Situational Analysis | June 13, 2022

Good morning to ya. We're in for some crazy Utah weather this week. It's Random Acts of Light Day, a day that encourages us to bring light to the darkness of cancer by surprising someone with an act of kindness.

Be in the Know

• Students from Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind finished a 70-mile race across Puget Sound after rowing for 36 hours. Last year, the race could not be completed due to dangerous conditions on the last leg of the race. This year, they were determined to make it to the finish line and they did! 👏 👏 
  
• The former U.S. attorney in Atlanta that President Donald Trump wanted to fire and a Fox News political editor are among those who will testify this morning as the Jan. 6 committee focuses on the "Big Lie."  Trump's former campaign manger Bill Stepien was due to testify but had a last minute family emergency. The committee will work to show how the former president forged ahead with plans to remain in power despite being “told again and again that he didn’t have [the] numbers to win.” Trump insists the committee’s investigation is a “witch hunt.” Last week he said Jan. 6 “represented the greatest movement in the history of our country.” The Jan. 6 panelists say they have uncovered enough evidence to indict Trump. Today's hearing begins at 8 am MDT.

Rapid Roundup

• Tuns out the quick-drying material used in board shorts makes great ties, Mitt Romney is part of a bipartisan group of Senators backing gun safety proposals, COVID tests are no longer required to enter the US, $20K already found in Utah treasure hunt, a Utah bank is flagged for issuing 189% interest loans through auto repair shops and finally, this bride picked up some unwanted guests during a photo shoot - leeches. 

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Utah Headlines

General

• Dozens of white supremacists, including several Utahns, were arrested near an Idaho Pride event (Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune)
• Smithfield Foods to close bulk of operation in Beaver County, impacting estimated 250+ workers (Deseret News)
• Beaver County declares state of economic emergency due to Smithfield Foods downsizing (Fox13)
• BYU’s Courtney Wayment makes record run in the rain to claim sensational NCAA championship (Deseret News)
• Should employees be given the option to work remotely as gas prices increase? (Deseret News)
• Salt Lake City soil collection ceremony memorializes two lynchings from over a century ago (KUER)
• USU study finds that higher rhythmic skill translates into better conversations (UPR)

Politics

• No plans for Utah congressman to debate before primary election, campaign says (KUTV)
• Courtroom audio sheds light on case at the heart of Utah County controversy, as 18 felony child sexual abuse charges were dismissed (KSL)
• How Utah stacks up against other state legislatures’ efforts to help refugees (Deseret News)
• Pignanelli & Webb: ‘Teenager’ politics — an American approach that works (Deseret News)
• Protesters in Salt Lake City march against gun violence; police hold firearms buyback (Salt Lake Tribune)
• The Inside Utah Politics panel on record inflation and marriage equality (ABC4)
• Previewing the state legislature primary races in Salt Lake County (ABC4)
• With GOP incumbents dodging debates, Robert Gehrke wonders how we’ll get answers to tough questions — like cannibalism (Salt Lake Tribune)

Education

• Low-income students in Utah face a barrage of challenges on the path to college (KUER)
• Wasatch School District considers paying for new high school without voter-backed bond (KPCW)

Environment

• Salt Lake City breaks record for heat with 102 temperature Sunday (ABC4)
• Why small farm towns are important for the future of America (Deseret News)
• Drought intensifies in Utah and the West amid searing heat, no rain (Deseret News)
• New study finds severe drought impacting the upper Colorado River as far back as the 2nd century (St. George News)
• Wasatch Plateau lake to be drained ahead of coal mine expansion (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Thayne Canyon Loop provides a simple joy in Millcreek Canyon. An easy, shady hike with a lusciously green payoff right now (Salt Lake Tribune)
• The Biden administration is phasing out single-use plastic on public lands. What does that mean for Utah’s national parks? (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Tundra wildfire creeps closer toward Alaska Native community (AP)

Family

• Would you let Ikea name your baby?? (Deseret News)

Health

• People are living longer. But are they living better? (Deseret News)
• The complicated relationship between religion and mental health (Deseret News)
• A tampon shortage is sweeping the nation. What’s causing it? (Deseret News)
• Long-term respiratory, cognitive and mental health issues tied to vaping, study says (KSL)
• Pfizer COVID-19 shot appears effective for kids under 5 (AP)
• Covid is making flu and other common viruses act in unfamiliar ways (Washington Post)

Housing

• The U.S. housing market is heading toward the ‘most significant contraction’ since 2006. Here’s what that means. (Deseret News)
• How the housing market is making boomers richer and millennials poorer (Deseret News)
• Mortgage rates jump up again to 5.23%, pricing out home buyers (Deseret News)
• Increasing home, construction costs could impact insurance coverage (KSL)
• Utah’s hot housing market and high inflation rate go hand in hand (KSL Radio)
• Many new apartments coming to Utah's rental market, but will they make a difference? (KUTV)

National Headlines

General

• Bitcoin slides after crypto lender Celsius Network freezes withdrawals (Reuters)
• S&P 500 Poised for Bear-Market Territory as Stock Futures Drop (Wall Street Journal)
• ‘Great resignation’ reaches White House with staff turnover (AP)
• British journalist, Brazilian expert found dead in Amazon rainforest (Reuters)
• Habitat for Humanity to Invest $25 Million in Boosting Black Homeownership (Wall Street Journal)
• Thousands of Afghan families remain separated after messy U.S. exit (Washington Post)

Politics

• Brookings president resigns amid FBI foreign lobbying probe (AP)
• Vulnerable Dems run against Washington — and their party (AP)
• GOP governor says Trump is ‘politically, morally responsible’ for Jan. 6 (The Hill)

Ukraine 🇺🇦 

• The battle of Donbas could prove decisive in Ukraine war (AP)
• Ukraine Fears Defeat in East Without Surge in Military Aid (Wall Street Journal)
• Japan philanthropic group begins fund raising for Ukrainians (AP)
• Putin makes his imperial pretensions clear (Washington Post)
• Luhansk governor: Russian shelling strikes homes, kindergartens (Washington Post)
• The West is facing tough questions as Ukrainian cities teeter, and the momentum of the war shifts. (New York Times)

News Releases

Bipartisan group of Senators announce agreement on gun safety

U.S. Senators Mitt Romney and others issued the following statement: â€œToday, we are announcing a commonsense, bipartisan proposal to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country. Families are scared, and it is our duty to come together and get something done that will help restore their sense of safety and security in their communities. Our plan increases needed mental health resources, improves school safety and support for students, and helps ensure dangerous criminals and those who are adjudicated as mentally ill can’t purchase weapons. Most importantly, our plan saves lives while also protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans. We look forward to earning broad, bipartisan support and passing our commonsense proposal into law.” (Read More)

Lee: Inflation is now costing Utahns $800 each month

Following today’s news that inflation reached another four-decade high, the Joint Economic Committee’s State Inflation Tracker reports that inflation is now costing American households $635 each month. In Utah, those costs rose to $800 in May. Ranking Member Mike Lee said, â€œWasteful government spending has stoked an inflation rate that is now costing Utahns a staggering $800 each month. Inflation remains historically high under President Biden, and it’s making life less affordable for families across the nation. (Read More)

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Upcoming

• Hatch Foundation Debate w Lindsey Graham & Bernie Sanders – June 13, 10 am MDT. Tune in here
• Utah Legislature Interim Days – June 14,15 le.utah.gov for more info
• Primary election day â€“ June 28
• General election â€“ Nov 8

On This Day In History

• 1774 - Rhode Island becomes first colony to prohibit the importation of slaves
• 1777 - 19 year-old Marquis de Lafayette lands in the American colonies to fight alongside George Washington
• 1807 - Thomas Jefferson is subpoenaed in Aaron Burr’s treason trial
• 1888 - US Congress creates the Department of Labor
• 1920 - The US Post Office says children can no longer be sent via parcel post
• 1966 - Supreme court establishes Miranda rights in Miranda v. Arizona
• 1967 - Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Justice, is appointed to the US Supreme Court
• 1971 - The New York Times begins publishing the Pentagon Papers
• 2021 - Israel's Knesset votes in a new coalition government with Naftali Bennett as Prime Minister, ousting Benjamin Netanyahu after a record 12 years

Wise Words

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

~ Edith Wharton

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