Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City.
South Carolina continues to grieve following a mass shooting at a church. Herbert says lawmakers could consider keeping the prison in Draper. Utahns support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
Countdown:
- Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 53
- Days to the 2015 election – 137
- Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 214
- Days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – 221
- Days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – 222
- Days to the 2016 Utah primary election – 376
- Days until the 2016 presidential election – 509
Friday's top-10 headlines:
- Charleston, South Carolina residents are still trying to make some sense of the mass murder of nine church-goers at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church [New York Times].
- Gun control activists are pessimistic any new regulations will come from the latest mass shooting in South Carolina [The Hill].
- Gov. Gary Herbert suggests lawmakers could consider keeping the Utah State Prison in Draper [Tribune, ABC 4, KUER].
- A new assessment says there's not enough undeveloped land at the Point of the Mountain to rebuild the prison in Draper [Deseret News].
- Herbert says he hopes a Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare will provide a path forward for Utah's efforts to expand Medicaid [Utah Policy].
- A new poll shows most Utahns support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants [Utah Policy].
- Utah Republicans may hit a big roadblock in their efforts to get around SB54 [Utah Policy].
- Salt Lake City has put plans to open a hospice for the homeless on hold for now [Tribune, Deseret News].
- Former Democratic Rep. Ros McGee passes away [Utah Policy].
- The State School Board is considering more changes to their school grading system [Deseret News].
On this day in history:
- 1856 – The first Republican national convention ended in Philadelphia with the nomination of explorer John Fremont of California for president. James Buchanan, a Federalist nominated by the Democrats, was elected.
- 1862 – Slavery was outlawed in U.S. territories.
- 1953 – Convicted spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed at Sing Sing Prison in New York.
- 1964 – The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was approved after an 83-day filibuster in the U.S. Senate.
- 1987 – The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law that required schools to teach the creationist theory of human origin alongside evolution.
