Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 162nd day of the year. There are 204 days left in 2016.
Barack Obama endorses Hillary Clinton. Could Mia Love be Donald Trump’s running mate? Orrin Hatch remembers his friend Muhammad Ali.
The clock:
- 18 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 38 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
- 44 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
- 151 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
- 227 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
- 272 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)
Ten talking points for Friday:
- President Barack Obama gets off the fence and endorses Hillary Clinton [Bloomberg].
- Bernie Sanders, after meeting with President Obama, signals he’s getting ready to end his campaign and pledges he will do everything he can to keep Donald Trump from the White House [New York Times].
- Hillary Clinton sets the entire internet on fire with a three-word Tweet directed at Donald Trump. Trump took to Twitter to attack Obama’s endorsement of Clinton. In response, Clinton tweeted “Delete your account” [Politico].
- In an astonishing interview, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he hasn’t ruled out revoking his endorsement of Donald Trump. He also says Trump “doesn’t know a lot about the issues” [Bloomberg].
- Speculation is swirling that Rep. Mia Love is on Donald Trump‘s short list for vice president. Love says she hasn’t had any contact with the Trump campaign and is not interested in being his running mate [Tribune, Deseret News].
- Mitt Romney is hosting his annual political summit in Park City where prominent Republicans will mull the future of the party with Donald Trump as their nominee [Washington Post, Deseret News].
- Rep. Jason Chaffetz‘s Republican primary opponent, Chia-Chi Teng, alleges Chaffetz is using a government website to promote his campaign [Utah Policy, Tribune].
- Sen. Orrin Hatch discusses his decades-long friendship with boxer Muhammad Ali [Politico].
- Census numbers say Utah is still at the bottom of the list when it comes to spending on public education [Tribune].
- A federal appeals court in California rules states can prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms [CNN].
On this day in history:
- 1692 – Bridget Bishop was found guilty of the practice of witchcraft and was hanged in Salem Village. She was the first colonist executed during the Salem witch trials.
- 1964 – The U.S. Senate voted to limit further debate on a proposed civil rights bill, shutting off a filibuster by Southern lawmakers.
- 2014 – House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia was defeated by Tea Party challenger David Brat. It was one of the biggest primary election results in congressional history.
