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Situational awareness - April 26, 2019 Good morning from Salt Lake City and TGIF! Here's what is driving the day: - Some Republican delegates want lawmakers to overturn hate crimes legislation.
- Lee and Romney get mostly positive job approval ratings from Utahns.
- Biden has a rough first day as a 2020 candidate.
- Trump calls the Mueller probe an attempted "coup" against the government.
Friday trivia time! This week's guest quizmaster is Dave Gessel who submits this question: Who was the first Utah State Senate President to serve for more than one term? Send your guesses to me via email at bschott@utahpolicy.com. The first three readers to submit the correct answer will be recognized in Monday's newsletter.
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TICK TOCK Today is the 116th day of the year. There are 249 days remaining in 2019. 8 days to the Utah State Republican Party Organizing Convention (5/4/2019) 8 days to the United Utah Party state convention (5/4/2019) 38 days until the municipal election filing period opens (6/3/2019) 42 days until the municipal election filing period ends (6/7/2019) 43 days until the Independent American Party Utah State Convention (6/8/2019) 57 days to the Utah State Democratic Party Organizing Convention (6/22/2019) 61 days to the first Democratic presidential primary debates in Miami (6/26/2019) 95 days to the second Democratic presidential primary debates in Detroit (7/30/2019) 109 days to the 2019 Utah primary elections (8/13/2019) 193 days to the 2019 municipal elections (11/5/2019) 276 days to the first day of the 2020 Utah Legislature (1/27/2020) 284 days to the 2020 Iowa Caucuses (2/3/2020) 312 days to the 2020 Utah presidential primary (3/3/2020) 553 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)
Today At Utah Policy  Bob Bernick's notebook: The times they are a changin'
By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor
The Utah Republican Party has a challenge.
 Republican delegates are pushing a resolution calling for a repeal of Utah's newly-passed hate crimes law
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Utah lawmakers finally passed the long-fought-for hate crimes law in the 2019 session. Delegates at next week's Utah Republican Party Convention will consider a resolution calling on them to repeal the measure.
 New Utah Community Builder Award announced
By Salt Lake City
The Salt Lake Chamber announced a new award that honors exceptional community leaders.
 Job approval ratings for Romney, Lee solidly in positive territory according to new poll
By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
Sen. Mitt Romney gets positive marks for his job performance from half of Utahns, while Sen. Mike Lee's approval rating is a little lower according to a new survey.
OTHER UTAH HEADLINES Deseret News Salt Lake Tribune Other
NATIONAL HEADLINES Joe Biden's rough first day. The former vice president announced his candidacy for president on Thursday. - He reached out to Anita Hill to "express regret" for what she went through during the Clarence Thomas hearings nearly 30 years ago. She said she was not satisfied by Biden's apology - https://nyti.ms/2GzxWyW
- Biden drew some fire from fellow Democrats for holding a fundraising event that included several lobbyists and big campaign donors - http://bit.ly/2GEtqim
- Trump slammed Biden, calling him "Sleepy Joe" on Twitter. He also said he doubted Biden was smart enough to win the Democratic primary - http://bit.ly/2UYzhcz
Trump calls the Mueller investigation an "attempted overthrow of the government." President Donald Trump called into Sean Hannity's cable show for a rambling interview. He railed against special counsel Robert Mueller's probe and said he was rooting for Mayor Pete Buttigieg in the Democratic presidential primary - https://politi.co/2V3Lq00
Trump repeatedly pushed for the Justice Department to prosecute Hillary Clinton. President Trump pushed then-Attorney General Jeff sessions to reverse his recusal from the Mueller probe and order legal action against Hillary Clinton - https://nyti.ms/2UZbjOq - Trump tried to curtail the Mueller investigation. The president tried to use longtime loyalist Corey Lewandowski to convince Sessions to limit the scope of the probe - https://wapo.st/2GGYi1M
Wait...what?! North Korean officials issued a $2 million bill for the care of American Otto Warmbier and insisted U.S. officials sign a pledge to pay the bill before they were allowed to fly him home - https://wapo.st/2V3L5ug
Buckle up. Attorney General William Barr will testify before the House Judiciary Committee next week - http://bit.ly/2GzU9g8
Boring but very important. The White House is pushing Republicans in Congress to quickly raise the debt ceiling, but Democrats want to tie any hike in the nation's spending limit to an increase in government spending in the fall - https://wapo.st/2GEeHUI
Gerrymandering in Michigan. A panel of federal judges ordered Michigan's Republican-controlled legislature to redraw nearly three dozen state and U.S. Congressional districts, ruling they were originally drawn to disadvantage Democratic voters - https://reut.rs/2UWicQp
Measles quarantine. More than 100 students and employees at two California universities were ordered to stay home in order to prevent the spread of the disease - https://cnn.it/2UWzAEQ
Judge blocks abortion "gag" rule. A federal judge in Oregon blocked the Trump administration from imposing new restrictions on the use of federal family planning funds. The rule would have barred programs from receiving the money from advising a patient about seeking an abortion - https://wapo.st/2UZqSFO
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY 1564 - Playwright William Shakespeare is baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (date of actual birth is unknown). 1607 - English colonists make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia. 1865 - Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Lincoln, in Virginia. 1986 - A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine), creating the world's worst nuclear disaster. 2007 - New Hampshire lawmakers approved a measure legalizing civil unions between same-sex couples.
Policy News Casual Friday: Weekend Events & Outdoors Report-- Salt Lake Tribune: Feds stack Bears Ears advisory group with critics of southern Utah monument
 EDCUtah Development Ready Communities program underway in 20 communitiesThe Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah) announced that its member initiative called the Development Ready Communities (DRC) Program has more than 20 cities and counties now participating statewide. The five-stage program better prepares Utah communities to attract and grow competitive, high-value companies and to foster the expansion of local businesses.
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