Friday, June 27, 2025

⏰ Tick Tock

Days to Utah's 2025 municipal primary elections (8/12/2025) - 46
Days until Election Day (11/4/2025) - 130
Days until the 2026 midterm elections (11/3/2026) - 494
Days until the 2028 presidential election (11/7/2028) - 1,229

👀 Here's what you need to know for Friday morning:

UTAH AND THE WEST

A Wyoming shell company and a man who may not exist. Who is really behind the Salt Lake City "No Kings" protest? [Utah Political Watch]

Montana Republicans vow to kill Sen. Mike Lee's public land sales provision. [NOTUS]

Some Utah GOP lawmakers push back against federal pause in AI laws in Trump's budget bill. [KSL]

Utah Supreme Court to hear appeal in "Utah Fits All" scholarship. [Fox 13]

What the Supreme Court's Planned Parenthood ruling means for Utah. [Deseret News]

SLCPD denies request for body cam video, 911 calls in shooting at "No Kings" protest. [KUTV]

Can housing support in Utah be more efficient? State looks to streamline programs. [Salt Lake Tribune]

NATIONAL

A lot will have to go right for Senate Republicans to pass the massive tax and spending bill before the self-imposed deadline of July 4. [Politico]

The Senate parliamentarian disqualified a series of health care cuts and savings in the reconciliation package, including Medicaid rules requiring proof of citizenship for recipients. [NBC News]

Republicans are calling on President Trump to revoke Zohran Mandami's citizenship and deport him. [The Independent]

Edward "Big Balls" Coristine, one of Elon Musk's hires at DOGE, has returned to government as an employee of the Social Security Administration. [Wired]

INTERNATIONAL

President Trump is sticking to his claim that Iran's nuclear program was "obliterated" by U.S. airstrikes. Senate Republicans aren't convinced. [Politico]

  • Early intelligence assessments provided to European governments determine Iran's nuclear stockpile remains largely intact. [Financial Times]
  • The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said the centrifuges at one of Iran's uranium enrichment plants are "no longer operational" following the U.S. military strike. [New York Times]
  • President Trump has threatened to sue the New York Times and CNN for publishing articles about a preliminary intelligence report that disputed his claims about the success of the military strike on Iran. [New York Times]
  • President Trump threatened to prosecute Democrats after accusing them without evidence of leaking information about the U.S. airstrike on Iran. [Axios]

The Trump administration has discussed providing as much as $30 billion in aid to help Iran build a civilian-energy-producing nuclear program, easing sanctions and freeing up Iranian funds to entice them to come back to the negotiating table. [CNN]

HEALTHCARE

An advisory panel appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voted to walk back recommendations for flu vaccines containing an agreement the anti-vaccine movement has falsely linked to autism. [New York Times]