In a country where the two parties can’t seem to agree on much of anything, Republicans and Democrats now have a common target: the desire to rein in the tech sector. The distrust from both parties over how the industry has handled itself on everything from privacy to political discourse makes it clear that Congress is hungry to bring about a tougher era of government regulation. [POLITICO]
Happy Thursday!
Topping the news: The University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute projects that minorities will make up half of Utah’s population growth over the next 50 years and that 45% of Utah preschoolers will be minorities in 2065. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Wielding megaphones and brightly colored signs, a group of environmentalists shut down the Inland Port Authority Board’s monthly meeting as it gathered to receive several updates on the massive distribution hub development. After a few minutes of protest, staff gathered up materials and the meeting ended with the board members less than pleased. [Trib] [DNews]
-> The Canyons School District plans to substantially raise the annual salary for starting teachers to $50,000 as the result of an agreement struck between the school board and local teachers association, which some speculate will increase pressure on other districts to do the same. [Trib] [DNews] [ABC4] [KUTV]
Tweets of the day: @aedwardslevy: “fiiiive andrew yangs, four klobuchars, three bidens, two buttigieg and a governor named jay inslee.”
-> @tstevensmedia: “A group of activists is taking over this month’s inland port authority board meeting. They say they’re speaking for the animals who don’t have a voice and are chanting ‘Abort the port!’"
Happy Birthday: To Salt Lake City deputy chief of staff and former state Rep. David Litvack
In other news: Communications in Moab and the surrounding area have long been a challenge, but the situation hit a boiling point in December, when telecommunications provider Frontier Communications of Utah installed some faulty radio equipment that doomed residents and business owners to weeks of intermittent outages. [Trib]
-> With the May 4 election looming just over the horizon, four Republican candidates with different tones and approaches to unifying the Utah Republican Party are vying against one another to lead it. [Trib]
-> A new State of the Air report ranked Utah cities Salt Lake, Orem and Provo as among the nation’s worst in regards to air pollution. [Trib] [Fox13] [ABC4]
-> Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announced to the public that he had surgery to remove a section of cancerous skin from his face. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13]
-> The state of Utah has dropped its investigation into food stamp fraud involving members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [Fox13]
-> A judge denied former Utah Attorney General John Swallow’s request that his attorney fees be paid for after the Federal Election Commission accused him of election fraud, although the case was dismissed. [Trib]
-> Utah Rep. Ben McAdams called President Donald Trump’s behavior, unearthed by special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, “dishonest and corrupt” but said it does not warrant impeachment. [Trib]
-> Tribune cartoonist Pat Bagley depicts Trump’s most fervent followers lapping up Fox News. [Trib]
-> Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke contrasts Utah Sen. Mitt Romney and Sen. Mike Lee’s vastly different reactions to the findings of the Mueller report. [Trib]
Nationally: Trump tweeted that he plans to turn to the Supreme Court if the House of Representatives moves to impeach him in the coming months. Whether Congress should move toward impeachment proceedings over what was found in the Mueller report has divided Democratic leaders [Politico] [WaPost]
-> The president also vowed to fight any and all subpoenas Democrats send his way — an ongoing attempt to shake off additional probing into wrongful activity. His comment only increased the growing hostility between the White House and Congress, which elevated last week when Mueller’s report was released. [Politico] [NYTimes]
-> Facebook announced that the Federal Trade Commission will likely fine the technology company somewhere between $3 billion and $5 billion for privacy violations, in what would be a first-of-its-kind punishment of such a powerful social network. [NYTimes] [WaPost] [Politico]
-> In a three minute video, former vice president Joe Biden officially announced his bid for president on Thursday. [Politico] [NYTimes]
-> Frustrated at the media attention focused on white, male Democratic candidates like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Biden, women of color slammed that tilt at a four-hour forum showcasing several female Democratic hopefuls. [Politico] [NYTimes]
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-- Taylor Stevens and Sahalie Donaldson
https://twitter.com/tstevensmedia, https://twitter.com/SahalieD
Follow @sltribpolitics