Obama to propose plan to boost housing market. House to vote on Obamacare legislation. Hillyard hopes for no new gun legislation in 2015.
Countdown:
- Days until the opening day of the 2015 Utah Legislature – 18
- Days to the final day of the 2015 Utah Legislature – 63
- Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 215
- Days to the 2015 election – 299
- Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 375
- Days until the 2016 presidential election – 670
Thursday's top-10 headlines:
- Two of the suspects in the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo are still at large this Thursday morning. 12 people died in the attack [CNN].
- President Obama will unveil a proposal to boost the lagging housing market ahead of his State of the Union address [Politico].
- The House is expected to pass a bill establishing a 40-hour workweek instead of the current 30-hour week mandated under Obamacare [The Hill].
- Utah leaders react to the news that former House Speaker Becky Lockhart is critically ill [Deseret News].
- A preliminary evidentiary hearing in the case against former Attorney General John Swallow is set for June [Tribune, Deseret News].
- Sen, Lyle Hillyard says he's hoping there will be no new gun legislation proposed during the 2015 session [Cache Valley Daily].
- Utahns overwhelmingly support requiring high school students to pass the U.S. citizenship test in order to graduate [Utah Policy].
- House Speaker Greg Hughes hires former Deseret News reporter Chuck Gates to handle communications for the House majority [Utah Policy].
- Officials from Tooele and Grantsville sign resolutions opposing the relocation of the Utah State Prison to near their communities [Deseret News].
- Four U.S. cities are vying to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The U.S. Olympic Committee is set to pick which one will make the final bid as early as this week [New York Times].
On this day in history:
- 1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a war on poverty.
- 1982 – AT&T settled the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against it by agreeing to divest itself of the 22 Bell System companies.
- 1987 – The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 2,000 for the first time.
- 2011 – Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot and critically wounded when a gunman opened fire as the congresswoman met with constituents in Tucson. Six people were killed and 12 others were injured.