How does the government shutdown end? Here are some possible outcomes. Love joins CNN as a commentator. Three state reps were delinquent on their taxes.
Happy Monday. The partial government shutdown is entering its third week and there’s no sign of either side budging. How long could this go on? How will it end? Here’s a rundown of possible options to get the government back up and running again. [Politico]
Topping the News: A quarter-century after Utah lawmakers began debating hate-crimes legislation, protections for LGBTQ people remain the sticking point to enact a workable state law. [Trib]
-> Former Rep. Mia Love has landed at CNN as a commentator. [Trib]
-> Among three state legislators who were delinquent on property taxes this year, one blamed his wife. [Trib]
-> Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City, is proposing to amend the state Constitution to remove a provision that that allows slavery for convicted criminals. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Sen. Mike Lee takes to social media to urge Gov. Gary Herbert to back off of the legal defense of the candidate-signature-gathering law that both politicians used in their last elections. [Trib] [DNews]
Happy Birthday: Today to Karen Wiley and belatedly to former Rep. Curt Oda; the state of Utah, admitted to the union 123 years ago Friday; and Josh Loftin and Kent Winder on Saturday; and to Tribune politics reporter Benjamin Wood on Sunday.
Tweets of the day: From @MindfulMajority: “If Trump couldn’t convince Congress to fund #TheWall when Republicans controlled both chambers FOR 2 YEARS, what makes him think he can do it now with @HouseDemocrats now in the majority? #TrumpShutdown”
From @LibertyCliff: "Serious question: can we keep the government shutdown forever?"
In other news: Utah’s Republican House members sent a letter to Interior asking for emergency funding to staff national parks during the shutdown. Newly minted Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams, apparently not invited to join, wrote his own letter. {Trib] [DNews]
-> Ron Mortensen, a Utah anti-illegal immigration activist, had his presidential nomination expire for a job overseeing migration and refugees at the State Department. [Trib]
-> Enrollment for Obamacare through healthcare.gov is up slightly from a year earlier in Utah. [Trib]
-> A state analysis found that most federally funded programs in Utah will continue as long as the shutdown doesn’t go beyond the end of the month. Beyond that, food programs for low-income women and children could get hit. [Trib]
-> UDOT spent $700,000 to remove a complex intersection in Kearns that prevented left turns. Although it was only five-years old, UDOT says the removal wasn’t a sign it was a failure. [Trib].
-> The residency and election victory of Willie Grayeyes, a Democrat and Navajo, is being challenged in court by defeated Republican candidate Kelly Laws. [Trib]
-> Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke questions just how low San Juan County leaders will go in trying to cling to power that they are about to lose. [Trib]
-> Sen. Mitt Romney criticizes Michigan Rep. Rashia Tlaib for using an expletive in saying Democrats in Congress are going to impeach President Trump. [DNews]
-> The federal shutdown means a suspension of U.S. attorneys in Utah working on civil litigation, including the suit by the Ute Tribe seeking ownership of some 2 million acres it says was wrongfully taken from it. [Fox13]
-> Unemployment claims have spiked in Utah since the shutdown began. [KUTV2]
-> A Ukrainian Air Force cargo plane landed in Salt Lake City last month carrying a radar system, spurring a lot of curiosity among a website that tracks such things. [TheDrive]
Nationally: Already the third longest government shutdown on record, it looks like it’s just getting started. [USAToday] [LATimes]
-> The Times Argus of Montpelier, Vt., urges Sen. Bernie Sanders not to mount a second presidential campaign. Last election, the newspaper endorsed Hillary Clinton over the home-state favorite. [Times Argus]
-> National Security Adviser John Bolton says there will be no U.S. withdrawal from Syria until ISIS is defeated, despite the president’s promise of a pullout. [WaPost] [NYTimes]
-> For all President Trump’s talk of the big, beautiful wall he is building, not a single mile of new border barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border has been built since his election. [NYTimes]
-> Former Vice President Joe Biden believes he is the Democrats' best chance in 2020, Bidens' allies say. [NYTimes]
-> In the wake of the resignation -- the president says it was a firing -- of Defense Secretary James Mattis, Pentagon Chief of Staff Kevin Sweeney has now resigned. [Politico] [NYTimes]
Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Send us a note to cornflakes@sltrib.com.
-- Dan Harrie and Thomas Burr
