Despite the public’s desire to see special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, a federal judge on Tuesday turned down a request for its speedy release. The judge said he couldn’t justify taking such an extraordinary step, although he understood the interest in reviewing the report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The request for quick release was filed by the Electronic Privacy and Information Center, whose attorney argued that public needs access to the report before congressional hearings on the Russia investigation. A lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice told the court the department is making progress in reviewing and redacting the document before its release, and Attorney General William Barr pledged to a congressional panel to produce the report within a week. Meanwhile, public information requests continue to stack up for materials related to the Mueller probe. [Politico]
Happy Wednesday!
Topping the news: Members of the state school board gave final approval to a series of guidelines on what teachers can and can’t teach about sex, but not before adding a few stipulations to ensure abstinence is still stressed within classrooms. [Trib]
-> Utah-based boutique Piper & Scoot and local swimsuit company Kortnie Jeane came under fire over the past couple of weeks for advertisements that seemed to feature only white models. A social media outcry erupted when Kortnie Jean’s owner responded to one of the comments by saying no models of color applied for the campaign. So users took to Twitter to create a thread of photos posted by non-white people. [Trib]
-> Around 100 soldiers from Utah’s National Guard returned to their families Tuesday morning after a 10-month mission in the Middle East. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13]
Tweets of the day: @SenatorRomney: “By implementing drought contingency plans for the Colorado River Basin, this legislation is an important step toward effectively managing Utah’s waters and the communities that depend on them. Pleased to see this bill headed to the President’s desk.”
-> @StephenAtHome: “Republicans in the Senate were furious about Trump's purge of Homeland Security...when I started writing this tweet. By now, they’re all on board.”
-> @RepBenMcAdams: “Today I introduced a bill to prohibit the federal government from spending more than it receives in a fiscal year. It’s time to balance the budget and live within our means. #utpol.”
-> @betterutah: “Want to see how your legislators did? Check their scores out at progressreport.betterutah.org #utpol #utleg.”
In other news: Freshman Utah Rep. Ben McAdams introduced legislation for a balanced budget amendment. He is the first Democrat to suggest such an amendment this congressional session. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Salt Lake City has dropped to the 24th-best place to live in the U.S. after being ranked 15th in 2018, in part because more communities are now being considered in the U.S. News & World Report list. [Trib]
-> More than 2,000 girls from Utah high schools flew drones, operated robots and tested virtuality reality headsets on Tuesday during an event hosted by the Women Tech Council, an organization that promotes women within technology and partners female students with mentors. [Trib] [DNews] [ABC4] [KUTV]
-> Two years ago, a group of female activists accused Rob Miller, a candidate for Utah Democratic Party chair, of sexual misconduct. He dropped out and left the party shortly after. Now, he wants to run again for the post. [Trib]
-> The Catholic Community Services of Utah announced a plan to create a 14-week hands-on job training program for Salt Lake City’s homeless population. The goal is to teach self-sufficiency and other important skills. [Trib]
-> The Salt Lake City school board voted 5-1 to appoint the son of former board member Heather Bennett, who died in March, to fill the vacancy and carry out the remainder of her term. [Trib]
-> After years of negotiation, Congress passed a bill to shrink water usage from the Colorado River — a move that is being lauded by Utah congressmen. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Tribune cartoonist Pat Bagley drew President Donald Trump — with orange skin and windblown hair — in the act of insulting someone else. [Trib]
Nationally: Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the front runners for the Democratic presidential nomination, said he plans to release ten years worth of tax returns by Tax Day on Monday because he is now officially a millionaire. Sanders said he hopes President Donald Trump will do the same. [NYTimes] [WaPost]
-> Steven Mnuchin, U.S. treasury secretary, told lawmakers that lawyers from the White House have been in touch with his department about President Donald Trump’s tax returns. The president has repeatedly made it clear he does not intend to hand over the tax returns voluntarily. [NYTimes] [Politico] [WaPost]
-> President Donald Trump said he does not intend to bring back the policy of separating migrant families at the Mexican border despite the rumors that have been circulating. Rather, the Trump administration plans to push for tougher screening of asylum seekers. [NYTimes] [Politico]
-> Democratic leaders from the U.S. House passed on voting on a budget measure to set federal spending for the upcoming years after coming under intense pressure from the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the moderate Blue Dog Coalition. [Politico] [WaPost] [NYTimes]
-> President Donald Trump attacked freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar after she called Stephen Miller, one of the president’s aides, a white nationalist on Twitter Monday. [Politico]
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-- Bethany Rodgers and Sahalie Donaldson
https://twitter.com/BethRodgersSLT, https://twitter.com/SahalieD
Follow @sltribpolitics
