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Good morning! Here are today’s temperatures:

🌤️ 59 – 95° in Logan

⛅ 73 – 96° in Salt Lake | 💧 20%

🌤️ 78 – 106° in St. George | 💧 10%

Two days before Saturday’s shooting at a rally for former President Donald Trump prompted a national discussion about political violence, Kelsey Dallas was at a religious freedom conference reflecting on the issue of polarization — and how it can fuel political violence.

“The conference organizers at the University of Notre Dame had no way to know their gathering would be so immediately relevant,” she writes. “But then again, it was already relevant. Even before this weekend’s events, it was clear that the country was losing track of how to civilly disagree.”

One speaker suggested that a healthier system of politics would still involve plenty of disagreement, but everyone would be focused on creating a better world instead of hurting one another.

Read more about the right way to fight about politics.

Also on our minds:

A new malaria vaccine could save thousands of lives
A theological question at the RNC
Was The Training Table relaunch an elaborate joke? Meg Walter investigates the missing Utah chain

2024 Olympics: Can Jimmer Fredette beat the buzzer?

As time runs out on Jimmer Fredette’s basketball career, this summer’s Olympic Games presents a chance — possibly his last — to go out a winner.

Jimmer admits it takes him longer to get warmed up nowadays than it did in his 20s, but once he’s ready, he’s in top condition physically. Mentally, he’s never been sharper. And most importantly: “I’m as comfortable in my own skin as I’ve ever been,” he says. “I feel like I’m playing really, really good basketball right now. As good as I’ve ever been.”

Jimmer was named to the U.S. men’s 3-on-3 Olympic basketball team. The 3-on-3 version of the game is fast-paced, physical and thrilling — the kind of inventive, competitive basketball people play in parks and gyms around the world. It’s a style that suits Jimmer’s abilities, and with the experience and maturity gained from a successful career overseas, watching him now feels like something familiar and new at once. Like the player who instigated the free-flowing, high-scoring fun of Jimmermania mixed with a seasoned, master craftsman.

At 35 years old, Jimmer might just be playing his best basketball. And if he can keep it up through the end of the Paris Games, he could finally reach a milestone that, thus far, has eluded him.

Read more about Jimmer’s path to the Olympics.

How cows are used as weed eaters — literally — to help the Great Salt Lake retain water

Caretakers of the land around the Great Salt Lake have used a variety of tools to stamp out invasive, harmful phragmites — a tall reed that outcompetes natural vegetation and gobbles up precious water. Few have proven as effective or as picturesque as the latest solution: cows.

Each summer, The Nature Conservancy unleashes around 450 cows in the Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve to feast on the invasive reeds. The grazing removes plant biomass and breaks up dead plant material through trampling.

“The biggest benefit for us is that it is cheap labor,” said Chris Brown, Utah stewardship director for The Nature Conservancy.

Brown said their other options are to spray or mow the phragmites, which is expensive and time-consuming. “With the cows, we can just throw them in there and let them do their dirty work.”

Read more about how cows are helping preserve areas across Utah and in other states.

More in Utah

Faith and resilience: How Utah is leading refugee resettlement (Deseret News)
The case of the missing Training Table (Deseret News)
Salt Lake City International Airport announces new food options coming in Phase 4 (Deseret News)
From homeless to hope: Inside the Milestone Transitional Living Program (Deseret News)
‘It’s very meaningful to us’: Utah church offers $1K reward in search for stolen relic (KSL)

FROM OUR SPONSOR JON M. HUNTSMAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

What Does it Mean to Dare Mighty Things?

Dare Mighty Things: (v) the act of courageously attempting to do big and audacious things that make you uncomfortable, that stretch you, and allow you to grow, even as you experience failure and doubt along the way. Daring Mighty in little and big things is not an act but a habit toward excellence.

Perspective

The Deseret News Editorial Board: Time for Trump to quell the nation’s passions (Deseret News)
Holly Richardson: It’s important to turn down the political heat. Here are some ways to do it (Deseret News)

The West

California schools can no longer require staff to tell parents about students’ gender identity (Deseret News)
Fire crews flying by helicopter to remote wildfire in Box Elder County (KSL)

The U.S.

Sen. Menendez found guilty on all 16 charges in corruption trial (Deseret News)
Secret Service faces scrutiny after Trump assassination attempt. What’s the agency’s future? (Deseret News)

The World

The world ‘cannot afford an unstable America’ — what Europe is saying about the assassination attempt (Deseret News)
How new malaria vaccine could save thousands of lives (Deseret News)
Valerie Hudson: Lessons from the election in France (Deseret News)

Sports

The village it took to get this BYU runner to Paris (Deseret News)
Big 12 team preview: Can new Houston coach work his magic in Space City? (Deseret News)
Trevor Matich wants to see BYU pounce on its first possession (Deseret News)
Here’s who College Football 25 thinks should start at QB for BYU (Deseret News)

Faith

Why this Poseidon statue created faith-related conflict (Deseret News)
At the RNC, a theological question: Did God save Trump? (Deseret News)

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Thanks for reading!

— Ariel