KSL's Inside Sources

• Utah Firewatch: How wildfires could affect your homeowners' insurance
• Pres. Trump cancels plans to sign major housing bill
• Utah Firewatch: State of fires around the state
• Murder charges filed in 20-year-old death at Zion National Park
• America250: How Utah plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country

About a week and a half to go until a big birthday bash for our country. America250 -- let's talk about the ways Utahns are celebrating. Two guests joined Inside Sources for this conversation: Nicole Handy, executive director and Chris Abbott, associate director for America250 Utah. They share ways Utahns can get involved in the celebrations and the various opportunities to provide service as part of this special anniversary.

New developments today in an old case out of Zion National Park. In 2006, Bernadette Vander Meer died in a fall from the popular Angel's Landing Trail. Her husband, David, claims she fell on accident while he had turned away to get something, but several tips over the years have led authorities to question his story. Now, the Washington County Attorney's Office has filed murder and fraud charges against David. KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas breaks it down for listeners.

Several fires continue to cause extensive damage in Utah, with new fires popping up every day and existing fires exploding in size. In fact, the Cottonwood Fire burning down near Beaver doubled in size overnight — from roughly 30,000 acres to more than 60,000 acres. Greg and Holly hear from listeners who share what conditions are like in their neck of the woods. Whether it’s seeing falling ash or breathing in hazy smoke, Utahns all around the state are in the throes of wildfire season.

Today, President Trump was all set to sign a major bipartisan housing bill that recently passed both chambers of Congress. The bill would have created easier paths to homeownership — especially for first-time homebuyers — and would have barred private equity firms from buying homes in America. But the President said he won’t sign that bill until the SAVE America Act — which deals with voting and citizenship — passes Congress.

As fires continue to burn around the state, it got us wondering what happens when a home burns down. Will insurance cover wildfire damage? Is it different than a typical house fire? What do homeowners need to know and consider as they buy insurance? Utah State Insurance Commissioner Jon Pike joins the program to answer those and many other insurance-related questions.

Nothing like an exciting night of election results to get you up in the morning! No? Just us. Oh well. It was quite the upheaval in Utah's Primary Election – several state and county-level leaders appear to have lost. We pretty much called the bigger Congressional races, but several of the smaller races saw some really interesting shake-ups.

Your Voice, Your Vote – it's the morning after primary election day, so let's talk about what we learned. Greg and Holly share their thoughts on various races – both locally and nationally. We also hear from several winners in local and state races last night: Nathan Tueller, Republican primary election winner for a county commission seat in Box Elder County; Bob Stevenson, Republican primary election winner for Utah House District 16; Rep. Doug Fiefia, Republican primary election winner for Utah Senate District 18; and Stephanie Hollist, Republican primary election winner for Utah Senate District 7.

Topics we will cover on this episode of KSL's Inside Sources include:

• Pres. Trump heading to Capitol Hill to unify Republicans
• KSL launches new in-depth daily news podcast
• A block on a ban: legal troubles barring food stamp limitations
• Utah Firewatch: Why aren't leaders banning fireworks?

Severe fire growth around the state continues today, with several new fires popping up and others exploding in size. All these fires in the season has many wondering why leaders haven't banned fireworks yet. State leaders say cities need to do it themselves, but Bountiful Mayor Kate Bradshaw says the state has limited what they can actually do. She joins the show to explain. Greg and Holly finish things up discussing Amazon Prime Days and how more Americans are expected to buy essentials rather than splurging on something special or fancy.

How has work-from-home policies affected America's downtowns? Have return-to-office mandates changed that trajectory? In the several years since the COVID pandemic, we've talked a lot about the effects of changing work policies. Deseret News opinion editor Jay Evensen took a closer look at this trend and whether things have changed for the long-term. Jay joins the show for a conversation on the changing landscape of America's cities... thanks to changing working trends.

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration -- namely the Department of Agriculture -- from barring the use of food stamps to buy things like sugary soda pop and candy. This could have some interesting effects here in Utah, where our legislature blocked using food stamps for those kinds of foods in 2025. The state applied for a waiver to make that change... but now? That could all be in question.

President Donald Trump is set to make a rare trip to Capitol Hill tomorrow as he tries to unify Republicans around his agenda. One of the big hang-ups for Senate Republicans is Senator Mike Lee's SAVE America Act; it doesn't have the needed number of votes quite yet. Deseret News Congressional Correspondent Cami Mondeaux joins from D.C. to explain the President's trip. She also discusses recent congressional moves on housing and social media safety for kids.

While we're all focused on the primary elections here in Utah today, there's some other interesting election-related news on the national level. Yesterday, a judge blocked the government from using a federal database to check citizenship, saying it could incorrectly purge voters. Greg and Holly discuss the ruling and how it relates to voter privacy.

Whether you're heading to the ballot box or the drop box, Utahns across the state cast their vote today in the primary election. Democrats are largely excited about the 1st Congressional District primary while Republicans look forward to just about all the other elections in the state. Between congressional races, state-level races, and county-level races, there's a lot to cover. Inside Sources has special election coverage, featuring Utah Director of Elections Ryan Cowley, Juab County Clerk Tanielle Callaway, Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie, and Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman. Greg and Holly also discuss what will happen in the days and weeks following the polls closing later tonight.

• Judge rules on some issues in Charlie Kirk murder case
• Your Voice, Your Vote: Final day before primary election day
• Fewer teens getting driver's licenses leads to decrease in voter registration among young people
• US-Iran peace negotiations continue
• Reflecting pool problems
• Data center pushback: GOP talking points, fears vs. knowledge
• America250: Should young people have hope in the future of the country?
• GOOOOOOAL: The World Cup continues

In today's final segment, Greg and Holly share their thoughts on the games -- and the fans -- at this year's World Cup. Whether it's the USA or Cape Verde, several teams are doing incredibly well this year. And when it comes to the fans, Holly's fallen in love with both Norwegians and the Scots. Holly also shares her fun facts, and Greg shares his closing argument.

Do younger Americans still have any hope in America? Data from Harvard University's Institute of Politics Youth Poll has a staggering statistic: only 13 percent of youth feel America is heading in the right direction. With that in mind, how can we help younger people have faith and hope in the country's future? For today's America 250 segment, Greg and Holly discuss.

As data centers continue to expand across the country, the pushback from locals near these planned facilities has been growing and growing.  While it appears that the majority of people opposed to these centers are local Americans, a common talking point from GOP lawmakers across the country is that China has been influencing much of this vitriol against the projects. In addition, many say the fears around data centers are unwarranted and that new data dispels many earlier concerns. Deseret News reporter Eva Terry joins the conversation with her findings.

Problems continue for the multi-million dollar renovated reflection pool in Washington, DC. The President blames supposed vandals, and some have even been arrested for alleged vandalism. But is that really to blame? Greg and Holly don't think so; they explain their issues with how the administration is framing this story.

Mediators involved in the US-Iran peace negotiations say both sides have agreed to a new 60-day roadmap toward a final deal. There was some concern earlier on how recent threats from President Trump would affect the discussion, which continues today in Switzerland. Professor Austin Knuppe, Director of the Heravi Peace Institute at Utah State University, shares his thoughts on the latest developments.

A headline in the Utah News Dispatch this morning reads, "When teens drive less, they don't register to vote." And now, civic groups are trying to adapt to changing trends as they work to "get out the vote." This is such an interesting correlation, but it's not the only reason. Even if the rates of teen driver's licenses weren't falling, data show that registration rates among the youngest voters continue to fall. What can be done to reverse this trend?

Utah's primary election day is tomorrow and the candidates are in the final throes of the race. While candidates are in their final push to win votes, there's also some negative campaigning going on as some candidates hope to make last-minute changes to the trajectory of the races. Some of that controversy going on right now is thanks largely in part to the incumbents running and the difference between official mailers and campaign mailers. Greg and Holly discuss what's going on as we quickly approach Election Day.

The defense for Tyler Robinson -- the man charged with shooting and killing political activist Charlie Kirk -- is now asking for the possibility of the death penalty to be taken off the table. They argue that comments made by the Utah County prosecutor's office about a bullet fragment removed from Kirk's body could unfairly sway potential jurors. KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas shares his thoughts on the judge's decision to postpone a decision today.

It wasn't a great weekend for fires around the state -- several fires popped up and even forced evacuations. In the hills above Salt Lake City, residents are urged to be on alert and ready to go at a moment's notice should the Bonneville Fire shift directions. But in Juab County, the entire town of Eureka remains under a mandatory evacuation thanks to the 24,000+ acre Iron Fire. No buildings burned at this point, but Highway 6 remains closed in the area.

Utah Firewatch -- Inside Sources gets updates on those two fires from wildfire PIOs Sierra Hellstrom and Toby Weed. KSL Meteorologist Matt Johnson joins to talk about the forecast and the current air quality around the Wasatch Front. Benjamin Donner, Executive Director of the American Red Cross Central and Southern Utah Chapter joins to talk about the things homeowners can do to best prepare for what's to be a rough fire season.