Ten Things You Need to Know for Friday – January 30, 2015

Senate approves Keystone XL. Utahns express confidence in the police. Lawmakers unveil air quality legislation.

Countdown:

  • Days to the final day of the 2015 Utah Legislature – 41
  • Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 193
  • Days to the 2015 election – 277
  • Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 353
  • Days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – 360
  • Days to the 2016 Utah presidential primary – 515
  • Days until the 2016 presidential election – 648

Friday's top-10 headlines:

  1. The U.S. Senate approves the Keystone XL pipeline. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the measure [New York Times].
  2. Jeb Bush hires a key Mitt Romney strategist from his 2012 run [New York Times].
  3. A new poll finds most Utahns feel they are treated fairly by local police departments [Utah Policy].
  4. A bipartisan group of lawmakers unveil a raft of bills targeting air quality [Deseret News, ABC 4].
  5. Rep. Jacob Anderegg is pushing a bill to roll back part of a ban on texting while driving that lawmakers passed last year [Tribune, Deseret News].
  6. Legislators are planning on holding standing committee meetings during the final week of the Legislature, ensuring more bills get a committee hearing before lawmakers have to take a final vote on them [Utah Policy].
  7. Rep. Chris Stewart visits Utah's Capitol Hill [Tribune, Deseret News].
  8. Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker unveils a new initiative that aims to build 5,000 units of affordable housing over the next five years [Tribune].
  9. Utah's Democrats name Lauren Littlefield as their next Executive Director [Utah Policy, Tribune].
  10. New Census numbers show Utahns get divorced more than the national average, but those people often remarry quickly [Tribune].

On this day in history:

  • 1933 – Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany
  • 1948 – Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi was murdered by a Hindu extremist.
  • 1968 – The Tet offensive began as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals.