President Donald Trump is expected to spend much of the next two months outside of Washington, in part for lengthly holiday visits to his private Florida club, Mar-a-Lago. As he weighs a shakeup of his administration and faces new developments in the Russia investigation after Tuesday’s election, the trips give him more time to bounce ideas off outside allies and friends without the regimentation of his loose daily White House schedule. “He’s more free and liberated there,” a former White House official said. “… He doesn’t have the same guardrails.” [POLITICO]
Happy Friday.
Topping the news: Democratic House candidate Ben McAdam nudged his lead upward on Thursday after new votes were tallied up, but the race for Congressional District 4 is still too close to call. Gov. Gary Herbert and Lt. Gov Spencer J. Cox both lashed out at Utah County for its Election Day struggles, which is among the reasons the race’s outcome remains in doubt. [Trib] [KUTV]
-> There will be new leadership in Utah’s Legislature as of January, as state Rep. Brad Wilson became the new speaker of the House and Sen. Stuart Adams became Senate president on Thursday — both without a single challenger to stand in their path. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13] [KUER]
-> At least 200 Utahns gathered Thursday evening at rush hour to protest the firing of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and to urge the continuation of the FBI probe into possible collusion between the president’s campaign and Russia in the 2016 election. [Trib] [DNews]
Programming Note: Political Cornflakes will be off on Monday for Veterans Day but back in your inbox bright and early Tuesday morning. Have a great weekend.
Tweets of the Day: From @pourmecoffee: “Trump To Replace Rosenstein With Guy Who Replies ‘Best President Ever’ Within Five Seconds Of Every Tweet.”
-> From @cameron_kasky: “Well, the recount is on in Florida. Less than 0.5% margin. Let’s see how this goes. Remember when we said ‘every vote counts’ and we WEREN’T JOKING?”
Behind the Headlines: Tribune reporter Brian Maffly, government and politics editor Dan Harrie and editor Jennifer Napier-Pearce join KCPW’s Roger McDonough to talk about the week’s top stories, including the results of the 2018 midterm elections. Every Friday at 9 a.m., stream “Behind the Headlines”at kcpw.org, or tune in to KCPW 88.3 FM or Utah Public Radio for the broadcast. [Trib]
Friday Quiz: Last week, 92 percent of you knew how The Salt Lake Tribune selects its political endorsements, but only 48 percent knew that Jazz center Rudy Gobert is on pace to break the NBA record for slam dunks. Think you kept up with the news this week? Take our special, election-themed quiz to find out. A new quiz will post every Friday morning. You can find previous quizzes here. If you’re using The Salt Lake Tribune mobile app, click here. [Trib]
Happy Birthday: Today to former state Rep. Dean Sanpei and Charles Henderson, and Saturday to state Rep. Mike McKell.
In other news: Following Trump’s claims that Rep. Mia Love distanced herself from him during the election — saying that’s why she “lost,” even though her race is still too close to call — Love’s campaign pointed out that it did accept some last minute help from the president in the form of a 90-second robocall to Trump supporters who hadn’t yet voted. [Trib] [DNews]
-> If elected as the representative for Congressional District 4, McAdams would leave two years unfinished in his second term as county mayor, creating an opening for new leadership that the Salt Lake County Democratic Party would need to fill. [Trib]
-> Opponents of a medical marijuana compromise bill intend to push back hard in the upcoming special legislative session in December in order to encourage protection of youth from the substance. [DNews]
-> Utah Sen. Mike Lee is in Mexico and Guatemala attempting to come to a solution on immigration as the migrant caravan heads towards the U.S.-Mexico border. He’s hoping to create an agreement with Mexico that the migrants be required to seek asylum there first before trying to cross the border. [DNews]
-> The Trump administration has nominated Utahn and U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Matthew H. Tueller to assume the same position in Iraq. [Trib] [DNews]
-> An associate professor at the University of Utah has been named to the National Science Board, where she will work under a president who has pushed an agenda of rolling back environmental protections, opening land to oil drilling and undermining research. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> Incoming Utah House Rep. Phil Lyman should be off his federal probation shortly before he takes office representing southeastern Utah. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> The state marked the centennial of the end of World War I at the Utah Capitol on Thursday, with an audience of about 200 veterans, active-duty military, legislators, students, civilians and history-minded re-enactors. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Salt Lake City International Airport was just given the No. 2 best overall ranking among the United States' 30 busiest airports. [Trib]
-> Tribune Columnist Robert Gehrke argues that Love might still be able to beat McAdams but that it won’t be easy. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley illustrates all of the people feeling pain after Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg took a fall. [Trib]
Nationally: A federal appeals court upheld a prior ruling blocking Trump from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects young undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children from being deported. [CNN] [WSJ]
-> Trump announced that he will be invoking national security powers to give himself the ability to deny any immigrants asylum at the border, overhauling longstanding laws that provide people fleeing persecution and violence in their home countries the opportunity to seek sanctuary in the United States. [NYTimes] [BBC] [Fox]
-> Ginsburg, the Supreme Court’s oldest member, fell in her office on Wednesday evening and was hospitalized Thursday morning with three broken ribs. [NYTimes] [BBC] [CNN]
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-- Taylor Stevens and Cara MacDonald
https://twitter.com/tstevensmedia and Twitter.com/carammacdonald