President Donald Trump delights in using the term “fake news,” and even takes credit for coining the term. But he insists he bears no responsibility for what press advocates say is a steep rise in threats and attacks against reporters, including by foreign autocrats who jail, censor and assault journalists. Trump says he doesn’t condone such attacks, but he says the term “fake news” is well deserved by many in the mainstream news media. "I do think it’s very bad for a country when the news is not accurately portrayed,” he said in an interview with The New York Times. “I really do. And I do believe I’m a victim of that, honestly.” [NYTimes]
Happy Friday.
Topping the news: An inspector general’s investigation cleared former Utah state Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, on allegations he exercised undue influence to shrink Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument for personal gain. [Trib]
-> The bill put forward by lawmakers to replace the Utah voter-approved Proposition 3 expanding Medicaid is expected to pass the Senate Friday, then clear the House next week to land on the governor’s desk soon afterward. [Trib] [UtahPolicy]
-> If the Legislature replaces the Medicaid expansion approved by voters with its own scaled-back program, advocates aren’t ruling out lawsuits or a new ballot drive to restore full Medicaid expansion. [Fox13]
Tweets of the day: @mattsibul: “He may have to duck to get on board, but our @RideUTA Board Chair @CarltontheGreat actively takes the #CapitolConnector to and from the 2019 #utleg session!”
-> @thedavidcrosby: “If smoking marijuana causes short-term memory loss, what does smoking marijuana do?”
Behind the Headlines Tribune reporters Brian Maffly and Ben Wood, and news columnist Robert Gehrke join KCPW's Roger McDonough to talk about the week's top stories, including the legislative push to replace voter-approved Medicaid expansion in Utah.
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. Join the live conversation by calling (801) 355-TALK.
Friday quiz: Last week, 94 percent of you knew a Utah lawmaker wants to block gender changes to birth certificates, but only 20 percent knew about civil rights complaints alleging that Utah’s special needs students are getting neglected. Think you kept up with the news this week? Take our 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]
Trib Caucus: Political reporter Benjamin Wood, Bethany Rodgers, Taylor Stevens and columnist Robert Gehrke discuss the first week of the Utah Legislature in a slack chat that asks why lawmakers want to slash taxes hundreds of millions of dollars at the same time they say the state can’t afford full Medicaid expansion. [Trib]
In other news: A Salt Lake Tribune-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found that Utah opinion diverges based on religious affiliation whether or not Utah should sell beer with a higher alcohol content in grocery stores. [Trib]
-> Conservative West Jordan Republican Rep. Ken Ivory, a longtime critic of the U.S. Forest Service, called our national forest system “a dynamite factory run by chain-smoking chimpanzees.” [Trib]
-> The quality of legal representation Utah kids receive varies greatly from area to area — with rural children the most likely to suffer, according to a new report. Now, a Utah senator is sponsoring a bill aimed at addressing the issues presented in the study. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Jennie Taylor, the wife of slain Utah National Guard Major Brent Taylor, was invited to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address as an honored guest. Brent Taylor was killed in November by a rogue Afghan soldier while the Utahn, former mayor of North Ogden, was on his fourth tour of duty in a war zone. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13]
-> Rep. Carl Albrecht of Richfield is proposing a bill that could allow for storage of depleted uranium in the state — a controversial issue that EnergySolutions has been pressing for. [UtahPolicy]
-> Gov. Gary Hebert proposes replacing the state’s two aging passenger airplanes at a cost of $12.5 million. Some legislators question whether it would be better to sell the planes and switch to private charter service. [Trib]
-> The Utah System of Higher Education reported that less than half of Utah high school graduates enroll in college the year after graduating — one of the lowest percentages nationwide. Experts say the dramatic gap can be attributed, in part, to young people going on religious missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [Trib]
-> A bill aimed at outlawing slot machine-like devices at convenience stores is on the way to the full House after soaring out of committee on an 11-1 vote. [Trib]
-> A bill debated, but not yet voted on in committee, would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant in order to access a person’s electronic data shared with a third party, specifically referring to phone apps like Snapchat, Marco Polo and even Dropbox. [Trib]
-> Legislators advanced a bill that would allow bicyclists to legally roll through stop signs and red lights when the intersection is clear. The measure is on its way to the House floor after receiving a 10-1 committee vote. [Trib]
-> Rep. Tim Quinn, R-Heber City, says the governor’s State of the State rhetoric about slashing the sales tax rate from 4.85 percent to 1.75 percent is “not reality.” Quinn is working on putting a tax-reform package together for the Legislature to vote on. [DNews]
-> Columnist Robert Gehrke analyzed Gov. Gary Herbert’s Wednesday State of the State address, questioning whether some of the policy pledges made — such as a massive sales tax rate cut — have much chance of happening. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley apologizes to Michelangelo for Bagley’s depiction of President Trump and Vladimir Putin. [Trib]
-> Free Utah Transit Authority buses are once again servicing Capitol Hill during the Legislature with the “Capitol Connector” despite last year only averaging five passengers per trip. [Trib]
Nationally: U.S. Senators voted across party lines Thursday to advance legislation deliberately contradicting several of President Trump’s recent foreign policy decisions. The vote was 68 to 23 to rebuke the president’s decision to withdraw military troops from Syria and Afghanistan. [NYTimes] [Politico] [WaPost]
-> During an interview, President Trump said he has pretty much reached the point of giving up on negotiating with Congress over the border wall as “a waste of time” and suggested that he could take action on his own. [NYTimes]
-> House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated that there will be no money approved for a wall — not even to avert a federal government shutdown. Pelosi’s comment was in response to President Trump’s declaration that wall funding will happen no matter one way or another. [Politico] [WaPost]
-> Bernie Sanders, Vermont senator and former presidential candidate, introduced a bill to tax wealthier Americans. Specifically, the legislation would collect estate taxes on assets worth more than $3.5 million. [NYTimes] [Politico]
-> In the wake of President Trump referring to his intelligence officers as “naive” and “passive” for disagreeing with his take on foreign policy, Trump said they were actually misquoted by the media. [WaPost]
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-- Dan Harrie and Sahalie Donaldson
https://twitter.com/danattrib?lang=en, https://twitter.com/SahalieD?lang=en