An annual report that grades countries on their level of freedom lambasts President Donald Trump. Freedom House, a government-funded non-profit. says “no president in living memory has shown less respect for [American] tenets, norms and principles.” It adds, “Trump has assailed essential institutions and traditions including the separation of powers, a free press, an independent judiciary, the impartial delivery of justice, safeguards against corruption, and most disturbingly, the legitimacy of elections.” Still, the group gave the United States a freedom score of 86 out of 100, the same as last year. Before Trump took office, the score was 90. [TheHill] [Newsweek]
Happy Wednesday.
Topping the news: President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address to call for unity for the national good, but sprinkled in divisive rhetoric on such things as building his proposed wall on the Mexican border. Utahns in Congress generally praised it. But lone Utah Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams said, "There were certainly divisive rhetoric as well as calls for unity.' [Trib] [NYTimes] [TheHill]
-> After a landmark power shift that gave San Juan County its first majority Navajo Democrat commission, new Rep. Phil Lyman from mostly white, Republican Blanding is broaching the subject of secession — and says splitting the county should be considered. [Trib]
-> A new poll shows Utahns are split about the Legislature’s recent rewriting of Proposition 2, the medical marijuana initiative passed by voters. But most tend to sanction the action by lawmakers: 51 percent were in favor of that bill passed during a special session in December. [Trib]
-> The Utah Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in a case filed by a group of state voters who are challenging that action by the Legislature to replace Prop 2 with an alternative medical cannabis law. [Trib] [Fox13]
Tweets of the day: @JordanUhl ”Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson went on Fox Business today and said we don’t need healthcare because God gives us free healthcare. ‘Doctors can give you a temporary reprieve, but they cannot save you from physical death. The doctors who treat you, they die too.’"
-> @JohnPaceWrites “On Fox (which I’m consigned to watch through no fault of my own), they keep harping about how mad or frustrated the Speaker will look tonight while sitting behind der leader.I expect her to look more like a teacher bemused by a child’s inability to explain away some misdeed.”
-> @aedwardslevy “OK, well, I *was* looking up SOTU polls but I’ve been diverted. In 1962, the preferred cocktails of unmarried ladies were martinis and manhattans; married ladies were also fans of the whiskey sour. I have no idea why it was broken out this way!"
Happy Birthday: to Michael Parker, director of public policy for the Salt Lake Chamber.
In other news: The Iron County School Board voted 3-2 Tuesday to remove Cedar High School’s controversial “Redmen” mascot. The split vote came amid chants of “Vote 'em out” and booing from proponents of the mascot. [Trib]
-> A bill that would have loosened requirements for legal notices to be published in a local newspapers, failed to pass the Utah House with a vote of 35-39. Representatives opposed to the bill cited concerns that it would harm the revenue of small local newspapers. [Trib] [DNews]
-> An amendment to change the terminology in Utah’s constitution to be more gender neutral passed in committee on Tuesday and is now on its way for review in the full Senate. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> A bill to allow Utah drivers to run a stop light when the coast is clear was held by a committee for more work. Sponsor Rep. Ken Ivory said it is intended only for cases when a light is malfunctioning, but the committee said the bill as written could allow it almost anytime. [Trib]
-> Utah lawmakers want to close a loophole in the state’s law that allows for slavery as punishment for a crime. The bill aimed at eliminating the exception to illegal slavery soared through the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and is now on its way to the full House. [Trib] [Fox13] [DNews]
-> The number of candidates is growing for the open Salt Lake County Council large vacated by new Mayor Jenny Wilson [Trib]
-> “Knock Down the House,” a documentary on the campaign victory of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wins the Sundance Film Festival Favorite award thanks to the votes of audience members that attended all of the 121 featured festival films. [Trib]
-> A House committee passed a clean-air bill to provide $2.1 million to help cover costs to improve three of Utah’s six dirtiest diesel freight switcher trains that move railroad cars around switching yards. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Pat Bagley illustrates the United State’s new Secretary of Interior. [Trib]
-> Columnist George Pyle says lawmakers trying to dump and rewrite the voter-passed Proposition 3 to expand Medicaid sound like the officer in Vietnam who said, “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.” [Trib]
Nationally: President Trump uses the State of the Union address to pledge the eradication HIV/AIDS by 2030. This comes a year after the president fired his HIV/AIDS advisory council and has not made attempts to replace the positions since. [WaPost]
-> Federal prosecutors are investigating three lobbying firms hired by President Trump’s former campaign chair, Paul Manafort to help improve the image of Ukraine's Russian aligned president. The line of questioning seems to follow in the footsteps of the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III into activities of unregistered foreign lobbying. [NYTimes]
-> Neomi Rao, President Trump’s nominee to fill the position on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated by Supreme Court Justice, Brett Kavanaugh, was grilled by lawmakers over opinion papers expressing controversial views on sexual assault published by Rao in college. [NYTimes] [WaPost]
-> Vice President Mike Pence says the government shutdown was not a mistake, and can’t guarantee there won’t be another one. [WaPost]
-> President Trump’s leaked private calendars show an unusual amount of free time when compared to previous presidents say historians. [WaPost]
-> Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Send us a note to cornflakes@sltrib.com.
Lee Davidson and Christina Giardinelli
