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🌅 Good morning!

Faith and baseball — that’s what Matthew Hutchings hoped to bring together in a unique quest.

What he was seeking? To find the players who served Latter-day Saint missions before playing Major League Baseball and to get them in a room to sign a baseball and share their mission stories.

He was able to do it and got each of them a ball labeled “Called to Serve” with each of their signatures.

Here are the names of six of the major leaguers who also served missions:

McKay Christensen
Taylor Cole
Jeremy Guthrie
Jacob Hannemann
Matt Lindstrom
Justin Sterner

Read more about the major leaguers who first served Latter-day Saint missions.

On their way to BYU, teens first help run the Senate

Witnessing history firsthand is what twins Nathan and Preston Neuhaus experienced after being sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee to attend the Senate page program. The pages worked around the clock during Sen. Cory Booker’s record-breaking speech that lasted more than 25 hours.

“Just the feel in the room was something that (had) never occurred,” Nathan said. “Like for the whole gallery to be full and everybody on the floor, Republicans and Democrats, to stand up and clap together — it was really cool to witness just like the kind of bipartisanship, and just see history occur.”

The program consists of 30 pages in total — 16 dedicated to the majority party, 14 assigned to the minority — and each student must be sponsored by a senator in order to be considered for the program, Cami Mondeaux reported.

Here are three key points:

The Senate page program involves high school students who deliver legislative materials, greet senators and provide support during debates.
Lee also worked as a Senate page in high school, and he also graduated from Brigham Young University — where the twins will attend in the fall.
The program has strict rules and a packed schedule. Students must adhere to a strict code of conduct. Despite the long hours and stringent guidelines, Preston and Nathan viewed the program as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”

“(It was) an experience that we couldn’t pass up,” Preston said. “When are we ever going to be on the floor every single day and witness history being made? It was just something that we had to do.”

Read more about the Senate page program.

Gov. Cox supports Trump sending National Guard troops to quell LA riots

Gov. Spencer Cox said that President Donald Trump’s approach deploying National Guard troops to address the Los Angeles riots is a constitutional use of presidential authority.

Despite his preference for state rights, Cox said Trump had the obligation to get involved as protests escalated into chaos, Brigham Tomco reported.

“When things get out of control, somebody has to stop it,” Cox said during his monthly PBS broadcast. “I’ve seen the videos. The damage that is being done is unconscionable, and we just can’t have that in a civil society.”

He was hesitant to fully endorse Trump’s entire approach — an approach that involved the deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines in a stated effort to protect federal buildings and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

Will protests come to Utah?

Cox said that Utah law enforcement will be “overprepared” for any incidents this weekend if anyone in Utah wishes to engage in violent protests.

“I want Utah to be the best place in the United States to protest,” Cox said. “I also want Utah to be the worst possible place to riot.”

“The minute you start to spray paint the Capitol, the second you implement violence or property destruction, we will arrest you, and we will hold you accountable.”

Read more about what Cox said.

FROM OUR SPONSOR UTAH BUSINESS

Utah Business 2025 Innovation Awards Summit

Recognizing the state’s vibrant community of innovators — from startups to established companies — and their breakthrough creations. Submit your nomination before July 9!

Utah

Can Trump unilaterally abolish 2 controversial monuments in Utah? (Deseret News)
Police investigate bomb threat at county government buildings in Provo (KSL.com)
Teamwork is the dream work for this Salt Lake City puzzle maker (KUER 90.1)
Building with a mission: Ivory Homes’ commitment to Utah (Utah Business)
Portuguese is the third most-spoken language in Utah (Axios)
Officials warn of rising risks on Utah waters amid uptick in DUIs, dangerous behavior (St George News)
Ogden Fire Chief Mike Mathieu to retire after three decades in the role (Standard-Examiner)
Largest ski area expansion in U.S. bites off big chunk this summer (The Park Record)
Lehi community rallies around family after tragic loss of 14-year-old (KSL-TV)

Health

RFK Jr. fires CDC expert panel on vaccines to ‘restore trust’ (Deseret News)
Increased screen time linked to aggression, anxiety, low self-esteem in kids, study finds (ABC News)
Utah doctors see promising results from new radiation therapy for brain tumors (KSL-TV)

Faith

5 takeaways from a major new report on religion around the world (Deseret News)
Angel Studios series ‘Testament’ puts a modern spin on Bible stories (Deseret News)
BYU women’s soccer team puts ‘Christlike love into action’ in New Zealand (Church News)

Politics

LA ignores calls for peaceful protests, helps bump up Trump’s approval ratings on immigration (Deseret News)
Deseret News Editorial Board: Curtis is right; keep the energy tax credits (Deseret News)
John Curtis questions July 4 deadline for Trump tax bill — but says Musk won’t tank it (Deseret News)
Trump on changes to FEMA. Here’s how it could affect states fighting wildfires (Deseret News)
Religious leaders protest cuts to Medicaid, SNAP in Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ (Deseret News)
‘We’re living in the dumbest timeline’: Gov. Cox speaks on Utah flag ban (Deseret News)

The Nation and the World

June’s full Strawberry Moon is visible this week. Here’s what you should know (Deseret News)
700 Marines arrive in L.A. area amid ICE protests as Newsom files suit to block deployment (CBS News)
How rare earth minerals could give China the upper hand in U.S. trade talks (NBC News)
What we know about the school shooting in Austria (Deseret News)

Sports

BYU taking strong contingent to this week’s NCAA track and field championships (Deseret News)
This BYU women’s basketball standout will play professionally in Europe (Deseret News)
Utah switches to new ticketing system ahead of 2025 football season (Deseret News)

🗓️ Events Calendar

We put together a calendar list of events and activities going on around the state of Utah during this month. Check it out and let us know if we are missing anything!

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today:

Springville Art City Days | Springville
Saratoga Springs Splash Days | Saratoga Springs
Park City Farmers Market | Park City Resort, Park City
Orem’s Farmers Market and Food Fest Wednesdays | City Center Park, Orem
Styx and Kevin Cronin | Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
“Peter and the Starcatcher” | Midvale Performing Arts Center, Midvale
“James and the Giant Peach Jr.” | Old Barn Community Theatre, Collinston

Please reach out to me at [email protected] if you have any thoughts, feedback or ideas you would like to share!

✨ Cheers ✨

— Gambles