Ten Things You Need to Know Today – Thursday, December 10, 2015
Bryan Schott
Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 21 days left in 2015.
Trump widens his lead. Herbert unveils his $14.8 billion budget. Utah lawmakers vote to sue the federal government over public lands.
The clock:
46 days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (1/25/2016)
53 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus – (2/1/2016)
61 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary (tentative) – (2/9/2016)
92 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
103 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
135 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
202 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
334 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
Thursday’s top-10 headlines:
Congress inches closer to a funding deal to avoid a government shutdown, but they still had to give themselves five extra days to do it [New York Times, The Hill].
Donald Trump says he plans to stay in the presidential race all the way to the bitter end even if he loses in early voting states [Washington Post].
A new poll shows Trump is solidifying his lead atop the GOP presidential field, but 2/3 of Americans says they are worried about the prospect of a Trump presidency [New York Times].
Utah lawmakers vote to move forward with a lawsuit against the federal government to wrest away control of public lands within the state [Deseret News, Tribune, Fox 13, ABC 4, KUER].
A majority of Utahns say they would support “right-to-die” legislation for terminally ill patients [Utah Policy].
Utah could the first state designated as “serious” for air pollution under the Clean Air Act [2 News, Tribune].
Sen. Mike Lee announces he will use both the convention system and signature gathering route to get on the 2016 ballot [Utah Policy].
The Utah attorney general’s office is fighting tooth and nail to prevent the release of records of their investigation into San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman [Tribune].
Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams, and Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan took a trip to Switzerland on a private jet in 2013. The aircraft was provided by the Ian Cumming family [2 News].
On this day in history:
1869 – The Territory of Wyoming granted women the right to vote.
1898 – Spain signed a treaty officially ending the Spanish-American War. It gave Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines to the United States.
1948 – The U.N. General Assembly adopted its Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
1964 – The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize.