Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 264th day of the year. There are 102 days left in 2016.
Mike Lee has a massive 37-point lead over Misty Snow. Former President George H.W. Bush will reportedly vote for Hillary Clinton. Sen. Jim Dabakis may have caused an international incident with his trip to Iran.
The clock:
- The Utah Attorney General debate at Dixie State University is tomorrow (9/21/2016)
- Six days to the Utah Gubernatorial debate at Utah State University (9/26/2016)
- Six days to the first presidential debate at Hofstra University (9/26/2016)
- 14 days to the 2nd Congressional District debate at the University of Utah (10/4/2016)
- 14 days to the vice presidential debate at Longwood University (10/4/2016)
- 20 days to the 4th Congressional District debate at Salt Lake Community College (10/10/2016)
- 22 days to the U.S. Senate debate at Brigham Young University (10/12/2016)
- 19 days to the second presidential debate at Washington University (10/9/2016)
- 27 days to the 1st Congressional District debate at Weber State University (10/17/2016)
- 29 days to the 3rd Congressional District debate at Utah Valley University (10/19/2016)
- 29 days to the third presidential debate at UNLV (10/19/2016)
- 49 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
- 125 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
- 170 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)
Ten talking points for Tuesday:
- Mike Lee has a whopping 37-point lead over Democrat Misty Snow according to our newest poll [Utah Policy].
- Former President George H.W. Bush will reportedly vote for Hillary Clinton in November [Politico].
- Ahmad Khan Rahami, the suspect in Saturday’s bombings in New York and New Jersey, was captured following a manhunt and shootout [CNN]. Rep. Jason Chaffetz took New York Mayor Bill de Blasio to task for not initially saying the incident had a possible terrorist link [Newsmax].
- The Senate is nearing a deal to fund the federal government until December 9, thus avoiding a government shutdown [The Hill].
- Lester Holt, the moderator for the first presidential debate, has selected the topics he wishes to discuss. They are “America’s Direction,” “Achieve Prosperity,” and “Securing America” [Politico].
- Donald Trump, Jr., who is scheduled to make a fundraising stop in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, is catching some heat for a tweet comparing Syrian refugees to tainted Skittles [CBS News].
- Some Iranian officials are accusing Sen. Jim Dabakis of spying after he made a “secret” trip to that country [Tribune, Deseret News].
- The Salt Lake Catholic Diocese is urging church members to pressure legislators to abolish the death penalty [Deseret News].
- The Utah Transit Authority has figured out a way to get around opening some meetings to the public. According to a board member, some meetings aren’t really meetings. Instead, they’re just some committee members “having an informal discussion” [Tribune].
- Designs for the new Utah State Prison already include room for a 1,000-bed expansion beyond the 4,000 beds already slated for the facility [Deseret News, Associated Press].
On this day in history:
- 1519 – Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan set out from Spain.
- 1962 – James Meridith, a black man, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Gov. Ross Barnett.
- 2011 – The “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on openly gay U.S. service members was officially repealed.
