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Situational awareness – July 11, 2018

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Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. 

Utah a top state for business. Trump says Germany is a “captive of Russia.” Democrats go on the attack against Trump’s Supreme Court pick.

  TICK TOCK   

  • 118 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
  • 201 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
  • 846 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

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  HERE ARE THE STORIES YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO TODAY  

Election results

Utah’s primary election results are final. No big changes since the early July vote as all of the frontrunners held on to their leads [Daily Herald, Tribune].

Utah is again a top business state

CNBC ranks Utah as the #3 state for business. Utah was ranked #8 last year and held the top spot in 2016 – http://bit.ly/2m5VNMF

Romney’s election oddities

If, as expected, Mitt Romney wins the U.S. Senate race in November, he would be the “junior” senator to Sen. Mike Lee even though he’s 24 years older – http://bit.ly/2N7HYcj

  OTHER UTAH HEADLINES   

  • Sen. Orrin Hatch is decrying Democratic opposition to President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, even though he has often led the opposition against Justices nominated by Democrats [Tribune].
  • Members of the Utah Gun Exchange is following the Parkland school shooting survivors around the country to hold pro-gun counter rallies [Tribune].
  • A visiting Chinese diplomat tells Utah officials a trade war would leave lasting damage on both the U.S. and China [Deseret News].
  • Salt Lake County Council members are worried the planned revamp of the UTA board would not bring needed reforms to the organization [Tribune].

  NATIONAL HEADLINES  

  • President Trump accused Germany of being a “captive of Russia” because it purchases energy from Moscow during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg – https://cnn.it/2N5wlCp
  • The leader of the European Council warned President Trump about his repeated attacks on European allies saying “Appreciate your allies. After all, you don’t have that many” – https://nyti.ms/2N63aiI
  • Senate Democrats come out swinging against Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court – https://nyti.ms/2N61Jkk

  • Some migrant children are reunited with their families following a court order. Meanwhile, the Trump administration announces they will release hundreds of migrant families wearing ankle bracelet monitors, returning to the “catch and release” policy President Trump has been critical of – https://nyti.ms/2N64br2

  • President Trump threatens another $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods in the escalating trade war between the two countries – https://politi.co/2N6H1AZ

  • The Chinese government unveiled a plan to shield companies from tariffs imposed by the U.S., pledging to funnel money collected from tariffs on American goods to companies and workers – https://wapo.st/2N2JufB

  • The Trump administration slashes grants to groups that help Americans sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act – https://wapo.st/2N6ffEp 

  • Pfizer announces it will temporarily roll back prescription drug prices after after meeting with President Trump – https://politi.co/2N7pRD8
  • The U.S. Senate is sitting on nearly 600 bills passed by the House over the past 18 months – http://bit.ly/2N7qtZA
  • The GOP is moving closer to naming Charlotte as the host of their 2020 nominating convention – https://on.wsj.com/2N8p5Wt

  • A record number of Americans are quitting their jobs to seek better employment opportunities as a result of the red-hot economy – https://bloom.bg/2N5yr5f

  ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY   

  • 1796 – The U.S. takes possession of Detroit from Great Britain under terms of the Jay Treaty.
  • 1798 – The U.S. Marine Corps is re-established. They had been disbanded after the American Revolutionary War.
  • 1804 – A duel occurs in which Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Stevens: Confederate forces attempt to invade Washington, D.C.
  • 1921 – Former President Willam Howard Taft is sworn in as 10th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, becoming the only person ever to hold both offices.
  • 1922 – The Hollywood Bowl opens.
  • 1960 – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is first published.
  • 1979 – The Skylab space station is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.