McCain’s Family Fights To Define Legacy Of Civility, Service

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cindy McCain stood on a knoll in Tempe, Arizona, last year and looked out over the Rio Salado.

The spot where she stood, on 26 acres (11 hectares), is where she and her ailing husband, Sen. John McCain, had discussed building a “gathering place” for his archives, hiking and perhaps candidate debates — but especially for listening.

“We had planned a library,” the senator’s widow said in a telephone interview this week. “But it will also be a focal point for gathering to talk about these issues to have honest and real discussions about them.”

A year after McCain’s death from brain cancer, the library is one way his family members are fighting to shape how the world remembers the Vietnam War hero and veteran senator and to prevent President Donald Trump from doing it for them. The counterprogramming also includes videos and its own Twitter hashtag, #ActsofCivility, in which the McCains ask Americans to perform and post affirmative acts of listening to one another and agreeing to disagree.

The campaign is a rejoinder to Trump’s smash mouth style and his one-man feud against the late senator. As a candidate, Trump derided McCain, a prisoner of war for five years during Vietnam, saying that he preferred heroes who weren’t captured. Even now in campaign rallies, Trump complains about how McCain turned a thumb down in 2017 and sank the GOP’s effort to overturn the Affordable Care Act.

The grudge continued. In May, the White House told the Navy to keep the USS John S. McCain out of sight to avoid offending the president during a trip to Japan. Trump said he knew nothing about moving the warship and blamed the move on a “well-meaning” official aware of the president’s dislike for the late senator.

Cindy McCain last month attended the ship’s recommissioning in Yokosuka, Japan, an event she said was scheduled before “the controversy.”

Defining McCain’s legacy poses challenges in the Trump era, especially for the family of a man who never became a president. Trump has the bully pulpit, a passionate Twitter following of tens of millions and a talent for branding opponents. History also will give him some say in the way McCain is remembered.

“I was never a fan of John McCain, and I never will be,” Trump said in March.

A presidential spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

The McCains and their allies have the senator’s story, told by former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush at his funeral and preserved already in papers being collected by Arizona State University, which donated the land for the library. They’ve also got plans and a determination to direct the storytelling.

“The only person that defines John McCain’s legacy is John McCain,” said his son Jack McCain.

John McCain, who wrote a book about the end of his life, planned his funeral and even wrote a post-mortem statement read by a longtime aide, showed his surviving friends and family how he wanted to be remembered and how he did not.

“John McCain did not define himself by any losses,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who commiserated with McCain after the two GOP presidential nominees lost to Obama in 2008 and 2012.

Like the library, McCain’s legacy is still somewhat aspirational. Upcoming books and other materials are likely to flesh it out. So will The McCain Institute, a nonprofit aimed at leadership development, human rights and combating human trafficking.

“He’s only been dead a year, and legacy is something that’s built over a great deal of time,” the senator’s son said in an interview. “I personally hope that his legacy is defined by his civility.”

In that year, McCain’s peers especially have given thought to what sticks with them and what it means.

Retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones, who served in Vietnam while McCain was imprisoned and who worked under him and later with him, said McCain’s reconciliation with Vietnam helped Jones forgive his enemies of war.

“He had more reason than I did to carry a burning hatred for his captors for the rest of his life,” said Jones, who served in leadership positions under Republican and Democratic presidents while McCain was in the Senate. “When he essentially extended the hand of peace, that caused me to do the same thing. I got rid of my demons.”

For now, the McCains say they are still grappling with his absence. Cindy McCain said she is focused on her family and on the impending birth of a grandchild. But grief, she says, sometimes washes over her.

Jack McCain, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was in Afghanistan before and after his father’s death and insulated from much of the aftermath. He’s moved from active duty to the Navy Reserves and is home in Maryland now, with a 2-year-old son and his wife, Renee, trying to figure out what comes next.

“I’m attempting to find a way to reorder my life without the person who had been basically my role model, my leader, the person I turned to when I needed sound advice,” he said.

Running for public office, he said, is not part of the plan.

As for legacy building in the Trump era, McCain’s allies say it’s a long game.

“When the president talks about John McCain, and the way he does, I think people just click off,” Jones said. “They just turn him off.”

Romney, who’s had his own battles with the president, said McCain’s public life is too long for one president to define.

“I don’t think the family’s going to worry too much what President Trump has to say about Senator McCain,” he said Tuesday. “It’s a 50-year-plus legacy that is not going to be changed or obstructed by virtue of some tweets.”

Said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.: “I do think that in the long run what John stood for aligns so much better with our American values, and he will have the last laugh over Trumpism.”

Governor Calls For Civility After ‘Violent’ Protest In Downtown Building

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Following a protest of the Inland Port that erupted into violence, Governor Gary Herbert held a press conference Wednesday to call for civility on all sides.

Herbert and the Salt Lake City Police Chief called the incident the most violent protest they had ever seen in Utah.

The protest started peacefully at Washington Square, outside the City County Building, and then spilled across the street into the offices of the Salt Lake Chamber.

In a press release, protesters characterized their actions as non-violent, and the police response as a violent escalation of force. The governor and the police chief disagreed.

This was not just a protest; this was borderline terrorism. This was bullying, intimidation, and violence, and will not be tolerated.

“I observed something yesterday that I’ve never seen before in the State of Utah,” said Governor Gary.

It was a level of violence that made him worry.

“I’ve never seen that before,” he said. “I’m just here to say that we need to stop it now. We need to nip it in the bud.”

WATCH: Raw Video of Protesters’ Clash With Police

“We need to distinguish between peaceful protest and what happened in the chamber office, at a private place of business yesterday,” said Derek Miller, who serves as the volunteer chairman of the Inland Port Authority, separate from his job as the president of the Salt Lake Chamber.

Employees of the chamber told him the group entered the building quickly, yelling and screaming, some of them wearing masks. They reportedly started to destroy property, breaking security cameras in the lobby.

“Including urinating in some of the offices,” said Miller.

Gov. Gary Herbert calls for civility after violent protests over the Inland Port yesterday.

Posted by KSL Newsradio on Wednesday, July 10, 2019

It was frightening for employees, he said, who felt “Under attack by a violent mob.”

“I have never seen anything that violent,” said Chief Brown.

His department was investigating, and gathering video evidence to identify offenders.

I call on all public officials and candidates for Salt Lake City Mayor to condemn today's protests at the Chamber of Commerce. This was not just a protest; this was borderline terrorism. This was bullying, intimidation, and violence, and will not be tolerated. #utpol pic.twitter.com/hUEolEh7KM

— Gov. Gary Herbert (@GovHerbert) July 10, 2019

Eight people were arrested. Five were taken to jail and three others were cited and released.

“None of our community will be allowed to be victimized in these events,” said Brown.

The governor was also concerned that some in the group of protesters were self-proclaimed anarchists, and their actions amount to acts of terrorism.

“We the people of Utah ought to rise up and say that is not acceptable in Utah,” said Governor Herbert. “So, a call for civility, and a call for respect for those who have a different opinion.”

Protest organizers did not return calls to KSL TV for comment as the time of this report.

Salt Lake Mayor Speaks About Downtown Protest

Salt Lake Mayor Jackie Biskupski and Police Chief Mike Brown hold their own press conference after the governor's call for civility.

Posted by KSL Newsradio on Wednesday, July 10, 2019

KSL TV covers local, state and national elections and the politics that shape the daily lives of residents in both Utah, nationally and around the world.

Politics & Elections

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) — Outgoing U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah bemoaned the disappearance of political civility, kinship and cross-party collaboration during a farewell speech Wednesday where he called the Senate a legislative body in “crisis.”

Hatch, 84, will step down next month as the longest-serving Republican senator in history after serving 42 years. After helping pass a sweeping overhaul of the tax code and persuading President Donald Trump to downsize two sprawling national monuments in Utah, Hatch announced in January he wouldn’t seek an eighth term.

Speaking on the Senate floor in Washington, Hatch said he felt sadness about the state of the U.S. Senate and longingly remembered when lawmakers from both political parties “worked constructively” together for the “good of the country.’ He called for greater unity.

“The Senate I’ve describe is not some fairly tale, but the reality we once knew,” said Hatch, who joined the Senate in 1977. “Things weren’t always as they are now. I was here when this body was at its best.”

He added: “Our challenge is to rise above the din and divisiveness of today’s politics. It is to tune out the noise and tune into reason. It is to choose a patience over impulse, and fact over feeling.”

Hatch has long been a staunch conservative, but worked across the aisle with the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. He also authored landmark bipartisan legislation, increasing access to generic-drugs.

“Teddy and I were a case study in contradictions. He was a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat; I was a resolute Republican,” Hatch said. “But by choosing friendship over party loyalty, we were able to pass some of the most significant bipartisan achievements of modern times. . . .Nine years after Teddy’s passing, it’s worth asking: Could a relationship like this even exist in today’s Senate? Or are we too busy attacking each other to even consider friendship with the other side?”

Hatch has also clashed with opponents in recent years. During a tax-cut debate with Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio last year, Hatch said he was tired of the Democrat’s “bull crap.” Earlier this year, Hatch used an expletive during a speech to describe supporters of former President Barack Obama’s health care law, though he later apologized.

Hatch also became an ally of President Trump, who has repeatedly fought with Democrats. Hatch used his role as chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee to get a major rewrite of the U.S. tax codes to the president’s desk while Trump helped Hatch downsize the monuments and get a Utah man freed from a Venezuelan prison.

The theme of Hatch’s speech dovetails with the goal of using a future library and think tank named after him in Utah to lead a movement toward bipartisanship and civility in politics.

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who won the election to fill Hatch’s seat, highlighted Hatch’s call for “mutual respect, pluralism, dignity, comity and unity” in a Tweet where he said Hatch’s call for greatness is “characteristic of this man of vision.”

Hatch said of all the legislation he worked on, he’s most proud of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was passed by Congress in 1993 to protect people whose religious observances come in conflict with government laws or agency rules.

He called on the Senate to find ways to protect people’s right to practice their faith while also shielding LGBTQ people from discrimination.

“We must honor the rights both of believers and LGBTQ individuals,” Hatch said. “We must, in short, find a path forward that promotes fairness for all.”

After his speech, Senate colleagues took turns giving quick tributes to Hatch. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah called him “a towering political figure” who made “an indelible mark on our state, on the United States Senate and on this nation.”

Weber State students, Ogden City leaders promote civility

OGDEN, Utah — Students at Weber State University are partnering with the city of Ogden on a campaign to, put it simply, make the world a better place. Each year, the students take on a cause or topic of public concern, and promote the idea with various events and activities.

This year’s theme: civility — being nice to people and doing nice things. One way the students are spreading that idea is with a series of cards, about the size of playing cards, with special messages or “Civility Quests” on them. For example, one reads: “Pick up 10 pieces of trash in your community,” and another says, “Introduce yourself to three random people today.” There are 20 messages in all.

“So basically, we’re just trying to get people to think about what civility means to you, and there are these quests on these cards and they’re really easy to do,” Civility Quest organizer Teresa Martinez said Friday.

Each year, the university takes on a specific topic that’s of public interest to promote and to raise awareness. “Civility” just seemed like a natural fit this time.

“It kind of seemed to fit for the upcoming year,” Martinez said. “Not necessarily what was happening in the political arena, but more because we are noticing behaviors that needed to be introduced again.”

During the past year, the campaign also featured various signs posted across the Weber State University campus with messages re-enforcing the “civility” theme.

“It’s getting people out there and doing little tiny acts of civility to make the world a better place,” Weber State student Jessica Cairo said. “Whether that’s picking up trash, or opening a door for someone, saying thank you, saying you’re welcome. It doesn’t take much. It may seem silly, but it can make a difference to someone. It can make a difference to your world, because you know that change begins with you,” she said.

After a person does what’s listed on the card, the cards are then passed along to someone else and so on. Over time, those cards and those messages will spread throughout the entire community. We all do nice things for others on a daily basis without even thinking about it. This “Civility Quest” campaign is designed to make sure we all continue to do that.

“The point is to learn about what civility is. What it is to you, for the community, for the environment,” Martinez said.

Participants in the challenge can collect and complete Civility Quest Challenge cards from local businesses around Ogden, download them online from weber.edu/ccel.els.html or follow @wsuccel on social media for daily updates.

The City of Ogden will also issue a proclamation on April 12, to mark “World Civility Day.”

Religion

This General Conference documentary titled “Civility: Changing the Conversations” is sponsored by Siegfried & Jensen – Utah’s personal injury attorneys. Helping Utah residents since 1990. Contact us today for help and answers, free.

Civility Still Has Champions

This documentary highlights the positive voices in our community. Vitriol and caustic comments sometimes drown out civility, but it’s still important.

No doubt, discussions in online comment boards, on social media sites, and in public gatherings have become increasingly more hostile. These disagreements affect our families, our schools, and our workplaces. Even still, there are voices working to change the communication — to make it more civil.

General Conference Documentaries

You can watch more General Conference documentaries like this one with the KSL-TV app. The app is free, with no cable subscription required, and available for a variety of Connected TV and smartphone platforms including Amazon Fire, Roku, iOS, Android and fourth-generation Apple TV boxes.

Foundation cancels RBG award ceremony that would have honored Musk, Murdoch after family’s outcry

(CNN) — The foundation that selected SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch and other honorees as recipients of an award named after Ruth Bader Ginsburg announced Monday it is canceling its award ceremony after receiving pushback from the late justice’s family.

Julie Opperman, chair of the Opperman Foundation, said in a statement “that the last thing we intended was to offend the family and friends of RBG.”

“Our purpose was only to remember her and to honor her leadership. And, while we believe each of the honorees is worthy of our respect for their leadership and their notable contributions, the Foundation has decided that the planned ceremony in April 2024 will be canceled,” Opperman said.

The slate of this year’s honorees for the foundation’s “RBG Leadership” award, formerly the “Ruth Bader Ginsburg Women in Leadership” award, was announced last week and also included lifestyle icon Martha Stewart, actor Sylvester Stallone and financier Michael Milken.

Members of the Ginsburg family and a former clerk for the justice called on the foundation to pull her name off the award, with her son Jim Ginsburg telling CNN’s Paula Reid on Sunday that the choices of Musk and Murdoch were a “desecration of my mother’s memory.”

“When you think of trying to create a more just society, which of course was Mom’s ultimate goal, those are probably about the last names that would come to mind,” he said.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a longtime liberal member of the high court who died at age 87 in 2020, consistently delivered progressive votes on major social issues, including abortion rights, same-sex marriage and immigration.

Opperman’s statement said the foundation had broadened the pool of potential honorees to men and included leaders from various fields out of the belief that Ginsburg’s “teachings regarding EQUALITY should be practiced.”

“Keeping in mind that our goal is only to do good, the Foundation is not interested in creating controversy. It is not interested in generating a debate about whether particular honorees are worthy or not,” she said. “And while Justice Ginsburg’s concept of EQUALITY for women was very controversial for most of her life, the Foundation does not intend to enter the fray. Indeed, Justice Ginsburg was known for her civility.”

Utah’s first minority judge, Raymond Uno, dies at 93

SALT LAKE CITY — Retired Judge Raymond Sonji Uno, a civil rights advocate and Utah’s first minority judge, died Friday at the age of 93.

The Japanese-American was born in Ogden Dec. 4, 1930, and moved with his family to El Monte, California, where he went to a segregated grade school.

On Feb. 19, 1941, (what is now known as the Day of Remembrance) Uno, then 11, was forced out of his house in California, like 110,000 other people of Japanese descent, and placed in the Heart Mountain, Wyo., internment camp, one of 10 camps around the nation.

Life in the internment camp

“We were only able to take with us the clothes we were wearing and what we could carry in our two hands,” he told the Deseret News in a 1995 interview.

His dad died about nine months after his family entered the camp due to coronary thrombosis, a blood clot in the heart. His mother lived to 101.

For three years, his family stayed in an 18-foot-by-16-foot barrack, which contained a potbelly stove for heat, a table and cots for beds. Uno said freedom in the camp was minimal.

When his family was released, Uno moved to his aunt’s house in Ogden. Uno volunteered for military service, joining the Army’s 319th Military Intelligence Service as an interpreter, translator and interrogator. Later he was a special agent in the 441st Counterintelligence Corp in Tokyo, Japan, and was honorably discharged as a Korean War Veteran.

Uno worked in many positions, removing paint from bombers at Hill Air Force Base, carrying mail for the postal service, and laying railroad track.

He spent five years studying, earning a bachelor’s degree and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Utah.

Uno was appointed to the Salt Lake Court bench in 1976. He served as Presiding 5th Circuit Court judge in 1978 and was elected to his Third District Court position in 1984. Prior to his service on the bench, he was an assistant state attorney general.

First minority judge retired in 1990

He retired in 1990 as a Third District Court Senior Judge, with a reputation for compassion — in a 1987 Deseret News survey of attorneys, Uno ranked the most lenient sentencer.

“He liked to believe in people, and he’d give them probation to give them a chance to turn their lives around by proving themselves,” said a deputy Salt Lake County attorney, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Uno attributed his compassion, in part, to his having served in an internment camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said, “Judge Uno was larger than life. His smile filled a room. While he was soft-spoken, caring and humble, he had a gravitas born of forceful conviction and indomitable will. His humor and humanity will be greatly missed.

“Judge Uno was a scholar and soldier, an athlete and activist, a gentleman and jurist, and a champion of civil rights and civility. He was a pioneer who opened doors for so many of us. He was our hero.”

The attorney general said, “I was a benefactor my entire career of his kindness and steadiness,” and that Reyes and his wife “absolutely loved the judge and send our deepest and most heartfelt sympathies to his amazing family.”

A statement from Uno’s family says he died peacefully in his sleep.

Negative effects of social media are ‘obvious,’ Gov. Cox says on ‘Meet the Press’

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox pointed to social media as a key cause of the mental health crisis across America in an interview Sunday on “Meet the Press.”

“I think it’s obvious to anyone who spends any time on social media or has kids — I have four kids,” Cox said on the program. “I’ve seen what’s happened to them as they’ve spent time on social media, and their friends, that this is absolutely causing these terrible increases, these hockey stick-like increases that we are seeing in anxiety, depression and self-harm amongst our youth.”

Cox, a Republican, was joined by Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., during the interview. Cox and Polis have collaborated as part of their ongoing “Disagree Better” initiative — a bipartisan effort to promote curiosity and civility during disagreement.

The “Meet the Press” interview concentrated on the impact Cox and Polis think social media has on mental health, as well as legislative strategies to mitigate its potential negative effects.

Polis agreed with what Cox said about social media having an impact on mental health, but also expressed some disagreement over the solution. “I certainly agree with the diagnosis that Gov. Cox did, and I have some sympathy for that approach. But I do think at the end of the day, the government can’t parent kids. It’s really up to the responsibility of parents to step up. And I think it’s, in many ways, an educational effort for outreach to parents,” he said.

Cox said, “We have seen, again, suicide rates going up, depression, anxiety, self-harm rates skyrocketing. And what we know also is it corresponds with social media becoming ubiquitous and cellphones becoming ubiquitous with our teenagers. Those numbers you cited from the surgeon general are deeply troubling and really sad. We have to take control of this year.”

The U.S. surgeon general issued an advisory on youth mental health and social media saying that “at this point (we) cannot conclude it is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents.”

“Children and adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of mental health problems including experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety,” the advisory said. “This is concerning as a recent survey showed that teenagers spend an average of 3.5 hours a day on social media.”

Throughout Cox’s tenure as governor, he’s made legislation around social media a priority.

The Utah Social Media Regulation Act signed by Cox is expected to go into effect on March 1. Under the law, social media companies would not be able to collect minors’ data or target minors’ accounts with addictive features. It would also create a default curfew for minors’ accounts and block minors from search results.

In addition to the Utah Social Media Regulation Act, the Beehive State has filed a consumer protection lawsuit against TikTok.

“Make no mistake that Utah will continue to lead out to protect children from the harms of social media, and this is not a partisan issue,” Cox said. “We will not stand by while these companies fail to take adequate meaningful action to protect our children. We will prevail in holding social media companies accountable by any means necessary.”

The suit filed in October 2023 alleges that “TikTok targets young consumers’ particular susceptibility to dopamine manipulation to maximize engagement, including through features such as infinite scroll, push notifications, quantifying and displaying popularity (e.g., likes and comments), and algorithms that leverage user data to serve highly personalized content recommendations.”

At the time, TikTok did not respond to the Deseret News’ request for comment.

Cox said the suit had the goal of getting more controls added in for children.

“If the only way we can get their attention is that they end up paying billions of dollars to correct some things of the damage they’ve done — it doesn’t bring back our kids, it doesn’t bring back their innocence — but it’s certainly better than nothing and nothing is what we’re getting from them,” Cox said, adding that he believes “we will … deeply regret that we didn’t do this sooner.”

Utah also filed a suit that same month against Meta and its subsidiary Instagram. A press release stated that the suit alleges Meta created a platform that “effectively captured young children in harmful cycles of excessive use through deceptive and addictive features, all of which constitutes an unconscionable business practice under state law.”

“Just as litigation effectively spurred change by the opioid pharmaceutical industry and Big Tobacco, we expect this lawsuit will inspire Meta to improve its child safety practices,” Cox said in the release. “Regulating social media companies to protect minors is not a partisan issue, and most people across the political spectrum agree we cannot allow addictive algorithms and deceptive practices to continue harming our children. This action shows we will continue to fight for the mental health and well-being of our kids.”

Meta said in a statement that the company shares “the attorneys general’s commitment to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online, and have already introduced over 30 tools to support teens and their families. We’re disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path.”

In late December, the Utah Attorney General’s Office gave an update on litigation against TikTok saying that the suit was moving forward. “Investigations into other potentially problematic practices remains ongoing,” the update said.

KSL TV covers local, state and national elections and the politics that shape the daily lives of residents in both Utah, nationally and around the world.

Politics & Elections

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah House Majority Leader Mike Schultz won an internal election to be the Republican caucus nominee for House speaker on Tuesday evening.

Schultz, a Republican from Hooper, in Weber County, who was first elected in 2014, won a closed-door vote among his colleagues and, although the House of Representatives won’t take an official vote for speaker until Wednesday, he’s all but assured to success outgoing House Speaker Brad Wilson in the role given that the GOP holds 61 of the state’s 75 House seats.

During a press conference shortly after the vote, Schultz declined to lay out policy priorities until the caucus meets Wednesday to discuss the upcoming session in more detail, but insisted that the chamber plans to put Utahns first.

“One of the things that Speaker Wilson taught us is that we need to focus on the big things,” Schultz said. While the House is designed to be closer to the voters and therefore more “reactionary,” he said he also wants “to think bigger than that — we want to think long-term.”

Although Schultz won support from his caucus, he still needs to be elected by a majority of all House members. House Republicans held elections Tuesday for other caucus leadership positions, which do not need approval from the entire chamber.

Both current members of the leadership team moved up to fill the role vacated by Schultz, with Rep. Jefferson Moss, R-Saratoga Springs, chosen as the new House majority leader and Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, elected majority whip.

Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, who led the House Rules Committee, was picked to serve as assistant majority whip.

‘A little bit of competition’

Schultz began the news conference by thanking his colleagues who challenged sitting members of leadership for their roles, and praised the civility he said was demonstrated by the caucus following the vote. He drew a contrast to the recent skirmishes within the U.S. House GOP caucus to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his role and eventually fill it by electing Rep. Mike Johnson as speaker.

“We appreciate those that challenged the members of leadership; I think that’s always a good process. It makes us all better if there’s a little bit of competition,” he said. “I think the thing that is most exciting is how we still come together. I mean, we all were challenged to be in these positions that we’re in, but you won’t hear one negative thing said about those that challenged us, and going through this leadership election race, I didn’t hear one negative thing said about any of the members sitting here.”

“I think that says a lot about our caucus,” he added. “I think it says a lot about the state of Utah. The citizens of the state should be proud of who they send to Capitol Hill.”

Schultz also emphasized a declining trust in government institutions, saying: “I want the House of Representatives to earn some of that trust back.”

While he didn’t address specific policies, Schultz said he expects energy to be a key issue during the upcoming legislative session.

“For the first year this past year, Utah doesn’t produce enough energy; we had to import it from other states,” he said. “That’s a place I don’t think any of us want to be.”

What’s next?

Wilson’s resignation from the role is effective Wednesday at 5 p.m. as he prepares to focus full-time on his 2024 Senate campaign. The full Utah House of Representatives will meet in an extraordinary session starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday to elect his replacement.

With Snider moving up from the House Rules Committee, Schultz said the leadership team will confer to select his replacement as chair.

“We have not had serious discussions about that but that will come up the next couple weeks,” he said.

The new leadership may consider shuffling other committee assignments around, although Schultz said he doesn’t expect any major changes.

Schultz defeated Rep. Melissa Garff Ballard, R-North Salt Lake, to win support from his caucus. The race largely focused on internal caucus issues, with Ballard looking to increase efficiency within the caucus and Schultz wishing to see House leadership improve messaging to the public.

Schultz will serve as speaker for the remaining year of Wilson’s term. Wilson was first elected to the House in 2010 and was elected speaker in 2018.

Child of reporter faces felony charge for allegedly slapping Orem’s mayor

OREM — The child of a newspaper reporter accused of slapping Orem’s mayor following a City Council meeting during which the mayor disparaged the reporter is now facing a felony charge.

Linnea Geraldine Pugmire, 31, of Orem, was charged Monday in 4th District Court with threatening an elected official and causing injury, a third-degree felony; spitting in a person’s face, a class A misdemeanor; assault and propelling a bodily substance, class B misdemeanors; and disorderly conduct, an infraction.

On Sept. 19, Orem Mayor David Young was standing with others outside City Hall following a council meeting when Pugmire “approached the group in a confrontational manner, punched or slapped the mayor and a woman in the group, spit on the mayor’s face, and spit on the woman’s arm,” according to charging documents.

Police say Pugmire also told the mayor he “would get everything that was coming to him,” and that Pugmire believes Young and the City Council are “destroying the city.”

“How dare you? … Do you know what you just did tonight?” Pugmire can be heard saying to the mayor in witness video provided to KSL.com. Pugmire was visibly upset and claimed the mayor knew who they were, to which, he said, “I’m sick of being pushed around by your mother.”

“You’re disgusting,” Young said.

Pugmire’s mother is a reporter at the Daily Herald. Prior to the confrontation outside City Hall, Young spent 20 minutes at the end of the council meeting criticizing what he believed was unfair coverage of himself and the city in articles mainly written by Genelle Pugmire. He complained about headlines, the placement of stories, as well as questioning the news value and reporting in “off the rails articles.”

Young took particular issue about a recent story regarding a $1 million fraud lawsuit in Alabama the mayor was named in last year.

Young, his real estate company Torch13 LLC and his son were ordered by an Alabama judge to pay more than $1 million for fraudulent business loans in 2022. The judge called the Orem mayor “a linchpin to this fraud” and said both Young and his son were “extremely lacking in credibility.”

Young later sued his former daughter-in-law and an Alabama man for what he claims was an illegal scheme designed to defraud him and his real estate company.

During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the mayor again said he did nothing wrong, was not involved in the Alabama fraud case and called it a dispute between his son and his son’s friend. The mayor said he has appealed the $1 million judgment to the Alabama Supreme Court, calling it a “desperate money grab that I will continue to defend myself against.”

In a statement released the day after the confrontation, Young said, “My intention in bringing to light the long-standing issues with the Daily Herald’s reporting was to encourage people to rise above the divisiveness and misinformation that is overshadowing the amazing work of the City Council. As a community, we are better than this and I hope this incident will further serve as a wake-up call for the need for more responsible journalism and for each of us to work together with greater civility and unity.”

Person arrested after Orem city council meeting for assault, spitting

OREM, Utah — A person was arrested Tuesday night after 911 calls that Orem’s mayor had been spit on and assaulted.

An affidavit of probable cause shows that Linnea Pugmire was arrested and taken to the Utah County Jail for assault, disorderly conduct, propelling a bodily substance and threatening elected officials. Pugmire is a child of a writer for the Daily Herald, who was mentioned by name by Orem City Mayor David Young multiple times during the meeting while he took issue with her articles.

The Daily Herald confirmed the relationship but offered no further comment.

There are various versions of video of the confrontation outside the Orem City Council meeting.

Here is one. More on KSL TV at 6 p.m. now, and streaming on KSL+ app and at https://t.co/pmjuluBDRu

Story: https://t.co/91U8qwF8jv pic.twitter.com/KlG1t8BVXP

— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) September 20, 2023

According to documents, police arrived, detained and interviewed Pugmire. The suspect confirmed the confrontation with the mayor and “may have” slapped him and spit at him. Officers said in the court documents they learned there was also a second person who was hit and spit on.

“During the investigation officers recovered cell phone video from one of the victims which clearly shows Pugmire’s criminal actions,” police stated.

Michelle Lee was one of a few witnesses Tuesday night when Pugmire is said to have attacked the Orem mayor. Lee said it was scary.

“All of a sudden a car comes careening toward us, slammed on their brakes, the person jumps out, gets right in the mayor’s face, starts screaming at him,” said Lee who added, at first it wasn’t clear who Pugmire was, but the mayor figured it out.

The exchange happened moments after Young said this in council chambers:

“I’ve been told by public relations folks that I probably shouldn’t go down this path but it’s gotten to a point where it’s overly ridiculous,” that was during the Orem City Council meeting. He then took the next 20 minutes to outline what he believes are grievances against the Daily Herald newspaper, and specifically Linnea Pugmire’s mother, Genelle Pugmire, a reporter there.

“My intent was to point out to point out the articles, to make the points, and then let people make their own decision and ask the questions, is this fair, is this right?” Young told KSL TV.

Lee is friends with the mayor, her father is a council member.

“It was terrible and super scary” Lee said.

A video circulating on social media appeared to show the confrontation outside, away from the official recording of the meeting.

The last 20 minutes of the meeting featured Orem City Mayor David Young speaking about reporter Genelle Pugmire’s coverage in several articles. Young took issue with previous stories about the city’s library, headlines about the city’s budget and most extensively, a story stating there is a $1 million judgement involving his business and son in an Alabama court.

Young questioned the timing of the story, nine months after the Alabama court ruling. He also questioned why she would speak with the opposing attorney in the case.

“So my question is, why would Genelle Pugmire work with Danny Evans, the attorney representing the other side in this case, and write this article?” Young said. “So … the attorney we have been working against for the last 16 months, is in cahoots with Genelle Pugmire, writing an article in Utah?”

“Who on earth works with an opposing attorney if you are trying to find the truth?” Young asked.

Orem City Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. (Orem City Council via YouTube)

Before publication of the article Young was asked to respond in an email but he said he didn’t see the email until the following day. The print version did not have his response while the digital version did. In the meeting Young also questioned council member Tom Macdonald about his knowledge of the reporting.

“I am not going to carry this on … but in the article that she printed last weekend, I’ve got 13 issues regarding items stated as facts. I want answers from her as to why these inaccuracies were printed and spread throughout Utah.”

Young said during the meeting that the court judgement is on appeal with the Alabama Supreme Court, as reported in the Daily Herald. He also mentioned a previous article by another writer that initially reported on court’s judgement and includes a writ of garnishment that names the mayor.

“The bottom line is that it’s sad when people work so hard to increase contention and divide our community for political gain. It’s pathetic and we should all push back against it,” Young said. “In the real world — in the real world — there are great things happening in Orem. Orem is a model for the state. I talk to my friends in different cities all the time and everyone is looking at Orem because Orem is a model … Orem is better than this. Let’s work together to end the misinformation and division and with that, I am going to close this meeting. Thank you.”

Council members mostly gave Young a standing ovation after the remarks. The full city council meeting can be watched below.

Young released a statement Wednesday afternoon:

When it comes to advocating for Orem families and safeguarding our city, I will not be bullied or intimidated by radical groups who want to push their high-density, anti-family, and anti-police agenda. We will continue to stand against these radical proposals in Orem, and I will not allow this unfortunate incident to divert our focus from our crucial Council agenda. Our goal remains steadfast: creating an environment where families can thrive. We will continue to fight against the effort to bring the proposed 10,000 apartments on State Street back into the conversation, while maintaining low taxes and fees and supporting our dedicated law enforcement

My intention in bringing to light the long-standing issues with the Daily Herald’s reporting was to encourage people to rise above the divineness (sic) and misinformation that is overshadowing the amazing work of the City Council. As a community, we are better than this and I hope this incident will further serve as a wakeup call for the need for more responsible journalism and for each of us to work together with greater civility and unity.

The city of Orem released a statement:

We are deeply troubled by this incident because City Hall should be a place for civil civic dialogue where everyone feels safe and protected. The security and safety of our public officials is a top priority. The City of Orem will continue to promote civility at all times and ask for the public to join us in this effort.

Utah special election primary offers glimpse into Republican voters’ thoughts on Trump indictments

Utah’s special election primary on Tuesday to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart could offer a glimpse into how Republican voters feel about a string of indictments against former President Donald Trump that haven’t deterred him from charging ahead with his 2024 presidential run.

GOP voters in Utah’s sprawling 2nd Congressional District will choose between a trio of candidates that include former state lawmaker and Trump critic Becky Edwards. She will face off against former congressional staffer Celeste Maloy, who was Stewart’s chief legal counsel and has his endorsement, and Bruce Hough, a committeeman for the Republican National Committee for over a decade.

Stewart, a six-term Republican and veteran of the U.S. Air Force, set off a scramble to fill his seat when he announced in May he was resigning because his wife is ill. He plans to step down Sept. 15 after 10 years in office.

The primary winner will be the favorite against Democratic state Sen. Kathleen Riebe in the Nov. 21 special general election in the reliably Republican district covering northern Salt Lake City and much of southern and western Utah.

Trump and the indictments have not been a central part of this abbreviated campaign for any of the candidates. But Edwards has said she thinks Republicans should consider other candidates for the 2024 presidential race. During her unsuccessful 2022 primary run against Sen. Mike Lee, Edwards criticized Lee for backing Trump’s efforts to discredit the 2020 election results.

“I’m looking for a Republican who can win back the White House. I think it’s time that we have that shift,” Edwards told ABC4 Utah on Aug. 19. “It’s early days in the presidential election cycle but I’m watching, as I think most Americans are right now, to look for all the candidates as they’re putting out their ideas.”

Trump won conservative Utah in 2018 and 2022 but the state has never fully embraced Trump, whose demeanor clashes with the political and religious culture that prides itself on maintaining political civility in polarizing times. More than half of the state’s residents belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church. Republican U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, a frequent Trump critic, is among the members of the faith.

The federal indictments against Trump for allegedly working to overturn the 2020 election and for allegedly mishandling classified information after he left office loomed in an Aug. 4 debate between Hough and Maloy.

Trump got little mention in the debate but both suggested the Justice Department was politically selective in charging him.

“We are seeing agencies in the federal government weaponized against people that should not be weaponized. The DOJ, the FBI, others. Everybody should be accountable to the rule of law, period, end of story. And everybody should be treated equally under the law, equally,” Hough said.

The U.S. “looks like a banana republic” with such investigations, said Maloy, who added she would want to serve on a committee to investigate the “weaponization of the federal government” if elected.

Edwards didn’t take part in the debate.

Edwards has raised the most money of the three candidates, bringing in $379,000 while loaning herself an additional $300,000 from personal funds. While Maloy outraised Hough in contributions, Hough loaned his campaign more than $334,000.

If elected, Edwards or Maloy would become the only woman in Utah’s congressional delegation and only the fifth in the state’s history. The state’s most recent female U.S. representative, Mia Love, served from 2015-2019 and was the state’s first Black congresswoman.

Maloy qualified for the primary ballot after winning a Utah Republican Party convention vote in June. Hough and Edwards each gathered a minimum of 7,000 signatures to qualify for the primary ballot. Hough is the father of “Dancing With The Stars” veterans Julianne and Derek Hough.

Sixty years after the March on Washington, attendees renew the call for King’s ‘dream’

(CNN) — It’s been 60 years since the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, but Fatima Cortez Todd says she still remembers the sense of unity she felt standing on the National Mall that day.

“We sat with each other; we sang with each other,” she said. “I felt taken care of. I felt a brother and sisterhood.”

On August 28, 1963, Cortez Todd was among an estimated 250,000 people who rallied for jobs and freedom at the March on Washington.

History has documented how throngs of people gathered near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to hear what would become the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.

But some who attended the march tell CNN they can recall more subtle moments that still resonate today. At a time when the country was bitterly divided along racial lines – with segregation still legal – Cortez Todd, now 77, said she clearly remembers the diversity of those gathered on the National Mall.

“It was a melting pot like this country is supposed to be, and that was the best reflection of that possibility,” she said.

Decades later, children who marched, protested and fought during the civil rights movement are now our elders. As the world pauses to mark the 60th anniversary of the march, the children of the movement reflect on the progress the US has made in the fight for civil rights and how far they say the nation still needs need to go.

Fatima Cortez Todd, 77

Cortez Todd was raised in the civil rights movement. Her mom, Marie Witherspoon, was an activist who worked alongside Coretta Scott King.

As a 17-year-old woman of Black, Puerto Rican and Native American heritage, Cortez Todd said she knew going to the march “was something important to do.”

She earned a seat on a Riverdale, New York, bus bound for Washington, DC, by volunteering to help make banners. Sixty years later, she said she remembers the iconic scenes of the day, but it was the moments she experienced in a crowd of strangers, like sharing a sandwich or uniting their voices in song, that left an indelible mark.

She also recalls how A. Philip Randolph, an organizer of the march and a labor rights leader, asked the crowd to pledge “unequivocally and without regard to personal sacrifice, to the achievement of social peace through social justice.”

“We made a pledge that day,” she recalled. “If we had done even those key things, we would not be where we are now.”

Cortez Todd said she feels the country has not lived up to the promises of the march. But her experiences that day taught her an invaluable lesson: “I have to always speak up,” she said.

Edith Lee-Payne, 73

For Edith Lee-Payne, the day of the march was special for a second reason: it also happened to be her 12th birthday. Sixty years later, Lee-Payne said she remembers arriving at the march early so her aunt could volunteer with the Red Cross.

“It was a reflection of America – of what America should be,” she said. “Everybody just getting along…respecting each other. We don’t see that today.”

A photo of Lee-Payne on the mall that day later became one of the iconic images of the march. When it came time for King’s speech, Lee-Payne said she remembers hearing gospel singer and civil rights activist Mahalia Jackson encouraging him to “tell them about the dream.”

Those words would inspire the civil rights leader to improvise much of the second half of his speech, drawing on a refrain he’d used before. It would become one of the great American speeches, “I Have a Dream.”

As he spoke, the mall was so quiet, Lee-Payne recalled, “you could hear a pin drop.”

A young Edith Lee-Payne is pictured at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. (CNN)

While progress has undoubtedly been made toward economic equality in the intervening decades, Lee-Payne said she believes efforts to erase Black history and the murder of George Floyd show the country is “not there” on racial equality.

“We’re not there because too many people still don’t want to be,” she said.

It’s important, she said, for the next generation to know their history and be willing to fight to preserve that history and their rights.

Edward Flanagan, 80

Edward Flanagan remembers racing to the National Mall from nearby McLean, Virginia.

“I wanted to do something that could possibly help … marching seemed so little … but I wanted to do something,” Flanagan told CNN.

Then a 20-year-old student at Howard University, Flanagan said he remembers seeing everyone dressed in their “Sunday best.”

“It was an electric atmosphere and environment because of all the people who were there,” Flanagan said, adding that it felt like a “church picnic.”

But decades later, he said he feels the dream King spoke of that day “has yet to be realized.”

“There was, at the time, a hope that this was going to be a watershed, a turning point. It did not happen,” he said.

Flanagan said he feels some of the gains that were made during the civil rights movement have been eroded, particularly after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But he said he remains hopeful that future generations will continue to fight for equality.

Edward Flanagan is pictured in a CNN interview. (CNN)

“We are still, while in a much better place than we were in ’63, not in the place where one would expect 60 years on,” Flanagan said.

Sarah Davidson, 75

Sarah Davidson said she wanted to attend the march and be part of the fight for civil rights so intensely she told her mother, “If you don’t let me go, I will never forgive you.”

She was 15 at the time, and she said her mother and aunt agreed to let her take a bus from Arkansas with members of her NAACP youth council.

“I felt that my purpose of living, my purpose of being, for being born was being actualized at that march,” she said.

Davidson said she remembers standing in the summer heat and feeling a “spiritual connection” to everyone out there.

Now a substitute teacher for middle school and high school students, she said she often shares her experience at the march with young people and encourages them to get involved in activism early.

“I stepped up when I was as young as you are. … You can make a difference in America and fight for social justice. You can write petitions. You can protest. You were born for a reason. … You were born to make a difference, and it’s inside of you.”

Stephany Gilbert, 77

Stephany Gilbert was raised in a Jewish family that was dedicated to service. With the support of her family, she attended the march as a 17-year-old sophomore at Syracuse University.

She said she remembers how, despite being in a sea of thousands of people, everyone felt like “a big extended family.”

There was a “sense we could do something,” Gilbert said. “You knew that [King] was speaking the truth, that all people really are created equal and should have the same opportunities. Nobody should have a different playing field.”

Although the country has made progress toward achieving King’s “dream,” Gilbert said she feels the United States has “lost civility.”

She also worries about her grandchildren amid a rise in antisemitism and said she fears humanity could destroy itself because “people don’t listen to each other.” As the fight for civil rights continues, she encourages the younger generations to listen to their elders and also each other.

“Find a common ground somewhere that you can start because you can’t just start from opposite ends and yell, it doesn’t work,” she said. “You’ve got to find something to be able to discuss. Talk! It’s a lost art to be able to debate.”

Raúl Yzaguirre, 84

Raúl Yzaguirre had been advocating for Hispanic rights since he was a teenager, and the march became a pivotal moment for the then 24-year-old college student at George Washington University.

In the 1960s, he said, “the Black and Latino civil rights movements were separate” and some Latinos “did not like me aligning with the Black movement.”

“We share in the movement now,” he said and believes there is a “bright future” for Black and Latino Americans.

He would go on to become the US ambassador to the Dominican Republic. And in July 2022 Yzaguirre was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

But when it comes to civil rights, Yzaguirre said he does not “feel like the country has changed enough.”

“The country was on an upward trajectory that has not been sustained. Immigrants are being treated like beasts of burden. There is a lack of respect for human dignity,” Yzaguirre said. “The younger generation wants to live in a society that is fair, just and equitable. It is imperative that they get involved and never give up.”

Japanese American Citizens League

After more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated in internment camps during World War II, many Asian Americans joined the fight to ensure equal rights were guaranteed for all Americans.

Among them were leaders of the country’s largest Asian American and Pacific Islander civil rights organization, the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL).

David Inoue, executive director of the JACL, said over time members came to see their fight for equal rights as “directly intertwined and inseparable” from the civil rights movement.

“Part of this came from the recognition that wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans was because we had no allies speaking out for us,” Inoue said in an email to CNN.

“One of the clear lessons from the incarceration experience was that we needed to work more closely with other communities to fight for broader civil rights for all,” he said.

On August 28, 1963, at least 20 of members of the JACL marched in solidarity with Black Americans, calling for equal access to freedom and jobs.

“Our engagement with other communities later made our own fight for redress possible, as the alliances forged with other groups enabled us to call upon their assistance when we needed it,” Inoue said. “It also played a role in JACL not being afraid to take leading positions such as in the issue of gay marriage.”

After the march, leaders of the organization pushed Congress to support civil rights legislation and to pass the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which ended a national-origins quota system that had largely excluded Asians.

While the US has made progress on certain rights, he believes a deep racial divide remains and there is not full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. The anniversary of the march, he said, is a “continuation, not just a commemoration, of the work of 60 years ago until Dr. King’s dream is truly realized.”

“It takes years of struggle to sometimes achieve the smallest of victories. It’s great to have the major victories, but we need to sometimes also take encouragement from the small victories or even when we hold the status quo,” Inoue said. “And there is always the backlash, which can make things look really bad, but we can’t give up, and need to keep fighting.”

Utah State Board of Education concludes Natalie Cline investigation with no reprimands

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) ended its personnel investigation over member Natalie Cline concluding she did not violate any board bylaws on Monday.

In a statement, the board said it had “concluded its analysis of several hotline complaints” against Cline. In July, KSL NewsRadio reported that Cline was under investigation for recent comments over a staff member’s gender orientation, recent social media posts, and one other unknown situation.

Additionally, State School Board auditors confirmed those are three of 87 complaints made against Cline since around the time she was last publicly reprimanded by the board in September 2021 for social media posts that they said “incited hate speech.”

Here’s a look into the two complaints the board referenced in the announcement that Cline didn’t violate board bylaws.

The Taylorsville Complaint

On June 29, Cline gave a presentation at the Taylorsville Library as part of an organization she runs called “Higher Ground.”

Higher Ground’s website has statements saying that the “public school system is out of control” and that “families are being overcome by a social change agenda as strong and relentless as a tsunami.” The website also claims some school methods, like social-emotional learning, are used to “behaviorally condition children toward value systems and mindsets” that promote social agendas over traditional, family-based norms.

At the end of Cline’s presentation, she allegedly made a comment about a Utah State Board of Education staff member’s gender orientation, according to people in the audience.

“Natalie said that the person who is in charge of family services of USBE … sometimes they came in and you didn’t know if they were a man and a woman, or how they were dressing, or what pronouns they would want you to use,” Julie Jackson told KSL NewsRadio last month.

Jackson is a member of the Granite School Board. She attended the presentation because it was in her district and she wanted to get an understanding of what the group believed.

Jackson said the comments crossed a line into discrimination when Cline questioned the Board of Education staffer’s ability to do her job.

In the video presentation posted online, that portion of the video was edited out, and a message tells the viewer the camera’s battery died.

During the preliminary analysis, board leadership requested an additional investigation, which included legal counsel and a request for a response from Cline.

“The board met twice last week to review the evidence and consider possible action. USBE takes seriously any report of improper conduct by its members, including allegations about statements that violate the privacy of staff members,” the USBE stated in a press release.

Because of the “lack of sufficient evidence,” the board is not taking action against Cline in the Taylorsville complaint, according to the USBE.

The Facebook Post Complaint

USBE said the second complaint against Cline was about a Facebook post made on July 4. KSL NewsRadio reported the post was alleging that schools were complicit in grooming children for sex trafficking by giving kids easy access to “explicit, unnatural, and twisted sexual content brainwashing them into queer, gender-bending ideologies.”

“Board acknowledges that its members have the right to speak under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, including controversial speech on policy issues and speech that is critical of the government; but the board also expects members to follow its bylaws and use civility and accuracy in communication,” the USBE stated.

On July 18, Cline responded to a USBE statement about her comments and accused the board leadership of releasing an “ill-advised” press release that subjected her character to a “gross misrepresentation.”

In Cline’s response, she said the board leadership knew about the preliminary analysis on July 13, but the leadership “issued its defamatory press release after receiving the Internal Audit Reports,” telling Cline in an email they “still ‘determined there to be merit to the concerns.'”

The USBE board responded to her claims in its Monday press release, saying the leadership exercised “its own right to speak in a press release.”

“USBE regrets that inaccurate statements regarding the investigation and preliminary analysis in this matter during the confidential investigation led to premature conclusions and speculation regarding board action,” USBE stated.

Cline was reprimanded in September 2021 by the Board of Education.

Utah Education Association Responds to USBE

On Tuesday, the Utah Education Association (UEA) criticized the USBE for not reprimanding Cline for her Facebook comments about local educators.

“We are deeply troubled by USBE’s failure to find her toxic words in violation of its standards and its unwillingness to take action to reprimand or censure Cline,” the UEA stated in a press release.

The UEA said that Cline’s comments against educators were “unfounded, but also dangerous” that “erodes the trust between educators, students, parents, and the community.”

“I am horrified that an elected official entrusted with overseeing education policy in our state would blatantly disregard teachers’ tireless efforts and intentionally create an environment of mistrust and hostility detrimental to the educational process,” President Renee Pinkney said.

The UEA urged Cline to acknowledge the potential harm she caused with her statement and asked her to apologize to local educators.

Cline didn’t respond to requests for comment from KSL.

Contributing: Lindsay Aerts, KSL NewsRadio and Logan Stefanich, KSL.com

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Video: ‘Permission to care for each other’: Cox urges healthy disagreement as new NGA chairman

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is taking his message of civility in politics to a national audience, encouraging his fellow governors to set the example of what healthy disagreement looks like.

‘Permission to care for each other’: Cox urges healthy disagreement as new NGA chairman

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is taking his message of civility in politics to a national audience, encouraging his fellow governors to set the example of what healthy disagreement looks like.

Cox was elected as the chairman of the National Governors Association and will lead the bipartisan organization for the next year. He unveiled his chair’s initiative, called Disagree Better: Healthy Conflict for Better Policy, at the closing session of the association’s annual meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“The course that we are on right now as Americans is unsustainable in an increasingly fragile democracy,” Cox said, adding that political leaders can’t solve any of the issues facing the country if they remain divided and continue to feel “contempt” for the other side.

Although many regular Americans remain divided, Cox said governors and other leaders can set an example of better disagreement that can eventually change the culture.

“I truly believe if we are ever going to find our better angels again, it has to start with us,” he said.

He challenged each member of the National Governors Association to run political ads with members of the opposite party in their state and unveiled a video he filmed with Colorado’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, who was elected to serve as the association’s vice chairman over the next year.

An “exhausted majority” of Americans are ready to move past the “ugliness of our politics today,” Cox said, and governors are some of the “last adults in the room” who can help change politics for the better.

“Politicians have been giving Americans permission to hate each other. It’s up to us to give Americans permission to care for each other again,” Cox said.

Tourist filmed carving his girlfriend’s name into Rome’s Colosseum

ROME — Italy’s culture minister is calling for a man to be “identified and sanctioned” after he was filmed allegedly carving his and his fiancée’s names into the Colosseum in Rome.

Gennaro Sangiuliano tweeted on Monday: “I consider it very serious, unworthy and a sign of great incivility that a tourist defaces one of the most famous places in the world, a historical heritage (site) such as the Colosseum, to carve the name of his fiancée.”

“I hope that whoever carried out this act will be identified and sanctioned according to our laws,” he continued.

The minister’s tweet included a blurred image of the young tourist, as well as a video that appeared to show him using keys to carve letters into one of the walls of the nearly 2,000-year-old amphitheater.

The inscription read “Ivan+Haley 23,” according to Italian news agency ANSA.

Reputo gravissimo, indegno e segno di grande inciviltà, che un turista sfregi uno dei luoghi più celebri al mondo, il Colosseo, per incidere il nome della sua fidanzata. Spero che chi ha compiuto questo gesto venga individuato e sanzionato secondo le nostre leggi. pic.twitter.com/p8Jss1GWuY

— Gennaro Sangiuliano (@g_sangiuliano) June 26, 2023

The alleged incident took place on Friday, and police were alerted by videos appearing on social media, ANSA reported.

If convicted of a crime, the man could face a fine of at least €15,000 ($16,360) or up to five years in prison, the news agency said.

A similar incident occurred in 2020, when an Irish tourist was accused of vandalizing the Colosseum after security staff spotted him allegedly carving his initials into the ancient structure and reported him to the police.

Pence opens presidential bid with denunciation of Trump over Jan. 6 insurrection and abortion

ANKENY, Iowa (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence opened his bid for the Republican nomination for president Wednesday with a firm denunciation of former President Donald Trump, accusing his two-time running mate of abandoning conservative principles and being guilty of dereliction of duty on Jan. 6, 2021.

On that perilous day, Pence said, as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and the president falsely insisted his vice president could overturn the election results, Trump “demanded I choose between him and our Constitution. Now voters will be faced with the same choice.”

Pence, launching his campaign at a community college in a suburb of Des Moines, became the first vice president in modern history to challenge the president under whom he served. While he spent much of his speech criticizing Democratic President Joe Biden and the direction he has taken the country, he also addressed Jan. 6 head-on, saying Trump had disqualified himself when he declared falsely that Pence had the power to keep him in office.

Trump’s statements about mass voting fraud led a mob of his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol, sending Pence and his family scrambling for safety as some in the crowd chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!”

“I believe anyone that puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States, and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president of the United Sates again,” the former vice president said.

I believe in the American people, and I have faith God is not done with America yet. Together, we can bring this Country back, and the best days for the Greatest Nation on Earth are yet to come! 🇺🇸 #Pence2024 pic.twitter.com/A8EkqgCDAm

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) June 7, 2023

Pence has spent much of the past two-and-a-half-years grappling with fallout from that day as he has tried to chart a political future in a party that remains deeply loyal to Trump and filled with many who still believe Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen and that Pence somehow could reject the results.

While Pence has criticized Trump, working to step out of the former president’s shadow while laying the groundwork for his own run, he has generally done so obliquely, reflecting Trump’s continued popularity in the party. But Wednesday, as Pence made his pitch to voters for the first time as a declared candidate, he did not hold his tongue.

He accused the former president of abandoning the conservative values he ran on, including on abortion.

Pence, who supports a national ban on the procedure, said, “After leading the most pro-life administration in American history, Donald Trump and others in this race are retreating from the cause of the unborn. The sanctity of life has been our party’s calling for half a century — long before Donald Trump was a part of it. Now he treats it as an inconvenience, even blaming our election losses in 2022 on overturning Roe v. Wade.”

Trump has declined to say what limits he supports nationally and has blamed some midterm candidates’ strong rhetoric for their losses last November.

Pence also bemoaned the current politics of “grudges and grievances,” saying the country needs leaders who know the difference between the “politics of outrage and standing firm.”

“We will restore a threshold of civility in public life,” he pledged

Trump did not immediately respond to the speech, but his supporters shot back.

“The question most GOP voters are asking themselves about Pence’s candidacy is ‘Why?’” said Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for a Trump-backing super PAC.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie files paperwork for 2024 Republican presidential bid

With Pence’s entry into the race, on his 64th birthday, the GOP field is largely set. It includes Trump, who’s leading in early polls, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who remains in second, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Pence’s campaign will test the party’s appetite for a socially conservative, mild-mannered and deeply religious candidate who has criticized the populist tide that has swept through his party under Trump. Pence, in many ways, represents a throwback to a party from days past. Unlike Trump and DeSantis, he argues cuts to Social Security and Medicare must be on the table and has blasted those who have questioned why the U.S. should continue to send aid to Ukraine to counter Russian aggression.

Pence and his advisers see Iowa — the state that will cast the first votes of the GOP nominating calendar — as key to his pathway to the nomination. Its caucusgoers include a large portion of evangelical Christian voters, whom they see as a natural constituency for Pence, a social conservative who often talks about his faith.

But Pence faces steep challenges. Despite being one of the best-known Republican candidates in the crowded field, he is viewed skeptically by voters on both the left and the right. Trump critics consider him complicit in the former president’s most indefensible actions, while many Trump loyalists have maligned him as a traitor, partly to blame for denying the president a second term.

A CNN poll conducted last month found 45% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said they would not support Pence under any circumstance. And in Iowa, a March Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found Pence with higher unfavorable ratings than all of the other candidates it asked about, including Trump and DeSantis.

But Pence, who has visited Iowa more than a dozen times since leaving office, has been warmly welcomed by voters during his trips.

His Wednesday audience in an auditorium decorated with red, white and blue balloons included a number of Iowa Republican officials, including former Iowa Rep. Greg Ganske, whose time in Congress overlapped briefly with Pence’s.

“I’m here because we’re friends,” said Ganske who represented the Des Moines area in the House. Still, he said he hadn’t figured out who he was going to support in the caucuses. “We have a lot of good candidates,” he said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launches 2024 presidential campaign to challenge Trump

John Steuterman, a 44-year-old insurance executive, said he was drawn to Pence’s experience in the White House and was “tired of the negativity” another Trump term would bring.

“Mike Pence is a decent man. He seems like a regular guy, as much of a regular guy who has been at the center of the executive decision-making of the most powerful country in the world,” he said.

But asked whether Steuterman was locked in for Pence in the leadoff caucuses, where Pence’s fortunes rest, he demurred.

“I’m not married to the idea, but I’m going to watch and listen and I’m going to follow this guy,” he said.

It was the same for Dave Bubeck, who lives in Grimes and praised Pence as “a super professional guy,” “statesmanlike,” and “a man of high character” — with the capacity to serve as president. “But I think there’s other good candidates,” too, he said, adding he would “wait and see how it all shakes out.”

Asked why he wasn’t sold on Pence, Bubeck said, “Maybe he’s a little too nice. … I don’t know if he’s tough enough for what we need right now. That would be my hesitancy.”

Pence’s decision to focus on Jan. 6 reflects his advisers’ strategy that the Capitol attack has to be confronted directly.

In an interview with Fox News Channel after the announcement, Pence said he believes the more people hear his explanation for his actions, the more they’ll see he was acting in the country’s best interest.

His argument resonated with Ruth Ehler, a retired teacher from West Des Moines who attended the speech.

“The Constitution is the document of our country and I stood by him on Jan. 6 when he followed the Constitution. If that’s where he feels he differs from our past president, it’s a great point for him to make,” Ehler said.

And yet, Ehler could not say whether she was leaning toward supporting Pence in the caucuses.

‘Hope is on the way’: Mike Pence tells Utahns an ‘American comeback’ is on the horizon

SALT LAKE CITY — Former Vice President Mike Pence told several Utah lawmakers and business leaders he believes the Biden administration has “weakened America at home and abroad,” but hinted that change is coming.

He repeatedly took aim at President Joe Biden during a luncheon in the Zions Bank Head Office in Salt Lake City Friday afternoon, blaming the president for crime, illegal immigration, energy prices and the chaotic removal of troops from Afghanistan.

“I’m here to tell you, hope is on the way,” he said. “I truly believe we are 18 months away from a great American comeback, and it will start right here.”

Pence, Donald Trump’s two-time running mate and vice president, has long been rumored as a potential challenger to his former boss in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Although Pence has yet to announce a formal campaign, he is reportedly planning to launch a political action committee to back his candidacy, according to Politico.

Projecting a difference in tone and style to the former president, Pence called for a return to civility and respect in political discourse in the country.

“I believe there’s a hunger in this country to restore civility to the public debate,” he said. “Our politics is more divided today than any time in my lifetime, (but) I’m not convinced the American people are as divided.”

The closed-door roundtable was hosted by the Utah Valley University Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy. Former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and philanthropist Scott Keller, whose name adorns the Scott C. Keller business building at UVU, joined Pence for a luncheon that was open to the media.

Pence is the second potential 2024 candidate to visit Utah in as many weeks, after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addressed delegates at Utah’s Republican Party convention Saturday at UVU.

Pence’s visit to Utah comes a day after he testified before a grand jury in Washington, D.C., that is investigating Trump’s role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump supporters had pressured Pence during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection to reject electoral votes cast for then-President-elect Joe Biden, though legal experts — and Pence himself — have said the vice president doesn’t have that power.

Since then, Pence has had a complicated relationship with the former president and his supporters, and has emerged as a potential challenger to Trump. Last month, Pence said Trump’s “reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day, and I know that history will hold Donald Trump accountable.”

This story will be updated.

Montana trans lawmaker silenced 3rd day; protestors arrested

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — As Republican leaders in the Montana legislature doubled down on forbidding Rep. Zooey Zephyr from participating in debate for a second week, her supporters interrupted proceedings in the House by chanting, “Let her speak!”

Zephyr, a first-term Democrat from Missoula, had aimed to speak on a proposal that would have restricted when children could change the names and pronouns they use in school and required their parents’ consent.

When lawmakers voted to continue subjecting Zephyr to a gag order, denying her the chance to speak, the gallery made up mostly of her supporters erupted, forcing legislative leaders to pause proceedings and clear the room.

The ordeal is the latest development in a three-day fight over Zephyr’s remarks against lawmakers who support of a ban on gender-affirming care. Zephyr, who is transgender and a first-term Democrat from Missoula, hasn’t been allowed to speak on the statehouse floor since Thursday because she told her Republican colleagues last week they would have “blood on their hands” if they banned gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.

Supporters were escorted from the gallery above the state House floor, including several by force. Leaders cut the sound on the video feed and Zephyr remained on the floor holding her microphone.

The display followed a promise Zephyr made earlier on Monday, when she defiantly told supporters on the statehouse steps that she planned to continue to speak forcefully against legislation that members of the transgender community, including herself, consider matters of life and death.

“I was sent here to speak on behalf of my constituents and to speak on behalf of my community. It’s the promise I made when I got elected and it’s a promise that I will continue to keep every single day,” Zephyr said before walking into the House chamber.

Supporters waved pride flags and chanted “Let her Speak!” while she connected the transgender community’s plight against gender-affirming care bans to the political fights animating other marginalized groups throughout the United States.

“When those communities who see the repercussions of those bills have the audacity to stand up and say, ‘This legislation gets us killed,’ those in power aren’t content with just passing those hateful harmful bills,” she said. “What they are demanding is silence. We will not be complicit in our eradication.”

Ban proponents see Zephyr’s remarks as unprecedented and personal in nature. She and her supporters say they accurately illustrate the stakes of the legislation under discussion, arguing that restricting gender-affirming care endangers transgender youth, who many studies suggest suffer disproportionately from depression and suicidality.

The standoff is the latest example of emergent discussions around civility, decorum and how to discuss political issues many perceive as life and death.

Zephyr was silenced and deliberately misgendered by some Republican lawmakers in response to her charge last week. She planned to keep trying to speak on the House floor Monday despite Republican leaders insisting that won’t happen until she apologizes. House Speaker Matt Regier and his Republican colleagues had indicated they have no plans to back down. Near the start of the proceedings Monday, they pushed an item Zephyr requested to speak on to the end of the agenda.

After speaking and before the House convened, Zephyr entered the crowd gathered at the statehouse to support her stand. A 21-year-old from a small southwest Montana town teared up as he told her about his fears of coming out as trans in his community. Others hugged her, thanked her for fighting and apologized that she had to do so.

Katy Spence, a constituent of Zephyr’s who drove to the Capitol from Missoula on Monday, said the standoff was about censoring ideas, not decorum.

“She’s been silenced because she spoke the truth about what these anti-trans bills are doing in Montana — to trans youth especially,” she said of Zephyr.

Months after Zephyr became the first openly transgender woman elected to the Montana Legislature, the state joined a longer list of legislatures in passing new restrictions on transgender kids. Legislation this year has addressed issues ranging from the health care they can access to the sports teams they can play on, to the names they can go by. Though proceedings have been subjected to heated debate in more than a dozen statehouses, Zephyr’s standoff with Republican leaders has given the legislative battles over transgender kids newfound attention.

The dispute started last Tuesday when the House was debating Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s proposed amendments to a measure banning gender-affirming care for minors. Zephyr spoke up in reference to the body’s opening prayer.

“I hope the next time there’s an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands,” she said.

House Majority Leader Sue Vinton, a Republican, immediately called Zephyr’s comments inappropriate and disrespectful. That evening, a group of conservative lawmakers known as the Montana Freedom Caucus demanded Zephyr’s censure and deliberately referred to her using male pronouns in their letter and a Tweet. That’s known as misgendering — using pronouns that don’t match a person’s gender identity.

Zephyr previously upset legislative leaders with emotional testimony earlier this session.

The bill banning gender-affirming care for minors is awaiting Gianforte’s signature. He has indicated he will sign it. The bill calls for it to take effect on Oct. 1, but the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal have said they will challenge it in court.

Montana’s Republican-controlled Legislature is expected to finish for the year sometime next week.

Metz reported from Salt Lake City.

Transgender lawmaker silenced by Montana House speaker

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s House speaker refused to allow a transgender lawmaker to speak on a bill Thursday, two days after a conservative group of lawmakers deliberately misgendered her and called for her to be censured for emotional testimony against a bill seeking to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

“It is up to me to maintain decorum here on the House floor, to protect the dignity and integrity,” Republican Speaker Matt Regier said. “And any representative that I don’t feel can do that will not be recognized,”

The Republican Party of Montana is refusing to allow me—a transgender Representative—to speak on any bill. This is fundamentally undemocratic.

My light is on, and I am ready to speak on behalf of the constituents who elected me to do so. pic.twitter.com/pdijLUQsCc

— Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@ZoAndBehold) April 20, 2023

Regier said he decision came after “multiple discussions” with other lawmakers and that previously there have been similar problems.

The Democratic caucus objected, but the House Rules committee upheld Regier’s decision on a party-line vote. As a result, Rep. Zooey Zephyr was not allowed to speak Thursday on a measure that would put a binary definition of male and female into state code.

The issue came to a head when Zephyr, a Democrat and the first transgender woman to hold a position in the Montana legislature, told lawmakers on Tuesday they would have “blood on their hands” if they voted in favor of a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for minors. She had made a similar comment when the bill was debated in the House the first time.

I hope the next time there’s an invocation … you see the blood on your hands’ — State Rep. ZooeyZephyr (D-MT) stands up for transgender kids in Montana, as Republicans push through a ban on gender-affirming care. Zephyr faces possible censure from her Republican colleagues. pic.twitter.com/YfEdgD8Tvi

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 20, 2023

House Majority Leader Sue Vinton rebuked Zephyr on Tuesday, calling her comments inappropriate, disrespectful and uncalled for.

Later Tuesday, a small group of conservative Republicans known as the Montana Freedom Caucus issued a demand for the House to censure Zephyr. Their letter called for a “commitment to civil discourse” in the same sentence in which they deliberately misgendered Zephyr. The caucus also misgendered Zephyr in a Tweet while posting the letter online.

“It is disheartening that the Montana Freedom Caucus would stoop so low as to misgender me in their letter, further demonstrating their disregard for the dignity and humanity of transgender individuals,” Zephyr said in a statement Wednesday. “Their call for ‘civility and respect’ is hypocritical given their actions.”

The decision of the House Speaker Matt Regier to refuse to recognize State. Rep. Zooey Zephyr on the floor has been upheld #mtnews #mtleg #mtpol

— Josh Margolis (@JoshMNBCMT) April 20, 2023

Zephyr said Wednesday that she stood by what she said Tuesday “of the devastating consequences of banning essential medical care for transgender youth. The gender-affirming care ban “is part of an alarming trend of anti-trans legislation in our state, which includes over a dozen unconstitutional bills. These bills ban our art forms, our stories, our healthcare, and our very existence in Montana code.”

She also spoke emotionally and directly to transgender Montanans in February in opposing a bill to ban minors from attending drag shows.

“I have one request for you: Please stay alive,” Zephyr said.

She also assured them she and others would keep fighting and challenge the bills in court.

The legislature has also passed a bill stating a student misgendering or deadnaming a fellow student is not illegal discrimination, unless it rises to the level of bullying.

At the end of Thursday’s House session, Democratic Rep. Marilyn Marler asked that the House majority allow Zephyr to speak on the floor going forward.

“This body is denying the representative … the chance to do her job,” Marler said.

Majority Leader Vinton, before moving for adjournment, said: “I will let the body know that the representative … has every opportunity to rectify the situation.”

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