Ten Things You Need to Know for Wednesday – November 19, 2014

Democrats lose three seats they thought they had won. Chaffetz named chair of the Oversight Committee. Utah has $2.8 billion in bond debt.

[Editor's Note: Due to a problem with our bulk e-mail service, our daily newsletter did not go out as usual on Tuesday morning. We apologize for any inconvenience.]

Countdown:

• Days until the opening day of the 2015 Utah Legislature – 68
• Days to the final day of the 2015 Utah Legislature – 113
• Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 265
• Days to the 2015 election – 349
• Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucuses (tentative) – 425
• Days until the 2016 presidential election – 720

Wednesday's top-10 headlines:

1. Utah Democrats lose three House seats they thought they had won on election night [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News].
2. Rep. Jason Chaffetz is named chair of the high-profile Government Oversight Committee while Rep. Rob Bishop takes over the House Natural Resources Committee [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune, ABC 4].
3. A judge may split the cases against John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff into separate prosecutions [Tribune, Deseret News].
4. Utah lawmakers are grappling with $2.8 billion in bond debt and its impact on the state budget [Utah Policy].
5. Utah's alcohol consumption is on the the rise while an audit shows high turnover rates and low morale at state liquor stores [Deseret News, Tribune, Daily Herald].
6. Utah's schools are set to see lower growth over the next few years [Tribune].
7. The House passes Rep. Chris Stewart's bill that makes changes to the EPA's science advisory board [Tribune].
8. The U.S. Senate fails to pass a bill authorizing the Keystone XL pipeline [Time].
9. The Utah Highway Patrol vows to strictly enforce the new 70 mph speed limit on Wasatch Front freeways [Tribune].
10. Mitt Romney speaks at BYU [Deseret News, Tribune].

On this day in history:

• 1863 – President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
• 1919 – The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles.
• 1985 – President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev met for the first time as they began a summit in Geneva.
• 1998 – Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr laid out his evidence against President Bill Clinton during a daylong appearance before the House Judiciary Committee.