President Trump and kids have anxiety over Mueller’s investigation. McAdams rises on Love in votes but a recount is likely.
Happy Friday. Lawyers for President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. insist they aren’t worried about special counsel Robert Mueller. But half a dozen people in contact with the White House and other Trump officials say a deep anxiety has started to set in that Mueller is about to pounce after his self-imposed quiet period, and that any number of Trump’s allies and family members may soon be staring down the barrel of an indictment. [Politico]
Topping the news: House candidate Ben McAdams added his lead in the updated midterm election vote count on Thursday, now holding a margin of 0.4% over Rep. Mia Love. The results are still too close to call. [Trib][DNews][KUTV][Fox13][ABC4]
-> Rep. Mia Love’s lawsuit against the Salt Lake County Clerk Sherie Swenson for validation of mail-in ballots with questionable signatures did not receive a ruling from the judge on Thursday, though he acknowledged the time-sensitive nature of the situation. The judge questioned why the Love campaign was only suing Salt Lake County over the issue. [Trib][DNews][KUTV][ABC4]
-> Sen.-Elect Mitt Romney said that a divided congress may be good for the government, forcing the two parties to come together in compromise to achieve goals. [Trib]
-> A medical marijuana advocacy group has threatened a lawsuit over The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ involvement in the Proposition 2 compromise bill. [Trib][Fox13][DNews]
Tweets of the Day: From @sheldongilbert: “Senator Orrin Hatch at the Federalist Society dinner: ‘Not many people know that I was one of the original Federalists... I really miss those 18th century rap battles!’”
-> From @billyeichner: “I’m heading to Florida where I will be counting every single vote by hand and I don’t want to hear another WORD.”
Happy Birthday: On Saturday to Alan Crooks (we don’t give a flip, Alan, but happy birthday anyway) and happy anniversary to Ambassador Jon Huntsman and his wife Mary Kaye on Sunday.
Behind the Headlines: Tribune reporters Jessica Miller and Chris Kamrani, government and politics editor Dan Harrie and columnist Holly Richardson join KCPW’s Roger McDonough to talk about the week’s top stories, including Salt Lake City’s next Olympic bid. 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]
In other news: Former President Barack Obama will be speaking at the Salt Palace Convention Center in March as keynote speaker for the Qualtrics X4 Summit, though tickets to see him will be costly. [Trib][DNews]
-> Sen. Mike Lee said on Thursday that toxic politics will inevitably lead to wide scale violence unless the states experience a return to federalism. He contended that one party attempting to force its will on 49% of the population can only lead to problems, and that returning power to the states as the founders intended will be the only sure solution. [Trib]
-> Ben McAdams and 16 other Democrats signed a letter opposing Nancy Pelosi for speaker of the House, asserting that they need new leadership now that they control the chamber. [Trib]
-> Constitutional Amendment C was approved by an overwhelming margin in the midterm elections, but Gov. Gary Herbert thinks that Utah citizens should be concerned about the lack of definition in what constitutes an emergency worthy of special legislative session. [Trib]
-> The 2019 elections will involve a new voting system in municipal elections in an experiment with ranked-choice ballots. [Fox13]
-> The McAdams-Love race is not the first excruciatingly slow ballot count in Utah’s history. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley illustrated President Donald Trump as “Sir Lies a Lot.” [Trib]
Nationally: 80 migrants who split off from the caravan trekking to the U.S.-Mexico border from Central America formed an orderly line Thursday for their asylum interviews. The rest of the caravan is expected to arrive next week. [NYTimes][BBC][Fox]
-> Republican lawmakers face a potential government shutdown in December as they struggle to find a way to fund President Trump’s wall at the U.S.-Mexico Border. The president has demanded that they fulfill his wish to fully fund the wall, and will veto legislation to keep the government open if it doesn’t get done despite Democratic objections. [NYTimes]
-> President Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month, during which time he plans to discuss the enforcement of sanctions on North Korea. [NYTimes]
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-- Thomas Burr and Cara MacDonald
https://twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/carammacdonald