Happy Wednesday!
U.S. immigration agents apprehended — and deemed inadmissible — nearly 1 million migrants on the Mexican border during fiscal 2019. That is 88% higher than the previous year. Acting Customs and Border Protection chief Mark Morgan told reporters those “are numbers that no immigration system is the world is designed to handle, including ours.” The number of families arriving at the border more than tripled any previous year on record. [CNN]
Topping the news: Sen. Mike Lee endorses President Donald Trump’s troop withdrawal from Syria, even as Sen. Mitt Romney calls it a ‘betrayal’ [NYTimesviaTrib]
-> Just days after leaving his post as the U.S. top diplomat to Russia, Jon Huntsman offers his take on the sanctions America places on the foreign country. [Trib]
-> Most universities and colleges in Utah don’t promote the website created after the state Legislature passed a bill to provide students information on the value of their degree. [Trib]
Tweets of the day: From @maggieNYT: “Yesterday was a threat to obliterate the Turkish economy. Today Turkey is a big trading partner.”
-> From @davidfrum: ‘Asserting the legal privilege, "He cannot testify because he knows too much"’
-> From @alittleleader: “If you have trouble believing that Elizabeth Warren experienced pregnancy discrimination because no one wrote down "Fired because pregnant," you are going to be floored when you learn about the experiences of.... any other human woman you know.”
Happy Birthday: Laura Dupuy, former executive director of the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy.
Also in the news: Here’s what the Salt Lake City mayoral candidates plan on doing to improve worker conditions and attract businesses. [Trib]
-> Utah’s state and local tax burden decreased significantly in recent years — and is at its lowest point in a quarter century. [Trib]
-> Utah’s attorney general charges an Arizona elected official with human smuggling and the sale of children. [Trib]
-> Boosting teacher compensation to attract and keep educators is among a few Legislative priorities unanimously agreed upon by the Governor’s Education Excellence Commission. [KUER]
-> The Utah Supreme Court is considering whether to allow undocumented law school graduates the right to legally practice their profession. [DNews]
-> Columnist George Pyle, a frequent TRAX train rider, argues the Utah Transit Authority should be free to ride all the time [Trib]
-> At a hearing on a state “fallback” plan that would expand coverage to those who make up to 138% of the federal poverty level, Medicaid expansion advocates made their presence known. [DNews]
i-> Medical cannabis advocates claim tweaking by the Legislature still doesn’t solve the problem of state employees breaking federal drug laws. [Fox13]
Nationally: The White House announced that it would not cooperate with what it called an illegitimate effort “to overturn the results of the 2016 election.” [NYTimes] [WaPost] [AP]
-> The Trump administration is soon expected to announce withdrawal from the “Open Skies” treaty, which allows 34 member states to conduct unarmed surveillance flights over one another’s territories. [CNN]
-> Trump quickly transitioned from threatening Turkey’s economy if it invades Syria to inviting its president to visit the White House. [AP]
-> Republicans have started breaking away from Trump after his announcement that he would pull back armed forces in Syria. They remain by his side on issues of impeachment. [NYTimes]
-> Apparently, President Trump told Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, among others, to deal with his private attorney when the Ukranian President sought out a meeting with Trump. [CNN]
-> Here’s what evidence has been collected so far in the Trump impeachment inquiry. [NYTimes]
-> A White House official listened to the President’s July phone call with Ukraine’s leader and described it as “crazy,” “frightening” and “completely lacking in substance related to national security.” [NYTimes]
-> Divided Supreme Court weighs LGBT people’s rights. [APviaTrib]
-> As biking in natural areas becomes more popular, conservation scientists are looking into the impact of increased biking on flora and fauna. [NYTimes]
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— Lee Davidson and Clara Hatcher
Follow @sltribpolitics