Ten Things You Need to Know Today – Thursday, October 29, 2015

Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 63 days left in 2015.

Rubio and Cruz shine at the third GOP debate. Ryan officially nominated to be Speaker. Becker and Biskupski face off for the final time.

The clock:

• 5 days to the 2015 election – (11/3/2015)
• 88 days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (1/25/2016)
• 95 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus – (2/1/2016)
• 103 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary (tentative) – (2/9/2016)
• 134 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
• 244 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
• 376 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)

Thursday’s top-10 headlines:

1. The third GOP primary debate took place last night. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz grabbed the spotlight while Jeb Bush and the moderators did not have a good night [Washington Post, New York Times, NBC News, NPR, National Review].
2. Congressional Republicans officially nominate Paul Ryan to replace John Boehner as Speaker [Politico].
3. Utah’s House delegation unanimously back Ryan’s bid for Speaker [Deseret News, Tribune].
4. Ralph Becker and Jackie Biskupski meet in their final debate before next week’s election [Tribune, Deseret News, Fox 13].
5. PAC spending in the Salt Lake City mayor’s race has slowed down considerably from the primary election [Utah Policy].
6. A judge orders San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman to pay $96K in damages for leading an ATV ride into Recapture Canyon [Deseret News, Tribune, Fox 13].
7. Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams backs off his plan to cut employee retirement plans [Tribune].
8. The Utah GOP is continuing their battle against SB54 [Utah Policy].
9. Utah Transit Authority executives say they will forego any bonuses for two years [Tribune].
10. Robin Riggs, who helped to craft the Utah Compact, passes away at the age of 62 [Utah Policy, Tribune].

On this day in history:

• 1901 – Leon Czolgosz was electrocuted for the assassination of President William McKinley.
• 1929 – The sale of 16 million shares marked the collapse of the stock market, setting the stage for the Great Depression. This day became known as “Black Tuesday.”
• 1966 – The National Organization for Women was founded.
• 1969 – The first connection on what would become the Internet was made when bits of data flowed between computers at UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute.
• 2004 – Osama bin Laden, in a videotaped message, said he ordered the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.