What happens if a Democratic House tries to impeach Kavanaugh? Love-McAdams race now a ‘toss-up.’ Sessions visits Utah to pitch Project Safe Neighborhood.
Happy Thursday. The Senate has now received the FBI probe of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and is set to vote tomorrow on his confirmation. There are a few swing votes we’re not yet sure where they’ll go, but with a GOP majority it’s likely Kavanaugh will take a seat on the high court next week. So what happens if the Democrats take the House in the midterm elections? There’s a chance the newest justice could be impeached. [Politico]
Topping the news: A widely-regarded political handicapper has moved the race between Rep. Mia Love and Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams for the 4th District seat to a “toss up,” signaling the contest is now a dead heat. [Trib]
-> Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions visited Utah on Wednesday and gave a speech to a crowd of 600 people, mostly law enforcement, about Project Safe Neighborhoods 2.0, a violent crime-reduction plan he instituted last year. Sessions said the project has helped thus far, and will encourage long sentences for offenders. [Trib][DNews][KUTV]
-> With Utah Patients Coalition backing Proposition 2’s medical marijuana legalization, while Drug Safe Utah pushes back against it, neither side seems to be backing down. The House said that, though nothing is final, there is an “ongoing discussion” about a potential compromise. [Trib][DNewsviaAP][Fox13]
-> The U.S. Capitol police announced Wednesday night that the individual who leaked personal information including addresses and phone numbers of prominent Republican Senators including Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee was arrested. The alleged culprit was a former junior Senate Democratic aide. [TribviaWaPost]
Tweets of the day: From @EdKrassen: “If FEMA’s #PresidentialAlert is possible, then it is also be possible to send an alert with a link to an official voter registration page that allows anyone to register to vote and find their polling place in a matter of minutes. When I become president that’s what I’ll do!”
-> From @burgessev: “Not only is this week never going to end, it never started. Technically it’s still Friday’s Senate session”
Happy birthday: to state Rep. Roger Barrus.
In other news: Gov. Gary Herbert issued an executive order Tuesday afternoon declaring a state of emergency for flooding in burn-scar areas. [ABC4]
-> In a poll about Utahn’s opinions on Roe v. Wade, 44% of voters supported the ruling that legalized abortion, 37% think it should be overturned, and 19% haven’t decided yet. [UtahPolicy] [DNewsviaAP]
-> Salt Lake City’s Green Bike bike share program was on track to have its most successful year yet, but the introduction of Bird and Lime scooters to the city has caused ridership to drop significantly. A spokesman for Green Bike said the drop is likely partially due to the scooters and partially because the city had fewer annual visitors with Outdoor Retailer not taking place in Salt Lake City this year. [Trib]
-> Salt Lake City launched a campaign with scooter companies Bird and Lime on Tuesday to help educate scooter-riders about the rules of the sidewalk. The e-scooters present a hazard to pedestrians, so the campaign will seek to encourage riders to only go in bike lanes and on the side of the road, not on the sidewalk. [Trib]
-> Salt Lake County District Attorney candidates had a debate Wednesday night, battling over issues like police brutality and medical marijuana. [Trib]
-> Utah religious leaders raised their voices Wednesday in support of Proposition 3, expanding medicaid. They said that Utahns are generous and Proposition 3 helps embody the “love your neighbor” concept in Christianity. [Trib]
-> Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke advocated for voters to vote yes to Proposition 3 on November’s ballot initiative, expanding medicaid, stating that rural Utahns stand to gain a lot from the measure passing. He concluded by saying, “Are we willing to kick in a few bucks each year and bring hundreds of millions of our tax dollars back to the state to help make sure a substantial portion of Utah’s working poor are able to see a doctor when they get sick?” [Trib]
Nationally: After NAFTA was settled President Donald Trump behaved as thought the relationship between the U.S. and Canada is now rosy once more, but Canadians feel otherwise. The friendly relationship held between the two countries has become strained, and Canadian citizens state they will not forget the way this president has mistreated them. [NYTimes]
-> Millions of cellphone users received an alert on Wednesday declaring, “Presidential Alert, THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed." This new alert system will allow the government to notify citizens across the country about major crises, including terrorist attacks and invasions. [TribviaWaPost][Fox13][BBC][WSJ]
-> Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the U.S. will be withdrawing from a treaty with Iran created in 1955 which had provided a platform for normalizing relations between the two countries. Pompeo said that Iran had been abusing the treaty for a long time, using it for “political and propaganda purposes." He also announced on Friday that all diplomatic officials and employees will be evacuated from the U.S. Consulate in Iran following rocket strikes. [NYTimes][Fox][WSJ]
-> President Donald Trump attacked The New York Times Wednesday for the investigative piece they published accusing him of fraudulent activity with taxes and of having more money than he said he did. [NYTimes][Politico][CNN]
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-- Thomas Burr and Cara MacDonald
https://twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/carammacdonald