Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 127th day of the year. There are 239 days left in 2016.
Paul Ryan says he’s not ready to back Donald Trump. Mitt Romney will not attend the Republican National Convention. Education leaders are puzzled by Gov. Herbert’s flip-flop on Common Core.
The clock:
- 53 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 73 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
- 80 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
- 186 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
- 262 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
- 307 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)
Ten talking points for Friday:
- House Speaker Paul Ryan says he’s not ready to back Donald Trump as the GOP nominee [Roll Call, Politico, Washington Post, Bloomberg, CNN].
- Mitt Romney says he will not attend the Republican National Convention this year due to Donald Trump‘s nomination [Utah Policy, Politico, Deseret News].
- Employees at the Republican National Committee were reportedly told to support Donald Trump or find new employment [Gawker]. The RNC denies that report [The Hill].
- Prosecutors and the FBI say they have found little evidence that Hillary Clinton willingly violated classification rules with her personal email server, but they still may interview her as part of the investigation [Washington Post].
- Education leaders are puzzled by Gov. Gary Herbert‘s reversal as he’s now calling for an end to Common Core and SAGE testing [Deseret News].
- Heather Gardner claims there were many irregularities in the vote at the Utah Republican Convention where she lost the nomination to Sen. Todd Weiler [Tribune].
- Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill says the minimal Medicaid expansion passed by the legislature will not come close to meeting the needs of those suffering from mental health or substance abuse problems [Tribune].
- Rep. Jason Chaffetz is fighting against a reduction in funds to remove radioactive tailings from near the Colorado River in Moab [Deseret News].
- Funeral services for former Sen. Bob Bennett are set for May 13 [Deseret News, Tribune].
- The Federal Government announces regulations on e-cigarettes, including restricting their sale to anyone under the age of 18 [Washington Post].
On this day in history:
- 1863 – Confederate troops commanded by Gen. Robert E. Lee routed Union forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville.
- 1935 – The Works Progress Administration was established to provide work for the unemployed.
- 1937 – The German passenger airship Hindenberg erupted in a fireball in New Jersey on its arrival from Europe. The disaster killed 35 of the 97 passengers on board.
- 1941 – Josef Stalin became official leader of the Soviet government.
- 1954 – Roger Bannister became the first athlete to run a mile in less than four minutes.
- 2004 – The final episode of “Friends” aired on NBC.
