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Political Cornflakes: Florida student body president faces impeachment after inviting Donald Trump Jr. to campus

(Eric Gay | AP file photo) Donald Trump Jr. speaks to supporters of his father, President Donald Trump, during a panel discussion in San Antonio on Oct. 15, 2019.

Happy Thursday!

Student representatives at the University of Florida are looking to impeach their student body president for using their fees to host one of President Donald Trump’s sons on campus. Michael Murphy, the student body president, invited Donald Trump Jr. and one of Trump’s campaign advisers to speak at the school and paid them $50,000 in university funds. Some students say that was a violation of their Student Senate code. [NYTimes]

Topping the news: An investigative report by the Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with the Tribune sheds new light into the murky areas of a controversial Draper train station development. [Trib]

-> In the first of the public impeachment hearings of President Donald Trump, Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah claimed the inquiry was a “coup.” [Trib] [KUER] [Fox13] [DNews]

-> Jon Huntsman today is expected to announce his 2020 bid to become Utah’s governor. [Trib] [DNews]

Tweets of the day: From @MrGeorgeWallace: “Thinkin’ of payin’ extra for Impeachment+.”

-> From @JimSwiftDC: “I have dedicated my entire professional life to the conservative movement. Today was a very sad day to be a Republican. It brings me no joy to admit this.”

-> From @chelsea_janes: “If I had a dollar for every ‘anything going on today?’ joke being made in DC today I’d have my own button on Warren’s wealth tax calculator.”

Happy Birthday: Former Utah Rep. Dixon Pitcher.

Also in the news: A new study shows that the number of women serving on Utah state boards and commissions has increased by nearly 5% since 2016. [StandEx]

-> The race for mayor of Brighton, Salt Lake County’s newest town, remains close with Danial Knopp keeping his slim lead over Don Despain. [DNews]

-> Utah’s Sen. Mitt Romney is asking who’s to blame for the vaping illness epidemic; the Trump administration has yet to clear the market of flavored e-cigarettes as it had previously announced. [DNews]

-> Second lady Karen Pence will be making a stop in Salt Lake City on Friday as President Trump’s reelection campaign works to appear on the ballot in Utah next year. [Trib]

-> Bob Stevenson, a Davis County commissioner and former Layton mayor and council member, is joining the race to replace Rep. Rob Bishop in the 1st Congressional District seat. [DNews]

-> Backcountry.com may have trouble rehabilitating its reputation among outdoor enthusiasts following its recent trademark snafu. [Trib]

-> Columnist Robert Gehrke calls on University of Utah President Ruth Watkins to step up in the wake of Lauren McCluskey’s killing. [Trib]

-> Tribune cartoonist Pat Bagley illustrates what a well-crafted, Republican impeachment defense might look like. [Trib]

Nationally: Yesterday was the first day of the public impeachment hearings where a top diplomat and career foreign service officer testified on President Trump’s alleged involvement in an attempt to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political opponents. [NYTimes] [CNN] [AP] [WaPost]

-> Trump lost another court battle when a full federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected the president’s appeal to keep his financial records from Congress, paving the way for a Supreme Court case. [NYTimes] [WaPost]

-> President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey received a warm welcome to the White House just one month after President Trump warned the foreign leader not to “be a fool.” [NYTimes] [AP]

-> The House is expected to pass a spending bill next week that will fund the federal government through Dec. 20 and prevent another government shutdown. [CNN]

-> Deval Patrick, a former two-term governor of Massachusetts, said that he will be entering the 2020 presidential primary race on Thursday. [CNN] [NYTimes] [AP] [WaPost]

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 Clara Hatcher