“It’s gone on long enough”: President Donald Trump’s team says special counsel needs to hang it up. Count My Vote opponents say they’ve gathered enough signatures to block the petition. Utahn is back with another pro-Trump painting.
Happy Wednesday. Just ahead of the one-year anniversary of the special counsel launching an investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election and whether Team Trump played any role, President Donald Trump’s camp is arguing that the probe has lasted long enough. “Come on! They’ve had a whole year,” said Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. “We’re going to raise the pressure to try to get this thing over with. It’s gone on long enough.” [Politico]
Topping the news: The Count My Vote Initiative received a blowback when opponents claimed Tuesday that they had removed enough signatures to block the petition from reaching the ballot. [Trib]
-> Utah painter Jon McNaughton, who has become one of the most popular pro-Trump artists in the country, is currently working on a “Mueller-themed” painting. [WaPostviaTrib]
-> An audit found serious problems with the Road Home shelter, including lax security and widespread drug use. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @TheRealTBone: “The upside of the North Korea summit falling through is that @realDonaldTrump won’t have to wait for his interview with Mueller...”
-> From @imillhiser: “It’s shocking that North Korea isn’t willing to take the same deal that Trump just broke with Iran.”
In other news: Utah Valley University, which recently appointed its first female president, is being accused of discriminating against women and African-Americans in a lawsuit filed by a former employee. [Trib]
-> A California court struck down an Oakland coal-handling ban, a move that could benefit Utah’s coal industry. [Trib]
-> Bryce Canyon National Park officials are investigating whether drinking water was contaminated by E. coli, but tests show the water is clean. [APviaTrib]
-> Gov. Gary Herbert unveiled his 10-point “Energy Action Plan” at the Utah Energy Summit, a plan that includes a call for the state to improve its overall energy efficiency. [DNews]
-> Robert Gehrke looks at Project Open, a local effort to bring affordable housing to Salt Lake City. [Trib]
-> Roughly 5,000 columns and 26½ years later, Paul Rolly, who joined The Salt Lake Tribune in 1974, says goodbye and shares his favorite story after announcing retirement Monday. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley pays tribute to the 34 Salt Lake Tribune employees who were laid off Monday. [Trib]
Nationally: The establishment of Jerusalem as home of the new U.S. Embassy in Israel was praised by the Trump administration and Israeli leaders as a move toward peace in the region. But after more than 60 Palestinians were killed during protests on the Gaza strip, it doesn’t seem such peace has been achieved. [NYTimes]
-> North Korea’s vice foreign minister said the country is not interested in a “one-sided” summit with the United States and threatened to reconsider the summit meeting. [NYTimes] [Politico]
-> The White House eliminated the National Security Council’s cybersecurity coordinator position, a role that new national security adviser John R. Bolton called no longer necessary. [NYTimes]
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— Thomas Burr and Connor Richards
Follow @sltribpolitics