Pass Senate Bill 142, The App Store Accountability Act, to Protect Kids Online!

78% of Utah parents support requiring app stores to obtain parental approval for children to download apps. Passing Senate Bill 142, the App Store Accountability Act, will put parents back in control. Tell your legislator today to VOTE YES on Senate Bill 142 to protect Utah kids online!

Utah Headlines

Legislative session

• Utah lawmakers celebrate BYU football, Tom Holmoe at Capitol (Deseret News)

Business and Labor

• Potential holy days in Utah — Diwali, Good Friday, Eid al-Fitr and Yom Kippur (Deseret News)
• Resolution passed showing support for proposal to move Utah State Hospital (KUTV)

Economic Development

• More than a home run? Utah lawmaker wants to add stadium options to Fairpark (KSL)

Education

• Will gun safety instruction be required in Utah’s K-12 classrooms?(Deseret News)

Government Operations

• A new Utah bill would restrict lawmakers from sending out mailers with public money before an election (Deseret News)
• After court voided deceptive ballot language, Utah speaker wants to let legislative attorneys write it — with a catch (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Bill intends to shield government employees accused of inappropriate behavior (Fox13)
• School board decisions could become subject to voter referendums, bill says (Daily Herald)

Health and Human Services

• Feeling lonely? Utah’s working on a plan for that (Deseret News)
• Lawmakers consider $1 million cap for medical malpractice lawsuits in Utah (Deseret News)

Housing

• Opinion: Homelessness, housing and the 2025 legislative session (Deseret News) 

Judiciary

• Legislative vs. judicial power: Utah bill sparks debate over court leadership (Deseret News)
• 'Dangerous and coordinated attack': Lawyers push back on Legislature's efforts to reshape courts (KSL)
• A Utah version of the Indian Child Welfare Act is again in limbo (KUER)

Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice

• ‘Striking a balance’: Utah bill aims to curb risks of fake firearms for minors (St. George News)

Natural Resources

• Utah legislators seek to make program 'worth its weight in gold' permanent (St. George News)

Other Utah News

Politics

• Opinion: Utah once said ‘Never Again.’ Do we mean it? (Deseret News)
• City feud: Hooper tables measure to strip mayor of power, spurred by brother-sister animosity (Deseret News)
• Millcreek mayor: ‘ICE needs to do their job the right way’ (KSL Newsradio)
• Sen. Mike Lee suggests letting ‘pirates’ take on cartels on the border (The Hill)

Utah

• Saratoga Springs 6th-grader named ‘Kindest Kid in America’ (KSL Newsradio)
• Layoffs, the federal government and impacts on Utah (Deseret News)

Biz/Tech

• Hey, Alexa, how much do I owe you? Amazon’s digital assistant gets AI upgrade but no longer free (Deseret News)
• Father’s loving project now helps hundreds of disabled people hit the trails (KSL TV)
• 'It's scary': Salt Lake City federal worker who took ‘deferred resignation’ denied request (KUTV)

Culture

• To the world, he was ‘Superman.’ But to Will Reeve, he was dad (Deseret News)
• 10 takeaways from a major new survey on American religion (Deseret News)

Education

• Shane Smeed selected as Utah Tech University's 19th president (KSL)

Environment

• Dire concern about snowpack in southern Utah (KSL TV)
• There are questions and confusion as Trump pauses key Colorado River funding (KUER)

Health

• Potential Medicaid cuts 'too large, too severe' for Utah, experts believe (Fox13)

Housing

• How Utah is working toward increasing more affordable housing (ABC4)

National Headlines

General

• Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife and dog found dead in their New Mexico home (AP)
• A Texas child who was not vaccinated has died of measles, a first for the US in a decade (KSL)

Political news

• Two simple questions, few straight answers, Did Russia invade Ukraine? Is Putin a dictator? We asked every Republican member of Congress (The Atlantic)
• Trump wants to offer green cards for $5 million (Deseret News)
• Republicans rule out Democratic demand to limit Trump and Musk power in funding negotiations (Deseret News)
• US Supreme Court Roberts pauses federal judge's order on Trump administration foreign aid funding (Reuters)
• Musk claims DOGE ‘restored’ Ebola prevention effort. Officials disagree. (Washington Post)
• The Trump administration sets the stage for large-scale federal worker layoffs in a new memo (AP)
• Immigration officials say everyone living in the US illegally must register. What does that mean? (AP)
• Musk dominates, disparages federal workers at first Trump Cabinet meeting (The Hill)
• Marjorie Taylor Greene: Federal workers ‘don’t deserve’ their paychecks (The Hill)

Ukraine and Russia

• Dozens of delegates walk out of Russia's speech to UN Human Rights Council (Reuters)
• Trump Refuses to Guarantee Ukraine’s Security in Mineral Deal (New York Times)

Israel and Gaza

• Hamas hands over bodies of four hostages, Israel frees Palestinian prisoners (Reuters)

World News

• Andrew Tate, who faces rape and trafficking charges in Romania, has left for the US after a travel ban was lifted (AP)

Number of the Day 

Sutherland releases data on 2025 voter priorities

Today, Sutherland Institute released new survey data highlighting Utah voters’ priorities for legislators as the 2025 session moves toward its close.

Highlights from the Sutherland/Y² Analytics survey data:

• Half of all Utah voters say housing is one of their top five most important issues, with 18% citing it as their No. 1 issue.
• Housing is the No. 1 issue for Utahns under the age of 65. (Read More)

Owens fights for entrepreneurs

Education and Workforce Committee Vice Chair Burgess Owens (R-UT) participated in a hearing titled “Unleashing America’s Workforce and Strengthening Our Economy.” During the hearing, Rep. Owens emphasized the vital role of independent contractors, entrepreneurs, and small businesses in driving America’s economy. He criticized burdensome federal regulations that stifle economic opportunity and make it harder for Americans to achieve the American Dream. (Read More)

Moore introduces legislation protecting American energy production

Congressman Blake Moore (R-UT) introduced the Protecting Domestic Mining Act of 2025 to strengthen American mining and restore domestic energy independence. In 2023, the Biden Administration proposed a rule limiting the minerals eligible for expedited permitting in the United States. The Protecting Domestic Mining Act of 2025 blocks the Biden Administration’s proposed rule and streamlines the permitting process for critical minerals like copper and iron. This legislation ensures vital mining and mineral refining can swiftly and successfully be produced in the United States by American workers. (Read More)

Lee introduces SCREEN Act for 119th Congress to protect children from pornography online

Senator Mike Lee has introduced the Shielding Children’s Retinas from Egregious Exposure on the Net (SCREEN) Act, a step toward safeguarding minors from the pervasive threat of online pornographic content. Sens. John Curtis (R-UT) and Jim Banks (R-IN) are cosponsors. (Read More)

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• Mar 7 â€” Utah legislative session ends
• Mar 15 — Utah Women Run annual training, 8:00 am - 2:30 pm, Hinckley Institute of Politics, Register here
• Mar 22 — MWEG annual conference with plenary speaker Sharon Eubank, UVU, Register here
• Apr 24 — Giant in Our City with the Salt Lake Chamber, 6:00-9:00 pm, Register here
• May 1 — High school writing contest deadline with The Rostra: Applying the wisdom of the past to the problems of today. More info here
• Aug 7 — Titan of Public Service, Sen. Tom Cotton, with the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation, Grand America Hotel

On This Day In History 

• 1860 - Matthew Brady photographs presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, the first candidate ever photographed.
• 1922 - U.S. Supreme Court upholds the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees women the right to vote.
• 1951 - The states ratified the 22nd Amendment, creating term limits for presidents.
• 1988 - Debi Thomas becomes the first Black athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympic games when she won bronze in figure skating.
• 1998 - Britain's House of Lords agrees to end 1,000 years of male precedence by giving a monarch's first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first born son. Took ‘em long enough.
• 2003 - Fred Rogers dies at age 74.
• 2015 - Leonard Nimoy dies at age 83.
• 2022 - Countries sanction Russia for its invasion of Ukraine; EU closes its airspace to Russian planes, Russian banks excluded from worldwide Swift payment system, Sweden sends arms to Ukraine

Quote of the Day

“We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem." Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”

—Fred Rogers

On the Punny Side

My favorite word is drool.

It just rolls off the tongue.

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