Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City.
The first GOP primary debate takes place tonight. Bill Clinton reportedly advised Donald Trump to get more involved with GOP politics before he launched his presidential bid. Hillary Clinton stops in Utah.
The clock:
- 5 days to the Utah municipal primary elections – (8/11/2015)
- 89 days to the 2015 election – (11/3/2015)
- 165 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – (1/18/2016)
- 172 days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (1/25/2016)
- 173 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – (1/26/2016)
- 217 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
- 327 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 460 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
Thursday's top-10 headlines:
- GOP presidential candidates get ready to rumble as the first primary debate happens tonight [The Week].
- Several Utahns are in Cleveland tonight for the first GOP debate and will be watching the proceedings very carefully [Deseret News].
- Former President Bill Clinton spoke with Donald Trump via phone before Trump launched his presidential bid. Clinton reportedly urged the businessman to become more involved in Republican politics [Washington Post].
- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton makes a fundraising stop in Utah [Deseret News, ABC 4, Tribune].
- Speaker Greg Hughes says the forthcoming plan to deal with Medicaid expansion could be groundbreaking [Utah Policy].
- Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says there's no sneaky plan to create a new national monument in Utah [Deseret News].
- Voters in Salt Lake City and statewide support a sales tax hike to fund transportation [Utah Policy].
- An Envision Utah survey finds Utahns generally prefer cleaner sources of energy as long as it's affordable [Deseret News, Tribune].
- Two of Utah's top law enforcement officials sign a letter from the National Immigration Forum urging Congress to oppose legislation defund so-called "sanctuary cities" [Tribune, ABC 4].
- Jon Stewart officially bids adieu as host of the Daily Show tonight [Huffington Post].
On this day in history:
- 1890 – The first execution by electric chair was carried out. William Kemmler was put to death at Auburn Prison for the ax murder of his girlfriend.
- 1914 – Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia, and Serbia declared war against Germany at the outbreak of World War I.
- 1945 – An atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later an atomic bomb hit Nagasaki and Japan soon surrendered, ending World War II.
- 1965 – President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law.
- 2003 – Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy for governor of California on NBC's The Tonight Show. He was elected and served two terms.
