Happy Thursday!
The newsroom debate about whether it’s appropriate to report that President Donald Trump tells lies was raging as recently as last summer. Now, it is becoming more common for mainstream media outlets to drop terms like “misleading” or “false” and straight out label some of the president’s statements “lies” and/or the president a “liar.” [WaPo]
Topping the news: Protesters were removed by police officers from a meeting about the proposed Utah Inland Port, and one protester was booked into jail. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13]
-> Utah County voters will almost surely be voting on scraping the three-member commission form of government in favor of a mayor-council model. [Trib]
The first algal bloom of the season appeared on Utah Lake. [Trib] [DNews] [KUTV2] [ABC4] [DailyHerald]
Tweets of the day: @KatieMcKellar1: “In this clip, oil and gas lobbyist Jeff Hartley blocked me from exiting the committee room to observe Ethan Petersen’s arrest. ‘We’re going to have this every freaking meeting unless y2ou guys ignore them,’ Hartley said. I told him I was just trying to do my job."
-> From @alivitali: “It will never not be heart-wrenching to hear little kids ask politicians how they plan to keep them safe at school. Gives me chills every time it happens.”
-> From @TannerAinge: “#UtahCounty voters will have a chance to approve a change from a 3-member commission to a County Mayor with a 7-member County Council. I stand ready to place the committee’s final recommendations (once received) on the ballot.”
-> From @jdawsey1: “Twitter is a terrible place to try and make a joke, and every time I do it I regret it immediately.”
Trib Talk: On this week’s episode of “Trib Talk,” Nathan Ivie, Utah’s first openly gay elected Republican, joins Tribune reporter Benjamin Wood to discuss coming out and why Utah County should get rid of its three-member commission. [Trib]
In other news: The parents of murdered University of Utah track star Lauren McCluskey say it “borders on the obscene” that the U. would give awards to some employees for the way they handled the tragedy and its aftermath. [Trib]
-> Some 377 Horizonte students received their high school diplomas Wednesday after overcoming long odds and big obstacles. [Trib]
-> Several Salt Lake City mayoral candidates are pushing for free UTA fares within city bounds. [Trib]
-> UTA will use most of the extra revenue from a Salt Lake County sales tax hike to expand and improve bus service -- but much of it will go to planning for the first couple of years. [Trib]
-> Farmers complained of restrictions and regulations proposed for Utah’s medical cannabis program. [APviaABC4]
-> Officials held a ceremonial groundbreaking for a 252-unit housing project in the Marmalade neighborhood of Salt Lake City. [KUTV2]
-> A Utah man was charged with making threatening calls to Congress. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> A Utah man who shot an unarmed black man involved in a physical fight with a woman has not been charged. [Trib]
-> The Salt Lake region might be removed from the list of areas not meeting federal Clean Air Act standards. [DNews]
-> A BYU study found that people skeptical of vaccines became more pro-vaccine after talking with someone with a vaccine-preventable disease. [KUER]
-> Columnist Robert Gehrke says talk of fixing Utah’s tax system by taking money away from education is misguided. [Trib]
-> Cartoonist Pat Bagley’s view of the Utah Inland Port controversy. [Trib]
Nationally: Border arrests have surged amidst federal negotiations with Mexico over immigration. On Wednesday evening Trump announced that not enough progress has been made in reaching a deal. [NYT]
-> The Trump administration said it is cutting educational programs and legal assistance to children in shelters at the border. [NYT] [NPR]
-> The State Department forced out a senior official who worked on an arms deal for a company he used to lobby for [WSJ]
-> The U.S. oil market is down. [WSJ] [NYT]
-> Senators from both parties say they will block President Trump’s planned arms sales to Saudi Arabia. [Reuters]
-> The Pentagon is seeking rare earth supplies in Africa amid tensions with China. [Reuters]
-> The Trump administration is placing new restrictions on research involving human fetal tissue. [NYT] [NPR]
-> Bernie Sanders called on Walmart executives and shareholders to pay workers more than “starvation” wages. [Reuters]
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— Dan Harrie and Sara Tabin
Follow @sltribpolitics