Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City.
Utah lawmaker may tackle net neutrality. Hatch says Roe v. Wade won’t be reversed. Trump upends the NATO summit.
TICK TOCK
- 117 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
- 200 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
- 845 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
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HERE ARE THE STORIES YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO TODAY
Hatch says Roe v. Wade won’t be reversed
Sen. Orrin Hatch says Democrats are crying wolf when the claim Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will help overturn Roe v. Wade, saying the landmark abortion decision is “settled opinion” – http://bit.ly/2uph8EK
Net Neutrality
Rep. Bruce Cutler says he’s considering bringing legislation to protect net neutrality in Utah to the 2019 legislative session – http://bit.ly/2KRcbj7
Public Lands
Sen. Mike Lee introduces a bill to prevent presidents from using the antiquities act to create new national monuments in Utah – http://bit.ly/2N3x4UA
Daylight savings
Rep. Rob Bishop unveils legislation that will allow states to opt out of Daylight Savings or Standard Time if they so choose – http://bit.ly/2N4Kpw3
In-person campaigning works
A new study from Harvard Business School says in-person door-to-door canvassing has a measurable effect for political candidates – http://bit.ly/2uoYjS6
OTHER UTAH HEADLINES
- The Megaplex Theaters back out of hosting a town hall meeting with survivors of the Parkland, Florida school massacre after a pro-gun group planned to set up outside of the meeting [Deseret News, KUTV, Tribune].
- Gov. Gary Herbert tells Utah GOP leaders it’s time to stop the infighting and get back to regular party business [KUTV].
- Sen. Orrin Hatch breaks with President Trump’s claim that Germany is “totally controlled by Russia” [Politico].
- Rep. John Curtis says President Trump’s trade war with China is already affecting Utah businesses [Deseret News].
- Utah officials won’t make changes to the plan to expand Medicaid with a work requirement, despite a federal judge ruling against a similar plan last month [Associated Press].
- The Road Home has implemented new security procedures following a scathing audit [Deseret News].
NATIONAL HEADLINES
- President Trump upended the NATO summit by threatening to pull out of the alliance if other countries don’t increase their spending on defense – https://wapo.st/2KQYv7t
- Trump’s claim that NATO countries owe the U.S. money for joint defense spending is false – https://cnn.it/2KNChDv
- President Trump wants to ditch the traditional robin’s-egg blue color scheme on Air Force One for a “more American” look – http://bit.ly/2NOnM0a
- President Trump says he will bring up Russia’s election meddling during his meeting with Vladimir Putin next week – https://wapo.st/2NamMlM
- China is vowing to hit back at the U.S. in response to President Trump’s call for more tariffs on Chinese goods – https://reut.rs/2KODWbY
- Democrats could slow Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to a crawl by requesting a thorough examination of millions of pages of documents relating to his time in the George W. Bush administration – https://politi.co/2KNLgEC
- More than 400 current and former Yale law students sign an open letter claiming “people will die” if Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to the Supreme Court – https://abcn.ws/2KNC8Qt
- Kavanaugh racked up thousands of dollars in credit card debt by buying tickets to the Washington Nationals. The debt has since been repaid or fallen below reporting requirements – https://wapo.st/2KQYfp1
- The Trump administration is speeding up their efforts to reunite migrant families that have been separated at the U.S.-Mexico border – https://nyti.ms/2KR8JoE
- Democrats hold an overall turnout edge over Republicans in competitive congressional districts that have had primary elections so far this year – http://bit.ly/2KOXYmx
- Embattled FBI agent Peter Strzok is set to testify before Congress in public following an 11-hour closed door grilling last month – http://bit.ly/2KTDF7P
- A group of 12 GOP senators is pushing a proposal to allow new parents to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave by using some of their expected Social Security benefits – https://abcn.ws/2KRIIW7
- Twitter is banning millions of fake accounts to battle misinformation on the social media platform – https://nyti.ms/2KTCHbH
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
- 1776 – Captain James Cook begins his third voyage.
- 1804 – Former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton dies a day after being shot in a duel.
- 1862 – The Medal of Honor is authorized by Congress.
- 1962 – The Rolling Stones perform their first concert at London’s Marquee Club.
- 1979 – Thousands of spectators at a Chicago White Sox game rushed the field at Comiskey Park in what was billed as “Disco Demolition” night. 39 people were arrested and nine injured in the melee.
- 1984 – Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale named Rep. Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. She was the first woman to share a major U.S. political party’s presidential ticket.