Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 76 days left in 2015.
Love and Owens are off to a good fundraising start. Hughes says the pursuit of federal money to expand Medicaid is over. Utah teachers vent their frustration about the Legislature.
The clock:
- 18 days to the 2015 election – (11/3/2015)
- 94 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus (tentative) – (1/18/2016)
- 101 days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (1/25/2016)
- 102 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – (1/26/2016)
- 146 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
- 256 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 389 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
Friday’s top-10 headlines:
- Rep. Mia Love and Doug Owens are both off to a good fundraising start ahead of their 2016 rematch [Utah Policy, Tribune].
- Speaker Greg Hughes says the chase for federal money to expand Medicaid is over [Utah Policy].
- Gov. Gary Herbert says any Medicaid expansion plan will have to come from the legislature [Tribune].
- Utah teachers vent their frustration with the legislature during their annual convention [Tribune, Deseret News].
- Tribal leaders want President Barack Obama to establish a national monument in the Bear Ears area of southeastern Utah [Deseret News, Tribune].
- A federal judge’s ruling in Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit over Gov. Herbert’s decision to cut off federal funds to the group is on hold [Deseret News, Tribune, Fox 13, KUER].
- An unidentified man leaves a package containing a semi-automatic rifle in the Capitol rotunda, prompting an evacuation of the building [Deseret News, Tribune, Fox 13, KSL].
- A good chunk of Salt Lake County residents have already returned their vote-by-mail ballots [Tribune].
- A cache of secret documents detail Americas use of drones in the Middle East and Africa [The Intercept].
- Donald Trump and Ben Carson threaten to boycott the next GOP debate [The Hill].
On this day in history:
- 1793 – Following her conviction for treason, French Queen Marie Antoinette was beheaded.
- 1859 – Abolitionist John Brown led a raid on a federal armory at Harpers Ferry in present-day West Virginia.
- 1875 – Brigham Young University was founded.
- 1962 – President John F. Kennedy was informed that reconnaissance photographs revealed the presence of missile bases in Cuba.
- 2002 – President George W. Bush signed a congressional resolution authorizing war against Iraq.
- 2013 – The U.S. House and Senate approved legislation ending a partial government shutdown that lasted 16 days.
