News roundup: Biden regrets not jumping into the White House race

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Biden regrets not jumping into the White House race. Utah politicians sympathize with Oregon militia, say approach is wrong. Chaffetz backs Rubio.

Happy Thursday. Vice President Joe Biden stayed on the fence for a while, hemming and hawing about whether he should run for president. Now he regrets staying out of the race. "I regret it every day, but it was the right decision for my family and for me," he told an NBC affiliate in Connecticut. Still, he says he'll stay engaged in his party's White House contest, where he says there's a "real robust debate between Hillary and Bernie." [Politico]

Topping the news: Many Utah politicians sympathize with the frustrations of the armed group that took possession of a federal wildlife building in Oregon last weekend, but they disapprove of the method. [Trib] [Fox13]

-> Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced his endorsement for GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio yesterday, joining the rest of Utah's House members already backing the Florida senator. [Trib] [DNews] With Sen. Orrin Hatch behind Jeb Bush, Sen. Mike Lee is the only delegation member who hasn't announced an endorsement. [KUTV]

-> The Attorney General's Office closed an investigation in September of Rep. Ken Ivory — who promised counties help to gain control of federal lands while earning a salary through his nonprofit — because no one who donated money felt cheated. [Trib]

-> The new state prison is scheduled for completion before 2020, and the state has hired Big D Construction to serve as the project's management and technical consultant. [Trib] [DNews]

Tweets of the day: From @RexHuppke: "I predict the GOP will have a brokered convention and Ted Cruz and Donald Trump will compete to see who can throw an immigrant the farthest."

From @LeeCamp: "Pretty sure is a collective American fever dream."

From @hiitsallen: "I was never a conspiracy theorist but I'm starting to think that Obama's gun control laws are just a plot to take our mass shootings away"

Happy birthday: To our friend and loyal reader, Karen Wiley.

Tune in: Utah Director of Elections Mark Thomas, Rep. Dan McCay and Tribune senior political reporter Robert Gehrke join Jennifer Napier-Pearce to talk about election reform and the two-pronged approach of campaign 2016. Watch Trib Talk live at 12:15 p.m. MT on sltrib.com.

In other news: Rep. Chris Stewart said yesterday that North Korea's alleged H-bomb test proves that we live in "an extraordinarily dangerous time." [DNews] [KUTV]

-> Sen. Lee compared today's government to a mullet – yes, the hairstyle – noting that even if you trim it, it's still "ugly." [DNews]

-> Background checks were done on 102,000 gun purchases from Utah dealers in 2015, but it's unknown how many other sales were conducted between buyers and "private sellers." [KUTV]

-> One company in West Valley City produces guns with fingerprint recognition, impeding shots from anyone other than the owner. [Fox13] [ABC4]

-> SLC Mayor Jackie Biskupski continues to announce appointments to her staff, including Jennifer Seelig, a former Democratic leader in the Utah House, and Holly Mullen, a former journalist who most recently held the post of executive director at the Rape Recovery Center. [Trib]

-> Former West Valley City Mayor Mike Winder is attempting to oust GOP incumbent state Rep. Fred Cox. [KUER]

-> While there is still confusion about getting on the ballot under SB54, a new issue has arisen over getting signatures verified in time. [UtahPolicy]

-> A lawmaker has proposed legislation that would eliminate terms like "husband" and "wife" from state code in favor of the gender-neutral term "spouse."[Fox13]

-> A spokesman in Utah said Wednesday night that soldiers from two Utah National Guard units fought or flew in the Tuesday battle in city of Marja in Afghanistan's Helmand province. [Trib]

-> A federal judge has ordered the public release of documents that appear to prove that the mother of Darrien Hunt, a man shot and killed by police officers in Utah in 2014, told her attorney she agreed to a settlement, but her attorneys argue that she never signed off on a final settlement. [Trib] [DNews] [KUTV] [ABC4]

-> A judge said Tooele County did not negotiate in "good faith" while dealing with two bidders interested in buying the Miller Motorsports Park last year. [KUTV]

-> Despite a statewide property tax increase approved by Utah lawmakers last year that yielded a combined $50 million from Utah taxpayers, roughly $24 million remains to be distributed to schools due to a clerical error in the law. [Trib] [DNews]

-> Utah prosecutors have said that the famous polygamous family on the reality TV show "Sister Wives" wouldn't face charges if a law against plural marriage stands. [Trib] [Fox13]

-> Police reported 159 crashes during New Year's Eve weekend. [KUTV] However, the number of DUI-related arrests made during the weekend are lower than last year. [ABC4]

-> The family of a man who was killed by a drunk driver are suing the Utah pub where his offender had been drinking. [Trib]

-> A study shows that Utahns who wait for their cars to warm up release unnecessary pollutants into the air and contribute to the state's notorious air quality problems. [DNews] [KUTV] [Fox13] [KUER]

-> Workers at the SLC airport have seen a 30 percent jump in 2015 lost-and-found items. [KUTV]

-> A home security industry company released a list of Utah's 20 safest cities, along with a list for every other state. [KUTV]

-> Some Utahns are taking a trip to Idaho for the chance to win $500 million in the lottery. (They might be going back given there was no winner last night.) [Fox13] [ABC4]

-> Pat Bagley shares his view on those who claim to be spokesman for the Almighty. [Trib]

Nationally: The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation yesterday that would repeal Obamacare after more than 60 votes to roll back all or part of the law. [CNN]

-> Although Republicans widely recognize Donald Trump as the party's front-runner, the real competition is for second place, with four candidates fighting it out in New Hampshire. [TIME]

-> Trump has recently brought up accusations of sexual assault against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton's husband that were reported in the 1990s. [WaPost]

-> An Oregon Native American tribe says armed men occupying a federal building in Oregon are "desecrating sacred land." [NPR]

-> Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a New York Times interview that she sees "a complacency" among the younger generation of women since Roe v. Wade was decided, which upset many young female activists. [Vox]

Where are they?

  • Rep. Jason Chaffetz delivers "State of Oversight" speech at the Brookings Institute and chairs an Oversight hearing regarding the status of document production at various federal agencies.
  • Rep. Chris Stewart goes to a House Intelligence Committee hearing, meetings with Senator Hatch and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and casts votes. He also calls constituents.
  • Rep. Mia Love holds meetings with her staff, votes and records a public service announcement for Black History Month.
  • Gov. Gary Herbert offers the NGA State of States Address at the National Press Club and hits an NGA Executive Committee Meeting. He later returns to SLC.
  • Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at Bingham High School and visits Blue Sky Utah.
  • President Barack Obama receives his daily briefing and participates in a live town hall event with CNN's Anderson Cooper on reducing gun violence in America.

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven't already, sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox. [Trib]

— Thomas Burr and Mariah Noble

Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/mnoblenews