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Situational awareness - September 23, 2019

Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City

Thanks for reading Utah's must-read daily political news rundown. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for our emails.

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

• Utah voters back a mandatory waiting period on gun purchases.
• Romney calls the allegations involving President Trump and Ukraine "troubling in the extreme."
• Calls for impeachment among Congressional Democrats grow louder.

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Trivia answer

After serving three terms in the U.S. House, David S. King was appointed as Ambassador to both the Malagasy Republic and Mauritius. One of his granddaughters, Jody Olsen, has served as Director of the Peace Corps since 2018.

Congratulations to Ronald Fox, Dave Buhler and Clark Larsen, who were the first three subscribers with the correct answer.

If you have a political trivia stumper for our readers, send it to me at bschott@utahpolicy.com. I'll reward you with one of our limited-edition laptop stickers.

TICK TOCK

Days to the 2019 Utah municipal elections: 43 (11/5/2019)

Days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 126 (1/27/2020)

Days to the Utah presidential primaries: 162 (3/3/2020)

Days to the 2020 Utah primary elections: 274 (6/23/2020)

Days to the 2020 election: 407 (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

• Pignanelli and Webb: Is the ballot initiative process working well for Utah?
• Op-ed: Education - when will we ever learn?
• Op-ed: How the new trade pact with Mexico and Canada benefits Utah
• Editorial: Justice Gorsuch, Benjamin Franklin and a civics lesson for the country
• There's growing confidence in RISE test results, Utah education officials report
• Area 51 crowds may not see aliens, but could see lots of Latter-day Saint-owned cows
• Poll shows 'evolution' among Utahns on gun control
• Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch at BYU: 'Nine people in Washington should not govern'
• Voter privacy law a 'step too far,' Utah lawmaker says
• How Utah's natural resource agency could make more $
• Like many U.S. cities, Salt Lake finds it 'can't build way out' of affordable housing shortage
• Why Utah has a 'once in a generation' opportunity unique to any other place in the world

Salt Lake Tribune

• Editorial: Solitude is doing us a solid, dude
• Former Overstock CEO sells his stock, invests in gold, cryptocurrency
• An island no more? State to put up fences to keep Antelope Island bison, sheep from reaching the mainland
• Utah leaders unveil design of new Martha Hughes Cannon statue heading to D.C. next year
• During BYU appearance, Justice Gorsuch rebuts the notion that judges are just 'like politicians with robes'
• Here's what the Democratic presidential hopefuls plan to do with public lands if they defeat Trump
• Utah's two biggest development projects face an unlikely foe: mosquitoes
• Moab's block on new lodging has stirred a hornet's nest and caught the attention of state leaders
• Luz Escamilla calls criticism of her LDS faith 'insulting,' vows to be independent if elected Salt Lake City mayor

Other

• Ogden City Council adopts five-year strategic plan highlighting safety, recreation, city image (Standard-Examiner)

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NATIONAL HEADLINES

Trump and Ukraine

President Donald Trump admitted on Sunday that he discussed former Vice President Joe Biden during a phone call with Ukraine's leader. Trump has allegedly pressured Ukraine to investigate Biden in exchange for U.S. military aide [CNN].

Democrats in Congress are growing increasingly in favor of beginning impeachment proceedings against President Trump because of the Ukraine scandal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to House members saying Trump's behavior may have entered a "grave new chapter of lawlessness" [NYT].

House Democrats say they've "been very weak" in their oversight of Trump as they begin to push Speaker Pelosi on impeachment [WaPo].

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Iran

U.S. military officials are reportedly considering cyberattacks against Iran as retaliation for an attack on a Saudi Arabian oil facility [NYT].

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Trump's takeover of the GOP

Since President Trump was inaugurated in 2017, nearly 40 percent of the Republicans who were in Congress at that time have either retired or lost their re-election bids [WaPo].

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2020

Elizabeth Warren took a narrow lead over Joe Biden in Iowa for the first time according to a new poll of Democratic caucus-goers [Des Moines Register].

President Trump's re-election campaign is growing increasingly worried that they may not be able to win Michigan in 2020, forcing them to look at other states they could win next year [Politico].

69% of voters say they dislike President Trump personally, regardless of their feelings about his policies [Axios].

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Vaping warning

Republicans are warning President Trump if he follows through on a ban on flavored e-cigarettes it could cost him votes in next year [Axios].

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BUSINESS HEADLINES

• Op-ed: How the new trade pact with Mexico and Canada benefits Utah (Deseret News)
• North America's largest energy show is coming to Salt Lake City (Deseret News)
• FDA approves 'fast track' for Utah-based DiscGenics (Deseret News)
• Why Utah has a 'once in a generation' opportunity unique to any other place in the world (Deseret News)
• Vivint Smart Home to merge with arm of Japanese investment giant SoftBank (Deseret News)

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Policy News

Outdoor Industry networking event at Shades Brewing � Learn how to go global with WTC Utah
Join other local outdoor companies at Shades Brewing on Thursday, October 3 to discover how World Trade Center Utah can help take your outdoor products international.

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CYBER24 episode 51
One topic has dominated our podcast the past few weeks, and for good reason. Ransomware attacks have more than doubled this year and the majority of them have been targeted at state and local government.

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More National Headlines

• Missing piece to the Ukraine puzzle: State Department's overture to Rudy Giuliani (The Hill)
• Peter Schweizer: Trump right to question Biden dealings with Ukraine, despite Dem criticism (FOX News)
• Goodwin: Comey and Baquet - united against Trump - have caused a nonstop feeding frenzy (New York Post)
• At a rally like no other, Trump woos Indian American voters ahead of 2020 (Politico)
• Washington Post mocked for comparing Elizabeth Warren selfies to Frederick Douglass photos (New York Post)
• What Comes After Transgender? (American Spectator)
• So much for clearing up the planet! Climate change protesters who marched through Manhattan are branded hypocrites for leaving litter strewn across the city (Daily Mail)
• More Fracking, or More War? (National Review)
• Corporate America Has Found a Way to Turn a Profit Off Being Green (Bloomberg)
• Justin Trudeau, Identity-Politics Hypocrite (National Review)
• Saudi Arabia seeks action against Iran after oil attack, allies wary (Reuters)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1779 - American commander John Paul Jones is said to have declared, "I have not yet begun to fight!" during a Revolutionary War naval battle.

1806 - Meriwether Lewis and William Clark returned to St. Louis on their historic journey from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast and back.

1952 - Sen. Richard M. Nixon salvaged his vice-presidential nomination by appearing live on television to refute allegations of improper campaign fundraising. (The address became known as the "Checkers" speech because of Nixon's on-air reference to the family pet, a dog named "Checkers.")

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