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Situational awareness - August 30, 2018
Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City.
Utah officials working with the DEA on medical marijuana distribution options. Republicans are challenging an attempt by Utah Democrats to replace a candidate on November's ballot. Trump is lobbying GOP Senators to let him fire Jeff Sessions.
TICK TOCK
- 40 days until the last day to register to vote by mail (10/9/2018)
- 47 days until mail-in ballots are sent to voters (10/16/2018)
- 54 days until in-person early voting begins (10/23/2018)
- 61 days until the last day to register to vote in person or by mail (10/30/2018)
- 63 days until in-person early voting ends (11/2/2018)
- 68 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
- 151 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
- 198 days until the final day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (3/14/2019)
- 796 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
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HERE ARE THE STORIES YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO TODAY
Marijuana maneuvering
Utah officials are discussing options with the Drug Enforcement Agency for possibly allowing pharmacies to distribute medical marijuana - http://bit.ly/2ou87rv
Candidate shuffle
Utah Republicans are crying foul as Democrats are continuing their last-minute efforts to replace a state Senate candidate on the ballot before Friday's deadline - http://bit.ly/2LCsLyJ
OTHER UTAH HEADLINES
Deseret News
Op-ed: Utah epitomizes the big power of small business
Op-ed: Improving wildfire policy is good for more than just the environment
Jay Evensen: Should police be allowed to take your property without proving you committed a crime?
Editorial: Salt Lake County gives a clearer path to citizenship
Crime in Utah is down, except in one troubling category
Residents tout link between Utah education dollars and energy economy
Inland Port board votes to keep subcommittee meetings closed to public
'40 years of saving lives': Utah governor, rescued runner mark Life Flight anniversary
FBI director says homegrown extremists are 'primary terrorist threat' to U.S.
Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake City drivers are improving, but are still worse than average, study says
Other
Curt Webb to voluntarily resign from Legislature (Logan Herald Journal)
NATIONAL HEADLINES
- President Trump announced on Twitter Wednesday that White House counsel Don McGahan would be leaving the administration this fall - https://nyti.ms/2oo4y5Q
- Advisors for President Trump are worried he doesn't have the staff or strategy to defend himself from a possible Democratic takeover of the House - https://wapo.st/2oo5cjM
- President Trump is reportedly personally lobbying GOP senators to turn on Attorney General Jeff Sessions so that Trump can fire him without backlash from Republicans in Congress - https://politi.co/2omydMH
- The late Sen. John McCain did not invite his former running mate, Sarah Palin, to his funeral in Washington, D.C. later this week - http://bit.ly/2omedd7
- Oof! The GOP nominee for governor in Florida is under fire for saying the last thing Floridians should do is "monkey this up" by electing his African-American opponent, Andrew Gillum - https://abcn.ws/2oquptP
- President Trump defended his administration's response to the hurricane in Puerto Rico last year despite a study showing an inadequate federal response led to a spike in deaths following the storm - https://wapo.st/2ooy3og
- Continuing his war against anyone linked to the dossier alleging ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, President Trump is suggesting that Justice Department official Bruce Ohr be fired - https://wapo.st/2okA5pk
- Former Trump campaign staffer George Papadopoulos has decided to stick to his plea agreement with special counsel Robert Mueller for lying to the FBI - https://abcn.ws/2ooznre
- Japanese and North Korean officials held a secret meeting in July without informing the United States - http://bit.ly/2omcvIX
- President Trump is accusing China of undermining his administration's diplomatic efforts with North Korea - https://nyti.ms/2opmGwo
- The Trump administration has formed a secret committee to combat public support for legalizing marijuana and fight legalization efforts - http://bit.ly/2omyVcY
- President Trump and his former lawyer Michael Cohen planned to buy all of the dirt the National Enquirer dug up on him dating back to the 1980's - https://nyti.ms/2oopOby
- Newly uncovered emails link a former Homeland Security official with known white nationalist groups - http://bit.ly/2okBMTI
- President Trump says Google did not promote his State of the Union address. It turns out Trump's claim is not true - http://bit.ly/2omRhul
- 65% of self-described conservatives believe that social media companies are purposely censoring conservatives and conservative ideas from their sites - http://bit.ly/2olw18n
- A new poll shows 55% of millennials plan to vote in the 2018 midterm elections - https://nbcnews.to/2olvTFV
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
- 30 B.C. - Cleopatra killed herself following the defeat of her forces by Octavian, the future first emperor of Rome.
- 1780 - Gen. Benedict Arnold betrayed the United States when he promised secretly to surrender the fort at West Point to the British army. He fled to England and died in poverty.
- 1918 - Fanta Kaplan, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, attempted to assassinate Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Lenin, shooting him twice.
- 1963 - The Moscow-Washington hotline between the leaders of the U.S. and Soviet Union goes into operation.
- 1967 - Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Supreme Court Justice.
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Today At Utah Policy
Utah officials are discussing medical marijuana distribution options with the DEAThe public debate now forming over Prop 2 the medical marijuana initiative on November's ballot is much like very intense battles in the 2015 and 2016 Legislatures....
Utah GOP cries foul after Democrats attempt to replace a candidate at the last minuteThe Utah GOP is fighting a last-minute attempt by Utah Democrats to replace a state Senate candidate on the ballot....
Energy and cleantech companies bring new opportunities to rural Utah As Utah looks to find new ways to sustain its economic prosperity, as well as address economic challenges in its rural counties, Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR) supported companies aim to find new opportunities in the energy and clean technologies sec...
Weekly survey: LDS Church and Prop. 2Last week the LDS Church sent an email to their members encouraging them to vote against Prop. 2, the medical cannabis ballot initiative. How effective do you think this plea will be in November? Vote now in our weekly survey....
Policy News
Mayor Bradburn Eliminates Previous Salary Question from ApplicationsAccording to recent studies, Utah is one of the worst states for its pay gap between men and women....
103 awards distributed to Utah elementary schools from USDA fresh fruit and vegetable program
Nearly 50,000 Utah elementary students from low-income schools throughout the state have received a great opportunity provided through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program....
National Headlines
Arrest of Iranian Spies in U.S. Just 'Tip of the Iceberg,' Lawmaker Warns (Free Beacon)
Democrats Just Confirmed Lots Of Trump's Judges So They Could Skip Town (HuffPost)
Jacksonville shooter legally armed himself in state with one of USA's toughest gun laws (USA Today)
Why evangelical Christians support Trump (AL.com)
New Rules Would Boost Rights of Those Accused of Campus Sexual Assaults (Wall Street Journal)
Amazon defends itself against Bernie Sanders' claims about workers' pay (Yahoo Finance)
Google won't send its CEO to testify, so senators may hold a hearing with an empty chair (CNN)
Trump says he is optimistic Canada will join trade deal as Friday deadline looms (CNBC)
