With thanks to our sponsor

Good morning! Here are today’s temperatures:

☀️ 57 – 100° in Logan

☀️ 71 – 104° in Salt Lake

☀️ 77 – 114° in St. George

⚠️ Excessive heat warning. Drink plenty of fluids, stay out of the sun and do not leave young children or pets in unattended vehicles.

By most measures, Joe Biden qualifies as an “elite,” but he doesn’t consider himself one — on Monday, he complained on a national TV show about the “elites” trying to convince him to to drop out of the presidential race.

So, who, exactly, is an elite, if the president of the United States does not qualify?

“Elite athletes” or “elite performers” are widely admired, while the “cultural elite” or “ruling elite” are often spoken of with disdain, sometimes by people whose resumes and bank accounts would seem to qualify them as such.

Read more from Jennifer Graham about elite status in America.

Also on our minds:

Utah’s innovative methods for fighting election deepfakes
Kamala Harris’ big moment in Nevada
The “lone star tick” spreading across the U.S. and causing dairy and meat allergies

Maloy ahead of Jenkins by 214 votes — recount now likely in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District race

The 2nd Congressional District primary race entered recount territory on Tuesday night when a final update from Washington County narrowed Maloy’s lead from over 300 votes to 214. The threshold for a losing candidate to request a recount is .25% of total votes cast, roughly 270 votes out of 107,000.

Maloy has so far received 50.1% of the vote to Jenkins’ 49.9%. This is the closest Republican congressional primary in Utah in 30 years.

“I’m glad to have some finality,” Maloy said. “I know we’re in potential recount territory but I don’t anticipate that a recount will change the outcome.”

Read more about the potential recount and the controversy over late ballots.

Salt Lake City takes first step toward reimagining downtown

Salt Lake City took a big step Tuesday toward giving downtown an extreme makeover.

The City Council endorsed a participation agreement with Smith Entertainment Group to create a sports, entertainment, culture and convention district that would keep the Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club in the Delta Center.

The agreement comes with a .5% increase in sales tax in Salt Lake City — from 7.75% to 8.25% — generating an anticipated $1.2 billion over 30 years, $900 million which would go to SEG to renovate the arena, the surrounding plazas and the district. The company estimates it will spend $525 million to remodel the Delta Center to accommodate hockey and basketball and $375 million on the other district improvements. SEG intends to invest $3 billion of its own in the project.

Read more about the agreement and how it could remake Salt Lake.

More in Utah

Gov. Cox: Utah teachers have borne the brunt of culture wars, political polarization (Deseret News)
Show Up for Teachers: Why connecting with others matters (Deseret News)
Will Utah lead the way in combating election deepfakes? (Deseret News)
Safety of Ogden Canyon Road focus of scrutiny in wake of deadly accident (KSL)

FROM OUR SPONSOR SALT LAKE PARADE OF HOMES

Get ready to be amazed at this year's Salt Lake Parade of Homes event!

The Salt Lake Parade of Homes is America’s 1st Parade, celebrating 78 years of fulfilling dreams. Come see “New Possibilities and Creative Ideas” August 2–17, open Tuesday–Saturday 12:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. Buy your tickets today! Use promo code: PARADE3 for $3 OFF.

The West

The Colorado River: Strategies from lower and upper basin states to reduce water consumption (Deseret News)
At Las Vegas event, Kamala Harris supporters ask: Why not her? (Deseret News)

The U.S.

Beryl leaves a deadly wake (Deseret News)
Tick linked to serious meat, dairy allergies spreading in U.S. (Deseret News)
3 Columbia deans put on leave after texts ‘touched on ancient antisemitic tropes’ (Deseret News)

Politics

GOP set to shift platform on abortion, sparking disagreement (Deseret News)
The VP candidate that could get ‘Romney Republicans’ behind Trump (Deseret News)
Rep. Burgess Owens is co-sponsoring a bill that could put federal regulations on the chopping block (Deseret News)

The World

What Biden said about Ukraine at NATO summit (Deseret News)
More than two dozen Gazans killed in Israeli strike as Hamas says truce talks may be in jeopardy (Reuters)

Sports

25 years later: How the 1999 World Cup changed women’s soccer in the U.S. (Deseret News)
‘Deepest football conference in America’: Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark comes out firing in Las Vegas (Deseret News)
Here’s who is in the Utah delegation who will travel to the Paris Olympics for a decision on the 2034 Winter Games (Deseret News)
Here’s how BYU's defense plans to improve in 2024 (Deseret News)
Observations from the Utah Jazz’s first summer league game (Deseret News)

Faith

British celebrities are speaking out in support of a controversial worship service (Deseret News)
A minor league baseball game just ended with a public baptism (Deseret News)
Religious groups and DoorDash worked together to provide 100 million meals to hungry Americans (Deseret News)

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