Good Wednesday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 99 days left in 2015.
Pope Francis arrives in America. Hillary Clinton comes out against Keystone XL. Utahns would prefer Jeb Bush over Donald Trump as the GOP nominee.
The clock:
- 41 days to the 2015 election – (11/3/2015)
- 117 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – (1/18/2016)
- 124 days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (1/25/2016)
- 127 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – (1/26/2016)
- 169 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
- 279 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 412 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
Wednesday's top-10 headlines:
- Pope Francis arrives in Washington, D.C. for his first visit to America as Pontiff [The Hill].
- Hillary Clinton sits down for a lengthy interview in which she says one of the biggest problems facing the country is wage stagnation [Des Moines Register].
- Clinton says she opposes the Keystone XL pipeline [USA Today].
- If the race for the GOP nomination comes down to Jeb Bush and Donald Trump, Utahns say they would prefer Bush win [Utah Policy].
- Utah GOP Chairman James Evans says he's disappointed that Scott Walker dropped out of the presidential race, but he's still holding out hope Mitt Romney jumps into the fray [Utah Policy].
- Former Lt. Gov. Greg Bell is tapped to try and negotiate a settlement between the Utah GOP and the state in the lawsuit over SB54 [Deseret News, Tribune].
- Salt Lake County officials want to extend a tax hike to "reinvent" the criminal justice system [Deseret News, Tribune, KUER].
- Utah Transit Authority officials are offering up specifics for expanded service if a proposed tax hike passes in November [Tribune].
- The federal government rejects Utah's conservation plans for the greater sage grouse. The decision is drawing a sharp reaction from Utah leaders [Deseret News].
- Mormon Apostle Richard G. Scott passes at the age of 86 [Tribune, Deseret News].
On this day in history:
- 1779 – American commander John Paul Jones is said to have declared "I have not yet begun to fight!" during a Revolutionary War naval battle.
- 1806 – Explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark returned to St. Louis on their historic journey from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast and back.
- 1950 – Congress adopted the Internal Security Act, which provided for the registration of communists. It was later ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
- 1952 – Sen. Richard Nixon salvaged his vice-presidential nomination by appearing live on television to refute allegations of improper campaign fundraising. The address became known as the "Checkers" speech because of Nixon's reference to the family dog named "Checkers."
