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Political Cornflakes: Trump to be first president to attend March for Life

(Jose Luis Magana | AP file photo) Anti-abortion activists protest outside of the U.S. Supreme Court during the March for Life in Washington on Jan. 18, 2019. President Donald Trump plans to become the first president ever to attend the event on Friday.

Happy Thursday!

What to do while on trial for impeachment? President Donald Trump on Friday will become the first president ever to attend the March for Life, an annual anti-abortion event. “He will be the first president in history to attend and we are so excited for him to experience in person how passionate our marchers are about life and protecting the unborn,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of the march. [CNN]

Topping the news: Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes joined other Republican attorneys generals to argue the Senate should reject the articles of impeachment against President Trump. [Trib]

-> Supporters celebrated as Utah’s ban conversion therapy for gay minors took effect, becoming the 19th and most conservative state so far to prohibit the discredited practice. [Trib] [Fox13] [DNews]

-> A Cedar City lawmaker wants the state to oppose stripping Native American names or symbols from schools, a year after a high school in his city scrapped its “Redmen” mascot. [Trib]

Tweets of the day: From @MichelleLQuist: “Maybe the tax referendum will teach the legislature that their constituents aren’t toddlers they can placate with a cookie before bedtime. Probably not.” #utleg #utpol

-> From @entitled2life: “I’m proud of Utah for continuing to stand up to the Legislature with these initiatives. But the all-important next step is to not re-elect the legislators who keep letting us down.” #utpol #utleg

-> From @mlcalderone: NYT has a sketch artist covering impeachment, catching moments like Sen. Risch sleeping https://nyti.ms/2Reu0tK

In other news: Utah may have found a bipartisan solution to tackle climate change by focusing on bipartisan environmental goals such as the economic benefits of cleaning up air. [ClimateNewsviaTrib]

-> UTA is launching a pilot program to offer free fares to more low-income people, with help and subsidies from schools and social agencies. [Trib]

-> It won’t, but what would happen if the Senate convicted Trump? [Trib]

-> As state officials plan to destroy thousands of recalled condom wrappers emblazoned with sexy Utah-themed slogans, a complete set of the 13 condoms appeared on eBay. [Trib]

-> Union membership in Utah is the 5th lowest nationally. [Trib]

-> Opponents of the inland port released a summary report detailing their concerns around its development citing environmental, transportation and traffic impacts. [Trib]

-> Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson are asking the judiciary to allow “dreamers” to practice law in the state.[Fox13]

-> Utah company Co-Diagnostics is developing an animal and plant genome test to help researchers study the newly discovered Wuhan coronavirus and get ahead of its spread. [DNews]

-> Retired Gen. James Mattis urged a Utah State University audience to remember that despite imperfections, the U.S. is the “greatest experiment” in the world and that it is worth fighting for. [DNews]

-> Utahns are divided over vaping products as both sides presented their views at a public forum hearing held by the Utah Health Department. [Fox13]

-> The UTA’s new microtransit experiment — similar to Lyft and Uber — has a new fan: Rep. Ben McAdams. [Trib]

-> Sen. Mike Lee is complaining that House Democrats are treating the Senate impeachment trial like children calling their behavior “shameful.” [DNews]

-> Columnist Robert Gehrke argues that protecting kids warrants passage of the proposed clergy sex abuse disclosure bill, but doubts it will happen. [Trib]

Nationally: President Trump shows anxiety as Democrats lay out the impeachment case against him, charging he tried to cheat the upoming election. [LATimes] [NYT]

-> A Freedom of Information Act request revealed emails from the Congressional Budget Office showing White House officials working to impose the freeze on military aid to Ukraine. [NYT]

-> During his last day in Davos, Switzerland, President Trump held a press conference in which he jumped from topics such as the impeachment to criticizing teenage activist Greta Thunberg. [NYT] [LATimes]

-> President Trump set a presidential record for tweeting on Wednesday, commenting at length about the impeachment trial, the Democrats who want to replace him and much, much more. [APviaTrib]

-> The Trump administration is coming out Thursday with visa restrictions aimed at restricting “birth tourism,” or traveling to the U.S. to give birth so children can have a coveted U.S. passport. [APviaTrib]

-> After many have used it as a ruse to escape pet fees, the federal government proposes to no longer force airlines to allow “emotional support animals” to accompany passengers. [NYT]

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.

-- Lee Davidson and McKhelyn Jones