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Daily Briefing

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 312th day of the year. There are 53 days remaining in 2017.

The clock:

75 days until the opening day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (1/22/2018)120 days until the final day of the 2018 Utah Legislature (3/8/2018)363 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)1,091 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Today's political TL; DR -

Provo Mayor John Curtis sprinted to an easy victory over Democrat Kathie Allen in the 3rd CD special election Tuesday night [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
Voter turnout in Salt Lake County hit 37% in Tuesday's election while Utah County saw 30% turnout [Deseret News].
Michelle Kaufusi is poised to become Provo's first female mayor. Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan is out after 24 years. Three other incumbent mayors in Salt Lake County were ousted on Tuesday night [Deseret News, Tribune].
Blanding voters again reject a proposal to allow beer and liquor sales in that town [Tribune].
Tuesday nights results show voters across Utah were on track to approve more than $600 million in school bonds [Deseret News, Tribune].
A security flaw on UDOT's Express Pass website may have exposed the personal information of more than 21,000 Utahns [Deseret News].

National headlines:

Democrats had a very good night at the ballot box across the country on Tuesday night:
Democrats swept the statewide races in Virginia. Ralph Northam easily won the gubernatorial race over Republican Ed Gillespie in the broadest win for a Democrat in a Virginia governor's race in decades [New York Times].
Democrats erase a 32-seat Republican advantage in the Viginia House of Delegates, picking up at least 14 seats on Tuesday night. It was the most significant swing in that body for Democrats since 1899 [Richmond Times-Dispatch].
It turns out that irony has a sense of humor. Virginia Republican Bob Marshall, who authored that state's transgender bathroom bill, lost his seat in the Virginia legislature to Democrat Danica Roem, a transgender woman [ABC News].
Democrat Phil Murphy handily beat Republican Kim Guadagno to succeed Chris Christie as governor of New Jersey [Washington Post].
Voters in Maine approved a ballot initiative to expand Medicaid [Portland Press Herald].
Exit polls from Tuesday's election showed a massive backlash against President Donald Trump. Majorities in Virginia and New Jersey disapproved of Trump's job performance, and vast numbers of voters said Trump was the reason they were casting ballots [Politico].
During his visit to South Korea, President Donald Trump tried to make a surprise visit to the DMZ but had to turn back because of weather [New York Times].
Trump then traveled to China where he is expected to press Chinese President Xi Jinping to help put pressure on North Korea [New York Times].
President Trump is trying to get Congressional Democrats to support the GOP tax proposal. On Tuesday he phoned into a meeting with Senate Democrats to tell them that his own accountant said he would be a "big loser" under the current plan [Washington Post].
The Senate version of tax reform could delay a proposed corporate tax cut until 2019 to make the numbers work [Washington Post].
Sign-ups for Obamacare are surging. The number of people signing up for coverage through HealthCare.gov during the first week of open enrollment is about double the number from last year [Politico].
The gunman who killed 26 people at a Texas church on Sunday once escaped from a psychiatric hospital while he was in the Air Force [New York Times].
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross claims he's worth more than 2 billion dollars. After some digging, that figure appears to be a lie [Forbes].
Twitter is now doubling the size of posts for users on the social media platform from 140 to 280 characters [New York Times].

On this day in history:

1889 - Montana is admitted as the 41st state.
1923 - Beer Hall Putsch. In Munich, Adolf Hitler leads the Nazis in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government.
1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt unveils the Civil Works Administration.
1966 - Former Massachusetts Attorney General Edward Brooke becomes the first African American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction.
1994 - Republicans pick up 54 seats in the U.S. House and eight in the U.S. Senate, securing massive majorities in both houses of Congress.

Today At Utah Policy

Curtis easily cruises past Allen in CD3 special election By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor The Democratic wave that hit other states on Tuesday night missed Utah as Republican John Curtis easily defeated Democrat Kathie Allen in the special election in Utah's 3rd CD. ...

Weekly survey: 'Fake news' on social media By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor We're learning more about how Russian "troll farms" used social media to spread misinformation during the 2016 election. Would you support or oppose a law requiring social media companies to remove "fake news" posts or political content paid for by a foreign government?...

CYBER24 Episode 6 - Utah Fusion Center fights cybercrime across borders, nabbed Nigerian prince scammer By Marty Carpenter Do you remember back when you had your first email account and you received an unsolicited email from someone claiming to be a Nigerian prince?...

Will Texas massacre finally get military to improve its criminal reporting system? By A.C. Thompson and T. Christian Miller, ProPublica Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had an urgent question Monday about Devin Patrick Kelley, the former U.S. Air Force airman who is accused of killing 26 people worshipping at a church service yesterday: How was it that Kelley, convicted of domestic violence and discharged for bad cond...

Policy News

Sen. Lee demands transparency from CBO on health care and taxes Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) issued the following statement Tuesday after hearing reports that the Congressional Budget Office was in the process of changing its health care model to show that repealing the individual mandate would save significantly less money than the ag...

Mayor McAdams named finalist in national Ideas Challenge The NewDEAL announced that Salt Lake Mayor Ben McAdams' work to reduce and prevent homelessness has made him a finalist in the 2017 New Ideas Challenge a competition among rising and innovative state and local policymakers to propose the best ideas for expanding opportunity...

Mayor Jackie Biskupski appoints education and law expert Angela Doan as Senior Advisor for Education Mayor Jackie Biskupski has appointed education and law expert Angela Doan as her choice for Senior Advisor for Education....

Governor appoints new chair of Utah Board of Pardons and Parole Gov. Gary R. Herbert has appointed Chyleen Arbon as chair of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole....

Local Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

Editorial: Inmate safety should be priority

Zion National Park's biggest headache: Keeping toilets clean

Republican John Curtis easily beats Democrat Kathie Allen, even in Salt Lake County

Wharton ahead in Salt Lake City's hot District 3 race; Fowler, incumbents coast to victories

Bonds passing in four of six school districts, including Granite and Canyons

Four incumbent mayors likely headed for the exits in Salt Lake County elections

Gehrke: Curtis won by appealing to the middle instead of the Republican fringe - let's hope he keeps that up

Michelle Kaufusi on way to making history as Provo's first female mayor

'High and dry' Blanding says no to booze sales - again

Deseret News

Op-ed: What are the professional responsibilities of teachers?

Jay Evensen: Remembering a mass killing from 1949, and getting no closer to an answer

Utah voters on track to OK more than $600 million in school bond issues

Curtis cruises in congressional race, eager to report to work

Security flaw may have exposed personal info on 21,000 Utah Express Pass users

Provo picks first female mayor; longtime Sandy leader ousted

Trump taps Farm Bureau CEO to head federal agency in Utah

Voter turnout tops 37 percent in Salt Lake, 30 percent in Utah County

Other

Orem incumbents likely to lead for another four years; Vineyard could have new female mayor (Daily Herald)

If trend in ballot counts hold Provo will have its first female mayor (Daily Herald)

John Curtis claims victory in 3rd Congressional District race (Daily Herald)

Ogden voters turn back school bond proposal, Weber bond measure passes (Standard-Examiner)

Voters reject South Summit School District bond (Park Record)

Summit County voters select two East Side mayors to retain their seats, decide other top positions (Park Record)

Beerman bests Williams in Park City mayoral contest; Henney, Joyce also victorious (Park Record)

Congressman introduces a bill to transfer BLM ground to Hyde Park (Logan Herald Journal)

Daines elected Logan mayor; Anderson, Bradfield elected to council (Logan Herald Journal)

National Headlines

Poll: Views of Democratic Party hit lowest mark in 25 years (CNN)

The California Marijuana Tax Problem: Why Prices Could Increase 70% in 2018 (Fortune)

Robert Mueller's leak problem (New York Post)

Fusion GPS official met with Russian operative before and after Trump Jr. sit-down (FOX News)

In America, war between old and new industries challenges culture (The Hill)

Gore Lawyer David Boies Implicated in Insane, Ornate Plot to Discredit Weinstein Accusers (Law Newz)

Journalist Accuses Rev. Jesse Jackson of Sexual Harassment (NBC News)

GOP Tax Bill Could Pass The House By Next Week (NPR)

Donna Brazile said the 2016 primary was rigged before she said it wasn't (CNN)

Senators launch bipartisan push to enforce existing background checks law (Washington Post)

Wall Street throws a thumbs-up to Trump and rolls out record-setting deals (CNBC)

Wise Words

Power

"The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse." James Madison

Lighter Side

Astros

"President Trump tweeted congratulations to the Houston Astros for winning the World Series. Trump said he's so happy for the Astros, he's only going to deport some of the players." Conan O'Brien

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