Good Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 89th day of the year. There are 277 days left in 2016.
Georgia’s governor vetoes a controversial religious liberty bill. Herbert signs a bill requiring anesthesia in some abortions. Utah Democrats try to head off convention shenanigans by Sanders supporters.
The clock:
- The last day the governor may sign or veto bills is tomorrow (3/30/2016)
- 25 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
- 41 days to the last day a veto override session may begin (5/9/2016)
- 91 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 111 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
- 118 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
- 224 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
- 300 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
- 345 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)
Ten talking points for Tuesday:
- A man who claimed he had a suicide belt hijacked an Egypt Air plane that was flying from Alexandria to Cairo. The plane was diverted to Cyprus. Some of the passengers have been allowed to leave the aircraft. The hijacker was taken into custody early Tuesday [The Guardian, Washington Post, NBC News, CNN].
- Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal vetoes a controversial “religious liberty” bill that drew criticism from gay rights groups and businesses [Atlanta Journal-Constitution, USA Today, Slate].
- The FBI says they were able to beat the encryption on the iPhone used by the couple in the San Bernadino shootings without Apple’s assistance [Associated Press, USA Today].
- A man was shot at the Capitol Visitor Center Monday after he drew what appeared to be a weapon [Wall Street Journal].
- Gov. Gary Herbert approves a controversial “fetal pain” bill that requires giving anesthesia in some abortions [Tribune].
- Here’s a familiar refrain. Utah Republican candidates are still waiting for lists of delegates elected at last week’s caucus meetings [Tribune].
- Utah’s Democrats are hoping to head off demonstrations by Bernie Sanders supporters intended to put pressure on superdelegates to switch their support from Hillary Clinton to Sanders [Utah Policy].
- Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz won the caucuses in every single county in Utah last week [Fox 13].
- A new poll shows most Utahns think bullying is a problem in Utah’s schools [Utah Policy].
- Salt Lake City officials are struggling to find a new funding source to pay for road repairs [Tribune].
On this day in history:
- 1812 – Lucy Payne Washington, the sister-in-law of President James Madison, marred Supreme Court Justice Thomas Dodd in the first wedding performed in the White House.
- 1886 – Coca-Cola was created by Dr. John Pemberton, who produced it in his backyard in Atlanta.
- 1951 – Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for passing atomic weapons information to the Soviet Union. They were executed in 1953.
- 1961 – The 23rd Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. The amendment gave District of Columbia residents the right to vote in presidential elections.
- 1973 – The last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam, ending the United States’ direct military involvement in a war that didn’t officially end until 1975.
