A planned Air Force One makeover will lose the baby blue that has marked the president’s plane since the days of JFK. And — closer to home — A special session of the Legislature today will work to pass a compromise inland port bill without any participation by SLC Mayor Jackie Biskupski.
Happy Wednesday! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s ... a flying Stars and Stripes? President Donald Trump, who loves the flag so much he once hugged it on stage, now has ordered a makeover of Air Force One that will dump the baby blue for red, white and blue. [Air Force Times]
Topping the news: Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski has been isolated and cut out of negotiations on a compromise inland port bill that is the main topic of today’s special session of the Legislature. Why? She took a my-way-or-the-highway stance. [Trib]
-> During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Rep. Chris Stewart defended President Donald Trump’s private meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and said Trump is not a “Russian stooge.” [Trib]
-> House Speaker Greg Hughes, who recently stepped down because of conflict-of-interest rules involving the planned Inland Port, was pressured in recent years to withdraw from a UTA development his company was involved with. [Deseret News]
-> One day after Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke called on Jon Huntsman to resign his post as U.S. ambassador to Russia, the newspaper editorialized that he should stay put. (Context: The Tribune is owned and published by Paul Huntsman, the ambassador’s brother.) [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @aedwardslevy: “it has been brought to my attention that i misspoke in instructing mr gorbachev to construct a wall”
-> From @petridishes: “i obviously meant to shout “I DON’T OBJECT” sorry that i ruined your wedding”
-> From @Mikel_Jollett: “So the current White House position is: Russia DID attack American democracy but the Russia investigation is a “witch hunt” which is why Trump believes Putin that it never happened even though he believes his intelligence people despite the fact that it’s all just fake news.”
Happy Birthday: To Cherilyn Bradford, Gov. Gary Herbert’s director for boards and commissions.
In other news: Brigham Young University said it intends to appeal a 3rd District judge’s ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Tribune that BYU’s police department is a governmental entity that should have to comply with Utah’s open-records laws. [Trib]
-> Randal Quarles, managing director of Salt Lake City-based Cynosure Group, was confirmed by the US Senate to the board of governors of the Federal Reserve for a 14-year term. [Trib] [DNews]
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-> Preliminary data for 2017 shows that the Salt Lake City International Airport traffic grew by about 1 million passengers, making it the 23rd busiest airport in the country. [Trib]
-> The attorneys of a Taylorsville man who accidentially started the Brian Head Fire in 2017 say he cannot get a fair trial in Iron County and are trying to get the trial moved to a different part of the state. [Trib] [Fox13] [KSL]
-> The state decided it would not fight the move to drop charges against wildnerness activist Rose Chilcoat in a dispute over a closed corral gate, but charges will move forward against her husband, Mark Franklin, in Carbon County. [Trib]
-> The West Nile Virus was detected in mosquitos in Box Elder, Davis and Uintah Counties, but the Utah Department of Health said there have yet to be any reported human infections. [Trib] [Fox13] [KUTV] [KSL] [ABC4]
-> As a way to avoid or reduce further tax hikes, the Utah Transit Authority has floated the idea of selling rights to name TRAX stations or transit lines. [Trib]
-> An estimated 124,985 people attended this year’s Sundance Film Festival, making it one of the most attended events in the state, second only to the Days of ’47 Parade. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley says protesters should take their frustrations to the voting booths. [Trib]
Nationally: Facing criticism and pressure from Republicans in Congress, President Donald Trump said he misspoke during his meeting with Vladimir Putin and that he accepts US intelligence reports that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election. [NYTimes] [CNN]
-> Democrats are using Trump’s unpopular performance at the Russian summit as an opportunity to energize voters to turn out for the midterm elections in November. [WaPost]
-> Japan signed its biggest trade deal ever with the European Union, indicating that Trump’s trade war with China and undermining of NATO are leading allies to look elsewhere for support. [NYTimes]
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-- Dan Harrie and Connor Richards
Follow @sltribpolitics