Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

Morning Must Reads for Thursday, October 6, 2016

Good Thursday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 280th day of the year. There are 86 days left in 2016.

Utahns favor term limits for elected officials. Barack Obama's approval ratings hit the highest point of his second term. Donald Trump takes credit for Mike Pence's strong debate performance.

The clock:

• Three days to the second presidential debate at Washington University (10/9/2016)
• Four days to the 4th Congressional District debate at Salt Lake Community College (10/10/2016)
• Six days to the U.S. Senate debate at Brigham Young University (10/12/2016)
• 11 days to the 1st Congressional District debate at Weber State University (10/17/2016)
• 13 days to the 3rd Congressional District debate at Utah Valley University (10/19/2016)
• 13 days to the third presidential debate at UNLV (10/19/2016)
• 33 days until the 2016 presidential election - (11/8/2016)
• 109 days until the first day of the 2017 Utah Legislature - (1/23/2017)
• 154 days until the final day of the 2017 Utah Legislature - (3/9/2017)

Ten talking points for Thursday:

1. A significant majority of Utahns wants term limits for elected officials [Utah Policy].
   
   
2. President Barack Obama's approval ratings now stand at 55%, the highest they've been at any time during his second term in office [CNN].
   
   
3. Libertarian vice presidential candidate Bill Weld says his primary focus right now is attacking Donald Trump because he thinks it will make it easier to pull voters to the Libertarian ticket [USA Today].
   
   
4. Donald Trump is taking credit for Mike Pence's strong performance in Tuesday night's vice presidential debate [Politico].
   
   
5. Newly surfaced records from New Jersey show Donald Trump's business empire faced collapse in the early 1980's if it had not been for a cash infusion from his father [Newsweek]. There's also very little evidence that 
   
   
6. For only the third time since its founding in 1857, the editors of The Atlantic magazine have made an endorsement in the presidential race, coming out strongly against Donald Trump. In their scathing anti-endorsement they say, in part, "Trump is not a man of ideas. He is a demagogue, a xenophobe, a sexist, a know-nothing, and a liar. He is spectacularly unfit for office, and voters—the statesmen and thinkers of the ballot box—should act in defense of American democracy and elect his opponent" [The Atlantic].
   
   
7. Two state investigations into whether Salt Lake County Recorder Gary Ott is suffering from health problems that keep him from running his office are underway [Deseret News].
   
   
8. Misty Snow, the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, is criticizing Sen. Mike Lee's religious liberty proposal legalizes "discrimination in the name of religion" [Tribune].
   
   
9. Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin speaks to a large crowd of supporters in Provo [Tribune].
   
   
10. A paperwork error has cost the venerable Lamb's Grill in downtown Salt Lake City has lost its liquor license temporarily [Salt Lake Tribune].

On this day in history:

• 1889 - Thomas Edison debuts his first motion picture.
• 1979 - Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit the White House.
• 1981 - Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was shot to death by Islamic militants while reviewing a military parade.
• 1987 - The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 9-5 against the nomination of Robert H. Bork to the Supreme Court.

Today At Utah Policy

Big Majorities of Utahns Favor Term Limits for Elected Officials By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Utahns overwhelmingly want term limits for top elected officials in Utah....

The Business of Cybersecurity Awareness Month By Salt Lake Chamber October is National CyberSecurity Awareness Month and the Salt Lake Chamber is joining the Department of Homeland Security’s STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™  Campaign and its partners across the nation to highlight the importance of cybersecurity. We a...

Weekly Survey: Utah Legislative Elections By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Right now, Republicans outnumber Democrats 23-5 in the Utah Senate and 63-12 in the Utah House. Will either party be able to pick up seats after the 2016 election? Vote now....

Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda Debuts Star-Studded PSA Encouraging Americans to Vote By Bryan Schott, Managing Editor Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of Broadway smash 'Hamilton' has gathered a plethora of political and entertainment stars to encourage Americans to vote in November....

Policy News

Tech Commercialization Grant Opens Call for Applications The Governor’s Office of Economic Development has opened a call for new applications to its Technology Commercialization and Innovation Program....

Wise Words

Experience
"A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth the first time he bites off more than he can chew." Herb Caen

Lighter Side

Comforting
"Hillary Clinton has vowed to crack down on hackers who launch cyberattacks. She said, "If anyone's going to abuse U.S. government computers, it's gonna be me." Conan O'Brien