Utah and National Updates

Elections, Politics, & Government

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, speaks on a "Mission Critical: Materials for American Energy Dominance" p...
Cami Mondeaux, Deseret News

John Curtis says ‘under no circumstance’ will he help end the filibuster, defying Trump’s wishes

Utah Sen. John Curtis said the procedural tool protects debate in the Senate and that it ‘protects independence’
3 days ago
FILE - E. Jean Carroll exits the New York Federal Court after former President Donald Trump appeare...
Lindsay Whitehurst and Larry Neumeister, Associated Press

Trump, DOJ ask Supreme Court to toss $83 million defamation verdict in E. Jean Carroll case

President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to dismiss an $83 million defamation verdict won by writer E. Jean Carroll after she accused the president of sexual assault.
4 days ago
Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, mingles after a press conference to discuss the Surface Transportation ...
Cami Mondeaux, Deseret News

Owens says progressives are getting involved with GOP primaries to shift Utah leftward

Utah Rep. Burgess Owens warns Utah Republicans: progressives are "inside the gate," wanting to shift the Beehive State leftward.
4 days ago
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 29:  Former NIH Director Anthony Fauci testifies before the Senate Homeland S...
Lauran Neergaard and Ali Swenson, Associated Press

Fauci invokes the Fifth Amendment and declines to testify in Senate panel’s COVID-19 hearing

Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment in a committee hearing about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
4 days ago
Bryan Freeborn works at one of the package sorting machines at the United States Postal Service Pri...
Eric Cabrera

Utah postal workers rally to oppose privatization, concerned that rural communities could be affected

Citing concerns about efforts to privatize the U.S. Postal Service, postal workers gathered in Salt Lake on Tuesday to support the independent agency.
5 days ago
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks during the Utah Republican Party State Nominating Convention at the U...
Cami Mondeaux, Deseret News

Mike Lee leads GOP revolt to cancel August recess unless election bill is passed

Sen. Mike Lee wants Republican leaders to cancel the August recess period, which could threaten crucial campaign opportunities for vulnerable incumbents.
5 days ago
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for an executive order ...
Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press

Trump administration urges Supreme Court to allow order targeting mail-in voting before midterms

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for an executive order from the president that could dramatically change mail-in voting ahead of November’s midterm elections.
6 days ago
Sen John Curtis, R-Utah, walks through the Capitol during votes in Washington, July 16. A journey t...
Cami Mondeaux, Deseret News

From Salt Lake City to the Senate: Curtis leads tribute honoring Pioneer Day

In the US Senate on Thursday, Sen. John Curtis led a resolution honoring the Utah pioneers for exhibiting a spirit that he says still shapes the country today.
10 days ago
It's been a busy summer for SAR crews across Utah, and when teams head out, in many instances they'...
Don Brinkerhoff, KSL

Utah SAR volunteers spend their own money to save lives. Here’s how you can help

It's been a busy summer for SAR crews across Utah, and when teams head out, in many instances they're doing it largely on their own dime.
10 days ago
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) departs the U.S. Capitol on July 22, 2026 in Washingt...
Lisa Mascaro, AP Congressional Correspondent

House Republicans adopt $95 billion package for the Iran war and Trump’s priorities

The House adopted a Republican-only $95 billion budget proposal Wednesday, a long-shot effort to fund the Iran war and other White House priorities.
11 days ago
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald Trump at the Whit...
Ahmed Aboulenein, Reuters

US pauses $1B in Medicaid payments to California, Minnesota

The Trump administration is pausing $1 billion in Medicaid payments to California and Minnesota ​over "suspected fraud and noncompliance," Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Tuesday.
11 days ago
New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill speaks on the day of an event with tall ships sailing near Sandy...
Doina Chiacu, Reuters

New Jersey says software error put 6,600 noncitizens on voter rolls

Roughly 6,600 people who were not U.S. citizens were accidentally added to New Jersey's voter rolls because of a software ​error at the state motor vehicles department
11 days ago
Asay Martinis and Ben Floyd walk at the Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City on Thursday, June 4, 2026...
Adam Small

Great Salt Lake hits lowest level in more than 3 years, but managers say conservation is paying off

At the time of publication, the south arm of Great Salt Lake sat at 4,190.9 feet above sea level. That's less than a foot above the lake's low point in 2021.
12 days ago
A federal appeals court has rejected a request by Joe Biden to block the release of audio recording...
Michael Kunzelman, Associated Press

Appeals court rejects Biden’s bid to block release of recordings of ghostwriter interviews

A federal appeals court rejected a request by President Joe Biden to block release of audio recordings, transcripts, of interviews with a memoir ghostwriter before he became president.
12 days ago
A Utah-based think tank is proposing replacing several federal social welfare programs, like food s...
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL

Could one account replace food stamps, housing, child care benefits? This Utah group thinks so

A Utah-based think tank proposes replacing several federal social welfare programs, like food stamps, with a single benefit, and suggests Utah could pilot the program.
16 days ago
President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Wash...
Michelle L. Price, Eric Tucker and Collin Binkley, Associated Press

Trump doubles down on US election attacks in his primetime speech

President Trump elevated his yearslong push to raise doubts about the legitimacy of U.S. elections and dispute his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden during a primetime address to the nation on Thursday.
16 days ago
Top Utah officials asked the U.S. Department of Justice not to interfere with state elections after...
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL

Utah asks DOJ not to interfere with state elections after it threatened Lt. Gov. Henderson

Top Utah officials asked the DOJ not to interfere with state elections after the agency threatened Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson with prosecution over election administration last week.
17 days ago
A map shows the change in federally protected National Monument land in southern Utah, reducing Gra...
Brenna Donnelly, KSL

New maps show landmarks removed from Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments

Newly released state maps show which of southern Utah's most recognizable landscapes would lose national monument protections under President Trump's latest executive order.
17 days ago
A rendering of a proposed new building for Main Street where London Belle Supper Club and Los Tapat...
Carter Williams, KSL

Salt Lake City OKs $2M loan to help business owner drastically rebuild after Main Street fire

The owner of a Main Street building destroyed by fire last summer is receiving a big financial boost from Salt Lake City as it looks to drastically rebuild the property.
18 days ago
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill ...
Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press

Blanche confronts skeptical questioning of fund, tax deal for Trump at Senate confirmation hearing

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confronted skeptical questioning at a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday.
18 days ago
Cars, trucks and SUVs are getting bigger, and Utah law has changed because of it. (Matt Gephardt, K...
Matt Gephardt, KSL

Utah raises weight cutoff that can drive up vehicle registration fees

Cars, trucks and SUVs are getting bigger, and Utah law has changed because of it.
18 days ago
A student studies at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on March 13, 2024. A new Utah Women a...
Kennedy Camarena, KSL

Policy expert, report, question effect of diversity, equity and inclusion law on women in leadership

One Utah policy expert called Utah's anti-diversity, equity and inclusion law "a big setback" for women in K-12 education leadership, two years after the law's inception.
19 days ago
A memorial grows at the site where Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was fatally shot by ICE agents, last week...
Patrick Whittle, Jack Brook, Rebecca Santana and Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press

Trump administration orders ICE to suspend most vehicle stops after two deadly shootings

Trump administration officials told ICE officers to suspend most vehicle stops after two deadly shootings within a week.
19 days ago
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office with members of the Utah congressional delega...
Matthew Brown and Hannah Schoenbaum, Associated Press

What to know about Trump’s move to shrink the size of 2 national monuments in Utah

President Trump announced Monday that he will scale back the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah.
20 days ago