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Cruz on Romney: No need for 'mushy middle' candidate. Judge separates Shurtleff, Swallow cases. Legislature could be mired over tax fights this session.

Happy Tuesday. Count Sen. Ted Cruz among those who don't see a viable third White House bid by Mitt Romney. Asked by reporters yesterday about Romney running again for the presidency, Cruz, a possible contender himself, said: "There are some who believe that a path to Republican victory is to run to the mushy middle, is to blur distinctions. I think recent history has shown us, that's not a path to success." [Politico]

Topping the news: A 3rd District judge has officially separated the cases of former Utah Attorneys General John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff, instead of trying them as co-defendants. [Trib]

-> The coming General Session of the Legislature could see a big fight over taxes, including the idea of restructuring the gas tax, boosting the income tax and cutting the corporate tax. [UtahPolicy]

-> In addition to Friday's announcement to a group of former donors, Mitt Romney called several former campaign-backers over the weekend to let them know he is seriously considering another run for the White House. [AP]

Tweet of the day: From @kctimpf: "You do realize that when the government gives you 'free' stuff the money they use to pay for it actually comes from you, right?"

From @MattWalshBlog: "Why's everyone mad Obama didn't go to the France rally? He sends his DOJ after journalists. He has no business at a free speech event anyway."

Tune in: Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) director Scott Stephenson, POST supervisor Sgt. Glenn Poret, University of Missouri-St. Louis criminologist David Klinger and Tribune reporter Erin Alberty join Jennifer Napier-Pearce to talk about the recent shooting in Salt Lake's Avenues neighborhood, use of force and officer training. Watch Trib Talk live at 12:15 p.m. MT on sltrib.com.

In other news: Utah lawmakers met yesterday to talk taxes at the Annual Taxpayers Association Conference, and they discussed a possible 1 percent income tax increase to help fund education. [KUER] [DNews] [Fox13]

-> The number of driving-privilege cards issued to undocumented immigrants in Utah has hit a six-year low, showing that trend of new immigration coming to the state has ebbed. [Trib]

-> Utah prosecutors are dropping charges against four animal rights activists that had been filed under Utah's "ag-gag" law. The activists will still face charges of criminal trespass. [AP]

-> Transit ridership is up in Utah and nationally, with UTA reporting a 2 percent bump in folks taking the bus or rail lines. [UtahPolicy]

-> Recent reports from a Utah state committee deemed the Common Core eduction standards adequate and possibly even superior to the states previous standards. [Trib]

-> An Oregon medical marijuana company is accusing a Utah-based sign company of bigotry for refusing to take their business and produce a sign for their company's storefront. YESCO, the Utah company, says it is selective about keeping its business within community standards. [Trib] [Oregonian]

-> Hospital executive and non-drinker Steven B. Bateman has been nominated to Utah's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. [Trib]

-> Pat Bagley offers his take on the irony of some world leaders mourning the Charlie Hebdo killings. [Trib]

Nationally: In response to wide-spread criticism, a White House spokesman said the administration should have sent a higher profile representative to attend Sunday's anti-terrorism march in France. The White House said with security constraints there wasn't enough time to get President Barack Obama there. [CNN] [Vox] [NYTimes] [AP]

-> Obama's former personal aide Reggie Love is set to publish a memoir next month that will show just how well he got to know then-Sen. Obama on the campaign trail. Love tells one story when Obama walked into Love's hotel room one morning to find his female "guest" still in bed. [WaPost]

-> Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., announced yesterday that he will not be running for president in 2016, but instead focus on his current position as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. [AP]

Where are they?

Rep. Jason Chaffetz meets with Ambassador Ahn of South Korea and attends a GOP Conference meeting.

Rep. Chris Stewart attends a border security caucus meeting and meets with the Air Force Congressional Budget and Appropriations office and an American Trucking Association award finalist.

Gov. Gary Herbert attends the Education Excellence Meeting at the Capitol and meets with Dixie State University President Williams.

Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox attends the Education Excellence commission meeting at the Capitol.

SLC Mayor Ralph Becker welcomes new city employees and attends the Idle Free Press Conference at the Hale Center Theatre.

President Barack Obama hosts the bipartisan, bicameral leadership of Congress to discuss a wide range of issues and travels to the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center in the afternoon to discuss cybersecurity.

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven't already, sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox. [Trib]

— Thomas Burr and Erica Palmer

Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/erica_palmer