Situational awareness - April 18, 2019

Situational awareness - April 18, 2019

Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City.

Here's what is driving the day:

• The redacted version of the Mueller report will be released today.
• Elizabeth Warren electrifies Democrats in Salt Lake City.
• The tax reform task force won't get down to work until sometime in May.

What do you think?

We always welcome your feedback, questions, story suggestions, news tips, etc... Send us an email at this link.

The UtahPolicy.com daily newsletter gets you up to speed on the top local and national news about politics and public policy. Our news is curated by Managing Editor Bryan Schott, along with help from Golden Webb. ((Click here to subscribe))

TICK TOCK

Today is the 108th day of the year. There are 257 days remaining in 2019.

2 days to the Utah Libertarian Party state convention (4/20/2019)

16 days to the Utah State Republican Party Organizing Convention (5/4/2019)

16 days to the United Utah Party state convention (5/4/2019)

46 days until the municipal election filing period opens (6/3/2019)

50 days until the municipal election filing period ends (6/7/2019)

51 days until the Independent American Party Utah State Convention (6/8/2019)

65 days to the Utah State Democratic Party Organizing Convention (6/22/2019)

69 days to the first Democratic presidential primary debates in Miami (6/26/2019)

103 days to the second Democratic presidential primary debates in Detroit (7/30/2019)

117 days to the 2019 Utah primary elections (8/13/2019)

201 days to the 2019 municipal elections (11/5/2019)

284 days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature (1/27/2020)

292 days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses (2/3/2020)

320 days to the 2020 Utah presidential primary (3/3/2020)

561 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

Democrat Elizabeth Warren thrills a standing room only crowd in Salt Lake City
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Massachusetts Sen. and 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren brought her campaign to Salt Lake City on Wednesday.

Tax reform task force won't get underway until May according to legislative leaders
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
We won't know until mid-May which 10 state legislators will be on the Tax Reform and Equalization Task Force, House and Senate GOP leaders told UtahPolicy.com on Wednesday.

Rural company Dragon Shale looks to transform Utah's oil shale industry
By USTAR Team
Located in Vernal, one fledgling Utah startup, Dragon Shale, is looking to disrupt the oil shale and petrochemicals industries and bring new opportunities for growth in rural Utah.

Weekly survey: Will Jon Huntsman run for governor again?
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
As UtahPolicy.com reported, current Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman Jr. is considering a return to Utah and another run for governor in 2020. .

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

• Editorial: 2020 candidate financials are out. Before donating, ask whether it's worth it
• What Utah Sen. Mike Lee had to say about Trump veto of ending U.S. aid to Saudi-led war in Yemen
• Two counties in Utah misspent room tax money on projects counter to state law, audit shows
• Pollution and national parks - why it's an issue
• These two Utah hot spots are among the nation's top growing, census data show
• Sen. Elizabeth Warren energizes Utah Democrats during campaign stop
• San Juan County votes to withdraw from Bears Ears lawsuit
• Utah Rep. Chris Stewart to see more of Mueller report than public, most members of Congress
• Utah struggling to cover the costs of growing demand for urgent mental health services

Salt Lake Tribune

• Michelle Quist: Utah 'creative disruption' will make medicines more available
• Southern Utah uranium producers hope Trump's trade decision will benefit them
• Protect views at our national parks and cut coal plant emissions, groups urge Utah
• 'You can't have a crisis center where no one answers the phone': Utah's suicide hotline sees an increase in calls but not funding
• Gehrke: Elizabeth Warren isn't the first, and won't be last White House hopeful to visit Utah. Here's why.
• Rep. Lisonbee returns to Facebook after deleting her social media accounts to deal with threats related to her stance on LGBTQ issues
• 'We need big, systemic change': Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren rallies supporters in Salt Lake City
• Salt Lake County's population may be twice as big, but Utah County attracted more new residents last year

NATIONAL HEADLINES

It's Mueller time. The Justice Department will release a redacted version of the Mueller report today. Attorney General William Barr plans to hold a press conference before delivering the report to Congress. Democrats are furious that Barr appears to be trying to shape public opinion before the release, and are demanding he cancel the press conference - https://politi.co/2GlUMd4

• The Justice Department has had numerous discussions about the contents of the Mueller report with the White House prior to its release in order to aid their rebuttal to the report and prepare for the public release - https://nyti.ms/2GmLOfF
• The report is expected to be lightly redacted, especially in the areas detailing possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump - https://wapo.st/2GlUrHk
• House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler is accusing Barr of protecting Trump with his rollout of the report - https://wapo.st/2GlABMl
• House Democrats want special counsel Robert Mueller to testify before Congress following the release of his report - http://bit.ly/2Gpca0N
• There are still three ways the release of the report could pose legal problems for President Trump - https://wapo.st/2Gf40rq

North Korea claims they tested a new weapon. The country did not specify what kind of weapon was test fired, and no missile launch was detected - https://cnn.it/2Gf48ao

Good economic news...especially for Trump. Fears of a recession are fading, which could boost President Trump's re-election bid - https://wapo.st/2GrwZbE

Democrats want Steven Miller to testify on immigration. House Democrats invited Miller, the controversial White House aide, to testify and about his aggressive policies cracking down on immigration - https://wapo.st/2GkhYIJ

Democrats heading to Fox News. After Sen. Bernie Sanders successful town hall on Fox News this week, other 2020 hopefuls are planning on heading to the right-wing media outlet. Sen. Amy Klobuchar will be the next Democrat to hold a town hall on the network - https://nyti.ms/2Gk2lRI

• Democrats are mulling changes to make it harder for 2020 hopefuls to qualify for primary debates - http://bit.ly/2Gk2ODs
• President Trump is not happy with his favorite network following Sanders' town hall. He griped about the favorable coverage of Sanders on Twitter following the event - https://politi.co/2GjpVOf

Ivanka passed on World Bank job. Presidential daughter Ivanka Trump says her father, President Trump, asked her if she was interested in leading the World Bank but she passed - http://bit.ly/2GiVBn0

Rick Perry is leaving the Trump administration. The former Texas governor is planning to leave his post as Energy Secretary but hasn't set a timeline for his exit - https://bloom.bg/2GkunfP

Herman Cain won't withdraw his nomination from the Fed Board. The former presidential candidate says he won't pull his name from consideration despite opposition from several Republicans in Congress - https://on.wsj.com/2Gk4H30

Kushner's Middle East peace plan not ready yet. The White House adviser and President Trump's son-in-law says his peace blueprint won't be released before June - http://bit.ly/2GlBxQR

Facebook collected the email contacts of 1.5 million users without their permission. The lists were "unintentionally" uploaded after a design change. The incident is the latest black eye for the internet giant - https://cnn.it/2Gryx5s

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1506 - The cornerstone was placed for St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

1775 - Paul Revere's midnight ride. Paul Revere began his famous ride through the Massachusetts countryside, crying out "The British are coming!" to rally the Minutemen.

1831 - The University of Alabama is founded in Tuscaloosa.

1906 - An earthquake destroys much of San Francisco, California.

1923 - Yankee Stadium opens.

1930 - The British Broadcasting Corporation announced that "there is no news" in their evening report.

1942 - Lt. Col. James Doolittle led a squadron of B-25 bombers in a surprise raid against Tokyo.

1983 - A suicide bomber in Lebanon destroys the U.S. embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people.

Policy News

Utah executives report cautious optimism about future economy
The Salt Lake Chamber released the first-quarter results of the Salt Lake Chamber's CEOutlook 2019 survey.

Center for Policing Equity revealed as a 2019 Audacious Project
What if science could eliminate racial bias in policing? Today, this question was answered by the Center for Policing Equity (CPE) as the focus of its big idea funded through The Audacious Project.

Join us for the 13th Annual Utah Economic Summit hosted by Governor Gary R. Herbert
The Summit will feature a keynote address and awards presentation by the Governor.

More National Headlines

• 'Shadowy' dark money network behind left-wing causes exposed in new report (FOX News)
• State's Attorney Kim Foxx Refers To Jussie Smollett As 'Washed Up Celeb Who Lied To Cops' In Newly Revealed Text Message (RedState)
• McConnell Campaign Site's 404 Error Page Features Image of Merrick Garland (Free Beacon)
• Ex-Virginia Gov. McAuliffe to rule out 2020 run (Associated Press)
• Microsoft Unveils Two Secret Data Centers Built for Classified Government Data (Nextgov)
• 'Bernie or Bust' Voters Create Predicament for Democrats in 2020 (Bloomberg)
• An early look at the 2020 electorate (Pew)
• Amazon isn't the only company that paid $0 in federal taxes last year (FOX Business)

Wise Words

Teachers

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." William Arthur Ward
 

Lighter Side

Crisis Manager

"After facing additional charges stemming from her role in the recent college admissions cheating scandal, actress Lori Loughlin has reportedly reached out to Lindsay Lohan's former crisis manager for help. Said the crisis manager, 'Are you sure? I'm not good at this.'" - SETH MEYERS