Ten Things You Need to Know for Friday – June 12, 2015

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. It's "National Peanut Butter Cookie Day." I've got the milk if you bring the cookies.

Becker ousts Burbank as SLC police chief. Is the Utah GOP planning more shenanigans to gut the Count My Vote compromise? Lee calls for the passage religious liberty legislation.

Countdown:

• Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 60
• Days to the 2015 election – 144
• Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 221
• Days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – 228
• Days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – 229
• Days to the 2016 Utah primary election – 383
• Days until the 2016 presidential election – 516

Friday's top-10 headlines:

1. Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker ousts Police Chief Chris Burbank over his handling of a subordinate accused of sexually harassing three female officers [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News, Fox 13, KUER, ABC 4].
2. Becker's opponents in this year's mayoral race pounce on the decision saying it's too little, too late [Deseret News].
3. Bob Bernick says the Utah GOP may be ready to pull a fast one to kill effectively an alternative path to the primary ballot that's part of SB54 [Utah Policy].
4. The White House is frantically trying to rally votes for fast track trade authority [Politico].
5. GOP hopefuls are meeting with Mitt Romney in Park City this weekend. Romney's son, Tagg, says he thinks his father will remain neutral in the Republican nomination race for now [Tribune].
6. The Iowa GOP will decide the fate of the Iowa Straw Poll on Friday [Des Moines Register].
7. Sen. Mike Lee calls for the passage of religious liberty legislation on a nationwide scale [Tribune, Deseret News].
8. North Carolina legislators pass a law allowing state officials to refuse to perform marriages that violate their religious beliefs [New York Times].
9. The State Records Committee rules Utah State University must release details of a deal the school made with Maverik over naming rights to their football stadium [Deseret News, Tribune].
10. Rep. Paul Ray (R-Clearfield) is working on legislation to deal with criminal motorcycle gangs [ABC 4].

On this day in history:

• 1963 – A sniper killed civil rights leader Medgar Evers in Jackson, Miss.
• 1967 – The Supreme Court ruled that states couldn't outlaw interracial marriage.
• 1979 – Bryan Allen pedaled the 70-pound Gossamer Albatross 22 miles on the first human-powered flight across the English Channel.
• 1987 – During a visit to the divided city of Berlin, President Ronald Reagan publicly challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall."
• 1994 – Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were slashed to death outside her Los Angeles home. Her former husband, football Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson, was later acquitted of the killings in a criminal trial, but held liable in a civil action.