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Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing
Morning Must Reads for Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 355th day of the year. There are 11 days remaining in 2016.
Utahns are mostly pleased with Donald Trump's Cabinet picks. Trump wins the Electoral College vote. Opposing rallies about Bears Ears take place on Utah's Capitol Hill.
The clock:
- 31 days until Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President (1/20/2017)
- 34 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (1/23/2017)
- 79 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
- 322 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
- 686 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
Ten talking points for Tuesday:
- Cabinet positivity. Half of Utahns say they are pleased with Donald Trump's Cabinet selections so far according to our latest survey [Utah Policy].
- Countdown continues. Orrin Hatch's change in political fortune is our #6 Utah political news story from 2016 [Utah Policy].
- A victory, but no landslide. As expected, Donald Trump wins the electoral college vote. Trump called his victory a "historic landslide." It was nowhere near a landslide [Politico]. Utah's six electors cast their votes for Trump despite protests [Tribune, Deseret News]. A historic number of electors voted for someone other than the two major-party candidates. Most of those defectors were supposed to vote for Hillary Clinton [New York Times].
- Terror attacks. A gunman killed the Russian Ambassador to Turkey on Monday while yelling about Russia's role in the war in Syria [Wall Street Journal]. Donald Trump called the assassin of the Russian ambassador a "radical Islamic terrorist" [Politico]. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says a truck crash at a Berlin Christmas market is believed to be a terror attack. The incident killed 12 and injured 48 [Wall Street Journal]. German police raided a temporary refugee shelter following the attack [NBC News].
- Olive branch. Donald Trump met with Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim over the weekend in an effort to undo some of the harsh rhetoric about the country he used during the 2016 campaign [Washington Post].
- Late deciders. A new analysis shows many voters settled on casting ballots for Donald Trump in the final weeks of the election [FiveThirtyEight].
- Bears Ears brouhaha. Dueling rallies at the Utah Capitol express opposition and support for President Barack Obama creating a Bears Ears National Monument before he leaves office [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
- A Utah snub. Donald Trump may not visit Utah on his post-election "thank you" tour [Tribune, Deseret News].
- Homeless relocation. Salt Lake City leaders considered 11 sites for the relocation of homeless services before settling on the final four announced last week [Tribune].
- Dee resigns. Rep. Brad Dee stepped down from his Utah House seat last month in order to let his successor, Kelly Miles, take over early. Dee will also step down from his job with Weber County at the end of the year [Standard-Examiner].
On this day in history:
- 1803 - The United States formally took over territory acquired from France in the Louisiana Purchase.
- 1860 - South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the United States.
- 1989 - The United States invaded Panama to oust Manuel Noriega and install the duly elected civilian government.
Today At Utah Policy
 | Poll: Half of Utahns Say They Like Trump's Cabinet Picks President-elect Donald Trump has picked some, well, perhaps a kind phrase would be anti-establishment, people to serve in his soon-to-be cabinet.... |
 | Bernick and Schott on Politics: The Top-10 Utah Political News Stories of 2016 At the beginning of 2016, Sen. Orrin Hatch was looking like a lame duck heading into the last few years of his sixth term.... |
| Press Release: Utah's Elected Officials Stand Together in Opposition to Bears Ears Monument Designation On Monday afternoon, members of Utah’s federal delegation, along with state and county officials, stood together in opposition to an executive designation of a Bears Ears National Monument. Videos of the full press conference can be found on Facebook.... |
 | Real Women Run Offers Training For Women Looking Use Their Voice in 2017 and Beyond Real Women Run has two upcoming events for those who want to use their voice to work for change in their community, work on political campaigns, or are considering running for office: the Real Women Run Winter Training on January 14 from 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM ... |
| Podcast: The Top-10 Utah Political News Stories of 2016 - #6 Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott continue our annual countdown.... |
Policy News
| Press Release: House Democrat Pushes Back Against Public Lands Initiative Failures House Democratic Caucus Leader Brian King released the following statement during dueling press events regarding the possible designation of a Bears Ears National Monument:... |
| Mayor Jackie Biskupski Names Veteran Firefighter and Administrator Karl Lieb New Salt Lake City Fire Chief Mayor Jackie Biskupski announced the appointment of Karl Lieb as Fire Chief of Salt Lake City.... |
 | EDCUtah Adds 3 New Projects After So. California GS&O Campaign With the completion of the latest Global Strategy & Outreach (GS&O) campaign to Southern California last week, EDCUtah has added three new projects to its pipeline and generated four solid leads that look like promising future projects.... |
| Press Release: Finalized Moab Energy Plan Protects National Parks The Bureau of Land Management finalized a landmark oil and gas leasing plan on federal lands between Arches and Canyonlands national parks in Utah.... |
Local Headlines
Salt Lake Tribune
Editorial: Secrecy in juvenile court can be carried too far
At long last, the County Council prepares to deal with FCOZ
Group protests Trump, Electoral College at Utah State Capitol
Utah casts six electoral votes for Donald Trump amid shouts of 'treason'
Trump may skip Utah in his victory tour
Biskupski names veteran SLC firefighter as new chief
Mother and daughters are being evicted from homeless housing program
NFL stadium? Kayaking park? New city? Ideas start to flow for reinventing current prison site
County launches 'Pay for Success' programs in attempt to cut back on homelessness, incarceration
Juab County to be the first to get money from Utah's new Indigent Defense Commission
Top Utah leaders vow to use whole 'arsenal' to fight Bears Ears monument
Deseret News
Editorial: Give solar a chance don't cripple this promising and growing industry
S.L. County launching 2 programs serving at-risk homeless, repeat offenders
Trump's 'thank you' tour ends without Utah stop
Utah's six electors vote for President-elect Trump despite protest
NFL stadium at Point of the Mountain? Planners throw out big ideas at brainstorming session
Dueling demonstrations put pressure on Obama over possible Bears Ears monument
Utah gets first chance to weigh in on Obamacare replacement
Other
Brad Dee resigns House seat, plans to leave Weber County post at year's end (Standard-Examiner)
New DEA ruling has local medical marijuana advocates, lawmakers concerned (Standard-Examiner)
National Headlines
With electoral college vote, Trump's win is official (Washington Post)
Four Washington state electors break ranks and don't vote for Clinton (Seattle Times)
Priebus flexes muscle in Trump Tower (The Hill)
What Happens to Media Matters in a Post-Hillary World? (New Republic)
North Carolina's outgoing GOP governor just stuck it to his Democratic successor (Washington Post)
Trump private security force 'playing with fire' (Politico)
Dakota Access protests expose raw divisions and emotions in North Dakota (Los Angeles Times)
Trump's big cabinet surprise (CNNMoney)
Net Neutrality Rule to Get Scrutiny From FCC Republicans 'Soon' (Bloomberg)
Wise Words
Human Nature
"Knowledge of human nature is the beginning and end of political education." Henry Adams
Lighter Side
So Careless
"The Democratic National Committee was actually hacked because one of its directors clicked on a fake email to change his password, which gave Russia access to his account. Then Hillary said, 'I can't believe you'd be so careless with your email!'" Jimmy Fallon
