May 6 (UPI) — A U.S. Army sergeant last week was arrested in Russia after being accused of stealing, according to multiple sources. Staff Sgt. Gordon Black was arrested on Thursday “on charges of criminal misconduct” in Vladivostock in far-eastern Russia, north of North Korea and near China, after he was accused of stealing from a woman, NBC News had first reported. “The Russian Federation notified the U.S. Department of State of the criminal detention in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” U.S. Army spokesperson Cynthia Smith said in a state ..read more

May 6 (UPI) — The Palestinian militant group Hamas said Monday it has accepted a Gaza cease-fire proposal brokered by Egypt and Qatar ahead of an anticipated assault on the city of Rafah by Israeli forces. The group released a statement to media outlets in which the leader of its political arm, Ismail Haniyeh, confirmed acceptance of a cease-fire proposal in a phone conversation with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and Egyptian Minister of Intelligence Abbas Kamel. There was no immediate word from Israeli off ..read more

May 6 (UPI) — Week four of Donald Trump‘s hush-money trial got underway Monday with the former president fined again and held in criminal contempt for violating a gag order for the 10th time with possible jail time now on the table. Judge Juan Merchan told Trump “the last thing I want to do is to put you in jail” but it appears to the judge that the continuous flow of $1,000 fines “are not serving as a deterrent.” “You are the former president of the United States, and possibly the next president as well,” Merchan reminded Trump. “There are many reasons why incarceration i ..read more

UTAH, May 4, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Gov. Spencer J. Cox has issued an order for the flags of the United States of America and the great state of Utah to be flown at half-staff on all state facilities in recognition of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service.   Flags should be lowered to the half-staff position from midnight until sunset on Sunday.  The governor extends an invitation to all private citizens, businesses, and other organizations to participate in this recognition. The post Gov. Cox orders flags lowered at state facilities for National Fallen Firefighter ..read more

BRIGHAM CITY, Utah, May 4, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The body of a Brigham City man missing since November has been found in Idaho. The Bear Lake County Sheriff’s Office notified Brigham City Police Thursday that Paul Illum had been found deceased inside his vehicle on private property, according to a BCPD statement released just after 10 p.m. Friday. “Paul was reported missing in November 2023 by his family,” it says. “The Brigham City Police Department, Bear Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and Paul’s family spent countless hours searching for him and made every attempt to locate him.” No appare ..read more

BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah, May 3, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Skeletal remains reported Saturday to the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office have been identified as those of a missing area Pocatello area man, the department announced Friday. The remains are those of Matthew Jay Broncho, whose vehicle was found abandoned in 2019. Broncho would have been 34 at that time. “On April 27th, 2024, the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office received a report that skeletal remains were found by an individual who was looking for shed antlers in the remote Hansel Mountains southeast of Snowville, UT,” the Box Elder Sh ..read more

May 2 (UPI) — President Joe Biden on Thursday addressed pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses throughout the nation as hundreds of protesters have been arrested. Biden said the campus pro-Palestinian protests are protected as long as they are peaceful, but he said violent protests are not protected. “As president I will always defend free speech, but I will also stand up for the rule of law,” Biden said in a brief address from the White House. In response to a question from a reporter, Biden said the National Guard should not be used on campus. He also said the protests had not changed ..read more

UTAH, May 1, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Organic walnuts from a California grower that were distributed to health food and co-op stores in 19 states have been linked to serious cases of E. coli illness, federal officials reported. And Utah is one of those states. So far, 12 people have been sickened, with seven requiring hospitalization, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. Six cases have been identified in California, and six more in Washington state. No deaths have been reported. Utah stores appearing on the FDA list of stores that received the walnuts, since recalled, are Liberty Height ..read more

ST. GEORGE, Utah, April 30, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A Nevada man has been charged federally for an alleged $7 million fraud inflicted on Utah. Kyle Eugene Duncan-Carle, 40, of Las Vegas allegedly carried out a scheme to defraud multiple credit unions from January 2023 through September 2023, in Utah, involving $7 million worth of stolen U.S. treasury checks, according to the Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah. “Duncan-Carle conducted the scheme by obtaining stolen U.S. Treasury checks made out to individuals and companies, assuming the identity of the individuals whose name ..read more

May 1 (UPI) — The Federal Reserve Wednesday voted to keep interest rates unchanged, in line with expectations as inflation remains above the central bank’s 2% threshold. The Federal reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement that the central bank left interest rates for overnight bank borrowing within a range of 5.25%-5.5%. With CPI inflation at 3.5%, the FOMC said, “In recent months, there has been a lack of further progress toward the Committee’s 2% inflation objective.” Despite inflation’s persistence, it has dropped dramatically from a high point ..read more