Tuesday's news at a glance: Utahns give Herbert and Cox high job approval ratings. The bill to override Prop. 3 sailed through the Senate but may face more resistance in the House. Federal prosecutors issued sweeping subpoenas to the Trump inauguration committee.
Quick theater review: I was fortunate enough to attend the Hale Center Theater's production of "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" this weekend. The musical tale of the systematic offing of the D'Ysquith family is well worth the ticket price. Lots of laughs and catchy tunes. You'll be singing "Why are all the D'Ysquith's dying?" to yourself for days afterward. If you have the time, catch the show before it's gone.
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Today is the 36th day of the year. There are 329 days remaining in 2019.
President Donald Trump gives his State of the Union address tonight (2/5/2019)
37 days until the final day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (3/14/2019)
88 days to the Utah State Republican Party Organizing Convention (5/4/2019)
118 days until the municipal election filing period opens (6/3/2019)
122 days until the municipal election filing period ends (6/7/2019)
189 days to the 2019 Utah primary elections (8/13/2019)
273 days to the 2019 municipal elections (11/5/2019)
356 days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature (1/27/2020)
364 days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses (2/3/2020)
632 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
Utahns give Herbert, Cox high job approval ratings
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
Utah Republican Gov. Gary Herbert continues to knock it out of the ballpark in his job approval ratings, a new UtahPolicy.com poll shows....
Stewart tangles with CNN's Chris Cuomo over Russia investigation
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Rep. Chris Stewart continued his full-throated defense of President Donald Trump on Monday night, telling CNN's Chris Cuomo there's no evidence that anyone associated with his campaign tried to collude with Russia....
Thomas Wright re-elected as Vice Chair for Republican National Committee's Western Region
By Press release
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel released the following statement congratulating Utah's National Committeeman Thomas Wright on his re-election as Vice Chair for the western region:...
Bill to override Prop. 3 sails through the Senate Monday morning, but it may face more opposition in the House
By Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick
The legislature's plan to replace the Medicaid expansion approved by voters with a more scaled-back version easily passed the Utah Senate on Monday morning. But, there may be rougher waters waiting ahead of them once the bill gets to the House....
President's message: The business case for clean air
By Derek Miller, President and CEO, Salt Lake Chamber
While Utah's superb business climate is unquestionably one of the top reasons businesses move here, Utah's quality of life remains a major selection factor for both corporations and people looking to relocate to our state. However, one factor that can negat...
Legislative bill to supplant Prop. 3 rolls back all Medicaid expansion in Utah if the state can't get waivers from the Trump administration
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
The scaled-back Medicaid expansion plan from lawmakers to supplant Prop. 3 depends wholly on the state securing waivers from the Trump administration. If they can't get those waivers, then all Medicaid eligibility granted from the expansion efforts would be taken away....
Deseret News
Salt Lake Tribune
Other
President Donald Trump delivers his second State of the Union address Tuesday night. Will we get "teleprompter" Trump or "Twitter" Trump? Aides say the president will call for comity in Washington, but his political foes are skeptical - https://politi.co/2GlZf18
Democrats are trolling Trump with their SOTU guests. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is bringing the activist who shouted down Sen. Jeff Flake during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. Others are bringing current undocumented immigrants who worked at Trump's golf resort or as his housekeeper. Many Democrats plan to wear white, which is a symbol of the women's suffrage movement in a show of solidarity against the president. - http://bit.ly/2Gr150D
Woah! Federal prosecutors issue sweeping subpoenas for documents from the Trump inaugural committee. They're looking for information about donors, vendors, bank accounts and information about foreign donors to the committee. The subpoena indicates prosecutors are looking into money laundering, mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States - https://wapo.st/2GoZ84O
Hmm. A lobbyist at the infamous Trump Tower meeting got half a million dollars in suspicious payments. A former Soviet military officer turned lobbyist deposited large amounts of cash in the months before and after the meeting where a Russian lawyer offered Trump campaign officials dirt on Hillary Clinton - http://bit.ly/2Gq0zjG
Republicans in Congress are balking at Trump's possible national security declaration to build the border wall. GOP leaders warn the president that his plan to circumvent Congress would spark a rebellion in his own party, and possibly a vote to overrule him - https://nyti.ms/2GnoxMl
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Keeping Trump's taxes secret. The Treasury Department is readying plans to thwart plans by the Democratic-led House to subpoena President Trump's tax returns - https://politi.co/2SrtqdI
Trump taps Bernhardt for Interior. President Trump names David Bernhardt, a former oil lobbyist, as the next Secretary of the Interior - https://nyti.ms/2Gpm9Vk
Public hangings for cop killers? Alabama State Auditor Jim Zeigler wants President Donald Trump to call for the death penalty by public hanging for cop killers - http://bit.ly/2SsySNq
Too many administration vacancies. GOP Senators are expressing concern that there are too many unfilled openings in the Trump administration - https://wapo.st/2GtJPYu
Virginia politics in chaos. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is rebuffing calls for him to resign after a racist photo from his medical school yearbook surfaced. The man who would succeed him, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is denying a sexual assault allegation from a conservative website - https://wapo.st/2GpdHVX
North Korea is hiding their nuclear missiles. A UN report says the country is trying to ensure its missile programs remain safe from U.S. military strikes - http://bit.ly/2SrGrnD
Ruth Bader Ginsburg makes her first public appearance since surgery for cancer last year. The 85-year-old Supreme Court Justice attended a performance in Washington, D.C. - https://wapo.st/2GmTWOY
Global warming will melt a third of the glaciers in the Himalayas by 2100. A new report says the melting of glaciers in the region where Mt. Everest is located could imperil the water supply of more than a billion people - http://bit.ly/2Sp22gx
1631 - British clergyman Roger Williams, who founded the colony of Rhode Island, arrived in Salem, Mass., seeking religious freedom.
1778 - South Carolina becomes the second state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
1917 - Congress passes the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The legislation imposed literacy tests on immigrants and barred immigration from the Asia-Pacific zone.
1945 - American troops led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur returned to Manila, liberating the Philippine capital from Japanese authority.
1958 - A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb is lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, never to be recovered.
1994 - White supremacist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of the 1963 killing of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
McAdams named a Housing Task Force Co-Chair
Congressman Ben McAdams has been named Co-Chair of the New Democrat Coalition Housing Task Force....
Sen. Lee delivers remarks on Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) spoke on the Senate floor regarding the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, to be considered by the Senate....
Cicero Group welcomes newest principals
Cicero Group, a market leader in data insights and implementation, is pleased to announce the advancement of three new Principals: Allison Miller, Cameron Nelson and Dan Case. With the addition of these Principals, Cicero Group is poised to enter 2019 with an eye toward grow...
History
"History never really says goodbye. History says, 'See you later.'" Eduardo Galeano
Border Narrative
"The White House looked into this and found no evidence to back up the president. It's a bad sign when even the White House is like, 'We have no idea what he's talking about either.' And even nuttier, someone figured this out: The prayer mats and duct tape, these were all plot points from the movie 'Sicario.' So, it's a good thing the president hasn't seen 'Star Wars,' because he'd probably be asking for money to build the Death Star." - JIMMY KIMMEL
