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Situational awareness - April 18, 2018

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. It's veto override day. Lawmakers return to the hill to attempt to override two of Gov. Gary Herbert's vetoes. We'll have full coverage of the session throughout the day.

Davis County GOP shenanigans. A secret meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Barbara Bush passes.

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Tick Tock

• 3 days until the Utah GOP State Convention (4/21/2018)
• 10 days until the Utah Democratic State Convention (4/28/2018)
• 19 days until the final day a veto override session may begin (5/7/2018)
• 69 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018)
• 203 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
• 286 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019)
• 933 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Take a minute and subscribe to the "Bernick and Schott on politics" podcast. Listen to Utah's best political analysis while you're on the go. Hosts Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick have more than 60 years combined experience covering Utah politics, so they bring you knowledge and insight that's unprecedented. You can subscribe using iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher.

Here are the news stories driving Wednesday

When does 60-percent not equal 60-percent?

Davis County Republicans say candidates needed 60-percent of the vote to win the nomination unless you gather signatures. Then you need 70-percent. That rule change sent one legislative race to a primary that normally would be over [Utah Policy].

Where do the ballot initiatives stand?

Here are how many verified signatures each ballot initiative has as of Tuesday [Utah Policy].

Other Utah headlines

• A new report shows outdoor recreation generates more than $12 billion annually in Utah and is responsible for more than 100,000 jobs [Deseret News].
  
  
• A state audit says the Salt Lake City Police Department should get information to the public more quickly when public interest is high [Deseret News, Fox 13, Tribune].
  
  
• Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Mia Love argue President Trump needs to get congressional authorization for military strikes on Syria [Tribune].
  
  
• A new Utah law will allow 17-year-olds to vote in a primary election if they will be 18 by the time of the general election [Deseret News].
  
  
• Staff shortages at the Salt Lake County jail could get worse before things improve. Low pay and meager benefits are hurting efforts to staff up [Tribune].

National headlines

• Huge scoop! CIA Director Mike Pompeo secretly met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over Easter weekend [Washington Post].
  
  
• Barbara Bush, former first lady, and matriarch of the Bush political dynasty dies at the age of 92. She was the second woman to be the wife of one president and mother to another [New York Times].
  
  
• Fox News host Sean Hannity's relationship with President Trump is so close that some White House staffers have called him the "shadow" chief of staff [Washington Post].
  
  
• Defense Secretary Jim Mattis wanted President Trump to seek congressional approval before approving airstrikes on Syria but was overruled by the president [New York Times].
  
  
• President Trump was reportedly so rattled by the FBI raid on Michael Cohen's office he had trouble focusing on the military strikes against Syria [Washington Post].
  
  
• A flap over sanctions on Russia blows up. U.N. ambassador announced new sanctions on Russia on Sunday. President Trump was reportedly enraged as he had not approved the sanctions. The conflict erupted into the open when a White House official said Haley was "momentarily confused" about the sanctions [New York Times].
  
  
• Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch sided with the four liberal members of the court to rule in favor of an immigrant facing deportation. The Court ruled the Filipino immigrant's second first-degree burglary conviction did not qualify as cause for removal [The Hill].
  
  
• A second Cambridge Analytica whistleblower says the company got the personal data of far more than the 87 million users Facebook admits were affected by the data leak [Business Insider].
  
  
• It's tax day again! Technical difficulties at the IRS made it impossible for taxpayers to file online for a good portion of Tuesday. The agency has extended the filing deadline by one day [CNN Money].

On this day in history

• 1506 - The cornerstone was placed for St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
  
  
• 1775 - Paul Revere's midnight ride. Paul Revere began his famous ride through the Massachusetts countryside, crying out "The British are coming!" to rally the Minutemen.
  
  
• 1831 - The University of Alabama is founded in Tuscaloosa.
  
  
• 1906 - An earthquake destroys much of San Francisco, California.
  
  
• 1923 - Yankee Stadium opens.
  
  
• 1930 - The British Broadcasting Corporation announced that "there is no news" in their evening report.
  
  
• 1942 - Lt. Col. James Doolittle led a squadron of B-25 bombers in a surprise raid against Tokyo.
  
  
• 1983 - A suicide bomber in Lebanon destroys the U.S. embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people.

Today At Utah Policy

Davis County GOP changes the rules to help convention-only candidates By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor When is 60 percent not really 60 percent?When you are a GOP candidate in Davis County....

Ballot initiative signature update By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor The deadline for ballot initiatives to submit signatures has passed. How close are the proposals to qualifying for the 2018 ballot?...

Weekly survey: LDS Church and medical marijuana By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Last week the LDS Church signaled their apparent opposition to the proposal to legalize medical cannabis that appears to be headed to November's ballot. Do you think the Church's stance on the issue will have an effect on the initiative at the ballot box? Vote now in our wee...

2018 Utah candidate tracker - Congress By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor There's a U.S. Senate seat up for election in 2018 as well as all four U.S. House seats. Here's the list of candidates ahead of the Republican and Democratic state conventions....

2018 Utah candidate tracker - Utah Senate By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor 2018 means another election cycle is upon us. Half of the Utah Senate seats are up for election this year. Here's the list of candidates are either headed to a primary or secured a spot in the general election....

2018 Utah candidate tracker - Utah House By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor All 75 Utah House seats are up for election this year. Here's our running list of who has clinched the nomination, and who is in a primary election....

Policy News

Utah companies establish meaningful connections in Mexico While participating in the governor led trade mission to Mexico City and Baja last week, 27 Utah companies made connections and learned how they can successfully expand their business to Latin America....

Wise Words

Independence

"You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence." William J. H. Boetcker

Lighter Side

Trump Lawyer

"Even though the FBI raided his office, Trump's lawyer said that he would rather jump out of a building than turn on Trump. When Melania heard the words "turn on" and "Trump," she said that she was going to jump out of the building." Jimmy Fallon