President Donald Trump continues to tout his economic brilliance in making America great, including the passage of his signature tax bill. Not to worry; the CBO in April noted it would balloon the federal deficit to $1 trillion in 2019 and the nation’s debt in the next 10 years from $21 trillion to $31 trillion.

Excluding corporations who made out the most while needing such an unreasonable tax decrease the least, who were the biggest winners when it comes to the personal income tax rate? One example equally applicable to other filing categories is all this space allows.

Comparing the rate for two single taxpayers with taxable incomes of $70,000 and $500,000, respectively. The former ends up with a savings of $2,000 while the more wealthy one pockets $13,000. Did we really need to bust the budget to benefit the already super wealthy?

Oh and, by the way, when Trump continues to brag about being primarily responsible for the current low unemployment rate, that rate of 3.7 percent has been dropping steadily since a high of 9.8 percent in 2010, with over 80 percent of the decline occurring during the Obama administration.

Raymond A. Hult, Bountiful

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It has been reported recently that some Trump supporters appear to be little concerned with the role that Russia may or may not have played in influencing the 2016 presidential election. This apparent lack of concern has been perplexing to many political observers given the America First rhetoric and the emphasis on patriotism and defending our borders against foreign intrusions that Trump supporters promulgate.

When we consider the forces that were at play at the time of the election, two dynamics come to mind: First, most Trump supporters disliked Hillary Clinton intensely and, second, Vladimir Putin disliked (hated?) Clinton as well, to the point of taking pleasure in seeing her defeated in the election as payback for her critical positions regarding Russia.

The apparent discrepancy between Trump supporters and their lack of concern for possible Russian interference becomes more comprehensible when we consider a centuries-old adage: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Putin was clearly the enemy of my enemy (Clinton) in the eyes of some Trump supporters.

Steven Ross, Millcreek

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The logical conclusion of Elder Dallin Oaks’ talk on gender is: “LGBTQs have no place in God's plan.” Since President Russell M. Nelson and the First Presidency are privileged to the mind and will of God, they should know: “Is God's plan incomplete or does he not love a segment of his children?”

Neither is possible with the God I love and worship.

Michael Olsen, Salt Lake City

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The Proposition 2 "deal”? Given the LDS Church's newfound commitment to medical marijuana, the Legislature's track record of reneging on proposition buy-off deals, and the long-running circus of Utah liquor laws, what could possibly go wrong?

Henry Whiteside, Salt Lake City

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Is there much difference between Russians interfering in our elections and the LDS Church asking women members to take a 10-day fast from social media?

For me, the intent of both actions is to change the outcome of an election to better serve the objectives of special interests, whether political or religious.

If Salt Lake County Council candidate Michelle Quist is questioning what to do because she wants to "follow my church leader's directions or request, but … don't want to hurt my campaign," I am prompted to vote for her opponent. How do I know she won't defer to her church rather than my needs as a voter? There is a reason for the separation of church and state.

It is concerning that women candidates who are of the LDS faith are so willing to adhere to the request of President Russell Nelson, an LDS white male, who apparently feels men do not need the same admonition. Should women resume their "go to" position of baking brownies and waiting for their man to come through the door? If women want the votes of women who are strong in their determination to see democracy served, they may have to whistle a different tune.

Joan Provost, Salt Lake City

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Delays continued on the TRAX Red Line in South Jordan on Tuesday after a pickup track ran a red light and crashed into a train on Monday night.

A bus bridge is in effect from the 5600 West station to the Daybreak Parkway station, according to UTA, and there’s no estimate of when the line will re-open. The South Jordan Parkway is also closed to traffic.

TRAX Update 5:05 am: Repairs continue south of 5600 West on the Red Line. Bus bridge remains active this morning from 5600 West - Daybreak Parkway. Expect minimal delays on the Red Line.

— UTA (@RideUTA) October 16, 2018

The pickup ran the red light on the South Jordan Parkway and collided with the northbound train near 10605 Grandville Ave. at about 8:20 p.m., derailing the train, knocking down a power pole and damaging the power line. There are no crossing arms at that intersection.

No one on the train was injured; the driver of the truck received minor injuries.

It’s sad that politics has become such a disreputable profession. But perhaps what now seems to be true of politics has always been the case — that politics, regardless of party affiliation, gradually changes its participants from seemingly selfless people excited to do what’s right and best for their constituents and country, to individuals doing whatever is needed to retain power and influence.

Political events over the past two years are a prime example. After all, we elected to the highest office in the land a known sexual predator who joked about his predation on national TV.

Two men accused of sexual abuse and harassment by very credible women — unbelievably — now sit as justices on the United States Supreme Court, our last arbiter of justice.

Unfortunately, these sad national stumbles have been merrily welcomed and rejoiced in by those elected to represent Utah in Washington! We can do better and have the power to quickly make change by voting on Nov. 6! VOTE!

Fares Arguello, Salt Lake City

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New Federal Election Commission filings show President Donald Trump has already topped $100 million in fundraising for his 2020 reelection bid — an enormous haul for a president barely two years into his first term. No other president dating back to at least Ronald Reagan had raised any money at this point for his own campaign committee, according to the Campaign Finance Institute, a nonpartisan research group. Trump began fundraising shortly after his 2016 win. [WaPost]

Happy Tuesday.

Topping the news: U.S. House candidates Ben McAdams, a Democrat, and incumbent Rep. Mia Love, a Republican, squared off Monday night in a debate at Salt Lake Community College, where they addressed issues ranging from Social Security and Medicare to tax reform. [Trib] [ABC4] [APviaKUTV] [KUER] [DNews]

-> A poll conducted for the Salt Lake Tribune by the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah revealed the race between McAdams and Love could not be tighter. Each has 46 percent support, while 8 percent of voters remain undecided. [Trib]

-> In the seven use-of-force investigations completed by Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill this year, three officers have invoked the right against self-incrimination and have declined to give the prosecutor a statement. The attorney who has represented those officers says, “This is a Sim Gill problem.” [Trib]

Tweets of the Day: From @zzsman_1005: “If I had one wish this holiday season it would be for Ben McAdams and Mia Love to get along and be friends.”

From @DannyCalidonia: “Donald Trump promised Elizabeth Warren $1M if she could prove her claim she is Native American. She took a DNA test which shows she is 1/1024th Native. So, Trump owes her $976.”

-> From @ryanbeckwith: “Under the Constitution, the House tweets. If the Senate retweets, it goes to the President, who favs it into law.”

Happy Birthday: To former Lt. Gov. Greg Bell.

In other news: The heated campaign between Utah’s House candidates is personal for McAdams and Love, whose families were good friends for a period of time before the relationship dissolved as campaigning began. Both have expressed disappointment with the tone the campaign has taken on. [DNews] [DNews]

-> U.S. Senate candidate Mitt Romney, a Republican and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said his parents, his faith, and religious, political and business leaders have helped shape his political philosophy. [DNews]

-> Romney’s opponent, Democrat Jenny Wilson, named her political influences as her father, who served as Salt Lake City mayor for nine years, and Bill Orton, the late three-term Democratic Utah congressman for whom Wilson worked as chief of staff. [DNews]

-> Utah has used roughly $75 million in federal funding for assisting needy and economically disadvantaged families, but an audit of the state’s Department of Workforce Services revealed that many programs selected for funding were chosen arbitrarily, without defined goals or a standard for evaluating success or failure. [Trib]

-> A scathing audit released by the Office of the Legislative Auditor General on Monday said the board that oversees tuition hikes at Utah colleges regularly approves them with little or no scrutiny and has never denied a request. [Trib] [DNews]

-> A professor of medicine and psychiatry at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Salt Lake City who specializes in treating marijuana addiction said the affliction has become more common in states that have legalized the drug. He’s using his experience with the substance as an argument against voting for Proposition 2. [KUER]

-> Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has declared a drought emergency in Utah, which he said is “at, or near, historic levels” in some areas and is impacting, agriculture, recreation and wildlife, and worsening wildfire conditions and air quality. [Trib] [DNews]

-> A Utah toxicologist was promoted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, which advises the agency on national standards for air quality and pollutants. He says his focus will be to bring Utah’s air quality issues to light and help address issues like the winter inversion as soon as possible. [KUER]

-> The Utah Transit Authority introduced four new decorative trolley buses, which will run in Davis and Weber counties. [Trib]

-> Pat Bagley illustrates Trump with his BFFs from around the world. [Trib]

Nationally: Trump echoed the possibility Monday that “rogue killers” might have been responsible for the murder of a dissident Saudi journalist who Turkey reported dead and dismembered earlier this month. King Salman of Saudi Arabia has denied the country had any connection to the man’s death. [NYTimes] [BBC] [CNN] [WaPost]

-> U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, released the results of a DNA test indicating “strong evidence” of her Native American ancestry on Monday, after Trump said he would donate $1 million to her favorite charity if she proved her claimed ancestry. The move also signaled her strong intent to run for president in 2020. [NYTimes] [BostonGlobe] [Fox] [BBC]

-> In an interview with “60 Minutes,” Trump denied denying climate change, backing off his claim that it is a hoax. But he still cast doubt on whether humans were responsible for the earth’s rising temperatures. [NYTimes] [BBC] [CNN] [BostonGlobe]

-> The U.S. Treasury reported Monday that the federal budget deficit has swelled to $779 billion in the current 2018 fiscal year, driven in part by Trump’s tax cuts. This marks nearly a 17 percent increase per year, and the deficit will likely top $1 trillion by the next presidential election. [NYTimes] [WSJ]

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Send us a note to cornflakes@sltrib.com. And if you want Cornflakes to arrive in your email inbox each morning, subscribe here.

-- Taylor Stevens and Cara MacDonald

https://twitter.com/tstevensmedia and Twitter.com/carammacdonald

There aren’t many career trajectories like Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera’s.

Fifteen-year-old mother. Onion field worker. Undercover narcotics officer. Sheriff of a million people.

And if her past is a tapestry, her present is a mosaic. The county sheriff oversees an amalgam of law enforcement in the Unified Police Department, the Salt Lake County Jail staff and the bailiff/security force for county courts and facilities.

Rivera has managed those pieces artfully in her first year of office, and she earns our endorsement for a four-year term.

Both the sheriff and her opponent, Lt. Justin Hoyal, who is also one of her employees, are pushing hard for more jail beds, noting that the county hasn’t built a new jail bed in almost two decades. In this age of criminal justice reform, we’re supposed to be finding better alternatives to incarceration, but both candidates are right that our fast-growing population makes it impossible to stand pat on jail beds.

If there is a difference, it’s that Rivera puts more emphasis on freeing up beds by keeping the mentally ill and substance abusers out of jail and in more appropriate settings.

The sharpest difference between the two may be over Rivera’s handling of cities leaving the Unified Police Department to form police departments of their own.

Hoyal blames Rivera for the defections, but the evidence doesn’t support that. Herriman was already headed to the door when Rivera took over from Jim Winder last year, and another city, Riverton, has put its exit on hold since Rivera took over and started working to make budgeting more transparent for the cities.

And before any more cities think about defecting, they may want to consider what Rivera has identified as one of the sheriff’s biggest challenges: hiring and retaining experienced people. Law enforcement is not attracting as many applicants as it once did. As a result, departments are raiding each other for staff. In addition to police officers, the lack of jail guards makes it tough to maintain the status quo, let alone add beds.

And in that Rivera has already been at work with the county council and the UPD’s advisory board to improve pay and benefits.

In a campaign that has produced few major policy differences between the candidates, there isn’t much incentive to toss out a successful incumbent. The story of Sheriff Rosie Rivera deserves more chapters.

Over the summer, while sitting for an interview on a cable news network, the anchor prefaced her first question to me by saying, “I know you’ve evolved.” Her statement surprised me. Had I evolved?

My commitment to equality, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness was unchanged. My preference for federalism, free enterprise, fiscal responsibility, prudent American leadership in the world, pluralism, the rule of law, decency in our leaders and compassionate care for vulnerable communities was also unwavering.

Her remark stuck with me, though, and I’ve since realized that I actually have changed in one important way over the past two years: More than before, I now recognize the urgent need to find common ground and seek sensible compromise between factions to counter the dangerous wave of political polarization currently washing over the nation.

Yes, President Trump’s devotion to adversaries in Moscow, disregard for truth, the rule of law and decency combined with blindly loyal Republican leaders’ control of Congress are causes for great concern. However, Pew Research data show not just one leader or one party drifting towards its fringes, but both of them.

Predictably, this divergence and the dysfunction it causes has fueled frustration among the parties’ reliable voters, driving them to more radical leaders who stoke their anger and further divide us for their own advantage.

In the short-term, it’s a destructive cycle that prevents us from dealing with modern challenges like cyberwarfare, technology-induced job displacement, reckless levels of national debt, aging infrastructure, a changing climate, health care and our antiquated educational system. In the long-term, it threatens to destabilize the nation.

Self-serving leaders and commentators would have us believe that our political rivals are irreconcilable enemies, but they are wrong. As human beings and as Americans, we still have much more in common than in difference. We must look beyond the snake oil they sell to see again the good in each other.

Even as radical elements on the far-right and far-left are ascendant, there remain Republicans, Democrats, third-party members and independents — men and women of character and goodwill — who seek to unite rather than divide and to persuade rather than coerce.

In fact, there is a tradition of such leadership in Utah, especially among a rising generation of leaders.

One example is Republican Rep. John Curtis. In just 10 months of service, he’s worked with Democrats to advance bills to improve broadband access to rural communities and lending to small businesses so that more Utahns and Americans can share in our growing economy.

Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, a Democrat, is another. Working with Republicans, McAdams has maintained a balanced budget and curbed homelessness, while earning a reputation as a unifier and someone who can find common ground between opposing sides on challenging issues.

Eric Eliason, a successful entrepreneur and business professor now running for Congress on the United Utah Party ticket in Utah’s 1st district, is taking on the monumental task of campaigning with a unifying reform message despite the tremendous systematic challenges he faces as a third-party candidate.

We should rally behind such leaders with whom we have significant common ground, regardless of party, if they are capable of working with their rivals in order to advance effective solutions for Utah and the nation, while countering divisive extremes.

If they are willing to uphold the principles and institutions that protect our freedom and advance policies based on truth rather than fear and anger, then let us give them the strength to do so however we can in good conscience.

An “evolution” in our own positions is not required, just renewed recognition that we share this land with 325 million other Americans and sincere desire to put country over party for our own good and for the general welfare of the nation.

High atop the U.S. Capitol dome sits the Statue of Freedom on a cast iron pedestal encircled by the Latin phrase “E Pluribus Unum,” meaning “Out of many, one,” a motto that described the unification of the American colonies struggling for survival nearly 250 years ago. Today, it remains a vital reminder of what we are, and who we must be.

Evan McMullin is a former CIA operations officer, policy director for the House Republican Conference and independent candidate for president in 2016. He is the co-founder and executive director of Stand Up Republic.

I’m running for Salt Lake County Council in District 4. That’s why I haven’t written a column in awhile. The newspaper doesn’t want to give a free platform to a candidate, which is fair.

But as a regular ‘ol member of the public, I’m free to submit an op-ed once a month. Of course, there’s no guarantee it will see print.

As I’ve been on the campaign trail, I’ve heard from many people about their frustration with today’s political climate. At one honk-n-wave, a random biker felt the need to yell as he passed us, “All politicians suck,” or something to that effect.

What I’ve learned most, though, from my recent dive into representative government, is that people really do care. They care about national politics. They care about propositions on the state ballot. They care about the Supreme Court.

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt is known for his TEDTalk on the moral foundations of our political choices. His talk seeks to minimize the divide between liberals and conservatives by helping people understand that values drive both sides.

Haidt identified five moral values: (1) harm/care, (2) fairness/reciprocity, (3) ingroup/loyalty, (4) authority/respect, and (5) purity/sanctity. Liberals value harm/care and fairness above the other three, and conservatives tend to honor all five.

He also noted that when there is some sort of punishment, whether it’s shame or embarrassment or gossip, people tend to cooperate more. He found that religion also leads to more cooperative, pro-social behavior.

According to Haidt, “The crux of the disagreement between liberals and conservatives [is that] liberals reject three of these foundations. They say no, let’s celebrate diversity, not common and group membership. They say let’s question authority. And they say keep your laws off my body. Liberals have very noble motives for doing this. Traditional authority – traditional morality – can be quite repressive, to those at the bottom, to women, to people who don’t fit in. So liberals speak for the weak and oppressed, they want change and justice, even at the risk of chaos.

“Conservatives, on the other hand, speak for institutions and traditions. They want order, even at some cost to those at the bottom. The great conservative insight is that order is really hard to achieve, it’s really precious, and it’s really easy to lose. So as Edmund Burke, said, ‘The restraints on men, as well as their liberties, are to be reckoned among their rights,’ which was after the chaos of the French Revolution.”

In other words, liberals and conservatives “offer a balance between change and stability.” Both have something to contribute. Like the yin and yang, we need both for a whole society.

Haidt’s theories ring true to me. We don’t need to be for or against each other. We need to listen, and work together. We can’t go charging in, saying you’re wrong and I’m right.

Challenge that instinct.

I’ve spent the last three and a half months attending county council meetings, city council meetings, community council meetings, candidate events hosted by senior centers and PTA boards and every community event in between. I’ve listened to police reports and fire reports and citizen comments.

While national politics leaves a sour taste, most people still care. And they care especially about local politics – because that’s where things can change.

At the local level, we can change how we respond to homeless residents and neighbors addicted to opioids and a broken criminal justice system by working together.

At the local level we can help our youth connect with each other, and connect with adults and professionals who can help them realize that life is better than death. That suicide isn’t worth it.

And at the local level we can address affordable housing, for seniors as well as young families, in our crowded county without losing sight of the communities that make us strong.

The season is changing, and we must change with it. It’s time to stop demonizing the other side and work together as individuals who value the moral principles that drive us all.

Michelle Quist, a former columnist and editorial writer for The Salt Lake Tribune, is a Republican running for a seat on the Salt Lake County Council.

After months of strong popularity, Proposition 2 has lost ground among Utah voters and is polling barely above the crucial 50-percent mark just weeks ahead of Election Day, a new poll shows.

A Salt Lake Tribune-Hinckley Institute of Politics poll indicates support for the medical marijuana initiative has waned by about 15 percentage points since June and that only 3 percent of voters remain indecisive about the measure. A big erosion of support among active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands out in the poll.

The reported drop comes on the heels of a major shift in the debate around Prop 2. Amid the recent round of polling, a group of state leaders and advocates announced they’d agreed on a medical cannabis plan that lawmakers would consider in a November special session.

Jason Perry, the Hinckley Institute’s director, said this deal likely contributed to the weakened support for Prop 2. While medical marijuana as a concept exerts a broad appeal, the specifics of the initiative had alienated some people, he noted.

“Now that there is a compromise, there is a large number of people in this state that said, ‘I support this compromise, therefore I don’t need to support this initiative,’” Perry said.

However, not all proponents of medical marijuana expansion are convinced the Legislature will follow through and enact a program that meets the needs of Utah patients.

Jeffrey Cedeno, a poll participant who supports Prop 2, said it brings him little comfort to hear that lawmakers will meet next month to review a medical cannabis bill. The Legislature has spent years debating the issue and has repeatedly batted down medical marijuana measures, he said.

“I like to consider myself a pretty middle-of-the-road guy. I am fundamentally frustrated with the Legislature’s continued ignorance around this issue,” said Cedeno, an unaffiliated voter who lives near Park City.

About 51 percent of those surveyed indicated some level of support for the initiative – 35 percent were strongly in favor and 16 percent were somewhat in favor. Of the 46 percent in opposition, 31 percent said they were strongly against the measure and 15 percent said they were somewhat against it. Only 3 percent said they were undecided.

“People in Utah have made up their minds,” Perry said. “People have been talking about it for months, talking about it at their dinner tables. This is a very well-considered proposition.”

DJ Schanz of the Utah Patients Coalition, which led the ballot initiative, said he remains confident voters will “overwhelmingly support Prop 2," despite the new poll numbers. And even if the ballot measure fails, the Legislature is poised to deliver a medical marijuana program for the state, he said.

Schanz blames the initiative’s opponents, not the recent compromise, for the drop-off in support.

“The opposition has spent a lot of money on ... hysterical messaging points,” he said. “But I think when push comes to shove, we have a huge advantage with the enthusiasm gap in support of Proposition 2.”

Michelle McOmber, CEO of the Utah Medical Association, which has opposed Prop 2, agreed with Perry that the compromise is probably a factor in the poll results and hypothesized that increased voter awareness might be another contributor.

“As we get closer to the election, I think people tend to pay attention a little bit more to what’s going on,” she said,

The recent survey was conducted among 822 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. The initial polling took place from Oct. 3 to 9 and a second round of surveys were taken Oct. 11 and 12 to broaden the sample size.

Enthusiasm for the ballot measure was at its height last year and in January, when a Tribune poll found that about 76 percent of voters favored the initiative.

The support had dropped off to about 66 percent by June, after the emergence of an opposition campaign, but seemed to be holding fairly steady even when the LDS Church joined a coalition against the proposition. A Deseret News poll conducted from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7 found that 64 percent of likely voters backed the initiative.

However, the Tribune-Hinckley poll showed the initiative’s popularity has declined sharply among individuals who identified themselves as “very active” Latter-day Saints; support plummeted from 54 percent in June to 28 percent in the October poll.

Still, most people said the church’s opposition to Proposition 2 wasn’t a factor in their decision-making. Even among active members, 55 percent said the church’s position made no difference.

Janeen Detrick, a Latter-day Saint who took the poll, attributed her strong support for the initiative to her libertarian ideology.

“I believe in freedom to choose,” Detrick, of Helper, said.

She added that in her Carbon County community, which has been ravaged by the opioid epidemic, there is a strong sentiment against criminalizing people for their addictions.

Prop 2 would allow licensed dispensaries to distribute medical marijuana to doctor-recommended patients suffering from qualifying illnesses. The list of ailments includes Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain and autism.

Opponents of the measure worry it would send the state on the path toward legalized recreational cannabis and does not include sufficient safeguards to prevent abuse and black-market activity.

With the legislation prepared for next month’s special session, patients could access medical marijuana via a state-run distribution system or at a handful of specialized “cannabis pharmacies.” The bill also tightens restrictions on the permissible varieties of medical marijuana and the qualifying conditions.

Moscow • The Russian Orthodox Church decided Monday to sever ties with the leader of the worldwide Orthodox community after his decision to grant Ukrainian clerics independence from the Moscow Patriarchate.

Metropolitan Hilarion said the Russian church’s Holy Synod resolved to “‘break the Eucharistic communion” with the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Under the leadership of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the patriarchate last week removed its condemnation of leaders of schismatic Orthodox churches in Ukraine. The decision marked a step toward establishing an ecclesiastically independent — or autocephalous — church in Ukraine.

The Orthodox Church in Ukraine has been under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church since the late 1600s. Calls for the Ukrainian church’s independence have increased since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and its support of separatist rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine currently has three Orthodox communities — one answering to the Russian Orthodox Church and two schismatic churches.

Metropolitan Hilarion, who heads the Russian Orthodox Church’s foreign relations department, said after the Holy Synod’s meeting in Minsk, Belarus, on Monday that rupturing ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate was a response to its “lawless and canonically void moves.”

“The Russian Orthodox Church doesn’t recognize those decisions and won’t fulfill them,” he said. “The church that acknowledged the schismatics has excluded itself from the canonical field of the Orthodoxy.”

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who is running for re-election in a March vote, has pushed Bartholomew to grant independence to the Ukrainian church.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church Archbishop Yevstratiy denounced the Holy Synod’s decision to sever ties with the Orthodox Church leader regarded as a “first among equals” as a move toward “self-isolation.”

The Russian church voiced concern that the Istanbul-based patriarchate’s action would deepen the religious rift in Ukraine and could spur the schismatic branches to try to take over church buildings.

The Russian Orthodox Church expects Poroshenko to make good on his pledge that the Ukrainian government would ensure respect for the choices of those who want to retain unity with the Russian church.

Yuras Karmanau in Minsk, Belarus, contributed to this report.

Boise, Idaho • A top Idaho wildlife official has resigned amid outrage over a photo of him posing with a baboon family he killed in Africa.

Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter said in a statement that he asked for and accepted Blake Fischer’s resignation on Monday, three days after the Idaho Statesman newspaper published the first report about a photo of Fischer smiling with four dead baboons propped in front of him.

Fischer and his wife shot at least 14 animals in Namibia according to the photos and descriptions in an email he sent to more than 100 recipients.

The baboon family photo showed blood visible on the abdomen of the smallest baboon, its head lolling back to rest on the chest of one of the dead adult baboons. Fischer killed them using a bow and arrows, visible in the bottom of the picture.

Fischer was one of seven members on the Idaho Fish and Game Commission. Otter appoints commissioners and under Idaho law can also remove them. Otter initially appointed in 2014 and reappointed him in June.

"I have high expectations and standards for every appointee in state government," Otter said. "Every member of my administration is expected to exercise good judgment. Commissioner Fischer did not."

Fischer didn't apologize for killing the baboons but said in his resignation to Otter that he "recently made some poor judgments that resulted in sharing photos of a hunt in which I did not display an appropriate level of sportsmanship and respect for the animals I harvested."

Fischer and his wife also killed a giraffe, a leopard, an impala, a sable antelope, a waterbuck, a kudu, a warthog, a gemsbok (oryx) and an eland.

Most of the photos with the animals were posed, like the big game hunting photos from Idaho and other western U.S. states showing hunters with dead deer, elk and mountain lions.

The photo of the baboons caused at least two former Idaho Fish and Game Commission members to call for Fischer's resignation.

"Sportsmanlike behavior is the center pin to maintaining hunting as a socially acceptable activity," Fred Trevey wrote in an email forwarded to the governor's office.

The commission Fischer served on makes policy decisions about Idaho's wildlife, and it often manages game populations through hunting and fishing regulations.

Those regulations are intended promote ethical hunting of wildlife. Some of Idaho’s policies, such as on wolf and grizzly bear hunting, have been challenged in federal courts.

A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit from adult film actress Stormy Daniels that claimed President Donald Trump defamed her when he suggested she had lied about being threatened to keep quiet about their alleged relationship.

U.S. District Judge James Otero in Los Angeles ruled that Trump's speech was protected by the First Amendment as the kind of "'rhetorical hyperbole' normally associated with politics and public discourse in the United States." He ordered Daniels, whose given name is Stephanie Clifford, to pay Trump's legal fees.

Trump attorney Charles Harder cheered Otero's decision.

"No amount of spin or commentary by Stormy Daniels or her lawyer, Mr. Avenatti, can truthfully characterize today's ruling in any way other than total victory for President Trump and total defeat for Stormy Daniels," Harder said in an emailed statement.

The ruling is a blow for Daniels and her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, who has raised a national profile from his legal battles against the president and is contemplating a presidential bid in 2020.

Avenatti called the ruling “limited” on Twitter and said it did not affect Daniels' primary case against Trump and his former attorney Michael Cohen, which seeks to invalidate her 2016 nondisclosure agreement.

"Daniels' other claims against Trump and Cohen proceed unaffected," Avenatti wrote in a tweet he later appeared to have deleted.

He said in a second tweet that any fees Trump might be awarded from the defamation case would "be dwarfed by the fees he and Cohen will be required to pay in connection with the NDA case."

Later, Avenatti tweeted that he had appealed Otero's ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The now-dismissed suit has received less attention than two other cases pending against Trump-Daniels' lawsuit seeking to void the nondisclosure agreement and a separate defamation claim by former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos, who alleges that Trump sexually assaulted her in 2007 and argues that he defamed her when he suggested she was lying.

Trump was ordered last month to provide written answers under oath in that case, which is proceeding in New York State Supreme Court.

Avenatti and Daniels have joined the ranks of Trump's chief antagonists since the beginning of this year, when Daniels' nondisclosure agreement was first reported. The deal was brokered in the lead-up to the 2016 election to stop Daniels from speaking about a brief affair she says she had with Trump in 2006. Trump denies that an affair took place.

Trump and Cohen have sought to prevent further litigation over the NDA by promising not to enforce it. The two sides will appear before Otero on Dec. 3 to argue about whether that lawsuit should proceed.

Daniels filed the defamation claim in April after she released a sketch purporting to show the man she says threatened her in 2011 to keep quiet about the alleged affair.

Responding to the sketch on Twitter, Trump wrote that it depicted a "nonexistent man."

"A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!" he wrote in the tweet, which became the basis of Daniels's suit.

Otero, who was appointed to the court by President George W. Bush, had indicated during a late-September hearing that he was skeptical of Daniels' claim on free-speech grounds. He argued Monday that Daniels has presented herself as Trump's "political adversary" in public and in court filings and that Trump has the right to respond to her claims.

"If this Court were to prevent Mr. Trump from engaging in this type of 'rhetorical hyperbole' against a political adversary, it would significantly hamper the office of the President," Otero wrote.

“Any strongly-worded response by a president to another politician or public figure could constitute an action for defamation. This would deprive this country of the ‘discourse’ common to the political process,” he wrote.

London • Pippa Middleton, the sister of Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, has given birth to a baby boy.

A spokeswoman for Middleton and her husband James Matthews said Tuesday that their first baby had been born the day before.

Kensington Palace says that Prince William and Kate are "thrilled for Pippa and James."

The new baby will be a cousin to William and Kate's three children — George, 5, Charlotte, 3, and 5-month-old Louis.

The baby was born on the day the palace announced that Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, are expecting their first child.

Interstate 15 is scheduled to close two nights — Wednesday and Thursday — in Lehi for bridge construction.

Southbound I-15 is scheduled to shut down Wednesday between 2100 North and Lehi’s Main Street at 11 p.m. and reopen by 4 the next morning, according to the Utah Department of Transportation.

Northbound I-15 will close in the same area and hours on Thursday night.

During the closures, traffic will be detoured off and on the freeway via Lehi’s Main Street, 2100 North and 850 East. UDOT urges drivers to allow extra time and to expect delays along the detour route — and to consider alternative routes.

The closures will allow crews to place beams for the new 800 East bridge over I-15 in Lehi as part of the I-15 Technology Corridor project. That work is widening I-15 from four to six lanes in each direction and rebuilding the freeway with new concrete pavement between Lehi’s Main Street and State Road 92.

Closures are dependent on the weather and subject to change. Updated information is available online at udottraffic.utah.gov or through the UDOT traffic app for smartphones.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham came away from a conversation with commissioner Larry Scott feeling reassured about the Pac-12's officiating method of reviewing plays during football games.

If they beat USC this weekend, though, the Utes may have more regrets about what happened in a game that didn't involve them. A potential targeting penalty that was not called against USC in a 39-36 win over Washington State could factor significantly into the Pac-12 South race.

Here’s how: If the Utes win Saturday, they would be tied with USC at 3-2 in conference play and own the tiebreaker with the Trojans. Utah’s remaining schedule is more difficult, with No. 12 Oregon visiting Rice-Eccles Stadium in November and USC missing the Ducks this year in the Pac-12′s scheduling rotation.

That’s why a Washington State defeat of USC on Sept. 21 would have helped Utah. The game included the play that led to scrutiny of the Pac-12′s replay system, following the Yahoo Sports report that a high-ranking conference administrator was involved in the process. And another play late in the game may have been influenced by the first decision, creating a bigger mess that could affect Utah.

During a visit to Utah’s campus for last Friday’s game vs. Arizona, Scott talked with Whittingham about how the conference has addressed the issue, taking administrator Woodie Dixon out of in-game reviews. In a meeting with the media, Scott said replay supervisor Bill Richardson has the final say on any play that’s reviewed, from the conference’s command center in San Francisco.

“We talked a little bit about the problem that arose. I felt good afterward that there was … no ill intention,” Whittingham said. “You just move forward and try not to make the same mistakes twice.”

Unrelated to the recent controversy, Whittingham has been frustrated for some time about the Pac-12's administering of targeting rules. The Utes were hurt by questionable calls against safety Marquise Blair and tackle Leki Fotu in a 21-7 loss to Washington, with Fotu's ineligibility for the first half in the next game at Washington State also affecting them in a 28-24 defeat. The Utes did benefit from a targeting call against WSU, keeping possession on a play when receiver Britain Covey lost a fumble.

In any case, what happened in the USC-Washington State contest could have more to say about the Utes' Pac-12 South hopes than anything has happened in their own games.

Concluding the third quarter, WSU linebacker Logan Tago was penalized for a personal foul — but without targeting being included — on a drive that ended in a USC touchdown. Dixon, the Pac-12′s general counsel and senior vice president of business affairs, had phoned in his opinion of that play to the conference’s command center in San Francisco, saying targeting should not be applied (Dixon regularly was involved in reviews under the Pac-12′s former system).

So there's a plausible, widespread theory that the replay crew, both at the league headquarters and in the press box in Los Angeles, may have used that in-game precedent as reason to ignore a possible targeting call against USC linebacker Porter Gustin on the Cougars' final drive. Gustin's apparent helmet-to-helmet hit on WSU quarterback Gardner Minshew was not flagged on a first-down play from the USC 25-yard line, and the replay crew didn't rule that targeting occurred, as it could have done.

PAC-12 officials have some explaining to do totally missing this blatantly obvious targeting from USC. https://t.co/eArS73xg2b

— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) September 22, 2018

A penalty would have moved the Cougars to the USC 12. WSU ended up running the ball twice, reaching the 21, before Bingham High School graduate Jay Tufele blocked the Cougars' tying field goal attempt. Tufele may have made that play, regardless of the spot of the kick. Even if WSU had tied the game, USC could have won in overtime. Yet it’s possible that with a first down at the 12, the Cougars may have scored a winning touchdown.

Most of this discussion becomes moot, from a Utah perspective, if the Utes lose to USC. Even if WSU had beaten USC, the Trojans in that case would be 3-2 after Saturday's game, with a one-game lead and the tiebreaker over Utah.

Only if they beat USC will the Utes begin wondering how the Pac-12′s problem may end up hurting them. And even then, they could claim the South title by winning their remaining five games.

The board overseeing the Unified Fire Authority voted Tuesday to hire outside legal counsel to advise it on whether to attempt recovering hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds that state auditors last year concluded were misused by top administrators.

The money the board would seek to recover includes at least $370,000 in public funds the audit concluded former chief and current Salt Lake County Councilman Michael Jensen and ex-Deputy Chief Gaylord Scott had improperly received.

“Our board takes very seriously the fact that these funds, which we believe were misappropriated funds, are public funds,” said Millcreek Mayor and UFA board member Jeff Silvestrini. “We believe the board was misled and or circumvented with respect to some of these expenditures and as a board we don’t believe that we can accept that type of conduct.”

The Unified Fire Authority operates fire and emergency services throughout most of Salt Lake County under contract with individual cities. The Unified Fire Service Area is a separate but related taxing district made up of municipalities that levy property taxes to build fire stations operated by UFA. The service area board is also seeking legal advice on a potential suit.

Though a decision was expected Tuesday, the board decided after a closed session to seek legal advice before going forward with litigation against Jensen, Scott, and perhaps also former Chief Legal Officer Karl Hendrickson and former Chief Financial Officer Shirley Perkins.

The board directed its legal team and staff to review all the available information about the case to decide how to proceed civilly at its meeting last month. A civil lawsuit would likely be the only way to go after that money because a more-than-yearlong investigation by the Utah Attorney General’s Office, released last month, ended with no criminal charges.

The state audit and the 196-page investigative report from the Attorney General’s Office found the agency’s top administrators had received exorbitant bonuses, been reimbursed for personal vacations attached to official travel, purchased electronic equipment for personal use and hired close family members outside UFA rules.

The payouts included sizable severance checks to the two — $93,000 to Jensen and $42,000 to Scott — even though they resigned in 2016 under a cloud of suspicion. Additionally, Jensen, Scott, Perkins and Hendrickson, received more than a combined $400,000 in bonuses, or “incentive pay,” between 2011 and 2015.

Chief Dan Peterson, who took over the agency in January 2017, has since eliminated the agency’s bonus program altogether, and the board has worked through about 100 of the 126 recommendations included in the state auditor’s report to address the culture and practices at UFA.

Silvestrini said he expects the board will make a decision about whether to move forward with a lawsuit at its November meeting.

Emery County Sheriff Lamar Guymon carried extra flashlights and glow sticks when he entered the Wilberg Mine. He didn’t like the dark and was afraid of getting lost inside the mine, but he had jobs to do.

A fire on Dec. 19, 1984, killed 27 coal miners. It took 11 months of depriving oxygen to the mine to stop the blaze. Guymon took miner and rescue training during those months so he could enter to retrieve the bodies and investigate the cause of the fire.

Almost 23 years later, Guymon helped Emery County through another mining catastrophe — at Crandall Canyon. By then, Guymon was comforting people who weren’t even born when he was first elected sheriff.

Guymon, who died Friday, at age 71, served as the Emery County sheriff for 36 years and was thought to be the longest-sitting elected official in Utah when he lost re-election in 2010.

He was elected mayor of Huntington in November of last year but had little opportunity to serve. Guymon’s wife, GayLa Guymon, on Monday said that her husband suffered a heart attack Dec. 21 — about 2½ weeks before he took his oath as mayor. His last 10 months, she said, were filled with efforts by his family and doctors to get him healthy, including the installation of a pacemaker, but the effects of that heart attack caused his death.

Even Guymon’s widow was perplexed at what drove him to spend so many years as a public servant.

“It was definitely where he was supposed to be," GayLa Guymon said, “taking care of people’s problems.”

Emery County sits in the middle of Utah, where Interstate 70 runs through the San Rafael Swell, and has an estimated population of 10,077. There are no city police departments. The sheriff’s office is the first responder to any call for law enforcement in the county.

The two mining disasters during Guymon’s tenure as sheriff drew national and international attention. For the Wilberg fire, Guymon helped retrieve the bodies and investigate accusations of arson. It was eventually determined an unattended air compressor with defective safety devices combusted and ignited the blaze.

In the years that followed, Guymon and his staff found themselves responding to calls about and trying to aid families who lost sons, brothers, husbands and fathers in the mine.

"Wilberg taught me a lot about life and people, about how good people are and how bad people are," Guymon told The Salt Lake Tribune for an article on the 30th anniversary of the fire. "Some people capitalize on other people's misery. Others step right up and give everything they've got."

Emery County Sheriff’s Capt. Kyle Ekker, who worked for Guymon for 25 years, said Tuesday that his former boss would ask the people he encountered sometimes personal questions about their spouses, children or other aspects of home life. It wasn’t to investigate them for a crime, Ekker said, but to find out how the person was doing.

“He was concerned about everybody in his county,” Ekker said.

Guymon and his deputies responded to another coal mine on the morning of Aug. 6, 2017. This time walls at the Crandall Canyon Mine — not far from Guymon’s home in Huntington — collapsed. Six miners were unaccounted for.

While trained mine rescuers tried to find the missing, Guymon again found himself comforting mining families and acting as a liaison — and sometimes buffer — between the families and the mine’s blustery owner, coal magnate Bob Murray.

A report by the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration criticized Murray’s behavior during family briefings. Guymon eventually barred him from attending such briefings.

The six miners have never been recovered. Three rescuers died at Crandall Canyon in a collapse 10 days after the first one.

Lamar Edward Guymon was born Dec. 30, 1946, in Huntington to Starr Hal and Ina Madge Johnson Guymon. The family had a cattle farm and Hal Guymon, as he was known, also worked as a mechanic.

Lamar married the former GayLa Jensen in 1966. GayLa Guymon said her husband worked construction before deciding to become a deputy in 1970. At that time, the sheriff’s office consisted of the sheriff and one deputy. Guymon became the second deputy.

“Needless to say, he was never home,” GayLa Guymon said in a phone interview. “He probably worked 15- or 20-hour shifts.”

Guymon was elected sheriff for the first time in 1974 at age 27. Through all nine of his terms, Guymon bucked a Utah trend. He was a Democrat in a part of the state where voters heavily favor Republican candidates.

Guymon was both an administrator and an investigator. When Heber James Norton murdered bank tellers Vicki Grange and Lorraine Wiseman during a robbery in Huntington in 1979, it was Guymon and an FBI agent who performed the interrogation.

At Norton’s trial in 1980, Guymon quoted Norton as saying, “If I shot one person, I might as well shoot both.” Norton was convicted of murder and robbery charges and died in prison.

Through the years, the sheriff’s office grew to about 30 officers. Guymon also worked to ensure there was adequate ambulance service in each of Emery County’s towns, Ekker said.

Guymon lost his re-election bid in 2010 to one of his former deputies, Greg Funk, who received 67 percent of the vote. Guymon attributed the result to the nationwide landslide in favor of Republicans. Funk was re-elected in 2014.

Even after the results rolled in on election night in 2010, Guymon was upbeat, saying he had no plans to retire from public life.

"I've enjoyed every day of” being sheriff, Guymon said.

Besides his wife, Guymon’s survivors include daughters DaShai Nelson, of Ferron; Stephanie Adams, of St. George; Melany Weaver, of Huntington; and Karlee Leonard, of Price; sons Jeremy Guymon, of Ferron, and Tim Guymon, of Huntington; sister Kaye Phillips, of Heber City; brothers Courtney and Vaughn Guymon, both of Huntington; 15 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Another brother, Larry Guymon, died in 1991.

A viewing for Guymon will be held from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and 9:30 a.m. Thursday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stake center at 240 N. Main St. in Huntington. Services will be there at 11 a.m. Thursday followed by burial at the Huntington City Cemetery.