Utah's Daily Policy Resource, Brought to you by Utah Policy Message CenterBecome a sponsor of our award-winning podcasts!Promote your business and reach thousands of Utahns who download our shows and interviews every week.Email us for information.Situational awareness - March 25, 2019Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City.Here's what is driving the day:
Political bracket face-off rolls onThe second round matchups in our 2019 political bracket are live. You can vote on our website, Twitter or Facebook. Check out the brackets here. Political trivia winners:Several readers knew "Big" Bill Haywood was the answer to our Friday question: Which native Utahn is buried in the wall of the Kremlin and was tried (but acquitted) for blowing up the Governor of Idaho? The first three who responded with the correct answer were:
Mike Mower did submit the correct answer, so the $25 Amazon gift card remains unclaimed. If you have a political trivia question you think can stump him, send it to me at bschott@utahpolicy.com. What do you think?We always welcome your feedback, questions, story suggestions, news tips, etc... Send us an email at this link. 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 TOCKToday is the 84th day of the year. There are 281 days remaining in 2019. 26 days to the Utah Libertarian Party state convention (4/20/2019) 40 days to the Utah State Republican Party Organizing Convention (5/4/2019) 70 days until the municipal election filing period opens (6/3/2019) 74 days until the municipal election filing period ends (6/7/2019) 89 days to the Utah State Democratic Party Organizing Convention (6/22/2019) 141 days to the 2019 Utah primary elections (8/13/2019) 225 days to the 2019 municipal elections (11/5/2019) 308 days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature (1/27/2020) 316 days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses (2/3/2020) 344 days to the 2020 Utah presidential primary (3/3/2020) 585 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020) Today At Utah PolicyPolitical Bracket Face-Off Second Round - Day 1By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor We're moving into the second round of our 2019 Political Bracket Face-Off. We have four matchups for you to vote on today. Apologies owed on Trump collusion assertions By LaVarr Webb, Publisher Bombshell! Bombshell! Bombshell!That word has been used thousands of time in the last two years to describe leaks or revelations in the lengthy Mueller probe into purported collusion with Russia by Pres. Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. Utah's GOP members of Congress hail Mueller report summary saying Trump did not collude with Russians By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Several Republican members of Utah's Congressional delegation took to Twitter on Sunday to hail the four-page summary from Attorney General Bob Barr which says special counsel Robert Mueller's report did not find a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016. Employment in Utah grew by 2.8 percent over the last year. Unemployment remains below national average By Press release Utah's nonfarm payroll employment for February 2019 grew by an estimated 2.8 percent, adding 42,400 jobs to the economy since February 2018. Utah's current employment level registers 1,536,300. No revisions were made to January's job growth rate. Stewart: 'I don't think we'll be terribly surprised' by what's in Mueller's report By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Rep. Chris Stewart said on CNN Saturday morning that he was "relieved" that special counsel Robert Mueller has finished his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. 2019 Utah Political Bracket Face-Off results - Day 4 By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor The final first-round matchups from our 2019 Political Bracket Face-Off are done. Results are below: Inheriting a mess - Bernick and Schott on politics By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Veteran reporters Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott analyze the latest Utah political news. OTHER UTAH HEADLINESDeseret News
Salt Lake Tribune
Other NATIONAL HEADLINESNo conspiracy with Russia. Attorney General Bob Barr wrote in a four-page summary of Robert Mueller's final report on his investigation into Russian interference into the 2016 election that President Donald Trump or his associates conspired with Russia - https://nyti.ms/2Fq7hUC Trump not exonerated on charges of obstruction of justice. Attorney General Bob Barr's letter said Mueller's report did not conclude that President Trump committed a crime by obstructing justice, but the report did not exonerate him, either - https://wapo.st/2FuhL58 Democrats call for the release of Mueller's full report. Democrats in Congress are vowing to press for the release of the report and may call Attorney General Barr to testify - https://politi.co/2FurZCE
Trump takes a victory lap, calls for an investigation into Democrats. Predictably, President Trump and his allies claimed "complete and total exoneration" following Barr's letter. Trump also called for investigations into misdeeds by Democrats - https://nyti.ms/2Fq7tDk Trumpworld to declare war on the media. CNN's Jim Acosta says Trump advisors are telling him the president and his allies will "slam and shame the media" in the coming days - http://bit.ly/2FqzoTJ Trump is not out of the legal woods yet. There are still about a dozen other investigations that spun out of Mueller's investigation, mostly focusing on President Trump or his family business - https://nyti.ms/2Fr6Vgo Democrats freezing out Republicans in Congress. Republicans say Democrats are playing political games in the House by shutting them out of the legislative process by refusing to work on bipartisan legislation. House Republicans allege Democrats are working to deny vulnerable members any legislative victories ahead of the 2020 election - https://politi.co/2FuGKW1 Migrant numbers are surging. Numbers from the Department of Homeland Security show the number of immigrants arrested or turned away at the southern border has climbed to levels not seen for years - http://bit.ly/2FrrRUz President Trump asks a court to allow him to block people on Twitter. A federal judge ruled last year Trump couldn't block users on the social network because it's a public forum. Trump is arguing the account is not owned by the government, so he should be allowed to block his critics - https://bloom.bg/2Fps6iP ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY1584 - Sir Walter Raleigh is granted a patent to colonize Virginia. 1807 - The English Parliament abolished the slave trade. 1911 - A fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City killed 146 people. The tragedy led to the eventual enactment of many state and national workplace safety laws. 1994 - U.S. forces completed a withdrawal from Mogadishu, Somalia, except for a small number of soldiers left behind to provide support for U.N. peacekeepers. Policy NewsThe Colorado River is a reliable source of water for Utah, says the Utah Division of Water ResourcesFalling storage levels at both lakes Powell and Mead have highlighted the potential effects of climate change on the Colorado River, causing some to question its future viability as a reliable water supply source for the state of Utah. More National Headlines
Wise WordsGetting Ahead "The secret of getting ahead is getting started." Mark Twain Lighter SideEnough Already "According to The Wall Street Journal, former Vice President Joe Biden has told several supporters that he intends to run for president in 2020. Oh my God, just announce already. It's like going to a Lou Bega concert and wondering if he's going to play 'Mambo No. 5.' He's going to." - SETH MEYERS Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers. |