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Situational awareness - August 16, 2019 Good morning from Salt Lake City and TGIF! Thanks for reading Utah's must-read daily political news rundown. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for our emails.
Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning: - Escamilla leapfrogs Dabakis and will face Mendenhall in the SLC mayor's race in November.
- Utahns think President Trump's use of Twitter is inappropriate.
- Trump warns if he's not re-elected the stock market would collapse.
Friday Trivia Utah has the longest streak of trifecta control in the nation, with Republicans in charge of the governor's office, House and Senate. When was the last time Republicans did not control all three? Send your guesses to me via email at [email protected]. The first three readers to submit correct answers will be acknowledged in Monday's newsletter.
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TICK TOCK Today is the 228th day of the year. There are 137 days remaining in 2019. 81 days to the 2019 municipal elections (11/5/2019) 139 days until candidates can begin to gather signatures to get on the 2020 ballot (1/2/2020) 164 days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature (1/27/2020) 171 days to the Iowa caucuses (2/3/2020) 179 days to the New Hampshire primaries (2/11/2020) 190 days to the Nevada Democratic caucuses (2/22/2020) 197 days to the South Carolina Democratic primary (2/29/2020) 200 days to the Utah presidential primaries (3/3/2020) 209 days to the final day of the 2020 Utah Legislature (3/12/2020) 210 days to the opening of candidate filing for the 2020 election (3/13/2020) 312 days to the 2020 Utah primary elections (6/23/2020) 332 days to the 2020 Democratic national convention in Milwaukee (7/13/2020) 374 days to the 2020 Republican national convention in Charlotte (8/24/2020) 445 days to the 2020 election (11/3/2020)
Today At Utah Policy  Escamilla overtakes Dabakis in SLC mayor race as Mendenhall widens lead
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
In a stunning reversal from election night, State Sen. Luz Escamilla erased a 109 vote deficit to pass former Sen. Jim Dabakis by 421 votes after the second wave of ballots were counted Thursday afternoon.
 Bob Bernick's notebook: When will I learn my lesson?
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
Bob Bernick Well, I don't learn very well.
 Utahns say Trump's use of Twitter is inappropriate
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
Most Utahns have read or heard about GOP President Donald Trump's tweets, and most think his tweeting is inappropriate and he should stop doing it, a new UtahPolicy.com/Y2 Analytics poll finds.
OTHER UTAH HEADLINES Deseret News Salt Lake Tribune
NATIONAL HEADLINES Trump on the economy - President Donald Trump told the crowd at a campaign rally in New Hampshire Americans "have no choice" but to vote for him in 2020; otherwise, the stock market would collapse [NYT].
- Associates of Trump say he's privately alarmed that an economic downturn could imperil his reelection chances [WaPo].
Israel relents. Shortly after announcing the country would block Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from entering the country, Israel said Tlaib would be given entry to visit her family in the West Bank [CNN].
Umm...what? President Trump wants to buy Greenland. Close associates say he has repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing the Danish territory. U.S. officials view Greenland as critical to American national security [WSJ]. - Danish officials said Trump's desire to purchase Greenland is "final proof that he has gone mad" [Reuters].
The investigations. House Democrats subpoena former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and former White House aide Rick Dearborn to testify in their probe into possible obstruction of justice by President Trump [Politico]. - The White House is considering invoking executive privilege to limit what Lewandowski says during his testimony even though he never had any role in the Trump administration [CNN].
2020 - A wealthy donor to former Vice President Joe Biden who has ties to Ukraine loaned Biden's younger brother a half-million dollars [Politico].
- Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang said he would beat President Trump at any challenge, either mental or physical because Trump "is so fat" [Atlantic].
Here we go again. North Korea launched two more projectiles on Friday. It's the sixth time the country has tested short-range ballistic missiles or other projectiles since last month [NYT].
Climate news. Scientists say July was the hottest month on Earth since records began in 1880 [AP].
BUSINESS HEADLINES
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 1812 - War of 1812: American General William Hull surrenders Fort Detroit without a fight to the British Army. 1841 - President John Tyler vetoes a bill which called for the re-establishment of the Second Bank of the United States. Enraged Whig Party members rioted outside the White House in the most violent demonstration on White House grounds in history. 1858 - President James Buchanan inaugurates the new transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria. 1896 - Gold is discovered in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada, setting off the Klondike Gold Rush. 1954 - The first issue of Sports Illustrated is published. 1962 - Pete Best is fired as the drummer for The Beatles. He was replaced two days later by Ringo Starr. 1966 - The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigations of Americans who have aided the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. 1977 - Elvis Presley died of heart failure at his home in Memphis at age 42.
Policy News Salt Lake County Mayor's Office and community partners hold town hall to address the opioid epidemic and educate the publicThe Salt Lake County Mayor's Office, Bonneville Media and Use Only As Directed, the state's opioid public awareness campaign, are partnering to host a town hall in September, addressing the opioid crisis gripping our community.
More National Headlines
Old
"Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read." Athenaeus
Political Attack
The Trump administration sued California, claiming "a naked political attack against a sitting president", but since the new law never named Trump directly, his suit "is kind of a weird self-own", said Colbert. It's like saying, "Guys, the new PTA rule that says you can't sneak a lukewarm cocktail of vodka and Crystal Lite into the meetings inside your water bottle is a clear attack against my wife," [Stephen] Colbert joked. Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers. Advertise With Us | 
