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Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning must reads for Friday, February 24, 2017

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 55th day of the year. There are 310 days remaining in 2017.

"Zion Curtain" bill is back on track after nearly falling apart. FBI rejected a request to knock down reports about ties between Trump associates and Russia.

The clock:

• 13 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
• 256 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
• 332 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)
• 377 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)
• 621 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 1348 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Here are the stories making news in politics this morning:

• SCOOP! The bill to remove the "Zion Curtain" could see the light of day as early as Friday, but it was nearly derailed because of a dispute over how far away children could be from where alcoholic drinks are being prepared [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Want to understand what happened this week on Utah's Capitol Hill? Watch our week in review right now, including our award-eligible segment, "Holy crap! Trump did what?" [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Legislators may have found a way to speed up the process for holding committee hearings for some bills during the final days of a legislative session [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Lawmakers find a way around a roadblock that threatened to kill an economic development community [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Some companies that have disputes with Google are pushing President Donald Trump to select Sean Reyes to head the FTC because they think he will be tough on the giant technology company [Utah Policy].
  
  
• Rep. Mia Love tells Utah lawmakers that the Dodd-Frank regulations that came after the financial crisis were an overreaction to the situation, so that's why they need to be rolled back [Utah Policy]. Love also says she is sponsoring legislation to allow women to obtain over-the-counter birth control pills [Associated Press].
  
  
• Advocates for low-income Utahns are pushing back against a plan by lawmakers to restore the state portion of the sales tax on food [Deseret News, Tribune].
  
  
• The Utah House approves a bill to make Utah's blood alcohol limit for driving the lowest in the country [Deseret News, Tribune].
  
  
• The Utah House approves a bill to increase penalties for abuse and fraud connected to bigamy [Tribune, Deseret News].
  
  
• Friday blockbuster #1 - The FBI rejected a request to say reports about communications between Donald Trump's associates and Russia were not true [CNN].
  
  
• Friday blockbuster #2 - Russia's interference in the U.S. election was part of a larger plan to undermine confidence in Western governments [New Yorker].
  
  
• President Donald Trump says a proposed border tax on goods coming in from Mexico could boost the number of jobs in the U.S. [Reuters]. 

On this day in history:

• 1803 - The Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison ruled itself the final interpreter of constitutional issues.
• 1868 - The House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson following his attempt to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; the Senate later acquitted Johnson.
• 1920 - The German Workers Party, which later became the Nazi Party, met in Munich to adopt its platform.

Today At Utah Policy

'Zion Curtain' bill back on track after lawmakers eliminate a road block By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick A massive liquor bill which would, in part, get rid of the "Zion Curtain" in restaurants is getting closer to completion, now that one major obstacle is seemingly out of the way....

Companies that have a beef with Google are pushing Trump to pick Reyes to head FTC By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Utah Attorney General is still reportedly a prime candidate to head the FTC under Donald Trump, and companies that have tangled with Alphabet, Google's parent company, are giving him a boost....

Lawmakers find a way to revive an economic development bill killed in committee By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor When at first you don’t succeed, try, try again....

Bob Bernick's notebook: Teaching old dogs new tricks By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor If you keep your eyes open at the Utah Legislature, you can always learn something new....

Scoops, scoops and more scoops! - Bernick and Schott on politics #318 By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick UtahPolicy.com broke a lot of stories this last week. Lawmakers are getting tired of us asking questions about things we're not supposed to know about....

Podcast: Bernick and Schott on politics #318 By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott run down week 5 on Utah's Capitol Hill....

Love: Dodd-Frank must go By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick Rep. Mia Love is not a fan of the Dodd-Frank financial regulations, and welcome's President Trump's efforts to loosen them....

Weekly survey: What economic impact will the loss of Outdoor Retailers have on Utah? By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Now that the Outdoor Retailers Show is leaving Utah, what sort of economic impact do you think that will have on the state? Give us your thoughts....

Policy News

Wise Words

Abuse of Words
"Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society." John Adams

Lighter Side

New York Times
"President Trump today tweeted that the "failing New York Times must apologize" for publishing leaks from his administration, but at this point, if they didn't publish White House leaks, the whole paper would just be the crossword." Seth Meyers