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Situational Analysis - April 12, 2021

Happy Monday! It's National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day - enjoy!

This week's newsletter will be streamlined as I am out of the country with limited Internet. It's the perfect opportunity for you to tell me what you miss by filling out this survey.

News you need to know

1. The statewide mask mandate was lifted on Saturday with some exceptions, including schools. Businesses also have the ability to require masks.
2. Some people don't understand the "no shoes, no shirt, no mask, no service" policy and threatened to kill people who asked them to comply. Don't be those people.
3. Governor Cox's approval rating continues to rise, with 66% approval overall and 68% approval on his handling of the pandemic.
4. Two Salt Lake City deputies were shot on Saturday. Both survived but one lost his eye.
5. Another Black man is shot and killed during a traffic stop in Minneapolis, near where Derek Chauvin is on trial for the murder of George. Floyd. His mother said it was because he had air fresheners hanging from his mirror.

Countdown

2 days until the end of the Cox/Henderson administration's first 100 days (04/14/2021)
12 days until the United Utah Party Organizing Convention (04/24/2021)
18 days until the Biden/Harris administration's first 100 days are up (04/30/2021)
19 days until the in-person Utah GOP Organizing Convention (05/01/2021)
152 days until half-way through the Cox/Henderson's administration's 500-day plan (09/11/2021)

Utah Headlines

Deseret News

• Could text counseling be one solution for the teen mental health crisis?
• Here's why President Biden's executive action on guns won't stop gun violence
• The rhythms of Ramadan
• Poll: How Utahns want state leaders to spend federal COVID-19 relief money
• How prescribed burns could help forests withstand disease and heat
• This rabbi was sexually abused for 10 years. His case is over, but his mission is not

Salt Lake Tribune

• Salt Lake County Republicans elect Chris Null as their new chair
• Tiny homes for the homeless? The idea could become a reality by this winter, Salt Lake City mayor says.
• Biden is poised to expand Bears Ears and Grand Staircase monuments. The real question is by how much?
• They make up most of the adult LDS membership. So why do they feel like outsiders? Because they're single.
• Scientists have identified nearly 300 coronavirus variant cases in Utah
• Robert Gehrke: The Legislature can declare an end to COVID, but hundreds of thousands of our neighbors have long weeks ahead
• Here's how millions in federal funds will benefit Utah's rural counties after the pandemic ends.

Other

• Victims want parole reform in Utah, experts say the fix is complicated (KUTV)
• SLC store closes for the day after man refuses to wear mask, threatens to 'shoot place up'

COVID Corner

• Chinese COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness 'not high,' government exploring options: officials (Fox News)
• Covid variant from South Africa was able to 'break through' Pfizer vaccine in Israeli study (CNBC)
• As vaccinations keep rising, so do COVID-19 hospitalizations among those who aren't vaccinated (KSL.com)
• Scientists have a new tool to predict the next pandemic virus (Deseret News)
• Report: U.S. mothers share breast milk to spread COVID-19 antibodies (Deseret News)
• This woman got pregnant ... while she was already pregnant. Here's what happened (Deseret News)
• You may have been charged for your COVID-19 vaccine shot (Deseret News)
• As variants surge, efforts in a patchwork of surveillance have ramped up to detect them (Washington Post)
• What should a coronavirus memorial look like? This powerful statement on gun violence offers a model. (Washington Post)
• Drained by a Year of Covid, Many Mayors Head for the Exit (New York Times)

National Headlines

• Biden White House puts its police oversight commission on ice (Politico)
• Trump Bashes McConnell in Speech to GOP Donors (Wall Street Journal)
• 'White Lives Matter' rallies flop as hardly anyone shows up (NBC News)
• Rep. Jordan slams Biden admin for limiting media's access to migrant facilities amid surge at border (Fox News)
• Woman claiming to be Harry Potter accused in hit-and-run death of federal judge (NBC News)
• Mexico's new migrant policy adds to Biden's border woes (Washington Post)
• More than 100 corporate executives hold call to discuss halting donations and investments to fight controversial voting bills (Washington Post)
• Facing GOP opposition, Biden seeks to redefine bipartisanship (Washington Post)
• White House sends mixed message on higher taxes (The Hill)
• Biden to meet Monday with bipartisan lawmakers about infrastructure (The Hill)
• N.R.A. Chief Takes the Stand, With Cracks in His Armor (New York Times)

Policy News

Business Headlines

• Fed Chair Jerome Powell tells 60 Minutes America is going back to work (CBS News)
• Alibaba shares jump 8% after being hit with $2.8 billion fine in anti-monopoly probe (CNBC)
• Why We're Freaking Out About Substack (The New York Times)
• Google Will Shut Down the Google Shopping App for iOS and Android in a Few Weeks (Gizmodo)
• Fed's Powell says reopening economy too quickly could cause new coronavirus spike (Washington Post)

On This Day In History

(From History.com)

• 1633 - Galileo is accused of heresy.
• 1861 - Civil War begins as Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter.
• 1912 - Clara Barton, American nurse and founder of the American Red Cross, dies of tuberculosis at 90.
• 1916 - Beverly Cleary is born.
• 1929 - Arches National Park established
• 1945 - FDR dies of a stroke after being elected to his fourth term in office.
• 1963 - Martin Luther King, Jr. is jailed, writes "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."
• 1985 - Senator Jake Garn from Utah goes into space

Wise Words

"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."

~Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail

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