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Bears are having a very bad year. Across much of the United States, a warm winter and persistent drought have decimated the natural foods that black and brown bears rely on. With nearly every station at the buffet in short supply, the adaptable eaters are turning to human food. From California to Connecticut…
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday establishing a Women’s Health Division within the National Institutes of Health. The new division is set to work with the agency’s existing Office of Research on Women’s Health, which was established in 1990 and “has served as the focal point for…
WASHINGTON — Immigrants living in the United States with humanitarian status from Ukraine and Sudan will retain their deportation protections and work authorizations for now, the Department of Homeland Security said over the weekend. More than 100,000 Ukrainians and roughly 2,000 Sudanese with Temporary Protected…
Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson is among several election officials across the country that have been sent suspicious white powder and threatening letters ahead of the midterm elections. Reports of the letters in Arizona, Ohio, Oklahoma and Louisiana began last week, prompting building evacuations and an FBI…
Utahns’ perception of their quality of life is the lowest it’s been in 15 years, according to a new report. The report issued last week by the nonpartisan research nonprofit, the Utah Foundation, says Utah’s quality of life index measured an “all-time low” of 63 out of 100 based on a statewide survey that measures
The sheer size of investment in data centers is drawing concern as it surpasses all other historical booms and crowds out other more job-creating ventures. Until now, no industry had driven the U.S. economy with such force since the railroad expansion of the late 1800s, when titans battled one another to lay the…
With ballots hitting Utah mailboxes this week, protesters in Salt Lake City’s No Kings demonstration Saturday marched with their votes in hand to deposit in a downtown drop box. The city’s fourth No Kings protest brought out a smaller crowd, with Utah Highway Patrol estimating 2,000 people at the Capitol grounds, and…
Editor’s Note: This story is part of Gen Z at the Ballot Box, a collaboration between States Newsroom and The 19th. Boise State University senior Cade Syvock opposes abortion. As president of the school’s chapter of the conservative group Turning Point USA, the organization founded by the late activist Charlie Kirk…
The Grand Canyon State announced Friday that it intends to join Nevada’s lawsuit challenging the federal government’s most recent plan for the future of the Colorado River. The announcement comes after years of unsuccessful negotiations among the seven states that depend on Colorado River water to develop a plan to…
Growing up in a small town in Amherst County, Virginia, Pierre Thomas would gather around the table each night with his family to eat dinner and watch “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings” on ABC — in part because Jennings was their favorite evening news anchor, but also because it got the best reception on
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has a flurry of travel on deck in the final frantic weeks leading up to the end of the midterm elections, in which the GOP is vying to maintain its control of both the U.S. House and Senate. But that outlook looks increasingly less favorable for Republicans, as analysts say
Legal challenges first filed against President Donald Trump’s cuts to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments almost a decade ago can move forward after he downsized them once again and more sharply this summer, a federal judge ruled this week in Washington, D.C. U.S. District Court Judge Tanya…
WASHINGTON —Suddenly there’s hope for cutting the reams of red tape that can make getting new energy projects a seemingly endless slog. Top Republican and Democratic senators have unveiled a 417-page bill to overhaul the approval process, a pathway for what’s known as “permitting reform.” A debate is likely when…
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador on Wednesday joined seven other states in announcing separate lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging the company’s chatbot ChatGPT harm. The 107-page lawsuit filed in Ada County Fourth Judicial District Court alleges that the company has harmed Idaho children and deceived adults in…
Of at least 6,191 Utah voters who state election officials have notified that they need to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship before this year’s November election, only 1,827 have responded and confirmed their citizenship, according to Utah’s lieutenant governor’s office. Those voters received a ballot with state…
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump Thursday announced that the execution of a man convicted of the Fort Hood shooting will not be livestreamed, a reversal after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that Nidal Hasan’s death by firing squad would be public. “I think streaming the execution for all to see might…
As candidates debate public safety ahead of the midterm elections, a new assessment of the nation’s historic homicide decline suggests there is no single explanation for the drop — and that some widely discussed enforcement strategies may have played little role. A survey of nearly 50 crime scholars convened by the…
Inflation grew to a 3.7% annual rate in September, according to an Oct. 14 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from 3.4% in August. In the last consumer price inflation report before midterm elections, with voters already fed up with higher prices, September’s number was the highest since May, when it…
WASHINGTON — The No Kings movement that has brought millions to the streets across the United States three times since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term is staging its next event at the polls. Organizers across hundreds of advocacy groups will pull together thousands of events nationwide Saturday to…
Utahns seeking federal compensation after they or their loved ones were affected by Cold War-era nuclear weapons testing can get help with their applications through Intermountain Health’s Downwinders Clinic. The health provider’s Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program has scheduled its next series of…
A federal judge has issued a preliminary ruling blocking the Trump administration from moving the U.S. Forest Service’s headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City while the rest of the lawsuit over the relocation plays out in court. In the order signed Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, in…
WASHINGTON — A federal judge late Tuesday extended a block on a Trump administration ban of press passes for three news organizations, which will allow them to continue to enter the White House grounds while a legal challenge to the ban, including a Wednesday appeal filed by the administration, plays out. U.S…
In the race for Utah’s newly-drawn 2nd Congressional District, Republican incumbent Rep. Blake Moore squared off with one of his challengers, Democrat Peter Crosby, on the debate stage at Utah State University on Tuesday, three weeks before the Nov. 3 election. The debate — hosted by the Utah Debate Commission…
Prosecutors say Matthew Alder fired a "reckless shot." His defense attorneys say what happened was a tragedy, but not a crime.
Emigration Canyon residents recently found surveyors for the oil company HF Sinclair poking around their yards. Sinclair wants to lay a new 12-inch gasoline pipeline through the canyon and foothills of Salt Lake City carrying up to 4 million gallons a day of gasoline and diesel. Since 2010 the U.S. Pipeline and…
Three weeks before Election Day, the Trump administration’s sprawling project to send sensitive personal information on millions of voters to the Department of Homeland Security has been declared illegal by a federal judge. The blistering court decision comes after the Department of Justice pressured or sued states…
The Great Salt Lake is now below 30% of its natural volume, and a billboard along the Wasatch Front is back to remind Utahns just how much the lake has declined. The Great Salt Lake Tracker, launched by Grow the Flow in 2025, is back on Utah roadways. When the billboard first went up last
WASHINGTON — As partisan tensions rise in advance of the fast-approaching midterm elections, students will test their knowledge Wednesday in a field that’s long enjoyed bipartisan support: civics. Fifty-two middle school students hailing from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and American Samoa, will compete at the…
In addition to all the congressional, legislative and local races Utahns will need to sort through after they get their by-mail ballots starting this week, there are two wonky but important questions for them to answer. The questions titled Amendment A and Amendment B, depending on what voters decide, will have…
Amid ongoing controversy over a state law that allows landowners to essentially self-form a new city or town, one of Utah’s top Republican lawmakers says he’s open to a change — or even a full repeal of the law. House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, told Utah News Dispatch in an interview Monday he’s supportive of
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump this week will journey out West in an effort to galvanize support for Republican candidates three weeks before the midterm elections and convince voters to support his party amid low presidential approval ratings. As the deeply unpopular war in Iran enters month eight, resulting in…
The Trump administration’s order to allow import of Russian diesel violates a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports while the country’s war with Ukraine is ongoing, according to a bipartisan group of U.S. senators. Following an Oct. 9 call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the U.S…
Editor’s note: This story is part of We Vote Utah, a partnership between KUER, PBS Utah and Utah News Dispatch to cover Utah’s 2026 elections. Ballots will start hitting Utahns’ mailboxes this week ahead of the contentious midterm elections, marking another year when a national spotlight has been cast on voting by…
For years, the psychoactive compound kratom has been sold across much of the United States as an herbal supplement, available in powders, capsules and extracts with few of the restrictions applied to controlled substances. But the market is changing. Products containing a potentially dangerous kratom derivative known…
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is rescuing more abandoned black bear cubs this year after environmental conditions strained food sources that bears rely on to fatten up before winter. “Extreme drought conditions have limited natural forage in the higher elevations,” said Rachael Gonzales, Colorado Parks and Wildlife…
A former Cornell University student’s allegations of gang rape in 2024 have renewed attention on a difficult area of sexual assault law. A person can be awake, responsive and even able to move during a sexual encounter while still being so intoxicated or impaired that they cannot understand what is happening or make…
Household water bills are increasing faster than inflation and income, according to a new analysis. The environmental advocacy nonprofit Food and Water Watch analyzed water bill data among the nation’s 500 largest community water providers. Those systems serve a collective 155 million people — nearly half the nation’s…
A group opposed to Flock cameras says Utah transportation managers hold the keys to the future of the technology on state roads.
Measles cases for the calendar year surpassed 4,000 for the first time in decades, with as many as five deaths in Pennsylvania, as the federal government steps in with financial help for states but also fans vaccination fears and skepticism. A weekly report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed…
A financial benefit for surviving family members of wildland firefighters who die fighting blazes on federal lands could increase tenfold under a new bill proposed by Oregon’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and Utah’s Republican U.S. Sen. John Curtis. Merkley and Curtis on Monday introduced the Honoring Fallen…
All Utah voters have automatically received a mail ballot since 2020. The reliably red state had championed universal mail voting. However, with voting under greater national scrutiny, Utah legislators rolled back universal mail voting. Although he’s recently urged voters to cast their ballots by mail, President…
Rep. Mike Kennedy defended his first term in Congress as Democratic challenger sought to cast him as a “lap dog” to the Trump administration.
WASHINGTON — Leading immigration advocates and experts sounded the alarm Wednesday on the Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to undo state laws allowing some immigrants to pay in-state college tuition in the states where they reside. The U.S. Department of Justice has sued 24 states, Washington, D.C., and the…
Biologists have discovered a live adult zebra mussel below the Westwater Recreation Area in the Utah side of the Colorado River, raising the risk of the invasive species spreading in the state. The discovery was made Sept. 22, about a month after testing detected zebra mussel DNA in the water in Utah, according to a
WASHINGTON — A federal judge will rule in the coming days on whether the Trump administration can legally rescind White House press passes for journalists at three news organizations, or if those reporters will be able to continue accessing the grounds while the case continues. U.S. District Judge for the District of…
Salt Lake City Council members hope to pause before advancing a proposed sale of 900 acres of land between the Salt Lake City International Airport and wetlands. While the interested buyer is the Utah Department of Natural Resources and its Wildlife Resources division, environmentalists worry that selling the land…
A current and former Utah sheriff are charged with obstruction of justice in a case tied to the high-profile prosecution of Kouri Richins.
WASHINGTON — Every child in the United States with a valid Social Security number is now enrolled in a tax-advantaged investment account, titled a “Trump Account,” President Donald Trump announced Wednesday. Parents must claim the accounts by downloading a Trump Account mobile app. Children born from 2025 through 2028…
The Department of Homeland Security obtained tens of millions of unspecified records as part of a sweeping nationwide effort to find voter fraud, according to internal DHS reports, and weighed using undercover agents to investigate voter registration efforts by nonprofit groups. The reports from May and June by…
The number of people sick with flu is starting to increase across the United States, with health authorities warning that in some western regions of the country, the 2026-27 flu season may be off to an early start. Health authorities often advise people to get their flu vaccine by the end of October – but
University of Utah researchers have released a new report looking at how heat impacts people experiencing homelessness — and offering recommendations for lawmakers to help address a lack of cooling resources during summer months. For the report released Monday researchers interviewed 24 people experiencing unsheltered…
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Tuesday signed an executive order meant to “promote responsible AI use within government” by using “pro-human” principles when evaluating artificial intelligence tools. The executive order sets a “structured, pro-human framework for artificial intelligence integration across state government,”…
Utah health officials are warning against substances marketed as herbal products that produce psychoactive “highs,” saying they may contain dangerous semi-synthetic kratom chemicals. The warning comes after four Utahns died of overdoses linked to “high-potency, illegal chemical compounds” found in the products…
As Utah Republican Rep. Burgess Owens prepares to turn off the lights and close the door to his career in public office, he finds himself ending on the same note that sparked his interest in government. And he says he’ll now pursue similar ventures in the private sector. After retiring from the NFL in 1983,
Two Utah researchers shed light on their efforts to find answers on Great Salt Lake dust. So did a state official, though he called it a “future issue.”
Utahns may start seeing more artificial intelligence tools in their doctors visits now that the state’s Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy signed agreements with healthcare providers to test pilots to accelerate healthcare processes through AI, including an improved medication refill system and tools to expand…
The Utah Supreme Court heard three back-to-back cases on Monday asking the high court to block a transfer of the cases to the Utah Legislature’s newly created, randomly selected three-judge panel specifically meant to hear challenges to Utah laws. Attorneys in the three lawsuits — Planned Parenthood’s challenge to the…
President Donald Trump wants to sharply curtail mail ballots. He’s called them “inherently corrupt” and baselessly condemned them as a major source of fraud. But with Republicans falling behind in the polls, the president is now urging his supporters to vote in the midterm elections any way they can, including by…
Two Idaho political action committees, or PACS, on both sides of the proposed abortion rights initiative, Proposition 1, have spent $1.3 million combined, and raised nearly $7.5 million total. The ballot measure’s supporters have outpaced its opponents in both fundraising and spending so far. So far, the main PAC…
Editor’s note: This story is part of We Vote Utah, a partnership between KUER, PBS Utah and Utah News Dispatch to cover Utah’s 2026 elections. The top election official in the red state of Utah has been loud and clear — on and off social media — about her concerns with the Trump administration when it
Voters in four states will decide housing-related ballot measures in November, providing testing grounds for different strategies to boost affordable homes. The six measures across California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are the highest number in a single election year in at least two decades, according to…
Over the past year and a half, a dozen states have embraced a new vision for solar power: small, cheap panels that can be hung from a balcony or porch, be plugged into a standard wall outlet and take a dent out of residents’ utility bills. These systems, known as balcony solar or plug-in solar,
Editor’s note: This story is part of Gen Z at the Ballot Box, a collaboration between States Newsroom and The 19th. Brenna Vandergeest was a teenager when her grandmother told her about Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court case that ended the federal right to an abortion. She said it lit a…
Kalshi, Polymarket and the Coalition for Prediction Markets have spent at least $3 million this year on lobbying and campaign contributions across the federal and state levels, according to a new report from the government watchdog group OpenSecrets. Prediction market platforms say they are like commodity markets that…
Candidates vying for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District made their pitches for what will be the largest district in the state, clashing over environmental issues, nuclear energy, forest management and the boundaries of Utah’s recently reduced national monuments. Republican Rep. Celeste Maloy, going into her second…
Utah law enforcers and attorneys are reminding survivors of domestic violence that help to obtain protective orders is available, regardless of whether they want to pursue criminal charges against a perpetrator. Police, prosecutors and advocates gathered at the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday…
When Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin declared in September that Immigration and Customs Enforcement could serve warrants on individuals at polling places this fall, officials in Denver, a liberal city where roughly 14% of residents are foreign-born, quickly sued. “Every day we find new things to be…
Jobs across the United States rose by 29,000 in September, a disappointing result as recent growth was also revised down in Friday’s monthly jobs report, the last one before midterm elections. September growth was a large dip from a strong August number that was revised down from 162,000 to 133,000 in the new report…
WASHINGTON — This summer, arrests of immigrants in the United States soared to the highest levels since President Donald Trump returned to office. An unprecedented increase in cooperation between local and state law enforcement and federal immigration officers through collaborations known as 287(g) agreements helped…
Salt Lake County prosecutors urged lawmakers to toughen penalties for recruiting minors into gangs. Now they say they're putting the new law to work. .
The former site of the Utah State Prison in Draper is now a blank canvas as state leaders prepare the ground to build a massive development that’s been named The Point. Thursday, the construction of its “Convergence Point,” a centerpiece for the project, was celebrated. After receiving $50 million from the Utah…
In reaction to an audit released Wednesday that was critical of Utah’s Judicial Conduct Commission, Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz said he was “extremely disappointed” with its findings, including how the commission handled and dismissed allegations against former Justice Diana Hagen. Hagen resigned in May after the…
It used to be considered against the law in America to starve a member of an endangered species to death or harm it by destroying its home. That’s changing as the federal government chips away at the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Under the Trump administration’s new interpretations of the law, as long as the animal
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators departed Capitol Hill on Wednesday night for their campaign break, leaving numerous policy disputes unresolved. The chamber won’t return until Nov. 9 for the five-week lame-duck session, when party leaders will have to decide which bills they want to negotiate during what could be the final…
President Donald Trump is scheduled to kick off a month-long blitz of campaign stops with a Thursday rally in deep-red Oklahoma before heading to other states with strong Republican leanings. The first events in the closing stretch of the midterm election campaign suggest his strength with swing voters is limited, as…
After reports of a bird flu outbreak at a mink farm in Utah emerged, animal welfare advocates are describing the state’s response to it as “dangerously lax.” Details about the outbreak are still publicly unclear. A spokesperson for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food said that “due to the limited reach and…
Legislative auditors on Wednesday released a slate of four reports that found a lack of “accountability” across the governing structures that make up Utah’s judiciary. The audits — which come during a time of ongoing tension between the GOP-controlled Utah Legislature and the courts in the wake of rulings that have…
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans did not gain any support Wednesday from Democrats as they attempted to advance a bill that mashed together two hot-button midterm issues: requiring voter ID in federal elections and limiting stock trading for members of Congress. The Republican-led bill, titled the Stop Insider…
A federal grand jury indicted 10 noncitizens for unlawfully voting in Minnesota, U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Wednesday, highlighting the administration’s effort to keep election security a top issue, in line with President Donald Trump’s longstanding unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. The indictments…
Dozens of Utahns are set to have their debt cancelled after a national auto loan company agreed to settle claims that it exploited borrowers.
President Donald Trump is tapping $20 million in Homeland Security funding to pay for TV ads that heavily feature him ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats said Tuesday as the promos critics call propaganda come under bipartisan attack. The Trump administration recently moved the funds into a U.S. Customs and…
In the race for Utah’s 1st Congressional District, two candidates from opposing political parties found themselves meeting in the middle, a shift from the scenes playing out in campaigns across the country seeking a spot in a profoundly divided U.S. Congress. Ben McAdams, who won a crowded primary for the Democratic…
Kennedy said states should have more authority over health matters and the U.S. does not need a surgeon general.
Diesel fuel prices in the U.S. continue to break all-time records, hitting $6.28 a gallon as a national average on Sept. 14, 2026, and they aren’t likely to come down anytime soon. Because diesel is the fuel for freight transportation, farming and construction – and is related to a key heating fuel – the effects
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted, for now, the Trump administration’s request to continue rapid third-country deportation of immigrants to countries not their own. The decision will allow the Trump administration to carry out its aggressive deportation method of quickly removing immigrants to one…
WASHINGTON — The three news organizations that President Donald Trump barred from entering the White House grounds earlier this month have asked a federal judge to ensure their reporters continue to have access after a temporary restraining order expires in early October. Attorneys for CNN, MS Now and Politico filed…
As PacifiCorp readies to sell its Washington service area to Gem, an affiliate of Portland General Electric Company, state watchdogs and advocates are skeptical, saying the deal in its current form may not be in the public interest. The company has proposed to sell its Washington service area for approximately $1.9…
Five weeks before Election Day, President Donald Trump’s sprawling effort to identify and remove noncitizen voters hasn’t produced the kind of large purges that could meaningfully affect the midterm elections. Even a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision giving states access to a supercharged Department of Homeland…
For most of his life, Douglas Stewart Carter has been confined to a Utah prison cell. On a misty evening and at 71 years old, he emerged free of shackles or guards Monday, with his time on death row now behind him. As he strode out of the Utah County Jail, Carter smiled and pushed
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan measure to overhaul the college sports landscape got a step closer to becoming law Monday after passing the U.S. Senate. The bill — which sailed through on a 77-22 vote — would set a national framework for college athletes’ compensation, provide certain antitrust protections to the NCAA…
Trevor Lee, a Republican representative from Layton and one of the most controversial figures in the Utah Legislature, has resigned after being charged with fraud on Monday. Lee is facing four felony charges in 3rd District Court after being accused of forging employment documents to obtain a home loan, according to…
The challenges and dire threats surrounding the unchecked growth of artificial intelligence appear unlikely to move Congress or President Donald Trump to act as the U.S. Senate enters its last week before the midterms. The rapid emergence of the technology has sparked a host of policy debates, with some warning of an…
A political issues committee launched a campaign on Monday urging Utah voters to reject a proposed constitutional amendment on their Nov. 3 ballot that would set a higher bar for ballot initiatives that raise taxes. Utah lawmakers earlier this year approved a resolution to put the proposed amendment to the Utah…
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has, once again, infuriated lawmakers from both political parties by using a controversial maneuver to cancel funding previously approved by Congress. The $810 million in the “pocket rescission” would have gone to refugee assistance programs at the Department of Health and Human…
A Utah law seeking to connect victims of intimate partner violence to immediate help from confidential advocates isn't doing that most of the time, data indicates.
The U.S. Department of Education’s suspension this year of a comprehensive monitoring process puts billions of K-12 dollars at heightened risk of undetected waste, fraud and abuse, according to a new report by the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office. The congressional watchdog’s report also raised…
WASHINGTON — Government investigators Thursday released a report that found the Department of Homeland Security wasted more than $20 million in federal funding in its rapid expansion of immigration detention, including warehouse purchases strongly opposed in numerous U.S. communities. The nonpartisan Government…
WASHINGTON — A vast and growing network of artificial intelligence-driven Flock cameras could violate constitutional privacy rights, U.S. senators on a Judiciary Committee subcommittee said during a Wednesday hearing. GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, the chair of the Crime and Counterterrorism Subcommittee, said the…
Utah Valley University on Friday released a report detailing the findings of an independent, external review of the fatal shooting that killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk on its campus about a year ago. That review — commissioned by the university and conducted by a team of law enforcement and security…
WASHINGTON — An appeals panel Friday seemed inclined to agree that more than 100 Venezuelan men the Trump administration sent to a brutal prison in El Salvador are entitled to due process hearings to challenge their removal, which was made under an archaic 18th-century wartime law. Arguing on behalf of the class of…