July 30, 2025
⏰ Tick Tock
Days to Utah's 2025 municipal primary elections (8/12/2025) - 13
Days until Election Day (11/4/2025) - 97
Days until the 2026 midterm elections (11/3/2026) - 463
Days until the 2028 presidential election (11/7/2028) - 1,196
Even Republicans wavering on Trump's Epstein defense
New polling reveals mounting public scrutiny of former President Donald Trump's connections to Jeffrey Epstein, as Americans say they are skeptical of Trump's role in the controversial case.
The YouGov poll paints a damaging picture for Trump: a solid majority of Americans reject his handling of the Epstein investigation and the documents related to the case.
61% of Americans say they either "strongly" or "somewhat disapprove" of how Trump has dealt with the Epstein issue, while just 21% approve.
Perhaps most telling, Trump's core base appears to be wavering on the issue—barely half of Republicans (49%) and conservatives (47%) approve of his handling of the situation.
Even more troubling for Trump, nearly half of Americans (46%) suspect his direct involvement in Epstein's alleged crimes, while only 32% believe in his innocence. The remaining 23% say they're unsure.
The poll asked several other questions related to Epstein.
An overwhelming 2/3rds (67%) of Americans believe the government is covering up evidence related to the Epstein case. Just 12% believe the opposite.
Regarding Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's convicted accomplice in the sex-trafficking operation, 64% of Americans say they would oppose Trump pardoning Maxwell, while just 4% believe he should.
43% of Americans believe Trump and Epstein were close friends, while 15% say they were friends, but not close.
Wednesday morning's headlines
Utah and the West
Utah AG joins push to strip trans athletes of NCAA achievements. [Utah Political Watch]
Great Salt Lake again dips to "scary low level." [Salt Lake Tribune]
Left-leaning national group is targeting these Utah legislative districts for 2026 election. [Utah News Dispatch]
How Utah is spending $2 million to tell you there's a housing shortage. [Fox 13]
Utah governor tells policymakers "fulfill president's executive order" on homelessness. [Deseret News]
Nonprofit head used public funds for vacations, political donations, Utah auditor says. [KSL]
Most Utahns support Trump's "big, beautiful bill" – even though they think it will raise the debt. [Deseret News]
Newly unredacted details shed additional light on Utah's Snapchat lawsuit. [KSL]
7 Utah sheriff's offices now have ICE agreements. Here's what to know. [KUER]
As Trump admin pulls back on science, Utah's budding conservationists say job prospects look grim. [Salt Lake Tribune]
Utah parole board under scrutiny after member's past link to condemned killer revealed. [KUTV]
Anonymous donor pledges to match $25K to save Utah food pantry. [KUTV]
Nation
President Donald Trump's job approval rating fell to 40%, the lowest of his second term. [n]
Senate Democrats could force the Trump administration to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein under a little-known law. [New York Times]
The Trump administration is bypassing Congress to extend the terms of interim federal prosecutors beyond what is allowed by law. [New York Times]
Florida GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna will attempt to force a House vote on a congressional stock trading ban in September. [Politico]
The new congressional map drawn by Texas Republicans will create 5 new House seats that President Donald Trump carried by 10 or more points in 2024. Four of those seats are in majority-Hispanic areas. [Politico]
Two top aides to former President Joe Biden will testify before the House Oversight Committee as part of an investigation into Biden's cognitive decline. [CNN]
A group of U.S. states has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from requiring them to turn over information on millions of people who receive federal food assistance. [Reuters]
Federal employees will be allowed to discuss their religion at work, so long as it doesn't interfere with business operations. [Federal News Network]
President Trump is "seriously considering" a pardon for Sean "Diddy" Combs. [Deadline]
World
Countries are scrambling to strike trade deals as President Donald Trump's Aug. 1 deadline for imposing tariffs is looming. [New York Times]
Economy
The U.S. economy grew by 3% in the second quarter. [Washington Post]
Companies are raising prices for consumers in response to President Trump's tariffs. [Reuters]
The International Monetary Fund has raised its global economic outlook, projecting 3% global growth this year. That's slightly higher than the 2.8% forecast from earlier this year but below the 3.3% it predicted before President Trump took office. [New York Times]
Technology
YouTube is rolling out age-estimation technology to identify teenage users to give them a more age-appropriate experience. [TechCrunch]