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Daily Briefing

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 300th day of the year. There are 65 days remaining in 2017.

The clock:

11 days until the 2017 election (11/7/2017)87 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)132 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)375 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)1,103 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

Mia Love, Ben McAdams, Gary Ott, Donald Trump and Game of Thrones. You'll find all of that and more in our rundown of the week that was in Utah politics. Watch! [Utah Policy]. Here's a podcast if that's what you prefer [Utah Policy].
Sen. Mike Lee says criminal sentencing reform will likely pass the Senate once the bill makes it to the floor [Utah Policy].
Republican John Curtis launches his latest TV campaign ad with just two weeks to go before the November election [Deseret News].
Speaker Greg Hughes says Utah should be a priority after President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national health emergency [Fox 13, Deseret News].
Researchers at the University of Utah and the University of North Carolina say online giants Facebook, Twitter, and Google played a critical role in Donald Trump's presidential campaign [Politico].
Weber County leaders want voters to consider whether the current form of government needs to be changed in order to better deal with the growing population there [Deseret News].
Luis Miranda, the father of Lin-Manuel Miranda who created the Broadway smash "Hamilton," visits Utah to launch the educational program being developed around the musical's engagement in Utah next year [Deseret News, Tribune].
Most Utah school districts are testing for lead in drinking water at public schools, but there are some exceptions [Deseret News].
A plan to build a private medical school in Utah County is drawing fire because the construction would cover part of Provo's East Bay Golf Course [Tribune].

National headlines:

The House narrowly passed a budget blueprint that will allow Republicans to move forward on tax reform [New York Times].
Republicans in the House and Senate are hoping to pass tax reform legislation by Thanksgiving, which gives them just 22 working days to accomplish that Herculean task [Washington Post].
President Donald Trump declares the opioid crisis a national health emergency but stops short of allocating any funds to fight the epidemic [New York Times].
Republicans in Congress are aiming to hamper special counsel Robert Muller's probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election by limiting his budget [Politico].
Congressional Republicans are winding down their investigations into Russian involvement in last year's election without addressing allegations of collusion with the Trump campaign [Politico].
John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager, and former DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz told congressional Russian investigators they did not have any knowledge about an arrangement to fund opposition research on Donald Trump which resulted in a salacious dossier alleging ties between the Trump campaign and Russia [CNN].
The Trump administration releases most of the remaining JFK assassination files, but some are still being withheld because of national security concerns [ABC News]. Some of the wildest information contained in the newly public files show Cuban exiles tried to put a bounty on Fidel Castro's head, a probe into alleged sex parties held by JFK and prominent Hollywood actors and the effort to find a stripper named "Kitty" [Washington Post].
Democratic Congresswoman Frederica Wilson says she is getting threats because she criticized President Donald Trump's remarks made to the widow of a soldier killed in Niger [ABC News].
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is setting up a voting blitz to confirm several of Donald Trump's judicial nominees [Politico].
This is fishy. A computer server that is part of a lawsuit against Georgia election officials was wiped shortly after the suit was filed. The lawsuit targeted the server which was known to have a gaping security hole, and the plaintiffs are hoping to force Georgia to upgrade their antiquated election system [Associated Press].
More women step forward to level sexual harassment allegations against journalist Mark Halperin [Washington Post].
The National Weather Service is "teetering on the brink of failure" because they don't have enough staff to accomplish their mission [Washington Post].

On this day in history:

1787 - A New York newspaper published the first of 77 essays explaining the new Constitution and urging its ratification. The essays were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, and later combined as "The Federalist Papers."
1838 - Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs issues the Extermination Order, which orders all Mormons to leave the state or be exterminated.
1904 - The first underground New York City Subway line opens.
1964 - Ronald Reagan delivers a speech on behalf of Republican candidate for president, Barry Goldwater. The speech launches his political career and comes to be known as "A Time for Choosing."
1988 - President Ronald Reagan suspends construction of the new U.S. Embassy in Moscow due to Soviet listening devices in the building structure.

Today At Utah Policy

Climate change is a hoax - Bernick and Schott on politics Ep. 347 By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Mia Love breaks out the big fundraising guns now that Ben McAdams has jumped into the race....

Sen. Mike Lee says there's overwhelming support for sentencing reform By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Sen. Mike Lee says 70 senators would vote in favor of criminal sentencing reform if it were to be brought up for consideration this year....

Podcast: Bernick and Schott on politics Ep. 347 By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott bring you the week in Utah politics....

Utah executives have positive outlook on future economy By Salt Lake Chamber Thursday members of the Salt Lake Chamber gathered at the Federal Reserve Salt Lake Branch to learn the results of the Salt Lake Chamber's CEOutlook Q3 results....

Weekly survey: Will Mia Love win in 2018? By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams joined the race to challenge Rep. Mia Love in 2018 last week. Will he, or another challenger, knock off the two-term Republican? Give us your thoughts in our weekly survey....

Policy News

Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report Outdoor Notes--Tribune: At Dinosaur National Monument, two hiking trails far apart--Tribune: How's $70 to get in to one of your favorite National Parks?--Tribune:Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge a throwback to when politicians were united in protecting wildlife and wildernes...

Zions Bank ranks Utah's top small business lender for 24th consecutive year Zions Bank was the top provider of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) loans in the Utah District in 2017, marking 24 consecutive years as the district's top lender. ...

Hatch statement on declaration of national emergency on opioid abuse Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a member and chairman or former chairman of three different Senate committees that share jurisdiction on opioid issues, commended the President for declaring our current opioid situation a nationwide public health emergency....

'Press in the age of Trump' - Lecture by the Editor of The New Yorker, David Remnick Editor of The New Yorker magazine and Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Remnick will discuss "Press in the Age of Trump" at the 12th Annual McCarthey Family Foundation Lecture Series: In Praise of Independent Journalism Saturday, October 28, 2017....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Editorial: The tide is turning on marijuana

'They are, by all accounts, Americans': most Utahns oppose deporting DACA recipients

Utah ranks No. 2 in growth of residents who speak a language besides English at home

Terry Diehl enters not guilty plea - for the third time - in narrowed federal criminal case as the trial looms

Utahns support Trump calling opioid crisis a public health emergency as six residents die from overdoses each week

According to University of Utah study, the Trump campaign viewed Facebook and Twitter teams as quasi-advisers in 2016

Deseret News

Op-ed: Moderate candidates have a great advantage

Jay Evensen: Give away the farm for Amazon? No, thanks

Op-ed: We need to start treating health care as a public good, not a product

Editorial: New policy for body-cam footage is good step for SLCPD

John Curtis says he'll show Congress how to 'drain the swamp' in campaign commercial

Weber County leaders want to study changing form of government

Trump's announcement decrying opioid 'public health emergency' welcomed in Utah

Other

Editorial: John Curtis' experience will best serve Utah's 3rd Congressional District (Daily Herald)

Weber County push underway for study into changing county government (Standard-Examiner)

National Headlines

Exclusive: In Hill interviews, top Dems denied knowledge of payments to firm behind Trump dossier (CNN)

Republicans spoil for a fight over Russia probe budget (Politico)

Trump Announces Opioid Crisis a Public Health Emergency (Wall Street Journal)

Five women accuse journalist and 'Game Change' co-author Mark Halperin of sexual harassment (CNN)

Trump delays release of hundreds of remaining JFK assassination documents, bowing to national security concerns (Washington Post)

House Passes Budget Blueprint, Clearing Path for Tax Overhaul (New York Times)

Border Wall Prototypes Are Unveiled, but Trump's Vision Still Faces Obstacles (New York Times)

Witness To George HW Bush Groping Incident Says Actors Were Warned: 'He Gets Pretty Handsy' (HuffPost)

Trump DOJ settles lawsuits over Tea Party targeting by Obama IRS (FOX News)

Teddy Roosevelt attacked at Museum of Natural History (New York Post)

How much reach do Facebook and Twitter have? Data may not be as accurate as you think (USA Today)

Wise Words

Effort

"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory." Mahatma Gandhi

Lighter Side

Rigged

"The U.S. men's soccer team failed to qualify for the World Cup after losing to Trinidad and Tobago . . . . In response, Trump was like, "Why did America have to play TWO countries at the same time?! Rigged!" Jimmy Fallon

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