Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning Must Reads for Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 335th day of the year. There are 31 days remaining in 2016.

Donald Trump will bring his victory tour to Utah. Trump tweets he will step down from his business empire to focus on running the country. Trump and Mitt Romney meet again in New York City.

The clock:

• 19 days until the Electoral College meets to cast their votes for president and vice president (12/19/2016)
• 51 days until Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President (1/20/2017)
• 54 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (1/23/2017)
• 99 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
• 342 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
• 706 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)

Ten talking points for Wednesday:

1. Republican sources confirm Donald Trump will be bringing his "victory tour" to Utah prior to his inauguration [Utah Policy].
   
   
2. Rep. Brian King wins another term as the House Minority Leader [Utah Policy]. In a podcast interview, King says Republicans will have to "get over" his sometimes infuriating style of legislating [Utah Policy].
   
   
3. Donald Trump tweeted early Wednesday morning that he will be "leaving my great business in total" once he takes office and will provide more details in December [Wall Street Journal].
   
   
4. Donald Trump announces he's made a deal with Carrier to keep 1,000 jobs in Indiana instead of moving to Mexico [Wall Street Journal].
   
   
5. Donald Trump and Mitt Romney meet again over a dinner of frogs legs to discuss the Secretary of State post [CBS News, Huffington Post, Politico, CNN, Tribune, Deseret News].
   
   
6. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Chair of the House Oversight Committee, says he's not too bothered by Donald Trump's alleged conflicts of interest, despite calls from Democrats to launch an investigation. Says Chaffetz, "It's sort of ridiculous to go after him when his financial disclosure is already online." [Huffington Post].
   
   
7. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman confirms what we reported in October, that he was interested in running for Senate in 2018 [Utah Policy, Wall Street Journal, Tribune, Deseret News].
   
   
8. A group of Utah business leaders plan to launch a signature-gathering effort to put an income tax increase to boost school funding on the 2018 ballot [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News].
   
   
9. State attorneys say government immunity laws invalidate a lawsuit against Utah school districts over a law that prohibits any sort of positive discussion of homosexuality [Tribune].
   
   
10. A new study shows Utah needs to build more state liquor stores to keep up with demand [Deseret News, Tribune].

On this day in history:

• 1782 - Preliminary peace articles formally ending the American Revolutionary War were signed in Paris.
• 1982 - Michael Jackson's "Thriller," the best-selling album of all time, was released by Epic Records.
• 1993 - President Bill Clinton signed into law the Brady bill, which requires a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases and background checks of prospective buyers.
• 2004 - Ken Jennings lost on the game show "Jeopardy!" after winning 74 games and $2.5 million.
• 2010 - Pentagon leaders called for scrapping the 17-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" ban after releasing a survey about the prospect of openly gay troops. 

Today At Utah Policy

Donald Trump Victory Tour Coming to Utah By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Donald Trump's victory tour will be making a stop in Utah....

King Wins Another Term as House Minority Leader By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Utah House Democrats gave Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, another two-year term as Minority Leader on Tuesday night....

Podcast: House Minority Leader Brian King By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor House Minority Leader Brian King won a second term leading the Democratic House Caucus on Utah's Capitol Hill Tuesday night....

Trump Launches Victory Tour By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Donald Trump is kicking off his "victory tour" of states he carried during the 2016 election, starting in Ohio on Thursday....

Weekly Survey: Should we Keep or Abolish the Electoral College? By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Donald Trump will occupy the White House for the next four years despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by more than 2 million votes. Do you think it's time America abolished the Electoral College, or does it still serve a purpose? Vote now....

Huntsman Weighing a Senate Run in 2018 By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor As UtahPolicy.com previously reported, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is seriously considering a run for U.S. Senate from Utah in 2018....

Policy News

Confidence Remains Strong as Utahns Wait to See How Election Result Will Affect Economy The Zions Bank Utah Consumer Attitude Index increased 3.0 points to 114.7 in November....

New Report Calls for Strategic Reforms to Improve Regulation in Utah The Salt Lake Chamber released a new report which outlines suggestions on how the state can improve Utah’s premier business climate through regulation reform. ...

Wise Words

Strength
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." Lao Tzu

Lighter Side

Tea Time
"A man in England has broken a Guinness world record by bungee jumping 240 feet to dunk a cookie into a cup of tea. That has to be the most British thing ever. It's pretty cool, but what made him even want to do this? Of all the things to do with your life, there is absolutely no reason to make tea time "totally x-treme." James Corden