Thursday, May 1, 2025

⏰ Tick Tock

7 days remaining to verify signatures for the HB267 referendum. (5/7/2025)
104 days to Utah's 2025 municipal primary elections (8/12/2025)
188 days until Election Day (11/4/2025)
552 days until the 2026 midterm elections (11/3/2026)

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Utah Headlines

Signal-gate shutdown. Utah Republicans vote to block Hegseth investigation. [Utah Political Watch]

HB267 referendum update: Another Senate district hits signature goal. [Utah Political Watch]

Judge considers contempt as Trump complicates Utah's court fight over trans athletes. [KUER]

3.9 magnitude earthquake shakes Utah; no damage or injuries reported. [USA Today]

Utah lawmakers came up with the 988 crisis line. They have differing views on possible Trump cuts to LGBTQ+ help. [Tribune]

New state law to raise distance requirement for students to qualify for bus transportation. [KUTV]

Feds accused a Utah company of "deceptively" promoting a COVID treatment. Under Trump, they've abruptly dropped their case. [Tribune]

Herriman wants to build a regional park. It just signed off on almost 450 new homes to make it work. [Tribune]

Utah hockey club's permanent name might have just been revealed in the strangest way imaginable. [The Sporting News]

Smith Entertainment Group unveils one-of-a-kind vision for Delta Center remodel. [Utah News Dispatch]

National/International

A bi-partisan proposal to undo President Donald Trump's tariffs failed in the Senate on Wednesday. Even if it had passed, it was unlikely the measure would be taken up in the House of Representatives. [NBC News]

The U.S. economy shrank 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, the first drop in three years. [Associated Press]

  • Companies slowed down hiring dramatically in April. Private sector payrolls rose by just 62,000, the smallest gain since July 2024. [CNBC]
  • General Motors lowered its profit projections for the next year by $5 billion because of President Trump's tariffs. [Bloomberg]

Republicans in Congress are downplaying fears that President Donald Trump's economic policies will cause an economic recession. [Washington Post]

Thousands of Americans are expected to participate in "May Day" protests across the country on Thursday. [USA Today]

The Trump administration has discussed the possibility of deporting migrants with criminal records to Libya and Rwanda. [CNN]

Tesla board members privately started a search to replace Elon Musk as CEO. [Wall Street Journal]

A bipartisan bill is expected to be introduced in Congress on Thursday calling for the U.S. Mint to end production of the penny. [Wall Street Journal]

Justices on the Supreme Court seem open to allowing Oklahoma to use public money to fund the nation's first religious charter school. [New York Times]

Briefly...

The White House has launched a new website called "White House Wire" to promote pro-Trump news coverage. [Axios]

Four current and former students at the University of Texas at Austin sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott alleging they were arrested unlawfully for pro-Palestinian demonstrations. [Reuters]

Florida is poised to become the next state to ban fluoride in drinking water. [Miami Herald]

Starter homes cost at least $1 million in over 200 U.S. cities. [CNBC]