News roundup: White House gift shop files for bankruptcy

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

White House gift shop seeks bankruptcy. Herbert inks national parks re-open deal. 60% of Americans say: Throw the bums out.

Happy Friday. A business that billed itself as the official White House gift shop has filed for bankruptcy and is seeking to liquidate all its Christmas ornaments, knick-knacks and trinkets to pay down debts. The shop, located a couple blocks from the actual White House, used to help donate to uniformed Secret Service agents and their families but fell on hard times during the economic downturn. [WaTimes]

Topping the news: Big news to begin the day: Gov. Gary Herbert has signed a deal to reopen Utah's National Parks by Saturday morning; $1.7 million of state money is being wired to the Interior Department for the next 10 days and more could follow if the shutdown continues. [Trib] [DNews] [Fox13] [KUTV] [ABC4]

-> Some 60 percent of Americans, meanwhile, say they want to fire each and every member of Congress. [NBC] (See below for more shutdown stories)

The Utah Tax Commission has decided that it will not accept joint filings of state tax returns for same-sex couples, spurring threats of legal disputes and raising questions about enforcement. [Trib] [DNews]

-> Sen. Mike Lee is refusing to discuss the two recent polls showing that Utahns disagree with his fight against the Affordable Care Act that has resulted in the government shutdown. [DNews]

Tweet of the day: From @ryanbeckwith: "Monday is Columbus Day, so all federal workers will have the day off."

Happy birthday: To former state Rep. Ben Ferry and on Sunday to state Rep. Greg Hughes.

Programming note: Monday is Columbus Day and though it may seem odd to have a federal holiday during a federal shutdown, we're not ones to defy the holiday law. Political Cornflakes will take a break and return to your inboxes, computer screens, tablets and phones on Tuesday.

Heads up: USU's College Republicans will host a pizza and politics night with keynote speaker Rep. Rob Bishop on Tuesday. The event will take place in Widtsoe Hall where Bishop will speak on issues facing natural resources in Utah and answer questions from the audience.

Shutdown, day 11: President Barack Obama and House Republicans met at the White House to discuss to lift the debt limit to November; both parties said it was a good meeting, though no deal was announced afterwards. Senate Republicans are expected at the White House this morning. [WaPost] [Politico] [CNN] [NYTimes]

-> Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned the Senate Finance Committee that lawmakers who doubt the default impact are gravely mistaken. [Politico]

-> Talks of raising the debt limit have given hope to stock investors as the market recorded one of its best performing days of the year. [Politico]

-> Utah's federal court Chief Judge Ted Stewart has declared all court staff essential requiring workers to show up during the government closure. [Trib]

-> The government closure is impacting Utah researchers' season-specific projects in reservoirs or refuges across the state. [Trib]

In other news: Former state senator Dan Liljenquist says that Sen. Mike Lee has politically self-immolated himself with his efforts to stop Obamacare. [DNews]

-> Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker says he didn't log on to the website healthcare.gov before the Oct. 1 launch, despite saying so on Oct. 1. [Trib]

-> The NSA says in a letter that the electrical problems at the Utah Data Center were not as dire as previously reported, no equipment was damaged and it shouldn't delay the opening. [Trib]

-> Salt Lake City is seeing an influx of homeless folks but overall, a 9.5 percent decrease in chronic homelessness. [Trib]

-> Eric Millis has been named the new director for Utah Division of Water Resources; Millis has served as deputy director since 2006. [Trib]

-> An environmentalist group is suing the EPA, alleging it hasn't enforced regulations of the Clean Air Act for six states, including Utah. [Trib]

-> Bryan Schott and Bob Bernick discuss the government shutdown and the state's new proposed Lt. Gov. [UtahPolicy]

-> Bernick, meanwhile, says Spencer Cox is a good choice for the top lieutenant job. [UtahPolicy]

-> Paul Rolly discusses former lawmaker Carl Wimmer zeal as a state lawmaker and how he now wants to be an Evangelical preacher. [Trib]

Nationally: Military analysts who made media appearances to discuss possible involvement with Syria have ties to defense contractors. [WaPost]

-> The State Department is defending its decision to purchase $5 million worth of glassware for U.S. foreign embassies. [CNN]

-> The CIA knew that Edward Snowden could be a possible intelligence leak back in 2009, but the red flags went unheeded when he left to be an NSA contractor. [NYTimes]

Where are they?

Gov. Gary Herbert holds his weekly budget meeting and goes to the Utah Technology Council Hall of Fame Celebration.

SLC Mayor Ralph Becker attends the Envision Utah Board Retreat, pays a visit to the Urban Indian Center and heads to the Utah Technology Council Gala.

WVC Mayor Mike Winder attends the wedding of Steven Hermansen and Sheristan Daines.

President Barack Obama meets with Vice President Joe Biden and the Republican Senate Caucus, then sits down with local business owners to discuss the impacts of the shutdown.

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven't already, sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox. [Trib]

— Thomas Burr and Jordan Bailey Twitter.com/thomaswburr Twitter.com/thejordanbailey