Ten Things You Need to Know for Thursday – June 25, 2015

Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is "National Bomb Pop Day," celebrating the greatest of all the popsicles.

No public money for Phil Lyman's defense. Local prosecutors want the feds to butt out of the John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff prosecutions. Utahns want Attorney General Sean Reyes to avoid taking campaign donations that might cause a conflict of interest.

Countdown:

• Days to the 2015 Utah municipal primary elections – 47
• Days to the 2015 election – 131
• Days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – 208
• Days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – 215
• Days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – 216
• Days to the 2016 Utah primary election – 370
• Days until the 2016 presidential election – 503

Thursday's top-10 headlines:

1. Taxpayers will not foot the bill for the legal defense of San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News, Fox 13, ABC 4, KUER].
2. The local prosecutors at the front of the investigation into former Utah Attorneys General John Swallow and Mark Shurtleff say they are fed up with the federal government meddling in the case [Deseret News, Tribune, ABC 4].
3. A new poll shows a vast majority of Utahns don't want Attorney General Sean Reyes taking donations from companies and individuals that could be under investigation by his office [Utah Policy].
4. Oops! Rep. Jason Chaffetz and other members of the House Oversight Committee slam the Office of Personnel Management for contracting with a company with a board member, Owen Li, under federal investigation. Turns out that Owen Li is not the same Owen Li under investigation [Washington Post].
5. Lawmakers consider changes to charter school funding [Tribune, Deseret News].
6. Dr. David Patton, head of the Utah Department of Health, announces he's leaving that post at the end of July [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune, ABC 4].
7. Sen. Todd Weiler is exploring possible legislation to cut down on the number of thefts involving scrap metal [Fox 13].
8. Minorities made up the biggest part of population growth in Salt Lake County last year [Tribune].
9. The Utah Transit Authority is slowing down on moving toward distance-based fares [Tribune, Deseret News].
10. President Barack Obama shuts down a heckler while speaking about same-sex marriage at the White House [NPR].

On this day in history:

• 1876 – U.S. Army Gen. George Custer and his force of 208 men were killed by Chief Sitting Bull's Sioux warriors at Little Big Horn in Montana
• 1942 – U.S. Army Gen. Dwight Eisenhower took command of the U.S. World War II forces in Europe.
• 1950 – War broke out on the Korean peninsula as forces from the communist North invaded the South.
• 1962 – The U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision barring prayer in public schools.
• 1973 – White House attorney John Dean told a U.S. Senate committee that President Richard Nixon joined in a plot to cover up the Watergate break-in.