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Utah Headlines

Political news

• Tim Scott says Mitt Romney’s plan to oppose Trump is ‘great’ — as long as he’s not the one dropping out (Deseret News)
• Compass responds to concerns about its operations on Great Salt Lake, but lawmakers aren’t happy (Salt Lake Tribune)

Election news

• Predicting turnout in Utah’s CD2 special election proves unpredictable (KSL Newsradio)
• Nine candidates vying for three at-large seats on the Logan Municipal Council (Cache Valley Daily)
• Bruce Hough, Celeste Maloy talk Trump charges, abortion in televised GOP primary debate (Deseret News)
• Becky Edwards leans on her lawmaker’s experience in her run to replace Stewart (KUER)
• Sharlee Mullins Glenn: A call to Utah’s unaffiliated voters (Salt Lake Tribune)

General Utah news

• Afghan refugees in Utah struggle to keep legal status two years after military withdrawal (KSL Newsradio)
• Editorial Board: Is Utah prepared for a Maui-type fire? We should be (Deseret News)
• UTA gearing up for major schedule changes, including more frequent Saturday TRAX service (KSL)
• Utah man killed by FBI brandished guns at officer, Google Fiber workers in 2018, records reveal (Deseret News)
• Utah Farm Bureau president resigns following allegations of assault, fraud, human trafficking (KUTV)

Hawaii wildfires

• More than 1,000 still reported missing following Lahaina fire — names of the dead start to be released Tuesday (Deseret News)
• Utah Task Force assisting with Maui wildfire search & rescue operations (KUTV)
• dōTERRA organizes Maui Disaster Relief Fund through healing hands program (ABC4)
• In Maui wildfire, many fear children are a large share of the dead (Wall Street Journal)
• Videos put scrutiny on downed power lines as possible cause of deadly Maui wildfires (AP)
• Maui tourism, an economic mainstay, sparks anger amid fire ruin (Reuters)
• Old photos are being misrepresented online to fuel a conspiracy theory about the Maui wildfires (AP)
• Trees and poles standing amid Maui fire wreckage aren’t unusual, contrary to conspiracy theories (AP)

Business

• A $900,000-a-year gig? Booming AI job listings outpacing talent as average salaries balloon (Deseret News)
• Water, traffic and visitors: How a $2 billion mega-resort in southern Utah plans to fit in. Situated on 630 acres straddling Ivins and Santa Clara, Black Desert is nearly four times the original size of Disneyland. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Turning up the heat: Crumbl and Dirty Dough both confident in latest court decision (KSL)
• Judge says Crumbl challenger downloaded 66 recipes before leaving cookie company. Dirty Dough doesn’t have to stop opening franchises while the case continues, but Crumbl has ‘likelihood of success,’ judge writes (Salt Lake Tribune)

Culture

• Perspective: What ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ and ‘The Blind Side’ have in common (Deseret News)
• Hello neighbors, goodbye unwellness: Adults who greet neighbors have better well-being, new poll says (Deseret News)

Education

• Should I send my child to school with a cellphone? The remarkable call from the United Nations to ban smartphones in schools worldwide (Deseret News)
• Park City kidnapping highlights immediate need for online safety, communication with teens (KUTV)
• Is a four-day school week the answer to teacher shortage? (KSL Newsradio)
• Changes at UVU anticipate growth, and students staying in Utah (KSL Newsradio)
• Kearns teacher helps his students through food (Fox13)
• Utah teachers, parents work together to help navigate changes in education (KUTV)
• Security guards and weapon detectors are coming to Salt Lake City high schools (Salt Lake Tribune)

Environment

• Following record snowpack, here’s how full Utah’s reservoirs are through mid-August (KSL)
• Lawmaker says Great Salt Lake mining operation is like ‘wild wild West’ (Deseret News)
• USU researchers create jet fuel from juniper trees (KSL TV)
• Feds ease Colorado River cutbacks after positive forecast, but more work remains (UPR)
• Salt Lake City west-siders dealing with bad air are disconnected from their politicians (KUER)

Housing

• Salt Lake City resident’s quest to repair historic carriage house leads to unique zoning change (KSL)
• U.S. housing market hits record $47 trillion in value. Millennial homeowners gained the most (Deseret News)
• 1 in 5 homes for sale in Utah cost at least $1 million (KUTV)
• With prices skyrocketing, where will St. George’s resort workers live? (Salt Lake Tribune)

National Headlines

General

•  Tuohys call Michael Oher’s filing ‘hurtful’ and part of a shakedown attempt (AP)
• Government's own experts found 'barbaric' and 'negligent' conditions in ICE detention facilities (NPR)
• State investigators will probe police raid of Kansas newspaper office (Washington Post)
• Elon Musk’s X is throttling traffic to websites he dislikes (Washington Post)

Politics

•  What is RICO? And why does Donald Trump face racketeering charges? (Deseret News)
• Trump enjoys strong support among Republicans. The general election could be a different story (AP)
• ‘Biased.’ ‘Corrupt.’ ‘Deranged.’ Trump’s taunts test limits of release.
  Some lawyers have said that if former President Trump were an ordinary citizen issuing these attacks, he would be in jail by now. (New York Times)
• Trump refusal to sign loyalty pledge puts RNC in bind (The Hill)
• Once a conservative lawmaker, Mark Meadows now indicted (Roll Call)
• Polls: Democrat Gallego leads in possible Arizona Senate matchup with Sinema (Deseret News)
• Biden administration pushes Supreme Court to take up cases on state-level social media laws (KUTV)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

• Russia hits Ukrainian grain depots again as a foreign ship tries out Kyiv’s new Black Sea corridor (AP)
• Ukraine’s deputy defense minister said Kyiv’s forces had recaptured the village of Urozhaine. (New York Times)
• Doctors in Ukraine haunted by gruesome mine blast injuries (Washington Post)

World

• 2 years of women suffering under the Taliban 😠 (Deseret News)
• North Korea denounces US plans for an open UN Security Council meeting on its human rights record (AP)
• And also..... North Korea asserts US soldier bolted into North after being disillusioned with American society (AP)
• Afghanistan changed me. I thought that being a war correspondent was the pinnacle of my profession as a journalist. I had no idea what I was getting into. (The Atlantic)

Number of the Day 

News Releases

314 classrooms added across Utah as parents embrace full-day kindergarten

 The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) is excited to report that there were an additional 314 kindergarten classrooms during the 2022-23 school year as compared to the 2021-22 school year. This means that Utah schools served 7,226 more students than the previous year. The increase follows the passage of H.B. 477 during the 2023 legislative session. H.B. 477 opened up full-day kindergarten opportunities for all LEAs, with an option for half-day kindergarten. USBE anticipates that the number of full-day kindergarten classrooms will continue to grow as more parents take advantage of the opportunity to cultivate a comprehensive foundation for their children’s academic journey. (Read More)

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• Sutherland Institute Congressional Series with Sen. Mitt Romney — Aug 21, 10:00-11:30 am, Hinckley Institute, U of U
• Sutherland Institute Congressional Series with Rep. John Curtis — Aug 22, 9:00-10:30 am, Center for Constitutional Studies, UVU
• Sutherland Institute Congressional Series with Sen. Mike Lee — Aug 22, 3:00-4:30 pm, Hinckley Institute, U of U
• 'Titan of Public Service' gala recognizing Senator Mitch McConnell and former Transportation and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, hosted by the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation — Aug. 22, 7 p.m., Register here
• Sutherland Institute Congressional Series with Rep. Blake Moore — Aug 29, 10:00-11:30 am, Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service, Lindquist Hall, Weber State
• Sutherland Institute Congressional Series with Rep. Burgess Owens — Aug 30, 12:00-1:30 pm, Hinckley Institute, U of U
• Municipal/Special election primary — Sept. 5
• Interim Day — Sept. 18, Utah Tech University, le.utah.gov
• A Bolder Way Forward with the Utah Women and Leadership Project — Sept. 20, 12:00 - 1:15 pm, Virtual, Register here
• Interim Day — Oct 10-11, le.utah.gov
• Interim Day — Nov 14-15, le.utah.gov
• General election — Nov. 21

On This Day In History 

• 1841 - President John Tyler is burned in effigy outside the White House for vetoing a second attempt to re-establish the Bank of the United States.
• 1858 - Britain's Queen Victoria telegraphs US President James Buchanan for 1st time by transatlantic telegraph cable. He replies ""it is a triumph more glorious, because far more useful to mankind, than was ever won by conqueror on the field of battle."
• 1896 - Gold discovered in the Yukon
• 1940 - The first official Army parachute jump takes place at Ft. Benning, Georgia.
• 1947 - Carol Mosely Braun is born. She was the first African American woman elected to the United States Senate, and the first woman elected to the Senate from Illinois when she waged a successful campaign in 1992.
• 1948 - Babe Ruth dies
• 1954 - Sports Illustrated magazine debuts
• 1977 - Elvis Presley dies
• 2009 - Usain Bolt sets 100-meter dash world record

Quote of the Day

"To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often."

—Winston Churchill

On the Punny Side

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