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NURSE-STOLEN PAINKILLERS
Ex-nurse gets 5 years for exposing patients to hepatitis C
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A former Utah nurse who stole painkillers and infected several patients with hepatitis C has been sentenced to five years in prison. The Salt Lake Tribune reports 53-year-old Elet Neilson was sentenced Monday after previously pleading guilty in federal court to tampering with a consumer product and fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance. She acknowledged injecting herself with painkillers meant for patients while she worked as an emergency room nurse at an Ogden hospital. Her attorney said the syringes she used somehow became mixed up in the chaos of the emergency room. Seven people contracted the hepatitis C Neilson carries.
ELECTIONS 2020-GOVERNOR-UTAH
US Rep. Rob Bishop decides not to run for governor
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop said Monday he won't run for Utah governor. He told the Deseret News that he is too old at 68 to run for another office, and he doesn't need to be governor to validate his feeling of self worth. Bishop instead endorsed former Utah GOP Chairman Thomas Wright, one of several Republicans vying for the job. The crowded field also includes former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman Jr. and Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox.
LT GOVERNOR-ABORTION SLAVERY COMMENT
Candidate for Utah governor criticized for abortion comment
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Members of the Utah House and Senate have criticized a comment by the state's lieutenant governor drawing a comparison between abortion and slavery. Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox was one of three candidates asked during a Republican gubernatorial candidates forum Saturday if he would sign a bill defining life as beginning at conception. Cox told the Utah Eagle Forum Convention in Sandy that he believes future generations will come to view abortion as negatively as people today view slavery. A group of Democrats in the state Legislature took issue with the comment. Democratic Rep. Sandra Hollins says the comparison is offensive.
POLICE CHIEF DEATH
Fellow police mourn sudden death of Sandy police chief
Friends, family and fellow police are mourning the death of the police chief in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy. Department officials said in a statement that William “Bill” O’Neal died suddenly on Sunday afternoon. He was with the department for more than 20 years before being named chief in 2018, after his predecessor was fired amid allegations of inappropriate touching of female colleagues. The Deseret News reports he died of natural causes, though the exact cause of his sudden death was not immediately released.
MILITARY BRIEFING-MIKE LEE
Senator Lee still supports Trump after criticizing briefing
SANDY, Utah (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah says he still supports President Donald Trump, despite Lee's criticism of the lack of information given to members of Congress about the reasons for killing an Iranian military leader. Lee spokes Saturday in Sandy at the annual convention of the Utah Eagle Forum, a far-right group active in state politics. Lee called Wednesday's briefing probably the worst he's seen on a military issue in the nine years he's served in the Senate. Lee says Trump is making the U.S. look stronger through the restraint of power, but he still supports a resolution to curb Trump's ability to expand the conflict with Iran.
ALASKA CABIN FIRE-HELICOPTER RESCUE
A fire, an SOS, a rescue: Man spends weeks in remote Alaska
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Authorities say they have rescued a man who survived in a makeshift shelter in the Alaska wilderness for about three weeks after his remote cabin burned. A helicopter crew on Thursday found 30-year-old Tyson Steele after loved ones asked Alaska State Troopers to check on him. The crew spotted an SOS signal stamped in the snow and Steele waving his arms. He says the mid-December fire had left him with no way to communicate and surrounded by deep snow, waterways and forests that cut him off from roads. He was transported to Anchorage in apparent good health but mourned his dog that died in the fire.
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