This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Congress' 'lamest of the lame duck' sessions. Police-related shootings under scrutiny. More secret bills on Utah's Capitol Hill.

Happy Monday. Congress' lame duck session, the few weeks of legislating that follow the midterm elections, was supposed to allow the House and Senate to mop up any unfinished business before the new year. Yeah, right. Republicans are already planning on a big agenda when they take control of Capitol Hill come January but with only 10 days left of the lame duck session and a budget to pass, an AG to confirm and a fight against Islamic jihadists waiting for approval, it appears many issues will again be pushed to the next Congress to deal with. As Politico puts it, the lamest of the lame ducks is upon us. [http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/lame-duck-session-congress-113125.html?hp=t2_r" target="_blank">Politico]

Topping the news: More Utahns have died this year in shootings by law enforcement agents than by child abuse, or drug dealers or domestic violence. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/1842489-155/killings-by-utah-police-outpacing-gang" target="_blank">Trib]

-> A good amount of the bills being filed for the Utah Legislature's upcoming session are secret so far. [http://utahpolicy.com/index.php/features/today-at-utah-policy/4101-flood-of-secret-bills-not-slowing-down-as-legislative-session-approaches" target="_blank">UtahPolicy]

Tweet of the day: From http://twitter.com/cboyack" target="_blank">@cboyack: "As somebody who keeps track of officer-involved shootings for research purposes… I'm having a hard time keeping track. #toomany"

-> From http://twitter.com/BjaminWood" target="_blank">@BjaminWood: "People often say education funding needs to "improve." In that sentence "improve" means anything and nothing."

Happy Birthday: To Gary Webster, Southern Utah Director for Rep. Chris Stewart, and a belated happy 50th birthday to Minnesota's Mary Linn.

Tune in: Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker joins Jennifer Napier-Pearce to talk about his role as newly-sworn-in president of the National League of Cities and other city issues. Watch Trib Talk live at 12:15 p.m. Mountain Time.

Opinion section: Kirk L. Jowers, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah and co-founder of Count My Vote, comments on the insiders working to construct legal plans to kill  the Count My Vote reforms. [http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/1852406-155/op-ed-insiders-working-to-kill-count" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Kendall Robbins, who lives and works in Sandy, believes that Utah justice reformers need to address the harsh penalties being placed on sex offenders before it becomes a bigger issue. [http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/1847595-155/op-ed-utah-justice-reformers-ignore-huge" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Isaac Holyoak, communications director for Alliance for a Better Utah, discusses Sen. Lee's five steps he thinks will fix Congress, but says Lee doesn't follow his own plan. [http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/1847612-155/op-ed-sen-lees-plan-is-one" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Rachel Otto, executive director of Breathe Utah, urges that during this inversion season, Utahns stop burning and start advocating. [http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/1847622-155/op-ed-stop-burning-and-start-advocating" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Rick Knuth, a Salt Lake City attorney, discusses which 'traditional marriage' fellow citizens want the high court to "defend." [http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/1847567-155/op-ed-so-which-traditional-marriage-do" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Tom Sanzillo, former deputy comptroller for New York State and director of finance for the Cleveland-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, thinks it's time to end taxpayer-subsidized coal deals. [http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/1847608-155/op-ed-time-to-end-taxpayer-subsidized-coal" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Beth Allen, retired pediatric nurse and member of the Salt Lake City chapter of the Citizens' Climate Lobby, believes that Utah's economy will thrive if it is a healthy and pollutant-free state. [http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/1847575-155/op-ed-dont-make-utah-unlivable-in" target="_blank">Trib]

-> George Pyle discusses how the middle class helps to maintain middle class morality. [http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/1851085-155/pyle-no-middle-class-no-middle?page=1" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Paul Rolly reviews recent comments made by Sen. Orrin Hatch. [http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/1852513-155/rolly-more-dumb-ass-comments-from-hatch" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Pat Bagley offers his take on what Mia Love loves. [http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/1857479-155/bagley-cartoon-what-does-mia-love" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Frank Pignanelli & LaVarr Webb discuss hospitality laws, tax increases and other issues that will be brought up in the Legislature's 2015 General session. [http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865616233/Hospitality-laws-tax-increases-and-other-issues-in-2015-session.html" target="_blank">DNews]

Weekend in review: Utah would be one of the first states to lose its fleet of Apache helicopters from a number of National Guard bases under an Army draft plan. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/1851548-155/utah-would-be-among-first-to" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker was named as the new president of the National League of Cities on Saturday. [http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865616213/Salt-Lake-Mayor-Ralph-Becker-now-heads-national-group-of-city-leaders.html" target="_blank">DNews]

-> After President Barack Obama's announcement of new immigration orders, Utah's Latinos gathered on the Utah Capitol steps to celebrate. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/1856959-155/utah-latinos-celebrate-obama-immigration-orders" target="_blank">Trib]

-> According to a new study, 55 percent of undocumented immigrants in Utah could benefit from Obama's new immigration actions, higher than in any other state. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/1856331-155/obama-orders-may-help-utahns-the" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Despite not being Rep.-elect Mia Love's first choice, Love will hold a seat on the committee that oversees the Treasury and the Federal Reserve come January. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/1856877-155/utahs-mia-love-on-committee-overseeing" target="_blank">Trib]

-> An excerpt from the Mia Love biography focuses on Love's high school dreams of being a broadway star. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/1829652-155/mia-love-searching-for-stardom-a" target="_blank">Trib]

Nationally: Senator Rand Paul calls for a declaration of war against Islamic jihadists. [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/us/politics/rand-paul-calls-for-a-formal-declaration-of-war-against-isis.html?ref=politics" target="_blank">NYTimes]

-> The Affordable Care Act is facing another Supreme Court challenge in a case that threatens the law over the interpretation of a single ambiguous phrase. [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/us/politics/in-partisan-washington-health-law-faces-grave-legal-technicalities.html" target="_blank">NYTimes]

-> A Supreme Court case will test the limits of free speech on various social media platforms, specifically Facebook. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/supreme-court-case-tests-the-limits-of-free-speech-on-facebook-and-other-social-media/2014/11/23/9e54dbd8-6f67-11e4-ad12-3734c461eab6_story.html" target="_blank">WaPost]

-> Senator Lindsey Graham called the recent bipartisan House intel report on Benghazi 'full of crap.' [http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/graham-benghazi-report-crap/article/2556570" target="_blank">Examiner]

-> According to the U.S. and other world powers, extending talks regarding a comprehensive deal to curb Iran's nuclear activities would be best if extended to a later date. [http://online.wsj.com/articles/russian-chinese-foreign-ministers-to-go-to-vienna-for-iran-nuclear-talks-1416750467?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories" target="_blank">WSJ]

Where are they?

  • President Barack https://twitter.com/BarackObama" target="_blank">Obama meets with Nobel Laureates and with Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew.
  • Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com" target="_blank">cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven't already, sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox. [http://www.sltrib.com/pages/email" target="_blank">Trib]

    — Thomas Burr and Mallory Jesperson

    https://twitter.com/thomaswburr" target="_blank">Twitter.com/thomaswburr and http://twitter.com/JespersonM" target="_blank">Twitter.com/JespersonM