Utah Headlines

Deseret News

• 5 things you need to know about President Joe Biden's first White House press conference - Border, infrastructure, China, Afghanistan and filibuster
• Congress blisters Facebook, Google and Twitter CEOs, promises new rules for social media on the way  - The CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter were back in front of Congress on Thursday but given little time to respond to a barrage of questions and concerns about their respective operations at a hearing that stretched for over five hours
• The plan to fix our national debt that was too reasonable - Simpson-Bowles was "the type of thing a bright CEO might devise in order to save a failing business. It's also a plan that doesn't attempt to spare Americans from the awful truth."
• Rep. Burgess Owens says Democrats failing minority students, children with disabilities - Owens said the best way to help struggling families is to give them more freedom to make choices for their children's education, not by shutting them out of schools and closing doors to greater opportunities.
• The pay gap persists, but we can make Equal Pay Day obsolete - "You can take out occupational segregation and different things, but when you get right down to it, you can take some of those pennies away, there is still a good chunk that is really just discrimination," said Dr. Susan Madsen.
• The good news for conservatives, according to a leading scholar of the movement - Historian George H. Nash on how conservatives can unite around the shared goals of freedom, virtue and security
• Earmarks are coming back to Congress, and it's a bad idea - Recent discussions in Washington about 'pork barrel spending' spell trouble

Salt Lake Tribune

• Two more Utah state parks receive dark sky designations - Fremont Indian and Goosenecks have been added to the state's list of stargazing destinations
• In Utah, there are far more realtors than homes for sale - In Salt Lake County, that number is almost 19 realtors per listing.
• Utah Rep. Burgess Owens calls America a 'dictatorship' under President Joe Biden - Owens also slammed Black Lives Matter for hating God, undermining America
• Utah County Commission moves toward repeal of 2019 tax hike - The county's lawmakers cited unexpected growth in sales and property tax revenue.
• UDOT warns Utahns to brace for heavy travel over spring break - Congestion expected in Salt Lake and Davis counties, St. George and Moab.

Other

• 'This is so cool': Gov. Cox gets first COVID-19 vaccine dose as Utah sees 527 cases, 26K vaccinations (KSL) - Cox and First Lady Abby Cox received their first doses of the Pfizer vaccine at the Utah County Health Department vaccine center in Spanish Fork.
• Peepsi? Pepsi's newest flavor has Peeps in it (KSL) - When you need more sugar in your life.
• Dixie State University name change committee chosen, will soon meet for first time (KUTV) - The 19-member committee is made up of alumni, current students, staff, community leaders and industry experts. Three of the 19 members are Black.
• IN FOCUS Discussion: Autism awareness and acceptance (ABC4) - Many barriers, challenges, and difficulties still exist for children and adults living with autism, as well as their families.
• State agency reports accounting upgrades after Utah parks manager charged with $1.3 million fraud (Standard Examiner) - The Utah Department of Natural Resources says it has tightened purchasing controls after a parks division manager allegedly paid $1.3 million in contracts to himself for nonexistent work over a 20-year period.

COVID Corner

• What Utah childhood vaccination rates can, and can't, reveal about demand for COVID-19 vaccine (Salt Lake Tribune) - Experts say the concerns some people have about coronavirus vaccines are not identical to those around childhood immunizations.
• The number of fully vaccinated Utahns now exceeds 450,000 (Salt Lake Tribune) - The state reports seven more deaths
• University of Utah researchers studying possible COVID-19 treatment - an old antidepressant (Salt Lake Tribune) - Although people are getting vaccinated, a researcher says an effective treatment could save lives in the meantime, or help deal with vaccine-resistant variants.
• Gov. Spencer Cox says state is on track to drop COVID-19 health regulations before July 1 (Salt Lake Tribune) - That estimate is based on the current trajectory of vaccine distribution and as cases, hospitalizations and the percentage of positive coronavirus tests in Utah have been dropping, he said.

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National Headlines

• Georgia governor signs into law sweeping voting bill that curtails the use of drop boxes and imposes new ID requirements for mail voting (Washington Post) - The bill also allows electors to challenge the eligibility of an unlimited number of voters, requires counties to hold hearings on such challenges within 10 days and makes it a crime for third-party groups to hand out food and water to voters standing in line
• Georgia state lawmaker arrested protesting Kemp's signing of sweeping voting bill (The Hill) - A Black Democratic Georgia state lawmaker was arrested by state troopers and charged on Thursday after she knocked on Gov. Brian Kemp's (R) door multiple times as he signed a controversial voting bill into law.
• 'The art of the possible': Biden lays out pragmatic vision for his presidency (Washington Post) - Takeaways from Biden's first presidential news conference
• U.S.C. Agrees to Pay $1.1 Billion to Patients of Gynecologist Accused of Abuse (New York Times) - The staggering sum - a combination of three sets of settlements with thousands of alleged victims of Dr. George Tyndall - sets a record for collegiate sex abuse payouts.
• In Suez Canal, Stuck Ship Is a Warning About Excessive Globalization (New York Times) - The shutdown of the vital waterway and its impact on trade underscore the world's reliance on global supply chains.
• Anti-Cheney measure shot down in Wyoming (The Hill) - The measure was endorsed by Donald Trump Jr. in an effort to undermine House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney's chances of retaining her seat after she voted to impeach his father, former President Trump, for inciting an insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6. 
• MAGA World says Biden's lost it. Republican senators disagree. (Politico) - Seven GOP senators who've met with Biden lately described him as cogent and well-versed on the issues they discussed.
• Military and spy agencies accused of stiff-arming investigators on UFO sightings (Politico) - A public accounting is proving to be an "onerous job of trying get everyone to come clean," one government adviser said.
• Dominion Voting sues Fox for $1.6B over 2020 election claims (AP) - It's the first defamation suit filed against a media outlet by the voting company, which was a target of misleading, false and bizarre claims spread by President Donald Trump and his allies in the aftermath of Trump's election loss to Joe Biden. 
• GOP 2024 contenders enter Iowa, wary of Trump's long shadow (AP) - Ambitious Republicans are starting to make moves in Iowa, long a proving ground for future presidents. Their first step is finding out whether activists there have gotten over the last one.

 

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Policy News

Rep. Curtis questions major tech CEOs during House E&C hearing
Today, Representative John Curtis (R-UT) gave the following remarks at the member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey all testified before the virtual hearing on combating online misinformation and disinformation.

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Rep. Owens opening statement at hearing on educational equity
Today, Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee Republican Leader Burgess Owens (R-UT) delivered the following opening statement, as prepared for delivery, at a subcommittee hearing to discuss educational equity post-COVID-19:

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Rep. Stewart's statement on President Biden's first press conference
Today, President Biden held his first solo press conference since taking office. Congressman Chris Stewart (R-UT) released the following statement:

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Treasurer Damschen recognizes students for winning Utah's Fall 2020 Stock Market Game
Utah State Treasurer David Damschen applauds the winners of the Fall 2020 Stock Market Game. More than 2,900 students from across the state participated, competing in elementary, middle school and high school divisions. The top three teams within each division are represented by 21 students in total.

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Rowland Hall hires NYU's Dr. Chandani Patel as Director of Equity and Inclusion
After a summer of unprecedented discussions on diversity and inclusion, Rowland Hall leaders felt it wasn't enough for students to talk about these events in class. The institution decided to apply these discussions and find resources to invest in a new director of equity and inclusion position. 

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Business Headlines

• Senate votes to extend small biz loan program for 2 months (AP) - The Senate passed a bill 92-7 on Thursday to extend the deadline for business owners to apply for forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, giving applicants two more months to apply for federal aid.
• Nike, Adidas join brands feeling Chinese social media heat over Xinjiang (Reuters) - The sportswear companies were the latest caught up in a backlash prompted by a Chinese government call to stop foreign brands from tainting China's name as internet users found statements they had made in the past on Xinjiang.
• Analysis: Money no object as governments race to build chip arsenals (Reuters) - Governments around the world are subsidizing the construction of semiconductor factories as a chip shortage hobbles the auto and electronics industries and highlights the world's singular dependence on Taiwan for vital supplies.
• WeWork has agreed to go public via a SPAC merger. The deal values it at $9 billion, less than a quarter of its 2019 valuation. (Business Insider) - A SPAC is a company created solely to merge or acquire another business and take it public, making it a cheaper, faster alternative to an IPO.
• In related news, The SEC is looking into Wall Street's SPAC craze and is seeking voluntary information from market participants, report says (Business Insider) - SPACs are shell companies known for being set up with the sole purpose of raising money through an IPO to ultimately acquire another company.

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