Ten Things You Need to Know Today – Friday, November 20, 2015

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 41 days left in 2015.

Congress approves tougher screening for Syrian refugees. Utahns still say Ben Carson is their top pick in the GOP race. Randy Horiuchi passes away.

The clock:

  • 66 days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (1/25/2016)
  • 73 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus – (2/1/2016)
  • 81 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary (tentative) – (2/9/2016)
  • 112 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
  • 123 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
  • 155 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
  • 222 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
  • 354 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)

Friday’s top-10 headlines:

  1. Congress approves a tougher screening for Syrian refugees despite a veto threat from President Obama [New York Times].
  2. Republican presidential candidates sharpen their rhetoric about Muslims in the United States [Washington Post].
  3. United Healthcare says they may leave the Obamacare health exchanges within the next two years because of rising costs [The Hill].
  4. Utahns still say neurosurgeon Ben Carson is their top pick for the 2016 GOP nomination [Utah Policy].
  5. Former Salt Lake County Councilman and longtime Democratic Party activist Randy Horiuchi dies at the age of 61 [2 News, ABC 4, Fox 13Deseret News, Tribune].
  6. Rep. Mia Love endorses Marco Rubio for president [Utah Policy, Deseret NewsTribune].
  7. Seven candidates have jumped into the race to replace outgoing Sen. Aaron Osmond, who is resigning to head up the Utah College of Applied Technology [2 News].
  8. More resignations from the Utah Transit Authority board may be coming, but officials say they are not related to a recent trip to Switzerland that was kept out of the public eye [Tribune, 2 News, Deseret News].
  9. Starbucks has asked for a license to serve beer and wine at five Utah stores [Fox 13, Tribune].
  10. The FBI clears Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams in their investigation into allegations made by former Rep. Justin Miller [Tribune, Fox 13].

On this day in history:

  • 1789 – New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
  • 1945 – 24 German leaders went on trial at Nuremberg before the International War Crimes Tribunal.
  • 1969 – The Nixon administration announced a halt to residential use of the pesticide DDT as part of a total phase-out.
  • 1985 – The first version of Microsoft’s Windows operating system, Windows 1.0, was released.
  • 2002 – President George W. Bush called for a “coalition of the willing” to help the United States disarm Iraq if necessary.