Utah Headlines

Political news

• How can the US stay ahead on cyber warfare? Here’s what Sen. Mitt Romney says (Deseret News) 
• It’s been a year of high-profile rulings. Does that ‘politicize’ Utah’s courts? (KUER)

Election news

• In Arizona, an old immigration debate returns. In 2010, Arizona’s immigration law sparked nationwide backlash. This fall, a similar ballot measure is up for vote — with little opposition (Deseret News)
• Voices: Banning ballot collection in Utah won’t stop voter fraud. It will disenfranchise Native American voters. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Municipal news

• Morgan County proposal calling for 2,200-plus housing units sparks debate, talk of new city (KSL)
• ‘Find a way to make it run;’ Lehi City Council discusses multi-million dollar park hours, staffing after backlash (KSL TV)
• 11-year-old complains to Clearfield City Hall and gets to design a better playground (KSL TV)
• Park City to open new trail at Snow Park for e-mountain bike use (Salt Lake Tribune)

Utah

• 'A win-win': Utah launching effort to promote US citizenship among eligible immigrants (KSL)
• Utah charities team up to distribute pet food to families in need (KSL) 
• BYU fans turn out in droves to support Kansas State QB’s cancer fund drive (Deseret News)

Biz/Tech

• 'When life gives you bananas': How this St. George couple turned a banana prank into a 6-figure business (St. George News)
• US accuses Visa of monopolizing debit card swipes (Reuters)

Crime/Courts

• Utah County Attorney criticized by former public defender in Kent Cody Barlow case (KUTV)
• Utah police warn of ‘personalized and threatening’ email scam targeting victims (ABC4)
• USU issues warning after student reports sexual assault at knife-point (ABC4)

Culture

• Kids love hearing this middle school janitor sing. Now he’s won $1 million on ‘America’s Got Talent’ (Deseret News)

Education

• A new poll shows how teachers view parent involvement in schools (Deseret News)
• New York Times columnist David French tells BYU students to face political division as Christ would (Deseret News)
• See which 3 Utah schools earned a National Blue Ribbon designation this year (Salt Lake Tribune)
• 'Cultivate Curriculum' teaches what really happens on Utah family farms (Fox13)

Environment

• Saving the Great Salt Lake earns bipartisan support in US House (Deseret News) 
• Utah Lake has struggled with its reputation, but maybe it deserves another look (Deseret News)
• Tropical Storm Helene is stirring up to be the largest hurricane in the 2024 season (Deseret News)

Health

• If Utah bans cell phones in schools it could cut students off from SafeUT, too (KUER)
• Longevity in a pill? Why older people are taking this immunosuppressant (Deseret News)

National Headlines

General

• Brett Favre announces Parkinson’s diagnosis. (Deseret News)
• Shippers scramble for workarounds ahead of looming US East Coast port strike (Reuters)
• Missouri executes a man for the 1998 killing of a woman despite her family’s calls to spare his life (AP)
• A boy snatched from a California park in 1951 is found living on the East Coast (NPR)

Political news

• Kamala Harris — the ‘sweariest’ politician? A British newspaper has dubbed the vice president ‘the doyenne of the dirty word.’ Unfortunately, many of her GOP critics sound much the same (Deseret News)
• Biden walks off the U.N. stage, leaving behind ‘purgatory’ (Washington Post)
• Senators press Novo Nordisk CEO on why Ozempic and Wegovy cost less abroad (Washington Post)

Election news

• Harris widens lead over Trump, blunts his economic edge, poll finds (Reuters)
• How Trump and Vance's tour of dude influencers might help them win (NPR)
• Harris to deliver major speech on the economy in Pittsburgh (Washington Post)
• ‘He should be doing better’: Even some Trump allies see him veering off course (Politico)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

• Exclusive: Russia has secret war drones project in China, intel sources say (Reuters)
• Zelensky Appeals for More Pressure on Russia in U.N. Speech (Wall Street Journal)

Israel and Gaza

• As Israel turns to Lebanon, Gazans get reprieve but plead for help (Washington Post)
• Israel Intercepts First Missile Hezbollah Has Fired at Tel Aviv (Wall Street Journal)

World news

• Church of Jesus Christ donates $8 million to help feed schoolchildren in Haiti (Deseret News)
• Russian parliament passes first reading of an adoption ban for countries allowing gender transition (AP)

Number of the Day 

Guest opinion: 'Operation Grim Beeper'

by Jared Whitely

If you’re anything like me, your first reaction to the news that Israel had exploded hundreds of Hezbollah pagers was to ask, “Wait, who still use pagers?” 

The second reaction was sheer awe at the brilliance of the plan. 

On Tuesday last week, news spread that hundreds of pagers – believed to be in the hands (and pockets) of Hezbollah agents – had exploded across Lebanon, killing about a dozen and injuring 2,000 more. A couple days later, walkie talkies likewise exploded, including some at funerals for Hezbollah agents, adding another 20 dead and 450 wounded to the casualty list. The plan has been nicknamed Operation: Grim Beeper. 

Hezbollah is a 40-year-old non-state actor with both military capabilities and a political presence in Lebanon. As a sign of how scary these guys are, their name – an adaption of “Hisbu Allah” – quite literally means “The Party of God” in Arabic. The closest comparison in modern Western history would be the Irish Republican Army and Sinn Fein during The Troubles, but only if the IRA had enjoyed billions of dollars of sophisticated military equipment. 

The question is of course how can Hezbollah afford its armaments. Hezbollah is more powerful than the official Lebanese Armed Forces. That’s thanks to funding from the oil-rich jihadist Iranian government, which also funds Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group. Given how many Islamic fundamentalist groups there are, it’s kind of hard to keep track of them all! (Hamas and Hezbollah are both worse than Al Qaeda.) (Read More)

News Releases

Utah trade delegation travels to the Republic of Korea and Japan to forge economic ties

Gov. Spencer Cox is leading a delegation of 47 Utah businesses and organizations on a trade mission to Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo, Japan, from Sept. 24 to Oct. 4, 2024. This mission aims to forge economic ties in key sectors, including manufacturing, aerospace and defense, life sciences, innovation, financial services and fintech. This visit builds upon previous governor-led trade missions to South Korea in 2018 and Japan in 2019. (Read More)

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• Sept. 30 â€” Westside Candidate Forum, 6:00 pm - 8:45 pm, in person: Promontory Building, Utah State Fairpark or online
• Oct. 1 — Attorney General Debate, UT Debate Commission, 6:00 pm
• Oct. 1 — Vice presidential debate, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
• Oct. 4 — Conservative Climate Summit, 7:30 am - 3:00 pm, UVU, Register here
• Oct. 4 — Hatch Foundation hosts Civil Dialogue Symposium with Dana Perino, 2:00 pm, USU, Register here
• Oct. 7-9 — One Utah Summit, SUU, Register here
• Oct. 8 â€” CD1 Debate, UT Debate Commission, 6:00 pm
• Oct. 10 — US Senate Debate, UT Debate Commission, 6:00 pm
• Oct. 14 â€” CD2 Debate, UT Debate Commission, 6:00 pm
• Oct. 15-16 — Interim Days
• Oct. 17 — CD3 Debate, UT Debate Commission, 6:00 pm
• Oct. 24 — CD4 Debate, UT Debate Commission, 6:00 pm
• Nov. 5 — Election Day!
• Nov. 15 — Women & Business Conference & ATHENA Awards Luncheon with the Salt Lake Chamber, Grand America Hotel, Register here
• Nov. 19-20 — Interim Days
• Jan. 9 — What’s Up Down South Economic Summit. St. George. Register here
• Jan. 10 — Rural Utah Data Symposium. St. George. Register here

On This Day In History

• 1789 - US Congress proposes the Bill of Rights
• 1894 - Grover Cleveland pardons bigamists, adulterers, polygamists and unlawful cohabitants, specifically meant for Latter-day Saints
• 1903 - Olive Beech is born. An American aerospace businesswoman, she was the co-founder, president, and chairwoman of the Beech Aircraft Corporation. She founded the company in 1932 with her husband, Walter Beech, and a team of three others. She earned more awards, honorary appointments, and special citations than any other woman in aviation history and was often referred to as the “First Lady of Aviation”.
• 1919 - US President Woodrow Wilson suffers a breakdown in Colorado, his health never recovers. Some think it was a consequence of the influenza pandemic.
• 1926 - Henry Ford announces an 8 hour, 5-day work week for workers at the Ford Motor Company
• 1957 - Little Rock Nine begin first full day of classes
• 1974 -  Barbara Hancock became the first African American woman named a White House Fellow.
• 1981 - Sandra Day O’Connor is sworn in to the US Supreme Court, the first woman to join the bench.
• 1987 - The Princess Bride movie is released

Quote of the Day

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

—Inigo Montoya, in the Princess Bride

On the Punny Side

What do Alexander the Great and Kermit the Frog have in common?

They have the same middle name.

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