Thank you to Utah’s leaders for tax relief on Social Security benefits.

For too long, state taxes have reduced the hard-earned Social Security benefits Utah seniors count on. But now, Governor Cox and Utah legislators have passed tax relief that will reduce state taxes on Social Security. AARP Utah fought hard for this new law to make sure our seniors keep more of what they’ve earned. Click here to learn more & thank our leaders.

Utah Headlines

Political news

• How Utah gets things done: By bridging divides (US News)
• ‘He’s playing chicken’: Mike Lee criticizes Biden over debt ceiling negotiations (Deseret News)
• Cox celebrates 8 new education laws including full-day kindergarten bill, school safety requirements (KSL)
• Would Utah restrict Cache County’s growth over water? The state says it’s all a misunderstanding. Cache County officials said in a news release they are concerned the state would impose unnecessary water restrictions that would hinder growth. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Hunting mountain lions is now legal year-round without a permit (UPR)
• Air raids in Ukraine: In the bunker with Utah Senate President Stuart Adams (Deseret News)
• Inside Utah’s mission to help Ukraine rebuild, even as war rages on. Utah leads first state trade, humanitarian delegation to war zone (Deseret News)

General Utah news

• Analysis: Why people are fleeing blue states for red ones, and what Utah shows us (Deseret News)
• To combat violent crime, Salt Lake City is doing it like Dallas (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Teen reportedly standing in vehicle sun roof dies when car crashes, rolls near Richfield (KUTV)
• 28-year-old Libby Stimpson has been missing for two days after falling into the Weber River, and her father says she is singing with the angels of heaven. (KUTV)

Business

• Lego set to (Boba) fête Star Wars with new May the 4th, Return of the Jedi anniversary releases (Deseret News)
• Utah needs to support working women. Has James Clarke sent a mixed message? (Deseret News)
• Big ambitions in a small town: Digital entrepreneur aims to reinvent research from rural Utah. Helper Systems founder Warnock finds inspiration in his mother’s hometown (Salt Lake Tribune)

Culture

• A new survey explores how and where Americans seek divine connection — and who they pray for (Deseret News)
• Why are young people driven to document their lives? (Deseret News)
• Local photographer helps others connect to their culture (KSL TV)
• For 35 years, Delta Sigma Theta has provided community for thriving Black women in Utah (Salt Lake Tribune)

Education

• Salt Lake City School Board to announce new superintendent amid challenges (KUTV)
• Alpine School Board accused of breaking law as parents sue to keep elementary schools open (KUTV)
• Utah State Board of Education considers removing ‘climate change’ from curriculum (ABC4)

Environment

•  Utah's snowfall making immediate impact on summer recreation, campground availability (KUTV)
• ‘It was fantastic.’ Pilot revels in Great Salt Lake’s wonders (Deseret News)
• This Nevada town was once flooded, the drought revealed it (Deseret News)
• The big one is coming. How many more houses will slide away? (Deseret News)
• El Niño is coming. Here's what that means for weather in the U.S. (NPR)

Family

•  Parents told of child abuse investigation at Hill Air Force Base daycare (Fox13)

Health

• Regular internet use linked to lower dementia risk in older adults, study says (Deseret News)
• The rules of the Mediterranean diet (Deseret News)
• Here's why overprescribing antibiotics can be harmful (UPR)

Housing

• Renter beware: Application fees can now cost hundreds of dollars (Fox13)
• ‘Historic redemption': Abandoned building restored as SLC affordable housing, commercial space (KSL)
• Advocate for homeless says SLC mayor’s budget falls (oh so) short on affordable housing (KSL Newsradio)
• Black homeowners face more challenges than others in Utah (Fox13)
• Provo Council wrestles with affordable housing, homeless issues (Daily Herald)
• Salt Lake City low-income housing application program to re-open soon (Fox13)

National Headlines

General

• Former friend says Lori Vallow Daybell told her she’d been ‘at the scene’ as someone died (Deseret News)
• Lori Vallow Daybell's former friend testifies she threatened to 'cut her up' and bury her body (People)
• Three McDonald’s franchisees in Kentucky have been fined after an investigation by the Department of Labor determined that they employed more than 300 children who worked longer hours than the law permits, including 10-yr-olds who worked until 2 am (Washington Post)
• Fed hikes rates again, believes U.S. banking sector is ‘sound’ (Deseret News)
• This May the Fourth, Carrie Fisher gets Walk of Fame star (AP)

Politics

• Florida Republicans pass bills on pronoun usage at schools, ban on diversity programs (AP)
• GOP megadonor covered tuition for child Clarence Thomas was raising ‘as a son’: report (The Hill)
• ‘The DeSantis people are rookies’: Even Trump critics say he’s running circles around DeSantis (Politico)
• All Oregon residents could soon choose to pump their own gas as bill advances (The Hill)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

• Ukraine’s Zelenskyy convinced Putin will face court justice (AP)
• In Ukraine’s forests, fighters race to prepare for next push (AP)
• Moscow says US behind Kremlin drone attack, Russian forces target Kyiv (Reuters)

World

• In Erdogan's Turkey, a building system fatally weakened by corruption (New York Times)
• Why China's censors are deleting videos about poverty (New York Times)

News Releases

Utah Division of Consumer Protection is accepting public input on the Social Media Regulation Acts

The Utah Department of Commerce’s Division of Consumer Protection is now accepting public input as part of the Utah Social Media Regulation Acts (SMRA) rule-making process. Pursuant to the rule-making requirements outlined in SMRA, starting today, the Utah Division of Consumer Protection will receive public input on several items, including the means by which a social media company may age verify an account holder and may verify parental consent. (Read More)

USBE meeting agendas for May 4-5, 2023

The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) will hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, May 4, beginning at 9 a.m. at the board’s office, 250 East 500 South, Salt Lake City, Utah. Those wishing to provide public comment at the meeting should send their request to publiccomment@schools.utah.gov. Written public comments can be sent to board@schools.utah.gov at any time. (Read More)

Utah consumer sentiment steady in April

Utah’s consumer sentiment held steady in April, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute’s Survey of Utah Consumer Sentiment. A similar survey by the University of Michigan found sentiment rose slightly from March (62.0) to April (63.5) among Americans as a whole. (Read More)

Romney welcomes Utah veterans for Honor Flight

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today welcomed more than 70 Utah veterans to Washington, D.C., for their Honor Flight, meeting at the World War II Memorial. The Utah Honor Flight group included veterans from World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Cold War, and Operation Desert Storm. (Read More)

Romney joins legislation to protect Utah’s way of life

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) today joined a group of colleagues, led by Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), in introducing legislation to protect multiple-use policy on federal lands. This legislation blocks the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed Public Lands Rule. (Read More)

SFRC Committee advances Romney ASEAN legislation

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations (SFRC) Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, joined Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Jim Risch (R-ID), Chairman and Ranking Member of SFRC, and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) in applauding the Committee’s passage of their Providing Appropriate Recognition and Treatment Needed to Enhance Relations (PARTNER) with ASEAN Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen relations between the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). (Read More)

United Utah Party elects new leadership

The United Utah Party elected new party leadership at its State Convention on April 29th. “This is an exciting time for the UUP and the moderate movement in Utah, and we’re grateful for the chance to help build even more momentum going forward,” says Ladd Johnson, new party chair. (Read More)

Number of the Day

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• Mount Liberty College Spring Youth Seminar on The Virginian — May 6, 9 am-7 pm, Register Here
• Taxes Now Conference with the Utah Taxpayers Association — May 8, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, Grand America Hotel, Register here
• Below the Belt screening and discussion (a film on endometriosis) — May 10, 7 pm, UVU Noorda Theater, Register here
• YWCA Leader Luncheon featuring Dr. Bernice A. King — May 12, 11:30-2:00, Grand America. Register here
• Interim Day — May 16-17, Utah State Capitol, le.utah.gov
• Utah Democratic Convention — May 19-20, SUU (More information here)
• Intellectual Property Rights webinar with the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation — June 1, 10:00 am, Register here
• Interim Day — June 13-14, Utah State Capitol, le.utah.gov

On This Day In History 

• 1776 - Rhode Island becomes the first colony to declare its independence from England.
• 1922 - Eugenie Clark is born. An ichthyologist known for both her research on shark behavior and her study of fish in the order Tetraodontiformes, she was popularly known as “The Shark Lady”
• 1944 - "Gaslight", starring an 18-year-old Angela Lansbury in her film debut, is released.
• 1970 - The National Guard kills four students and wounds nine others in Kent State shootings.
• 1979 - Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman to be elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1998 - A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
• 2018 - Sarah Zorn becomes the first woman to lead cadets as a regimental commander at the Citadel.

Quote of the Day

"You cannot build a great nation or brotherhood of man by spreading envy or hatred."

—Margaret Thatcher

On the Punny Side

What is the internal temperature of a Tauntaun?…

Luke Warm.

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