Archive

Morning Must Reads for Thursday, October 20, 2016

··

Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 294th day of the year. There are 72 days left in 2016.

Evan McMullin grabs the lead in Utah. Trump refuses to say whether he’ll accept the election results if he loses. Orrin Hatch is making noise about running for another term in 2018. 

The clock:

  • 12 days left to register to vote online in Utah (11/1/2016)
  • 19 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
  • 60 days until the Electoral College meets to cast their votes for president and vice president [12/19/2016)
  • 92 days until Inauguration Day (1/20/2017)
  • 95 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
  • 140 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)

Ten talking points for Thursday:

  1. A brand new poll shows independent candidate Evan McMullin taking the lead over Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in Utah [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
  2. Sen. Orrin Hatch is making more noise about running for another term in 2018 [Utah Policy].
  3. Legislators will hold another special session in November to fix road funding allocations [Utah Policy].
  4. Sin City Showdown. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton face off in their final debate of the 2016 election [Politico]. Trump horrifies almost everybody by refusing to say whether he would accept the results of the election if he loses [CBS News]. A snap poll shows voters overwhelmingly think Hillary Clinton won the third debate [CNN].
  5. Most voters think the media is biased against Donald Trump [Politico].
  6. Jason Chaffetz and Democrat Stephen Tryon clash over Hillary Clinton‘s emails and the presidential candidates in their debate [Deseret News, Tribune].
  7. Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee aren’t totally on board with Sen. John McCain‘s vow to block any and all of Hillary Clinton‘s Supreme Court nominees [Tribune].
  8. Utah lawmakers are considering making changes to how the Utah Transit Authority Board is selected [Tribune].
  9. Legislators are looking at boosting funding for the DABC [Tribune].
  10. Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski says the city council’s decision to allocate $30 million for affordable housing and homeless services could “unravel” the entire budget [Tribune].

On this day in history:

  • 1803 – The U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase.
  • 1918 – Germany accepted terms to end World War I.
  • 1947 – The U.S. House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee opened public hearings into alleged communist influence in Hollywood.
  • 1973 – During the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon dismissed two officials for refusing to fire special prosecutor Archbald Cox. The incident became known as the “Saturday Night Massacre.”
  • 2011 – Moammar Gadhafi, Libya’s dictator for 42 years, was killed two months after his regime fell.