Fresh off NATO meetings in Brussels, President Donald Trump will make his way to London. His former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, beat him there. Bannon has been holding meetings with other far-right European and British populists in his hotel, including the architect of “Brexit" and the boyfriend of Marine Le Pen, the populist French leader and failed presidential candidate. Bannon is also acting as a Trump surrogate in British and European media as the region prepares for a U.S. president’s visit amid contentious “Brexit” discussions. [Politico]
Happy Thursday.
Topping the news: The Larry H. Miller Megaplex Theatres withdrew from its contract with a group that includes survivors of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting three days before the students were scheduled to speak in South Jordan. The withdrawal came a day after The Tribune reported the Utah Gun Exchange was following the students on their nationwide tour. The theater said the event “appears to be escalating into a potentially contentious situation." [Trib] [Fox13] [StandardExaminer]
→ Salt Lake City leaders are offering the Bird electric scooter company a deal that would allow them to continue operating in the city. [Fox13]
→ In the latest development in the fight over public lands, Sen. Mike Lee introduced legislation that would require a president to get approval from Congress and the Utah Legislature before designating a national monument in the state. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @Rschooley: "How did Brett Kavanaugh pay off all that debt in a year? Is carpool driver a really lucrative side job?”
→ From @senatoroshana: "If Brett Kavanaugh doesn’t walk into confirmation hearings hungover, in sunglasses, a frat muscle shirt, and in boat shoes, I don’t want him on the bench”
→ From @byrdinator: "Taylor Swift’s silence on Bob Corker’s tariffs bill is deafening.”
Happy Birthday: To former Taylorsville mayor and owner of Rechtenbach Insurance Jerry Rechtenbach and the Utah State Society’s Dain Hansen.
Trib Talk: Tribune reporter Benjamin Wood discusses the nomination of Brett Kavanuagh to the U.S. Supreme Court with Hinckley Institute of Politics director Jason Perry and Michelle Quist, an attorney and Republican candidate for the Salt Lake County Council. [Trib]
In other news: Sen. Orrin Hatch met with President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and called Roe v. Wade “a settled opinion.” [Trib]
→ Rep. Rob Bishop introduced a bill that would allow states to determine their Daylight Saving Time. [Fox13]
→ The person who left a loaded handgun in the bathroom at the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium may now be charged with reckless-endangerment, according to Draper police. [Trib] [Fox13]
→ Weeks after detectives raided multiple pawnshops associated with a polygamist sect and seized stolen property, warrants show the Utah attorney general’s office also received permission to seize $28,000. [Trib]
→ An Ogden couple that was charged with torturing and murdering their 3-year-old daughter could face the death penalty if convicted. [Trib]
→ Downtown Salt Lake City Presents launched a new program in a 40-block neighborhood known as THE BLOCKS in order to support filmmakers and artists and establish a premiere urban cultural district in the city. [Trib] [Fox13]
→ A 17-year plan in the making to build a downtown area in Wendover is finally becoming a reality, with ground-breaking planned for 2019. [Fox13]
→ Pat Bagley thinks President Donald Trump sounds a lot like Vladimir Putin lately. [Trib]
Nationally: President Donald Trump kicked off the NATO summit in Brussels by attacking Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and accusing the country of being captive to Russia by relying on it for so much of its energy. [NYTimes] [Politico]
→ Also at the summit in Brussels, Trump condemned U.S. allies for not spending enough on military and demanded the nations double their military spending commitments. [WaPost]
→ After NATO, Trump will visit Britain and meet with Prime Minister Theresa May in a meeting that will test the “special relationship” between the U.S. and Britain. [NYTimes] [NPR]
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-- Connor Richards and Taylor W. Anderson
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