Tickets on sale now for Envision Utah’s Annual Spring Breakfast!

When all eyes are on us for the 2034 Olympic Games, what should Utah show the world? Join us for a conversation between Governor Mike Leavitt and 2034 Games CEO Brad Wilson to talk about lessons from 2002 and how we can prepare Utah for 2034. Tickets on sale at envisionutah.org.

Utah Headlines

Political news

• How are state attorneys general reshaping the legal landscape under Trump? Utah Attorney General Derek Brown says his legal team is working overtime to keep up with Donald Trump’s sweeping directives, which he likened to a ‘moving target’ (Deseret News)
• A Utah coalition is working to fight back against potential cuts to Medicaid (Deseret News)
• The Utah Compact and immigration issues (Sunday Edition)
• Sen. Mike Lee’s proposed cuts to SNAP would shift ‘huge costs’ to states, including Utah (Daily Herald)

Municipal news

• Salt Lake City mayor seeks record $512M budget but warns of 'economic uncertainty' (KSL)
• Salt Lake City adopts 3 new flags to bypass new state flag law (KSL)
• Salt Lake police launch quarterly community meetings (KSL
• St. George’s 15 year Ironman hosting streak ends this week (KUER)

Utah

• DOGE cuts hit Moab-area volunteers (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Built for efficiency, used for decades: Moab’s NPS headquarters faces uncertain future (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Utah arts groups just saw thousands in funding pulled by the feds. Here’s what was cut. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Biz/Tech

• Meta wants to create AI friends to combat the loneliness epidemic (Deseret News)
• Utah's rural towns getting their close ups in the movie-making business (Fox13)
• WeightWatchers files for bankruptcy protection to eliminate debt burden (NPR)

Crime/Courts

• Tikis at Iosepa cemetery in Tooele County cut down, destroyed; officials investigating (KSL)
• Utah involved in largest fentanyl bust in DEA history, millions of dollars worth of pills seized (KSL TV)
• Gavin Peterson’s father receives max sentence for child abuse homicide (KSL Newsradio)

Education - K-12

• The impact of a “distinguished teacher” — Donald Robertson’s influence on James Madison (Deseret News)
• Looking Out for the Good: Wasatch Education Foundation honors 9 teachers (KSL TV)
• Salt Lake City Schools wants to launch the next generation of astronauts (KUER)

Environment

• Utah fire conditions could be a mixed bag this summer. Here's how you can prepare (KSL)
• A southeastern Utah plant is a ‘major source of air pollutants.’ The state just sued its owner. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Family

• Anna Jarvis’ vision for Mother’s Day was never meant to be commercial (Deseret News)
• For busy parents across Utah and the US, “Maycember” is in full swing (KSL Newsradio)

Health

• Jay Evensen: Gambling should be the new top health concern (Deseret News)
• A lawsuit seeks to limit access to abortion pills. The Trump administration wants it dismissed (Deseret News)
• Teens, adults alike learn about breaking barriers at youth mental health roundtable (Fox13)
• Critic of drug industry and COVID-19 measures to lead FDA vaccine program (AP)

Housing

• Community gathers to honor homeless who died in Utah County over the winter (Fox13)
• 10 families building ‘sweat equity’ in Hurricane Heights, more applicants needed (St. George News)

National Headlines

General

• Opinion: 80 years after WWII, are we destroying the world our veterans fought to create? (Deseret News)
• U.S. swimmer declared ‘true Olympic champion’ for overcoming loss of his home in LA wildfires (Deseret News)
• Carli Lloyd talks about cost of winning in Hall of Fame speech (Deseret News)
• Kentucky boy uses mother’s phone to order 70K Dum-Dum suckers to share with his friends (AP)
• Fighter jet landing on USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier goes overboard, forcing pilots to eject (AP)

Political news

• US tells intelligence agencies to step up spying on Greenland (Wall Street Journal)
• Trump plans to announce the US will call the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf, officials tell AP (AP)
• Is there a ‘woke right’? (Deseret News)
• Supreme Court allows Trump administration’s ban on transgender troops to move forward (Deseret News)
• Canada is not for sale, Canadian prime minister tells Trump in Oval Office (Deseret News)
• Massive Army anniversary parade in the works on Flag Day and Donald Trump's 79th birthday. When have prior military parades been staged in the U.S.?  (Deseret News)
• Restrictions on aid deliveries by foreign governments may violate law, US lawmakers say (Reuters)
• Republicans blast Trump’s economic messaging: No more doll talk (The Hill)
• GOP senators fear Marjorie Taylor Greene could cost them Georgia Senate race (The Hill)
• Trump finally drops the anti-semitism pretext (The Atlantic)

Immigration/Deportation

• Many Afghans living in the U.S. fear being tortured or killed if they get deported (NPR)
• Trump team urged Ukraine to take U.S. deportees amid war, documents show (Washington Post)
• Trump administration plans to send migrants to Libya on a military flight (New York Times)

Tariffs

• Trump’s tariffs hit baby industry hard, threatening parents with price hikes, shortages (Washington Post)

DOGE/Musk

• DOGE aims to pool federal data, putting personal information at risk (Washington Post)

Ukraine/Russia

• Former US president Biden accuses Trump of appeasement of Russia (Reuters)
• With tears of joy and anxiety, waiting for P.O.W.s to come home, at last (New York Times)

Israel, Gaza, Syria

• Gaza hunger crisis ripples across health sector as Israeli blockade endures (Reuters)
• Gazans despair after Israel announces more displacement (New York Times)

World news

• Suffering in Sudan: The world’s worst humanitarian crisis just got worse (Deseret News)
• India strikes Pakistan over tourist killings, Pakistan says it will retaliate (Reuters)
• Germany's Merz becomes chancellor after surviving historic vote failure (BBC)

Number of the Day 

New statewide housing coalition launches May 8

The Landlord and Community Partners Coalition (LCPC) will officially launch on May 8, with a press conference from 11:00 AM–12:30 PM at Bud Bailey Apartments (3970 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84107).  This kickoff event invites the press, landlords, community-based organizations, and case managers to come together in support of a shared mission: preventing evictions, increasing housing stock for low income individuals, bridging communication gaps, and stabilizing housing across Utah. (Read More)

Weber State’s free online tool can help with estate planning

Weber State University has launched a new tool to make estate planning more affordable and accessible for the community. The free Wills Planner tool is available for anyone to use through Weber State’s planned giving platform, helping users to create their will. (Read More)

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• May 12 â€” Utah Taxes Now Conference with the Utah Taxpayers Association, Grand America Hotel, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, Register here
• May 17 — Utah GOP Organizing Convention, at UVU’s UCCU Center.
• May 20-22 — Interim Days
• May 31 — Utah Democratic Party Organizing Convention, Ogden High School
• Aug 7 â€”  Titan of Public Service gala with Sen. Tom Cotton hosted by the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation at the Grand America Hotel. More Information Here

On This Day In History

• 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses. Justinian I immediately orders the dome rebuilt.
• 1826 - Varina Howell (Davis) is born. She became the first lady of the Confederate States of America when her husband became the president.
• 1843 - The first Japanese immigrant arrives in the US, a 14-year-old fisherman named Manjiro.
• 1867 - Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel patents dynamite in England, the first of three patents he would receive for the explosive material. (And yes, that Nobel…)
• 1915 - A German submarine torpedoes and sinks the Lusitania, killing 1198 people.
• 1945 - Nazi Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters, ending its role in World War II.
• 1994 - Edvard Munch’s "The Scream" is recovered after its theft three months earlier.
• 2020 - Father and son arrested for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia, after video of the killing surfaces.

Quote of the Day

“I want people around the world to look at Utah as a source of answers and predictability, as a safe haven for investment, as a destination for a talented, skilled workforce."

—Jonathan Freedman, CEO of World Trade Center Utah

On the Punny Side

If you see a road sign that says "Survey Crew Ahead" they are not actually interested in your opinion.

I know that now.

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