Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning Must Reads for Thursday, September 29, 2016

Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 279th day of the year. There are 93 days left in 2016.

Legislature may resolve SB54 ‘plurality issue’ by allowing primary election runoff. Plurality of Utahns want Merrick Garland confirmed as Supreme Court justice. Congress defies Obama with first veto override. Government shutdown is averted.

The clock:

• 5 days to the 2nd Congressional District debate at the University of Utah (10/4/2016)
• 5 days to the vice presidential debate at Longwood University (10/4/2016)
• 10 days to the second presidential debate at Washington University (10/9/2016)
• 11 days to the 4th Congressional District debate at Salt Lake Community College (10/10/2016)
• 13 days to the U.S. Senate debate at Brigham Young University (10/12/2016)
• 18 days to the 1st Congressional District debate at Weber State University (10/17/2016)
• 20 days to the 3rd Congressional District debate at Utah Valley University (10/19/2016)
• 20 days to the third presidential debate at UNLV (10/19/2016)
• 40 days until the 2016 presidential election - (11/8/2016)
• 116 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature - (1/23/2017)
• 161 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature - (3/9/2017)

Talking points forWednesday:

1-GOP leaders may agree to a primary runoff election as a solution to SB54 plurality issues, but the primary election might need to be held earlier (Utah Policy).

2-Utahns support Merrick Garland confirmation to Supreme Court if Hillary Clinton wins presidency (Utah Policy).

3-A federal government shutdown is averted as Congress passes short-term spending bill (The Hill) (Washington Post).

4-Despite Pres. Obama’s objections, Congress overrides veto of bill allowing 9-11 families to file claims against Saudi Arabia (Washington Post).

5-Rep. Mia Love and Democratic opponent Doug Owens take tough shots at each other in advertising campaigns (Deseret News) (Tribune).

6-Experts urge unified response to heroin and opioid abuse in Utah (Tribune).

7-Washington Post recounts history of Bill Clinton’s marital infidelities and Hillary’s response to them as Trump threatens to make them a campaign issue (Washington Post).

8-Utah Transit Authority Board gets new leadership as Robert McKinley becomes chair and former Lt. Gov. Greg Bell is appointed to the board (Tribune) (Deseret News) (Utah Policy).

9-Clinton struggles to win support among young voters (New York Times). Trump fundraising haul not all it appears to be (Politico).

On this day in history:

• 522 B.C. – Darius I of Persia kills Magian usurper Gaumata, securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire.
• 1829 – British Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel establishes London’s Metropolitan Police – hence the nicknames “bobbies” and “peelers.”
• 1911 – Yanks steal 15 bases and get 13 walks, beating Browns 16-12, with a major league record of 6 stolen bases in one inning.
• 1916 – American oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller becomes the world’s first billionaire.
• 1950 – Telephone Answering Machine created by Bell Laboratories.
• 1958 – U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Today At Utah Policy

GOP Leaders May Agree to Primary Run-Off Election as Solution to SB54 Plurality Issue By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor A compromise is in the works, UtahPolicy is told, that could settle the final sticking point over SB54 – what to do if no one wins a majority in a multi-candidate primary election....

Utahns Support Garland Confirmation to Supreme Court if Clinton Wins By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor A majority of Utahns say President Barack Obama’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, appellate Judge Merrick Garland, should be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, either now or if Hillary Clinton wins the November election, a new UtahPolicy poll shows.But Utah Republicans are agai...

Measure the Right Activities to Achieve Goals in Government and Elsewhere By Randy Shumway, Zions Bank Economic Advisor Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.--William Bruce CameronI recently sat in an organizational meeting perplexed by the degree to which our group’s ultimate objectives had been slowly commandeered by seemingly-inconse...

Utahns Have Strong Confidence in Ballot Accuracy By Bob Bernick, Contributing Editor Despite talk about election computer systems being hacked, eight out of 10 Utahns believe their ballot cast in November’s final election will be counted accurately, a new UtahPolicy poll finds.Considering that one of the major party candidates – Donald Trump &nda...

Policy News

Stewart Resolution Passes House Directing Investigation into Missing BYU Student Washington, D.C.– Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah)’s congressional resolution directing the State Department and Intelligence Community to investigate the disappearance of BYU student David Sneddon passed the House today. The resolution specifically asks them to inves...

Wise Words

Kicking the Beehive
"If you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive." Dale Carnegie

Lighter Side

Child Proposal
"Trump revealed his child care proposals, including a plan to guarantee six weeks of paid maternity leave. Mothers will get six weeks off, as long as their babies can produce their long-form birth certificates." Jimmy Fallon