Happy Tuesday!
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has close ties to Rocky Mountain Resources, which is trying to expand a limestone quarry near a tourist town in Colorado. While he pledged to recuse himself from decisions involving his former lobbying firm’s clients, that two-year vow expires in August. That makes officials of Glenwood Springs and environmental groups nervous. [Politico]
Topping the news: Last winter’s government shutdown forced about a third of federal workers in Utah to miss housing payments or visit a food pantry. [Trib]
-> Former Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch and former Rep. Jason Chaffetz are among those criticized in a new report for using leadership PACs as slush funds to “subsidize lavish lifestyles.” [Trib]
-> Karl Malone, the former Utah Jazz star who is a National Rifle Association supporter, says members should be ‘damn concerned’ about money flowing to the gun lobby’s board. [WaPostviaTrib]
Tweets of the day: @aimeepicchi “I took my 14yo daughter to the Tolkien exhibit at the @MorganLibrary this winter. “John Ronald Reuel Tolkien?” she said, reading his name. “I thought Tolkien was a woman!” Curious, I asked why. “Like @jk_rowling!” I <3 that she thinks great fantasy writers are women.”
-> @petridishes “What if as a nation we just did one BIG Kickstarter once a year to help everyone pay medical bills instead of 327 million individual ones”
-> From @fivefifths “I don’t think anything infuriates me more than the idea of ‘school lunch debt’”
-> From @jonnysun “if you cheer for people you like instead of envy them the world gets better for you and for them and for everyone involved i promise”
Happy Birthday: to former state Rep. Merlynn Newbold, lobbyist Chris Bleak and former Sen. Orrin Hatch’s Finance Committee director Chris Campbell.
In other news: The Tribune looks at the candidates in three Salt Lake City Council races. [District2][District4] [District6]
-> U.S. House Democratic leaders are postponing consideration of a bill that would include a pay raise for members of Congress after facing a major backlash from the party’s most vulnerable members — including Utah Rep. Ben McAdams. [Politico]
-> The Woods Cross Police Department is defending an officer who pointed his gun at a 10-year-old African American child and forced him to lie on the ground. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources has a new officer — a dog — and he’s excited to get to work tracking poachers. [Trib]
-> The ACLU warned Heber City not to remove pride banners. [Fox13]
-> South Salt Lake officials are divided over property taxes raises. [DNews]
Nationally: Mexico denies President Donald Trump’s claim that secret concessions were contained in a deal to avoid U.S. tariffs on its goods. [AP]
-> China is ramping up trade-war tensions after Trump’s latest tariff threat, saying it will ‘fight to the end.’ [BusInsider]
-> Photos of travelers at entering and existing the United States were compromised in a cyberattack on Monday according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. [WaPo]
-> The Vatican issued an official document Monday rejecting the idea that people can choose or change their genders and insisting on the sexual “complementarity” of men and women to make babies.[APviaTrib]
-> Elizabeth Warren has a large number of bold, detailed policy proposals compared to her opponents. [NYT]
-> The Justice Department has agreed to give key Mueller probe evidence to Congress. [NYT]
-> The United States is attempting to counter attempts by China and other adversary foreign governments to recruit American scientists. [WSJ]
-> The United States’ Africa envoy will go to Sudan amid unrest to encourage talks between the government and pro-democracy campaigners. [BBC]
-> North Korean state media told the United States to withdraw its “hostile policy” towards that country. [Reuters]
-> A friendship tree that President Trump and President Macron planted together has died. [WaPo via Trib]
Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven’t already, sign up here for our weekday email to get this sent directly to your inbox.
-- Lee Davidson and Sara Tabin
Follow @sltribpolitics