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Political Cornflakes: The 46 political scandals that were ‘worse than Watergate’

In this June 10, 1983 frame grab of video made available by Raiford Communications, Inc., former president Richard Nixon talks about his 1974 resignation in a series of interviews conducted by former White House aide Frank Gannon in New York City. The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and the privately held Nixon Foundation are co-releasing a trove of videotaped interviews with the former president to mark the 40th anniversary of his resignation following the Watergate scandal. The 28 minutes of tape, detailing Nixon's personal turmoil in his final week in office, were culled from more than 30 hours of tape recorded in 1983. (AP Photo/Copyright Raiford Communications) IMAGE MAY ONLY BE USED FOR 3 DAYS FROM TIME OF TRANSMISSION; NO ARCHIVING; NO LICENSING. PUBLIC OUT.

The 46 political scandals that were ‘worse than Watergate.’ Romney to announce Feb. 15. New bill raises legal tobacco age to 21.

Happy Friday. When you want to describe something horrible in our political climate, you say, “That’s worse than Watergate.” And indeed, there have been those moments. Politico takes a look at those that were actually, “worse than Watergate.” [Politico]

Topping the news: Mitt Romney said he will announce whether or not he will run for Sen. Orrin Hatch’s seat on Feb. 15. [Trib] [DNews] [ABC4] [KUTV] [Fox13] [KSL]

-> Another newly announced bill would raise the legal tobacco age to 21 by 2020. [Trib]

-> Utah Board of Education members are debating rejecting federal rules for year-end testing which would put $123 million in funding at risk. [Trib]

Tweets of the day: From @Blk_Dolphin: “CNN & Fox News has done to our parents what they thought violent video games & Marilyn Manson would do to us.”

-> From @StephenAtHome: “Somehow, Trump will claim that there were more people in the room for his State of the Union than Obama’s.”

-> From @mollyesque: “Fun fact: the plural of Wolf Blitzer is Wolves Blitzer.”

-> From @ConanOBrien: “Amazon is starting its own healthcare company. Good for them, but I think I’ll continue to get my healthcare from http://Overstock.com.”

-> From @aedwardslevy: “’the eagles’ and ‘the patriots’ are the names you’d come up with if you’d never been to America and knew nothing about football and someone asked you to guess what our sports teams were called”

Happy Birthday: Today to State Reps. Michael Kennedy and Kay Christofferson. And on Sunday to Emily Andrews and state Sen. Luz Robles Escamilla

Behind the Headlines: Tribune reporters Paighten Harkins, Emma Penrod and Benjamin Wood as well as Editorial Page Editor George Pyle join KCPW’s Roger McDonough to talk about the week’s top stories, including the rising cost of relocating the state prison and the story of a mother and her two children seeking sanctuary from deportation.

In the Spotlight: Love podcasts? Check out “How to Take Over the World” from Ben Wilson. HTTOTW examines leaders and influencers and explores the ways that their tactics, strategies and habits solidified their place in history. HTTOTW is available from Apple Podcasts and on most other podcast apps.

In other news: A new bill would allow judges to approve gender designation changes allowing individuals to be legally recognized by the gender they identify with. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13]

-> State leaders held a special news conference to explain and justify the rising costs of Utah’s new prison and the absence of certain cost estimates. [Trib]

-> Several House Republicans joined Democrats in voting down a bill that would create legislative committees in charge of overseeing local governments, school boards and state agencies. [Trib]

-> Salt Lake City leaders appear angry with state legislators as the newly proposed inland port project proposal is already undercuting local authority. [Trib]

-> A bill unanimously passed through the House that would allow automated delivery robots to use sidewalks. [DNews]

Nationally: President Donald Trump will not take measures to stop the release of the controversial memo on the FBI and it is expected that the document will be released today. [NYTimes] [WaPost] [Politico]

-> The White House has removed enforcement powers from the Consumer Financial Bureau. The bureau specializes in cases dealing with firms accused of breaking discrimination laws. [WaPost]

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Want to sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox? Send us a note to cornflakes@sltrib.com.

-- Thomas Burr and Eric Baker

Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/ebaker44