Ten Things You Need to Know for Thursday – July 2, 2015

Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. 

Candidates face off in the first televised Salt Lake City Mayoral debate. Clinton rakes in tons of campaign cash. The LDS Church makes an unprecedented donation to the Utah Pride Center.


Countdown:

  • Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 40
  • Days to the 2015 election – 124
  • Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 201
  • Days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – 208
  • Days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – 210
  • Days to the 2016 Utah primary election – 363
  • Days until the 2016 presidential election – 496

Thursday's top-10 headlines:

  1. The five candidates for Salt Lake City Mayor face off in their first televised debate [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News].
  2. Hillary Clinton rakes in an astonishing $45 million during the most recent fundraising quarter, which translates to more than $500,000 per day [Politico].
  3. The LDS Church makes a first-ever donation to the Utah Pride Center to support their program serving food to homeless youth [Tribune, Deseret News, ABC 4, Fox 13].
  4. The Supreme Court's decision on marriage may not have any effect on Utah's appeal over polygamy laws [Fox 13].
  5. Environmental activists slam Rep. Brad Wilson's plan to delay the adoption of the latest residential building codes because they say it will lead to more air pollution [Deseret News].
  6. Gov. Gary Herbert highlights a new law that improves survivor benefits for the families of fallen police officers and firefighters [Tribune, Deseret News, ABC 4].
  7. June was the hottest ever on record in Salt Lake City [KSL].
  8. With all of the attention focused on the Confederate battle flag, some in Utah are raising their eyebrows over the fact that the Flag of the State of Deseret still flies over a park in Salt Lake City [Tribune].
  9. Salt Lake County is investigating the first suspected cases of cholera in Utah in more than a decade [Tribune].
  10. Soccer is a heartbreaking sport. English defender Laura Bassett commits a howler that will haunt her for the rest of her life as she scores an own-goal in the final minutes of regulation that knocks her team out of the World Cup and sends Japan to the final [Deadspin].

On this day in history:

  • 1788 – It was announced in the U.S. Congress that the new Constitution had been ratified by the required nine states, the ninth being New Hampshire.
  • 1881 – President James Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau. Garfield died September 19 and was succeeded by Vice President Chester Arthur.
  • 1937 – Aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Frederick Noonan were reported lost over the Pacific Ocean. They were never found.
  • 1947 – An object that the Army Air Force later said was a weather balloon crashed near Roswell, N.M. Eyewitness accounts gave rise to speculation it might have been an alien spacecraft.
  • 1964 – The U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 became law with the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson.