Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing What You Need to Know About Utah Politics Today - January 31, 2014

It's Chinese New Year! That means, on January 31, the Year of the Fire Snake will officially slither away as we ring in the Year of the Wood Horse. 

Local News Highlights: Daily Briefing

What You Need to Know About Utah Politics Today - January 31, 2014

Lockhart wants to spend big on technology in schools. Lawmakers could see a record number of bills this year. Legislation targets the use of drones in Utah.

Countdown:

• 41 days until the final day of the 2014 Legislature
• 144 days until Utah's 2014 primary elections
• 277 days to the 2014 midterm elections
• 640 days to the 2015 elections
• 705 days until the 2016 Iowa Caucuses
• 1011 days to the 2016 presidential election

Today's Utah political news highlights:

• House Speaker Becky Lockhart wants to spend between $200 and $300 million to increase technology in Utah's schools [Tribune].
• Legislators say they may be considering a record number of bills during the 2014 session [Standard-Examiner].
• The House GOP meets with Attorney General Sean Reyes and the rest of his team defending Amendment 3 in federal court [Tribune].
• Utah has been given permission to file a legal brief in their defense of Amendment three that could run as long as 24,000 words, which is more than double the normal limit of 10,000 words [Deseret News].
• The Sutherland Institute says they will pull misleading television ads targeting a proposed statewide anti-discrimination bill [Tribune].
• Proposed legislation would toughen Utah's DUI and seat belt laws [Tribune].
• Sen. Jim Dabakis wants the state to charge more for out-of-staters who get Utah concealed carry permits [Standard-Examiner].
• Proposed legislation would restrict the use of drones by governments in Utah [Tribune].
• Lawmakers chew over Gov. Gary Herbert's call to reduce air pollution [Utah Policy, Deseret News].
• Rep. Jason Chaffetz introduces legislation to strip the NFL of its nonprofit status [Tribune].
• The University of Utah will close its Red Zone stores that unfairly compete with private businesses according to a legislative audit [Tribune].
• Rep. Rob Bishop has three Democratic aiming to challenge him in this year's election [Standard-Examiner].

On this day in history:

• Guy Fawkes was executed for his role in a plot to blow up Parliament in 1606.
• Robert E. Lee was appointed commander-in-chief of the Confederate forces in 1865.
• The U.S. House of Representatives approved the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in 1865.
• The very first social security check was issued in 1940.
• The United States launched it's first satellite, Explorer I, into orbit in 1958.
• The first McDonalds restaurant was opened in Russia in 1990.
• Samuel Alito was confirmed by the Senate as a Supreme Court justice in 2006.

Today In History. What Happened This Day In History

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

January 31

1606   Guy Fawkes is hanged, drawn and quartered for his part in the Gunpowder Plot, an attempt to blow up Parliament. 

1620   Virginia colony leaders write to the Virginia Company in England, asking for more orphaned apprentices for employment. 

1788   The Young Pretender, Charles Edward Stuart dies. 

1835   A man with two pistols misfires at President Andrew Jackson at the White House. 

1865   House of Representatives approves a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. 

1911   The German Reichstag exempts royal families from tax obligations. 

1915   Germans use poison gas on the Russians at Bolimov. 

1915   German U-boats sink two British steamers in the English Channel. 

1916   President Woodrow Wilson refuses the compromise on Lusitania reparations. 

1917   Germany resumes unlimited sub warfare, warning that all neutral ships that are in the war zone will be attacked. 

1935   The Soviet premier tells Japan to get out of Manchuria. 

1943   The Battle of Stalingrad ends as small groups of German soldiers of the Sixth Army surrender to the victorious Red Army forces. 

1944   U.S. troops under Vice Adm. Spruance land on Kwajalien atoll in the Marshall Islands. 

1950   Paris protests the Soviet recognition of Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam. 

1966   U.S. planes resume bombing of North Vietnam after a 37-day pause. 

1968   In Vietnam, the Tet Offensive begins as Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers attack strategic and civilian locations throughout South Vietnam. 

1976   Ernesto Miranda, famous from the Supreme Court ruling on Miranda vs. Arizona is stabbed to death. 

1981   Lech Walesa announces an accord in Poland, giving Saturdays off to laborers. 

Born on January 31

1734   Robert Morris, signatory of the Declaration of Independence. 

1797   Franz Schubert, Austrian composer (C Major Symphony, The Unfinished Symphony). 

1919   Jackie Robinson, first African-American baseball player in the modern major leagues. 

1925   Benjamin Hooks, civil rights leader.