News roundup: AG Holder touts 'vast amount' of prosecutorial discretion

AG Holder: I have 'vast amount' of prosecutorial discretion. New report raises more questions about Swallow, Shurtleff. Tax Freedom Day arrives later this year.

Happy Wednesday. Under questioning by House Republicans, Attorney General Eric Holder says he has a "vast amount of discretion" in prosecutions as the GOP members complained about the Justice Department's positions on marijuana legalization, criminal sentencing and delays in Obamacare. "There is a vast amount of discretion that a president has - and, more specifically, that an attorney general has," Holder told the House Judiciary Committee. [TheHill]

Topping the news: An unreleased report by two House investigators, obtained by The Tribune, raises some new questions about former AGs Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow. [Trib]

-> Utah officials say that 900 cattle seized by the BLM should stay in Nevada. [Trib] [DNews]

-> Tax Freedom Day, the day at which a typical American worker will have to have worked to pay the government its annual toll, falls later this year, on April 17. [Trib]

Tweet of the day: From @pkcapitol: "Tomorrow is Wednesday, it ends in a 'Y'. Therefore, McCain, Graham and Ayotte are having a Benghazi press conference."

Happy birthday: To Heather Britz, who is celebrating with the best early present ever: her newborn, Xander.

In other news: Utah state and local governments received a B- for online disclosure their spending. [Trib]

-> The state is also one of 48 that had increased revenue last year. [Trib]

-> House Speaker Becky Lockhart and four legislative candidates will be fined for not filing their financial disclosure statements in a timely manner. [Herald]

-> Amendment 3 supporters have been pretty quiet this week. [DNews]

-> The Utah Republican Party may step in to settle a dispute in Iron County where the GOP chairman is running for the Legislature, possibly against party rules. [UtahPolicy]

-> SL Co. is looking for reasons behind a drop in sales tax revenues. [Trib]

-> The Salt Lake City Council allocated $537,072 for an unidentified piece of property. [Trib]

-> An SLC councilman also grilled Mayor Ralph Becker's former campaign manager who is nominated for a seat on the Planning Commission. [Trib]

-> Layton lawmakers put a moratorium on multi-unit housing. [Trib] [Fox13]

-> Some Cottonwood Heights residents object to a new development just off Wasatch Boulevard. [Fox13]

-> As former Gov. Mike Leavitt receives the Salt Lake Chamber's Giant in Our City award, his former campaign manager LaVarr Webb recalls his first gubernatorial campaign. [UtahPolicy]

-> More than 50 programs that help the homeless will receive federal grants. [Trib]

-> It may be easier to download cat videos at Alta and Snowbird by next winter. [Trib]

-> Carrie Mayne, chief economist for the Utah Department of Workforce Services, talks about Utah's wage gap, the fourth largest in the country. [Trib]

-> Doug Owens, a Democrat seeking to replace outgoing Rep. Jim Matheson, has raised $125,000 so far and has about $111,000 cash on hand, his campaign says. [UtahPolicy]

-> Paul Rolly discusses a teacher who was fired for refusing to grade and speaking out against a standardized test, and creative parking tickets in Salt Lake City. [Trib]

-> Pat Bagley gives his take on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's position on fair pay. [Trib]

Nationally: Rep. Vance McAllister, R-La., after apologizing for kissing a former staffer received a text message from stranger and conversed for a bit, a conversation that thanks to Gawker, you can read. Here's a sample: "I messed up." / "How so?" / "Google, you will see" [Gawker]

-> A timely study released yesterday found that politicians are more likely to recover from affairs than corruption — unless they touted family values or cleaning up government, then they are in trouble either way. [WaPost]

-> Newly released records show that Medicare paid 4,000 physicians more than $1 million in 2012. [WaPast]

-> Pouring money into a political campaign doesn't guarantee victory. [NBC]

-> President Barack Obama signed executive orders aimed at closing the wage gap between men and women. [NYTimes]

Where are they?

Rep. Jason Chaffetz hits a Homeland hearing on the Boston bombing and a Utah 4-H student meeting.

Rep. Rob Bishop meets with retired USMC General PX Kelley and Frank Fahrenkopf to discuss the Eisenhower Memorial, attends a Natural Resources Committee markup and meets with representatives of the Utah Chapter of Certified Commercial Investment Managers. He also goes to the Republican Study Committee weekly member meeting, meets with constituents, representatives from the Outdoor Industry Association, the 4-H program coordinator for Utah State University Cooperative Extension and the Utah Cattlemen's Association.

Gov. Gary Herbert hits the Business Networking Breakfast, and the Utah Tourism and Investment Overview, tours the Institute of Technology and Software Center in Guadalajara, meets with Governor of Jalisco Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval Díaz, and the Utah delegation before attending the closing trade mission reception.

Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox goes to the Piute and Wayne county conventions.

SLC Mayor Ralph Becker hits budget meetings, a Capitol City Education update and the Utah League of Cities in St. George.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attend a memorial service at Fort Hood. He also attends DNC and DCCC/DSCC events in Houston.

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 Topher Webb Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/topherjwebb