Deseret News
- Religious diversity belongs in the public square — and in your business – Many companies are finding that employees who can bring their whole, authentic selves into the workplace are happier, more productive and more likely to deliver on company objectives.
- Fair or foul? Transgender athletes debate heats up as Utah moves to ban them from girls sports – The bill passed the House 50-23 mostly along party lines after those who supported it said it’s needed to ensure fairness for female athletes, and those against it expressed fears of unconstitutionality and potential economic ramifications.
- Utah activist in Capitol riot sold his video to CNN, NBC for $35K each, court docs say – Prosecutors contend Sullivan was not a bystander but a “brazen, vocal” participant in the riot.
- Deondra Brown reveals rape as she lobbies for teaching consent in school sex ed courses – Bill advances in Utah House committee on 6-5 vote.
- ‘Enough’s enough’: Utah lawmakers move to toughen penalties on ‘rioters’ – Sen. David Hinkins’ SB138 seeks to toughen penalties on rioters while drawing a clearer distinction for when a protest crosses the line into a violent or destructive riot.
- Utah Sen. Mike Lee poised to lead antitrust charge against Big Tech, which he calls ‘nightmare of censorship and hypocrisy’ – Lee also promised to work toward curbing the behaviors of those tech company operators who he said “are no longer content simply to profit off of us — they want also to control what information we are allowed to access.”
Salt Lake Tribune
- As maternal anxiety continues to rise in Utah, advocates say help is available – In 2012, 12.8% of mothers reported that they had anxiety before pregnancy. In 2019, it was 27.8%, the report shows.
- Leaders of armed groups advocate for Utah bill increasing punishment for rioters – Prosecutors, defense attorneys and civil rights advocates identified a host of problems in Hinkins’ legislation, calling it overly punitive and saying it could infringe on First Amendment rights.
- Bill would let Utah schools spend special education funds on students without special needs – Critics said SB175 dilutes the pool of money for kids who need support the most.
- Noncitizens could serve as police officers in Utah under a bill that’s nearly on its way to the governor -Proponents of the bill say it could help with recruiting diverse candidates to serve within law enforcement agencies.
- Rep. Burgess Owens blasts the idea of reparations for slavery to Blacks – Says it is ‘unfair and heartless to give Black Americans the hope that this is a reality.
- Lawmakers again asked to stop surprise fees in rental agreements – Rep. Judkins says the bill she is sponsoring this year is simply meant to require landlords to identify all fees renters would be responsible for before they sign their lease and to allow renters to get their application fees refunded if they decided there were more charges than they could afford.
Other
- ‘It’s been chaos for everyone;’ UDOT talks snow storm, road conditions (FOX 13) – When there is a lot of snow and ice on the roads, things can quickly become treacherous.
- Behind locked doors of a decades-old Salt Lake City secret (FOX 13) – It was built around 1900 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served as the 15th Ward up until the late 1960’s. But for the last 40 years or so it’s been used as a recording studio.
- Is online learning the future of ‘Snow Days’ in Utah? (FOX 13) – Spokeswoman Kirsten Stewart with Canyons School District said this was the first time they were implementing remote learning in place of a snow day — a program made possible by the pandemic.
COVID Corner
- Health districts reschedule vaccinations as winter weather delays COVID-19 vaccine shipments (Deseret News) – The hope is that the weather will clear so the remaining shipments will arrive Thursday, although there’s a chance they’ll have to wait until next week.
- Fauci: ‘Non-workable’ to vaccinate teachers before schools open (Politico) – “You should try to get as many teachers as you possibly can vaccinated as quickly as you possibly can,” Fauci said. “But to make it a sine qua non that you don’t open a school until every teacher is vaccinated, I think is not workable.”
- 7 COVID-19 symptoms that should trigger a test (Deseret News) – Fatigue, headache, sore throat and diarrhea, cough, fever or loss of smell or taste.
- Lab studies suggest Pfizer, Moderna vaccines can protect against coronavirus variant (CNN) – While the blood serum samples produced less neutralizing antibody activity, it was still enough to neutralize the virus.
- Pfizer says South African variant could significantly reduce vaccine protection (NBC News) – A lab study suggests that the South African variant of the coronavirus may reduce antibody protection from the Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE vaccine by two-thirds, and it is not clear if the shot will be effective against the mutation
