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Paper: Utah woman's viral poverty tale 'fictional.' Swallow's final day is today. Changes to 'good Samaritan' law possible.

Happy Monday. The Houston Chronicle has looked into the viral story popping up on your Facebook feed and elsewhere about a Utah woman explaining why it's so difficult to break out of poverty and why so many of those living with few means make bad choices. She's raised more than $60,000 from folks so far who want to help her. But the Chronicle says the woman's tale is "tragically fictional," and that the Cedar City resident isn't poor, attended private boarding schools as a kid, owns a home and vacations in Las Vegas. [Chronicle]

Topping the news: AG John Swallow's last day is today; Robert Gehrke answers all your questions about what happens next and whether the saga has run its course. [Trib]

-> Meanwhile, after the rough-and-tumble time with Swallow, there's more momentum now to appoint the attorney general rather than have the position elected independently. [Trib]

-> State lawmakers are proposing a change to the "good Samaritan" bill that would grant limited criminal immunity to the people who call emergency responders in the case of a drug overdose — a move aimed at curbing OD deaths. [Trib]

-> Utah's state planes are mainly used by U. of U. doctors and state health officials and not by Gov. Gary Herbert — oh, and it isn't very fancy. [Herald]

Tweet of the day: From @pourmecoffee: "Pro-Tip: Don't order freedom to be delivered by Amazon drone."

From @DamienFahey: "The GOP declaring racism is over is like McDonald's declaring obesity is over."

Opinion section: Frank Pignanelli and LaVarr Webb ask what Utahns can learn from the AG John Swallow's ordeal and talk about who should replace him. [DNews]

-> Provo resident Cardell Jacobson says that having access to government health care is a good thing and can put the United States on par with other countries. [Trib]

-> John Florez compares the Utah Department of Workforce Services model of efficiency to that of the former Soviet Union's. [DNews]

-> David Irvine and Alan Smith, co-counsel for Utahns for Ethical Government, offer up a conversation that Swallow's alter ego might have. [Trib]

-> Former Weber State University professor Michael Norman says the current minimum wage needs to be raised to a livable standard. [Trib]

-> Pat Bagley gives his take on how the Pope is messing up capitalism. [Trib]

-> Paul Rolly suggets some sample questions to make sure the Common Core standards don't give Utah schools a liberal bent. [Trib]

-> Rolly also talks about how one Utah lawmaker is looking to Estonia as an example of encouraging better voter turnouts. [Trib]

-> Sen. Aaron Osmond unveils his plan for changes to Utah's compulsory education laws. [UtahPolicy]

-> Former Sen. Bob Bennett says that when the Senate employed the "nuclear option" it became an even more bitterly partisan body. [DNews]

Weekend in review: The fate of the Affordable Care Act hangs in the balance of the young "immortals," some of whom are skeptics of the law and would rather pay a fine than enroll. [Trib]

-> Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox said the state will not proceed with further legal action against Swallow, a move that will allow the election result to stand unless challenged in court. [Trib] [DNews]

-> Cox's office will vet the claims that two Centerville candidates omitted key expenses from disclosure forms. Both candidates deny any wrongdoing. [Trib]

-> Salt Lake County is preparing for a possible government shutdown in January by revising its human resource policy for furloughed employees. [Trib]

-> The city of Bluffdale cut the NSA a deal on water rates to secure the contract to build the Utah Data Center and to stimulate economic development in the town. [Trib]

-> 7th District Judge George Harmond agreed with the state engineer who said that Blue Castle Holdings can tap the Green River for a proposed nuclear plant. [Trib] [DNews]

-> Cable barriers have reduced fatalities by 50 percent and UDOT will be adding 21 miles of cable barriers to I-80 in Tooele County in hopes to save more lives. [Trib]

-> The UTA and its labor union have agreed on a new collective-bargaining agreement which will give rank-and-file employees a 2 percent pay raise and a 2 percent bonus on their 2012 pay. [Trib]

-> Salt Lake County Councilman David Wilde will resign in January, and Aimee Winder Newton, a communications director for Taylorsville City, has expressed her interest in running for the vacant position. [Trib] [KUER]

-> Layton's Mayor Steven Curtis unexpectedly died in his sleep on Friday. He was 58. [Trib] [DNews]

-> Instead of replacing vehicles, West Valley City will refurbish large works trucks in hopes of saving a half million dollars a year. [Trib]

Nationally: The Obama administration says it has met its goal of improving the website healthcare.gov — so that 50,000 people can simultaneously use it — but also acknowledged that there is still a lot of work to do. [WaPost] [Politico] [CNN]

-> President Barack Obama will present a new strategy on national security early next year which will identify his foreign priorities for the rest of his presidency. [WaPost]

-> Vice President Joe Biden will spend a week in China, Japan and South Korea for a diplomatic effort of damage control, and to rebalance the administration's relationship with and foreign policy with Asia. [WaPost] [CNN]

Where are they?

Rep. Jason Chaffetz returns to Washington and attends the LDS 36th Annual Festival of Lights Lighting Ceremony.

SLC Mayor Ralph Becker tours Denver's Union Station.

WVC Mayor Mike Winder speaks to sixth graders at Endeavor Hall and lights the tree at the West Valley City Family Fitness Center.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks in observation of World AIDS Day.

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 Jordan Bailey Twitter.com/thomaswburr Twitter.com/thejordanbailey