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A third of crashes in West Valley City involve unlicensed drivers. In 2023, that percentage rose to nearly 50%. In 2024, nearly half of all hit-and-run cases also involved an unlicensed driver.

West Valley City Police Sgt. Tyler Longman brought this issue to Rep. Matt MacPherson, R-West Valley City, who has sponsored a bill that aims to address it.

HB392, which was approved by the House Transportation Standing Committee on Wednesday, would allow law enforcement to seize a vehicle without a warrant if the driver is unlicensed.

Read more about the bill and how it reflects a national problem.

Also on our minds:

Canned tuna recalled over botulism risk
Why Tom Holmoe is retiring after 20 years as BYU’s athletic director
How you can help Utah animal shelters celebrate Valentine’s Day

A Utah agency rented apartments, bought food for refugee families. Now they’re on hold

Dennis Romboy writes:

Farhiyo Ahmed looked forward to going for a walk.

The pregnant Somali refugee would let her parents watch her four kids, under age 8, while she took a little time for herself. But now they’re not coming from a refugee camp in Kenya where they have spent much of their lives and where the 24-year-old Ahmed and her 26-year-old husband, Ali Aden, were both born.

On his first day in office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump suspended all refugee resettlements within the U.S. for at least 90 days.

Ahmed’s parents and brother were scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on Jan. 16 but the devastating Southern California wildfires canceled their flight. Four days later, Trump issued his executive order. They sold or gave away everything they owned, including their goats, in anticipation of coming to America. They bought winter clothes that they can’t wear in the heat of Kenya. They’re back at the refugee camp trying to make do.

Through her Catholic Community Services of Utah case manager Abdifatah Wanow, a Somali refugee himself, Ahmed said the bad news left her stressed and with a headache. She’s still feeling that way now.

They weren’t the only refugee family in Utah that had their hopes for reuniting with their loved ones dashed because of Trump’s order.

Read more about how the indefinite suspension of refugee resettlements has brought heartache and uncertainty to some families.

Sen. Mike Lee pushes to defund NPR, PBS over bias accusations

Cami Mondeaux reports from Washington:

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is pushing to strip both PBS and NPR of its government funding, accusing the outlets of producing biased news and using taxpayer money to disseminate political propaganda.

Lee introduced the Defund Government Sponsored Propaganda Act on Tuesday, seeking to halt federal funds from going toward the broadcasting networks and to instead use the money to go toward paying off the national debt.

“Americans have hundreds of sources of news and commentary, and they don’t need politically biased, taxpayer-funded media choosing what they should see and hear,” Lee said in a statement.

Read more about Lee’s efforts and how other politicians have responded.

The Perfect Gift for a Friend, Family Member or Loved One

If you would like to have a greater understanding and appreciation of the Book of Mormon, “A Glossary of the Book of Mormon” may help you. If you or anyone you love is struggling for your testimony, “Internal Evidences of the Truthfulness of the Book of Mormon” may help you. Order your copy today on Amazon.com!

Perspective

Jennifer Graham: The Super Bowl slip you might not have noticed and what it reveals about Disney+ (Deseret News)
Jacob Hess: 7 common ways journalistic ethics are being disregarded (Deseret News)

Utah

Need a date for Valentine’s Day? Bring a dog or cat home for the night (Deseret News)
Winter storm warnings issued across Utah ahead of incoming atmospheric river (KSL)
Davis County warming center moves to Kaysville amid resident concerns (KSL)
DEA sounding alarm on Carfentanil following recent seizure of package intended for Utah (KUTV)

Politics

Oil and gas industry advocate picked to lead BLM (Deseret News)
Groups sue to get access to immigrants at Guantánamo Bay (Axios)

The U.S. & World

U.S. inflation spikes unexpectedly in first 2025 reading (Deseret News)
Trump says he spoke with Putin about ending the war in Ukraine (Deseret News)
Kilauea is spewing lava again. It is the Hawaii volcano’s latest activity in an on-and-off eruption (The Associated Press)

Sports

‘This is the right time’: Why Tom Holmoe is retiring after 20 years as BYU’s athletic director (Deseret News)
What Utah took away from its late-game struggles on a 2-loss road trip (Deseret News)
Equal pay for male and female college athletes? Trump rescinds Biden-era guidance (Deseret News)
Have you ever wanted to race a tiny car around the Utah Capitol? Now’s your chance (Deseret News)

Faith

Utah may join 12 states that recognize Good Friday as a legal holiday (Deseret News)
RootsTech 2025 aims to help attendees worldwide ‘discover’ their family history, event director says (Church News)

Health

Canned tuna recalled over botulism risk (Deseret News)
How an Apache tribe drove down cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (NPR)

🗓️ Events Calendar

We put together a list of events and activities going on around the state of Utah in February. Check it out and let us know if we are missing anything!

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today:

Feb. 13 — Jim Jefferies | Eccles Theater
Feb. 13-28 — “Barefoot in the Park” | Covey Center for the Arts, Provo
Feb. 13 — Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Clippers | 7 p.m.
Feb. 13 — Weber State women’s basketball vs. Montana State | 6 p.m.
Feb. 13 — SUU men’s basketball vs. Utah Tech | 6:30 p.m.

Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond!

And reply to this email or email newsletters@deseretnews.com to tell us what you think of Utah Today.

Thanks for reading!

— Ariel