SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah public schools have been rushing to prepare students and teachers as the state starts cracking down Wednesday on any school found not enforcing new bathroom restrictions for transgender people. Residents and visitors are required under state law to use bathrooms and changing rooms in government-owned buildings that correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Although the law took effect when Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed it Jan. 30, it was not widely enforced before a key compliance mechanism began this week. Schools and government agencies now face steep fines ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) -- Democratic gubernatorial nominee Brian King announced his choice for running mate in the upcoming 2024 election in a press conference at the Utah State Capitol Building on Monday, April 29. He selected the University of Utah Director of Digital Matters and Utah State Library Board Chair Rebekah Cummings. "A mom. A public servant. A librarian. A defender against book banning and censorship. Utahns will be well served by Rebekah's leadership through her advocacy for intellectual freedom and commitment to empowering families," King said in his official filing letter. Cumm ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) -- Controversy is stirring over Utah GOP gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman's choice for lieutenant governor. Days after the Utah Republican Party ratified Lyman's choice for running mate, Layne Bangerter, in his race for governor, the lieutenant governor's office reportedly rejected Bangerter's declaration of candidacy. The reasoning? Bangerter was not a resident of Utah in the five consecutive years preceding the 2024 election. The denial came at the recommendation of former Utah Lt. Gov. Greg Bell. Bell was selected in March to be an independent advisor for the governo ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) -- Utah Republican gubernatorial nominee Phil Lyman countered claims that his lieutenant governor running mate was ineligible, calling Utah's Constitutional language "ambiguous." Over the weekend, the Utah Republican Party selected Lyman as their nominee for Utah governor. In addition, Utah's GOP also ratified Lyman's pick for lieutenant governor, Layne Bangerter -- a choice Sen. Todd Weiler (R-Woods Cross) openly criticized on social media. Weiler said Lyman "brilliantly picked" a running mate who couldn't serve under the Utah State Constitution. Weiler pointed to a sect ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) -- This week on Inside Utah Politics, we set our sights on families and sports. We’ll talk with Aimee Winder Newton. She’s in charge of Utah’s Office of Families. Winder Newton discusses her priorities going forward, including preparing young people for marriage, offering more mental health resources to children and a pilot program to help vulnerable families. The Office of Families is a unique one – the only state office of its kind in the country. Winder Newton is the sole staff member. As you’ll hear, she has a lot of work she wants to do ..read more

PAYSON, Utah (ABC4) -- Several students and adults participated in an hours-long walkout from Utah's Mt. Nebo Middle School on Wednesday. The reason for the protest? Furries. A petition was started online on Sunday with an initial target of 500 signatures -- a number of signatures that was reached by Wednesday, prompting the goal to increase to 1,000 signatures ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Inside Utah Politics continues this week with campaign coverage and a look at Utah’s economy. We talk with Senate candidate Josh Randall (Elect Josh Randall | US Senate Race 2024). An accountant by trade, the economy and the national debt are two of his biggest concerns. Randall explains his position on America’s debt, rapidly rising interest payments on that debt, and where he feels the solution lies. Randall explains his alternative plans for certain entitlement programs ..read more

PROVO, Utah (ABC4) -- Michelle Kaufusi, mayor of Provo, announced a new initiative called Kaufusi's Keikis to help provide free, optional health screenings to Provo elementary school students. "Kaufusi’s Keikis is a free optional health outreach program to provide all elementary-aged children with potentially life-saving annual screenings," one program webpage said. The initiative is part of a partnership between the Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine -- or Noorda-COM -- and the Provo City School District, and aims "to develop a preventative health outreach program with the long-term goal ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) -- On Monday, the chair of the Utah Democratic Party, Diane Lewis, released a statement in response to former President Donald Trump's video statement on abortion. "It is because of Donald Trump that Utahns are currently suffering from an 18-week-abortion ban, and it is because of Donald Trump that Utah’s Republican Politicians are trying to interfere with the personal medical decisions of Utah families," Lewis said. The former president took responsibility for the overturning of Roe V. Wade in a video posted on his social media platform on Monday, saying, "I was proudly ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah Foundation joined 17 other states' ACLU affiliates -- and the national ACLU -- in calling for the upholding of the Eighth Amendment in an Oregon Supreme Court case on Wednesday. The ACLU of Utah and others submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the Supreme Court case of Grants Pass v. Johnson, in which the organizations argue the treatment of unhoused individuals is protected by the Eighth Amendment. "Everyone in America is entitled to protections guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution," Communications Director at the ACLU o ..read more