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Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing
Morning Must Reads for Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 362nd day of the year. There are four days remaining in 2016.
Utahns want Donald Trump to keep his promise about deporting illegals with criminal records. Barack Obama says he would have won a third term. Rep. Chris Stewart is under consideration for a job in the Trump administration.
The clock:
- 24 days until Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President (1/20/2017)
- 27 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (1/23/2017)
- 72 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
- 315 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
- 679 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
Ten talking points for Tuesday:
- Promise keepers. An overwhelming number of Utahns want President-elect Donald Trump to follow through on his promise to deport illegal immigrants who have criminal records [Utah Policy].
- Countdown continues. Sen. Mike Lee's surprisingly easy path to a second term in Washington is our #3 Utah political news story from 2016 [Utah Policy].
- A real hypothetical matchup. President Barack Obama says he would have won a third term in 2016 if he was able to run again [Politico]. Donald Trump fired back that there's "no way" he would have lost to Obama this year [CBS News].
- Visitors from the East. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Pearl Harbor with President Barack Obama on Tuesday [Wall Street Journal].
- Too early. Here are the top-15 contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 [The Hill].
- New administration shuffle. Utah Rep. Chris Stewart is reportedly on the short list of candidates for Secretary of the Air Force in a Donald Trump administration. If Stewart gets the job, there will have to be a special election to fill his seat [Tribune, Deseret News].
- It never hurts to talk. House Speaker Greg Hughes is still talking with the incoming Donald Trump administration about a possible job in Washington [Deseret News].
- Homeless shelter costs. The amount to build four new homeless shelters in Salt Lake City could pass $40 million, which is more than Utah lawmakers allocated. That means private donors would be left to pick up the remaining tab [Tribune]. Salt Lake City businessman Pat King has pledged $4 million to help construct a homeless shelter for women in the city [Tribune].
- Snow totals. The Christmas Day snowstorm that rolled through Utah made a significant addition to Utah's snowpack [Fox 13].
- Post Christmas violence. Fights break out at dozens of malls across the U.S. on the day after Christmas [CNN]. Social media may have played a big part in fueling the violence [CBS News].
On this day in history:
- 1831 - British naturalist Charles Darwin set out on a voyage to the Pacific Ocean aboard the HMS Beagle. Darwin's discoveries during the nearly five-year journey helped form the basis of his theories on evolution.
- 2007 - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a bomb and shooting attack as she left an election rally in Rawalpindi.
Today At Utah Policy
 | Poll: Utahs Want Trump to Make Good on Promise to Deport Illegals Three-fourths of Utahns want soon-to-be President Donald Trump to keep his promise of deporting undocumented immigrants who have criminal records, a new UtahPolicy poll finds.... |
 | Bernick and Schott on Politics: The Top-10 Utah Political News Stories of 2016 - #3 Just a few years ago, Sen. Mike Lee was considered a political dead man walking. His star had fallen for helping to lead a government shutdown, and many prominent Utah Republicans were mulling a bid to win the GOP nomination away from him.... |
| Podcast: The Top-10 Utah Political News Stories of 2016 - #3 Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott continue our countdown of the year's top stories.... |
Policy News
| Hatch Statement on Obama Administration's Failure to Stand with Israel Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the President Pro Tempore of the United State Senate, issued the following statement after the United States abstained from a United Nations Security Council vote on Israeli settlements:... |
 | Great EDCUtah Events on the Horizon EDCUtah kicks off 2017 with its combined Advisory Board/Annual Report Meeting, which takes place Jan. 10 from 12-1:30 p.m.at the Show Barn at Thanksgiving Point.... |
 | Press Release: Henry Maddux is Nature Conservancy's Conservation Partner of the Year The Nature Conservancy has presented Henry Maddux, director of the Endangered Species Mitigation Fund for the Utah Department of Natural Resources, with its 2016 Utah Conservation Partner Award.... |
| Utah Economic Summit Early Bird Registration Early bird registration is now open for the 11th Annual Utah Economic Summit, which takes place April 14.... |
| Local Cops Grow Beards and Raise Money in Support of The Utah 1033 Foundation Throughout October and November, several members of Summit County Sheriff’s Office and Park City Police Department showed their support of The Utah 1033 Foundation by growing out their beards to raise more than $3,600 for the organization.... |
Local Headlines
Salt Lake Tribune
Op-ed: Amazon deal is good for Utah consumers and businesses
Orrin Hatch: GOP-controlled Senate has delivered for Utah
Stewart: Streamlining FDA process means lives saved
Paul Rolly: Rolly's annual Christmas poem; The Grinch, The Grouse and the spoils
Editorial: Republicans say they will replace Obamacare. They'd better.
Editorial: Don't count on reform to shrink the need for a new Utah prison
Editorial: Put some teeth in Utah mobile home law
Dan Berman, antitrust warrior, Democratic insider and Utah civic activist, dies at age 82
Noel lining up conservative backers in push to head BLM
Remembering Mills Crenshaw, the voice behind a massive Utah anti-tax protest rally
Estimated cost to build four homeless shelters approaches $40 million
Utahn's nomination for Federal Reserve set to expire without vote
Rolly: GOP sends Christmas message about giving, but what about paying its bills?
Utah's Rep. Chris Stewart in mix to head Air Force under Trump
Businessman Pat King donates $4 million for Salt Lake City women's shelter
Want to really help fight Utah pollution? Buy a new car, group suggests
It's an open question if Trump can restore coal-country jobs - but he's brought hope
Deseret News
Frank Pignanelli & LaVarr Webb: Holiday tweets from the political class
Hal Boyd: Utahns to play 'major role' in Trump's Supreme Court pick, Hatch says
Editorial: Silicon Slopes planning begins to mature and excite
Judge rejects ex-A.G. John Swallow motion to drop bribery, other charges against him
Governor joins volunteers to distribute holiday meals to Utah families in need
Sought-after BYU alum tapped to cover Trump White House
Utah Rep. Chris Stewart under consideration as secretary of Air Force
Utah House speaker still talking with Trump administration
Other
Legislative issues to watch for in 2017: Domestic violence (Daily Herald)
Congress approves massive Air Force test range expansion (Standard-Examiner)
Cache Valley residents talk Trump presidency (Logan Herald Journal)
National Headlines
Trump's 10 biggest allies in Congress (The Hill)
Americans hopeful for a better 2017 (Associated Press)
An Oklahoma newspaper endorsed Clinton. It hasn't been forgiven. (New York Times)
Pennsylvania professor under fire for 'white genocide' tweet (Reuters)
Trump mocks Obama for saying he could have beaten him if he were allowed to run again (Daily Mail)
Trump taps aide Stephen Miller to write inaugural address (Politico)
In 2016, Violence Pervaded Policing On Both Ends Of The Gun (NPR)
Donald Trump Says UN Just a Club for People to 'Have a Good Time' (Associated Press)
Republicans plan to overhaul the tax system. Here's what they're thinking so far (Los Angeles Times)
Iran Says It's Getting Planes From Boeing at Half the Price (Fortune)
Trump poised for cost-cutting battle with defense contractors (FOX News)
Wise Words
Tonic to Our Souls
"Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving." B. C. Forbes
Lighter Side
Never Forget
"Rudy Giuliani said this morning that even though Donald Trump passed him over for a position in his administration, Trump hasn't forgotten about him. Said Trump, 'It's true. How could I ever forget Rudy Garziola?" Seth Meyers
