Ten Things You Need to Know for Wednesday – December 31, 2014
Bryan Schott
Love distances herself from Scalise. 20 states set to raise their minimum wage. "Super Dell" Schanze makes an insane claim in court.
Countdown:
Days until the opening day of the 2015 Utah Legislature – 26
Days to the final day of the 2015 Utah Legislature – 71
Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 223
Days to the 2015 election – 307
Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 383
Days until the 2016 presidential election – 678
Wednesday's top-10 headlines:
House Speaker John Boehner is throwing his support behind Majority Whip Steve Scalise after he admits speaking to a white supremacist group in 2002 [Huffington Post].
Newly elected Rep. Mia Love wants no part of the controversy surrounding Scalise, issuing a statement that he's been "extremely helpful" to her [Tribune, Deseret News].
Here are the top-10 Utah political news stories from 2014 as voted on by our readers [Utah Policy].
20 states will raise their minimum wage on New Year's Day [Huffington Post].
Bad weather is hindering the search for more bodies from the crashed AirAsia plane in the Java Sea [CNN].
"Super Dell" Schanze tells a judge a "human head was thrown through his window" which is a reason he should not have to give up firearms in his home [Deseret News, Tribune].
An Idaho toddler accidentally shoots and kills his mother in a Wal Mart [Washington Post].
The annual list of words and phrases that should be banished from the English language includes "bae," "polar vortex" and "swag" [Lake Superior State University].
On this day in history:
1862 – President Abraham Lincoln signed an act admitting West Virginia to the Union.
1879 – Thomas Edison first publicly demonstrated his electric incandescent light.
1951 – The Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12 billion in foreign aid.
1974 – Private U.S. citizens were allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in more than 40 years.