Utah Headlines

Salt Lake Tribune

• Michelle Quist: Why Utahns should care about the ERA - "If the Utah Legislature does not approve it this year, we will know what its members think of women," writes the former secretary of the Utah Republican Party. The bill is currently stuck in rules.
• Salt Lake City parents lose their legal fight to reopen schools. But not for the reasons you might think. The school district, he wrote, never violated any students' constitutional right - as parents argued - in staying virtual. And it could have continued to do so, he said. The Utah Constitution only guarantees access to instruction, not to classes in person in a building.
• Sen. Mike Lee has voted no on every one of President Joe Biden's Cabinet-level nominees so far. Here's why. - When asked why Lee opposed those nominees, his office provided specific reasons for opposing each of the four - rather than indicating he has an overarching philosophical reason for opposing Biden's nominees as a group.
• John Curtis says using tech to combat climate change should excite even fellow Republicans - "This one point should get them excited," he said. "That is, we are on the cusp of either becoming the world leader in this technology or letting somebody else do it."
• Bill may be first step to bringing back Utah vehicle safety inspections - SB93 only would require emissions techs to examine car lights and lamps.
• Half of U.S. pastors say they've heard conspiracy theories in their churches - Survey finds "startling disconnect" from truth in Protestant congregations.

COVID Corner

• The private sector can facilitate smooth vaccine rollout (Deseret News) - Government must once again work closely with the business community in vaccine prioritization and distribution.
• The Amazonian city that hatched the Brazil variant has been crushed by it (Washington Post) - Even in a city as traumatized as Manaus, the horror has been unlike anything doctors have seen. The oxygen quickly ran out. Dozens of hospital patients have died of asphyxiation. Scores more, unable to get care, have died at home. Every half-hour, one doctor said, a funeral procession rumbled toward the cemetery.
• The first 22M Americans have been vaccinated for COVID-19, and initial safety data shows everything is going well, CDC says (USA Today) - More than 9,000 people reported side effects after vaccination to the CDC's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS. The problems in slightly more than 1,000 of those reports were considered serious. The majority of complaints involved headaches, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, chills, fever and pain.
• N.Y. Severely Undercounted Virus Deaths in Nursing Homes, Report Says (New York Times) - The state attorney general, Letitia James, said it's likely that the Cuomo administration failed to report thousands of Covid-19 deaths of nursing home residents.
• Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Effective, But Less So Against Variant In South Africa (NPR) Against the original COVID-19 strain, the vaccine is about 96% effective, but that drops to about 86% against the South African variant.
• Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Is 66% Effective In Preventing Moderate To Severe COVID-19 (NPR) The study was conducted in the U.S., Latin America and South Africa. The vaccine did better at preventing disease in this country 72% percent - and less well in South Africa 57% efficacy. The efficacy seen in Latin America was 66%.
• Coronavirus variant from South Africa has reached the United States. Here's where we know it exists (Deseret News) - It's been found in South Carolina, in two apparently unrelated cases.
• With precautions in place, there's little evidence of COVID-19 spread in schools (Deseret News) - "The preponderance of available evidence from the fall school semester has been reassuring," the researchers wrote. "There has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission."
• It may be time to wear an N95 mask (Deseret News) - A Harvard professor recently opined that people should wear N95 masks as it would create "greater than 99% reduction in exposure."
• Here's what Utah doctors are advising pregnant women about COVID-19 vaccines (Salt Lake Tribune) - Get it. A new study led by University of Utah researcher says serious pregnancy complications seem to occur in women who have severe or critical coronavirus cases and the risks of the vaccine are less than the risks of the disease.

Deseret News

• Juggling parenting, work and a pandemic is not getting easier - Work-life balance in general has become harder as lines have blurred, especially for parents who've been working from home while balancing such tasks as keeping kids on track with homework or dealing with child care.
• What Trump's inner circle told Utah Sen. Mike Lee in the days before Jan. 6 - Utah Sen. Mike Lee received a memorandum from former President Donald Trump's legal team on the weekend before Congress met to finalize the presidential election suggesting that seven states had decided to or had submitted a different slate of electors than the ones they sent to Washington in December. "I found this surprising because I knew that hadn't happened.
• Has the pandemic made drivers lose their minds? - In the past 10 months or so, people have been driving a lot less and dying a lot more in accidents. They also tend to be more angry behind the wheel than they used to be.
• The life of this Rwandan Catholic priest was just celebrated in Utah. Will Father Ubald be declared a saint? - "His ability to forgive the person who killed his mother and 80 other family members, and not just forgive, but then take care of the children of the man, he received extreme grace in his life and therefore was able to forgive in extreme fashion." He died at the U of U Hospital on Jan. 7 of fibrotic lung disease as a result of having had COVID-19 last fall. He was 64.
• Rep. Burgess Owens apologizes to 'liberals,' says he accepts Biden as president - Owens tells Utah House Democrats he now realizes the difference between liberals, Marxists and socialists.
• Utah vaccine doses may triple; Gov. Cox 'more optimistic' than ever - Vaccine doses in Utah jumped by more than 73,000 since last week, Cox said, up from about 40,000 administered in the first week of January.
• Utah lawmakers laud 'historic' early budgeting for education - Base budget bill for schools funds 6% weighted-pupil increase, $1,500 teacher bonuses - that's BIG bump.
• Larry King's wife, Shawn King, speaks out on her husband for the first time - "I'm still processing," she said. At the funeral, "we wore Larry's suspenders, every one of us."

Other

COVID-19 vaccine mobiles to deliver doses to Salt Lake County communities (FOX 13) - Two mammoth health mobiles sat parked in the Salt Lake County complex Wednesday morning, wrapped with logos and ready to go get shots in arms.

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National Headlines

• Trump may poison the party, but Republicans have decided they need him (Politico) - A delicate dance is underway to keep some distance from the ex-president while also letting him know he's beloved and welcomed.
• McCarthy and Trump discuss Republicans' plans to win House majority at Florida meeting Thursday (CNN) - Despite political pressure from some in the GOP that the party must move on from Trump, McCarthy is eyeing what will win him back the House and possibly catapult him to the speakership.
• 'For Christ's sake, watch yourself': Biden warns family over business dealings (Politico) - Still, one brother discussed new venture with major donor before Biden entered the White House.
• Trump may be out of office, but Republicans are still angry and ready to do his bidding (The Guardian) - Republican leadership has jettisoned its commitment to democracy and the rule of law. For them, the will of the people is no longer the same thing as the will of their people, and it is the latter that counts.
• New Georgia Democratic senators push for fast action on new stimulus checks to fulfill campaign pledge (Washington Post) - Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael G. Warnock speak up on private call with White House officials, fellow Senate Democrats
• Chief federal judge in DC scorches Capitol riot suspects and keeps man who was in Pelosi's office in jail (CNN) - "This was not a peaceful protest. Hundreds of people came to Washington, DC, to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power," Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the DC District Court said in the hourlong hearing.
• Joe Biden axes 'global gag rule' but health groups call on him to go further (The Guardian) - Reproductive rights advocates are urging the new administration to now go further and permanently repeal the Mexico City policy known as the "global gag rule" to prevent it being reinstated by a future Republican president.
• Is Congresswoman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene being canceled? (Deseret News) - The freshman Republican says "fake news" is trying to "cancel" her over social media posts that expressed support for conspiracy theories and political assassinations.
• 92-year-old Holocaust survivor says white supremacist imagery during Capitol riot "gave me taste of the past" (CBS) - "Hitler and the Nazis did not start with killing," he said. "It all started with hate."

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Policy News

Darren Parry tells the story of the Bear River Massacre
Darren Parry learned from his grandmother Mae Timbimboo Parry the importance of sharing stories and making sure the truth is told. Mae worked for decades to ensure that the real story of what happened at the Bear River Massacre (not a "battle" - a slaughter) and her grandson Darren is carrying on that legacy.

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Derek Miller appointed to US Chamber task force on human trafficking
Salt Lake Chamber President and CEO Derek Miller was appointed to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Task Force to Eradicate Human Trafficking. The appointment underscores Miller's commitment to making a difference in the fight for freedom through the power of business. The month of January was designated National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month by the prior administration leading up to National Freedom Day on February 1, 2021.

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Bank of America looking for SLC teens to sponsor
Bank of America is seeking driven and engaged local Salt Lake area teens to participate in its Student Leaders program this summer.

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Gov. Cox disappointed in Biden's decision to pause oil and gas leases
In response to President Biden's executive order placing an indefinite moratorium on new leases for oil and gas development on federal lands, Gov. Spencer J. Cox issued the following statement:

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Deseret Wellness, LLC, to open the Wasatch Back's only medical cannabis pharmacy
Today, Deseret Wellness LLC unveiled the Wasatch Back's only medical cannabis pharmacy. Located on Kearns Blvd. in the heart of Park City, this state-of-the-art and patient-focused facility is well positioned to take care of patient needs throughout Summit, Wasatch, and Morgan Counties. The pharmacy opens to the public in early February.

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Business Headlines

• Two years on, Utah's Qualtrics makes $15B splash in public markets (Deseret News) - Their IPO was spectacular. Congrats, Qualtrics!
• American Airlines, Southwest post record losses and signal need for more aid (Reuters) - U.S. airlines expect demand to improve this year as vaccines become more widely distributed but have warned that the strength of any rebound will depend on the pace of vaccine rollouts and the easing of travel restrictions.
• Robinhood restricts trading in GameStop, other names involved in frenzy (CNBC) - Robinhood customers took to Twitter to express their outrage surrounding the decision."Either #Robinhood allows people to trade freely in the market or they will lose millions of users #ToTheMoon #GME #AMC #NAKD," one twitter user wrote.

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