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Good morning! Here are the top stories from last week:

‘This kid can play’: Did the Cougars find a diamond in the rough?

Starter condos? Here’s Utah’s new plan to get more affordable housing built

The Supreme Court just rejected a religion case. At least 2 of the justices aren’t happy about it

New COVID variant is raising some concern

Why the Justice Department just sued a small Idaho town

What BYU officials said at this week’s Big 12 meetings about the civil lawsuit against Jake Retzlaff

Meagan Kohler: Maybe male critics are not experts on religious women’s underclothing

The Colorado River Basin’s groundwater is disappearing faster than the river itself

The Colorado River Basin has lost an alarming amount of groundwater at an accelerating rate over the past 20 years. Who does this most affect?

The states in the Colorado River Basin are split between the upper basin — Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah — and the lower basin of Nevada, California and Arizona. It also covers parts of Mexico.

The basin supplies water to about 40 million people and supports billions of dollars in agriculture. If nothing is done to replenish the groundwater, the region's economy and agriculture could be “at significant risk,” according to a new report.

Read more from Kevin Lind about the study and what it means for water use in the West.

Lifetime achievement: This man swam 10,000 miles and counting

Dennis Romboy writes:

On a warm May morning, Joe Horton, who turns 71 in July, swims laps at the Sports Mall in Murray, though he might as well be at Walden Pond. He powers through the lane in a turquoise swim cap, goggles and light blue trunks, his white beard flashing to the surface when he turns his head to take a breath. The waterline is where all his deep thinking is done.

“I find that my problem-solving skills are better after about 30 minutes of swimming. My mind would clear. I was just sharper. So I solved a lot of problems just swimming in the pool,” he said, a congenial tone to his voice.

“But also it’s like just sort of meditating. It lends itself to that because you can’t talk to anybody. The sounds are kind of meditative. You just hear the sound of the water as you move through it and you can’t see very far, so it lends itself to meditating and prayer.”

About a year ago, a close friend who had just run his 10,000th mile inspired him to calculate all his miles in the pool. He realized he was about 300 short of 10,000. He ramped up to six or seven times a week, hitting the milestone in late April. And he has no plans to hang up his goggles.

Read more about the healing power of water in Horton's life.

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FROM OUR SPONSOR BYU EDUCATION SOCIETY

BYU Education Society Annual Conference June 20 - For educators across K-12 and higher education, individuals, and parents

Join us for a day of “Joy-Filled Learning Through Christ.” Keynotes include BYU Religion Professor Anthony Sweat who will present “A House of Learning: The Lord’s Teaching Methods in the Temple.” Plus, author Ganel-Lyn Condie and breakout sessions. In person or online. View agenda and register.

Utah

Photo gallery: Provo River Race (Deseret News)
He doesn’t sell cars, he sells Porsches … and a lot of them (Deseret News)
Utahns react to Supreme Court decision on humanitarian parole (KSL-TV)
Pause on student visas impacting prospective Utah high school students (KSL-TV)

The U.S.

Multiple people set on fire in antisemitic attack in Colorado (CNN)
Trump’s tax bill has a long way to go in the Senate as Republicans mull major changes (Deseret News)
Here’s what got David Brooks angry last week (Deseret News)

The World

Russia and Ukraine step up the war on eve of peace talks (Reuters)
Red Cross says at least 21 killed and dozens shot in Gaza aid incident (BBC)

Sports

He tied a major league record in his MLB debut. So what’s next for this Utah product? (Deseret News)
SLCC completes its dream season with a Junior College World Series title (Deseret News)
Utah Valley gives up 8 home runs in NCAA Regionals loss to Arizona (Deseret News)
A lot of Jazz hope riding on the return of Taylor Hendricks (Deseret News)

Faith

Why new General Authority Seventy Elder B. Corey Cuvelier believes in answering when the Lord calls (Church News)
Being a devout Catholic at a secular college can be challenging. Some call it a blessing (The Associated Press)

Entertainment

This ‘Jeopardy!’ clue about a historic building in Utah stumped all 3 players (Deseret News)
Naomi Schaefer Riley: ‘What Not to Wear’ had a good message. Its reboot, not so much (Deseret News)

🗓️ Events Calendar

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

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today:

June 2-7 — Oremfest | Orem
June 2-14 — “Pride and Prejudice,” adapted by Melissa Leilani Larson | Midway Town Hall, Midway
June 1-7 — “The Scarlet Pimpernel” | Heritage Theater, Cedar City

Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond!

And reply to this email or email [email protected] to tell us what you think of Utah Today.

Thanks for reading!

— Ariel