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How to Sound Smart About Utah Politics for Thursday July 28, 2016

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Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 210th day of the year. There are 156 days left in 2016.

Clinton set to accept the Democratic nomination on Thursday. Obama passes the torch. Charges against Shurtleff are dropped.

The clock:

  • 103 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
  • 179 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
  • 224 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)

Ten talking points for Thursday:

  1. Most Utahns say the water use restrictions established during Utah’s drought should remain in place [Utah Policy].

  2. Hillary Clinton takes the stage Thursday night to formally accept the Democratic nomination for president [CNN]. Utah’s female delegates to the Democratic National Convention say Clinton is a role model for young women everywhere [Tribune].

  3. President Barack Obama urges Americans to reject “home-grown demagogue” Donald Trump for Hillary Clinton [New York Times].

  4. Donald Trump urges Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s email fo find the “30,000 emails that are missing” [Politico]. After numerous critics had pointed out Trump’s comments could be construed as treasonous, Trump explained he was “being sarcastic” [Talking Points Memo]. Former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta slammed Trump’s comments, saying Trump is advocating a threat to national security [Talking Points Memo].

  5. Vice President Joe Biden delivers a brutal takedown of Donald Trump, saying Trump’s care for the middle class is a “bunch of malarkey” [Washington Post].

  6. The public corruption charges against former Attorney General Mark Shurtleff have been dismissed, but there is the possibility that prosecutors could bring the case again in the future [Tribune, Deseret News].

  7. Sen. Mike Lee holds a Senate field hearing in Blanding to discuss the possibility that Bears Ears could be declared a national monument [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News].

  8. Planned Parenthood of Utah drops plans to distribute condoms branded with the “CTR” logo after a public outcry [Tribune].

  9. A judge orders John Hinckley Jr., who shot President Reagan, to be freed after 35 years in a mental hospital [NBC News].

  10. All charges have been dropped against three Baltimore police officers who were accused in the death of Freddie Gray, who sustained a fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody [New York Times].

On this day in history:

  • 1868 – The ratified 14th Amendment was adopted into the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing citizenship to former slaves.
  • 1914 – World War I began as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
  • 1945 – A U.S. Army bomber crashed into the 79th floor of New York City’s Empire State Building, killing 14 people.
  • 1965 – President Lyndon B. Johnson announced he was increasing the number of American troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
  • 1984 – President Ronald Reagan opened the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. A Soviet-led bloc of 15 nations boycotted the Games.