In her new memoir about her time at the White House, former presidential adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman is accusing President Donald Trump of using the N-word during a taping of his reality television show “The Apprentice.” And though White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday she had never heard the president utter a racial slur, she also couldn’t say Americans would never hear him say the derogatory term. “I can’t guarantee anything,” she said. [Politico]
Happy Wednesday.
Topping the news: One year since the launch of Operation Rio Grande, police say Salt Lake City has seen a nearly 26 percent reduction in crime, despite increases in robbery, assault and burglary in some districts south of downtown. [Trib] [Fox13] [DNews] [ABC4]
-> State, county and city officials said the second year of their campaign on crime and homelessness centered downtown will focus on helping people find jobs and stopping the disbursement of drugs. [Trib]
-> And Robert Gehrke says that while the its effects have been overall positive so far, the next 12 months will make or break Operation Rio Grande. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @MEPFuller: “Pretty cool that ‘I’m not going to get into that’ is an apparently acceptable response to questions from the White House Press Secretary.”
-> From @aedwardslevy: “i can’t stop singing ‘omarosa’ to the tune of oklahoma”
-> From @jbarro: “The odds that Omarosa will have another Trump Admin job before he leaves office are about 20%.”
Happy Birthday: To Utah Policy’s Brian Schott, Brigham Young University political science professor Quin Monson, and Meg Joseph, who was former U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson’s chief of staff.
In other news: Trump signed into law legislation sponsored by Rep. Chris Stewart and Sen. Orrin Hatch that will create a national three-digit suicide and mental health crisis hotline. Utah currently ranks fifth in the country for suicide deaths per capita. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Draper Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett, 42, died Monday after a tree fell on him while he was battling the Mendocino Complex Fire in California. He was described as a “good human being” and “at the top of his craft.” [Trib] [Fox13] [DNews] [KSL] [KUTV] [ABC4]
-> Salt Lake’s City Council voted unanimously to pass a resolution that will put a plan for an $87 million road reconstruction bond on November’s ballot, leaving the measure’s fate up to voters. [Trib] [Fox13] [DNews] [ABC4]
-> Two members of the group Unite for Holladay are attempting to overturn the City Council’s rejection of a petition seeking a special election to decide on redevelopment plans for the site of the former Cottonwood Mall. Depending on the judge’s ruling, the controversial project could appear on November’s ballot. [Trib] [ABC4]
-> The former director of the North Logan City Library was sentenced for stealing $89,000 worth of library funds, after he apparently used a city credit card to buy hundreds of gift cards to play the mobile video game “Game of War.” [Trib] [Fox13]
-> The Utah Department of Transportation reported that the state has so much surplus land, some of which it would like to sell, that it is still three to five years away from completing a full inventory. [Trib]
Nationally: Christine Hallquist beat three other candidates in Vermont’s Democratic primary, becoming the first candidate who is transgender to be nominated for a governorship by a major party. [NYTimes] [CNN] [NPR]
-> Just days after allegations surfaced that he had physically and emotionally abused an ex-girlfriend, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., won the Democratic nomination in Minnesota’s race for attorney general. [Politico] [CNN] [NPR]
-> A report issued by a grand jury found that leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania had covered up child sex abuse by more than 300 priests over 70 years. The jury found more than 1,000 identifiable victims and concluded there are likely thousands more. [NYTimes] [BBC] [CBS] [WaPost]
-> Trump called Newman, a former presidential adviser, a "dog” in a tweet early Tuesday morning. He has a long history of using similar language to dehumanize his adversaries. [WaPost] [NYTimes]
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-- Taylor Stevens and Connor Richards
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