Here are seven takeaways from the first big primary elections of the year, starting with “Republicans averted catastrophe.” The Mormon church will sever ties with the Boys Scouts by the end of 2019. Utah’s federal delegation supports pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.
Happy Wednesday. Four states — West Virginia, Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio — held primaries Tuesday night. And while there were upsets and surprises in each, perhaps the biggest was that convicted coal magnate Don Blankenship, who called Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “Cocaine Mitch,” handily lost his bid. So takeaway No. 1 from the night? “Republicans averted catastrophe.” Here are six more. [Politico]
Topping the news: The Mormon church announced it is cutting ties with the Boy Scouts of America effective Dec. 31, 2019. [Trib] [Fox13] [KSL]
-> Members of Utah’s federal delegation — including Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee — supported President Donald Trump’s decision Tuesday to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal. [Trib]
-> Meanwhile, Hatch, R-Utah, apologized for suggesting Sen. John McCain should invite Trump to his funeral. [Trib]
-> A would-be spy said he landed a job at the Utah Department of Technology Services where he hopes to become an informant for Russia. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @pourmecoffee: “Sources: At the Mueller practice sessions Don Jr. sits in the back yells out the last word of the question like Jerry Lewis.”
-> From @RobertGehrke: “Today I am withdrawing the United States from its Infinity Stone agreement with Thanos. It was one of the worst deals ever and I look forward to negotiating a new, fairer deal to prevent his acquisition of the Infinity Stones.”
In other news: Paul Huntsman, owner and publisher of The Salt Lake Tribune, announced Tuesday that the newspaper will be downsizing its staff in the next week. [Trib]
-> A complaint was filed with the Lieutenant Governor’s Office alleging that supporters of a medical marijuana ballot initiative offered money to prevent signatures from being removed. [Trib]
-> The defendants in a San Juan County trial who closed a gate leading to a rancher’s corral — which prosecutors allege they did to block cattle from accessing water inside — are seeking to halt the case. [Trib]
-> After two police shootings in April, the Utah chapter of Black Lives Matter is pushing for independent civilian police review boards, better police training and expedited release of body-cam footage. [Trib]
-> On the first day to propose bills for the 2019 Utah legislative session, House Democrats introduced six pieces targeting gun violence. [Trib]
-> Utah’s “free-range parenting” law — believed to be the first of its kind in the nation — went into effect Tuesday. [Trib] [KUTV]
-> A Utah artist and Salt Lake City attorney are collaborating on a liquor-inspired art project and asking business owners to donate their defunct “restaurant not a bar” signs as a part of it. [Trib]
-> The Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation and a Utah architecture firm have designed a memorial for the site of the Bear River Massacre to honor the hundreds of Americans Indians who were killed there. “We’ve forgiven over the years, but we’re never going to forget,” said the tribe’s chairman. [Trib]
-> Thousands of June suckers were released into Utah Lake in an effort to reintegrate the endangered fish into the ecosystem. [DNews]
-> Paul Rolly looks at a sticky partisan situation with the nonprofit that pushed to replace a statue of television inventor Philo T. Farnsworth at the U.S. Capitol with one of Martha Hughes Cannon, the first woman elected to a state Senate seat. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley shows “truckin’ Trump” taking on the Iran nuclear deal. [Trib]
Nationally: Sticking with a campaign promise, President Donald Trump announced he will pull the United States out of its nuclear accord with Iran. [APviaTrib] [WaPost] [NYTimes]
-> With Iran already in an economic crisis, the country’s citizens are worried about how Trump’s decision will affect them. [NYTimes]
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— Courtney Tanner and Connor Richards
Follow @sltribpolitics