Ten Things You Need to Know for Friday – August 29, 2014

Herbert worried a tax hike will hurt the economy. Utah still negotiating with the feds over Medicaid expansion. Does Lockhart have a chance at Utah's top education job?

Countdown:

• 67 days until the 2014 midterm elections
• 150 days to the opening day of the 2015 Utah Legislature
• 431 days until the 2015 elections
• 507 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucuses (tentative)
• 802 days to the 2016 presidential election

Friday's Top-10 Headlines:

1. President Barack Obama says the U.S. does not yet have a strategy for fighting ISIL [Politico].
2. Gov. Gary Herbert says he's worried any sort of tax hike in 2015 will hurt Utah's economic growth [Utah Policy].
3. Herbert says the state should appeal a federal judge's ruling striking down part of the Utah's ban against polygamy [Tribune, Daily Herald].
4. Utah is still negotiating an alternative to Medicaid expansion with the federal government and could bring the issue to the Legislature before the 2015 session [Tribune].
5. Herbert thinks UTA has fixed most of the problems highlighted by a legislative audit raising questions about the organization's business practices [Tribune, Deseret News].
6. Sen. Todd Weiler wants a criminal investigation into the Utah Transit Authority following that legislatitve audit [Fox 13].
7. Bob Bernick looks at whether Speaker Becky Lockhart has a chance to snag the State Superintendent's position [Utah Policy].
8. Our "Political Insiders" think Lockhart is not qualified for Utah's top education slot [Utah Policy].
9. A group of 13 gay rights activists say they will fight charges filed against them for disrupting the Legislature during the 2014 session [Tribune, Deseret News].
10. The plaintiffs in the case against Utah's same-sex marriage ban ask the Supreme Court to hear the case [Tribune, Deseret News].

On this day in history:

• 1632 – English philosopher John Locke was born.
• 1877 – Brigham Young, the second president of the Mormon Church, died in Salt Lake City.
• 1966 – The Beatles performed their last concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
• 2005 – Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Louisiana coast causing massive flooding in New Orleans.
• 2008 – John McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate.