Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 153rd day of the year. There are 213 days left in 2016.
Donald Trump clashes with the press over donations to veterans groups. Utah Democrats take a tepid stance against superdelegates. The sale of the Salt Lake Tribune to Paul Huntsman is finalized.
The clock:
- 27 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 47 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
- 53 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
- 160 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
- 236 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
- 281 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)
Ten talking points for Wednesday:
- Donald Trump clashes with the press during a press conference where he finally came clean about how much money he raised and donated to veterans causes. Trump said he raised $6 million for those groups, but the actual total was not quite that high. Trump was so upset by the press scrutiny he referred to one reporter as a “sleaze” and called another “a real beauty” [Politico, The Hill, Washington Post].
- Thomas Burr, president of the National Press Club and Salt Lake Tribune reporter, ripped into Trump saying he “misunderstands – or, more likely, simply opposes – the role a free press plays in a democratic society [Politico].
- Mitt Romney heaps praise on David French, a conservative lawyer that many are pushing to mount an independent run for president as an alternative to Donald Trump [Politico].
- California Gov. Jerry Brown, no fan of the Clintons, endorses Hillary Clinton in the latest sign the Democratic nomination race is all but over [Politico, Bloomberg].
- Utah Democrats kill a proposal that would have punished superdelegates who don’t vote for Bernie Sanders, who overwhelmingly won the Utah vote in March. They did approve a non-binding resolution calling on the national party to get rid of superdelegates starting in 2020 [Utah Policy, Tribune, 2 News].
- A grassroots group drops its lawsuit challenging the renegotiated joint operating agreement between the Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News, which clears the way for Paul Huntsman to finalize his purchase of the Tribune. The Tribune also gets a larger share of advertising profits than it previously did in the JOA [Tribune, 2 News].
- Huntsman pens a letter to readers about his taking over as publisher of the paper [Tribune]
- The Deseret News issues a statement on the sale of the Tribune to Huntsman [Deseret News].
- A Republican PAC is trying to minimize the damage Donald Trump could do to GOP candidates in Utah [Utah Policy].
- Gov. Gary Herbert is outspending challenger Jonathan Johnson by more than 2-1 on advertising so far ahead of the June primary [Deseret News]. Here are Johnson’s latest TV and radio ads [Utah Policy].
- Sens. Mike Lee and Orrin Hatch are on opposite sides of the issue of criminal justice reform [Tribune].
- Park City businesses could lose the right to use the term “Park City” in their name as Vail Resorts is attempting to trademark the phrase [KUER].
On this day in history:
- 1801 – Mormon Leader Brigham Young was born on this date.
- 1812 – President James Madison warned Congress that war with Britain was imminent. The War of 1812 started 17 days later.
- 1964 – The Supreme Court banned prayers and Bible teaching in public schools on the constitutional grounds of separation of church and state.
- 1967 – The album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by the Beatles was released.
- 1980 – The Cable News Network – CNN – went on the air.
