Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 62 days left in 2015. Don’t forget to turn your clocks back Saturday night.
Ryan takes the gavel. The Senate approves the budget deal. Biskupski and Becker accuse each other of dirty campaigning.
The clock:
- 4 days to the 2015 election – (11/3/2015)
- 87 days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (1/25/2016)
- 94 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus – (2/1/2016)
- 102 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary (tentative) – (2/9/2016)
- 133 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
- 243 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 375 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
Friday’s top-10 headlines:
- Paul Ryan officially takes the Speaker’s gavel after being elected to replace John Boehner [Politico, New York Times].
- Republican presidential campaigns plan to meet in Washington, D.C. to discuss how to change the party’s debate process [Politico].
- The U.S Senate approves the two-year budget deal in an early morning vote [The Hill, Washington Post].
- Jeb Bush‘s campaign is floundering in Iowa. They’ve recruited just four volunteers and found 1,260 supporters [New York Times].
- The group that’s backing Prop. 1, which would raise sales taxes for transit, has raised $675,000 [Tribune].
- Ralph Becker and Jackie Biskupski are accusing each other of dirty tricks in the waning days of the campaign [Deseret News].
- Has the stalemate over Medicaid expansion taken a political toll on House Speaker Greg Hughes? [Utah Policy].
- Utah lawmakers voiced early support for legislation to expand kindergarten [Deseret News, Tribune].
- Legislators are considering a plan to reign in spending on buildings by colleges and universities [Deseret News].
- Rep. Fred Cox is prepping legislation to do away with Daylight Savings Time [Fox 13].
On this day in history:
- 1918 – The Ottoman Empire signs an armistice with the Allies, ending the First World War.
- 1938 – Orson Welles triggered a national panic with his radio dramatization of a Martian invasion, based on H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds.”
- 1975 – The New York Daily News ran the headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead” a day after President Gerald Ford said he would veto any proposed federal bailout of New York City.
- 1983 – The Rev. Jesse Jackson announced plans to become the first African-American to mount a full-scale campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
