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Situational awareness - October 29, 2019

Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City

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Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:

• Salt Lake City voters give Mendenhall higher marks on leadership and the ability to get things done according to our new poll.
• Evan McMullin discusses Trump, Ukraine and election security.
• The House will vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry on Thursday.

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TICK TOCK

Days to the 2019 Utah municipal elections: 7 (11/5/2019)

Days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 90 (1/27/2020)

Days to the Utah presidential primaries: 126 (3/3/2020)

Days to the 2020 Utah primary elections: 245 (6/23/2020)

Days to the 2020 election: 371 (11/3/2020)

Today At Utah Policy

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

• Editorial: A divided America isn't what you think
• Pulling the plug: Will Trump sign a spending bill while impeachment marches on?
• Utah judge halts new restrictions on vape shops - for now
• New taxes likely needed for 2 critical, time-sensitive Utah commuter projects that cost $2.5B

Salt Lake Tribune

• Utah hemp farmers find success and struggles in their first year of growing
• Utah's top earners would get the largest share of the proposed tax cut
• UTA seeks comment about bus rapid transit line proposed from Davis County to downtown Salt Lake City

Other

• 'Getting the justice you can afford': Utahns join in to speak out against death penalty (Daily Herald)
• Prosecutor transparency bill planned for 2020 Utah Legislature (Daily Herald)

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NATIONAL HEADLINES

Calling Trump's bluff?

Democrats in the House will hold a vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump and Ukraine on Thursday. The Trump administration and Congressional Republicans have repeatedly complained that the inquiry is illegitimate due to the lack of a formal vote [CNN].

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Blockbuster witness?

An Army officer who listened to President Trump's phone call with the president of Ukraine will tell House impeachment investigators he heard Trump push for an investigation into his domestic political rivals. The national security official considered the call so damaging to national security he reported it to his superiors [New York Times].

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Another government shutdown?

As the House pushes forward with their impeachment inquiry, 12 must-pass spending bills have yet to reach the Senate. The current short-term spending bill expires in November [New York Times].

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2020

Top Democrats are warning that former vice president Joe Biden is at risk of placing fourth in January's Iowa Caucuses [Bloomberg].

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Gerrymandering

In a win for Democrats, a North Carolina court ordered new congressional maps for the 2020 election in that state. The court ruled the current maps are an illegal Republican gerrymander [Charlotte Observer].

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Environment

General Motors, Chrysler, Toyota and Fiat sided with the Trump administration in the battle to prevent California from mandating higher emission standards for new automobiles. Several other automakers already agreed to follow California's stricter rules [New York Times].

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Economy

The S&P 500 hit a record high this week, fueled by hopes for a trade deal with China [New York Times].

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Hmmm...

A new survey finds one in three millennials have a favorable attitude toward communism [Daily Caller].

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BUSINESS HEADLINES

• Utah goes from No. 1 to No. 3 in job creation (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Tax credit program, newly expanded in Coalville, entices growing company Escapod to remain in Summit County (Park Record)
• Salt Lake's Galileo snags $77M in quest to become center of fintech universe (Deseret News)

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Policy News

Sen. Lee reintroduces National Labor Relations Board Reform Bill
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) reintroduced the Protecting American Jobs Act Thursday, a bill that would strip the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) of its power to prosecute and adjudicate labor disputes.

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Curtis writes letter to Chairman Schiff after impeachment inquiry vote announcement
Representative John Curtis (R-UT), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent the following letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff after learning of the upcoming impeachment inquiry vote by way of the media.

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More National Headlines

• Trump's Defiant Message to Washington: My Approach to Alliances Just Worked (Atlantic)
• Washington Post columnist issues correction after claiming Baghdadi not a coward (Washington Examiner)
• President Trump Declassifies Photo Of Dog Involved In Killing ISIS Leader (Daily Caller)
• Mike Pence hits the road to pitch Trump policies: 12,000 miles, eight states (Washington Examiner)
• Elizabeth Warren misleads Americans on harm and costs of 'Medicare-for-all' (FOX News)
• China's industrial profits fall 5.3% in Sept as trade war toll mounts (Reuters)
• Our Bankrupt Nomenklatura (American Greatness)
• The politics of cooties (National Review)
• Media Tries To Suggest Katie Hill Did Nothing Wrong, Even Though Congress Passed Bill Last Year Banning What She Did (Daily Wire)
• Federal Judge Partially Revises Decision in Sandmann Case Against Washington Post (City Beat)
• Toyota, General Motors side with Trump administration in emissions lawsuit (The Hill)

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1901 - Leon Czolgosz was electrocuted for the assassination of President William McKinley.

1929 - The sale of 16 million shares marked the collapse of the stock market, setting the stage for the Great Depression. This day became known as "Black Tuesday."

1966 - The National Organization for Women was founded.

1969 - The first connection on what would become the Internet was made when bits of data flowed between computers at UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute.

2004 - Osama bin Laden, in a videotaped message, said he ordered the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

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