Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 215th day of the year. There are 151 days left in 2016.
Donald Trump’s feud with the parents of a fallen Muslim-American soldier continues into a fourth day. Trump says the November election is “rigged” against him. Democrat Charlene Albarran is mostly self-funding her challenge to Rep. Chris Stewart.
The clock:
- 98 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
- 174 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
- 219 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)
Ten talking points for Tuesday:
- Democratic 2nd District challenger Charlene Albarran is pumping massive amounts of her own cash into her campaign. Nearly 90% of her total campaign cash to date has come from herself [Utah Policy].
- Sigh. The feud between Donald Trump and the parents of a fallen Muslim-American war hero stretched into a fourth day. After continuing his criticism of the Kahn family, news emerges that Trump got five draft deferments during the Vietnam War, including one for a diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels [New York Times]. Sen. John McCain slammed Trump for his statements about the Kahn family [Politico]. A number of Trump’s supporters started pushing a conspiracy theory that U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan was a double agent for the Muslim brotherhood [Talking Points Memo].
- It looks like Hillary Clinton got a YUUGE bounce coming out of the Democratic convention last week of at least 6 points [FiveThirtyEight].
- Oh my! CNN’s Fareed Zakaria called Donald Trump a “bullsh– artist” on live television Monday [Huffington Post].
- At a rally in Ohio, Donald Trump said the election is going to be “rigged” in favor of Hillary Clinton [Time]. Also, Trump called Hillary Clinton “the devil” at the same rally [CNN].
- Billionaire Warren Buffett challenges Donald Trump to release his tax returns, saying he would meet the GOP nominee “any place, any time” with a copy of his own return and the two would answer questions from the public [Bloomberg].
- Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson may have damaged his standing among Utah Mormons after saying “religious liberty” legislation may “open up a can of worms.” He also speculated that the exemptions would allow someone to shoot another person because “God has spoken to them” [Fox 13].
- Must watch! Former Attorney General Mark Shurtleff sits down for an interview after public corruption charges against him are dropped [Fox 13].
- Two environmental organizations plan to sue the EPA for not taking action after Utah missed a deadline for meeting federal air quality standards [Tribune].
- Centerville Councilman Bill Ince is catching a ton of heat after suggesting that motorists run cyclists off the road [Deseret News].
On this day in history:
- 1776 – The Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, was signed by members of the Continental Congress.
- 1923 – President Warren G. Harding died of a stroke in a San Francisco hotel. He was succeeded by Vice President Calvin Coolidge.
- 1990 – Iraq invaded Kuwait, seizing control of the oil-rich emirate.
