Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 169th day of the year. There are 197 days left in 2016.
Bernie Sanders vows to fight on. Donald Trump’s poll numbers are cratering in a historic way. Mitt Romney endorses Gary Herbert’s re-election bid.
The clock:
- 11 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
- 31 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
- 37 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
- 144 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)
- 220 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (1/23/2017)
- 265 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature – (3/9/2017)
Ten talking points for Friday:
- Jo Cox, a member of British Parliament, was shot and stabbed to death by a man with alleged links to far-right extremist groups [Guardian].
- Bernie Sanders tells his supporters he will work to help defeat Donald Trump in November, but he does not officially end his campaign for the Democratic nomination [Politico].
- The number of Americans who view Donald Trump favorably is reaching historic lows, with more than 2/3 who hold an unfavorable view of the presumptive GOP nominee [Politico].
- Sen. John McCain says President Barack Obama was “directly responsible” for the nightclub shooting in Orlando that left 49 people and the attacker dead because of Obama’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq. McCain later retracted his remarks saying he “misspoke” [Politico].
- One prominent political handicapper says the race between Rep. Mia Love and Democrat Doug Owens is now a toss-up [Tribune, Deseret News].
- There may not be enough time for Gov. Gary Herbert and challenger Jonathan Johnson to debate before the June 28 primary election [Utah Policy].
- Mitt Romney offers his endorsement of Gov. Gary Herbert‘s re-election campaign [Utah Policy, Deseret News, Tribune].
- Utah lawmakers take a field trip to a state liquor store where they expressed surprise at low wages and high turnover for employees [Tribune, Fox 13].
- A new poll finds Utahns want the U.S. Senate to hold confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland [Tribune].
- The chairwoman of the Salt Lake City RDA says the decision to approve a $22 million subsidy for the Utah Jazz to make improvements on their downtown arena should have had more public scrutiny and called the decision to move forward after just two hours was a “rookie mistake” [Tribune].
On this day in history:
- 1775 – The Battle of Bunker Hill took place near Boston.
- 1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City aboard the French ship Isere.
- 1963 – The Supreme Court struck down rules requiring the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer or the reading of Biblical verses in public schools.
- 1972 – The Watergate scandal began with the arrest of five burglars inside Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington.
- 2013 – The Supreme Court ruled that Arizona’s requirement of proof of citizenship before voter registration violated federal law.
