Utah Headlines

Political news

• Utah lawmaker mulling legislation requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote (KSL)
• Auditors chastise Utah State University for former president’s spending on new cars and other purchases (Salt Lake Tribune)
• ‘My blinders are not on’: GOP Rep. Blake Moore calls for more Gaza aid — but says there’s not much Congress can do (Salt Lake Tribune)
• ‘Warfare as a service’ is the new frontier in defense technology (Deseret News)

Municipal

• The Salt Lake Plaza Hotel to close and be demolished (Deseret News)
• Downtown SLC revitalization project begins to take shape with concert venue announcement (KSL)
• Washington, Iron counties outpace Utah in July job growth, each rising over 6% (St. George News)

Utah

• 'More people would have died that night': Slain Tremonton officers remembered as heroes (KSL)
• Family reflects on life of sergeant killed in line of duty in Tremonton (KSL TV)
• Families of fallen officers thank community, first responders for support (KUTV)
• Former Guard general, demoted by Army for misconduct, sues Utah for ‘wrongful termination’ (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Free program offers life jackets to keep people safe at southern Utah lakes (Fox13)
• Utah ranked as third safest state for motorists planning to hit road over Labor Day weekend (Cache Valley Daily)

Biz/Tech

• Angel Studios steps closer to going public with newly proposed merger (Deseret News)
• Trump's tariffs are leaving Black beauty businesses in peril (Reuters)

Crime/Courts

• Breaking down how Utah police respond to domestic violence calls (KSL TV)

Culture/Community

• What big shows are coming to Utah this year? Here’s the latest (Deseret News)
• The HomeAid Utah Diaper Drive is back (Deseret News)
• New documentary goes behind-the-scenes in the Polynesian Cultural Center (KSL TV)

Economy

• Fewer fake firs, higher prices: China tariff delay does little to save the holidays (Reuters)
• Grocery prices soar as tariffs impact everyday staples (KUTV)

Education

• Department of Education bans federal funds from supporting political activism on college campus (Deseret News)
• Alpine, Jordan School District seeing teacher retention success as high school students go back to school (KSL TV)
• With $60M at stake, lawmakers praise the reinvestment plans of Utah’s universities (KUER)
• Voices: Our children face a new kind of bullying. As adults, we need to step up. (Salt Lake Tribune) 
• Crossing guard minorly injured by vehicle in Bountiful street (KUTV)
• Higher ed reallocations: Utah’s college presidents present strategic reinvestment plans to lawmakers (Deseret News)
• Juan Diego files lawsuit asking judge to intervene in student recruitment investigation (KSL)

Environment/Energy

• Sarah Wright: Sen. Lee, let’s work together to make Utah a leader in the new energy era (Deseret News)
• Heat, rather than a lack of rain, is driving drought in Utah and the West (KUER)

Family

• Raising children with religion: Why some adults return to faith (Deseret News)
• From heartbreak to hope: How a Utah flower farm became a sanctuary for grieving parents (Fox13)

Health

• Pediatrics group breaks with CDC on COVID shot recommendations (Deseret News)
• Utah may have 'blind spots' in addressing mental health concerns, new audit finds (KSL)
• This Utah hospital is bringing cancer care to native populations in Alaska (ABC4)

National Headlines

General

• Hurricane Erin churns up dangerous waves and closes beaches along US East Coast (AP)

Political news

• As Democrats wage national redistricting war, Republicans may have the upper hand (Deseret News)
• Trump administration revokes security clearances of 37 current and former government officials (AP)
• Trump expands 'woke' criticism from Smithsonian to other museums (NPR)
• Elon Musk pledged to start a political party. He is already pumping the brakes. (Wall Street Journal)
• ‘The city is dead’: D.C. restaurant reservations drop amid federal crackdown (Washington Post)
• Jeanine Pirro bragged about helping Trump and GOP while a Fox News host (Washington Post)
• Pirro’s office won’t pursue gun charges over carrying rifles, shotguns (Washington Post)

Artificial Intelligence

• What is ‘AI psychosis’ and how can ChatGPT affect your mental health? (Washington Post)
• Research suggests doctors might quickly become dependent on AI (NPR) 

Immigration/deportation

• Trump’s federal law-enforcement crackdown ripples through DC neighborhoods (AP)

Ukraine/Russia

• Missing Ukrainian children in the spotlight as Melania Trump writes Putin a letter (Deseret News)
• Russia bombards Ukrainian city hours after Washington summit (Reuters)
• US, NATO planners start to craft Ukraine security guarantee options (Reuters)
• US is prepared to use air power to support planned European force in Ukraine (Wall Street Journal)

Middle East

• Israel weighs Hamas offer of 60-day Gaza truce and hostage release (Reuters)

World news

• Humanitarian aid cuts leave victims of sexual violence in global conflicts without help, UN says (AP)

Number of the Day

News Releases

From Utah to Peru: UVU water scientists lead fight against contamination

In a remote hotel room near Lima, Peru, Dr. Lauren Brooks worked through the night, hunched over buckets and sterilization tablets, testing water samples she had collected earlier that day. A biologist from Utah Valley University (UVU), Brooks had converted her shower into a lab, using the limited resources available to investigate a question that now had urgent implications: Was the water used by children and families in this region safe?

It wasn’t. (Read More)

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• Aug 18-20 — Interim Days
• Aug 21 —Sutherland Institute Congressional Series with Rep. Burgess Owens, 12 pm, Hinckley Institute of Politics & livestream
• Sept 11-12 — Women in the Money Conference, Sheraton Hotel and online, Register here
• Sept 15-17 — Interim Days
• Oct 6-8 — One Utah Summit, Cedar City, More information here
• Oct 13-15 — Interim Days
• Nov 4 — General election
• Nov 17-19 — Interim Days
• February 4-7, 2026 — Summit, with Silicon Slopes and Visit Salt Lake

On This Day In History

• 1619 - First enslaved Africans arrive in Jamestown
• 1833 - Benjamin Harrison is born. He became the 23rd US president.
• 1858 - The Lincoln-Douglas debates begin.
• 1866 - Nearly a year after the end of hostilities, President Andrew Johnson formally declares the end of the American Civil War.
• 1911 - The New York Times sends the first telegram around the world. Using a commercial service, they aimed to determine the speed of a message sent around the world by telegraph. The message was relayed by 16 different operators over 28,000 miles and was received 16.5 minutes later. What did it say? “This message sent around the world.”
• 1920 - The American Professional Football Conference was established by representatives of four professional football teams; two years later, with 18 teams, it would be renamed the National Football League.
• 1940 - British PM Churchill says of Royal Air Force, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
• 1964 - US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Economic Opportunity Act, an anti-poverty measure totaling nearly $1 billion.
• 1968 - The Soviet Union invades Czechoslovakia 
• 2018 - Pope Francis releases letter to all Catholics condemning sexual abuse atrocities and clerical cover-ups "We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them"

Quote of the Day

"The bud of victory is always in the truth."

— Benjamin Harrison

On the Punny Side

Never make your password ‘beef stew’. It’s not stroganoff. 

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