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Situational awareness - December 17, 2019

Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City.

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Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:

• McAdams to vote yes on impeachment.
• Utahns evenly divided on whether President Trump should be impeached.
• Congress reaches a $1.4 trillion spending deal.

TICK TOCK

Days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 41 (1/27/2020)

Days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses: 48 (2/3/2020)

Days to the Utah presidential primaries: 77 (3/3/2020)

Days to the final day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 86 (3/12/2020)

Days to the 2020 Utah primary elections: 196 (6/30/2020)

Days to the 2020 election: 322 (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

• Editorial: Saving lives with 3 simple digits
• Why Democrats and Republicans want to buy Sen. Mike Lee a drink
• Utah high school graduation rate increases to 87.4%
• Republican Utah lawmaker Dan Hemmert drops out of congressional race
• Got solar? New study of Utah power customers will help determine compensation
• Salt Lake County to require background checks for gun show sales at county facilities
• New study confirms vaping linked to chronic respiratory disease
• Utah Rep. Ben McAdams announces he will vote for impeachment
• Millennials are sicker than Gen X, which bodes ill for the future economy

Salt Lake Tribune

• Polygamous Kingston Group may have swiped 'millions' in student aid, lawsuit says
• Bipartisan Utah group starts voter referendum to repeal new tax reform package
• State Sen. Dan Hemmert is dropping out of Utah's 4th District race against Rep. Ben McAdams
• Salt Lake County's mayor forces background checks on private gun show sales
• Utah Rep. Ben McAdams will vote to impeach President Donald Trump

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NATIONAL HEADLINES

It's impeachment eve

Several centrist Democrats announced they would vote "yes" on impeachment, all but ensuring the two impeachment articles will pass when they come up for a vote on Wednesday [New York Times].

More than 700 scholars pen a letter urging the House to impeach President Donald Trump [Washington Post].

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Ukraine

Rudy Giuliani said in an interview Monday that he told President Trump the ambassador to Ukraine was impeding investigations that would benefit him politically, which led to the ambassador's recall from her post [New York Times].

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Spending spree

Lawmakers in the House and Senate reach a deal on a nearly $1.4 in spending to avoid a government shutdown [The Hill].

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Trump tees off on the Debate Commission

President Trump hammered the Commission on Presidential Debates on Twitter Monday, saying the group is "stacked with Trump Haters & Never Trumpers," which is raising concerns he might skip the presidential debates next year [The Hill].

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Whoa!

A whistleblower in a complaint to the IRS that the LDS Church is sitting on about $100 billion in cash that is supposed to go toward charitable purposes. The complaint also accuses church leaders of using tax-exempt donations to prop up a pair of for-profit businesses [Washington Post].

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Supreme Court

The justices declined to hear a challenge to a law that prohibits homeless people from sleeping outdoors [New York Times].

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Tobacco

Congress is on the verge of banning tobacco sales to anyone under the age of 21 [Politico].

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Social media

Instagram will hide false or misleading content behind a warning for users. However, content from politicians will be exempt from fact-checking [TechCrunch].

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BUSINESS HEADLINES

• Op-ed: Lee's immigration bill will give Silicon Slopes the high-tech workers it needs (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Dominion Energy and partner look to transform Utah hog waste into energy (Deseret News)
• Fast-rising personal debt driving Lending Club's success (Deseret News)

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Policy News

CEO Success Stories with Stadler US CEO Martin Ritter
In the Salt Lake Chamber podcast called "CEO Success Stories," Derek Miller, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance, sits down with a top leader from across the state to hear from them their leadership philosophy, best practices and lessons learned.

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Competitive grant application workshop at WTC Utah Dec. 18
There is still time to STEP up your success by attending our Grant Writing Workshop this Wednesday, December 18.

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More National Headlines

• Comey Attributes FISA Abuses to 'Sloppiness,' Distances Himself from Russia Probe (National Review)
• Trey Gowdy On Comey's Admission He Was Wrong: 'It's Just Too Damn Late' (PJ Media)
• Voters Favor Jail, Firing for Rogue Officials Who Targeted Trump (Rasmussen Reports)
• Freshman Dem Jeff Van Drew to Switch Parties over Impeachment (National Review)
• Democrats Vow To Continue Impeachment Investigations Regardless Of Senate Outcome (Daily Wire)
• When Hate Becomes an Agenda (American Greatness)
• Rand Paul tells liberals: 'Quit yelling at us' (Washington Examiner)
• The next election will be decided by the suburbs (OC Register)
• Illegal immigrants to be able to get driver's licenses in NY after legal challenge fails (FOX News)
• This Is Who Linda Sarsour Is (Commentary)
• If AOC can't even understand her own healthcare plan, why should she design ours? (Washington Examiner)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1777 - France formally recognized the United States.

1903 - Orville Wright made history's first sustained airplane flight, lasting 12 seconds and covering 120 feet near Kitty Hawk, N.C. His brother Wilbur flew 852 feet later that day.

1933 - The first NFL Championship Game is played at Wrigley Field between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears. The Bears won 23-21.

1967 - The Clean Air Act is signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

1989 - "The Simpsons" premiered on Fox.

1992 - President George H.W. Bush and the leaders of Mexico and Canada formally signed the North American Free Trade Treaty.

1997 - New Jersey became the first state in the United States to permit same-sex couples to adopt children.

2014 - The United States and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.

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