Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 358 days left in 2016.
President Obama holds a town-hall meeting on guns. Trump says he would nix gun-free zones around schools. Herbert says it’s time for the feds to listen to the states.
The clock:
- 17 days to the opening day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (1/25/2016)
- 24 days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus – (2/1/2016)
- 32 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – (2/9/2016)
- 62 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
- 74 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
- 106 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
- 172 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 305 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
Friday’s top-10 headlines:
- President Barack Obama holds a town-hall style event to talk about guns [Washington Post].
- Donald Trump says he would eliminate gun-free zones at schools [Washington Post].
- House Republicans reached out to GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson about possibly replacing John Boehner as speaker of the house in 2014 [The Hill].
- Republican woman are worried the renewed focus by Trump on Bill Clinton‘s sex scandals will backfire and push independent-leaning and some Republican women to vote for Hillary Clinton [USA Today].
- Gov. Gary Herbert, chairman of the National Governors Association, delivers the “State of the States” address in Washington, D.C. [Deseret News, Tribune, ABC 4].
- Utah lawmakers are considering legislation to force BYU and Utah to play each other in basketball after Utah suspended the yearly contest [2 News, Fox 13].
- Rep. Patrice Arent is pushing legislation to eliminate straight-ticket voting from the Utah ballot [Fox 13].
- Snowpack levels in Utah are at or near normal statewide, but northern Utah is still sitting below normal [Tribune, ABC 4].
- The State School Board wants a $90 million boost in per-pupil spending [Tribune].
- A group of Utahns has traveled to Oregon to try and defuse the situation between a group of armed militiamen at a federal wildlife refuge and law enforcement [Tribune].
On this day in history:
- 1790 – President George Washington gave the first State of the Union address.
- 1815 – Gen. Andrew Jackson decisively defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.
- 1867 – Congress approved legislation that allowed blacks to vote in the District of Columbia.
- 1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a “War on Poverty” in the United States.
- 2002 – President George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act into law.
- 2011 – Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Az) was shot and critically wounded when a gunman opened fired as the congresswoman met with constituents in Tucson. Six people were killed, and 12 others were injured.
