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Political Cornflakes: Trump invites GOP lawmakers for weekend getaways at Camp David ahead of impeachment vote

(Carolyn Kaster | AP file photo) President Donald Trump pauses as he talks to media before boarding Maine One at the White House in Washington, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019, en route to Camp David in Maryland.

President Donald Trump is using weekend getaways at Camp David to woo House Republicans ahead of the impeachment vote. The government-funded itinerary includes making s’mores over the campfire, going hiking and shooting clay pigeons. “It’s an impressive effort to engage at the member level,” said one GOP lawmaker; another attendee likened it to an “adult playground.” [WaPost]

Happy Monday!

Topping the news: At a White House meeting with President Donald Trump about youth addiction, Sen. Mitt Romney sparred with vaping executives over new regulations. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13]

-> Democrat Ashley Jolin is challenging Republican Rep. Chris Stewart in next year’s election, following her filing Friday with the Federal Election Commission as a 2nd Congressional District candidate for Utah. [Trib]

-> Conversation reopened last week at an interim meeting of the Legislature around a controversial bill that would make it easier to divide counties in Utah — and San Juan County could be vulnerable. [Trib]

-> Democrats and Republicans are both standing firm on their views of the House impeachment inquiry into Trump’s conduct with Ukraine. [Trib]

Tweets of the weekend: From @ConanOBrien: “I just had a ‘perfect phone call’ with the guy from Direct TV.”

-> From @aedwardslevy: “desperately wish Bloomberg had announced on Ion TV so we could do BLOOM IN, ON ION”

Happy birthday: To Utah Agriculture and Food Commissioner Kerry Gibson and Michael Mitchell (formerly of Equality Utah).

Also in the news: On Sunday, South Salt Lake named its public safety building after officer David Romrell, who died on duty one year ago the same day. [Trib]

-> The Chinese government gave Utah its “highest respect” following the state’s assistance to the victims of a September bus crash near Bryce Canyon National Park that killed four of its citizens. [Trib]

-> A video of the killings of U.S. citizens in Mexico that was apparently recorded by one of the captured subjects shows a gunman prepared to torch an SUV, according to the brother of one of the deceased. The footage would affirm suspicions of the victims’ families, who suspect the car was intentionally ignited. [Trib]

-> In a ruling published Friday night, the Utah Court of Appeals upheld a controversial police practice known as “stop and frisk” in a case involving a white supremacist gang member who was searched in a traffic stop in Ogden last year. [Fox13]

-> An annual Utah Bureau of Forensic Services report found the state processes rape kits more slowly than officials expected. [StandEx]

-> The Deseret News digs into the “Trump-Zuckerberg 2020” billboards along I-15 — and it’s not what you’d expect. [DNews]

-> What should Salt Lake City do to maintain the chaos of e-scooter travel in city? First, officials are observing and learning from other municipalities. [DNews]

Nationally: Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper demanded the resignation of the Navy’s top civilian leader in hopes of ending a dispute involving the president. [NYTimes] [CNN] [AP] [WaPost]

-> House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff is pushing for former national security adviser John Bolton to testify but said he won’t take Bolton to court if there’s pushback. [CNN]

-> Emails uncovered during an internal review show that acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney asked the budget office in August about the legal justification for withholding aid from Ukraine. [NYTimes]

-> If Congress does not remove Trump from office, voters will have the final say on whether he should stay in office — a chance Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton didn’t have. [NYTimes]

-> Representative Devin Nunes attributes a “totally corrupt” news media to reports that he played a role in the effort to have Ukraine investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. [NYTimes]

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-- Taylor Stevens and Clara Hatcher