The U.S. Navy reportedly tried to hide a warship named after John McCain from President Donald Trump’s view ahead of his visit to Japan last week — putting a spotlight on an old feud between the president and the late Arizona Senator. Trump, who once disparaged McCain’s service because he had been held as a war prisoner in Vietnam, denied having any involvement. [NYTimes]
Happy Thursday!
Topping the news: As more congressional Democrats call for Trump’s impeachment in light of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s news conference Wednesday, Rep. Ben McAdams, the only Democratic member of Utah’s federal delegation, said such a proceeding would require a “high bar” and bipartisan support. [Trib] [DNews]
-> Jordan School District announced Wednesday its plans to increase its salaries for starting educators to $48,000 and include a $4.5 million grant pool teachers could apply to for bonuses. [Trib]
Happy belated birthday: To Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, and former Rep. Jay Seegmiller, D-Sandy, who both celebrated Wednesday.
Tweets of the day: From @jonfavs: “Have we checked Mueller’s statement to see if the first letter of every line is an acrostic that spells IMPEACH HIM?”
-> From @dnvolz: “Mueller has turned into a jaded recording artist who is tired all his bandwagon fans want him to play only his latest Vol. 2 hits but refuse to appreciate the deep cuts on his more sophisticated Vol. 1 album”
-> From @msmacb: “Bob Mueller’s biggest mistake was expecting the American people to read.”
Trib Talk: On this week’s episode, State Superintendent Sydnee Dickson and Tribune reporter Courtney Tanner join Benjamin Wood to discuss the problems with RISE and what it means for year-end testing in Utah. [Trib]
Also in the news: In an effort to reduce plastic waste, Intermountain Healthcare pledged to use 2 million fewer plastic straws per year by switching to strawless lids. [Trib] [KUTV]
-> Salt Lake City mayoral candidate David Ibarra said if he would ban conversion therapy in Salt Lake City, if elected, though some of his opponents noted that the city would not have the power to make such a move. [FOX13]
-> The 2019 Sundance Film Festival saw lower attendance than usual — possibly because it shared a weekend with the Super Bowl — but it still pumped around $183 million into Utah’s economy. [DNews]
-> As most Democratic presidential candidates make universal health care a main campaign point, Utah Republican Rep. Chris Stewart says that’s “not what most Americans want.” [ABC4]
-> Columnist Robert Gehrke describes how Utah businesses will be impacted by tariffs Trump has enacted on Chinese goods. [Trib]
-> Cartoonist Pat Bagley caricatures U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. [Trib]
Nationally: In his first public statement since the beginning of his investigation, special counsel Mueller said Wednesday that he and his investigators did not have “clear confidence” the president did not commit a crime. He also said Department of Justice policies prohibit indicting a sitting president but alluded to congressional impeachment powers as a proper method for handling the president’s conduct. [NYTimes] [NPR] [CNN] [WaPost]
-> Following Mueller’s remarks, more House Democrats called for Trump’s impeachment. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, however, remained firm that the House must conclude its investigation before taking steps in that direction. [Politico] [WaPost] [PBSNews]
-> Trump issued a public statement on Twitter Wednesday warning Roy Moore, who ran for the U.S. Senate in Alabama in 2017 and was accused of pursuing relationships with teenage girls while in his 30s, not to make a second run. [NYTimes] [Politico]
-> Following the lead of several other southern and midwestern states, the Louisiana state Legislature passed one of the country’s strictest abortion laws, a bill that would outlaw the procedure after an ultrasound detects a heart beat. The governor plans to sign it. [WaPost] [TheAdvocate] [NYTimes]
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.
-- Taylor Stevens and Alison Berg
