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Political Cornflakes: Half brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un was once a CIA informant

FILE - This combination of file photos shows Kim Jong Nam, left, exiled half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, in Narita, Japan, on May 4, 2001, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on May 9, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. South Korean agencies said Tuesday, June 11, 2019, they could not confirm a report that Kim Jong Nam was a U.S. intelligence source and had traveled to Malaysia to meet his CIA contact before being assassinated there in 2017.(AP Photos/Shizuo Kambayashi, Wong Maye-E, File)

Happy Thursday!

Kim Jong Un’s half brother, killed in a 2017 nerve agent attack, was an informant to the Central Intelligence Agency, according to a new book. Kim Jong Nam, who lived in Macau, was known as a casino playboy and bon vivant who liked wine and cigars. But he supplemented his income by working with the CIA and is believed to have met with an American intelligence agent just days before being killed in a Malaysian airport. [WaPost]

Topping the news: A big-money political action committee created by Gov. Gary Herbert’s former campaign manager, Joe Demma, is under investigation. Herbert has decried the PAC for unethical conduct. [Trib]

-> Greg Graves, a former Utah County commissioner who was investigated for sexual harassment while in office, is suing his fellow commissioners for telling the public about the accusations. Graves denies the allegations, and an investigator was unable to substantiate them. But the investigator did find that Graves retaliated against the woman who reported the alleged misconduct. [Trib]

-> Salt Lake City mayoral candidates are upset about a cap on an upcoming debate. Organizers only want four candidates to join the debate, but eight people are currently in the race. [Trib]

Tweets of the day: From @JenSorensen: “I think the thing that bothers me most about the @nytimes’ blanket decision to ban political cartoons is the snobbery. Those of us who draw our analyses instead of writing them have long labored under a kind of cultural classism that views our work as unserious.”

-> From @evaandheriud: “it’s so important we compare women to other women because in the end, as we all know, there can only be one woman”

-> From @astrocrash: “I hold up two fingers and ask the toddler how many fingers I’m holding up. She says ‘two.’ I add one finger and ask ‘if I add one to these two, how many fingers am I holding up?’ She says, ‘many.’ Makings of a real physicist.”

-> From @cottoncandaddy: “I think it’s important that once a year we all take a moment to remember that at one point hoards of clowns with weapons was a nationwide concern”

-> From @esibanens: “People who live in cities or even large towns are so arrogant because they do not fear nature, as they should”

-> From @ClintSmithIII: “GOOD MORNING TO EVERYONE EXCEPT THOSE WHO THINK THAT THE US WOMENS SOCCER TEAM SHOULD BE PAID LESS THAN THE MEN”

Happy Birthday: to Salt Lake City Community Empowerment Director Jennifer Seelig and former U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch chief of staff, Trish Knight!

In other news: Sen. Mike Lee is part of a push to stop sales of arms to Saudi Arabia, while Sen. Mitt Romney is backing the sales. Lee expressed concern about Saudi involvement in Yemen’s civil war and the human rights crisis that has arisen there. [WaPostviaTrib] [DNews]

-> Woods Cross City has hired an attorney after one of their police officers pointed his gun at a black 10-year-old with disabilities. [Fox13]

-> Sen. Mitt Romney introduced legislation to permanently renew E-Verify, a program run by the Department of Homeland Security that allows businesses to check the legal work status of a new hire. [Trib]

-> Speaking at the Tribute Award Luncheon held by the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy, Peace Corps director Jody Olsen, originally from Utah, encouraged people of all ages to join the Peace Corps. [Trib]

-> Utah’s Sen. Mike Lee and Attorney General Sean Reyes are promoting antitrust enforcement for big tech businesses. [DNews]

-> A woman who has battled cancer and her husband have signed on to in a lawsuit to reinstate Utah’s medical cannabis ballot initiative. [Fox13]

-> Customers could see gaps on Utah store shelves as 3.2 beer is removed and heavier beer takes its place. [Fox13]

-> The executive director of the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control sits down for an interview on the Utah Booze News podcast. [Fox13]

-> A redrock monolith in Capitol Reef National Park was vandalized. [Trib] [Fox13]

-> Columnist Robert Gehrke urges rural officials not to fan the flames of anti-government sentiment. [Trib]

-> Cartoonist Pat Bagley on the fate of cartoonists. [Trib]

Nationally: The Trump administration is holding migrant children at an Army base that was used as an interment camp for Japanese-Americans during World War ll. [Time]

-> Stanford University’s former head sailing coach John Vandemoer was sentenced to six months home confinement for his role in the college admissions scandal. [WSJ]

-> In complaining about Trump’s use of executive authority on tariff action, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa accused Congress of delegating too much power to the presidency over the past 80 years. [The Hill]

-> The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends the use of preventive antiretroviral medications for those who might be at risk of HIV infection. [NPR]

-> U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar misused campaign funds and filed taxes jointly with her husband before they were married, according to Minnesota campaign finance officials. [AP]

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.

Bethany Rodgers and Sara Tabin