Happy Thursday!
After remaining remarkably silent over an impending Chinese crackdown on Hong Kong protesters, President Donald Trump has finally called for humane treatment of dissidents. In tweets that continued to heap praise on Chinese President Xi JinPing (“a good man” and “great leader”), Trump expressed confidence Xi can resolve the conflict “quickly and humanely.” [Politico]
Topping the news: Police arrested one and ejected others from an inland port working group that made an unusual bid for security by relocating its meeting to a police precinct station. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13]
-> Erin Mendenhall talks about her come-from-behind lead in Salt Lake City’s mayoral primary, where Jim Dabakis or Luz Escamilla are battling for second. But there are more than 8,100 ballots left to be counted. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13] [KUTV]
-> More than one third of residents in some Utah communities suffer from depression but less than half have received mental health treatment, says a new study. [Trib] [DNews]
Tweets of the day: From @selectiveecho: “It’s a bad look and a bad decision for any meeting in which the public interest matters to be conducted in a police precinct, as it smacks of intimidation. Stop the #Inlandport.”
-> From @DeedaSeed: “They arrested an elderly veteran (from elders rising) who was arguing about the meeting being canceled. They canceled the meeting over a discussion about the lack of chairs for the public. They were forcing the people standing to leave.”
-> From @swin24: “If you had told me a year ago that Rep. Steve King would justify his position on abortion in cases of incest or rape by invoking Genghis Khan, I would have said, yes that sounds right.”
Happy Birthday: To Utah Policy’s Bryan Schott, BYU’s Quin Monson and former Matheson chief of staff, Meg Joseph.
Trib Talk: House Majority Leader Francis Gibson and Sen. Lyle Hillyard talk to The Tribune about what they learned in a statewide effort to gather public input on tax reform. [Trib]
Also in the news: Patrick Byrne, eccentric CEO of Utah-based Overstock.com, released a statement saying he was in the middle of FBI investigations into Russian election meddling and the Clinton Foundation. The company’s stock quickly tumbled. [Trib]
-> The spokesman hired to guide the University of Utah police department in the wake of a torrent of criticism of the U’s handling of the Lauren McCluskey murder case is leaving after just six months on the job. [Trib]
-> What’s happening with the West Davis Highway. [DNews]
-> The Salt Lake County jail has released an online tool that gives a daily view of the demographics of jail inmates: gender, age, employment and marital status and race. [Trib] [KSL]
-> The Utah Treasurer announced a record-breaking $29.3M was returned to residents through the unclaimed property program. [Trib]
-> Why all the damn cussing on the campaign trail? [DNews]
-> Cartoonist Pat Bagley depicts medicaid in Utah [Trib]
Nationally: The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 800 points after the bond market flashed a warning sign about a possible recession for the first time since 2007. [AP] [WaPost]
-> House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “Moscow Mitch” during a speech in Illinois. [WaPost]
-> Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King questioned “would there be any population left” if not for rape and incest. [DesMoinesRegister]
->The global economy is under increasing pressure as trade wars around the world escalate. [NYTimes]
-> President Trump has spoken with senators from both parties to try and address gun safety measures. [NYTimes]
-> The Trump administration wants to pour more federal funding into Immigration and Customs Enforcement by shifting money out of other Department of Homeland Security accounts. [Politico]
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-- Dan Harrie and Alison Berg
Follow @sltribpolitics