Situational Analysis | June 10, 2022

Made it to Friday. Phew! It's National Black Cow Day, aka Root Beer Float Day. I'm old enough to remember "Orange Cows" too: Orange Fanta with vanilla ice cream. Both go great with pizza. 

Be in the Know

• The House panel investigating the Jan 6, 2021 insurrection laid out a case that the assault was not spontaneous but rather, an attempted coup and a direct result of former president Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election results. One Capitol Police officer described "slipping in people's blood," saying it was a "war scene" of carnage and chaos. Bill Barr told Trump that claims that the election was stolen were "complete nonsense", but that did not keep Trump from pressuring Mike Pence to throw out electoral votes for Joe Biden. “Aware of the rioters’ chants to ‘hang Mike Pence,’ the president responded with this sentiment: ‘Maybe our supporters have the right idea,’ ” Liz Cheney said. “Mike Pence ‘deserves’ it.' ”
• US inflation hit 8.6% in May, the highest since December 1981. The increase was driven by sharp rises in the prices for energy, which rose 34.6% from a year earlier, and groceries, which jumped 11.9% on the year.

Rapid Roundup

• The Mars Perseverance rover apparently has a pet rock, two people were rescued after falling into a tank full of chocolate at the Mars M&M factory, popular hot sauce Sriracha could be hard to find this summer due to a shortage of chili peppers and finally, a mountain lion has been prowling around across the street from our home in Pleasant Grove. That's ... unexpected. 

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Utah Headlines

General

• ‘Think carefully, think deeply, think anew’: Jon Huntsman, Jr. on how to navigate China’s swelling power (Deseret News)
• Here's how the US is 'redefining the whole state of the bilateral relationship' with China (KSL)
• Jerrod Baum receives four life sentences for murders of two Utah teens (Fox13)

Politics

• Sen. Mike Lee embraces claims about election fraud in the 2020 election (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Richard Snelgrove: $592 million taxpayer dollars would be wasted on a  Little Cottonwood Canyon gondola. Before we dump money into an extensive, expensive — as well as unsightly — construction project, can we consider these simple solutions to the traffic congestion? (Deseret News)
• Where Utah’s lawmakers stand on the U.S. House’s gun control measures (Deseret News)
• Utah House Republicans tap a new lawmaker to handle liquor: Rep. Jefferson Burton (Fox13)

Education

• Salt Lake City School District admits it has not updated special education plans for some students (Salt Lake Tribune)

Environment

• Heat dome to engulf Utah, Southwest in sweltering temperatures (Deseret News)
• Nate Blouin: Fighting climate change in Utah will take political courage. Utah’s plans for its energy future lack vision (Salt Lake Tribune)
• 'Exceptional' drought returns to parts of Utah; heat wave forecast for weekend (KSL)
• Salt Lake County designates ‘Cool Zones’ as temperatures rise (KSL TV)
• Wildfire torches 600-700 acres in Washington County (ABC4)

Family

• We’re still failing kids in foster care. The trend toward kinship care helped many children, but others have been harmed because we shuttered group homes (Deseret News)

Health

• 12 more Utahns die of COVID-19 as state’s death toll nears 4,800 (Salt Lake Tribune)

Housing

• SLC housing push gives rise to a new fight: Can U. profs speak out? Head of the east-side Yalecrest council files complaints about “insulting” tweets from university experts, who raise the cry of “cancel culture.” (Salt Lake Tribune)

Utah/Ukraine

• BYU nursing students provide aid to Ukrainian refugees in Poland (Fox13)

National Headlines

General

• The World Bank, and most Americans, expect inflation to get worse this year (Deseret News)
• Dow drops 600 points ahead of Friday's inflation report (Wall Street Journal)
• White supremacists are riling up thousands on social media (AP)
• Felicia Sonmez fired by The Washington Post. The paper's parting with the high-profile journalist came after days of publicly aired infighting sparked by a colleague's retweet of a crude joke about women. (Politico)

Jan 6

• Liz Cheney offers a stark message to the GOP members who continue to support Trump: "There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain" (NPR)
• Jan. 6 committee blames Trump for ‘carnage’ at U.S. Capitol. With new video and dramatic testimony, panel members begin making their case that the former president triggered the assault (Washington Post)
• A Capitol Police officer injured on Jan. 6 recalls the chaos and carnage of a "war scene" (NPR)
• Capitol Police officer Caroline Edwards: ‘I was slipping in people’s blood’ (Washington Post)
• Capitol riot panel blames Trump for 1/6 ‘attempted coup’ (AP)
• 'Mike Pence deserves it': Trump's ire at VP a focus of U.S. Capitol riot hearings (Reuters)
• ‘Trump was at the center’: Jan. 6 hearing lays out case in vivid detail (New York Times)
• Graphic testimony as Trump accused of coup attempt. A hearing shows clip of the ex-president's daughter and aides saying his claim of voter fraud was false (BBC)
• Trump takes to Truth Social to fire back at Jan. 6 committee (The Hill)

Politics

• Why Andrew Yang left the Democratic party (Deseret News)
• Sarah Palin v. Santa Claus is the House race we didn’t know we needed (Deseret News)
• Big Tech urges Biden to act as 200,000 children of immigrants risk deportation. Google, Amazon, Twitter and Uber ask the Department of Homeland Security to let adult children of immigrant workers stay in the U.S. (Deseret News)
• Competitive congressional districts are on the decline. New Hampshire bucks the trend (NPR)
• Michigan GOP hopeful charged in Jan. 6 riot, roiling primary (AP)
• U.S. Supreme Court allows counting of undated mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania (Reuters)
• U.S. summit plan eyes better job and legal conditions for migrants (Reuters)

Ukraine 🇺🇦 

• Ukrainian teens return to bombed out school in prom dresses, tuxedos (Deseret News)
• Ukraine fears a long war might cause West to lose interest (AP)
• Ukraine: Drivers risk all to bring aid, help civilians flee (AP)
• 3 foreigners who fought for Ukraine sentenced to death (AP)
• Intense fighting reported in Ukraine's bombed-out Sievierodonetsk (Reuters)
• Outgunned Ukraine needs more weapons fast as Russia advances, officials say (Wall Street Journal)
• Putin likens himself to Peter the Great, links imperial expansion to Ukraine war (Washington Post)

News Releases

Caroline Ballard, local ‘All Things Considered’ host, named KUER’s assistant news director

KUER is pleased to announce Caroline Ballard, local host of All Things Considered, has accepted the position of assistant news director. “KUER is excited to provide opportunities for our talented staff to grow and thrive in Utah,” said Elaine Clark, news director. “Caroline Ballard has been a trusted part of the newsroom for nearly three years, and I’m certain her commitment to fact-based journalism and her attention to craft will continue to benefit KUER’s listeners.” (Read More)

Romney’s TRUST Act front and center at Budget Committee hearing

U.S. Senator Mitt Romney’s TRUST Act was front at center a Budget Committee hearing today as a viable, bipartisan solution to saving Social Security. Romney’s bipartisan and bicameral legislation creates a process to rescue the Social Security Trust Fund and other endangered federal trust funds—while reining in the national debt. Romney initially introduced the TRUST Act last Congress, and his TRUST Act amendment overwhelmingly passed by a vote of 71-29 during floor consideration of the budget in 2021. A one-pager of the bill is available here. (Read/Watch More)

Lee letter seeks to protect American medical innovation

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has delivered a letter to Ambassador María Pagán, the Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) to the World Trade Organization (WTO.) The letter urges Ambassador Pagán not to waive the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for COVID-19 vaccines. In her capacity as the USTR Ambassador to the WTO, she negotiates the terms of trade arrangements between the United States and WTO member nations. (Read More)

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Upcoming

• Hatch Foundation Debate w Lindsey Graham & Bernie Sanders – June 13, 10 am MDT. Tune in here
• Utah Legislature Interim Days – June 14,15 le.utah.gov for more info
• Primary election day â€“ June 28
• General election â€“ Nov 8

On This Day In History

• 1692 - Bridget Bishop is the first to be hung as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts
• 1752 - Benjamin Franklin flies a kite during a thunderstorm, collecting ambient electrical charge in a Leyden jar.
• 1935 - Alcoholics Anonymous is founded
• 1953 - President Eisenhower rejects calls for US isolationism 
• 1963 - The Equal Pay Act is enacted: “To prohibit discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce.” 
• 1963 - Black students Vivian Malone and James Hood, accompanied by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach attempted to register at the University of Alabama today in 1963. Governor George Wallace bodily blocked their entrance. Vivian Malone became the first black graduate of the University.
• 1977 - The Jazz draft Lusia Harris, the only woman ever drafted into the NBA

Wise Words

“There is an island of opportunity in the middle of every difficulty.”
― Alcoholics Anonymous

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