Situational Analysis | April 26, 2022

Today is Tuesday and I'm celebrating National Dissertation Day - I just sent all 220 pages of mine off to my committee yesterday. Phew!

Tomorrow is Denim Day, an annual Sexual Assault Awareness Month event. The Denim Day campaign began in 1999 as part of an international protest of an Italian Supreme Court decision to overturn a rape conviction of a 45-year-old man because his 18-year-old victim was wearing jeans. 

Be in the Know

1.  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the West was engaged in a proxy war with his country that could escalate into a world war with nuclear weapons,​ as 40 nations pledge heavier weapons for defending Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Mr. Lavrov’s comments indicated Moscow felt it was losing. Interesting, isn't it, that it's always someone else's fault when Russia saber rattles - or in this case, nuke rattles. After all, it was Ukraine's own fault for being independent in the first place, right?

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Utah Headlines

General

• Lehi-based augmented reality tech company brings businesses into the metaverse (KSL)
• Traffic impact expected as Salt Lake City begins replacing century-old water lines (KSL)
• Officials say pandemic exacerbated already flagging nurse numbers in Utah (Daily Herald)
• Zion National Park invites your dog to become a B.A.R.K Ranger (The Spectrum)
• Utah agriculture dept. warns of food supply disruptions due to avian flu (KUER)

Politics

• Kael Weston: Utah needs a healthier political marketplace. The ‘Utah Way’ is not working out for too many Utahns (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Why Tulsi Gabbard sent Mitt Romney a cease-and-desist letter (Deseret News)
• It’s still the economy, stupid: Why Democrats are in trouble (Deseret News)
• Evan McMullin says he won’t caucus with Republicans or Democrats if elected (Salt Lake Tribune)
• San Juan County commissioners sued over search for county attorney candidates (KUTV)
• Civil serpents: County clerk says election equipment building has snake problem (Herald Journal News)
• Utah Rep. Blake Moore among House Republicans at southern border Monday (KUTV)

Education

• District doesn't allow students to travel after qualifying for robotics world championships (KSL)
• BYU graduate shows off rainbow pride colors in gown during graduation (KSL TV)
• New 'living-learning community' coming to University of Utah campus (KSL)
• Park City School Board chooses Mandy Pomeroy to serve out open seat (KPCW)

Environment

• The environment needs more people, not fewer (Center for Growth and Opportunity)
• What Utah areas scored high for low pollution? Answers are surprising (Deseret News)
• Can this tweak to Utah vehicle law help reduce toxic Great Salt Lake dust? (Deseret News)
• As water supplies dwindle, Wash Co. seeks to pump aquifer. “The common sense thing to do is to slow the development,” New Harmony Mayor Lowell Prince wrote in a protest of the groundwater pumping plan. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• The Great Salt Lake’s effect on air quality (ABC4)
• Utah DWR shuffles fish stock over drought (ABC4)
• Colorado River faces more stress in drought and more Utah reservoirs may go dry (Fox13)
• 'We're open!' Businesses near Flaming Gorge remain hopeful despite water release (Fox13)

Family

• When it comes to housework, it’s not just if couples share, but also how, that matters. A new briefing from the Council on Contemporary Families shows how men and women balance cleaning, cooking, shopping and more matters a lot to sexual intimacy and relationship satisfaction (Deseret News)
• Meet the socialist Catholic who confounds the left and the right (Deseret News)
• Victims losing ‘memories’ when their social media is hacked (KSL TV)

Utah/Ukraine Connection

• Utah non-profit continues efforts to help Ukrainian refugees (ABC4)
• Compassion and disorder: On the front lines of Poland’s refugee crisis (Deseret News)

National Headlines

General

• Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44B and will take it private (AP)
• Melissa Lucio’s execution delayed by Texas appeals court (AP)
• The world's oldest person, Japan's Kane Tanaka, dies at age 119 (NPR)
• Are school prayer rules about to change? During oral arguments Monday, the Supreme Court wrestled with what a football coach’s prayers meant to his players (Deseret News)
• United plots big expansion of flights between US and Europe (AP)

Politics

• What French election results could mean for U.S. Republicans and Democrats. If the unpopular Emmanuel Macron can become the first French president in 20 years to win reelection in today’s political climate, Democrats are hoping other underperforming incumbents can win when they’re challenged from the far-right (Deseret News)
• Trump held in contempt, fined $10K a day until he complies with probe (Reuters)
• Raskin responds to ‘chilling’ report Pence refused to leave Capitol on Jan. 6 (The Hill)
• ‘Exhilarated’ McConnell said Jan. 6 ‘discredited’ Trump, book says (Washington Post)
• New texts show Meadows caught between two sides in Jan. 6 mayhem (The Hill)
• DeSantis signs bill creating one of the nation’s only election police units (Politico)
• Smeared as a groomer, a Michigan Democrat goes on offense (New York Times)
• U.S. restarts diplomatic activity inside Ukraine and pledges more aid (Washington Post)
• The two significant new Jan. 6 disclosures from Mark Meadows’s aide (Washington Post)
• Greene, in text to Meadows, raised topic of martial law to keep Trump in power (Washington Post)
• I’m a former leader of Denmark. Putin is sabotaging himself on NATO. (New York Times)
• ‘Yes sir’: New texts show Hannity promising on-air Trump campaign push. “Any place in particular we need a push,” the Fox News host asked Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows on Election Day. (Washington Post)

Ukraine 🇺🇦 

• Genocide then, genocide now. On the language that prepares people to commit atrocities. First comes the dehumanization. Then comes the killing. (The Atlantic)
• Russia's Lavrov: Do not underestimate threat of nuclear war (Reuters)
• Rape is a war crime, and Ukrainian women are sharing their stories (Washington Post)
• How Zelenskyy ended political discord and put Ukraine on a war footing (New York Times)
• NATO warships arrive at Finnish port for training exercises (Reuters)
• As bombs fall, a Ukrainian professor teaches economics — and survival. Iryna Pyenska’s students at Kharkiv National University try to learn amid relentless Russian attacks (Washington Post)
• How Americans can sponsor Ukrainian refugees (New York Times)
• Russia targeting Western weapons shipments in Ukraine as Donbas assault begins (Politico)
• Military officials from U.S. and 39 other countries meet at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to talk about Ukraine (NPR)
• Russia pounds eastern Ukraine as West promises Kyiv new arms (AP)
• ‘Constantly depressing’: Ukrainian town watches war close in (AP)
• U.N. is ready to save lives in Mariupol, U.N chief tells Russia (Reuters)
• ‘Putin never imagined’ global rally of Ukraine support, US defense secretary says (Washington Post)

News Releases

Increasing inflationary pressures, higher energy costs squeezing small businesses, new survey data shows

Small business owners across the country are reporting inflationary pressures are hurting their bottom line and adversely impacting their ability to hire and retain workers, according to new survey data of small business owners from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices. 91% of small business owners say broader economic trends, such as inflation, supply chain issues, and workforce challenges, are having a negative impact on their business. Further, nearly three quarters (73%) of all small business owners across all sectors said increasing energy costs are having negative impacts on their bottom lines. (Read More)

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Upcoming

• Breakfast Briefing with Utah Foundation, May 17, 8:30-10:00 am
• Ballots are mailed â€“ June 7
• Primary election day â€“ June 28
• General election â€“ Nov 8

On This Day In History

• 1777 - Sybil Ludington rides 40 miles on horseback through the night to alert American militia of British attack.
• 1927 - Anne McLaren is born. She became a leading figure in developmental biology and became a pioneer in human IVF (in vitro fertilization). 
• 1933 - Carol Burnett is born.
• 1954 - Polio vaccine trials begin, involving 1.8 million children.
• 1984 - President Reagan visits China.
• 1986 - Test triggers the world’s worst nuclear disaster at Chernobyl.
• 1989 - Lucille Ball dies at age 78.
• 1994 - First day of voting in first ever multi-racial elections in South Africa.
• 2018 - Serial killer "Golden State Killer" identified after 40 years as a former police officer, responsible for 12 killings, 50 rapes in California

Wise Words

"If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do."

— Lucille Ball

Lighter Side

“I honestly don’t know why Elon would want to own Twitter, all right? It just doesn’t feel like a fun place to supervise. It’s like buying Jurassic Park after the power went down and the cages are open.” 

— TREVOR NOAH

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