Free Republic

In a badly botched answer to the final question during this year's Miss America Pageant, Miss Utah Marissa Powell stammered something unintelligible about men and women in the workplace and saw the crown slip away. Her answer has already gone viral, but she did manage to hit on something true about the current state of the U.S.: education-wise, we're in trouble. Her mumbled advice to "create better education" is actually valid in light of a chronic achievement gap that could threaten America's economic future The Renewing America initiative released its federal education progress report today under the moniker "Remedial Education."...

A Utah man has been arrested for allegedly walking into a church on Father's Day and shooting his father-in-law in the back of the head in front of horrified parishioners. Police say Charles Richard Jennings Jr., 35, stole a pickup truck at gunpoint after the incident at a Catholic church in Ogden but was captured hours later in the next county, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. The injured man is in critical condition but is expected to survive. Police describe the shooting as a "domestic violence-related incident." Witnesses say Jennings entered the church hand-in-hand with his wife before walking over...

Everything was calm and peaceful at St. James Catholic Church on Sunday afternoon before a man walked in and shot his father-in-law in the back of the head. Witnesses said they had just started to say a prayer when a man and woman walked into the church holding hands. The victim and his wife “were sitting in the back pew off to the right side when their daughter and her husband walked in holding hands,” said Leon Bedford. “He walked up to (the man) and leaned over and pointed his gun at him criminal style and pulled the trigger.” The...

The nation's new billion-dollar epicenter for fighting global cyberthreats sits just south of Salt Lake City, ~snip~ "We know it's a spy center. But who are they spying on?"

To paraphrase William Shakespeare, there’s something rotten in Washington, and the odor is emanating not just from the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department. It’s also coming from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies accused of colluding with radical environmental groups to write regulations that are threatening the livelihoods of millions of Americans. A U.S. Chamber of Commerce study has found that the EPA has given green groups a seat at the table when drafting environmental regulations, but it has excluded the people and industries most likely to be affected. The Sierra Club has participated in “closed-door...

After the Supreme Court’s decision labeling Obamacare’s mandate a tax, the IRS has become the crucial centerpiece of President Obama’s health care rollout. But with the IRS’ targeting of conservative non-profits, Republicans are calling into question the agency’s involvement in the application of Obamacare. On May 23, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) specifically targeted IRS involvement in Obamacare as a rationale for fighting the program: And here’s another thing we shouldn’t be doing: handing over the administration of Obamacare to these folks. I mean, think about it. A deeply unpopular law being administered by an agency that’s so betrayed the...

Editor’s note: The following is a lightly-edited transcription of an interview with William Binney, a former employee with the NSA who after over 30 years with the agency quit and became a whistleblower, bringing to light many of their illegal activities and mass surveillance of American citizens. Libertas Institute: Please describe your work experience with the NSA. William Binney: For approximately 28 years, I was primarily involved in breaking codes and dealing with ciphers and data systems and solving those, and working with data, trying to do threat assessment with all of that data that we had. After a while,...

UPDATE: Why Govt. Source leaked PRISMAdditional information is being reported that confirms what most of us have always suspected. NSA is collecting all our email data, tracking our movements, our photographs, our documents, etc. Also factor in the fact that a court recently ruled that Obama is free to collect our DNA without being found guilty of any crime. National Security Agency (NSA) building designed for massive data collection in Utah:WaPo reports the following:The National Security Agency and the FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio, video, photographs, e-mails, documents and connection...

While Texas and North Dakota's boom in oil production have been well-publicized, five other western U.S. states made a notable contribution to the growth in U.S. oil production since 2010, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Tuesday. Onshore oil production, including crude oil and lease condensate, grew by over 2 million barrels of oil per day (bopd), or 64 percent, in the U.S. Lower 48 from February 2010 to February 2013. Production in the Williston Basin in North Dakota and Texas' Eagle Ford play and Permian Basin outpaced other regions. However, gains in other Lower 48 states added up...

Boy Scouts and adult volunteers wore their uniforms Sunday as they marched in Utah's gay pride parade — defying a leader of the youth organization who had said they couldn't do so under the organization's guidelines prohibiting advocating political or social positions.

Boy Scouts and adult volunteers planning to wear their uniforms in Utah's upcoming LGBT pride parade aren't allowed to do so under the organization's guidelines prohibiting advocating political or social positions, a leader with the program said Friday.

By his own admission, Gordon Gee is an unlikely university president. Born during World War II in Vernal, Utah, Gee took an unfamiliar path to be head of one of the nation’s most prestigious schools — Ohio State University. Now, the intelligent, quick-witted rural Utah boy finds himself embroiled in a controversy of his own making, which may be due in part to his roots. “Despite leading universities for more than half my life, I am a most unlikely university president. Unlikely by virtue of several factors — academic background, temperament, faith, and family history,” he told the Columbus Metropolitan...

As of yesterday you are a Citizen of the World with no Privacy—no matter in which country you are located. The ribbon-cutting ceremony invite, sent to a select group of Utah politicians and dignitaries for the massive Utah Data Centre in Bluffdale, Utah was as mysterious as the facility itself. Canada Free Press (CFP) could find no pictures, no accounts of the event anywhere on the Internet today even though an earlier media release said reporters would be there. The bigger-than-the-CIA National Security Agency (NSA) had previously stated that the facility would start operations in September, 2013. Why should this...

SALT LAKE CITY — A well-known Utah gun rights advocate was booked into jail on three charges Monday, and on Wednesday police added a fourth charge.Clark Aposhian was arrested and charged following an incident outside the home of his ex-wife, and the most recent charge to be added is domestic violence in the presence of a child.Sgt. Mark Askerlund, Cottonwood Heights Police Department, described the allegations against Aposhian.“In this particular case it’s alleged Mr. Aposhian threatened to bury his ex-wife and her new husband or boyfriend, so that’s a threat.” (snip) Aposhian’s attorney, Mitch Vilos, issued a statement that said...

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden’s long-anticipated plan for the Oregon & California Railroad trust lands amounts to a bold call for — input. Anyone who thought that Wyden would propose something specific has to be disappointed. Nevertheless, people as prominent and impatient as Gov. John Kitzhaber dutifully issued stilted remarks thanking Wyden for his “leadership.” Tongues had to be firmly in cheek. No one dared point out that the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee had again failed to do anything to help the people who inhabit a large part of his state. Instead of legislation, Wyden offered...

While Texas and North Dakota's boom in oil production have been well-publicized, five other western U.S. states made a notable contribution to the growth in U.S. oil production since 2010, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Tuesday. Onshore oil production, including crude oil and lease condensate, grew by over 2 million barrels of oil per day (bopd), or 64 percent, in the U.S. Lower 48 from February 2010 to February 2013. Production in the Williston Basin in North Dakota and Texas' Eagle Ford play and Permian Basin outpaced other regions. However, gains in other Lower 48 states added up...

BALTIMORE, May 20, 2013 (Operation Rescue) - The Maryland Board of Physicians has permanently revoked the license of abortionist Nicola I. Riley in a scathing 24-page order issued on May 6, which prohibits her from ever again applying for licensure or reinstatement of her license. “In view of the fraudulent and deceptive nature of Dr. Riley’s criminal conduct, her demonstrated lack of candor and integrity on her application to the Board and to Utah and Wyoming, and her demonstrated propensity for dishonesty and misrepresentation, Dr. Riley’s unprofessional conduct is not remediable,” stated the Board. “In light of the unprofessional manner...

Why does the U.S. Constitution make no mention of education? Because the Founding Fathers understood that the education of children must be at the local level. We now stand at the edge of a cliff as the federal Common Core State Standards continues its march across the country. How did we get here? In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education blackmailed the states with stimulus money in the form of Race to the Top (RTTT) grants. If states wanted to get out from under No Child Left Behind, and wanted more funding they had to agree to adopt the Common...

Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love has declared she wants another shot at the congressional seat occupied by Democrat Jim Matheson. The announcement that she wanted a rematch came during an afternoon speech Saturday to several thousand delegates at the Utah Republican Party’s annual organizing convention. “You and I have some unfinished business with Jim Matheson,” Love said during her speech, which was met with loud cheers and resounding applause.

The recent scandals that have rocked the White House represent Americans’ worst fears about big government: Your government is spying on you; your government is targeting you; and your government is lying to you. Americans should be outraged, but they should not be surprised. It would be wrong to view the controversy over the IRS scandal as a typical Republican vs. Democrat squabble. The IRS is a powerful agency that can influence nearly every decision Americans make through its authority to tax and regulate. The IRS grows stronger and more powerful the more the federal government spends and borrows. Organizations...

Sgt. Nathan Hutchinson of the Weber County (Utah) Sheriff's Office had no idea he and his narcotics strike force team would be shot at when they arrived to search for a pot growing operation in January 2012. Hutchinson braved gunfire to move two injured team members out of harm's way. He suffered four gunshot wounds and endured a lengthy recovery to return to duty. For his actions he has been selected as the March 2013 Officer of the Month by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. On the night of Jan. 4, 2012, Sgt. Hutchinson led a team from...

ALT LAKE CITY — Police have released dash-cam footage in a chase on I-15 last week that led police through Salt Lake County. The chase started at about 12:50 p.m. on I-15 near 12300 South. Dash-cam footage shows a woman driving a black Volvo passing a Utah Highway Patrol trooper in the emergency lane. The woman, identified as Lisa Anne Sovereen, 44, refused to pull over as speeds reached 80 mph. Sovereen called 911 and asked the dispatcher "that the trooper get off her back," according to UHP Cpl. Todd Johnson. She said she believed the trooper would try to...

<p>Ricardo Portillo, 46, of Salt Lake City passed away at the hospital, where he was being treated following an assault, Unified police spokesman Justin Hoyal said.</p> <p>Police have accused a 17-year-old player in a recreational soccer league of punching Portillo after the man called a foul on him and issued him a yellow card. "The suspect was close to Portillo and punched him once in the face as a result of the call," Hoyal said in a press release.</p>

HiViz Shooting Systems, a gun-parts manufacturer in Fort Collins, Colo., will move its operations up the road to Laramie, Wyo., making good on its threat to pull up its Colorado roots after Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law several controversial gun control measures earlier this year. Of the businesses planning to leave the state for the same reason, HiViz is the first to announce its new home. “The decision to relocate the company was difficult, and choosing the proper location was essential to our continued growth within the industry,” said president and CEO Phillip Howe in a press release. “We...

AP) Utah NBC affiliate pulls gory 'Hannibal' TV show By BRADY McCOMBS Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY A Mormon church-owned NBC affiliate in Utah has pulled the "Hannibal" TV show because of its graphic violence. KSL-TV vice president of marketing Tami Ostmark says the show's first three episodes were "extremely gory" and drew complaints from many viewers. She says it wasn't the type of show the station wanted leading into its 10 p.m. news cast. Utah residents still will be able to watch the show: The ABC affiliate is picking it up and will air it late Saturday. This isn't...

Espinoza says, the knife wielding man seriously injured two people. "There is blood all over. One got stabbed in the stomach and got stabbed in the head and held his hands and got stabbed all over the arms." Then, before the suspect could find another victim - a citizen with a gun stopped the madness. "A guy pulled gun on him and told him to drop his weapon or he would shoot him. So, he dropped his weapon and the people from Smith's grabbed him."

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - A citizen with a gun stopped a knife wielding man as he began stabbing people Thursday evening at the downtown Salt Lake City Smith's store. Police say the suspect purchased a knife inside the store and then turned it into a weapon. Smith's employee Dorothy Espinoza says, "He pulled it out and stood outside the Smiths in the foyer. And just started stabbing people and yelling you killed my people. You killed my people." Espinoza says, the knife wielding man seriously injured two people. "There is blood all over. One got stabbed in...

A former math teacher and basketball coach has been charged with rape and forcible sexual abuse after she resigned from her position at a Utah high school. Courtney Louise Jarrell, 22, was charged Friday with first degree object rape and second degree forcible sexual abuse of a 17-year-old female student. Court documents allege Jarrell had a sexual encounter with a Riverton High School student between February and March in which she touched the student's breasts and genitals while at Jarrell's Salt Lake City home. snip

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Samurai sword-wielding Mormon bishop helped a neighbor woman escape a Tuesday morning attack by a man who had been stalking her. Kent Hendrix woke up Tuesday to his teenage son pounding on his bedroom door and telling him somebody was being mugged in front of their house. The 47-year-old father of six rushed out the door and grabbed the weapon closest to him — a 29-inch high carbon steel Samurai sword.Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Mormon-bishop-with-Samurai-sword-runs-off-attacker-4457636.php#ixzz2RMbixCXZ

For the past few months I’ve been reporting a big story on the copper industry for Pacific Standard. It takes a broad look at how the global economic boom of the past decade, led by China and India, is pushing copper mining into new regions and new enormities of investment and excavation. (It’ll be out in June.) But a few days ago a very local event shook the copper industry, and I thought it would be neat to look at how a crisis at a single mine can ripple through space and time, ultimately affecting just about everyone around...

Lee Statement on Release of Immigration Bill “As of this afternoon, senators have received only a set of talking points promoting the new immigration proposal. Once it has been released, I strongly encourage my colleagues to read the bill and then decide for themselves whether this reform will accomplish what proponents are promising. It is unfortunate that we have so little time to digest and evaluate such an expansive piece of legislation before we hold our initial committee hearing. As senators, it is our duty to read the bill and fully understand the impact it will have on our immigration...

Dozens of resorts with permits to operate on national forests have bought or acquired rights to use nearby bodies of water for snowmaking. The Forest Service had adopted a clause that said those resorts had to transfer their water rights to the federal government ... After the National Ski Areas Association sued, a judge ruled last year that the agency violated procedure in not seeking public comment before adopting the clause. The agency now plans open houses April 16 in Lakewood, Colo., on April 17 in Salt Lake City, and April 18 in Lake Tahoe, Calif., to get input.

Mandatory registration coming to state’s largest wilderness area . Visitors to the Weminuche Wilderness are going to be required to register before entering the almost 500,000 acres that stretch from Silverton to Wolf Creek Pass. Use and abuse of the pristine mountains, valleys and waterways through the years now require switching from voluntary to mandatory registration at trailheads, the San Juan National Forest said in a news release. “During the first two to three years of the new requirement, we’re going to educate the public on the reasons,” Forest Service spokeswoman Ann Bond said Saturday. “After that, rangers can issue...

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s threat to filibuster any new gun restrictions is gathering steam, as a dozen of his Republican colleagues have now signed onto his plan. The Kentucky Republican and Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) first wrote to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid late last month to warn him of their intention to try to tie up the Senate if, as planned, Reid moved forward with legislation that would expand background checks and attempt to crack down on interstate gun trafficking. Reid is expected to bring a gun-control bill to the floor as early as next...

SALT LAKE CITY — Mormon Democrats announced a new national organization Thursday with chapters in eight states joining the Utah State Democratic Party's year-old LDS Dems Caucus. The Florida-based head of LDS Democrats of America, Robert Taber, said the organization is intended to counter the perception that "there's only one way to be involved in political life as a good Mormon and that's as a Republican." The LDS Church itself has a long-standing policy of political neutrality. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is neutral in matters of party politics,” church spokesman Scott Trotter said. Taber, who also...

Republican Mike Lee of Utah on Wednesday became the 34th senator to oppose an international treaty that would regulate the $60 billion global small arms trade, giving the opposition enough votes in the U.S. Senate to block its ratification. … “I have great concerns that this treaty can be used to violate the Second Amendment rights of American citizens, and do not believe we should sign any treaty that infringes on the sovereignty of our country,” Lee said. “I am pleased to join 34 of my colleagues in signaling to this administration that the UN-ATT is a non-starter in the...

MANTI -- For six years Troy James Knapp eluded authorities, moving from cabin to cabin across the Utah mountains, taking food and weapons and leaving notes to brag about it. It all ended Tuesday as lawmen made what they called a surprisingly easy capture outside a remote cabin after the suspect fired off a few harmless shots. "He was laughing with our guys. He said, `Boy, you really snuck up on me,'" said Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis. "He threw his rifle down in the snow and said, `You got me.'"The 45-year-old survivalist is suspected of burglarizing dozens of Utah...

The Boy Scouts of America said Monday that the Utah Pride Center — a LGBT advocacy group — could not charter a troop, even though the group said it would comply with the youth organization's controversial policy banning gay Scouts and leaders. The Utah Pride Center submitted its application in late February to sponsor a troop with heterosexual leaders and middle-school age boys several weeks ago, said Valerie Larabee, the center's executive director. She said the bid, which comes ahead of the BSA vote in May on whether it should keep the ban, was not a stunt. "We feel great...

“I’m in bed sleeping, I get up, I retrieve my sidearm, I chase him out the front door. I’ve got him pinned on the ground. It’s 4:55 in the morning and I don’t have a stitch of clothing on. I’m basically telling him at this point, ‘Stay on the ground, don’t move, because if you do move, I will shoot you.’” When the times comes to protect your house, you do what you got to do. This is what happend to Eric Martin, a Utah homeowner who woke up to an intruder in his house this past Thursday. The suspect,...

Provo-Orem, Utah, is the most religious of 189 U.S. metropolitan areas Gallup surveyed in 2012, with 77% of its residents classified as very religious. Burlington, Vt., and Boulder, Colo., are the least religious, with 17% meeting that threshold. Most of the top religious cities are in the South -- the exceptions are Provo; Ogden-Clearfield, Utah; and Holland-Grand Haven, Mich. The least religious cities are clustered in the Northeast and on the Pacific Coast, with the exception of Boulder and Madison, Wis. The cities referred to in this article are based on the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) as defined by the...

A few weeks ago, Rand Paul revived the talking filibuster in a scene reminiscent of the Frank Capra classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. He highlighted the Obama administration’s odd reluctance to state that it wouldn’t assassinate Americans on American soil with CIA-controlled drones for a full day, helped by fellow Senate Republicans such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, among others, and also by Senate Democrat Ron Wyden. The White House finally gave a more specific answer to the question, and Paul raised public awareness on the drone issue, although it’s arguable what effect that actually had. If you...

Sally Jewell on Thursday breezed through a committee vote to lead the Interior Department but the agency’s proposal to list the sage grouse as an endangered species threatens to block her nomination from reaching the full Senate. ... some Republican lawmakers were not satisfied with Jewell’s responses to written and oral questions about her past association with the National Park Association’s lawsuits against the government and future plans to list the sage grouse as an endangered species. Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) threatened to put a hold on Jewell’s nomination before it goes to a floor vote unless the agency commits...

The governor said Friday he had vetoed a bill that would have allowed Utah residents to carry a hidden, unloaded gun without a permit. It was one of the most hotly contested measures to come out of the Utah Legislature this year.

US House Energy and Commerce Committee members released a discussion draft of legislation designed to jump-start approval of the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline project. The draft bill by Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) would eliminate the need for a presidential permit and find that the Aug. 26, 2011, final environmental impact statement issued by Sec. of State Hillary Clinton satisfied all National Environmental Policy Act requirements. Reps. Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and John Barrow (D-Ga.) cosponsored the proposal, which also would limit legal challenges to the project so it would not be delayed further. Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred...

Chipotle Mexican Grill has pulled its sponsorship of Utah's "Scout-O-Rama" because of the Boy Scouts of America's long-standing ban on gays. The popular Colorado-based restaurant chain initially signed on to provide about $4,200 worth of coupons to the Utah Boy Scouts' annual event, scheduled for May 4 in a Salt Lake City suburb. The Boy Scouts' Great Salt Lake Council is one of the largest in the country, with the majority of troops sponsored by Mormon churches.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's Catholic leader is urging Gov. Gary Herbert to veto a measure eliminating the need for a permit to carry a concealed gun in the state. Bishop John C. Wester of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City wrote to Herbert that the bill "establishes a culture in Utah that prioritizes deadly weapons over human life." . . . . Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and Alissa Parker, whose daughter was among 20 students killed in December's school shooting in Newton, Connecticut, joined Wester in pressing for a veto.

Mapleton, UT --(Ammoland.com)-GunFreeZoneApp.com, a mobile phone app company, today announced the release of its new mobile phone app, GunFreeZone. The app will identify the nearest 20 commercial locations, including businesses, churches and schools, as either firearm friendly or gun free. In some states, a gun free zone sign on the front door of a business has the effect of law. The GunFreeZone app can clearly identify these gun free zones on a map to alert people with concealed weapons, helping avoid those locations to shop elsewhere and avoid an unintentional offense. At the same time, people concerned about the proliferation...

Iron County, Utah is making a preemptive strike against the Federal government’s attempts to infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of its citizens. According to a press release,“Laws that violate 2nd Amendment are null and void and have no effect in Iron County, Utah.” Today in Southwest Utah, the Iron County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously in passing an Iron County Second Amendment Protection Resolution. This is the second Resolution passed in the county, the first being the Cedar City Second Amendment Resolution passed by the City Council. In that resolution, passed by Cedar City on February 13th, 2013, the...

Crescent Point Energy Corp., an intermediate producer with capacity to move half of its total oil production by rail, said Thursday it hopes to add a “rail option” later this year to transport newly acquired output in Utah. Using railway cars to get around bottlenecks in pipelines is now considered a price protection strategy akin to forward selling oil, the company said on a conference call with analysts following release of its fourth quarter 2012 results. “In 2012 we improved operational flexibility by adding 50,000 barrels per day of rail capacity,” said president and chief executive Scott Saxberg on the...

SALT LAKE CITY — A showdown between Gov. Gary Herbert and state lawmakers could be coming now that the Utah Legislature has passed a so-called "constitutional carry" gun law. The Senate passed HB76 Wednesday by a vote of 22-7, with all five Democrats and two Republicans voting against it. Although Herbert has stopped short of saying he would veto HB76, he reiterated several times that Utah's gun laws aren't broken and don't need changing. But should he reject the bill, the Legislature could override his veto with a two-thirds majority vote. The measure passed by more than a two-thirds majority...