Free Republic

  Rick BowmerUtah considers rejecting daylight saving time Rep. Lee Perry, R-Perry, speaks with reporters after Utah residents weighed in on whether they want their state to become the third nationwideto opt out of daylight saving time during a debate at the Clark Planetarium Thursday, July 10, 2014, in Salt Lake City. Among the participants expected are shopkeepers, parents, educators and farmers. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)  https://www.google.com/search?q=utah+time+daylight&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&rlz=1I7ADRA_enUS475&gws_rd=ssl

Suddenly it's a possibility that experts are contemplating: marriage equality could be the law of the land all across the United States within one year. On Wednesday, Utah asked the Supreme Court to resolve its dispute with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals which two weeks ago became the first U.S. circuit court to declare that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Legal experts say the Supreme Court is likely to accept the case. With lawsuits piling up, and gay marriage on an undefeated legal streak since the Court axed the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013, the...

The University of Utah is tweaking its official fight song amid concerns the former version was sexist. University President David Pershing announced the changes Wednesday. The new song replaces “our coeds are the fairest” with “our students are the finest.” The phrase “no other gang of college men” becomes “no rival band of college fans.” But the new version doesn’t officially change the lyrics from “I’m a Utah man” to “I’m a Utah fan.” Both are listed as options, allowing singers to choose which phrase they sing. Officials say fans may still choose to sing the former version. A panel...

SALT LAKE CITY – Activists are pointing to the delayed deportation of a Utah mother and her children as the kind of compassion they hope President Barack Obama will pursue in the wake of his announcement that he'll act on his own to address immigration problems. Garland resident Ana Cañenquez and four of her seven children were originally ordered to leave the United States and return to El Salvador by March 21. That date was pushed back, and now there's no specific deadline for them to leave. The extra time allows her to save money to afford a home back...

SALT LAKE CITY — Since 2009, Utah has seen more than 20 cases of teachers and others in positions of authority accused of having some type of sexual contact with a minor. Below is a list of some of those who were prosecuted and the status of their cases...

SALT LAKE CITY — Sexual assaults in Utah are going underreported, but the work of a BYU professor is helping to convince lawmakers and law enforcement to pay more attention to prosecuting such cases. Julie Valentine, a sexual assault nurse examiner and nursing professor at BYU, found that only 6 percent of cases in Salt Lake County have been prosecuted. Valentine examines rape victims and collects forensic evidence for cases. As she examined victims for prosecution, she would not hear back about any follow-up and wanted to find out why. “We would do these examinations — we’d do hundreds —...

Ogden • A Plain City man accused of beating a fellow churchgoer last year at a Mormon baby blessing and mission farewell was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in jail. Wayne Dodge, 52, pleaded guilty last month in Ogden’s 2nd District Court to one count of class B misdemeanor assault. One charge of felony aggravated assault was dismissed, according to court records. Judge W. Brent West ordered Dodge to complete an anger management class as part of a 12-month probation. The judge also ordered Dodge to pay a $550 fine and have no contact with the victim. Dodge, who faced...

A hippie nicknamed ‘Hitler’ allegedly honked her car’s horn for half an hour in a Utah national forest, and then stabbed another camper when he asked her to stop. Hundreds of free spirits, bohemians and nudists were gathered in the park for the annual Rainbow Family jubilee.So much for the summer of love. A hippie named "Hitler" allegedly stabbed a man during a massive bohemian festival dedicated to peace and love. Leilani Novak-Garcia, known as "Hitler" among Rainbow Family hippies, was arrested Monday after police said she tried to kill a man at a Utah campsite, the Salt Lake Tribune...

JENSEN, UTAH — It’s easy to find the largest Chinese-owned hay farm in the United States. It sits 189 miles east of Salt Lake City, on a stunningly scenic bend of the Green River. After driving past the only gas station in Jensen, population 400, a visitor crosses the river, turns left and is soon surrounded by a meticulously managed, 22,000-acre ranch, lush with green alfalfa. Nearly all of it is destined for China. :snip: Simon Wen Shao, a Chinese-born U.S. citizen who’s a co-owner of the Utah alfalfa farm, acknowledged that locals had acted warily when his company purchased...

PROVO -- On Sunday night, two people were driving on the Alpine Loop above Provo Canyon when suddenly they spotted a large object by the side of the road. They quickly did a U-turn and started recording their search. When they got their video uploaded to a computer, what they saw astounded them. It's not extremely clear, but it looks like a large, dark, figure. Bigfoot? Or something else? The Daily Herald made contact with one of the individuals involved in the recording. He refused to be identified, but said he and his cousin were going to a spot near...

In a 2-to-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Kitchen v. Hebert affirmed a lower court’s ruling holding that traditional marriage laws violate the Constitution. The case will likely soon go to the U.S. Supreme Court. Breitbart News examined this case last year when an Obama-appointed federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah invalidated that state’s law providing that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, comparing such laws to racism and saying they are literally irrational. Despite the fact that neither marriage nor homosexuality is mentioned...

Utah and Indiana became the latest U.S. states to see their bans on same-sex marriage struck down following separate rulings in federal court on Wednesday. "It is wholly illogical to believe that state recognition of love and commitment of same-sex couples will alter the most intimate and personal decisions of opposite-sex couples," a three-judge panel in the Utah case said while upholding a lower court ruling, NPR reported. Back in December, Utah briefly became the 18th state where gay couples received the right to marry, after a federal district judge ruled that the state's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional. The...

In a decision coming from Utah, a federal appeals court on Wednesday for the first time backed gay marriage. The Denver-based U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower-court decision that struck down the state's bans on same-sex marriage. The ruling, which was stayed, sets the stage for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which touched off the current round of legal fighting on the issue when it struck down parts of the federal Defense of Marriage Act last year.

( Weimaraner dog shot dead in owner’s back yard by police who were searching for missing three-year-old boy ) A family pet dog was shot dead in his owner’s back yard by a policeman searching for a missing three-year-old boy. Sean Kendall, 27, met with Salt Lake City police officials this week to discuss the fatal shooting of his two-year-old Weimaraner, Geist. Police were searching for a three-year-old boy named Kelby who had been reported missing - he was eventually found asleep in his own basement. Police said the officer who was searching in Kendall's yard felt the dog was...

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that states outlawing same-sex marriage are in violation of the U.S. Constitution. By upholding a Utah judge’s decision, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals became the first appeals court to rule on the issue, setting a historic precedent that voter-approved bans on same-sex marriage violate the Fourteenth Amendment rights of same-sex couples to equal protection and due process. But the court stayed the implementation of their decision, pending a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. The appeals court upheld U.S. Judge Robert Shelby’s December decision, which struck down Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage. The...

Air Force Staff Sergeant Rowan Coash was on his way to Texas to report for duty when his car broke down unexpectedly. More than 1,000 miles from his destination, he was left on the highway outskirts of Price, Utah. While waiting for a tow truck, he called his friend Erica to tell her about his setback. Erica chose to take action by reaching out to the Facebook community. Anybody out there in Facebook Land near Price, UT and willing to help a soldier? Hundreds of people shared Erica’s post; and Leslie Holmes, a “Good Samaritan” in Price, saw the post and helped...

When you look at world history, and especially biblical history, you will find that polygamy has been an accepted and honorable way of life. Many beloved prophets of the Old Testament were polygamists, and Abraham was a friend of God, all while having many wives. Polygamy was once a lifestyle accepted by all. For Christians of 2000 years ago, polygamy was stopped by the Roman empire. Paul, in his letter to the church in Rome, said, “A bishop should be the husband of one wife.” He was simply telling them to obey the law of the land. Roman law is...

The federal government’s decision to ban energy development across a wide swath of Colorado and eastern Utah to protect the Gunnison sage grouse habitat has raised concerns the action would inflict economic damage. Although the Obama administration was not expected to make its decision as to whether the bird warrants the endangered listing until November, the Bureau of Land Management’s decision this week effectively puts an oil, gas and coal moratorium on 400,000 acres – roughly 90 acres per bird. The final decision was “pushed back until after the election, because when people understand the impact on jobs, people get...

<p>SALT LAKE CITY – A federal judge has issued a split ruling on Utah's controversial immigration law, upholding one key measure but striking down several others.</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups' ruling Wednesday upheld a key provision requiring authorities to check the immigration status of people arrested for felonies or Class A misdemeanors, such as theft.</p>

Mitt Romney can still draw a crowd. Some top supporters and donors from the former Massachusetts governor's two presidential campaigns are gathering starting Thursday for Romney's retreat in Park City, Utah. They'll be joined by a bunch of political leaders who may hope to follow in Romney's footsteps by winning the Republican presidential nomination. This is the third year in a row that Romney has hosted the event, which is being held at the upscale Stein Ericksen Lodge at the Deer Valley Resort. The first came came during the 2012 presidential campaign as the then-GOP nominee was facing off against...