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Situational awareness - May 1, 2019 Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Welcome to Utah's must-read daily political news rundown. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for our emails. Here's what is driving the day: - Romney returns from a trip to the Middle East.
- Utah Republicans will consider several bylaw changes on Saturday.
- Mueller complains that Barr mischaracterized the nature of his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
 News tips/story ideas Give us your feedback and send news tips our way anytime. Email us at bschott@utahpolicy.com.
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TICK TOCK Today is the 121st day of the year. There are 244 days remaining in 2019. 3 days to the Utah State Republican Party Organizing Convention (5/4/2019) 3 days to the United Utah Party state convention (5/4/2019) 33 days until the municipal election filing period opens (6/3/2019) 37 days until the municipal election filing period ends (6/7/2019) 38 days until the Independent American Party Utah State Convention (6/8/2019) 52 days to the Utah State Democratic Party Organizing Convention (6/22/2019) 56 days to the first Democratic presidential primary debates in Miami (6/26/2019) 90 days to the second Democratic presidential primary debates in Detroit (7/30/2019) 104 days to the 2019 Utah primary elections (8/13/2019) 188 days to the 2019 municipal elections (11/5/2019) 271 days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature (1/27/2020) 279 days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses (2/3/2020) 307 days to the 2020 Utah presidential primary (3/3/2020) 548 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
Today At Utah Policy  Here are some of the bylaw changes Utah Republicans may consider at Saturday's convention
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
The 4,000 or so state GOP delegates meeting Saturday in their convention will not only be electing a new chairman and other party leaders, they will be asked to consider 24 bylaw changes and four resolutions.
 Romney describes Iraqi security challenges following Middle East trip
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Sen. Mitt Romney says the challenges in Iraq are "mounting and substantial" for the government, especially after the defeat of ISIS.
 Such a stupid red herring -- Bernick and Schott on politics
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
We preview the Utah GOP State convention, which is coming up on Saturday in Orem.
 Utah consumers less optimistic about future economy, still planning to make major purchases
By Press release
The Zions Bank Utah Consumer Attitude Index (CAI) decreased 10.2 points to 112.3 in April, the lowest level since June 2018. The year-over-year CAI ticked down slightly by 1.8 points. In comparison, the national Consumer Confidence Index increased 5.0 points to 129.2 this month.
OTHER UTAH HEADLINES Deseret News Salt Lake Tribune
NATIONAL HEADLINES Mueller complained to Barr about Russia report memo. Special counsel Robert Mueller sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr saying his 4-page summary of the report did not capture the "context, nature and substance" of Mueller's investigation - https://wapo.st/2vvJI8r - Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen calls on Barr to resign after Barr said under oath he had no knowledge of Mueller's reaction to his memo about the special counsel's report - https://wapo.st/2vxEKYG
Mueller willing to testify before Congress, but Dems say the DOJ is slow-walking any testimony. House Democrats say the Department of Justice is unwilling to set a date for a potential hearing so Robert Mueller can testify about Russian interference in the 2016 election - http://bit.ly/2vxcXaU
Democrats and Trump agree to infrastructure plan. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer struck a deal with President Donald Trump to seek a $2 trillion infrastructure deal. It's up to Trump to find a way to pay for it. Suggestions include a hike in the gas tax or rolling back some corporate tax breaks - https://politi.co/2vvGQYS
Emoluments suit against Trump moves ahead. A federal judge ruled Tuesday a lawsuit from Congressional Democrats accusing President Donald Trump of violating the Constitution by doing business with foreign governments can continue - https://politi.co/2vxqMG8
Democrats vow to punish Trump administration officials who don't comply with subpoenas. Fines and possible jail time are remedies being discussed by Democrats in order to enforce their subpoena power - http://bit.ly/2vxD5lU - Some Congressional Democrats say stonewalling of their investigations by the Trump administration has some of them re-thinking their stance on impeachment - https://cnn.it/2vF1033
Poll: Trump's Twitter could cost him another term. Nearly half of voters say President Trump's use of Twitter hurts his re-election chances - https://politi.co/2vweeyN
Another one of Trump's Fed nominees in trouble. Stephen Moore's controversial comments has cost him support from Senate Republicans, leaving his nomination to the Federal Reserve very much in doubt - https://politi.co/2vvtH23
American farmers feeling the economic pinch. Personal income for farmers fell by the most in three years during the first quarter of this year as Trump's trade wars take an economic toll - https://bloom.bg/2vwuPCI - American farmers are retiring from the profession and few younger farmers are stepping up to replace them - https://reut.rs/2vuhtHb
What?! The Trump administration will start DNA testing asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border who claim to be families - http://bit.ly/2vxcllC
Alabama lawmakers advance the nation's most restrictive abortion bill. The Human Life Protection Act outlaws doctors from performing most abortions - http://bit.ly/2vwuCzq
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 1846 - The few remaining Mormons left in Nauvoo, Illinois, formally dedicate the Nauvoo Temple. 1862 - American Civil War: The Union Army completes its capture of New Orleans. 1866 - The Memphis Race Riots begin. Reports of the riots influenced the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment. 1884 - Moses Fleetwood Walker becomes the first black person to play in a professional baseball game in the United States. 1886 - Rallies are held throughout the United States demanding the eight-hour workday, culminating in the Haymarket affair in Chicago, in commemoration of which May 1 is celebrated as International Worker's Day. 1900 - The Scofield Mine disaster kills over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what is to date the fifth-worst mining accident in U.S. history. 1931 - The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City. 1950 - Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth. 1956 - The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public. 1960 - Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spy plane, is shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis. 1999 - SpongeBob SquarePants premieres on Nickelodeon. 2003 - In what became known as the "Mission Accomplished" speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, President George W. Bush declares that "major combat operations in Iraq have ended." 2011 - President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden was killed in a U.S. commando raid on his compound near the Pakistani capital.
Policy News Romney joins colleagues in introducing bipartisan legislation to raise smoking, vaping age to 21U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today joined Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) in introducing the Tobacco to 21 Act, bipartisan legislation that would prohibit the sale of tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to anyone under the age of 21.
McAdams supports bill to help rein in prescription drug costsCongressman Ben McAdams is supporting a bipartisan bill to tackle one of the major causes of rising health care costs-the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs. T
Bishop, Kind highlight passage of bipartisan H.R. 1222House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Republican Rob Bishop (R-Utah) released the following statement on the passage of H.R. 1222.
More National Headlines
Attitude
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The Water is Warm
"When asked about Joe Biden running for president, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris said, 'Come on in, the water is warm.' That's what she said. That's a true quote. That's what she said. Then Bernie Sanders said, 'That's because I may have peed in it.'" - CONAN O'BRIEN Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers. Advertise With Us | 
