May 22 (UPI) — Elvis Presley‘s former home and final resting place won’t be auctioned off Thursday after a Tennessee judge blocked the foreclosure sale during an 8-minute hearing in Memphis Wednesday. Shelby County (Tenn.) Chancery Court Judge JoeDae Jenkins ruled the planned foreclosure auction of the Graceland mansion and property would cause irreparable harm if allowed to proceed based on dubious documents provided by an alleged lender. An entity named Naussany Investments & Private Lending claims Lisa Marie Presley used Graceland as a collateral to obtain a&nb ..read more

May 15 (UPI) — A group of TikTok users sued the U.S. government over a law that would force the platform’s Chinese-based parent company to sell the app to avoid a ban in the United States. Eight content creators on the platform filed the suit alleging the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden last week, is “unconstitutionally over-broad because it bans an entire medium of communication and all the speech communicated through that medium” even though the majority of the speech is protected under ..read more

ST.GEORGE, Utah, May 15, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A 40-year-old St. George man was sentenced to more than two years in prison after admitting to using fraud to obtain government funds intended to help employees and small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bradford Leland Fishback was also ordered to follow his sentence with three years of supervised release, and to pay $685,845.05 in restitution. According to court documents and statements made at the change of plea hearing, Fishback pled guilty in September 2023 to wire fraud, money laundering, and false claims.  Fishback admitted ..read more

May 12 (UPI) — Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the No. 1 movie in North America, earning $56.5 million in receipts this weekend, BoxOfficeMojo.com announced Sunday. Coming in at No. 2 is The Fall Guy with $13.7 million, followed by Challengers at No. 3 with $4.7 million, $3. at No. 4 with $3.5 million and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire at No. 5 with $2.5 million. Rounding out the top tier are Unsung Heroes at No. 6 with $2.3 million, Kung Fu Panda 4 at No. 7 with $2 million, Civil War at No. 8 with $1.8 mill ..read more

May 7 (UPI) — The popular social media giant TikTok on Tuesday let it be known that the Chinese-owned company is now taking the U.S. government to federal court to stop enforcement of a recently signed law that effectively would ban the app unless it sells. “For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban,” TikTok says in court documents filed Tuesday in a federal court of appeals. They add how it will bar “every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billio ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 7, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Hogle Zoo is alerting its fans to a scam circulating on social media, which claims to sell discount tickets the scammers have no intention of delivering. “We have been notified that scammers are falsely advertising an anniversary discount promotion for tickets to Utah’s Hogle Zoo,” the Hogle Zoo news alert says. “The scam ad is circulating on social media and offers four zoo tickets at $9.95 to celebrate our 115-year anniversary. This offer is a scam and is not coming from Hogle Zoo.” The zoo asks fans who are uncertain about Hogle Zoo tick ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 7, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Hogle Zoo is alerting its fans to a scam circulating on social media, which claims to sell discount tickets the scammers have no intention of delivering. “We have been notified that scammers are falsely advertising an anniversary discount promotion for tickets to Utah’s Hogle Zoo,” the Hogle Zoo news alert says. “The scam ad is circulating on social media and offers four zoo tickets at $9.95 to celebrate our 115-year anniversary. This offer is a scam and is not coming from Hogle Zoo.” The zoo asks fans who are uncertain about Hogle Zoo tick ..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

April 24 (UPI) — The Transportation Department said on Wednesday issued a final rule requiring airline carriers to promptly give passengers cash refunds when owed for things like canceled or significantly delayed flights and delayed or lost baggage among other issues. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the new final rule was needed to make sure passengers were made whole for flight hiccups at or close to real-time so it can still be meaningful for them in their travels. “Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them – without headaches or h ..read more

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 22, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A Uintah County man convicted of extorting oil and gas businesses operating in Utah’s Uintah Basin has learned his prison sentence. Leallen Blackhair, 47, has been sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and $18,000 in restitution after he admitted to extorting oil and gas businesses operating on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. Blackhair used the extortion money on trips to various amusement parks, dining, and shopping, says a statement from the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the ..read more