This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Mitt's response to "The Interview." Horiuchi's last hurrah. Legislature to debate competing gay rights bills.

Happy Thursday. Mitt Romney has a message for Sony executives after they pulled "The Interview" because of threats from a group believe linked to North Korea — release the movie online for free. [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/18/mitt-romney-tells-sony-to-release-the-interview-fo/" target="_blank">WaTimes]

Topping the news:  Randy Horiuchi, a Democratic institution in this state and a man not afraid to walk into a little controversy, wrapped up his 22-year county government career with the same humor he started it with. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/1961493-155/humor-abounds-as-horiuchi-retires" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Rep. Jason Chaffetz promises to aggressively probe the Obama administration as he takes the reins of the Oversight committee. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/1961040-155/chaffetz-oversight-will-actively-probe-obama" target="_blank">Trib]

Tweets of the day: From https://twitter.com/bruce_arthur" target="_blank">@bruce_arthur: "Russia's crashing, Cuba's normalizing, and North Korea is making sure you can't see a Seth Rogan and James Franco movie."

-> From https://twitter.com/dannysullivan" target="_blank">@https://twitter.com/dannysullivan" target="_blank">dannysullivan: "Can we all agree? The Interview better not suck after all this attention."

-> From ">@jimmyfallon: "As part of a new diplomatic relationship, Cuba released one of our prisoners today, and we sent back one of their shortstops."

Happy Birthday: To Holly Richardson, with the Utah Office of Energy Development.

Tune in: Tribune columnist Kurt Kragthorpe, Utah beat reporter Matt Piper and BYU beat reporter Jay Drew join Jennifer Napier-Pearce to talk bowl game prep and prospects for the Utes, Cougars and Aggies. Watch Trib Talk live at 12:15 p.m.Mountain Time on http://sltrib.com/" target="_blank">sltrib.com. 

In other news: Competing gay rights proposals are likely to be discussed during the 2015 legislative session. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/1962469-155/competing-proposals-on-gay-rights-to" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Will Obama's easing of relations with Cuba lead to Mormon missions in the island nation? [http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/1962188-155/will-mormon-mission-calls-soon-say" target="_blank">Trib][http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865617959/How-would-LDS-be-affected-by-renewed-US-Cuba-relations.html" target="_blank">DNews]

-> A Utah judge decided to keep Bruce Wisan in charge of a polygamous trust, despite a prostitution case. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/1861271-155/judge-opts-keep-wisan-in-charge" target="_blank">Trib]

-> In order to make ends meet, the Utah Transit Authority board dips into nearly $10 million of the agency's reserves in order to increase service hours by two percent, which will include service on various holidays. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/1961802-155/uta-budget-restores-some-holiday-service" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Read chapter five of "The Last Leg" series, this one takes us through Bryant Jacobs' amputation. [http://local.sltrib.com/charts/bryantjacobs/chapterfive.html" target="_blank">Trib]

-> Pat Bagley gives his take on how the improved Cuban relationship may hurt the fat cats. [http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/1962156-155/bagley-cartoon-grumpy-fat-cats" target="_blank">Trib]

-> According to estimates released from the U.S. Census Bureau, Morgan County has the nation's 12th lowest poverty rate. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/1961496-155/morgan-county-has-nations-12th-lowest" target="_blank">Trib]

-> A new poll says most Utahns don't want to move the prison, it comes nine months after a poll said that a plurality of voters did want it moved. [http://www.sltrib.com/news/1960555-155/most-utahns-want-prison-to-stay" target="_blank">Trib] And the opposition, in the new poll, isn't partisan. [http://utahpolicy.com/index.php/features/today-at-utah-policy/4301-poll-opposition-to-prison-move-consistent-across-partisan-lines" target="_blank">UtahPolicy]

-> Federal money makes up one-quarter of Utah's government spending and that amount is rising. [http://utahpolicy.com/index.php/features/today-at-utah-policy/4308-audit-utah-becoming-more-dependent-on-federal-dollars" target="_blank">UtahPolicy]

-> The No. 9 political story of the year is the growing clout of Utah's federal delegation. [http://utahpolicy.com/index.php/features/today-at-utah-policy/4307-video-the-top-10-utah-political-news-stories-of-2014-9" target="_blank">UtahPolicy]

Nationally: After receiving multiple threats, Sony Pictures canceled the holiday release of "The Interview," a movie where the assassination of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un is depicted. [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/business/sony-the-interview-threats.html" target="_blank">NYTimes] The hacking of Sony Picture's computers has been linked to North Korea. [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/18/world/asia/us-links-north-korea-to-sony-hacking.html" target="_blank">NYTimes][http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sony-cancels-release-of-the-interview/article/2557560" target="_blank">Examiner][http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/sony-north-korea-the-interview-113655.html?hp=r1_3" target="_blank">Politico][http://www.wsj.com/articles/sony-cancels-release-of-the-interview-us-blames-pyongyang-for-hack-1418844906?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories" target="_blank">WSJ][http://touch.latimes.com/#section/1780/article/p2p-82325554/" target="_blank">LATimes]

-> A U.S. spy was freed from Cuba and, according to President Obama, is regarded as one of the most important intelligence agents in a Communist country that the United States has ever had. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-spy-freed-by-cuba-was-longtime-asset/2014/12/17/a3b374c4-8612-11e4-a702-fa31ff4ae98e_story.html" target="_blank">WaPost]

-> Sen. Marco Rubio lashed out at Obama's move on Cuba, giving him some of the spotlight just as his in-state rival Jeb Bush has emerged as a presidential contender. [http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/227513-with-cuba-spotlight-rubio-looks-to-emerge-from-jebs" target="_blank">TheHill]

Where are they?

  • Rep. Jason https://twitter.com/jasoninthehouse" target="_blank">Chaffetz meets with Merit Medical and holds a staff Christmas luncheon.
  • Gov. Gary https://twitter.com/GovHerbert" target="_blank">Herbert attends the Road Home 20th Anniversary Holiday broadcast.
  • Lt. Gov. Spencer https://twitter.com/SpencerJCox" target="_blank">Cox is present for the iVote Committee meeting and attends the Capitol Preservation meeting.
  • President Barack https://twitter.com/BarackObama" target="_blank">Obama meets with senior advisors.
  • 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]

    — Matt Canham and Mallory Jesperson

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