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VIRUS OUTBREAK-UNEMPLOYMENT
Utah workers worry as federal unemployment aid expires
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Federal unemployment aid that has helped avert financial ruin for millions of Americans is expiring in Utah and elsewhere on Saturday, leaving many residents unsure of how they’ll pay their bills as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rise. Since early in the pandemic, the federal government has added $600 to the weekly unemployment checks. But with the program set to end, many are left wondering how they’ll make ends meet. New unemployment claims in Utah have dropped overall as the state economy reopens, but some jobs haven’t come back. Tens of thousands live-events workers remain in limbo, with little idea of when it might be safe to hold the gatherings.
FATAL SHOOTING-SANDY SUSPECT
Police arrest 14-year-old boy in killing of woman in Sandy
SANDY, Utah (AP) — Authorities in Utah have arrested a 14-year-old boy on suspicion of shooting and killing a young woman who lived on his street. The Deseret News reported that the Sandy Police Department said the boy, who was not named, was booked into Salt Lake Juvenile Detention on suspicion of killing 18-year-old Aliani Mejia-Marin. Sandy Police Sgt. Clayton Swensen says officers responded to report of a confrontation Wednesday between three boys, including the suspect, and Mejia and her husband. Mejia was found dead inside a vehicle. An investigation is ongoing.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MASK PUSHBACK
As mask rules get tighter in U.S. West, opposition gets loud
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana county became the latest battleground in the debate over face masks after residents pushed back against stricter rules in a virtual face-off with local health officials. The scene in Gallatin County located near Yellowstone National Park echoed confrontations seen in other Western states. Local officials moved to impose new mask rules to fight rising infections, only to be met with defiance from those who say the Constitution shields them from the “medical tyranny” of health mandates. That didn’t keep health officials from approving measures that go further than a statewide rule handed down last week.
AP-US-NUCLEAR-WEAPONS-TESTING
Groups push to remove proposed funding for nuclear testing
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A defense spending bill pending in Congress includes an apology to New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and other states affected by nuclear testing over the decades. But communities downwind from the first atomic test in 1945 are still holding out for compensation amid rumblings about the potential for the U.S. to resume nuclear testing. While the U.S. House has adopted language prohibiting spending on such an effort, a group of senators has included $10 million for testing preparation. Details of the spending bill have yet to be hashed out, but the Union of Concerned Scientists, nuclear watchdogs and environmentalists are pushing for the funding to be eliminated.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NAVAJO NATION
Navajo casino employees might stop receiving paychecks
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — Employees of the Navajo Nation casinos have been told to prepare for the possibility they will not receive paychecks while on administrative leave. The tribe's three casinos in northwestern New Mexico and one in northern Arizona have been shuttered for months because of the coronavirus. But the 1,180 majority Navajo employees have remained on the payroll with benefits. Brian Parrish heads the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise. He says a final decision on layoffs will come over the weekend. He says the enterprise is running low on cash reserves but has submitted proposals to tribal leaders for a share of federal virus relief money that went directly to the tribal government.
POLICE SHOOTING-LAWSUIT
Utah family sues city, police officers in killing of son
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The parents of a Utah man who was shot and killed by police in his driveway while holding a knife have filed a lawsuit against the city of Ogden and its police department. In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, Juan and Rosa Mercado allege the officers had no reason to shoot their son because he posed no harm to the officers or anyone else and hadn’t broken any laws. Mercado's sister says he needed help that day from police and instead they killed him. In March, Weber County Attorney Chris Allred concluded the officers were justified in their use of deadly force.
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