Good Monday morning Utah! Thanks for reading “The Rundown”.
🎄 Not to panic you, but today marks 100 days until Christmas.
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Trump’s election lie is becoming GOP orthodoxy
There’s a striking number from a new poll released by CNN on Sunday. More than half of Republicans say supporting former President Trump’s false claim that he won the 2020 election is an important part of their partisan identity.
About 6 in 10 Republicans (59%) said believing Trump won in 2020 (he didn’t) is important to their identity as part of the GOP. 36% of that group felt it was “very” important, while 23% thought it was somewhat important.
While that belief is beginning to ossify among Republicans, a divide is brewing over Trump’s role in the party. 51% said the GOP has a better chance of winning the 2024 election if Trump were the nominee, while 49% said the party would be better off if someone else were the nominee.
Trump hasn’t publicly said whether he’ll run again in 2024. If he ends up not running, these numbers suggest whoever replaces him will likely have to profess their support for the false claim that the 2020 election was rife with fraud.
Here’s what you need to know for Monday morning
📰 The Tribune’s Matt Canham offers up this must-read analysis of how the two decades following 9/11 have made Americans more fearful and what that’s done to our collective psyche. [Tribune]
👀 Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn will be the headliner at a right-wing conference scheduled for Salt Lake City in October. Organizers say they’re expecting 10,000 people to attend. [Tribune]
⚖️ Utah-based Nomi Health is attempting to block the release of data relating to their COVID-19 testing program in Nebraska in a lawsuit brought by Salt Lake Tribune board chair Paul Huntsman. Nomi claims releasing the data would reveal trade secrets. [Tribune]
💵 Democrats are eyeing a big tax hike on the richest Americans and corporations to pay for their $3.5 trillion budget proposal. [WSJ]
👀 Democrats in Congress are circulating a new memo from the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service showing the Trump administration incurred new debt of $5.5 trillion. [Politico]
They’re also touting data from the Treasury Department that Republicans in Congress increased the debt by $7.8 trillion under former President Donald Trump. [Politico]
🏥 The family of an Alabama man says he died after being turned away from 43 ICUs in 3 states because hospitals were overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients. [WaPo]
📊 More than half of Americans say they support vaccine mandates for workplaces, classrooms, and other public places. [CNN]
💉 So many maternity unit employees at one New York hospital have resigned due to a vaccine mandate, the facility will pause baby deliveries. [CNN]
🐴 No, the livestock dewormer ivermectin won’t cure COVID-19 in humans. [WaPo]
👀 Salesforce says it will pay to relocate employees out of Texas because of the state’s new restrictive abortion law. [CNN]
⚖️ Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barret says she’s worried the public sees decisions by the court as partisan rather than impartial. [Politico]
Your turn: Unemployment
When Gov. Spencer Cox announced in May he was ending enhanced unemployment benefits early, he said businesses were having difficulty filling open positions.
Since that happened, Utah’s unemployment rate has barely budged. In June, Utah’s unemployment rate was 2.7%. In July, it was 2.6%.
What do you think is going on? Are people heading back to work? Business owners, are you still having trouble hiring enough employees?
Send your thoughts on the matter to me at bschott@sltrib.com. I’ll share some of your answers later this week.
Monday’s Utah news roundup
Utah
Utah librarians talk about 9/11, the Patriot Act, and how they became privacy warriors. [Tribune]
‘We are one Utah’: Gov. Spencer Cox urges unity during service event in remembrance of 9/11. [Tribune]
How University Neighborhood Partners helps west side leaders. [Tribune]
At Sandy’s 9/11 Healing Field — 3,000 flags, 20 years, one nation. [Tribune]
For BYU football fans, a win over Utah marks the end of rivalry losing streak and a ‘decade of pain’. [Tribune]
Why Gov. Spencer Cox wants you to look at Utah’s newest license plate. [Deseret News]
Should public tuition assistance be used to attend religious schools? Sen. Mike Lee thinks so. [Deseret News]
Will Biden’s vaccine mandate drive away employees in an already strained job market? [Deseret News]
COVID-19
LDS Church won’t help California members avoid vaccine mandates. [Tribune]
‘The cavalry’s not coming’: Intermountain Healthcare will postpone ‘urgent’ surgeries as COVID-19 cases fill ICU beds. [Tribune]
What is carbon pricing? Could it clean Utah’s air? [Deseret News]
Environment
Salt Lake City looks to shade trees to mitigate its ‘urban heat island’ effect. [Tribune]
Test results find no evidence of mercury contamination in Fairmont Park pond, city announces. [Tribune]
On the editorial pages
Why it’s time for Utah to do away with the death penalty, the Editorial Board writes. [Tribune]