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The UtahPolicy.com daily newsletter gets you up to speed on the top local and national news about politics and public policy. Send news tips or feedback to bschott@utahpolicy.com, or message us on Twitter.


Situational awareness - November 25, 2019

Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City


Thanks for subscribing to 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:

  • Lawmakers target Dec. 12 for tax reform special session.
  • Latest tax reform proposal includes a smaller tax cut.
  • Documents show the White House scrambled to justify withholding aid to Ukraine after the fact.

Trivia winner

Seven American presidents and presidential candidates have been assassinated. They are:

  • 1844 - Joseph Smith
  • 1865 - Abraham Lincoln
  • 1881 - James Garfield
  • 1901 - William McKinley
  • 1935 - Huey Long
  • 1963 - John F. Kennedy
  • 1968 - Robert Kennedy

Several readers correctly identified all seven, but the first to email the correct answer was Stan Rasmussen. For his reward, he gets to ask the next Friday trivia question.

The others who submitted correct responses were: Ron Fox, Zachary Zundel and Don Savage.


TICK TOCK

Days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 63 (1/27/2020)

Days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses: 70 (2/3/2020)

Days to the Utah presidential primaries: 99 (3/3/2020)

Days to the final day of the 2020 Utah Legislature: 108 (3/12/2020)

Days to the 2020 Utah primary elections: 218 (6/23/2020)

Days to the 2020 election: 344 (11/3/2020)



Today At Utah Policy

images/1000px_Capitol_Photos/Utah_Capitol_18.jpgSpecial session for tax reform will likely be Dec. 12
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Several sources tell UtahPolicy.com that legislative leaders are targeting December 12 for a special session on tax reform.
images/1000px_Capitol_Photos/Utah_Capitol_07.jpgNew draft tax reform proposal has smaller tax cut, still puts sales tax back on food
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
The latest tax reform package coming from leaders of the Legislature's Tax Reform Task Force has been made public, and there are only a few changes from a plan released several weeks ago, first reported by UtahPolicy.com.
images/1000px_Logos/Bernick_and_Schott_Logo_1000.jpgIf you're explaining, you're losing - Bernick and Schott on politics
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott guide you through the latest Utah political headlines.

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

Salt Lake Tribune

Other



NATIONAL HEADLINES

Ruh-roh!

A White House review of President Donald Trump's decision to place a hold on military aid to Ukraine turned up hundreds of documents that reveal extensive efforts to manufacture an after-the-fact justification for the hold. The documents also reveal an internal debate over whether the delay was legal [Washington Post].


There are tapes...

The House Intelligence Committee is in possession of audio and video recordings provided to the committee by Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani. The recordings include Giuliani and President Trump, but it is unclear what the content depicts [ABC News].


Yikes!

A lawyer for an indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani says his client is willing to tell Congress about meetings Republican Devin Nunes had in Vienna last year with a former Ukranian prosecutor to discuss digging up dirt on Joe Biden. Nunes is denying the allegation [Washington Post].


Confusing story

Defense Secretary Mark Esper demanded the resignation of Navy secretary Richard Spencer after he tried to cut a deal with the White House over a Navy Seal accused of war crimes. President Trump pardoned the commando over the objections of Navy officials [New York Times].


Hmmm...

Rudy Giuliani reportedly offered to help an indicted Ukranian Oligarch with his U.S. legal problems if he helped with Giuliani's campaign to get the Ukranian government to launch an investigation into Joe Biden [New York Times].


Impeachment

House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff says there could be more public hearings in the impeachment investigation into President Trump [AP].


He's running

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg officially joins the race for the Democratic presidential nomination [New York Times].

Bloomberg News will stop investigating the personal life and finances of its owner, Mike Bloomberg, while he is running for president [Washington Post].


"What's going on with Drudge?"

President Trump is fretting over a seeming turn against him by popular conservative news aggregator Drudge Report [Daily Beast].


China trade

A "phase two" trade deal between the U.S. and China is looking less likely as the two countries are struggling to strike a preliminary "phase one" agreement [Reuters].


Okay, boomers...

The U.S. is at the beginning of a tidal wave of homes hitting the market driven by baby boomers looking to sell [Wall Street Journal].



BUSINESS HEADLINES


Policy News

images/1000px_Logos/CYBER_24_Logo.jpgCYBER 24 episode 60: Website security
Over the past 10 or 15 years, something really remarkable has happened: the face of business has transformed.
JY Ferry & Son, Inc. receives Utah Leopold Conservation Award
JY Ferry & Son, Inc. has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Utah Leopold Conservation Award.

More National Headlines


ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1783 - More than 6,000 British troops evacuated New York City after signing the peace treaty ending the Revolutionary War.

1952 - Agatha Christie's murder-mystery play The Mousetrap opens in London. It will become the longest continuously-running play in history.

1963 - President John F. Kennedy, assassinated in Dallas three days earlier, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

1973 - President Richard Nixon ordered the national highway speed limit cut from 70 mph to 55 mph to reduce gasoline usage.

1984 - Thirty-six top musicians gather in a studio and record Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.

1986 - President Ronald Reagan announced the resignation of national security adviser John Poindexter and the firing of Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North in the aftermath of the secret, illegal Iran arms sale. North's secretary Fawn Hall smuggles important documents out of his office.

1999 - Six-year-old Cuban refugee Elian Gonzales was rescued by a pair of fishermen off the coast of Florida.


Wise Words

Perspective


"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."Mark Twain

Lighter Side

Not Loud


"This is a man who holds press conferences in front of a running helicopter, so I think you can hear him over a phone receiver. And if his best defense against impeachment is 'I'm not loud,' he's gonna be in prison by Tuesday."- JIMMY KIMMEL

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