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☀️ 52 – 89° Logan | ☀️ 62 – 92° Salt Lake | ☀️ 54 – 88° Manti

☀️ 67 – 99° Moab | 🌤️ 58 – 93° Cedar City | 🌤️ 72 – 103° St. George

Good morning!

There’s something charming about the marquee signs outside fast-food joints — unless they’re illegible, at which point they become hilarious.

Meg Walter has a particular affinity for a McDonald’s in Orem that seemingly has a penchant for slam poetry. For instance, its sign recently read (and the typos are not my doing):

COME AND OUR

TRY

MC CRISPY STPIP

This was rivaled only by the Burger King directly across from that McDonald’s. Their marquee displayed this quizzical message:

TRY

NEW

STRAW

NERDS

Read more about Meg’s thoughts on the puzzling wording of Utah’s fast-food marquees.

Also on our minds:

Trump’s big tax bill had a few surprises. Here’s what you didn’t notice
What BYU officials said at this week’s Big 12 meetings about the civil lawsuit against Jake Retzlaff
Latter-day Saint leaders provide answers to key questions on religion, finances and violence

Conservative group targets Utah Sen. Curtis over support for clean energy tax credits

The Club for Growth is taking aim at Utah Sen. John Curtis for his support of green energy tax incentives passed in the Inflation Reduction Act.

This weekend, the conservative group will launch an ad claiming Curtis is threatening President Trump’s plans to reverse Biden-era climate policies. The ad specifically refers to the 1,038-page megabill making its way through Congress seeking to advance Trump’s policies on the border, energy production, national defense and more.

The bill also contains extensions for a slew of tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year. To offset those costs, lawmakers must find at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts elsewhere.

“We must build a thoughtful, principled bill that doesn’t pull the rug out from under American innovators,” a spokesperson for Curtis told the Deseret News. “Doing otherwise risks freezing investment, delaying domestic production, increasing costs, and forfeiting our energy edge and national security to China and Russia.”

Read more from Cami Mondeaux about what Curtis has said regarding energy policy.

Robert Jarvik, who co-designed the first permanent artificial heart, dies at 79

Caitlin Keith writes:

Dr. Robert Jarvik, who was a key designer of the first permanent artificial heart implanted in a human, died on Monday in his Manhattan home at age 79.

Jarvik received his medical degree at the University of Utah, and the implant of the first permanent artificial heart took place at the school as well. The surgery became the subject of both public fascination and fierce debate over medical ethics.

Jarvik was on a team that worked with Dr. Willem Kolff, the director of the university’s Division of Artificial Organs, to design a series of mechanical hearts.

One of them, in 1982, was implanted in a cow named Alfred Lord Tennyson, who survived for 268 days, setting a record for an animal. In 1982, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave permission to the University of Utah to implant a permanent artificial heart in a human.

Utah Business 2025 Most Influential Women Nominations

It’s time to honor women whose contributions to the state of Utah have made them pillars of the community. Submit your nomination before June 4!

Politics

Supreme Court reverses Biden-era protections for migrants. What does it mean? (Deseret News)
Elon Musk’s farewell press conference with Trump: Key takeaways (Deseret News)

The U.S. & World

How wildfires in Canada are creating health hazards in the Midwest (Deseret News)
U.S. Navy reports launching 'largest airstrike in history' into Somalia (Deseret News)
Here’s how Trump responded to King Charles’ Canadian throne speech (Deseret News)
No more ‘Mr. Nice Guy’? Trump says China is ignoring trade deal (Deseret News)

Sports

BYU’s 2026 football recruiting class is shaping up to be one of the best in program history (Deseret News)
What BYU officials said at this week’s Big 12 meetings about the civil lawsuit against Jake Retzlaff (Deseret News)
Why Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark supports a ‘5+11’ format for College Football Playoff (Deseret News)
SLCC baseball wins again Thursday, will play for Junior College World Series championship (Deseret News)

Faith

Religion, finances and violence: Latter-day Saint leaders provide answers to key questions (Deseret News)
‘The Chosen’ Season 6 and Season 7 now have theatrical release dates (Deseret News)

Health

MAHA report on children's health cited nonexistent studies (Deseret News)
U.S. measles cases rise slightly as Colorado reports a new outbreak (The Associated Press)

🗓️ Events Calendar

We put together a list of events and activities going on around the state of Utah in May. Check it out and let us know if we are missing anything!

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today:

“Mamma Mia! ABBA-cadabra!” | Desert Star Playhouse, Murray
“Tuck Everlasting” | CenterPoint Legacy Theatre, Centerville
“The Odd Couple” | The Off Broadway Theatre Company, Salt Lake City

Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond!

And reply to this email or email newsletters@deseretnews.com to tell us what you think of Utah Today.

Thanks for reading!

— Ariel