Utah news

• Officials approve pay raises for some Ogden police officers

  25-01-2018 23:50
  OGDEN — Some Ogden police officers will receive pay raises as part of an effort to keep officers from leaving the department.The Standard-Examiner reports the Ogden City Council unanimously approved pay raises for some local police officers on Tuesday.The move comes after the Salt Lake City Police Department announced plans to bring on 50 more officers.Police Chief Randy Watt says his department has lost 16 officers to the Salt Lake City department in the past 2 1/2 years.Officers who work
  
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• Outdoor trade show opens in Denver with public land politics

  25-01-2018 23:42
  DENVER — The Outdoor Retailer and Snow Show debuted in Denver on Thursday after the multimillion-dollar international gathering of industry brands made a high-profile departure from its longtime Utah home in a dispute over preserving public lands.Organizers and industry figures launched the three-day marketplace by criticizing President Donald Trump's decision to drastically shrink two national monuments in Utah, a move backed by some Utah political leaders but opposed by outdoor retail le
  
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• 5 legislative bills that would affect travel in Utah

  25-01-2018 23:04
  
  Utah's 2018 legislative session began on Monday. Here are five bills being proposed by state legislators that would affect travel in the state.
  
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• Taylorsville couple's '62 Amphicar looks great in and out of water

  25-01-2018 21:48
  
  Dan and Diane McCoy, of Taylorsville, have restored a 1962 Amphicar. Their unique car can function on the road and in the water. The classic looking piece of automotive history is a fan-favorite at car shows.
  
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• Lehi residents can work out with firefighters the first Saturday of each month

  25-01-2018 21:36
  LEHI — The Lehi Fire Department will sponsor a workout with firefighters on the first Saturday of each month.
  The workouts will begin at 9 a.m. at the Lehi Fire Station 81, 176 N. Center. The next workout is scheduled for Feb. 3.
  This basic workout routine integrates tools and techniques used in firefighting. Citizens of all ages are invited to participate and have fun while doing a simple workout. A small course will be set up for children as well.
  For more information, call 385-201-1081.
  
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• Mitt Romney making plans to launch Senate bid as early as next week

  25-01-2018 21:32
  SALT LAKE CITY — Mitt Romney plans to launch his U.S. Senate campaign as early as next week, a source told the Deseret News Thursday.
  The former Republican presidential nominee also intends to gather signatures to ensure a spot on a possible primary election ballot. But he also could attend the GOP nominating convention in May.
  Romney's inner circle is in town discussing policy, working through strategy and organizing a campaign, according to the source.
  Speculation that Romney, who now li
  
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• Task force gives go-ahead to new UTA structure, higher fees for hybrid cars

  25-01-2018 21:27
  SALT LAKE CITY — A hefty draft bill that would replace the Utah Transit Authority's volunteer board with three full-time trustees and keep the top boss was passed unanimously Thursday by members of a legislative task force.
  The most controversy over the draft bill at the task force meeting, however, was about increasing registration fees for electric and hybrid vehicles. The draft bill will be finalized and considered this session.
  Environmental groups, car dealers and others testified tha
  
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• 4 takeaways from Gov. Herbert's State of the State address

  25-01-2018 21:27
  
  While many topics were discussed during the yearly speech, here are four topics that stood out the most.
  
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• Police: 3 arrested after robbing random people at gunpoint

  25-01-2018 21:19
  
  Three people were arrested after police say they robbed random people at gunpoint as they were walking around downtown Salt Lake City Wednesday night.
  
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• William B. Smart, former Deseret News editor and general manager, dies at age 95

  25-01-2018 20:24
  SALT LAKE CITY —William B. Smart, whose four-decade career at the Deseret News included 14 years as editor and general manager, passed away Wednesday evening. He was 95 and had been in hospice care for several months.
  Remembered not only for his leadership but his forte in editorial writing and fostering award-winning investigative reporting, Smart was instrumental in pioneering televised political debates in the state of Utah.
  William Buckwalter Smart was born June 27, 1922, in Provo, Uta
  
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• Suspect in manhunt said he'd die before going back to jail, police say

  25-01-2018 20:16
  
  Justin Llewelyn, the man who sparked a five-day manhunt after allegedly shooting a homeowner and firing at two police officers, told others he would rather be killed by officers than go to jail, police say.
  
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• Utah House passes bill requiring police to get warrant before blood draw

  25-01-2018 20:11
  SALT LAKE CITY — A bill requiring police to obtain a warrant before drawing blood in a crime investigation sailed through the Utah House on Thursday.
  Rep. Craig Hall, R-West Valley City, drafted HB43 in the wake of the highly controversial arrest of nurse Alex Wubbels at University Hospital last July.
  "I don't think anyone here believes what happened that day was acceptable," he said.
  The bill passed 72-0 and now goes to the Senate.
  The legislation makes clear that a blood draw would be pe
  
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• Men make third attempt at blowing up an ATM, police say

  25-01-2018 19:56
  WEST JORDAN — West Jordan police believe two would-be ATM thieves recently made a third failed attempt to blow open an ATM using propane.
  About 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 18, two men put a propane tank next to an ATM at Chartway Federal Credit Union, 2089 W. 9000 South, said West Jordan Police Sgt. JC Holt. They put a hose on the tank leading to the ATM, opened the tank, poured a trail of an accelerant leading to the tank, then lit it from just 50 feet away, he said.
  In this case, the fire quickly
  
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• Washington Post speaks to Herriman High students who cried censorship over article controversy

  25-01-2018 19:51
  The Washington Post recently featured the two Herriman High School students who published a story for their student newspaper that was later taken down by the school.
  As the Deseret News reported, two student journalists cried censorship when the school's newspaper website was disabled after they published two stories that alleged an inappropriate relationship between a former teacher and student.
  The article disappeared from the students' website, which was later taken down by the school.
  The s
  
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• New report says Utah is not the worst state for driving, and it's not even close

  25-01-2018 19:31
  Anyone who worries about driving in Utah may rest a little easier thanks to a new WalletHub report that ranked the Beehive State as the 26th worst place to drive.
  Utah placed ahead of Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi and South Carolina within the top 30.
  The report listed Texas as the best state for driving, along with Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and North Carolina.
  Hawaii bottomed out on the list, followed by Washington, Maryland, California and Connecticut.
  Wallethub compared all 50 states for its
  
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• Why so many women don't like how they look, and the movement to change that

  25-01-2018 19:16
  SALT LAKE CITY — As a former contestant on "America's Top Model," Leah Darrow meets the culture's prevailing standards for beauty. Her face was once on a billboard in Times Square.
  But Darrow, whose disillusionment with the modeling industry began when she heard herself and her fellow models dismissed as "hangers," now makes a living encouraging women to shed constrictive and demoralizing ideas about how they should look. "The world needs role models, not fashion models," she says.
  A motiv
  
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• Poison control seeing few 'Tide pod challenges' in Utah

  25-01-2018 18:37
  SALT LAKE CITY — At least 14 Utahns have had potentially harmful run-ins with laundry detergent packets in the first three weeks of this month.
  Those reports were made to the Utah Poison Control Center, which said on Wednesday that the majority of them involved children under age 6.
  "These are not necessarily all people who are intentionally ingesting them," said Barbara Insley Crouch, executive director at the Poison Control Center in Salt Lake City. She said the statistics don't differ m
  
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• Police seek public's help in identifying man suspected in vehicle vandalisms

  25-01-2018 18:29
  
  Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man suspected of vandalizing vehicles by pouring bleach into gas tanks and slashing tires in Cache County.
  
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• Utah is not the worst state for driving, and it's not even close

  25-01-2018 18:04
  Anyone who worries about driving in Utah may rest a little easier thanks to a new WalletHub report that ranked the Beehive State as the 26th worst place to drive.
  Utah placed ahead of Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi and South Carolina within the top 30.
  The report listed Texas as the best state for driving, along with Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and North Carolina.
  Hawaii bottomed out on the list, followed by Washington, Maryland, California and Connecticut.
  Wallethub compared all 50 states for its
  
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• Lawmakers advance bill for canyon toll road, talk of replacing Philo T. Farnsworth statue

  25-01-2018 17:28
  
  Utah lawmakers Wednesday moved toward charging to drive in Little Cottonwood Canyon, endorsed a bill allowing low-level offenders to undergoing job training instead of jail time, and considered replacing the Philo T. Farnsworth statue in the nation's Capitol, among other things.
  
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• Jay Evensen: Are cities grabbing power from Washington?

  25-01-2018 17:00
  Can local leaders solve issues better than politicians and bureaucrats in Washington?
  I'm not in the habit of posing silly questions, but I'll bet many of you snickered at that last sentence. Utahns, residents of a unique Western state thousands of miles from Washington, are used to having national leaders dictate tone-deaf solutions to their problems.
  From the Clean Air Act to rules for low-income housing to presidential decrees of national monuments, Washington imposes conditions on locals tha
  
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• 3 taken into police custody following 3 robberies

  25-01-2018 15:29
  
  Police took three people into custody late Wednesday after three people were robbed within an hour and a half.
  
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• Utah considers placing female statue in nation's Capitol. Here's why that matters now

  25-01-2018 13:00
  SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is famous for giving women the vote decades before other states, but fewer people know Utah also elected the first female to a state senate, clear back in 1895.
  Now there's a push on Utah's Capitol Hill to send that same woman — Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon, who was also a physician — to Washington to represent the state in The National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol.
  The campaign comes as the nation grapples with what statues and monuments mean
  
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• Utah considers placing female statue in nation's Capitol amid national conversation on monuments and values

  25-01-2018 13:00
  SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is famous for giving women the vote decades before other states, but fewer people know Utah also elected the first female to a state senate, clear back in 1895.
  Now there's a push on Utah's Capitol Hill to send that same woman — Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon, who was also a physician — to Washington to represent the state in The National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol.
  The campaign comes as the nation grapples with what statues and monuments mean
  
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• Shooting victims: 'He ripped our security from us'

  25-01-2018 06:29
  
  Early Saturday morning, Steve Smith heard gunshots near his home. He opened his garage door and saw a gun pointed at him.
  
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• Weekend shooting suspect caught after Utah County police chase

  25-01-2018 06:28
  
  Police have arrested a man suspected of shooting another man and firing at police officers over the weekend near the Herriman-Riverton border.
  
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• Intermountain Healthcare to move 2,300 workers to new employer

  25-01-2018 06:05
  
  Intermountain Healthcare said Wednesday that 2,300 of its workers will be "switching" to a new employer called R1 RCM by April, a move the hospital system says will save it $70 million over three years.
  
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• 17-year-old accused in baby's death charged as an adult with aggravated murder

  25-01-2018 06:01
  
  A teenager accused of killing his girlfriend's young son was charged as an adult Tuesday with aggravated murder.
  
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• Herbert touts Utah's 'unique spirit of collaboration' in State of the State speech

  25-01-2018 05:44
  
  Utah's "unique spirit of collaboration" in government, business and society will carry the state into a prosperous and civil future as it takes on difficult challenges ahead, Gov. Gary Herbert said Wednesday.
  
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• Gov. Herbert to get surgery for kidney stones on Friday

  25-01-2018 05:20
  
  Gov. Gary Herbert will undergo surgery for kidney stone removal on Friday afternoon, a spokesman confirmed.
  
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• Lawmakers worry costs 'out of control' as prison project nears $700 million

  25-01-2018 04:32
  SALT LAKE CITY — Lawmakers on Wednesday weren't happy to hear that budget estimates for new Utah State Prison project have again risen — this time from $650 million to nearly $700 million.
  One legislator on the Infrastructure and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee worried the project is turning into a "bottomless pit of funds" while another wondered how much longer costs were going to "escalate out of control."
  But state administrators took issue with the characterization
  
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• Low-level offenders could train for jobs instead of serving Utah jail sentences

  25-01-2018 03:44
  SALT LAKE CITY — In Cache County, qualifying low-level offenders are undergoing job training instead of serving jail time under a pilot program launched last summer.
  The House Education Committee on Wednesday endorsed HB106, which would provide competitive grants to cover administrative costs of the initiative and replicate it in other communities that also have state technical colleges.
  Terryl Warner, director of victim services for the Cache County Attorney's Office, said she created a s
  
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• Utah Senate committee favors replacing Philo T. Farnsworth statue in U.S. Capitol

  25-01-2018 03:43
  SALT LAKE CITY — A statue of television inventor Philo T. Farnsworth might be on its way out of the U.S. Capitol, while Martha Hughes Cannon, the first woman elected to a state legislature, could be on her way in.
  A Utah Senate panel endorsed a resolution Wednesday to replace Farnsworth with Hughes in National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., where each state is allowed to display two notable people in their histories. The other Utah statue is of Brigham Young.
  "I don't see this as an an
  
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• Bill aims to give Medicaid patients access to family planning services in Utah

  25-01-2018 03:27
  SALT LAKE CITY — Every state offers different benefits to Medicaid recipients, and in Utah, family planning isn't included.
  Rep. Ray Ward, R-Bountiful, proposed HB12 as a "small change in policy" that will lead to big savings in the state budget in terms of decreasing unwanted pregnancies, lowering the cost to the state to feed infants and children in low-income households and reduce the risk of preterm births for women having children close together.
  Offering women on Medicaid a "more eff
  
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• Bill to create toll road into Little Cottonwood Canyon rolls on

  25-01-2018 03:06
  SALT LAKE CITY — Lawmakers took a first step Wednesday toward charging tolls to drive in Little Cottonwood Canyon, with the unanimous committee approval of a bill sponsored by Senate President Wayne Niederhauser.
  The Sandy Republican told members of the Senate Transportation Committee that SB71 is needed now to help ease traffic along the route to the canyon's ski resorts, but eventually could be used elsewhere to raise more revenues for roads.
  The bill, which now goes to the full Senate,
  
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• Local entrepreneur takes top prize in business competition

  25-01-2018 02:51
  SALT LAKE CITY — Eight minutes.
  That's how long several small-business leaders had Wednesday afternoon to pitch their business growth strategies and how they would use $30,000 in funding prizes to advance their international business efforts during the World Trace Center Utah Pitch Competition.
  Following the pitches, a panel of four judges asked questions and rated the presentations from eight of the top 2017 Export Acceleration Grant recipients on relevance, creativity, persuasiveness and
  
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• Shooting victim's friend: 'He’s a mental wreck, but he’s alive'

  25-01-2018 02:14
  HERRIMAN — Chris Wardle doesn't know how his friend is still alive.
  "I have no idea. I guess some people are meant to take a hit. Because the first bullet hits him from about 15 feet away … square in the chest. So how in God's (grace) is he alive?" an astonished Wardle said Wednesday.
  But as Wardle had dinner with Steve Smith on Tuesday, he was thankful that he was still talking to his friend and not planning his funeral.
  "He's a mental wreck. But he's alive. He's breathing and he's
  
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• A. Scott Anderson: How 'I can' will change the world

  25-01-2018 02:00
  Utah business leader and philanthropist Gail Miller was recently given a much-deserved honor — the Rosa Parks Award presented by the NAACP Salt Lake Branch at the 34th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. luncheon.
  In her acceptance speech, Gail said that as she learned about Rosa Parks' life, she was impressed with her drive and devotion to do what she thought was right.
  She said she thought Rosa Parks' attitude could be summed up in two words: "I can." Gail then challenged each of us to use
  
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• A. Scott Anderson: A. Scott Anderson: How 'I can' will change the world

  25-01-2018 02:00
  Utah business leader and philanthropist Gail Miller was recently given a much-deserved honor — the Rosa Parks Award presented by the NAACP Salt Lake Branch at the 34th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. luncheon.
  In her acceptance speech, Gail said that as she learned about Rosa Parks' life, she was impressed with her drive and devotion to do what she thought was right.
  She said she thought Rosa Parks' attitude could be summed up in two words: "I can." Gail then challenged each of us to use
  
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• Senate committee moves proposal to eliminate decals on exempt plates

  25-01-2018 01:57
  SALT LAKE CITY — Government vehicles sporting exempt license plates, as well as those operating fleet vehicles that qualify for apportioned plates, would no longer be beholden to the yearly application of renewal decals under a proposal passed by a Senate committee Wednesday.
  Sen. Don Ipson, R-St. George, told members of the Senate Transportation, Public Utilities, Energy and Technology Committee that he worked with the Utah Department of Motor Vehicles and state Tax Commission on SB80.
  Ip
  
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• Salt Lake police seek 2 men in 10-year-old cold case, serve new warrant

  25-01-2018 01:53
  
  Two men that Salt Lake police have wanted to question for 10 years in connection with an unsolved murder have now officially been named as persons of interest.
  
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• Release denied for 3 Vernal men accused of gang raping girl in 2016

  25-01-2018 01:41
  SALT LAKE CITY — Three men who have been held in jail for 22 months on allegations of gang raping a 9-year-old girl were denied a request Wednesday to be released pending trial.
  Saying he was "sympathetic to the situation" of the three men, 3rd District Judge Randall Skanchy nonetheless denied bail in the case.
  The judge cited the charges being considered and the fact that two of the men, members of the Crow Nation, were requesting to go live on the tribe's reservation in Montana, an area
  
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• Senate panel endorses bill for driver license, gun permit fee increases

  25-01-2018 01:21
  SALT LAKE CITY — A Senate panel pulled the trigger Wednesday on a bill that would raise Utah concealed firearms permit renewal fees, over the objections of the National Rifle Association and local gun enthusiasts.
  SB16 would also increase the cost for various types of drivers' licenses and other programs the state Department of Public Safety oversees. A regular driver's license application would go up to $32 from $25.
  There were no objections to raising those fees during hearing in the Sen
  
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• Utah Rep. John Curtis tells lawmakers he's packed a lot into first 2 months on the job

  25-01-2018 01:15
  
  Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, offered an upbeat assessment of his first two months in Congress to members of the Utah Senate on Wednesday as the newest member of the state's congressional delegation.
  
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• Suspect caught in weekend Herriman shooting

  25-01-2018 01:13
  HERRIMAN — Police have arrested the suspect in a weekend shooting in Herriman following a car chase in Utah County Wednesday afternoon.
  A sheriff's deputy was injured in the chase that ended in Spanish Fork, a spokesman for the sheriff's office said on Twitter. The extent of injuries was not released.
  Detectives had been searching for Justin Gary Llewelyn, 33, since Saturday. They say he fired at police officers and shot another man early that morning.
  Llewelyn was in a car leaving a park
  
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• Negligent homicide case eyed in fatal Greyhound bus crash

  25-01-2018 01:11
  
  Police are investigating a possible negligent homicide case against a Greyhound bus driver who passengers said passed out before the bus careened off a road in the Utah desert, killing a teenage girl and injuring 12 more people, search warrants made public Wednesday show.
  
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• Police arrest man wanted in connection with Riverton shooting

  25-01-2018 01:07
  
  Police have arrested Justin Llewelyn following a chase in Utah County.
  
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• NPS, DWR investigating elk poaching case at Zion National Park

  25-01-2018 00:29
  
  The National Park Service is offering a $1,500 reward for information regarding a poaching case after a pregnant elk's carcass was found inside Zion National Park.
  
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• Crash on Bangerter Highway slows rush-hour traffic

  25-01-2018 00:26
  
  A rollover crash on Bangerter Highway near 11400 South is blocking three lanes and disrupting rush hour traffic in South Jordan Wednesday afternoon.
  
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• Case dismissed for ex-Woods Cross High coach accused of showing porn to juveniles

  25-01-2018 00:17
  FARMINGTON — The case against a Woods Cross High School baseball coach accused of showing pornographic images to three juveniles has been dismissed.
  Trevor Amicone, 30, had faced three counts of dealing in harmful material to a minor by an adult, a third-degree felony. The charges were dismissed without prejudice Monday, meaning prosecutors retain the ability to file the case again, if they choose.
  "As the Trevor Amicone case progressed and significant ongoing follow-up investigation and p
  
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