Tennessee congresswoman criticized for linking gun violence to the availability of porn. Facebook to build data center in Eagle Mountain. Kitchen and Plumb face off in debate for state Senate seat.
Happy Thursday. A Tennessee politician was criticized this week for linking the cause of gun violence to the availability of pornography. Rep. Diane Black, who is a candidate for Tennessee governor, drew criticism this week for saying that the “root” causes of gun violence included the “deterioration of family,” violent movies and widely available pornography. [NYTimes]
Topping the news: Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake said he would oppose the nomination of Ron Mortensen, whom President Donald Trump nominated to head the State Department’s refugee program, citing his anti-immigrant rhetoric . [Trib]
-> After months of closed-door investigations, Utah government representatives announced Facebook will be building a data center in Eagle Mountain. [Trib] [DNews] [KSL]
-> Salt Lake City Councilman Derek Kitchen and pediatrician Jennifer Plumb discussed a variety of issues Wednesday in a Democratic primary debate for an open seat in Senate District 2. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @mikerblackman: "Donald Trump and Kim Kardashian walk into a bar. Just kidding, it was the Oval Office.”
-> From @PalmerReport: “There’s at least a ten percent chance Donald Trump is meeting with Kim Kardashian because he thinks she’s the leader of North Korea.”
-> From @BenWinslow: "Dear people/political entities of Utah: If you could not file so many lawsuits and/or charge so many people, that would be great. Sincerely, a reporter who is feeling very overwhelmed coming back from vacation to have to track so many cases …”
Happy Birthday: To state Rep. John Mathis, Robert Gehrke, Courtney Tanner and Aaron Falk.
Trib Talk: Tribune reporter Benjamin Wood speaks with Washington Bureau Chief Thomas Burr and Sen. Orrin Hatch’s foreign policy adviser Jacob Olidort about the release of Utahn Josh Holt from a Venezuelan prison. [Trib]
In other news: Citing a history of discrimination, members of the LGBTQ community wrote an open letter requesting the Utah Pride Center drop Chase Bank and Wells Fargo as its sponsors ahead of this year’s parade. [Trib]
-> A third Daggett County jail inmate filed a lawsuit against the county and the Utah Department of Corrections, claiming he was repeatedly shocked with stun guns and subjected to dog attacks. [Trib]
-> A retired Idaho fertility doctor and former president of an LDS Church temple, Gerald Mortimer, was named in a lawsuit accusing him of using his own sperm for an insemination procedure in 1980. [APviaTrib]
-> Some worry about the future of Salt Lake’s Leonardo museum after it was discovered the museum owes up to $3.5 million to Salt Lake City, as well as to museum board and staff members. [Trib]
-> June’s Salt City Sounds concert series at the Gallivan Center may be an alcohol-free event as its two sponsors, Broadway Media and Park City Live, were denied a special event permit. [Trib]
-> Mitt Romney revealed whose name he wrote on a write-in ballot during the 2016 presidential election: that of his wife, Ann Romney. [DNews]
-> Pat Bagley wonders if God really wants religious ministers to own private jets. [Trib]
Nationally: President Donald Trump is reportedly growing frustrated with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and said he wishes he never picked him in the first place. [Politico] [NYTimes]
-> Trump addressed Roseanne Barr’s racist tweet and subsequent firing by saying ABC owed him an apology for ‘HORRIBLE’ statements that have been made about him on the network. [NYTimes] [CNN]
-> Legal experts and critics say there are holes in the president’s “Spygate” narrative that suggests the FBI embedded a spy in his election campaign. [Politico]
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— Thomas Burr and Connor Richards
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