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🇺🇸 Happy Flag Day! 🇺🇸 Here are today’s temperatures:

🌤️ 60 – 91° in Logan

🌤️ 73 – 95° in Salt Lake

☀️ 72 – 102° in St. George

For more than 22 years, Frank De Palma sat alone in a cell at Ely State Prison, a maximum-security facility in northeastern Nevada.

Frank’s story is emblematic of an American phenomenon. No country uses long-term solitary confinement more than the leader of the free world. More than 80,000 people on a given day experience solitary confinement in prisons nationwide.

Read more about what researchers and lawmakers are just starting to understand about the effects of solitary confinement.

Also on our minds:

The Supreme Court’s surprising unanimous ruling on an abortion pill
What the U.S. security pact with Ukraine means for the countries’ futures
Why BYU-bound running sensation Danny Simmons is leaving his athletic career behind for a time

Utah has an NHL team. Will people go to the games?

Within an hour of receiving an email about season tickets for Utah’s new NHL team, Kyle Boyd had his name on the list to buy some.

“It’s something I’ve wanted my whole life, ever since I became a hockey fan as a late teenager. I’ve always wanted to live somewhere where I had an opportunity to go to multiple games for the home team,” he said.

Boyd and his seatmates are among thousands of Utahns who say they will follow the team and attend games.

Deseret News and the Hinckley Institute of Politics gauged fan interest in the Utah Hockey Club in a new poll that found 78% of Utahns have heard about the team.

Read more about the poll’s findings and read more here about the team’s new colors.

Building trust in a tech-driven world: Gabb is leading the way of child-safe technology

Utah’s first lady, Abby Cox, remembers growing up in rural Utah at a time when families trusted the community to look after their kids when they left the house — a time without smartphone trackers and social media.

Younger generations will never know what it was like to grow up without technology that provides the world at their fingertips, as older generations did. Because information is more accessible than ever before, parents are keeping their children at arm’s length to ensure their safety.

“As we dive into our social media and our phones and all these ways that we see the scary world out there that we’ve all gotten addicted to,” she said at Gabb’s new headquarters in Lehi, Utah, on Thursday, “we are not trusting each other anymore, and our kids are not having a place where they can look around and have a community.”

Read more about the Utah-based company’s mission to prioritize children and families.

More in Utah

‘Dedicated public servant’: Utah leaders mourn passing of former state Sen. Peter Knudson (KSL)
Burgess Owens leads legislation to rename the Santaquin Post Office in honor of fallen officer (Deseret News)
Utah Reps. Moore, Curtis, Owens endorse Celeste Maloy reelection (Deseret News)
Utah’s Jonas Harmer reflects on being the ‘tallest ninja ever’ in the ‘American Ninja Warrior’ semifinals (Deseret News)

FROM OUR SPONSOR COLONIAL HERITAGE FESTIVAL

The Colonial Heritage Festival - Step back in time July 4–6

The Colonial Heritage Festival offers something for every member of the family. Visit the village apothecary shop, blacksmith, cooper, broom maker, gunsmith, spoon maker, potter, various fiber artisans, chandler, baker, Isaiah Thomas Print Shop, frontier life, chocolate making, school and much more.

The U.S.

Fed holds on rate change for now. Here’s what it means for you (Deseret News)
Juneteenth: What it is and how to celebrate it (Deseret News)
Would revoking colleges’ tax-exempt status, taxing endowments check antisemitism? (Deseret News)

The World

U.S., Ukraine sign decade-long security pact. But what does it mean? (Deseret News)
Pope Francis to attend G7, talk about AI (Deseret News)
Cliff Smith: America needs to decide what ‘victory’ means in conflict (Deseret News)

Politics

Sen. Mike Lee, Rep. Celeste Maloy push Justice Department to crack down on teen vaping and illegal e-cigarettes (Deseret News)
Supreme Court issues surprising unanimous ruling on abortion pill (Deseret News)

Sports

Why a BYU-bound running sensation is leaving his athletic career behind (for a time) (Deseret News)
If the Big 12 lets a sponsor rename it, what’s the funniest possible new name? (Deseret News)
Jazz quietly holding pre-draft workouts with multiple lottery prospects (Deseret News)
Deseret News 2024 Softball All-State Players of the Year (Deseret News)

Faith

Mark Wahlberg credits his faith in God for his career success (Deseret News)
As Boston Celtics near championship title, coach Joe Mazzulla is talking about his faith (Deseret News)

Health

Deseret News Editorial Board: Why some European nations are pulling back on gender-related treatment for minors (Deseret News)

Photo of the week

BY JEFFREY D. ALLRED

Lightning strikes on the Great Salt Lake as a truck drives on I-80 in Utah’s west desert in the early hours of Friday, June 7, 2024. Storm clouds covered the sky and the northern lights were difficult to view.