Good morning. Today’s temperatures: Logan: 61 - 93° 🌦️ | 20% 💧 Salt Lake City: 74 - 97° ⛈️ | 20% 💧 St. George: 80 - 109° 🌤️ | ⚠️ ⚠️ Excessive heat watch I started yesterday's newsletter with a reference to the heat we've all been feeling. But it's not just us. People all over the world have been dealing with record-breaking heat waves, lasting days, and, in some cases, weeks. Europe is being hit particularly hard with recent summer heat waves. The Italian island of Sardinia was expected to hit 117 degrees Tuesday, getting close to Europe’s all-time high record. But even Europeans are probably glad they don't live in Arizona. Phoenix is set to hit “a record-tying 18th consecutive day” of 110 degrees or higher and there have been “12 confirmed heat related deaths recorded in Maricopa County so far this year as of the first week of July,” CNN reported. Also on our mind: Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis will visit Utah this Friday, there’s only one school resource officer for every 2,635 public school students in Utah and the Utes land an impressive Pac-12 preseason haul with one notable omission.
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| Utah’s already seen malaria cases this year. Here’s why local transmission of the disease isn’t likely |
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| | Malaria, a deadly mosquito-transmitted disease, has cropped up in the United States for the first time in decades. Since the beginning of the year, there have been six malaria cases in Utah, all confirmed to be from mosquito bites in foreign countries, according to Hannah Rettler, a Utah Department of Health and Human Services zoonotic and vector-borne epidemiologist. Five of the people infected had traveled to Africa and the other to Central and South America. None of the cases, which were diagnosed in Salt Lake and Utah counties as recently as June, are currently active, Rettler said, meaning they’ve been investigated and those infected have been treated. Utah averages about eight confirmed cases of travel-related malaria annually, she said, putting this year’s count “within normal numbers.” There are about 2,000 cases in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What’s different about the headline-making cases in Florida and Texas are that people were infected with malaria after being bitten by mosquitos in those states over the past two months, something that hasn’t happened in the United States since 2003. While Utah is experiencing a jump in mosquito activity this year, with double the average amount of mosquitos in some areas, the species of mosquito native to Utah can potentially transmit the disease only very rarely, with just 0.1% of Utah mosquitos capable of carrying the disease. |
Read more about how malaria could begin to spread in Utah. |
| Utah’s Rep. Blake Moore, a steering member of the newly launched Bipartisan Fiscal Forum, said some Democrats and Republicans are delaying solutions to the country’s debt crisis for partisan purposes. As the U.S. national debt approaches $33 trillion and interest payments on the debt are estimated at just under $400 billion a year, Moore says the formation of the Bipartisan Fiscal Forum, led by five Democrats and five Republicans, will communicate to the White House, and to the country, that Congress is serious about passing legislation to put the nation on a fiscally sustainable path before reaching a crisis point. But, according to Moore, who represents the 1st Congressional District, recent rhetoric coming from both sides of the aisle has revealed little interest in taking the country’s financial problems seriously. “From what I’m seeing right now from the Democrat minority, they’re just using the words ‘Social Security’ and ‘Medicare’ as partisan ploys, and same with President Trump,” Moore said in a phone call with the Deseret News. “He’s using it as a partisan ploy to get elderly folks to vote for him. And the Democrats are going to do the same thing in swing districts.” Bipartisan efforts to cut wasteful spending and to reform entitlement programs have become increasingly rare because “there’s too much to gain from hyper-partisan messaging,” Moore said. “These issues become wedge issues and then they’re used for political gain. That’s why we can’t work together.” While some see working with the opposing party as unprincipled, Moore says that teamwork between Democrats and Republicans should be viewed as the responsible and patriotic route to a sustainable future. Read what Moore had to say about specific steps Congress must take to address the country's debt. |
More in Politics Fresh off his CNN interview, DeSantis to visit Utah Friday (Deseret News) Unpacking Trump’s latest legal woes (Deseret News) Rep. Burgess Owens tries to add flights to Washington, D.C., airport, as Democratic Senators say they will oppose the move (Deseret News) Romney steps up his fundraising efforts ahead of possible 2024 Senate reelection bid (Salt Lake Tribune 🔒) Utah Supreme Court asks for more arguments in lawsuit over redistricting maps (KSL) | Health New advisory links mental health conditions as a symptom of long COVID (Deseret News) FDA signs off on new RSV drug: Beyfortus (Deseret News) Faith and Family ‘The Chosen’ outperforms averages from shows like ‘Riverdale’ and ‘Nancy Drew’ on CW debut (Deseret News) ‘I just need to be there’: Emily Blunt is stepping back from acting to spend time with her kids (Deseret News) 77 faith groups get total of $92 million for innovative faith programs for children (Religion News Service) Education There’s 1 school resource officer for every 2,635 public school students in Utah (Deseret News) With your help, Utah’s refugee children can find school less scary (Deseret News) David Bokovoy: This prison education program helps inmates break out of defeating cycles (Deseret News) Daggett and Salt Lake Counties Lightning-caused wildfire leads to evacuation of campground near Flaming Gorge Reservoir (KSL) Board seeks 'more clarity' as Salt Lake City librarians seek to unionize (KSL) Utah and Washington Counties Utah Inland Port Authority approves the Spanish Fork port project (KUER) St. George residents asked to cut power use as city issues first ‘orange alert’ of the summer (St. George News) The West Can eastern Oregon afford to leave Oregon? (Deseret News) Phoenix breaks multiple weather records with heat wave Tuesday (ABC 15) The Nation Iowa judge temporarily blocks abortion ban (Deseret News) Why millions of sensitive military emails have been ending up in Mali’s inbox instead of the US military’s (Deseret News) The World U.S. soldier detained by North Korea after crossing border. Here’s what we know (Deseret News) Russia attacks Ukrainian grain port 1 day after calling off grain deal (Deseret News) Sports These former rivals are now teaming up in Atlanta. But here’s what you maybe didn’t know (Deseret News) LeBron James still doesn’t get the cringeworthy (Deseret News) Utah basketball gets commitment from Turkish forward Karahan Efeoglu (Deseret News) Utes land impressive Pac-12 preseason haul, with 1 notable omission (Deseret News) |
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