Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City.
Mia Love and Rob Bishop are being mentioned as possible candidates for Speaker of the House. Today is the deadline for the Trump administration to reunite migrant families. Conservatives in Congress launch an effort to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
TICK TOCK
- 103 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
- 186 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
- 831 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
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HERE ARE THE STORIES YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO TODAY
Love/Bishop “dark horse” candidates for Speaker
If Republicans retain control of the House in November, Reps. Rob Bishop and Mia Love are getting some consideration as possible candidates for Speaker of the House if the frontrunners can’t get enough support to win – http://bit.ly/2AbE9RF
Herbert 11th most popular governor
A new survey from Morning Consult says Gov. Gary Herbert has the 11th-highest approval rating in the nation – http://bit.ly/2mHJPsV
Hatch/Lee below 50%
The same Morning Consult poll says both Sen. Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch have approval ratings below 50% in Utah – http://bit.ly/2mLMZMm
Should lawmakers be able to call a special session?
A recent UtahPolicy.com survey shows Utahns are divided on a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow Utah lawmakers to call a special session – http://bit.ly/2v2vjj6
Density vs. population growth
Wilf Summerkorn argues high-density development is a viable way to address Utah’s explosive population growth – http://bit.ly/2v5dgsJ
OTHER UTAH HEADLINES
- A new study says Utah gets less federal revenue than other states, mostly because lawmakers refused to expand Medicaid [Tribune].
- Rep. Rob Bishop unveils a bipartisan plan to use money from energy development to repair roads and fund other needs at national parks [Deseret News, Tribune].
- A bill passed by lawmakers in last week’s special session would use gas-tax money for maintenance on roads in remote areas of Utah [Tribune].
- Riverton leaders are asking residents to cut their water use by 25% to help alleviate drought conditions [Deseret News].
- The Utah Supreme Court rejects a lawsuit from UTA to prevent supervisors from unionizing [Tribune].
- Workers at the Hurricane library say they were told to remove LGBTQ-themed displays that were celebrating Pride month [Associated Press].
NATIONAL HEADLINES
- Today is the court-imposed deadline for the Trump administration to reunite thousands of migrant families who were forcibly separated at the U.S.-Mexico border – http://bit.ly/2vanl7E
- Conservatives in the House launch a long-shot attempt to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel probe on Russia – https://wapo.st/2v9eC5J
- The government seized more than 100 recordings former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen made with people discussing matters that could relate to Trump and his businesses. Some of those recordings feature Trump himself talking – https://wapo.st/2v5iCo0
- The feds are looking into the relationship between Michael Cohen and the National Enquirer. The two engaged in favor-trading that potentially could expose President Trump to criminal campaign finance violations – https://on.wsj.com/2v8VBAv
- President Trump reaches an agreement with the European Union to work toward lowering tariffs and ending the trade dispute between the two entities – https://nyti.ms/2v43aIE
- The White House barred a CNN reporter from an event after she asked “inappropriate” questions of President Trump during his meeting with the European Commission president. The retaliatory ban brought condemnation from other news organizations, including Fox News – https://cnnmon.ie/2v7t6Dj
- Twitter is “shadow banning” several prominent Republicans in what they say is an attempt to improve the level of discourse on the social media platform – http://bit.ly/2v60Pgb
- President Trump’s proposed summit with Vladimir Putin has been pushed off until next year – https://abcn.ws/2v85lea
- The amount of corporate taxes collected by the federal government has plunged to historically low levels during the first six months of the year, increasing the federal budget deficit much higher than economists predicted – https://nyti.ms/2v8FMtl
- A federal judge allows a lawsuit accusing President Trump of violating a constitutional clause barring elected officials from doing business with foreign governments to move forward – https://abcn.ws/2v7LAmV
- Facebook shares tank after the company missed revenue projections. The drop wiped out as much as $150 billion in value – https://wapo.st/2v7IQG9
- Someone destroyed Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with a pickaxe – https://thebea.st/2v3UKkx
- Scientists announce the discovery of a watery lake beneath an ice cap on Mars – https://nyti.ms/2v8XxZN
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
- 1775 – The office that would later become the United States Post Office is established by the Second Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin takes office as Postmaster General.
- 1788 – New York ratifies the Constitution and becomes the 11th state.
- 1861 – Civil War: George B. McClellan assumes command of the Army of the Potomac following a disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.
- 1908 – The FBI was born ad the Bureau of Investigation. The unit officially became the FBI in 1935.
- 1947 – President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the United States National Security Council.
- 1948 – President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981, desegregating the military.
- 1953 – Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle orders an anti-polygamy crackdown on residents of Short Creek, Arizona, which becomes known as the Short Creek raid.
- 1990 – The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.
