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Morning Must Reads for Friday, January 6, 2017

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Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 6th day of the year. There are 359 days remaining in 2017.

America, not Mexico, will pay for Donald Trump’s border wall. Russian leaders celebrated Trump’s win. Joe Biden tells Trump to “grow up.”

The clock:

  • 14 days until Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President (1/20/2017)
  • 20 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (1/23/2017)
  • 62 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature (3/9/2017)
  • 305 days until the 2017 municipal elections (11/7/2017)
  • 669 days until the 2018 midterm elections (11/6/2018)
  • 1397 days until the 2020 presidential election (11/3/2020)

Ten talking points for Friday:

  1. The marketplace of ideas. Bob Bernick argues Gov. Gary Herbert needs to use his political muscle to push some “big ideas” during the next four years [Utah Policy].
  2. Dropping some knowledge. Watch our week in review where Bob Bernick and Bryan Schott break down what happened in Utah politics [Utah Policy].
  3. Who’s gonna pick up the tab? Donald Trump and House Republicans are getting ready to build the wall between the U.S. and Mexico, but the money will come from American taxpayers [Politico]. In an early Friday morning Twitter rant, Trump lashed out at the media, saying he would force Mexico to reimburse the U.S. for the wall [CNN].
  4. Russian election meddling. U.S. intelligence agencies intercepted communications between senior officials in Russia celebrating Donald Trump’s win as a victory for Moscow [Washington Post]. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper tells the Senate Armed Service Committee the extent of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election [Wall Street Journal]. U.S. intelligence sources say they’ve identified how the Russian government got information to Wikileaks in an effort to tip the election in Trump’s favor [CNN].
  5. Savage clap back. Outgoing Vice President Joe Biden rips Donald Trump saying the President-elect needs to “grow up” [PBS].
  6. Jobs report. Economists expect the final monthly job report during Barack Obama‘s presidency to show a gain of 183,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 4.7% [Wall Street Journal].
  7. Repeal and defund. House Republicans say cutting off federal funding for Planned Parenthood will be part of the legislation to repeal Obamacare [The Hill].
  8. Ready for the call. Sen. Mike Lee says he would accept a nomination to the Supreme Court if Donald Trump offers it [Deseret News].
  9. Obamacare assault. Utah’s members of Congress are chomping at the bit to join the fight to overturn the health care law [Tribune].
  10. An offer you should refuse. The average interest on a payday loan in Utah is 459 percent. That’s double what the New York Mafia charged in the 1960’s [Tribune].

On this day in history:

  • 1838 – Samuel Morse first publicly demonstrated his telegraph, in Morristown, N.J.
  • 1961 – Vice President Richard Nixon made official that he had been defeated by Sen. John F. Kennedy in one of the closest presidential elections in history.
  • 1994 – Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed on the right leg in an assault planned by the ex-husband of her rival, Tonya Harding.