Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 216th day of the year. There are 150 days left in 2016.
Sen. Mike Lee has a mind-boggling cash lead over his Democratic opponent. President Barack Obama slams Donald Trump as “unfit” to be president. A Tea Party House member loses his primary election in Kansas.
The clock:
- 97 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
- 173 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
- 218 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)
Ten talking points for Wednesday:
- “Massive” is not adequate to describe the campaign cash lead Sen. Mike Lee has over Democrat Misty Snow [Utah Policy].
- Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson will headline a rally in Salt Lake City on Saturday [Utah Policy].
- President Barack Obama slams Donald Trump as “unfit” to serve as president and challenges Republicans to withdraw their endorsement of the GOP nominee [The Hill]. Trump lashes back at Obama, calling him the worst president in history [Real Clear Politics]. Obama’s attack on Trump is putting Republicans in a very tough position [Slate].
- Hillary Clinton‘s campaign and her allies are set to spend $98 million on television advertising while Donald Trump and his supporters have reserved less than $1 million in time [NBC News].
- Kansas Tea Party Rep. Tim Huelskamp lost his Republican primary to an establishment-backed candidate who vowed to work more closely with GOP leadership [Wall Street Journal].
- Top Utah Republicans are taking a pass on commenting about Donald Trump‘s public spat with the Gold Star parents of a fallen soldier [Tribune].
- The adult magazine Penthouse attacks Gov. Gary Herbert and the LDS Church for a resolution declaring pornography a public health crisis [Tribune].
- Rep. Mia Love is extending her big fundraising lead over Democrat Doug Owens [Deseret News].
- A new report says even though there were plenty of indications of embezzlement within the Utah Communications Authority, the State Auditor’s Office did not detect the fraud [Tribune].
- A state audit says regulators are not enforcing the rules on payday lenders in Utah. It also shows nearly a third of borrowers are “chronic” users of payday loans, and state laws don’t do enough to keep them from borrowing beyond their means [Tribune, Deseret News].
On this day in history:
- 1492 – Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain, seeking a western route to India.
- 1914 – Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium. The following day, Britain declared war on Germany and World War I was underway.
- 1958 – The nuclear submarine Nautilus crossed under the North Pole.
- 1981 – Air traffic controllers went on strike. The strikers were fired within one week.
- 1987 – The Iran-Contra congressional hearings ended with none of the 29 witnesses tying President Ronald Reagan directly to the diversion of arms-sales profits to Nicaraguan rebels.
