Departing congressman: ‘This is a place that just sucks your soul.’ Freedom Festival to allow LGBT entries. Rep. Love plays in the Congressional Baseball Game.
Happy Friday. Rep. Raul Labrador came to Congress in 2011, a tea party darling with hopes of upending Washington as it is. He wanted to drain the swamp before that became a slogan. Now’s he’s leaving Congress, more disillusioned than ever. “This is a place that just sucks your soul,” he says. [Politico]
Topping the news: After originally being denied entry, LGBT groups will be allowed to march in the America’s Freedom Festival July 4 parade. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> At a town hall meeting at Herriman High School, attendees urged SL Co. Mayor Ben McAdams to reconsider the high-density Olympia Hills housing project. [Trib] [ABC4]
-> Rep. Mia Love scored a run and stole two bases during the Congressional Baseball Game in Washington, but Democrats still won 21-5. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @MEPFuller: “The Republicans just flubbed an infield fly. Reminds me of that time Paul Ryan passed on criticizing any one of the dozen scandals of Scott Pruitt, which was today.”
-> From @jacobtwop: "Sarah Sanders, staring directly into the camera: ‘eSports are sports’“
-> From @petridishes: "I bet Jeff Sessions also likes that part of the Bible where a man suggests there is a higher authority than government and that children should be suffered to come unto him and is duly punished by the proper authorities”
Happy Birthday: To Rep. Chris Stewart, Salt Lake County community services director Holly Yocom, public relations specialist Cindie Quintana and former Herriman mayoral candidate and polygamy advocate Joe Darger.
Behind the Headlines: Tribune reporters Jessica Miller and Lee Davidson, columnist Holly Richardson and editorial page editor George Pyle join KCPW’s Roger McDonough to talk about the week’s top stories, including the exclusion of LGBTQ resource centers from the Provo Freedom Festival and the Salt Lake City Council forbidding Mayor Jackie Biskupski from suing the state over the inland port without their permission.
Every Friday at 9 a.m., stream “Behind the Headlines” online at kcpw.org or tune in to KCPW 88.3 FM or Utah Public Radio for the broadcast.
In other news: Crews from the Salt Lake County Health Department and Utah Department of Transportation spent the day cleaning up a massive homeless camp below Ensign Peak that residents occupied for years. [Trib]
-> Despite last year being charged with third-degree witness retaliation and misdemeanor reckless endangerment, San Juan County Sheriff Richard Eldridge is one of three candidates for an open justice court vacancy in Blanding. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley draws up the new partnership between The Salt Lake Tribune and Fox13, and clears away any confusion about the agreement that readers might have. [Trib]
-> Robert Gehrke looks back at some of Sen. Orrin Hatch’s past comments on LGBT rights and says the evolution of the senator is something to be grateful for. [Trib]
Nationally: A long-awaited watchdog report into ex-FBI Director found he violated some bureau norms, but the investigation found no evidence of political bias. [Politico] [NYTimes]
-> President Donald Trump’s allies reportedly see the Justice Department’s report on Comey as an opportunity to undermine special council Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. [WaPost]
-> The New York State attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit against the Donald J. Trump Foundation, accusing the charity of violating campaign finance and self-dealing laws. [NYTimes]
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-- Thomas Burr and Connor Richards
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