New rules proposed by Education Secretary Betsy Devos would reportedly make it harder for colleges to act against campus sexual predators. The Utah Inland Port Authority board soundly rejects calls to open its committee meetings to the public. And LDS Dems criticize the ‘alarmist' tone of their faith’s opposition to the medical pot initiative.
Happy Thursday!
The New York Times reports it has obtained proposed rules by Education Secretary Betsy DeVoss that would bolster protections for accused college assailants and abusers while making it more difficult for victims to get justice. The draft regulations would also limit the liability of universities and colleges, who only could take action in cases were the alleged assaults took place on the campus. The regs could go into effect after a public comment period without congressional action. [NYTimes]
Topping the news: Utah’s Inland Port Authority board dismissed a call for it to open committee meetings and voted 9-2 to keep those sessions closed to the public. [Trib] [DNews] [KUER]
-> Environmentalists say they will fight a request from EnergySolutions for an exemption allowing the company to accept some depleted uranium for disposal at its low-level radioactive landfill. [Fox13]
-> The Utah Transit Authority has decided not to appeal the whistleblower case it recently lost to Michael Clara. A federal administrative law judge found he was wrongly fired for raising safety issues. [Trib]
-> LDS Democrats say they are shocked by the “alarmist” tone and misinformation used by the Mormon church in opposing the ballot measure to legalize medical marijuana in the state. [Trib][Fox13]
Tweets of the day: From @ConanOBrien: “Ever since I scooped my eyes out with a melon baller, the news hasn’t bothered me so much.”
-> From @Renatto_Mariotti: “Trump announces that McGahn is leaving his post as White House Counsel a mere 11 days after @NYTimes reported that McGahn sat for 30 hours of interviews with Mueller, which Trump claimed was a ‘fake piece.’”
Trib Talk: After gathering tens of thousands of signatures, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and scoring high in public-opinion polls, the Count My Vote initiative won’t be on the ballot. Listen to this informed discussion of the measure’s pros and cons. [Trib]
In other news: Federal authorities are asking a judge to allow them to use footage from a videotaped interview with a Utah man accused of being a double agent and passing on information to China. [Fox13]
-> Read The Tribune’s two-part series on mission safety in the LDS Church and how two women helped shed light on sexual assault in the mission field. [Trib] [Trib]
-> Davis School District students are suing the school for negligence after three students were sexually abused by a teacher who is currently facing criminal charges. [Fox13]
-> The founder of Protect LDS Children, former bishop Sam Young, has posted a letter from the church informing him of a disciplinary council against him. [Fox13]
-> Though worse than the national average, Salt Lake City drivers have improved since last year, according to a report by Allstate insurance. [Trib]
-> The CEO of Washakie Renewable Energy and his brother have been ordered to stay in jail, despite their health problems, until officials are able to investigate their involvement in a $511 million biofuels fraud scheme. [Trib] [Fox13]
-> Gehrke is incredulous that the Salt Lake County Republican Party hasn’t moved to oust communications director Dave Robinson for his controversial statements about LGBTQ people having a high suicide rate because of their large number of sex partners. [Trib]
-> Pat Bagley says that there’s only been one day since the last sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic church. [Trib]
Nationally: President Donald Trump says White House Counsel Don McGahn will be leaving his post this fall, becoming another in a long line of people to leave their posts during the Trump administration. [BBC] [Politico] [WaPost]
-> Trump shifted from criticizing North Korea for not denuclearizing quickly enough to slamming China for putting pressure on Pyongyang to not ally with the United States. [BBC] [WaPost]
-> Attorney General Jeff Sessions is still under threat of firing as the president searches for a GOP senator to flip on him. [Politico]
-> American citizens living on the U.S.-Mexico border have been greeted with a shock this year when trying to renew their passports. Despite being born and raised in America, their citizenship is being questioned. [WaPost]
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-- Dan Harrie, Connor Richards and Cara MacDonald
Twitter.com/danattrib, Twitter.com/crichards1995 and Twitter.com/carammacdonald
Follow @sltribpolitics