Obama calls for unity during his State of the Union Address but Republicans aren't on board. Herbert calls for increased education funding. Lawmakers want to address police shootings.
Countdown:
- Days until the opening day of the 2015 Utah Legislature – 5
- Days to the final day of the 2015 Utah Legislature – 50
- Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 202
- Days to the 2015 election – 286
- Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 362
- Days until the 2016 presidential election – 657
Wednesday's top-10 headlines:
- President Barak Obama calls for unity in his State of the Union Address [Politico]. Republicans immediately rejected most of the proposals in the president's address [New York Times].
- Utah's members of Congress give the president's speech low marks [Tribune, Deseret News].
- Gov. Gary Herbert says it's time for lawmakers to step up and fund education [Utah Policy].
- Legislators call for a task force to address police shootings [Tribune].
- Rep. Lee Perry says he has a personal reason for pushing a primary seat belt law during this year's session [Deseret News].
- Legislators will consider putting new regulations on e-cigarettes [Tribune].
- One of the state's largest pro-education groups will not pressure lawmakers to pass a tax hike for schools [Utah Policy].
- Utahns give Gov. Herbert and lawmakers mostly high marks for their job performance [Utah Policy].
- Former Rep. Jim Matheson joins a Washington, D.C. lobbying firm [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News].
- A judge says former Attorneys General Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow will not have to testify in the fraud trial against Marc Sessions [Deseret News, Tribune].
On this day in history:
- 1861 – Five Southerners resigned from the U.S. Senate, including Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. He would later become the president of the Confederacy.
- 1977 – President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders.
- 1997 – Speaker Newt Gingrich was reprimanded and fined as the House voted for the first time in history to discipline its leader for ethical misconduct.
- 2010 – The Supreme Court ruled on the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case which increased the power of big business and labor unions to influence government decisions by allowing them to spend money directly to sway elections for president and Congress.
