Burgess Owens leads the GOP race in CD4. Your Thursday morning political 'cheat sheet' from UtahPolicy.com

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Situational awareness - May 21, 2020

Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City

TICK TOCK

40 days to the 2020 Utah primary elections (6/30/2020)

166 Days to the 2020 election (11/3/2020)

244 days to inauguration day (01/20/2021)

249 days to the start of the 2021 Utah Legislature (1/25/2021)

Here are the stories you need to pay attention to this morning:

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Today At Utah Policy

OTHER UTAH HEADLINES

Deseret News

Salt Lake Tribune

Other

NATIONAL HEADLINES

Trump vs. China

President Trump is escalating his rhetoric against China, suggesting the country's leader is behind a "disinformation and propaganda attack" on the U.S. and its European allies [Bloomberg].

Coronavirus

The number of global coronavirus cases surpasses 5 million [CNN].

A new report says if the U.S. had imposed social distancing measures one week earlier it would have led to 36,000 fewer deaths from the coronavirus [New York Times].

The White House has shelved guidelines from the CDC on how to safely re-open churches because the White House is fearful of a backlash from President Trump's religious supporters [Washington Post].

Chinese officials have locked down a city in the northeastern part of the country after a new outbreak of COVID-19 was discovered [New York Times].

Pandemic relief

There's a growing belief among some Republican senators that another round of coronavirus financial relief may be necessary [CNN].

U.S. farmers won't see any coronavirus relief funds until June [CNN].

Trump vs. vote by mail

President Trump threatened Michigan and Nevada on Wednesday that he would withhold federal funds if they went forward with plans to allow residents to vote by mail amid the coronavirus pandemic. It's unlikely that Trump will be able to make good on his threat, however [Washington Post].

Not so fast

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked House Democrats from gaining access to secret grand jury material from Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The action means the House may not see the full Mueller report until after the November election or maybe later [NBC News].

More bad news for Mike Pompeo

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the firing of the state department inspector general who was probing the misuse of public funds by the secretary [New York Times].

The fired inspector general was also reportedly investigating an aide to Pompeo who was accused of covering up workplace violence [Politico].

President Trump won't read intelligence reports

President Trump reportedly struggles to read U.S. intelligence reports but enjoys the photographs and charts contained in them. Several sources say the president has an extremely short attention span and won't read papers, instead relying on gossip from conservative media and his friends [New York Times].

Economic news

The number of delinquencies on U.S. home loans jumped by 1.6 million in April, the biggest one-month gain ever recorded [Bloomberg].

Americans expect the economic recovery from the coronavirus to take years according to a new survey [New York Times].

Target's digital sales during the last quarter jumped by 141 percent [CNN].

BUSINESS HEADLINES

Policy News

More National Headlines

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

1832 - The first Democratic Party national convention convened in Baltimore.

1856 - Lawrence, Kansas, was burned by pro-slavery forces.

1881 - The American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton in Washington, D.C.

1904 - The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is founded in Paris.

1927 - Charles Lindbergh touches down at Le Bourget Field in Paris, completing the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

1932 - Bad weather forces Amelia Earhart to land in a pasture in Derry, Northern Ireland, and she thereby becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

1934 - Oskaloosa, Iowa, becomes the first municipality in the U.S. to fingerprint all of its citizens.

1961 - Civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore order after race riots break out.

1992 - After 30 years Johnny Carson hosted his penultimate episode and last featuring guests (Robin Williams and Bette Midler) of The Tonight Show.

Wise Words

"The earth laughs in flowers." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lighter Side

"Terrific, a new season of 'The Mil-walking Dead.'" - JIMMY KIMMEL

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