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☀️ 54 – 89° Logan | ☀️ 68 – 90° Salt Lake | ☀️ 59 – 89° Manti

☀️ 77 – 101° Moab | ☀️ 59 – 93° Cedar City | ☀️ 78 – 107° St. George

Good morning!

The U.S. is facing its worst measles outbreak since 1992. What can declining vaccination rates tell us about the state of our public health?

The CDC reports that 92% of this year’s cases involve people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is not known.

“Americans cannot afford, through negligence, to allow these long-controlled diseases to rear up and begin attacking again,” The Deseret News Editorial Board opines.

The Community Vaccine Forum, a group consisting of Utah medical, pediatric and health organizations, released a report this month on how declining vaccination rates in Utah are affecting children entering schools.

Read more about how trends in vaccination rates are affecting Utah.

Also on our minds:

Death toll rises in Texas with 173 still missing after devastating flash floods
Why Kyle Whittingham returned for 21st season at Utah
A Utahn is the second mom in ‘American Ninja Warrior’ history to achieve this feat

Remembering Frank Layden, his life and his legacy

Lee Benson writes:

When Brooklyn-born, Irish Catholic Frank Layden strapped a struggling National Basketball Association franchise on his back and carried it from New Orleans to Utah in the summer of 1979, he set the team down in its new home in the Salt Palace, turned on the lights, and started telling one-liners.

On his son Scott joining the Jazz staff: “I didn’t hire Scott because he’s my son, I hired him because I’m married to his mother.”

On the state of the world: “The decline of Western civilization started when the Dodgers and the Giants moved to California.”

Today, Utah is mourning the passing of the man who made everyone laugh and feel good about themselves, who put the Jazz in Utah and wouldn’t let them leave, and who never left himself, adopting the state as his second home. He was 93.

Read more about Layden’s life and legacy.

75 shelter animals have been relocated to Utah after floods devastate central Texas

In the aftermath of the devastating flash floods that hit central Texas last weekend, Utahns are helping some of the smallest creatures displaced by the destruction.

Caitlin Keith reports that 125 pets have been flown from the flood areas to Fort Worth, Texas, where 50 of them were taken to local humane organizations. The rest were flown to Best Friends Animal Society’s Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, on Wednesday.

Sophia Proler, the director of the South Central Region for Best Friends Animal Society, shared that on hearing about the tragic flooding, the organization immediately got in contact with shelters in the area to see how it could help.

“We knew that more than likely these overburdened shelters were going to need somewhere for the pets already in the shelter to go so that they could help those in urgent need,” she said. “There was no way of knowing how many were going to come in and how quickly.”

Read more about how people are helping the animals affected by the Texas floods.

Join us for the 55th Annual Deseret News Marathon

Join us for this year’s Deseret News Marathon, Utah’s longest-operating marathon! Runners will race down historic Emigration Canyon into the Salt Lake Valley, finishing in front of thousands of adoring fans along the Days of ’47 Parade route. Sign up today at run.deseret.com!

Politics

Where things stand with the Trump administration and immigration (Deseret News)
Jennifer Graham: The unbearable lightness of positivity in the age of Donald Trump (Deseret News)
Supreme Court blocks contentious Florida immigration law (Axios)

The Nation

Death toll rises in Texas with 173 still missing after devastating flash floods (Deseret News)
Days after devastating floods hit Texas, flash floods in New Mexico kill 3 people (Deseret News)

The World

Ukraine suffers heaviest attack as Trump criticizes Putin (BBC)
U.S. issues sanctions against UN investigator probing abuses in Gaza (The Associated Press)

Sports

Offensive overhaul takes the spotlight ahead of Utah’s second year in the Big 12 (Deseret News)
Kyle Whittingham on why he returned for 21st season: ‘I couldn’t stomach going out on that’ (Deseret News)
Big 12 media days: BYU AD Brian Santiago focusing on positives in wake of Retzlaff bombshell in May (Deseret News)
What LJ Martin said about BYU’s honor code at Big 12 football media days (Deseret News)

Faith

Should clergy be required to report child abuse heard in confession? (Deseret News)
Why this replica ship is crossing the Atlantic in honor of Norwegian immigrants (Church News)

Entertainment

A Utahn is the second mom in ‘American Ninja Warrior’ history to achieve this feat (Deseret News)
What to know about the new ‘Superman’ — from what critics are saying to what’s next for DC (Deseret News)

🗓️ Events Calendar

We put together a list of events and activities going on around the state of Utah in July. Check it out and let us know if we are missing anything!

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today:

July 10 — Syracuse Farmers Market | 1891 W. 1700 S.
July 10 — The Dreamboats | Davis Arts Council
July 10 — Salt Lake Bees vs. Sacramento | 7:05 p.m.

Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond!

And reply to this email or email newsletters@deseretnews.com to tell us what you think of Utah Today.

Thanks for reading!

— Ariel