? Split sessions? State wants local school officials to play role in reopening Unemployment claims high, but decline for 7th week in a row as Utah businesses reopen TestUtah lab officials defend accuracy, decry 'undue' extra scrutiny 41 residents, 17 staffers at veterans home test positive for COVID-19 as state reports 2 additional deaths Utah Rep. John Curtis proposing to give Hong Kong residents priority refugee status as China asserts control Huntsman says Utah poised to 'knock the cover off the ball' Utah governor says 'no deal' made with gubernatorial candidateSalt Lake Tribune Taking a literal act of Congress, feds hand Utah parcels of public lands Utah scraps its investigation of TestUtah's coronavirus accuracy and will try again Utah unemployment claims keep inching down, now reaching Great Recession levels Utah highway budget cuts may delay roadkill cleanup, snowplow purchases After change in form of government, West Jordan manager moves to Riverton Gov. Gary Herbert plans to keep National Guard deployed after Trump extends coronavirus orders Judge issues restraining order against Grantsville coronavirus protest concert but organizers vow to fight on Gov. Herbert denies Grand County's request to keep hotel restrictions as Arches and Canyonlands reopenNATIONAL HEADLINESMinneapolis burnsProtesters in Minneapolis overran and set fire to a police precinct overnight [Reuters]. President Trump called the protesters in Minnesota "thugs" and offered military assistance to help quell the violence. Trump also tweeted "when the looting starts, the shooting starts," but Twitter concealed his social media post because it violated the platform's rules against "glorifying violence" [Twitter].Trump targets TwitterPresident Trump signed an executive order targeting social media companies. The order could allow the government to oversee political speech on the Internet. Critics say the order is likely a violation of the First Amendment and unenforceable [WaPo]. President Trump signed his executive order claiming right-wing voices are being stifled on social media. Data shows that's not true as conservative publishers dominate on Facebook [CNN]. Trump singled out a Twitter employee for fact-checking his posts claiming that mail-in balloting will result in voter fraud [Bloomberg].Coronavirus responseThe White House fumbled the initial distribution of the anti-viral drug remdesivir, sending the medication to hospitals that didn't need it [WaPo]. The Trump administration hid warnings from the CDC that singing in church choirs can spread the novel coronavirus [WaPo]. The White House is scaling back its task force on the coronavirus. The group meets only about once a week even though the number of deaths from the virus has passed 100,000 nationwide [CNN]. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he will sign an executive order allowing businesses to refuse service to customers who don't wear masks [Business Insider]. Sam Francisco will require people to wear a mask any time they come within 30 feet of another person [CBS]. Republican National Convention organizers outline the health and safety guidelines they plan to implement for attendees at the August event [Politico]. EconomyAnother 2.1 million Americans filed jobless claims last week, but continuing claims dropped nearly 4 million [CNBC]. The U.S. economy shrank by 5 percent in the first quarter of 2020 [Politico]. The White House will not release formal economic projections this summer [WaPo]. Delta and American Airlines are prepping for massive layoffs. American says it needs to eliminate about 30 percent of its workforce [CNN]. New Jersey may have to lay off 200,000 public employees because of a $10 billion revenue shortage [Bloomberg]. Hmmm...How did owners of private jets get government subsidies from coronavirus relief funds? [NBC News]. Millions of dollars in coronavirus relief funds went to big firms that avoided paying federal taxes [Reuters]. Washington newsThe Trump administration is considering defying Congress to sell more weapons to Saudi Arabia [NYT]. Sen. Lindsey Graham is urging federal judges who are nearing retirement age to step aside before the November elections so Republicans in the Senate can replace them with younger judges [WaPo]. The NSA is warning of an active Russian hacking operation that is targeting computer infrastructure [NBC News]. Let the games resumeThe Premier League will return to play on June 17 [ESPN]. BUSINESS HEADLINESZions Bank to build new tech campus on former Sharon Steel mill site in Midvale (Salt Lake Tribune) Derek Miller: Utah businesses are leading the way in a return to prosperity (Deseret News) Study shows small businesses surviving thanks to digital access (Deseret News) Zions Bancorporation announces tech campus project on former Superfund Sharon Steel Mill site (Deseret News) Utah's tourism industry pushed to make critical change to federal small business loan program (Park Record) Park City Chamber/Bureau details plans to start attracting visitors once again (Park Record)Policy NewsPreservation Fund saves 46 units of affordable housingThe Utah Housing Preservation Fund announced its first preservation of deeply affordable housing with the acquisition of 46 units of from Housing Connect, Salt Lake County's housing authority. The units otherwise would have been sold on the market necessitating the relocation of residents.Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report 5-29-20 Outdoors Report-- Salt Lake Tribune: 'I've never seen this many fish wasted': DWR seeks public help in case of 260 illegally dumped bass More National HeadlinesThe Most Important Coronavirus Statistic: 43% Of U.S. Deaths Are From 0.6% Of The Population (Forbes) Reeling From 'You Ain't Black' Comments, Biden Accuses Trump of Racism (PJ Media) WaPo Is Not Even Pretending to Be Unbiased Anymore (PJ Media) WH: Twitter Employee's 'Nazis in the White House' Claim Not Fact-Checked (CNS News) As America Divides, Florida and Texas Head One Way, California and New York Go the Opposite Direction (Epoch Times) Top disease official: Risk of coronavirus in USA is 'minuscule'; skip mask and wash hands (USA Today) Amy Klobuchar didn't prosecute officer at center of George Floyd's death after previous conduct complaints (The Week) Facebook is right. Twitter is wrong (Spectator) Biden Surrogate: China Prefers Biden to Trump (PJ Media) Let the Sun Shine In (City-Journal) No Clean Slate for Karens! (City-Journal)ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY1790 - Rhode Island becomes the last of the original U.S. colonies to ratify the Constitution and is admitted as the 13th state. 1848 - Wisconsin is admitted as the 30th state. 1886 - Pharmacist John Pemberton places his first advertisement for Coca-Cola, which appeared in the Atlanta Journal. 1953 - Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest. 1973 - Tom Bradley is elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles. 1988 - President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union when he arrives in Moscow for a summit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. 2004 - The National World War II memorial was dedicated on the National Mall in Washington. Wise WordsStill True Today"Unless we place our religion and our treasure in the same thing, religion will always be sacrificed." Epictetus Lighter SideMan of the Year"According to former Congressman Dave Trott, the man who presented Trump with the thing he remembers so well, there was no 'Michigan Man of the Year' award. What he gave Trump was a framed copy of President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. [as Trump] 'I want to thank President Lincoln for naming me Michigan's man of the year. This reminds of the time the D.M.V. gave me a beautiful plastic card naming me People's "Sexiest Man Alive." I keep it in my wallet with the Applebee's coupon naming me the pope of chicken wings.'" - STEPHEN COLBERT Listen to us on_Apple Podcasts Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers. |
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