Happy Thursday!
Polls show that President Donald Trump is far less popular in Utah than partisanship predicts he should be. The only state where he performs worse in that measure is North Dakota, according to FiveThirtyEight.com. It says findings in such states likely pose no problem for Trump because “they are so conservative that there’s no real danger of going blue in 2020.” [538.com]
Topping the news: Sen. Mitt Romney says he does not believe President Trump is considering war with Iran, noting that he called the earlier invasion of Iraq against weaker foes a mistake.[Trib]
-> The Transportation Security Administration says it cannot afford X-Ray screening machines for the new Salt Lake City International Airport, so the city and airlines will provide the $10 million to $15 million needed. [Trib]
-> State Sen. Daniel Thatcher publicly says a lobbyist may be offering kickbacks to a local city for a lucrative contract, but says he has no evidence and won’t name names. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: “@EricLevitz: “The most divisive question in the Democratic Party today may be this: Do desperate times call for milquetoast measures? Pelosi and Biden say yes. And their position isn’t (quite) as absurd as it sounds.”
->@brianschatz: “If the Republican Party gets its way they will simply ban abortion everywhere”
->@UTJolley: “Utah requires 600(!) more hours for a cosmetology license than New York (1,600 vs 1,000). We should strive to be at least as free as New York. #utpol”
Happy Birthday: Jim Gonzalez, chairman of PACE-Latino in Utah.
New podcast: Tribune reporter Kathy Stephenson and Fox 13’s Ben Winslow are back with a new episode of The Utah Booze News podcast. This week, a legal expert answers your alcohol questions including why shipping wine to your house is forbidden but beer flights have finally became legal.
Also in the news: Animal activists call on West Jordan to shut down puppy stores, unless the animals come from a shelter or rescue groups. [Trib]
-> Homeless service providers like The INN Between and Catholic Community Services face budget cuts due to tighter state funding and changes in services for the homeless. [Trib]
-> Utah Rep. Rob Bishop and bipartisan group are pushing for passage of bill to fix national parks. [Trib]
-> Believe it or not, a new study says Utah is the nation’s best place to drive. [Trib]
-> Utah news agencies have renewed their requests for information from Brigham Young University campus police, now that legislation confirms that the department is subject to the state’s public records laws. [Trib]
-> Mexican authorities say a Utah man drove a truck into a crowd of people near a border checkpoint. [Trib]
-> Nearly 30,000 Utahns enrolled in newly expanded Medicaid, but some are left uninsured after the federal goverment refuses to extend Obamacare signup. [Trib]
-> The Utah County Health Department confirmed an unvaccinated adult in Utah County has contracted mumps. [Trib]
-> Gov. Gary Herbert vetoed a bill to expedite the process of filling unexpected congressional vacancies, so lawmakers have taken steps to propose another, similar bill. [DNews]
-> A group called the Utah Consumer Coalition plans to push for drastic changes to Utah’s beer laws in 2020. [KUTV]
-> Cartoonist Pat Bagley depicts the Alabama abortion bill. [Trib]
Nationally: Bill de Blasio, the Democratic mayor of New York City, announced early Thursday that he is running for president, becoming the 23rd Democrat in the race. [NYTimes]
-> Alabama’s Republican governor has signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases. [AP]
-> President Trump on Thursday will unveil a plan to overhaul parts of the nation’s immigration system that would impose new security measures at the border and significantly increase the educational and skills requirements for people allowed to migrate to the United States. [NYTimes]
-> President Trump’s top lawyer told the House Judiciary Committee Congress has “no legal right” to investigate White House officials and their potential connections to Russia. [WaPost]
-> North Carolina Attorney General Joshua Stein filed a lawsuit against Juul Labs, the controversial e-cigarette company, alleging the company hooked its customers into addiction by downplaying the product’s potency. [WaPost]
->Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the U.S., Canada and Mexico are nearing an agreement to roll back tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. [NYTimes]
-> The House Judiciary Committee hoped to have Robert Mueller testify May 15, but Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Mueller’s testimony is still being negotiated. [APviaTrib]
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-- Lee Davidson and Alison Berg
Follow @sltribpolitics