Count My Vote. Mia Love. Ben McAdams. North Korea. Rudy Giuliani. Monday morning's news roundup from UtahPolicy.com

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Situational awareness - May 7, 2018

Good Monday morning from Salt Lake City.

Robocall wars. New Utah laws. Trump and Kim may meet in Singapore. 

Happy birthday to Gov. Gary Herbert who turns 71 today.

Twitter is warning all 336 million of its users to change their passwords because of a bug that saved passwords on an unprotected internal log. The issue has been fixed, and the company says there is no evidence passwords have been misused. But, better safe than sorry.

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  TICK TOCK  

22 days until the last day to register to vote by mail for the 2018 primary election (5/29/2018) 23 days until the last day to change your party affiliation before the primary election (5/30/2018) 29 days until primary election mail-in ballots are sent to voters (6/5/2018) 36 days until in-person early primary voting begins (6/12/2018) 43 days until the final day to register to vote online or in person before the primary election (6/19/2018) 46 days until in-person early primary voting ends (6/22/2018) 50 days until the 2018 Primary Election (6/26/2018) 183 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018) 266 days until the first day of the 2019 Utah Legislature (1/28/2019) 911 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

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  HERE ARE THE STORIES DRIVING MONDAY  

Fighting back

Count My Vote records their own robocall to counter a potentially misleading call from the Keep My Voice group [Utah Policy].

Love vs. McAdams

We asked our "Political Insiders" to weigh in on who they think will win November's election in CD4 [Utah Policy].

Utah ranks high again

U.S. News and World Report ranks Utah as the #3 overall state, but there are some warning signs for state leaders buried inside the ratings [Utah Policy].

  OTHER UTAH HEADLINES  

More than 400 new laws go into effect on Tuesday [Tribune (paywall)].
Utah is using a new funding tool to give teachers extra money in their paychecks [Tribune (paywall)].
Last-minute rules changes by the Weber County GOP for their convention has many Republicans saying the party needs to take a hard look at how they conduct their elections [Standard-Examiner].
Some Salt Lake County cities are pushing back against a proposed sales tax hike for transportation [Deseret News].
It appears that the Medicaid expansion ballot initiative has cleared the threshold to make November's ballot [Fox 13, Deseret News, Tribune (paywall)].
The Utah Transit Authority will not be changing its name to Transit District of Utah right away, even though the law mandating the change goes into effect on Tuesday [Deseret News].
Rep. Rob Bishop says he favors statehood for Puerto Rico [Deseret News].
Utah makes deals with more online retailers to collect sales taxes [Fox 13].

  NATIONAL HEADLINES  

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will likely hold their face-to-face meeting in Singapore next month [South China Morning Post].
North Korean officials say their offer to end their nuclear weapons program is not because of economic sanctions [Reuters].
Britain is working to convince President Trump to not abandon the Iran nuclear deal [Associated Press].
John McCain doesn't want President Trump to attend his funeral [NBC News]. McCain says in a new memoir that he regrets picking Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008 [The Hill].
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tells Democrats they have the cash available and a favorable environment to take control of the House in November [Mercury News].
President Trump's team wants to turn saving his presidency as the major theme in the 2018 election [Politico].
Rudy Giuliani, President Trump's lawyer, says Trump would not have to comply with a subpoena if special counsel Robert Mueller's team issued one. He also hinted Trump may invoke the Fifth Amendment in the investigation [CNN].
Trump's legal team is striking a more aggressive stance in dealing with the special counsel's probe [Wall Street Journal].
Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee plan to release thousands of Facebook ads linked to Russian hackers [Wall Street Journal].
Gina Haspel, President Trump's pick to head the CIA, tried to withdraw her nomination over questions about her involvement in the interrogation of terrorism suspects [Washington Post].
The White House plans to ask Congress for $11 billion in spending cuts from the recently passed $1.3 billion omnibus spending bill [The Hill].
Younger members of Congress are pushing for term limits [The Hill].
There are a record number of women running for office in 2018, but they may not make big gains in November [Bloomberg].
Rosie O'Donnell donated more than the legal limit to at least five Democratic campaigns [New York Post].
This is a critical week for renegotiating the NAFTA treaty [Reuters].
Idaho State University can't find a small amount of weapons-grade plutonium it was using for research [Idaho Statesman].

  ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY  

1718 - The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.
1789 - The first U.S. presidential inaugural ball, celebrating the inauguration of George Washington, was conducted in New York City.
1846 - The Cambridge Chronicle, America's oldest surviving weekly newspaper, is published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1952 - The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
1976 - Honda officially launches the Accord car model.
1992 - Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. The amendment bars Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.

Today At Utah Policy

Count My Vote joins the fight with their own robocall (with audio) By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor The big guns came out Saturday in the bitter public battle over the citizen initiative petition Count My Vote....

'Political Insiders' divided on Love vs. McAdams matchup By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor One of the most hotly anticipated election matchups in 2018 is in Utah's 4th CD between Republican incumbent Mia Love and Democrat Ben McAdams....

Utah ranked #3 in best performing states, but there are some warning signs By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor A new study of all 50 states finds Utah is #3 overall in a ranking of 8 factors by U.S. News and World Report. ...

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Op-ed: Utah teachers - It's time to walk to the polls

Op-ed: Public-school teachers are Utah's treasure

Editorial: South Salt Lake needs to let construction begin on its homeless shelter

Is an obscure school funding tool pushing a trend of one-time bonuses for Utah teachers?

Rolly: So much for democracy - GOP gerrymandering mutes the influence of Utah's most populous county as Stewart's raucous town hall shows

Organizers say Utah's Medicaid expansion initiative has enough signatures to be on the ballot

Count My Vote director infuriated by 'dirty, deceptive' robocall asking people to remove names from its initiative petition

On Tuesday, 404 new Utah laws take effect

Deseret News

Frank Pignanelli & LaVarr Webb: Can Democrats win this year in Utah?

Natalie Gochnour: Act now to avoid a housing affordability crisis in Utah

Op-ed: County attorneys are powerful people - choose wisely this election year

Op-ed: How an obscure business law facilitates human trafficking in massage parlors

Op-ed: The Second Amendment was not about preserving slavery

Editorial: Ramped-up civics education makes a difference in democracy

Rep. Rob Bishop favors statehood for Puerto Rico

Some Salt Lake County cities pushing back against a transportation tax hike. But will it be enough?

Medicaid expansion initiative hits every requirement for verified signatures

Groups trying to get Utahns to recant support of medical marijuana, Count My Vote initiatives

Alternative housing could mitigate decreasing affordability in Salt Lake Valley, advocates say

Greater sage grouse plans get a do-over

Hundreds of bills become new laws on Tuesday. Here's how they will affect you

Other

Editorial: A strong week in the fight against opioids (Daily Herald)

Farmington farm scores win, but future still uncertain (Standard-Examiner)

After Weber Co. GOP convention, candidate selection rules called into question (Standard-Examiner)

Training ground Logan?: Mayor proposes wage increases as city struggles to retain employees (Logan Herald Journal)

National Headlines

Judge rejects Mueller's request for delay in Russian troll farm case (Politico)

How Buzzfeed's 'Data-Monster' Leveraged User Data To Fuel Super PACs, Target Voters (Daily Caller)

Why All the Secrecy? It's time to level with the public about the basis for Mueller's investigation. (National Review)

Israel fears 'explosion of violence' as US prepares to open embassy in Jerusalem (Guardian)

The pathetic push to torpedo Gina Haspel (New York Post)

Nunes, in spat with Justice Department, threatens Sessions with contempt over Russia materials (CNN)

Michelle Obama says she's not running for office (The Hill)

Giuliani pleased with his media tour: 'Everybody's reacting to us now' (Washington Post)

McCain says he regrets picking Palin as running mate (The Hill)

Trump Team Takes a More Aggressive Stance on Mueller Probe (Wall Street Journal)

Solar panels on farmland stir debate in central Washington (Associated Press)

Wise Words

Frugality

"There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no one independence quite so important, as living within your means." Calvin Coolidge

Lighter Side

Good Idea

"A study reveals that the best way to add years to your life is to exercise, lose weight, and not drink too much. To which all of America replied, "What else you got?" Conan O'Brien

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