Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. There are 338 days left in 2016.
Herbert says the state of Utah is “outstanding.” It’s debate night, minus Donald Trump. What do Utahns want lawmakers to do about air pollution?
The clock:
- Four days to the 2016 Iowa Caucus – (2/1/2016)
- 12 days to the 2016 New Hampshire Primary – (2/9/2016)
- 42 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
- 54 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
- 86 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
- 152 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 285 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
Thursday’s top-10 headlines:
- It’s debate night for the GOP presidential candidates minus Donald Trump [The Hill, New York Times, Time, Washington Post, Associated Press]. Trump again refused to participate in the Fox News debate during a combative interview with Bill O’Reilly [New York Times, The Hill].
- Rupert Murdock is urging billionaire and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to get into the presidential race against Trump [Vanity Fair].
- Gov. Gary Herbert delivers his annual State of the State address [2 News, Fox 13, ABC 4, Tribune, Deseret News, KUER].
- Here’s how Herbert’s speech played out in social media [Utah Policy].
- Utahns want lawmakers to take steps to curb air pollution, but stricter emissions standards for cars and moving oil refineries outside of urban areas are not high on the list according to a new poll [Utah Policy].
- A proposed bill would give Republicans the majority on two key legislative committees that are now split evenly between the majority and minority [Utah Policy, Deseret News].
- Sen. Todd Weiler is pushing a bill to teach gun safety in Utah’s schools, but some worry it will open the door to anti-gun propaganda [Tribune, Deseret News].
- The Senate advances a bill allowing Utah to garnish the bank accounts of delinquent taxpayers [Tribune].
- Sen. Lyle Hillyard is backing a bill to crack down on speed traps by limiting how much revenue cities can generate from writing tickets [Utah Policy, Tribune].
- Utah Republicans will hold their presidential caucus online in March, a first for the state [2 News].
On this day in history:
- 1782 – Congress authorized the creation of the great seal of the United States.
- 1909 – The U.S. ended direct control over Cuba.
- 1958 – The Lego Group received a patent for its toy building blocks.
- 1973 – A cease-fire officially went into effect in the Vietnam War.
- 1986 – The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 72 seconds after launch from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven crew members, including teacher Christa McAuliffe.
- 2003 – President George W. Bush said in his State of the Union address that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein had sought uranium from Africa. The claim was later disputed by former ambassador Joseph Wilson, who had been asked by the CIA to investigate.
