Plus: Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is open to the idea of accepting Gaza refugees but the U.S. has a history of closing the door to Palestinians
Good morning. Today’s temperatures: Logan: 40 - 75° ☀️ Salt Lake City: 51 - 77° ☀️ St. George: 55 - 89° ☀️ This weekend, a bombshell biography about Utah Sen. Mitt Romney will hit the shelves. Today, we give you an early look at some of the book's most interesting revelations about the Latter-day Saint politician. Here is an exerpt of the book "Romney: A Reckoning" — written by fellow church member McKay Coppins — that traces Romney's upbringing and how he was impacted by his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You will find other surprising tidbits from the book further down in this newsletter. Also on our mind: Why Utah Gov. Spencer Cox plans on endorsing Brad Wilson in the state's U.S. Senate race, why ultra-processed foods might be as addictive as cigarettes and the state records panel says that Utah universities must disclose their NIL contracts.
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| 7 big revelations from new biography on Sen. Mitt Romney |
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| | Sen. Mitt Romney has had a decadeslong political career filled with accomplishments, intrigue, deep personal convictions and some controversy. The latest biography, “Romney: A Reckoning," by The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins, peels back the curtain on the Republican senator’s career, highlighting Romney's relationship with former President Donald Trump, Sen. Mike Lee and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here are some highlights: Romney’s relationship with Trump goes back decades. During his 2012 campaign, Romney said: "This guy is not fake — he says 100% of what he thinks. No veneer, the real deal. Got to love him. Makes me laugh and makes me feel good, both. They just don’t make people like Donald Trump very often." Needless to say, the senator's views have changed in intervening years. Shortly after Romney’s loss in 2012, he met with several top leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in which Romney and his wife, Ann, were shown a presentation that outlines a sharp uptick in referrals to missionaries during Romney’s campaign. Coppins writes: “One apostle said that Ann (Romney) had redefined the public perception of what it means to be a modern Mormon woman. Another told Romney that his campaign had helped bring the Church out of obscurity.” Romney’s biography reveals that amid partisan tension on Capitol Hill, the Utah Republican senator formed a surprising friendship with President Joe Biden. On one occasion, Biden called Romney while he was at church with his family to tell him, “I just wanted to call and tell you that I admire your character." |
Read more about previously unreported interactions between Romney and Trump, Sen. Orrin Hatch and others, here. Our team also wrote stand alone stories about the following headlines: Sen. Mitt Romney said Trump is ‘the real deal’ in 2012 (Deseret News) Kevin McCarthy referred to Trump as ‘Benito Mussolini,’ new Romney biography reveals (Deseret News) Romney considered dropping out of 2012 race after ‘47%’ gaffe, new book reveals (Deseret News) |
| Utah Gov. Spencer Cox says he’s unsure whether Palestinian refugees will resettle in the Beehive State. But if history is any indication, it’s unlikely the U.S. will open its doors to Palestinians like it did for Ukrainians or Afghans. And in the days following Hamas’ attack on Israel, calls to bar Palestinians from entering the U.S. have ramped up, including from Utah GOP Rep. Burgess Owens, who recently introduced a bill that would block the Biden administration from issuing visas to people from Gaza. Cox on Thursday told reporters during the monthly PBS news conference that he’s hopeful neighboring countries will step up but that Utah “cares deeply about refugees.” “We have a history of taking care of refugees,” Cox said. “There would need to be an extreme vetting process here to make sure that we are very careful about who comes into our country, that’s always critical. We would have to work very closely with the Department of Justice and Homeland Security and others who would have the burden of making sure that people who aren’t sympathetic to destroying Israel and Jews are coming into our country.” Cox also extended his sympathy to displaced Palestinians. “Our hearts are broken for you as well. This is a deeply difficult and of course divisive issue. I will say I have zero empathy for Hamas, at all. And Hamas is bad for Palestinians. Hamas is evil. And I hope that Palestinians everywhere will stand up and speak up and reject what is happening,” Cox said. Read more about the history of Palestinian immigration to the U.S. More in Politics Gov. Cox plans on endorsing Brad Wilson in U.S. Senate race (Deseret News) Gov. Spencer Cox called the chaos of the House speaker race an ‘embarrassment’ (Deseret News) Accusations of ballot stuffing and voter fraud brought Connecticut Mayor Joe Ganim to court Tuesday (Deseret News) Maloy leads Riebe in fundraising with special election just over one month away (KSL) | FROM OUR SPONSOR OFFICE OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR It’s voting season! While you’re gearing up to decorate for the fall holidays, don’t forget to decorate your ballot with your picks for votes in this election. And take note — this year, the election dates have changed. Be sure you register to vote by November 13th. Visit vote.utah.gov to learn more. | Health Ultra-processed foods as addictive as cigarettes, study says (Deseret News) Cost of family health insurance nearly $24,000 this year (Deseret News) Faith Why fewer marriages, lower levels of faith are related (Deseret News) ‘The Chosen’ convention brings thousands to Dallas, announces theater rollout for Season 4 (Religion News Service) Family Israeli families' pain: The anguish of not knowing (Deseret News) Anna Thomas and Jenna Williams: The good news and bad news about child care in Utah (Deseret News) Culture Gov. Cox: ‘Social media companies are making billions of dollars off of killing our kids’ (Deseret News) Jennifer Graham: Progressive college students thought they had the upper hand in our culture. They lost it this week (Deseret News) Salt Lake County Miller Co. names America First Credit Union as new Bees ballpark sponsor, unveils Downtown Daybreak project (Deseret News) Lawmakers call for shutdown of Utah psychiatric hospital (FOX 13) Iron and Grand Counties Officials break ground in Enoch for new Iron County Children’s Justice Center (St. George News) Four people accused of stealing and selling $1 million worth of dinosaur bones from southern Utah (Salt Lake Tribune 🔒) The West New Colorado River report shows just how tricky agreeing to new water rules could be (KUER) Montana’s governor, agency officials criticize Yellowstone’s draft bison plans (Idaho Capital Sun) The Nation DOJ reaches settlement on Trump administration’s family separation policy (Deseret News) Sidney Powell pleads guilty day before trial in Georgia Trump case (Deseret News) The World U.S. State Department issues global travel warning (Deseret News) Utah to host voting center for Venezuelan opposition primaries (KSL) Sports In ruling for Deseret News, state records panel says Utah universities must disclose NIL contracts (Deseret News) Here’s why Utah’s governor says latest IOC decision is ‘next best thing’ to getting another Olympics (Deseret News) There is a Puka Nacua Rams jersey in the Hall of Fame. Here’s why (Deseret News) BYU receivers aren’t pointing fingers after offensive woes (Deseret News) |
That's all for today. 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! Thank you for reading. — Brigham |
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