Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 42 days left in 2015.
Lawmakers look to tweak election law. Two UTA board members resign following a controversial trip to Switzerland. Utah is still $7 billion short for needed transportation projects.
The clock:
- 67 days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (1/25/2016)
- 74 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus – (2/1/2016)
- 82 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary (tentative) – (2/9/2016)
- 113 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
- 124 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
- 156 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
- 223 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 355 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
Thursday’s top-10 headlines:
- The official magazine of ISIS publishes a picture of what they claim is the bomb that brought down a Russian airliner last month. The explosive device was allegedly hidden inside a can of soda [Reuters].
- Utah lawmakers are eyeing some tweaks to SB54 in conjunction with the state GOP [Utah Policy].
- Two Utah Transit Authority board members resign following a controversial trip to Switzerland [Tribune, Deseret News, 2 News, Fox 13].
- The state is facing a $7 billion shortfall for transportation projects through 2040 [Tribune].
- Utah House Republicans stop short of calling on Gov. Gary Herbert to halt Syrian refugees from coming to Utah [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News].
- House Minority Leader Rep. Brian King mocks those opposed to bringing Syrian refugees to Utah, calling them “bedwetters.” [Fox 13].
- The Salt Lake City Council denies mayor-elect Jackie Biskupski‘s request for $25,000 to fund her transition team [Tribune].
- Legislators endorse a bill to allow election vote totals to be updated in the time between election day and the official canvass [Deseret News, Tribune].
- Two proposed pieces of legislation for the 2016 session would defund Planned Parenthood and restrict abortions in Utah [2 News, Deseret News, Tribune, KSL].
- October was the hottest ever on record fueling greater fears that we may be approaching the point of no return on climate change [CNN, Bloomberg].
On this day in history:
- 1863 – President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on a Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania.
- 1930 – Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow carried out the first of their series of bank robberies.
- 1969 – Apollo 12 landed on the moon.
- 1998 – Impeachment hearings against President Bill Clinton are initiated by the U.S. House of Representatives.
