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Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning must reads for Friday, July 7, 2017

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 188th day of the year. There are 177 days remaining in 2017. Today is the 168th day of Donald Trump's presidency.

The clock:

• 18 days until ballots for the August primary are mailed to voters (7/25/2017)
• 39 days until the 2017 Utah primary election (8/15/2017)
• 123 days until the 2017 election (11/7/2017)
• 199 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
• 244 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 487 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1,215 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

• NEW POLL: Utahns are evenly split over whether journalists who publish leaked information should be prosecuted [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Bob Bernick argues that Tanner Ainge might face some trouble at the polling booth because his father, Danny Ainge, signed Gordon Hayward away from the Utah Jazz [Utah Policy],
  
  
• Bryan Schott says Gordon Hayward won't sink Danny Ainge's political career. Rather, it's his lack of experience that will make voters turn elsewhere [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Rep. Jason Chaffetz uses his first appearance as a paid Fox News contributor to rip the Congressional GOP over health care [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Sen. Orrin Hatch is raising campaign cash hand over fist right now, even though he hasn't officially said whether he'll run for another term in office [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Speaker Greg Hughes' call for a "homeless czar" to oversee efforts in downtown Salt Lake City got state and local officials talking about a solution [Deseret News, Tribune].
  
  
• The last refugees arrive in Utah ahead of President Donald Trump's travel ban going into effect [Deseret News].

On this day in history:

• 1846 - U.S. annexation of California was proclaimed at Monterey after the surrender of a Mexican garrison.

• 1865 - Four people were hanged in Washington, D.C., after being convicted of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln.

• 1898 - The United States annexed Hawaii.

• 1930 - Construction began on Boulder Dam on the Colorado River.

• 1981 - President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

• 1987 - Lt. Col. Oliver North began his public testimony at the Iran-Contra hearing, telling Congress that he had "never carried out a single act, not one" without authorization.

Today At Utah Policy

Poll: Utahns divided on whether journalists who publish classified information should be prosecuted By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Well, so much for freedom of the press. Utahns are evenly split over whether journalists who publish leaked information from the government should face criminal prosecution....

Bob Bernick's notebook: Sins of the father By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor  What an interesting political year 2017 has become....

Calm down sports fans. Gordon Hayward won't sink Tanner Ainge's campaign By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Sorry Utah Jazz fans. The Gordon Hayward to Boston deal is not going to have much, if any, a political impact on Tanner Ainge this year....

Weekly survey: Will Hayward to the Celtics hurt Ainge's congressional bid? By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Gordon Hayward spurned the Utah Jazz to sign with the Boston Celtics this week, a team run by Tanner Ainge's father, Danny. Will Hayward's decision hurt Tanner Ainge's bid for Congress? Vote now in our weekly survey....

Election Experts See Flaws in Trump Voter Commission's Plan to Smoke Out Fraud By Jessica Huseman, ProPublica Vice President Mike Pence's office has confirmed the White House commission on voter fraud intends to run the state voter rolls it has requested against federal databases to check for potential fraudulent registration....

Chaffetz rips GOP over healthcare plan (with video) By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz is wasting zero time making waves in his new role as a Fox News contributor. On Thursday he said Congressional Republicans haven't figured out what they're doing with health care....

Hatch still raising massive amounts of campaign cash By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Even though there's lots of speculation Sen. Orrin Hatch may not run for another term in 2018, he's still pulling in tons of campaign cash....

Policy News

Industry sponsored mobile app now available to connect teachers with volunteers The STEM Partners Foundation today announced the release of the STEM Mentor Exchange (STEM MX), a mobile app designed to connect teachers with industry volunteers and resources and provide students with the learning experiences that will prepare them for the thousands of new...

Wise Words

Open Government

"The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them." Patrick Henry

Lighter Side

Vacation Photos

"A new poll found that 10 percent of people post vacation photos on social media to make others jealous, and 100 percent of people click on them to see co-workers in a bathing suit." Seth Meyers