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Situational Analysis | July 26, 2023

It's Wednesday and National Disability Independence Day! It recognizes the signing of the Americans with Disability Act (A.D.A.) in 1990. As a mom of children with disabilities, I am most grateful for the opportunities it has opened up for my children.

What You Need to Know

Do you remember Bowe Bergdahl? He was an Army Sergeant who walked off base in Afghanistan in 2009, was captured by the Taliban and held for five years. He was convicted of desertion in 2017, but that charge was just vacated by a federal judge. The judge argued Bergdahl did not receive a fair trial because the judge in the case failed to disclose he was concurrently applying for a job in former President Donald Trump’s Justice Department. Trump had called Bergdahl a traitor and suggested he should be executed.

Rapid Relevance

😢 Utah domestic violence killings are spiking in 2023; Bronny James, LeBron's son, suffered cardiac arrest during practice; the feds set to raise rates to 22-yr high; actor Kevin Spacey is cleared of all charges of sexual assault; and the world’s biggest ice cream company says heat waves may not help sales.

Utah Headlines

Political news

Opinion: Why the group ‘No Labels’ is suddenly getting labeled (Deseret News)
Salt Lake City begins to piece together plans for 'transformative' EPA funding (KSL)
Utah governor questions TikTok's credibility as state presses for subpoena responses (KSL)

Election news

Celeste Maloy: The country girl running for Congress (Deseret News)
‘The voters get to decide’: St. George City Council puts $29M parks, recreation bond on November ballot (St. George News)

General Utah news

Family of Lt. Ridge Alkonis returns to D.C. to advocate 1 year after prison sentence began (KUTV)
Man arrested after allegedly breaking into Ferrari dealership, taking $600K vehicle (KSL)
Lori Daybell asks judge to prohibit Tammy Daybell's aunt from speaking at sentencing (KSL)
Far-right activist Ammon Bundy loses defamation case and faces more than $50 million dollars in fines (Salt Lake Tribune)
Do you know how to calm a road rage crisis? (KSL Newsradio)
Lawsuit filed against SLC officers who refused first aid to stabbing victim (Fox13)
Payson home ignites when fireworks tip over, discharge into shrubs in front of house (KUTV)
Former police chief from small Utah town charged with payroll fraud during tenure (Fox13)

Business

Are you finding your happy place at work? Here’s what Utahns had to say about it (Deseret News)
In new layoffs, Utah tech company Pluralsight won’t say how many are losing jobs (Salt Lake Tribune)
Utah Chinatown supermarket employer to pay $525k after it violated labor law (ABC4)
Graduation season helps Utah see the most people working or looking since 2009 (KUER)
Drive-thrus: Convenient or neighborhood nuisance? (Deseret News)

Culture

Opinion: Does ‘Barbie’ hate men? My dad doesn’t think so (Deseret News)
When Ryan Hamilton was hit by a bus, he wanted it to be a tragedy. But really, it’s a comedy (Deseret News)
Utah Islamic community celebrates their first Muslim American Heritage Month (Fox13)
Native Americans offer perspectives on Pioneer Day (Daily Universe)

Education

As youth football practices kicks off, high temperatures bring danger (KSL TV)
3 Alpine District elementaries are off the chopping block, but school consolidations are still ahead (Salt Lake Tribune)
‘Misleading’ website invites Utahns to preapply for private school vouchers, which officials say can’t be done. The website says it is run by an organization called Utah Education Fits All, which says it wants to lobby for more funding for vouchers. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Education Department opens investigation into Harvard’s legacy admissions (AP)
5 ways parents can shore up a middle schooler’s self-image (KSL Newsradio)

Environment

‘No good deed goes unpunished’: Why Utah and other states fear BLM rule (Deseret News)
Utah's ag industry uses the same amount of water Great Salt Lake needs (UPR)

Family

Hyrum man designs carts to help special people get to special places (Cache Valley Daily)
Is the end of helicopter parenting finally here? (Deseret News)
Perspective: What relationship outsourcing says about our culture. With smaller families and fewer friends, we’re hiring strangers to do everything, at a greater cost than we think (Deseret News)

Health

This proposal could further protect miners from black lung disease, if passed (Deseret News)
Utah Valley Hospital among facilities recognized by Newsweek for cancer care (Daily Herald)
Will we see the end of AIDS by 2030? It's possible, but will take political will and money (Deseret News)
Someone could steal your medical records and bill you for their care (NPR)
Why you can’t wear yoga clothes in an MRI: The fibers may burn your skin (Washington Post)

Housing

Home-owning expenses soak up nearly 20 percent of average Utahn’s income (Cache Valley Daily)
Food and Care Coalition battles homelessness by providing relief, education (Daily Universe)

National Headlines

General

As Twitter fades to X, TikTok steps up with new text-based posts (AP)
Water at tip of Florida hits hot tub level, may have set world record for warmest seawater (AP)
A former pastor is charged with murdering an 8-year-old girl nearly 50 years ago (NPR)
Streets are getting so hot they are causing serious burns (Wall Street Journal)

Politics

Melinda French Gates calls for women's parity in political leadership (NPR)
DeSantis cuts a third of his presidential campaign staff as he mounts urgent reset (AP)
The fallout from Ron DeSantis’ not-so-good day (Politico)
Are UFOs real? A congressional hearing is going to try to find out (Deseret News)
As inflation falls, GOP may have to rethink attacks on Biden economy (Washington Post)
Gaetz introduces legislation to end ‘unqualified’ birthright citizenship (The Hill)
A big lie, an attack on the Capitol — and soon, another indictment (Politico)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

Trevor Reed, Marine veteran freed from Russia in 2022, is injured while fighting in Ukraine, US says (AP)
On their own front line, Ukraine’s surgeons treat waves of soldiers since the counteroffensive began (AP)
As war grinds on, medics battle to save soldiers in Ukraine (Wall Street Journal)
‘They shoot without stopping’: Where Russia is on the attack in Ukraine (New York Times)

World

Rival Koreas mark armistice anniversary in two different ways that highlight rising tensions (AP)
Niger's president being held inside palace - security sources (Reuters)
EU probes border agency's rescue role after migrant shipwreck killed hundreds (Reuters)
Violent storms tear through Europe with ‘gargantuan’ hail the size of cantaloupes in Italy (Washington Post)

News Releases

US House passes Taiwan International Solidarity Act

Today, the House passed the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, bipartisan legislation authored by Congressman John Curtis (R-UT) and Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), co-Chair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus that seeks to counter Beijing’s attempts to exclude Taiwan from participating in international organizations. (Read More)

Gov. Spencer Cox and Attorney General Sean Reyes press TikTok to respond to subpoenas

Today, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Attorney General Sean Reyes, and Utah Department of Commerce Executive Director Margaret Busse announced a legal filing against the social media company TikTok, Inc. TikTok has been the subject of an investigation by Utah’s Department of Commerce’s Division of Consumer Protection in the state’s ongoing efforts to hold social media companies accountable for the harm they are causing to Utah’s children. After months of TikTok delaying and providing incomplete information in response to administrative subpoenas, the Division of Consumer Protection has filed a motion requesting the state district court to hold TikTok in contempt and force it to quickly comply with the subpoena. (Read More)

Upcoming

Senate Judicial Confirmation Committee — July 27, 11:00 am. le.utah.gov
Interim Days — Aug 7-10, le.utah.gov
Municipal election filing period for cities using ranked choice voting — Aug. 8-15
'Titan of Public Service' gala recognizing Senator Mitch McConnell and former Transportation and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, hosted by the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation — Aug. 22, 7 p.m., Register here
Legislative Education and Mental Health Coordinating Council — Aug 23, le.utah.gov
Municipal/Special election primary — Sept. 5
Interim Day — Sept. 18, Utah Tech University, le.utah.gov
Interim Day — Oct 10-11, le.utah.gov
Interim Day — Nov 14-15, le.utah.gov
General election — Nov. 21

On This Day In History

1533 - Francisco Pizarro orders the death of the last Sapa Inca Emperor, Atahualpa - 200 conquistadors conquered an empire of 10 Million
1775 - US Postal Service established
1908 - FBI is founded
1945 - Winston Churchill resigns
1947 - President Harry S. Truman creates the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, the U.S. Air Force, National Security Council and the Joint Chiefs of Staff when he signs the National Security Act of 1947.
1948 - President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981 ending discrimination in the military. Truman’s order ended a long-standing practice of segregating Black soldiers and relegating them to more menial jobs.
1990 - President George H.W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act into law.
1996 - The All American Red Heads play their last official game.
2020 - Body of civil rights activist John Lewis crosses the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma for the last time (beaten there 55 years ago) with a military honor guard as part of a remembrance ceremony

Quote of the Day

"We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they have come."

—Ruth, from the movie Barbie

On the Punny Side

Why did the two worms have to leave their apple to get into Noah's Ark?

Because they could only go in pears.