Utah news

• In historic shift, Boy Scouts to expand girls’ participation

  11-10-2017 23:55
  
  In its latest momentous policy shift, the Boy Scouts of America will admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting next year and establish a new program for older girls based on the Boy Scout curriculum that enables them to aspire to the coveted Eagle Scout rank.
  
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• Taylorsville man pleads not guilty in Brian Head Fire

  11-10-2017 23:40
  ST. GEORGEA Taylorsville man is pleading not guilty to criminal charges in a massive Utah wildfire that destroyed 13 homes and cost some $40 million to fight.
  Court records show Robert Ray Lyman, 61, entered the plea Tuesday to misdemeanor counts of reckless burning and burning without a permit in the Brian Head Fire that torched more than 100 square miles this summer.
  Authorities say the fire that forced some 1,500 people to evacuate was started by weed burning at a cabin near the southern Utah
  
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• Utah officer killed 62 years ago gets headstone on unmarked grave

  11-10-2017 23:06
  SALT LAKE CITYA headstone was dedicated Wednesday at the site of a previously unmarked grave in Kentucky for a Utah State Corrections officer killed in the line of duty 62 years ago.
  On June 1, 1955, officer Edwin J. Fisher was fatally stabbed in the boiler room of the Utah State Prison. William Walter, 21, of Stockton, California, who was serving a sentence for burglary, admitted to the crime.
  "Although not a model prisoner, Walter was not a known troublemaker. He worked in the prison mattress
  
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• Utah hospital issues new policy for dealing with police

  11-10-2017 23:04
  SALT LAKE CITYUniversity Hospital has made public a new policy for medical staff dealing with police officers.
  The new arrangement results from a July 26 incident when nurse Alex Wubbels wouldn't allow a Salt Lake police officer to draw blood from an unconscious patient without a warrant and was subsequently arrested and removed from her post at the hospital.
  "Our nurse was dutifully following the appropriate, detailed organizational process to protect her patient, and we are incredibly proud of
  
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• Snap Inc. looking to expand to Utah

  11-10-2017 23:00
  
  Snap Inc., owner of the popular Snapchat app, is looking to expand to Utah.
  
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• Boy Scouts, Cubs to add girls; LDS Church says no change to its programs, plans

  11-10-2017 22:32
  SALT LAKE CITYBeginning next year, the Boy Scouts of America will admit young girls into its Cub Scouts program, and within two years, older girls will participate in a new program patterned after the Boy Scouts curriculum for boys.
  The latter includes the possibility of girls earning the iconic Eagle Scout rank.
  Meanwhile, the LDS Church said the BSA changes wouldn't impact its existing programs for young girls and young women, nor its plans to drop its involvement in Varsity and Venturing prog
  
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• Have You Seen This? 3 Utah teens with Down syndrome slay 'Moana' song

  11-10-2017 21:37
  
  A local YouTuber is spreading more goodness in the community with his latest piano video.
  
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• Not guilty plea in massive wildfire near Utah's Brian Head

  11-10-2017 20:40
  
  A Utah man is pleading not guilty to criminal charges in a massive Utah wildfire that destroyed 13 homes and cost some $40 million to fight.
  
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• South Salt Lake police looking for serial peeping Tom

  11-10-2017 20:22
  SOUTH SALT LAKESouth Salt Lake police are warning residents of a suspected peeping Tom.
  Since Aug. 24, South Salt Lake police detective Gary Keller said five reports have been made of people seeing a man peering in their windows. The focal point of most of the reports has centered around the Mountain Shadow Apartments, 3825 S. 700 West.
  The fifth and latest incident was about 5 a.m. Wednesday when a woman spotted a man looking in her window, Keller said. Police arrived quickly and an officer act
  
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• Rep. Rob Bishop's reform bill on Antiquities Act under fire

  11-10-2017 20:20
  SALT LAKE CITYCritics say Rep. Rob Bishop's bill to reform the Antiquities Act is the most aggressive legislative attack they've seen on the 111-year-old law that gives presidents the authority to create new national monuments.
  Bishop, the GOP congressman from Utah who chairs the House Committee on Natural Resources, said all HR3990 does is set up the process for new monument designations.
  "We are not taking away the ability of the president to use the Antiquities Act in the future," he said dur
  
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• What should Squaw Peak's new name be? Here are 48 suggestions from Deseret News readers

  11-10-2017 20:15
  PROVO — A mayor's office committee is putting together a proposal to change the name of a local mountain called Squaw Peak, a name many Native Americans consider racially derogatory, according to the Deseret News.An ongoing movement to change the name hopes to change it to something that “honors history and Native American women,” the Deseret News reported.The group has worked with the Ute tribe to develop a replacement name and hope to hold a public meeting in November.“
  
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• Snap says new Utah office a possibility, not a lock

  11-10-2017 20:10
  SALT LAKE CITYSnap Inc. said it has not committed to locating a new office in Lehi, despite a report Tuesday by a tech website.
  In a statement to the Deseret News Wednesday, a company spokesman said Snap Inc.the company behind Snapchat, Spectacles and Bitmojiwas exploring opportunities in Utah, as well as other locations, and as part of that process was also interviewing local talent.
  The company has been under scrutiny by the investment community after a downward slide in its stock price in the
  
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• Bluffdale man charged with beating woman for 6 hours

  11-10-2017 20:08
  WEST JORDANA Bluffdale man was charged Tuesday with kidnapping his estranged girlfriend and severely beating her for hours, causing disfiguration to her face.
  Timothy James Peterson, 35, is charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony; aggravated assault and mayhem, second-degree felonies; and failing to stop at the command of a law enforcer, a class A misdemeanor.
  On Oct. 1, a Bluffdale police officer on patrol spotted a vehicle at Wardle Fields Regional Park,
  
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• Kennecott worker dies after weekend exposure to sulfur dioxide

  11-10-2017 19:52
  MAGNAA Rio Tinto Kennecott employee exposed to sulfur dioxide over the weekend has died, company officials said.
  Albert Lozano, 64, was working at the Garfield smelter west of Magna on Sunday, performing regular duties to remove debris from a boiler, when he was exposed to the toxic gas, said Rio Tinto Kennecott spokesman Kyle Bennett.
  Lozano had been with the company for 12 years, Bennett said.
  "Right now, we don't know exactly how the exposure took place," he said.
  A boiler is used as part of
  
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• In historic change, Boy Scouts to let girls in some programs

  11-10-2017 19:42
  
  Embracing a historic change, the Boy Scouts of America announced Wednesday plans to admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting next year and to establish a new program for older girls using the same curriculum as the Boy Scouts.
  
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• Equestrian park gets extra $250K to fund 'growing pains'

  11-10-2017 19:38
  SALT LAKE CITYWhen thousands of horse owners last year protested the possibility of closing the Salt Lake County Equestrian Center amid struggles to pull the park's budget out of the red, county leaders committed to investing in the park.
  The County Council made good on that commitment Tuesday by granting park officials' request for $250,000on top of the annual $900,000 subsidy for the equestrian centerto cover costs of what one council member called "growing pains."
  Those buget needs include a
  
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• Boy Scouts of America plans to admit girls in some programs; LDS Church responds

  11-10-2017 19:32
  NEW YORKEmbracing a historic change, the Boy Scouts of America announced Wednesday plans to admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting next year and to establish a new program for older girls using the same curriculum as the Boy Scouts.
  Under the plan, Cub Scout densthe smallest unitwill be single-gender, either all-boys or all-girls. The larger Cub Scout packs will have the option to remain single gender or welcome both genders. The program for older girls is expected to start in 2019 and will en
  
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• Ex-deputy pleads guilty to animal cruelty in K-9's death

  11-10-2017 18:49
  LOGANA former Cache County sheriff's deputy has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in the death of his police K-9, Endy, who died in July after being left in a hot patrol car.
  Jason Whittier, 36, pleaded guilty Oct. 2 to aggravated cruelty of an animal, a class B misdemeanor, according to court records.
  The charge was filed against Whittier in July after investigators said the dog in his care was left in the back of a police patrol vehicle in direct sunlight for nearly 12 hours while his handler w
  
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• Diverse group urges cooperation in divisive Western lands debate

  11-10-2017 18:49
  SALT LAKE CITYWorking ranches in Montana, Nevada or Utah may seem to have little in common with a California nonprofit group dedicated to sustainable water supplies, but their leaders are among more than 130 signatories on a letter sent to Congress urging collaboration and common sense on Western lands issues.
  The Western Landowners Alliance, Family Farm Alliance, and Rural Voices for Conservation are among the groups spearheading the effort to develop a "shared vision" of principles to promote
  
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• A.M. notes: Chief fires officer from U. nurse case, USA fails to qualify for World Cup, California fire updates

  11-10-2017 18:45
  Here’s a look at the news for Oct. 11.Chief fires officer who arrested U. nurseJeff Payne, the police officer involved in the controversial and viral arrest of University Hospital nurse Alex Wubbels, was fired Tuesday by Salt Lake Police Chief Mike Brown, according to the Deseret News."I have lost faith and confidence in your ability to continue to serve as a member of the Salt Lake City Police Department," Brown wrote in a letter to Payne.His letter continued, "I am deeply troubled by you
  
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• Police searching for peeping Tom in South Salt Lake

  11-10-2017 18:30
  
  Police are searching for a peeping Tom after receiving several reports from an apartment complex in South Salt Lake, including one early Wednesday morning, according to South Salt Lake Police Executive Officer Gary Keller.
  
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• BYU's Cosmo the Cougar goes viral after dancing with Cougarettes

  11-10-2017 18:27
  BYU’s one-win football team may not be a fan favorite so far this season, but the team's mascot is gaining a nationwide following for its dance moves.A video of Cosmo the Cougar dancing with BYU’s dance team to “Rollie with a Dab of Ranch” by Ayo & Teo has gone viral with about 75,000 retweets and 190,000 likes on Twitter, the Deseret News reported.Watch below.https://twitter.com/JasmineLWatkins/status/917548916803035138Cosmo’s sweet dance moves caught the atten
  
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• Op-ed: Utah delegation needs a clear message about our monuments

  11-10-2017 18:10
  If the Trump administration, Ryan Zinke and our Utah representatives wanted us to truly trust them then they would stop doing literally everything they could to undermine their own words. The latest: a leak from Trump’s White House detailing Interior Secretary Zinke’s monument review in which he recommends downsizing both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante national monuments.This monument review was never about democratic process; if it were, it would have taken more than a few
  
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• 17 fun, family-friendly Halloween activities that won’t break the bank

  11-10-2017 16:02
  
  From corn mazes to spooky rides to an authentic Day of the Dead celebration, there’s no shortage of budget-friendly family events across Utah. Here’s a list of activities to keep the kids entertained going into Halloween.
  
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• In our opinion: The past 30 years of economic activity in Utah is astounding

  11-10-2017 14:05
  This year marks the 30th anniversary of an organization that few Utahns know much about but which has benefited the state.Pioneer diarist Willard Richards recorded trapper Jim Bridger’s statement that he’d give $1,000 for a bushel of corn raised in the Salt Lake basin. He warned Brigham Young that it would be “imprudent” to bring a large body of settlers to this rugged country. Bridger was an acknowledged expert on the region.From then until now, in some ways Utah has def
  
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• Financial superman joins Ballet West as executive director

  11-10-2017 14:00
  SALT LAKE CITY — Have no fear, Michael Scolamiero is here.Scolamiero, Ballet West's new executive director, has become known throughout his career for his ability to swoop into an economically struggling arts organization and save the day by helping it become financially strong.“He builds real trust with people; it’s not sort of a one-time fix or a quick change,” said Michael Kaiser, who led an extensive six-month international search for Ballet West's new executive direc
  
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• Police: Organized crime targeting Utah gas stations with skimmers

  11-10-2017 06:48
  
  Two credit card skimmers at a North Salt Lake gas station could have been secretly gathering and possibly transmitting credit card numbers and PINs for two to three weeks.
  
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• 'Let's get them out of there': Utah company evacuates employees from Puerto Rico

  11-10-2017 05:35
  COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Sarah Velilla can usually talk about Hurricane Maria without getting too emotional.But when she mentions the massive storm stripping all the greenery from her island, or that she didn't get to a chance to say goodbye to her mother before flying to the United States, the tears come."I haven't had a chance to hug my mom," Velilla admitted quietly, blinking quickly to stay her emotions.Her 8-year-old daughter, Eva, was playing in the living room and glanced toward her. Ve
  
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• Music hackathon looking for student competitors

  11-10-2017 02:40
  SALT LAKE CITY — Energy drink maker Red Bull is looking for college students from Utah and across the country to compete in its second annual Hack the Hits event — a 48-hour hackathon in which competitors must design and build a playable tech music innovation.Interested applicants must be currently enrolled in "an institution of higher learning," have skills in software/coding, hardware hacking and/or music creation and submit a bio video that includes highlights of a past project by
  
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• Matheson says he met with Bannon, but hasn't decided on Senate run

  11-10-2017 02:36
  SALT LAKE CITY — Boyd Matheson said Tuesday he hasn't decided whether to run for the seat now held by Sen. Orrin Hatch despite encouragement from Steve Bannon, President Donald Trump's former White House chief strategist.Bannon told Fox News Monday that a coalition is coming together to challenge every Senate Republican incumbent up for re-election except Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and said Matheson is already setting up an exploratory committee for the 2018 race.But Matheson, president of the c
  
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• Teen's suicide wasn't possible without friend's help, prosecutors say

  11-10-2017 02:16
  PROVO — If it hadn't been for the encouragement and assistance of an older friend, a 16-year-old Spanish Fork girl would not have taken her own life earlier this year.That was the argument prosecutors made Tuesday as they pushed a judge to order Tyerell Przybycien, 18, to stand trial for murder in the death of 16-year-old Jchandra Brown."He had a fascination with death," prosecutor Chad Grunander said. "He used her suicidal ideations for his own purpose."The hearing, a continuation of the
  
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• S.L. district attorney asks FBI to probe fatal police shooting

  11-10-2017 02:12
  SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake County's top prosecutor has asked federal investigators to review the fatal police shooting of a black man in Salt Lake City that has sparked outcry.District Attorney Sim Gill on Monday requested the FBI weigh in on the Aug. 13 death of Patrick Harmon, 50. Last Wednesday, Gill's office ruled the shooting justified.Gill feels comfortable with his decision not to file criminal charges against the officer, but "it doesn't hurt" to bring on outside investigators, he
  
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• Man arrested in Maverik stabbing should have been in jail

  11-10-2017 01:30
  SOUTH SALT LAKE — A man arrested Monday for allegedly stabbing a woman working at a Maverik convenience store had been mistakenly released early last month from the Salt Lake County Jail, officials confirmed Tuesday.Edwin Ogando, 33, of Salt Lake City, was arrested Monday after police say he jumped over the counter at Maverik, 3112 S. Redwood Road, and stabbed a 39-year-old woman multiple times with a pocketknife. Two delivery men who happened to be at the store helped rescue the store cle
  
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• Congressional candidates debate gun control, health care, partisan politics

  11-10-2017 01:25
  SALT LAKE CITY — The three top candidates running for the vacant 3rd Congressional District seat largely stuck to the issues Tuesday in the race's first general election debate.There were still sharp differences among Republican John Curtis, the mayor of Provo; Democrat Kathie Allen, a Cottonwood Heights physician; and new United Utah Party candidate Jim Bennett during the debate in the KSL Newsradio studios.On gun control, Allen said any device that converts semiautomatic weapons into "ma
  
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• Chief fires officer who arrested U. nurse; lieutenant demoted

  11-10-2017 00:53
  
  Salt Lake City Police Chief fired embattled police detective Jeff Payne on Tuesday and demoted Lt. James Tracy for their involvement with University Hospital nurse Alex Wubbels.
  
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• FBI to review fatal police shooting of black man in SLC

  11-10-2017 00:11
  
  Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill has asked the Federal Bureau of Investigations to review an Aug. 13 officer-involved shooting of a black man.
  
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• FBI to review fatal police shooting of black man

  11-10-2017 00:11
  
  Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill has asked the Federal Bureau of Investigations to review an Aug. 13 officer-involved shooting of a black man.
  
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