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Ten Things You Need to Know for Friday – April 24, 2015

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Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. It's the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest films ever made: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Utah Republicans are divided on who they will support in 2016 while Democrats back Hillary Clinton. Hatch votes yes on Loretta Lynch's nomination to be Attorney General while Lee votes no.

Countdown:

  • Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 109
  • Days to the 2015 election – 193
  • Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 270
  • Days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – 277
  • Days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – 278
  • Days to the 2016 Utah presidential primary – 432
  • Days until the 2016 presidential election – 565

Friday's top-10 headlines:

  1. Utah Republicans are split on who they want as their nominee in 2016 while Democrats back Hillary Clinton [Utah Policy].
  2. Sen. Orrin Hatch votes yes while Sen. Mike Lee votes no on the nomination of Loretta Lynch to be Attorney General [Tribune, Deseret News].
  3. A CIA drone strike in January accidentally killed two hostages including a kidnaped American contractor [Washington Post].
  4. A federal judge puts some limits on how much digging the Utah GOP can do in their lawsuit to stop SB54 [Fox 13].
  5. Utah Republicans are turning on each other in the legal fight over SB54 [Associated Press].
  6. Rep. Rob Bishop wants the Obama Administration to slow down on new rules that could make it easier for Native American groups to win recognition as tribes [Associated Press].
  7. The number of Utah students opting out of standardized SAGE testing is holding steady [Tribune].
  8. Kate Kelly, the founder of Ordain Women, speaks at the Tribeca Film Festival about her excommunication from the LDS Church [Tribune].
  9. Amanda Smith is stepping down as the head of the Department of Environmental Quality after six years on the job [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
  10. The Apple Watch goes on sale today but don't expect to get one at the Apple Store [Reuters].

On this day in history:

  • 1704 – The Boston News-Letter became the first American newspaper to be published on a regular basis.
  • 1800 – The U.S. Congress established the Library of Congress.
  • 1980 – The United States launched an abortive attempt to free the American hostages in Iran. Eight U.S. servicemen died.
  • 2012 – Mitt Romney won Republican presidential primaries in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.