Deseret News
- ‘We all want pretty much the same thing,’ Interior Secretary Deb Haaland says after Bears Ears tour – Utah’s leaders call for an end to the political ‘ping-ponging’
- President Joe Biden announces new gun control reforms, calling gun violence a ‘public health crisis’ – The president directed the Justice Department to recommend legislative changes that would modernize the nation’s current gun laws and give lawmakers and communities tools to combat gun violence
- Utah delegation disagrees with Biden’s executive action on guns – Following Biden’s announcement on Thursday, Utah GOP Rep. Chris Stewart said the president is on the wrong path to effectively addressing gun-related issues.
- Parents, educators tell State School Board why equity, diversity in schools matters – Students need to learn how to talk about race ‘out loud and not in whispered profanity,’ Weber County mom tells board
- Republicans are outnumbered now more than at any time in nearly a decade – A new Gallup poll found the percentage of self-identified Republicans has fallen as the percentage of independents has gone up
- Is America losing her civil religion? – To rekindle faith in democracy, focus on ‘enduring ideologies’ that can bring Americans together, scholars say
Salt Lake Tribune
- Biden has to ‘get this right,’ Deb Haaland says of monument decision after Bears Ears tour – Interior secretary is greeted by prayers, dueling protests and conflicting policy pushes in San Juan County. Next stop: Grand Staircase.
- Salt Lake City is going to start classes an hour later so high schoolers can sleep in – The district’s new schedule will start in the fall.
- Ballet West promotes its first non-Asian dancers of color to the company’s top level – Katlyn Addison and Hadriel Diniz will become principal artists for the 2021-2022 season.
- Biden’s call for ‘red flag’ laws falls on deaf ears in the Utah Legislature – ‘There’s absolutely no appetite for this kind of law’ says Republican Steve Handy who has repeatedly tried to pass such legislation
- During border visit, Burgess Owens warns that migrants are ‘coming to your neighborhood’ – Utahn who helps migrants calls that ‘misinformation.’
Other
- Shots fired in West Valley City, schools temporarily locked down (KUTV) – Multiple shots were fired in the area of 5300 W. 2700 South in West Valley City Thursday morning. No one was injured.
- Affordable housing becoming unaffordable? One Utah city considers changes (KUTV) – Ogden city councilwoman Angela Choberka hopes higher-density housing will become part of the plans for the next five years to help with affordability.
- Utah fire burning underground can’t be extinguished (ABC4) – This underground fire is known by geologists as the “Big Smokey Fire,” the Utah Geological Survey said. It is burning, or at least smoldering, underground and has been for hundreds – maybe thousands – of years.
- Brush fire in Price leads to evacuations, 2 people ticketed (Fox13) – It took 40 firefighters about an hour to get the fire under control, officials say wind and drought had major impacts on the spread of the fire.
- Some Utah employers struggling to find workers (Fox13) – Yvette Woodland with the Department of Workforce Services says now is the time to find seasonal employment. “In our job matching system we have over 46,000 jobs that are available right now for job seekers to access,” said Woodland.
COVID Corner
- If Utahns let their guard down, variants of concern could cause ‘one last spike in cases before vaccination really puts this thing to bed’ (ABC4) – The coronavirus has replicated 560 times in Utah, according to the Utah Department of Health. The mutations of most concern are California variants, B-1427 and B-1429, totaling 47% of the state’s COVID-19 cases.
- Utah’s mask mandate to end: What does it mean for you? (Fox13) – Life afterwards is likely to look very similar for Utah residents.
- 42,000 more Utahns got COVID-19 vaccines in one day, while 10 more died from the virus (Salt Lake Tribune) – More than 620,000 are fully inoculated.
- COVID-19 vaccine side effects are not dangerous, study says (Deseret News) – A new study says COVID toes, COVID arm and vaccine rashes are not dangerous
- Countries worldwide hit new records for virus cases, deaths (AP) – Brazil reported a 24-hour tally of COVID-19 deaths that exceeded 4,000, India hit a peak of almost 127,000 new cases in 24 hours, and Iran set a new coronavirus infection record for the third straight day, reporting nearly 22,600 new cases.
- ‘This is war’: Polish medics just taking naps between COVID shifts (Reuters) – Some Polish doctors and nurses are just taking naps between shifts as they fight a third wave of the coronavirus, the health minister said on Friday, amid reports of medical staff using oxygen and intravenous drips to boost their energy.
- Kati Kariko Helped Shield the World From the Coronavirus (New York Times) – Collaborating with devoted colleagues, Dr. Kariko laid the groundwork for the mRNA vaccines turning the tide of the pandemic.
