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Republicans struggle to fulfill pledge to end Obamacare. Chaffetz says he may open probe into Flynn, begins investigation into Mar-a-Lago incident. Outdoor retailers give Utah an ultimatum.

Happy Wednesday. Republicans vowed to gut Obamacare once in office, but now are finding that promise a bit hard to follow through on. Undoing the health care law despised by conservatives seemed to be a straightforward proposition for the party after it won the White House and retained control of both chambers of Congress. Instead, Republicans are sniping over how much of the law to scrap, what to replace it with and when. At this moment, it's far from a sure thing any plan could get through Congress. [<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/obamacare-repeal-replace-republicans-235020">Politico</a>]

<strong>Topping the news: </strong>Rep. Jason Chaffetz says he may launch an investigation into President Donald Trump's now-former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and meanwhile, sent a letter to the White House yesterday probing Trump's discussion of possibly classified information in the middle of a dining room at Mar-a-Lago. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4941537-155/chaffetz-plans-to-probe-trumps-handling"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

<p class="p1">-> The trial of former Attorney General John Swallow resumed today with testimony from  a security expert who worked for one of the state's key witnesses, a Salt Lake City lawyer and an FBI forensic accountant. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4940960-155/latest-from-the-john-swallow-public"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865673352/Testimony-in-John-Swallow-trial-continues-to-focus-on-Mark-Shurtleff.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://www.good4utah.com/news/states-witnesses-lukewarm-in-claiming-john-swallow-tied-to-charges/656066537"; target="_blank">ABC4</a>]</p>

<p class="p1">-> Executives in the U.S. outdoor retail industry sent an ultimatum letter to Utah Gov. Gary Herbert demanding he either reverse course on key public-lands policies or risk industry leaders leaving the state when its contract with the Salt Palace Convention Center expires next year. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4942057-155/outdoor-industry-execs-send-ultimatum-to"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865673410/Retailers-ramp-up-threat-for-big-outdoors-show-to-leave-Utah.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/big-name-outdoor-companies-exit-utah-outdoor-retailer"; target="_blank">KUTV</a>]</p>

<strong>Tweets of the day: </strong>From <strong><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/ddiamond">@</a></strong><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/ddiamond"; target="_blank">ddiamond</a>:<strong> </strong>"Happy Valentine's Day, including to my many enemies and those who have fought me and lost so badly they just don't know what to do. Love!"

-> From <a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/UnknownWr1ter"; target="_blank">@UnknownWr1ter</a>: "My love is as real as the Bowling Green Massacre <a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NeverRemember?src=hash"><s>#</s>NeverRemember</a> <a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhiteHouseCandyHearts?src=hash"><s>#</s>WhiteHouseCandyHearts</a>";

-> From <a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/aimeecow"; target="_blank">@aimeecow</a>: "I wonder what Barack and Joe got each other for Valentine's Day"

From <a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/Tyrangiel">@</a><a class="ProfileHeaderCard-screennameLink u-linkComplex js-nav" href="https://twitter.com/Tyrangiel"; target="_blank">Tyrangiel</a><strong>: </strong>"When the murder of the North Korean dictator's half-brother by two women who stabbed him with poisoned needles isn't the day's top story"

<strong>Happy Birthday: </strong>To SITLA associate director John Andrews and state Rep. Mel Brown.

<strong>In other news: </strong>The Utah Department of Natural Resources says it sees no immediate danger of flooding in Northern Utah reservoirs and dams. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4941576-155/officials-checking-northern-utah-dams-say"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/officials-checking-northern-utah-dams-say-no-dangers-found-02-14-2017"; target="_blank">APviaKUTV</a>]

<p class="p1">-> A group of constituents says Utah Rep. Mia Love will only meet with a limited number of people at a time without recording devices or media present. [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/rep-mia-love-criticized-over-rules-for-meeting-with-constituents"; target="_blank">KUTV</a>]</p>

<span style="line-height: 1.5;">-> </span>An audit of Salt Lake City's Building Services recommended the city make improving customer service a top priority moving forward. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4941079-155/audit-recommends-salt-lake-citys-building"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> State lawmakers praised the Utah Jazz for transferring its ownership to a legacy trust designed to keep the team in the state and for it's embarkment on a $150 million construction project that's funded without a dime of state money. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4942134-155/legislators-honor-utah-jazz-for-arena"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> Pat Bagley takes a closer look at who's being paid after Chaffetz made unsubstantiated claims that paid protestors attended his town-hall meeting last Thursday. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4942986-155/bagley-cartoon-chaffetzs-outside-agitators"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

<strong>From the Hill: </strong>Motivated partially by a lawsuit Equality Utah filed against the Utah Board of Education, Sen. Stuart Adams is sponsoring legislation that would strike down a portion of Utah's sex education law that bans "the advocacy of homosexuality" in classrooms. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4942124-155/utah-bans-advocacy-of-homosexuality-in"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.good4utah.com/news/top-stories/new-bill-would-repeal-no-promo-homo-law/656017651"; target="_blank">ABC4</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2017/02/14/lawmaker-hopes-bill-gets-utah-out-of-lawsuit-over-homosexuality-in-schools/"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>]

-> The Senate may restore a full state sales tax on food purchases in order to counter a proposed education funding initiative. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865673412/Restoring-full-sales-tax-on-food-still-a-possibility-Senate-president-says.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>] [<a href="http://fox13now.com/2017/02/14/food-tax-hike-considered-as-utah-lawmakers-face-budget-issues/"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>]

-> A House committee approved a bill from Rep. Angela Romero looking to make conversations between sexual assault victims and campus advocates confidential, which she says would increase formal reporting. However, critics say the legislation could have ramifications — particularly in cases with an alleged serial rapist. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4941266-155/will-shielding-conversations-between-utah-victims?fullpage=1"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865673371/Committee-OKs-bill-intended-to-help-college-victims-of-sexual-interpersonal-violence.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted unanimously to cut an abortion restriction from a tele-health promotion bill and passed the amended legislation soon afterward. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4941891-155/wording-on-abortion-yanked-from-utah"; target="_blank">Trib</a>] [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865673411/Controversial-abortion-drug-restriction-removed-from-telehealth-bill.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]

-> The House voted to put an end to most "good landlord" programs in cities across the state. The programs provide financial incentives to landlords who agree not to rent to people with felony convictions. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4941730-155/house-seeks-to-stop-city-programs"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

-> The House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee voted down a bill that would have allowed Utahns to carry concealed weapons without a permit with combined provisions for greater protections for victims of domestic violence. [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4941492-155/bill-allowing-concealed-weapons-without-a"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]

<p class="p1">-> After failing in the House last year, the Spiral Jetty at the Great Salt Lake has another chance to become Utah's official "state work of art." Separately, a bill in the Senate seeks to declare Native American rock art as state "works of art." [<a href="http://www.sltrib.com/news/4941835-155/house-endorses-declaring-spiral-jetty-as"; target="_blank">Trib</a>]</p>

<p class="p1">-> At a Garfield County commissioners meeting, some southern Utah residents spoke in opposition to a resolution that would ask Congress to cut the size of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865673421/Southern-Utah-residents-speak-against-resolution-to-make-Grand-Staircase-Escalante-smaller.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]</p>

<p class="p1">-> Critics of a bill that would lower the blood-alcohol limit for drivers from .08 to 0.5 say the legislation creates an unnecessary limit on personal freedoms. [<a href="http://kutv.com/news/local/lower-dui-limit-could-lead-to-unnecessary-arrests-critics-say"; target="_blank">Fox13</a>]</p>

<p class="p1">-> A new bill filed on Tuesday would create a process to remove elected officials from office due to mental incapacity but would create "challenging and rigorous" hurdles to keep the law from being used as a political weapon. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865673428/Newly-filed-bill-would-remove-incapacitated-elected-officials.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]</p>

<p class="p1">-> A bill that would criminalize livestock endangerment and harassment received unanimous favor in committee and now advances to the House floor for consideration. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865673395/Bill-would-criminalize-harassment-of-livestock.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]</p>

<p class="p1">-> After an hour of debate, the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee voted to hold a bill that would raise the minimum wage in Utah to $10.25 and increase it annually to $15 in 2023. [<a href="http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865673427/Bill-raising-minimum-wage-in-Utah-to-1025-an-hour-held-by-committee.html"; target="_blank">DNews</a>]</p>

<strong>Nationally: </strong>Members of Donald Trump's campaign staff and other associates had repeated contact with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election. [<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/politics/russia-intelligence-communications-trump.html"; target="_blank">NYTimes</a>] [<a href="http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/319594-report-trump-campaign-aides-were-in-contact-with-russian-intel"; target="_blank">TheHill</a>] [<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/14/politics/donald-trump-aides-russians-campaign/index.html"; target="_blank">CNN</a>]

<p class="p1">-> White House press secretary Sean Spicer says the president had known for more than two weeks about concerns that Flynn had not been truthfully forthcoming with the FBI — though Vice President Mike Pence was reportedly kept out of the loop. [<a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38974085"; target="_blank">BBC</a>] [<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/politics/fbi-interviewed-mike-flynn.html"; target="_blank">NYTimes</a>] [<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/14/politics/donald-trump-administration-michael-flynn/"; target="_blank">CNN</a>] [<a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/14/trump-national-security-adviser-michael-flynn-resi/"; target="_blank">WaTimes</a>]</p>

-> In a letter to the White House, the Office of Governmental Ethics said that Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump's advisers, was in a "clear violation" of federal ethics rules and should be disciplined for her public endorsement of Ivanka Trump's product line. [<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/ethics-office-conway-committed-clear-violation-with-ivanka-plug-235010"; target="_blank">Politico</a>] [<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/14/us/politics/Kellyanne-Conway-ivanka-trump-ethics.html"; target="_blank">NYTimes</a>] [<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ethics-office-says-kellyanne-conway-likely-broke-federal-rules/2017/02/14/0899e94c-f2ed-11e6-a9b0-ecee7ce475fc_story.html?utm_term=.aba7aa97811d"; target="_blank">WaPost</a>] [<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/office-of-govt-ethics-says-kellyanne-conway-should-be-disciplined-over-ivanka-product-plug/"; target="_blank">CBSNews</a>]

<strong>Where are they?</strong>

<ul>

<li>Rep. Jason <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/jasoninthehouse"; target="_blank">Chaffetz</a></strong> speaks at a CATO event, chairs an Oversight Committee hearing on GAO high risk report and meets with Ute tribe members..</li>

<li>Rep. Mia <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMiaLove"; target="_blank"><strong>Love</strong></a> attends a Financial Services Committee meeting with Fed Chair Janet Yellen and later votes.</li>

<li>Gov. Gary <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/GovHerbert"; target="_blank">Herbert</a> </strong>hosts a weekly discussion with minority leadership and visits McDonald's day on the Hill and aerospace day on the Hill. Later, he hosts an Economic Development Coordinating Council and a weekly meeting with majority leaders.</li>

<li>Lt. Gov. Spencer <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/SpencerJCox"; target="_blank">Cox</a></strong> attends a weekly discussion with minority leadership and visits McDonald's day on the Hill and aerospace day on the Hill before joining the governor's Economic Development Coordinating Council and a weekly meeting with majority leaders.</li>

<li>State Auditor John <strong><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/FrugalDougall"; target="_blank">Dougall</a> </strong></strong>meets with leadership from the Utah Transit Authority, various lawmakers and Kristen Cox, director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget.</li>

<li>President Donald <strong><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Trump</a> </strong></strong>participates in a listening session with the Retail Industry Leaders Association. Next, he greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, participates in a joint press conference and meets privately with the prime minister. In the afternoon, he and the prime minister participate in a bilateral meeting and have a working lunch. Later, he speaks with Argentinian President Mauricio Macri by telephone, participates in a legislative affairs strategy session and hosts Sen. Marco Rubio and his wife for dinner.</li>

</ul>

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— Thomas Burr and Taylor Stevens

<a title="Thomas Burr" href="https://twitter.com/thomaswburr"; target="_blank">Twitter.com/thomaswburr</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/tstevens95">Twitter.com/tstevens95</a>