FROM OUR SPONSOR AARP

Thank you to Utah’s leaders for tax relief on Social Security benefits.

For too long, state taxes have reduced the hard-earned Social Security benefits Utah seniors count on. But now, Governor Cox and Utah legislators have passed tax relief that will reduce state taxes on Social Security. AARP Utah fought hard for this new law to make sure our seniors keep more of what they’ve earned. Click here to learn more & thank our leaders.

Utah Headlines

Political news

• The Spanish Fork Inland Port hasn’t been approved yet. It’s already drawing critics (KUER)
• Darren Prince takes over as Washington County economic development director (St. George News)
• Study says Provo-Orem area No. 1 in nation for transit (Daily Herald)
• Mike Lee asks National Park Service chief to lean on locals to solve crowding at Zion and accessibility at Glen Canyon (Deseret News)

General Utah news

• Half a pound of crystal meth found in peanut butter jars, SLCPD Airport Officers say (Fox13)
• UVU turns an Orem mansion into an art museum for the masses (Salt Lake Tribune)
• ‘I didn’t mean to, mama’: Utah teen charged with murder in fatal shooting of little sister (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Protecting the water supply for millions: Construction begins on Deer Creek Intake Project (KSL)
• Poll: Nearly one-third of Utahns say they feel ‘pressured’ to tip (Deseret News)

Business

• The why and how of sponsoring employment visas (Utah Business)
• Report finds remote work boosted labor market participation (Forbes)
• Workers are happier than they’ve been in decades (Wall Street Journal)

Education

• Thousands raised to help students erase school lunch debt in Utah (Fox13)
• Utah State University partners up with Hill Air Force Base in multiyear long education program (Fox13)
• Utah lawmaker questions schools leaving money on the table for mental health screenings (KSL TV)

Environment

• Listen to one of the largest trees in the world: Pando (NPR)
• Utah is working on a recreation plan to ease crowding, climate and other pressures (KUER)
• Clayton Walker: America’s fastest-growing industries increasingly rely on copper (Salt Lake Tribune)
• The Great Salt Lake getting billions of gallons of water (KSL TV)

Family

• Report reveals stay-at-home moms nearly double among Millennials, Gen Z (Fox13)
• Amanda Dickson: Mother's Day gifts we moms really want (KSL Newsradio)
• Utah parents reliving memories after losing daughters in Mother's Day weekend flash flood (KUTV)
• A guide to knowing the history of and celebrating Mother’s Day (Deseret News)
• A Mother’s Day to remember: FADV delivers hope to Domestic Violence Survivors (ABC4)
• Utah's Hogle Zoo is doing something special for Mother's Day (Fox13)
• Sundance hosting weekend Mother’s Day event (KSL Newsradio)
• Mother's Day magic made possible through local donations and volunteers (Fox13)
• Black mothers in the US speak of challenges and resilience (Reuters)
• ‘Mommunes’: Mothers are living single together (New York Times)

Health

• As some families learn the hard way, dementia can take a toll on financial health (NPR)
• Severe sleep apnea could harm future brain health, study finds (Deseret News)

Housing

• Summit County steps up to save affordable housing (KPCW)

National Headlines

General

• Colleen J. Shogan, a former senior official at the Library of Congress and the White House Historical Association, and the author of a series of murder mysteries, was confirmed by the Senate to become the first woman to head the National Archives. (Washington Post)
• Elon Musk says he’s found a woman to lead Twitter as new CEO (AP)
• Daniel Penny will be charged with manslaughter in the killing of Jordan Neely on the subway. (New York Times)

Politics

• George Santos confesses to theft in Brazil to avoid prosecution. A day earlier, the New York congressman pleaded not guilty to wide-ranging charges brought by federal prosecutors in his state (Washington Post)
• Sen. Tuberville criticized for remarks on white nationalists: ‘I call them Americans’ (AP)
• Could the government help end intergenerational poverty with $3,500 for each child? (Wall Street Journal)
• Vulnerable Republicans caught in the middle in debt limit fight (New York Times)
• U.S. sees record migration influx as pandemic border restrictions lift (Washington Post)
• CNN leadership under fire after ‘disastrous’ Trump town hall (Washington Post)
• GOP senators disavow Trump on debt ceiling, signaling growing rift (The Hill)
• Federal judge rules adults ages 18-20 cannot be blocked from purchasing handguns (The Hill)
• DeSantis team to Trump: Wait and see (Politico)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

• US Abrams tanks for training Ukrainian forces arrive in Germany ahead of schedule (AP)
• Ukraine plays down talk of Bakhmut gains being start of counteroffensive (Reuters)
• Communities torn as Ukraine turns its back on Moscow-linked church (Reuters)
• Ukraine’s cultural counteroffensive: The rush to erase Russia’s imprint (Washington Post)

World

• Turkey's president has built vast power over 20 years. But he may lose on Sunday (NPR)
• Hundreds of thousands to be evacuated as Bangladesh and Myanmar brace for severe cyclone (AP)
• Serbians hand in thousands of guns after two mass killings (Washington Post)

FROM OUR ADVERTISING PARTNER ENVISION UTAH

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Utah had an incredible snow season, but we’re still one of the driest states in the nation — and one of the fastest-growing. Join Envision Utah for a breakfast and an expert panel discussion on the future of water.  Thursday, May 18, 2023, 8 AM – 9:30 AM at The Grand America Hotel. Purchase Here!

News Releases

Gov. Cox appoints John Harvey as Public Service Commission member

Gov. Spencer Cox has named John Harvey as a member of the Utah Public Service Commission. Appointments to the PSC are subject to approval by the Utah Senate. Harvey has more than 30 years of experience in utility regulation, with the bulk of that time working as an economist/utility technical consultant for the Utah Public Service Commission. His duties focused on analyzing industry conditions, modeling utility systems and exploring scenarios to meet public policy objectives. He also worked at XENERGY, Inc., Utah Department of Commerce, and as a professor at the University of Phoenix. (Read More)

Stewart recognizes Mental Health Awareness Month

Reps. Chris Stewart (R-UT) and Grace Napolitano (D-CA) introduced a bipartisan resolution to recognize the month of May as National Mental Health Awareness Month. Reps. Stewart and Napolitano serve as Co-chairs of the bipartisan Mental Health Caucus, and their resolution was signed by 71 of their congressional colleagues. (Read More)

Owens leads hearing on America’s workforce challenges and ways to improve skills development

Thursday, Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04), Chair of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks: “If these past three years have proven anything, it’s that America has an extremely resilient workforce. Through the COVID pandemic, we prevailed. Nurses found creative ways to assist patients through telehealth. And truckers showed up day in and day out to get food delivered to America’s kitchen tables. I am proud of our resilience. With it, America can overcome any hardship. But our workforce faces another challenge: The skills gap. (Read More)

Moore, Eshoo reintroduce legislation to bring electronics manufacturing to America and strengthen supply chains

Today, Reps. Blake Moore (R-UT) and Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to bolster domestic printed circuit board (PCB) production and strengthen supply chain security. The Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act will complement semiconductor incentives by encouraging domestic PCB manufacturing and R&D to reduce supply chain disruptions, address national security concerns related to foreign PCB production, and further enhance America’s economic leadership. (Read More)

Number of the Day

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• YWCA Leader Luncheon featuring Dr. Bernice A. King — May 12, 11:30-2:00, Grand America. Register here
• Interim Days — May 16-17, Utah State Capitol, le.utah.gov
• Utah Democratic Convention — May 19-20, SUU (More information here)
• Northern Utah Conference to End Sexual Violence — May 31, USU Eccles Center, 8:30 am-4:00 pm, Register here
• Intellectual Property Rights webinar with the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation — June 1, 10:00 am, Register here
• Bolder Way Forward Launch — June 9, 9 am-1 pm, Zions Technology Campus, Register here
• Interim Day — June 13-14, Utah State Capitol, le.utah.gov

On This Day In History 

• 1820 - Florence Nightingale is born.
• 1849 - Matilda Coxe (Stevenson) is born. An ethnologist, geologist, explorer, and activist, she founded and became the first president of the Women’s Anthropological Society of America. Her work focused on the Zuni in the Southwestern United States.
• 1900 - Mildred H. McAfee is born. She became the first director of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in the United States Navy during World War II, first woman commissioned in the U.S. Naval Reserve and the first woman to receive the Navy Distinguished Service Medal.
• 1928 - Benito Mussolini ends women’s rights in Italy.
• 1932 - The body of baby Charles Lindbergh was found less than a mile from his home two months after he was kidnapped.
• 1949 - The Soviet Union lifts its 11-month blockade against West Berlin after the blockade had been broken by a massive U.S.-British airlift of vital supplies to West Berlin’s two million citizens.
• 1968 - A 12-block Mother’s Day march of “welfare mothers” is held in Washington, D.C., led by Coretta Scott King accompanied by Ethel Kennedy.
• 1978 - US Commerce Department says hurricane names will no longer be only female
• 2021 - US Republicans vote to demote Liz Cheney from party leadership after she publicly rebuked Donald Trump for lies about the election

Quote of the Day

"I do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. If suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. To suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness and the willingness to remain vulnerable."

—Anne Morrow Lindbergh

On the Punny Side

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