Finally, something almost everyone in Washington can get behind: ending Robocalls. With a 417-3 House vote Wednesday, Congress is poised to adopt legislation aimed at decreasing the number of unwanted phone calls Americans receive each month. Lawmakers hope the Senate can send the measure to President Donald Trump by Christmas. [Politico]
Happy Thursday!
Topping the news: The Richmond City Council in California’s Bay Area has pushed back its vote on a proposed ban that would choke off a key export point for Utah-mined coal and potentially eliminate coveted union jobs. [Trib]
-> Sen. Mitt Romney, among several other colleagues, raised concerns Wednesday about the Trump administration’s decision to withhold $105 million in aid to Lebanon. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Following a controversial start over the light rail system’s routes and disruptive construction, TRAX celebrated its 20th birthday Wednesday. [Trib] [DNews]
Tweets of the day: From @petridishes: “my phone autocorrected “grab a beer with” to “grab a bear with” and suddenly I have a new and much more high-stakes criteria for evaluating candidates”
-> From @theisaacreese: “Why buy a JUUL when I can breathe Utah’s air for free?”
Happy Birthday: To U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams, Salt Lake County’s former mayor.
Also in the news: Senate President Stuart Adams says a special session on tax reform is “imminent” as legislative leaders plan to meet with the governor on Thursday. [DNews]
-> Ahead of the planned special session, House Speaker Brad Wilson said lawmakers are working to get the income tax cut to more than $100 million. [Fox13]
-> The wife of a slain Provo police officer found out she was pregnant just days after her husband’s funeral. [Trib]
-> Salt Lake City transportation planners are laying out a redesign for 300 West, using Legos and months of public feedback. [Fox13]
-> The Utah Transit Authority has extended contracts with Ogden and Layton that allow it to experiment with free fares on certain bus routes. [Trib]
-> In a bipartisan group of politicians, two Utah congressmen are fighting for Major League Baseball not eliminate dozens of minor league teams across the country, including ones in Orem and Ogden. [DNews]
-> David B. Barlow has been confirmed by the Senate to serve as a federal judge in Utah, a move that will help alleviate the strain on the court that now has only four full-time judges on the bench. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Granite School District’s new elementary school in South Salt Lake is being named for former Utah Gov. Olene Walker, the first woman to fill that position in the state. [DNews]
Nationally:
-> In the first day of impeachment hearings in the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Republicans and Democrats kicked off a sharply partisan debate over whether to recommend President Donald Trump’s impeachment. [NYTimes] [CNN]
-> During testimony, three leading legal scholars said Trump’s efforts to have Ukraine investigate his Democratic rivals are grounds for impeachment. [AP]
-> Democrats are debating whether to include special counsel Robert Mueller’s report in House impeachment articles to show a “pattern" of the president’s conduct. [CNN]
-> A sailor killed two civilians before ending his own life during a shooting at Pearl Harbor naval shipyard in Hawaii on Wednesday. [AP]
-> After Kamala Harris ended her bid for the 2020 presidential race, voters are criticizing the Democratic stage for lacking the diversity it had in the beginning. [AP] [NYTimes]
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-- Taylor Stevens and Clara Hatcher
Follow @sltribpolitics