President Trump's education secretary, Linda McMahon, visited Utah to tout anti-DEI cuts that give states more flexibility. She spoke at American Preparatory Academy in West Valley City, where over 90% of the students are racial or ethnic minorities. McMahon cut Education Department workforce in half and shifted key responsibilities to other agencies. The charter school is currently under scrutiny by state auditors for withholding financial records and its West Valley K-12 campus is underperforming. The state has identified it for “Comprehensive Support and Improvement,” (CSI) according to the Utah State Board of Education’s website.

Audit: More accountability needed for tenured faculty at Utah higher education institutions

8:30 am: Economic Development & Workforce Services; Judiciary; Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice; Natural Resources, Agriculture & Environment; Revenue & Taxation; Transportation

1:15 pm: Business & Labor; Education; Government Operations; Health & Human Services; Political Subdivisions; Public Utilities, Energy & Technology

4:00 pm: Senate floor time

Is the U.S. doing enough to help Ukraine? ‘No,’ Sen. John Curtis says (KSL)

Trump awards Utahn Nick Shirley $10,000 check under new anti-fraud reward program (Deseret News)

Signature withdrawals block Roy budget referendum from November ballot (KUTV)

Newly appointed Utah Supreme Court Justice signed Prop 4 repeal effort months before appointment (ABC4)

Bob Stevenson highlights mayoral, county-level governing history in House District 16 campaign (Standard-Examiner)

Davis County opens ballot-counting process to public view (KSL)

Utah sues popular prediction market platform (Deseret News)

Flood watches issued in Utah as state's stormy October continues (KSL)

'I’m worried sick’: Father seeks help as search for missing Provo twins continues (KUTV)

Community rallying around Parowan restaurant couple injured in crash (Fox13)

Vail says Park City billionaire is influencing Oasis board bid (KPCW)

'Vastness of the valley': Historic Brian Head overlook tower reopens after 4-year restoration project (St. George News)

Cedar City residents value natural beauty but worry about rapid growth, survey finds (St. George News)

Aviation expects a hiring boom. AI could change the jobs behind it (Deseret News)

Why data centers are increasingly moving into rural Utah communities (Fox13)

‘I literally just leave my house’: In this Utah neighborhood, homeowners say a noisy data center campus is disrupting their lives (Salt Lake Tribune)

Park City businesses secure legal representation amid Bonanza Park talks (Park Record)

Dutch cyber-security experts say Americans tend to overestimate their online safety (Cache Valley Daily)

Ambani's Jio IPO opens for public bids in record $3.2 billion India sale (Reuters)

When AI models refuse to fight hackers (Axios)

Trump bets existing laws can police AI. Will they be enough? (The Hill)

New educational texting service offered for families of incarcerated individuals (KSL)

Wasatch County Sheriff moves to disqualify judge in obstruction of justice case (KUTV)

Case against former Salt Lake City officer accused of rape dismissed without prejudice (KUTV)

Salt Lake County man faces charges after woman, baby injured in domestic dispute (KUTV)

Woman caused deadly crash on I-15 while using phone to view pornography, charges say (ABC4)

Judge will appoint new public defender for Kouri Richins (KPCW)

'It's heartbreaking;' Provo food bank seeks community help amid financial shortfall (Fox13)

What are Tony Finau’s favorite kinds of books? (Deseret News)

Can the new federal voucher program help public schools? Democrats are torn (NPR)

Here’s how Utah’s biggest cities tap their share of the shrinking Colorado River (KUER)

Analysis: ‘College GameDay’ got really religious in Provo. Was it respectful? (Deseret News)

Opinion: What do we owe the next generation of Jewish children? (Deseret News)

1 in 3 people live where older adults outnumber children. There are more older adults than kids in 55 countries and territories (Deseret News)

How a photo of a patient’s face could predict whether they’ll survive cancer (Washington Post)

Wasatch County Council candidates talk development, affordable housing (KPCW)

New home completions are stuck at 2020 levels (Utah News Dispatch)

There has never been a worse month for pending home sales than September 2026. (ABC)

Autism-Therapy Workers Say Big Chains Pressured Them to Boost Treatment Hours (Wall Street Journal)

Larry Ellison Went on Borrowing Spree to Bankroll His Son’s Warner Bros. Bid (Wall Street Journal)

Musk says SpaceX-Tesla merger is 'a good idea' as companies form deal committees (Reuters)

FBI investigated whether Graham, Clyburn were involved in bribery scheme: Report (The Hill)

Genetic study shows seafarers from Easter Island settled Hawaii (Reuters)

Cornell rape accuser says president's response made her feel 'disbelieved' (PBS)

WWE, McMahons must face sex abuse claims by former 'ring boys' (Reuters)

Trump pledges $8 billion for farmers struggling with diesel costs (Deseret News)

East Valley battleground: Latter-day Saints at the center of Arizona’s contentious race for governor (Deseret News)

Ramaswamy takes responsibility for ad with Amy Acton’s mother and will spend millions to promote it (Associated Press)

U.S. officials privately advise states fearing Trump election meddling (Washington Post)

Some on DOJ's 20,000 "likely" noncitizen list in Calif. appear to be U.S.-born (NPR)

Trump’s super PAC spent nearly a quarter billion dollars to help Republicans (The Politico)

‘There are no people’: Springfield, Ohio, faces loss of Haitian residents (Washington Post)

The court’s third-country removal case has high stakes but will likely be decided on technical grounds (SCOTUS Blog)

Pakistan’s factory workers swelter in extreme heat as global brands fail on safety pledges (Associated Press)

Brutal attack on journalist at olive harvest highlights violence amid siege (Washington Post)

More Oil Is Now Coming Out of the Persian Gulf Than Before the Iran War (Wall Street Journal)

Is the US doing enough to help Ukraine? 'No,' Utah senator says (KSL)

U.S. restores intelligence sharing with Ukraine, Zelensky says (Washington Post)

Elon Musk Ordered Starlink Slowdown That Blindsided Ukraine (Wall Street Journal)

Airfield Attack Marked Opening Shot in Putin’s Sabotage Campaign Against Europe (Wall Street Journal)

How France’s worst rioting in years erupted and how the government responded (Associated Press)

Alberta's decisive decision to stay in Canada gives Carney backing to take on Trump (BBC)

French faith leaders appeal for people to ‘become peacemakers’ amid the country’s unrest (Deseret News)

Oct 20-22 — October interim

Oct 21 — US Federal Land Policy Management Act: Celebrating 50 years, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, USU campus, Register here

Oct 29 — Sutherland Institute Awards Dinner, 6:00 pm, Grand America Hotel

Nov 3 — General election

Nov 11 — 2026 Women & Business Conference and ATHENA Awards, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm, Grand America Hotel, Register here

Nov 17-19 — November Interim

Jan 14 — Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit with the Utah Chamber, 7:30 am - 12:00 pm, Keynote Speaker: Paul Ryan, Grand America Hotel, Register here

Jan 19 — General session begins

1805 - Battle of Trafalgar, one of the most decisive naval battles in history is fought on this day. Horatio Nelson led the British fleet to victory but also died in battle..

1833 -  Alfred Nobel is born. The Swedish chemist invented dynamite and later founded the Nobel Prizes

1854 - Florence Nightingale with a staff of 38 nurses is sent to the Crimean War

1879 - After 1200 unsuccessful experiments, Thomas Edison demonstrated the first lasting electric light bulb. 

1921 - President Warren G. Harding publicly condemns lynching

1949 - Author of "Brave New World" Aldous Huxley writes to congratulate George Orwell on his new novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four"

1955 - Mary Louise Smith, age 18, is arrested for refusing to give up her seat in the “whites only” section of a Montgomery city bus.

1966 - A landslide sent 140,000 cubic yards of coal waste in a tidal wave 40-feet high hurtling down the mountainside and crashes into a small Welsh mining village, killing 116 children and 28 adults. The Aberfan disaster left just five survivors.

1967 - Nearly 100,000 gather in Washington, D.C. to protest the Vietnam war.

2021 - ​​Actor Alec Baldwin shots cinematographer Halyna Hutchins dead and injures director Joel Souza with a prop gun in rehearsal on a film set at Bonanza Ranch, New Mexico