Happy Wednesday!
FBI Director Christopher Wray says masked foreign online campaigns to pit Americans against each other have continued “virtually unabated.” But he says the United States had not seen a “material impact on election” systems from foreign adversaries in the recent midterm elections. Speaking at a cybersecurity conference in San Francisco, he added that the wider cyber threats facing the nation are “unlike anything we have had in our lifetimes,” citing an uptick in threats from Russia, Iran, China and North Korea. [CNN]
Topping the news: The sponsor of a proposed ban on conversion therapy watched colleagues dismantle it with an alternative that he says would do nothing to stop the widely discredited practice of trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ youth. [Trib][Fox13][DNews]
-> Debate on a major proposed overhaul of Utah’s tax system was postponed Tuesday as lawmakers worked on language to satisfy critics and ease reservations around a scheme to shift about $340 million in state receipts from the education fund to the less-restrictive general fund. [Trib]
-> After a close House vote late Tuesday, Utah joins a group of states formally calling for a convention to propose, debate and potentially ratify amendments to the U.S. Constitution. [Trib]
-> The Senate gave its final approval, and sent to the House, a bill to put more teeth into the state’s hate crime laws. [Trib][Fox13][DNews]
Tweets of the day: From @BenWinslow “It is guaranteed in the #utleg that the bigger the bill, the smaller the committee room."
-> From @lucerophoto “People are focusing too much on what happened in the tunnel after the USU-Nevada game that they are failing to remember the important thing from Saturday. And that is, free bacon was handed out to fans before tipoff.”
-> From @TaylorWAnderson “Hello I am going to run for office and my entire platform will be getting these grey electrical boxes painted all over town. Thank you for your support.”
-> From @BillKristol “My takeaway from meetings with a variety of local GOP influentials in IA, NH, CA, AZ and VA recently: There'd be enough support and infrastructure for a primary challenger to Trump to gain a foothold. He or she would obviously have an uphill struggle but wouldn't be alone.”
In other news: Utah’s grand plan to preserve a wildlife and hunting haven on Tabby Mountain could fall prey to a private buyer. [Trib]
-> Despite opposition from environmental organizations, a bill that would expand Salt Lake City’s inland port to include sites in rural areas of the state passed committee on Tuesday. [Trib]
-> Despite a pending Utah Supreme Court ruling on the matter, a Senate committee approved Tuesday a bill to hold partisan elections for the state Board of Education [Trib]
-> A bill to create an 11-member panel to study and make recommendations on designs for a new state flag cleared committee on Tuesday. [Trib]
-> Congress sends to President Donald Trump a bill to rename a veteran’s facility in honor of the late North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor, a Utah National Guard officer killed in Afghanistan. [Trib]
-> A bill that passed the Utah Senate and is on its way to the House would kill a name change for the Utah Transit Authority and restructure the way clean-fuel cars are taxed. [Trib]
-> The Salt Lake City Council passed an ordinance that will allow — after an initial 90-day warning period — a $500 fine to be imposed on people who rent their cars through peer-to-peer car sharing apps unless the company pays airport fees. [Trib]
-> Twice held up by the House Political Subdivisions Committee, a bill to limit small-population counties to be governed by three-member commissions finally received approval there. Its sponsor said it would limit interference from out-of-state conservation groups. [Trib]
-> Anti-vaccine group marches at the Utah State Capitol in response to a United States Senate hearing on the benefits of preventive medicine. [DNews]
-> Pat Bagley illustrates a real national emergency. [Trib]
Nationally: More than 76,000 people crossed the border without authorization in February, an 11-year high. It’s a sign that stepped-up prosecutions, new controls on asylum and harsher detention policies have not discourage families fleeing violence and poverty. [NYTimes]
-> Checks, obtained by the New York Times, show that while in office, U.S. President Donald Trump made payments to his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, who had previously disbursed hush money to silence an alleged sex scandal involving the president and an adult movie star. [NYTimes]
-> During a congressional testimony Cohen reported that the president allegedly exaggerated his wealth reports to insurance companies this triggered an inquiry into Trump’s private business by New York’s Department of Financial Services. [WaPost]
-> Trump pressured his then-chief of staff John Kelly and White House counsel Don McGahn to grant his daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump a security clearance against their recommendations. [CNN]
-> North Korea is pursuing the “rapid rebuilding” of a long-range rocket site that was dormant since last year [NBCNews][NYTimes].
-> Introduced by top U.S. House Democrats, a resolution meant to respond to controversial comments made by freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar that were critical of pro-Israel supporters will be delayed for rewording after receiving strong opposition from other freshman Democrats and left leaning constituents. [Politico]
-> Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley both say they will not seek the Democratic nomination for president. The New York Times looks at the state of the field of candidates. [NYTimes]
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Lee Davidson and Christina Giardinelli