GOP AG candidates agree that AG should be elected; Alpine School District hears public input on split; US consumer prices stay flat
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The Utah Policy newsletter is your one-stop source for political and policy-minded news. We scour the news so you don't have to! Send news tips or feedback to Holly Richardson at editor@utahpolicy.com.

 

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Situational Analysis | June 12, 2024

It's Wednesday and National Peanut Butter Cookie Day!

What you need to know

  • Tuesday’s gubernatorial Republican primary debate between Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and state Rep. Phil Lyman centered on policy. Cox, who is running for his second term in office, is among the most popular governors in the nation and recent polling shows 62% support among Utah GOP voters. Lyman was popular with GOP state delegates, leaving April's convention with 67.5% of the delegate vote.

  • In the Attorney General debate, all candidates agreed that the AG should be elected, not appointed. Derek Brown, Frank Mylar and Rachel Terry discussed issues like social media litigation, abortion and fentanyl. All of them said they would vote for former President Donald Trump, Brown said he would vote for Spencer Cox, Mylar for Phil Lyman and Terry refused to answer.

Rapid relevance

 

Utah Headlines

Political news

  • On second thought, Ivins City Council backs off property tax rate hike (St. George News)

Election news

  • In deep-red Utah, Biden has a fundraising edge on Trump (Deseret News)
  • The day after: Rep. Curtis responds to Staggs stock accusation from Senate debate (Deseret News)
  • Will Phil Lyman accept Utah’s GOP primary election results if he loses to incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox? He refused to say. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Utah news

  • Longtime Salt Lake Bees, Weber State broadcaster Steve Klauke dies at 69 (Deseret News)
  • Sick of politics? Move off the grid like these families did (Deseret News)
  • '100 Deadliest Days' could be deadlier without more blood donations (KSL)
  • ‘She fought until the end’: teen hit at Spanish Fork intersection dies of injuries (KSL Newsradio)
  • 13-year-old boy with disabilities rescued after falling in water at Provo's Riverside Park (KUTV)

Olympic news

  • Utah Gov. Spencer Cox tells lawmakers there’s ‘unparalleled’ public, political support for hosting the 2034 Winter Games (Deseret News)
  • Poll shows Utahns strongly support hosting the 2034 Winter Games. Here are the latest numbers. (Deseret News)

Business/Tech

  • SEG reveals more of its plans for downtown Salt Lake City (Deseret News)
  • Intermountain Health shares proposed plans for downtown hospital complex at former Sears site (Fox13)
  • Elon Musk's boundary-blurring relationships with women at SpaceX (Wall Street Journal)

Crime/Courts

  • 'Stop calling me names.' Gabby Petito letter to Laundrie signals tensions prior to road trip (KSL)

Culture

  • Ken Jennings discusses taking over ‘Jeopardy!’ host role from Alex Trebek (Deseret News)

Education

  • C. Shane Reese: America needs schools like BYU and Baylor more than ever (Deseret News)
  • What should Utah schools do with library books deemed indecent, pornographic? (Deseret News
  • Davis School District launches 2 high school upgrades. $475M bond plans edge ahead (KSL)
  • Out of more than 1K entries, these two Utah students won these national awards (ABC4)
  • Rose Park rolls out the red carpet, and Takis, to welcome students displaced by closures (KUER)

Environment

  • Plastics are a worldwide problem, including in national parks (Deseret News)

Family

  • Utah ranks third in nation for child well-being, but educational challenges persist (KSL)

Health

  • While heat waves can be bad for pregnancy, St. George doctor highlights importance of postpartum care (St. George News)

Housing

  • 'Desperately needed': 3 families receive Habitat for Humanity homes in Kearns (KSL)
  • Bank workers lend helping hand at home of West Valley veteran; nearly 30 others in 'paint-a-thon' (KSL)
  • USDA Rural Housing administrator visits neighborhood in Smithfield to celebrate National Homeownership Month (Cache Valley Daily)
 

National Headlines

General

  • Champion hot dog eater excluded from Coney Island contest over veggie franks (Reuters)
  • Reported birth of rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone park fulfills Lakota prophecy (AP)
  • Southern Baptists to decide whether to formally ban churches with women pastors (AP)
  • Singer sues hospital, says staff thought he was mentally ill and wasn’t member of Four Tops (AP)
  • Violent crime rate falls sharply after pandemic surge (Wall Street Journal)

Political news

  • President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, is convicted of all 3 felonies in federal gun trial (AP)
  • Supreme Court has a lot of work to do and little time to do it with a sizable case backlog (AP)
  • A federal judge blocks a Florida law that restricts transgender health care (WUSF)
  • Jimmy Carter no longer awake every day, grandson says (The Hill)

Election news

  • Retired Army Capt. Sam Brown overcomes crowded GOP Senate primary field, setting up key Nevada race (AP)
  • Trump could — and wants to — shake up U.S. foreign policy even more in a second term (NPR)
  • 2 would-be Freedom Caucus members lose primaries as Mace, Timmons survive (Washington Post)
  • Global poll finds Biden more popular than Trump (Washington Post)
  • Boebert fights for political survival amid cascade of controversies (The Hill)
  • New poll goes deep on Kamala Harris’ liabilities and strengths as a potential president (Politico)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

  • Russian barrage leaves Kyiv residents without power and water (Reuters)
  • At the G7 summit, President Biden will push for using frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. (New York Times)

Israel and Gaza

  • Hezbollah vows to escalate attacks after Israel kills a top commander (Reuters)
  • Gaza chief's brutal calculation: Civilian bloodshed will help Hamas (Wall Street Journal)

World news

  • More than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims arrive in Mecca for annual Hajj pilgrimage (AP)
 

Number of the Day 

Number of the Day, June 12, 2024

 

News Releases

Utah reaches settlement against Johnson and Johnson

Utah Attorney General Reyes, on behalf of the Utah Division of Consumer Protection and with 42 other attorneys general, reached a $700 million nationwide settlement to resolve allegations related to the marketing of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder and body powder products that contained talc. As part of the settlement, Utah will receive $7,540,013 over four years, for approximately $1.88 million each year. (Read More)


Salt Lake Chamber announces Nathan R. Callister, EVP of Wells Fargo, as 2024-2025 board chair

The Salt Lake Chamber, Utah’s largest and longest-serving business association has named Nathan R. Callister, Executive Vice President and Head of Utah Commercial Banking at Wells Fargo, as the new chair of its Board of Governors. Callister most recently served as the Chamber’s vice chair. (Read More)


Curtis, Huffman to re-introduce bipartisan legislation to ease tax burden on homeowners making water-efficient choices

This week, U.S. Representatives John Curtis (R-UT-03) and Jared Huffman (D-CA-02) announced they will be introducing legislation to amend federal tax law so that homeowners would not need to pay income tax when they receive rebates from water utilities for water conservation and water runoff management improvements that they have made. Representatives Judy Chu (D-CA-28) and Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-01) also joined this legislation as original cosponsors. (Read More)


Romney, Shaheen introduce legislation to promote investment in technology critical to national defense

U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) today are introducing the Investing in Our Defense Act of 2024, bipartisan legislation to promote investment in technology vital to U.S. national security by strengthening the authorities of the Department of Defense (DOD) Office of Strategic Capital (OSC). The legislation would allow OSC to make limited equity investments in technology and assets critical to our defense—including critical minerals. (Read More)


Romney, Rosen introduce bill to keep drones out of the hands of foreign terrorists

U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) today introduced the Combating Foreign Terrorist Drones Act of 2024, bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing foreign terrorists—such as Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and Iran-backed groups like the Houthis—from acquiring unmanned aerial systems, or drones, to conduct  attacks, collect intelligence, and deliver weapons or supplies. As recently as January 28, 2024, an Iran-backed terrorist group committed a drone attack in Jordan that killed three American soldiers and injured 40 more. (Read More)


Romney, Kelly introduce legislation to shore up U.S. military supply chains in Indo-Pacific

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, and Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), member of the Armed Services Committee, today teamed up to introduce the Bolstering Indo-Pacific Capabilities Act, bipartisan legislation that would shore up U.S. military logistics lines and improve readiness, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. Specifically, the bill aims to help the Department of Defense (DOD) expand its ability to mitigate logistics vulnerabilities now to better enable operations should a conflict break out in the future. (Read More)


Lee and Manchin lead bipartisan bill to ensure National Guard readiness

Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Joe Manchin (I-WV), along with Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Steve Daines (R-MT), J.D. Vance (R-OH), and Jim Risch (R-ID), today introduced the Guarding Readiness Resources Act. This legislation provides an exemption from the Miscellaneous Receipts Act for State Active Duty (SAD) reimbursement payments intended for the National Guard Bureau, allowing these funds to be directed back to the National Guard units that incurred the expenses. (Read More)


Mount Liberty College grad headed to Ralston College

The Trustees of Mount Liberty College are pleased to announce that, for the second straight year, a graduate of Mount Liberty College has been admitted to the prestigious Master of Humanities program of Ralston College, in Savannah, Georgia. Mahayla Bassett, of Hyrum, Utah has been accepted for the fall of 2024, and awarded a full scholarship, covering her tuition and expenses, worth more than $60,000. (Read More)

 

Tweet of the Day

Screenshot 2024-06-12 at 7.15.18 AM
 

Upcoming

  • June 12 — Debate for CD3 (6 pm)
  • June 18-19 — Interim Days
  • June 25 — Primary Election Day
  • August 14 â€” Hatch Foundation "Titan of Public Service" recognizing Sen. John Thune, Grand America
  • August 20-21 — Interim Days
  • September 17-18 — Interim Days
  • October 15-16 — Interim Day
  • November 19-20 — Interim Days
 

On This Day In History 

  • 1924 - George H.W. Bush is born
  • 1929 - Anne Frank born
  • 1931 - Al Capone is indicted on 5,000 counts of prohibition and perjury. That’s a lot of counts.
  • 1942 - Anne Frank receives a diary for her birthday.
  • 1963 - Civil rights leader Medgar Evers gunned down in his driveway by a white supremacist. During WWII, Evers was in the US Army and participated in the Normandy invasion.
  • 1967 - The US Supreme Court rules unanimously in the Loving v. Virginia case that laws banning interracial marriage are unconstitutional. 
  • 1987 - Ronald Reagan delivers the famous line: “Mr. Gorbachev - tear down this wall!”
  • 1994 - Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman murdered
  • 2016 - Terrorist attack on Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida kills 49
  • 2018 - Singapore Summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump - it’s the first time a North Korean leader and an incumbent US President have ever met

Quote of the Day

"I'm a conservative, but I'm not a nut about it."

—George H. W. Bush


On the Punny Side

Why can’t basketball players take summer vacation?

Traveling is not allowed. 

 

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