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 - July 17, 2020Good morning from Salt Lake CityLet's Friday!TICK TOCK109 Days to the 2020 election (11/3/2020)187 days to inauguration day (01/20/2021)192 days to the start of the 2021 Utah Legislature (1/25/2021)Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:
FRIDAY TRIVIAToday's question comes from Mike Mower: What musical did State Senator Deidre Henderson and Salt Lake County Council Member Aimee Winder Newton co-star in while they were students at Bennion Junior High? Send your guesses to me at mailbag@utahpolicy.com. We will select a winner at random who gets to ask next week's question. Good luck! Thanks for subscribing to Utah's must-read daily political news rundown.If you know of friends or colleagues who would benefit from our daily news roundup, please encourage them to sign up for our newsletter.Today At Utah PolicyWhite House document says Utah is in the coronavirus 'red zone'and should return to more restrictive measuresBy Bryan Schott, Managing Editor A document prepared for the White House's Coronavirus Task Force, but not made public, recommends Utah should close bars and gyms to stop the spread of Covid-19 in two cities and five counties. Republican congressional nominee Burgess Owens appeared on a QAnon web show By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Burgess Owens, the Republican nominee in Utah's 4th Congressional District, was a guest on a QAnon internet program in May where he stumped for campaign donations. Gov. Herbert says Utah will change some state Covid-19 guidelines to allow Salt Lake City schools to open By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Gov. Gary Herbert announced Thursday that the state was making an adjustment to their Covid-19 risk levels that would allow Salt Lake City students to return to the classroom this fall the fall. Bob Bernick's notebook: Does anyone know what is going on? By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor Well, we are four months into the coronavirus in Utah and we're actually worse off than when this all started. Hatch Center to hold 'Race and Civility' event with Senator Tim Scott By News Release The Hatch Center-the policy arm of the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation-announced it will be hosting a symposium on "Race and Civility in America" with Senator Tim Scott (R-SC). The event will be held as a live webinar on Wednesday, July 29 at 2:30 pm EDT. OTHER UTAH HEADLINESDeseret News
Salt Lake Tribune
Other NATIONAL HEADLINESBrutal pollJust 38 percent of Americans say they approve of the way President Donald Trump is handling the response to the coronavirus. 52 percent of Americans say they "strongly" disapprove [WaPo]. CoronavirusThe U.S. set another record with more than 70,000 new cases in a single day. It's the 11th time the country has set a new daily record for cases this month [WaPo]. Russian hackers are trying to steal data about U.S. efforts to develop a Covid-19 vaccine [The Verge]. The CDC has extended its ban on U.S. citizens boarding cruise ships through Sept. 30 [CNBC]. Partisan mask warsGeorgia Gov. Brian Kemp is suing Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to stop her from enforcing a mandate that people wear masks in public [Bloomberg]. EconomyAnother 1.3 Americans filed first-time unemployment claims last week [CNN]. Mortgage rates have fallen to record lows [AP]. U.S. retail sales jumped by 7.5 percent in June, which is better than experts expected [CNBC]. Target, CVS and Walgreens join the growing number of retailers who will require masks in stores [USA Today]. 2020 electionNext month's GOP convention in Jacksonville is shrinking as organizers are limiting attendance to the event amid a surge in coronavirus cases [AP]. Big donors are flooding Joe Biden's campaign with cash to help him close the money gap with Donald Trump's campaign [Politico]. Republicans are warning President Trump his attacks on vote-by-mail could hurt Republicans in November [CNN]. Democrats are instructing delegates, House and Senate members and party officials to stay away from their party convention in Milwaukee next month [NYT]. The Supreme Court refused to hear a case challenging a Florida law that blocked some Florida felons from regaining their right to vote in elections [WaPo]. Twitter attackHackers apparently paid off a Twitter employee to help them hijack accounts on Wednesday as part of a bitcoin scam [Vice]. Here's a good breakdown of what happened during the attack [Krebs on Security]. Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.Unidentified federal agents dressed in camouflage are driving around Portland in unmarked minivans and grabbing protesters off the street [Oregon Public Broadcasting]. OofMary Trump says she heard her uncle Donald use the "n-word" anti-Semitic slurs. "I don't think that should surprise anybody," she said during a television interview [WaPo]. More trouble for the RedskinsMore than a dozen women filed suit on Thursday claiming sexual harassment and verbal abuse by former employees of the NFL team [WaPo]. BUSINESS HEADLINES
Policy NewsSalt Lake City receives $80,000 grant to develop community nutrition hub in parks and recreationSalt Lake City's Youth and Family Services, in partnership with the National Recreation and Park Association, has received an $80,000 grant to develop a community nutrition hub to expand access to healthy foods through park and recreation programs and services. Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report 7-17-20 Outdoors Report-- Salt Lake Tribune: Dangerous algal bloom turns up in Zion National Park after dog dies in North Fork of the Virgin River More National Headlines
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY1867 - Harvard School of Dental Medicine is established in Boston. It is the first dental school in the U.S. that is affiliated with a university. 1918 - Russian Czar Nicholas II and his family were killed by Bolsheviks who held them captive for two months. 1938 - Douglas Corrigan takes off from Brooklyn to fly the "wrong way" to Ireland and becomes know as "Wrong Way" Corrigan. 1955 - Disneyland is dedicated and opened by Walt Disney in Anaheim, California. 1975 - An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with each other in orbit, marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations. 1981 - 114 people were killed and 200 injured in the collapse of two suspended walkways at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Kansas City, Mo. 1984 - The national drinking age in the U.S. was changed from 18 to 21. 1996 - TWA Flight 800, New York to Paris, crashed off the Long Island coast, killing all 230 people aboard. Wise WordsEquality "The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy." Benjamin Franklin, Emblematical Representations, ca. 1774 Lighter SideWoke Idiot "Let's spend the money we're lavishing on police departments on other nonviolent alternatives like mental health resources, substance abuse resources or, if Tucker Carlson's the one calling, we can send the woke militia to force-feed him vegan sausage," [Seth] Meyers concluded. "Maybe he'll like it maybe that will be the end of it all." Subscribers may receive special messages with information about new features, special offers, or public policy messages from clients and advertisers. |