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Situational awareness - October 21, 2019

Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City

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

• Utah voters disapprove of Romney and Lee's job performance.
• Romney pushes back against Trump on several issues in a pair of interviews.
• Trump backs down from his plan to hold the G7 at his Doral resort.

Mitt Romney has a secret Twitter account

Sen. Mitt Romney admitted Sunday night to running a secret Twitter account under the alias "Pierre Delecto." He used the anonymous account to defend himself against detractors and like tweets critical of President Trump [Washington Post].

Trivia winner

Connie Steffen was the first reader to correctly identify Richard Howe as the only person in Utah history to serve as Speaker of the House, a member of the State Senate and Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court. As the winner, she gets to ask this Friday's question.

TICK TOCK

Days to the 2019 Utah municipal elections: 15 (11/5/2019)

Days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 98 (1/27/2020)

Days to the Utah presidential primaries: 134 (3/3/2020)

Days to the 2020 Utah primary elections: 253 (6/23/2020)

Days to the 2020 election: 379 (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

• Pignanelli & Webb: Election is referendum on Trump, but also on leftist Democratic positions
• Q&A: Luz Escamilla on running for mayor, transportation and working with the Legislature
• Q&A: Erin Mendenhall on running for mayor, the homeless situation, mass transit and infrastructure
• Democrat Ben McAdams: I stand with Mike Lee - 'Beto, take it back'
• Editorial: When it comes to tax reform, slow and steady wins the race
• Utahns would pay new sales taxes on food, gas and services but less income tax under tax reform plan
• Is Utah the Goldilocks of liquor law? Too hard, too soft or just right?
• Why Democrat Ben McAdams just slammed Beto O'Rourke and agreed with Mike Lee
• Utah gun sales have surged in the last decade, study shows
• One-stop-shop center for veterans is first of its kind in Utah
• Is Mitt Romney also Pierre Delecto? Social media goes wild with speculation

Salt Lake Tribune

• Editorial: Latest legislative tax plan is more of a patch
• Utah lawmaker floats use of eminent domain for trails but runs into barriers
• Utah zip line operators win their land-use battle with Salt Lake water district
• New Utah tax plan: Consumers pay more on groceries, gas, veterinarian bills, save money on children
• Utah goes from No. 1 to No. 3 in job creation
• LDS Church says proposed 'conversion' ban would silence therapists, but its motives are under fire
• Utah's payday lenders hit hard times - 25% of stores close in 3 years

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NATIONAL HEADLINES

Trump backs down

President Donald Trump announced on Twitter over the weekend that his Doral resort would not host next year's G7 Summit after Republican supporters said they were tired of defending him [Washington Post].

Trump first learned about Republican criticism of his decision to award the G7 to himself while watching Fox News [New York Times].

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Ukraine scandal

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney keeps trying to walk back comments he made last week that seemingly confirmed a quid pro quo tying military aid to Ukraine to efforts to dig up dirt on President Trump's political opponents [New York Times].

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2020

Pete Buttigieg surges into the top-three in Iowa in a new poll [USA Today].

Democratic presidential frontrunner Elizabeth Warren says she will release a plan on how to pay for "Medicare for all" in the near future [New York Times].

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Syria

President Trump is said to favor a plan to leave a few hundred troops in eastern Syria [New York Times].

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Afghanistan

The U.S. is quietly reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan despite the lack of a peace deal with the Taliban [New York Times].

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a congressional delegation made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan over the weekend [Washington Post].

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But her emails...

A State Department investigation finds no "deliberate mishandling of classified information" related to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server [CNN].

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BUSINESS HEADLINES

• Utah goes from No. 1 to No. 3 in job creation (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Tax credit program, newly expanded in Coalville, entices growing company Escapod to remain in Summit County (Park Record)
• Salt Lake's Galileo snags $77M in quest to become center of fintech universe (Deseret News)

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Policy News

CYBER 24 podcast: Cyber attacks as part of military responses
Cyber warfare is at the heart of a potential U.S. response to incidents in the Middle East, according to published reports. While attacks and responses to attacks have traditionally been held on the battlefield, that battlefield is increasingly moving to the cyber world.

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More National Headlines

• Iowa 2020: Just 7% call impeachment 'important,' Trump beating Warren, Biden (Washington Examiner)
• Trudeau is blind to his own divisive politics (National Post)
• State Department finds violations by 38 people in Clinton emails review (Washington Examiner)
• Times Square Athleisure Wear Billboard Depicts Trump Getting Hogtied (PJ Media)
• Autobahn Still Free of Speed Limit after Vote in Germany (Car and Driver)
• Amazon Is Spending Big to Oust Seattle's Socialist Council Member (The Nation)
• Trump didn't sell out the Kurds by pulling out of Syria (New York Post)
• Why Mark Zuckerberg wants to recruit outside the Ivy League liberal bubble (New York Post)
• Merkel says German multiculturalism has failed (Reuters)
• 'Hillbilly Elegy' author JD Vance on running for office: 'You never say never' (NBC News)
• Lawmakers criticize Apple CEO Tim Cook for 'censorship' of apps in China (CNBC)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1776 - The border between Maryland and Pennsylvania was established. Dubbed the "Mason-Dixon" line, it became the unofficial boundary between North and South.

1867 - The United States completed its purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million, taking possession of the territory from Russia.

1962 - Dr. James D. Watson of the United States and Dr. Francis Crick and Dr. Maurice Wilkins of Britain were named winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work in determining the double-helix molecular structure of DNA.

1972 - Congress passed the Clean Water Act, overriding President Richard M. Nixon's veto.

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