Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 57th day of the year. There are 309 days left in 2016.
GOP presidential candidates engage in a raucous debate ahead of Super Tuesday. Vice President Biden visits Salt Lake City on Friday. Paul Ryan is heading to Utah to raise money for Mia Love.
The clock:
The South Carolina Democratic Primary is tomorrow (2/27/2016)
Four days to the “Super Tuesday” primaries and caucuses (3/2/2016)
13 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
24 days to the GOP presidential debate in Salt Lake City – (3/21/2016)
25 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
33 days to the last day the governor may sign or veto bills (3/30/2016)
57 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
73 days to the last day a veto override session may begin (5/9/2016)
123 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
143 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
150 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
256 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
Ten talking points for Friday:
The 10,000th GOP debate, and final one before “Super Tuesday,” turned into a slap fight between Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz [Politico, New York Times, Washington Post].
Vice President Joe Biden visits Salt Lake City Friday to talk about efforts to cure cancer [Tribune, Deseret News].
House Speaker Paul Ryan is coming to Utah on Monday to raise money for Rep. Mia Love [Utah Policy].
A new survey finds Utahns are split on whether the state should spend $14 million on a legal fight to take control of public lands in Utah [Utah Policy].
The Utah Senate passes Sen. Mark Madsen‘s medical marijuana bill. The measure now moves to the House [2 News, Fox 13, Deseret News, Tribune].
Sen. Gene Davis and Rep. Lynn Hemingway are taking some heat for praising the nation of Azerbaijan in the Legislature after taking a paid trip to the country [Tribune].
Lawmakers again delay action on Rep. Rebecca Chavez Houck‘s “right to die” legislation [2 News, Fox 13, Tribune, Deseret News].
Sen. Mike Lee turns in his list of signatures to secure a place on Utah’s primary ballot [Utah Policy, Tribune].
President Barack Obama meets with Sen. Orrin Hatch to discuss the vacancy on the Supreme Court [Utah Policy, Tribune].
On this day in history:
1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte and 1,200 men left exile on the Isle of Elba to start his 100-day campaign to regain France.
1929 – Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park was established following the signing of an executive order by President Calvin Coolidge.
1970 – National Public Radio was founded.
1987 – The Tower Commission issued its report on the Iran-Contra affair, rebuking President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.
1993 – A powerful bomb exploded in the parking garage below the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000.
2012 – Trayvon Martin was shot to death in Sanford, Fla., during an altercation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who said he’d acted in self-defense.