Utah Headlines

Deseret News

• Romney's child benefit proposal gaining diverse fans - The New York Times, the Institute for Family Studies and the Institute of Policy Research are among them.
• Cox vs. Zuckerberg: Do Utahns think state government is more trustworthy than Facebook? - 73% of Utahns polled distrust Facebook, 53% distrust the federal government and 41% distrust state government.
• Ban on transgender athletes in girls sports stalls in Utah Senate committee - Even though no vote was taken, the bill will not be moving on.
• Salt Lake teachers, students rally against 'bullying' from Utah Legislature - "Unfortunately our state Legislature has been attacking teachers" by advancing legislation targeting Salt Lake City School District rather than letting district officials make their own decisions, said James Tobler.
• Inspired by Paris Hilton, woman says Utah ranch punished her for reporting assaults - She calls for Utah lawmakers to pass law bringing more oversight to troubled teen industry.

Salt Lake Tribune

• 'Murder Among the Mormons' brings the story of infamous Salt Lake City bombings to Netflix - The story of Mark Hofmann and the LDS Church is a true-crime drama centered on religion.
• Utah Senate committee tables bill barring transgender girls from female K-12 sports - One lawmaker on the committee, Sen. Jake Anderegg, told Birkeland repeatedly that he "hated" the proposal.
• Sounding a bit like Reagan, Mike Lee tells leaders to tear down that wall - around the U.S. Capitol - Utah senator says the armed fence sends the wrong message to the American people.
• Woman says she was punished at Turn-About Ranch after reporting a sexual assault - The Colorado woman is suing the Utah ranch for "troubled teens," and is being represented by Gloria Allred.
• UTA adopts first-ever 5-year service plan - Envisions creating a 'core network' where service is so frequent that schedules are not needed.
• Photos: Salt Lake City teachers rally against lawmakers for pressuring the district to reopen in person - Decisions to return, they say, should be made at the local level.
• A bill to make online impersonation illegal in Utah wins Senate OK - Two Utahns who have been victims of online impersonation spoke in support for the measure earlier this month, advocating for 'stricter laws' to hold people accountable.

Other:

• 'This is the future': Can telework help rural Utahns make more money and afford better homes? (KSL) - Rural Utah battles a talent drain that comes when its brightest students move away for school and take big-city jobs afterward. Working remotely means rural Utahns don't have to be limited by the wages or economic climate in their immediate surroundings.
• Utah bill would expand Medicaid coverage to include fertility preservation for cancer patients (KSL) - Cancer patients sometimes find themselves in the worst position imaginable: having to choose between life-saving treatments and the ability to have children.
• As medical cannabis moves forward, Wyoming activists, lawmakers look to Utah (FOX 13) - Wyoming activists and politicians are preparing to push for medical cannabis to be implemented in that state and are looking at Utah's newly-created medical cannabis program for ideas on what to do - and what not to do.
• More people skipping dentist appointments during pandemic (FOX 13) - According to the American Dental Association, most dental offices are back open but seeing fewer patients than normal.

COVID Corner

• Musician Trisha Yearwood diagnosed with COVID-19, husband Garth Brooks confirms (Fox13) - Yearwood is experiencing symptoms, but is "doing okay."
• Moderna to begin trial of new COVID vaccine to address virus variant first found in South Africa (USA Today) Other leaders in the COVID-19 vaccine effort Pfizer-BioNTech, Novavax, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca-Oxford University also have said they are working on new versions of their vaccines or boosters to increase their protection.
• New research shows California coronavirus variant is more transmissible (Washington Post) - A coronavirus variant detected in California this winter rapidly became dominant in the state over five months and now makes up more than half of the infections in 44 counties.
• 'If not us, then who?' (Washington Post) - These doctors and nurses battle covid all day. Then they go online and fight misinformation.
• California, With 50,000 Lost, Has More Deaths Than Any Other State (The New York Times) - Most of those deaths were recorded recently, during a frightening winter surge that followed a period of relatively low case counts.
• CDC Launches Web Tool To Help Americans Find COVID-19 Vaccines (NPR) - "The idea is to show where COVID-19 vaccine providers [are] that are open to the public - how to contact them, how to book an appointment, and try to show the daily inventory status so people are clear where there's vaccine and where there isn't,"
• Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine works well in big 'real world' test (Associated Press) - The vaccine was 92% effective at preventing severe disease after two shots and 62% after one. Its estimated effectiveness for preventing death was 72% two to three weeks after the first shot, a rate that may improve as immunity builds over time.
• Utah 'back on track' after vaccine shipments delayed, anticipating big boost in doses (Deseret News) - Next week's order is for around 32,000 first doses of the Pfizer vaccine, 27,000 first doses of the Moderna vaccine and 33,000 doses of the new J&J vaccine.
• Why you get symptoms from the 2nd COVID-19 vaccine dose (Deseret News) - "The second vaccine (dose) - think of it as having that hit to your immune system, and your immune system now recognizes the vaccine, so it does its job."

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National Headlines

• Hundreds of kids held in Border Patrol station (Axios) - More than 700 children who crossed from Mexico into the United States without their parents were in Border Patrol custody as of Sunday.
• Team Biden taps Asian American groups to help save Tanden (Politico) - As Biden's choice for budget chief flounders in the Senate, the White House has rallied her allies in the South Asian community to her defense.
• Murkowski undecided on Tanden as nomination in limbo (The Hill) - Murkowski's decision on Tanden is viewed as crucial in the White House's uphill bid to salvage her nomination.
• Miscalculating Sinema and Manchin could end up costing Biden (CNN) - The outsized role the centrists will play in Biden's efforts in Congress have earned them both the attention -- and, in some instances, the private ire -- of White House officials.
• Biden Reopens Gateway For Green Cards, Work Visas Reversing Trump COVID-19 Freeze (NPR) - "It harms the United States, including by preventing certain family members of United States citizens and lawful permanent residents from joining their families here," Biden said in a proclamation revoking the measure.
• Biden to nominate 3 to USPS Board of Governors (CNN) - The nominees are Ron Stroman, the former deputy postmaster general who resigned under the previous administration; Anton Hajjar, the former general counsel of American Postal Workers Union; and Amber McReynolds, CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute.
• Should Trump speak at CPAC? Liz Cheney says he shouldn't be part of the GOP's future; McCarthy says yes (USA Today)
• Illinois becomes first state to end cash bail as part of criminal justice reform law (NBC News) - "This legislation marks a substantial step toward dismantling the systemic racism that plagues our communities, our state and our nation ... ," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.
• Democratic fury with GOP explodes in House (The Hill) - Democrats now see the GOP as directly putting lawmaker lives on the line with dangerous rhetoric that feeds outlandish conspiracy theories. Many Democrats say it is untenable to work with those GOP lawmakers who voted to overturn the election results even after the deadly attack.
• Many of Biden's nominees of color run into turbulence in the Senate (Washington Post) - Activists say the concerns raised over Tanden are part of a broader pattern imperiling many of Biden's nominees of color, making their confirmation process rougher and meaner than in previous years and when compared with their White counterparts.
• A Recall for Newsom in California? Talk Grows as Governors Come Under Attack
• (The New York Times) - Fellow Democrats have defended Gov. Gavin Newsom, lavishly praising his handling of the pandemic. But conservatives say his shutdowns have been destructive.
• Candidate Biden Called Saudi Arabia a 'Pariah.' He Now Has to Deal With It. (The New York Times) - In a coming call with King Salman, the president plans to warn him that the United States will soon make public intelligence about the Saudi crown prince's role in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.

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Policy News

Webinar: More than a body: Building body image resilience
The Utah State University Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP), in conjunction with USU Extension, sponsors the virtual workshop, "More than a Body: Building Body Image Resilience."The free event is held Thursday, February 25, from 6 to 7:15 p.m., and registration is required.

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Sen. Lee's breakdown of the Lee-Rubio child tax credit plan
Senator Lee said: "Government policy should recognize families' indispensable contributions to our nation's long-term health and prosperity. And families should not face a penalty if one parent chooses to stay home with his or kids."

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Hatch Center launches new initiative on criminal justice reform, announces Christopher Bates as legal fellow
Today, the Hatch Center-the policy arm of the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation-announced that Christopher Bates has joined the organization as a Legal Fellow to spearhead its efforts on criminal justice reform and other matters. Previously, Bates served as a chief counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee and as a senior official at the US Department of Justice. Bates, whose areas of expertise include antitrust, intellectual property, and criminal law, will publish a series of pieces on various legal issues as well as a comprehensive report in the 2021 Hatch Center Policy Review on the way forward for criminal justice reform.

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Department of Commerce announces two new Division Directors
Executive Director Margaret Woolley Busse announced the appointment of two Division Directors for the Utah Department of Commerce: Leigh Veillette as the Director of the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, and Jason Sterzer as Director of the Division of Securities.

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Romney, Rubio, Grassley, Portman urge president to implement rule on Confucius Institutes
U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Rob Portman (R-OH) today urged the Biden Administration to implement the proposed rule requiring U.S. academic institutions disclose their relationships with Confucius Institutes, which are funded by the Chinese Communist Party. The letter reflects a similar effort in the House of Representatives.

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Business Headlines

• Here's Why GameStop Stock Just Exploded Higher (Motley Fool) - Everyone is gearing up for short squeeze 2.0.
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell says money printing doesn't lead to inflation (Kitco) - "The correlation between different aggregates [like] M2 and inflation is just very, very low, and you see that now where inflation is at 1.4% for this year. Inflation dynamics evolve over time, but they don't tend to change overnight."
• Sure, Laugh Away. But Every Big Vehicle Should Look Like This New USPS Truck (Curbed) - Safer, cleaner, smaller, these trucks are the future.

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