>>Impeachment Of Swallow Possibility

(Salt Lake City, UT) -- House Speaker Becky Lockhart is not ruling out the possibility of impeachment proceedings against Utah Attorney General John Swallow. The Provo Republican said the allegations against Swallow are very serious and show "an extreme lack of judgement." Swallow, a fellow Republican, is under federal investigation for allegedly soliciting bribes for political favors. The latest allegations come from Marc Jensen, who's serving time for securities fraud. Jensen said he treated Swallow and his predecessor to expensive trips to his Newport Beach, California villa.

SALT LAKE CITY — Lawmakers waded through 300 amendments to the proposed immigration reform bill on Thursday, and it looks like it's going to take a long time before anything is settled. Utah's senators are right in the middle of this as well, since they've introduced a few amendments of their own. Thursday was the deadline for filing amendments and in the hearing room today, some senators accused their colleagues of trying to derail the whole reform bill. The immigration reform bill is already 844 pages long and now there are several hundred amendments that have to be considered, one by one. Some lawmakers claim many of the amendments are aimed at killing the legislation all together. . Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has introduced 24 amendments; Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has put in 23. In remarks at the hearing today, Hatch said the solution to immigration reform will not be a simple process. and will do whatever I can to help reach that goal," Hatch said.


Lee suggested a step-by-step approach — that is, don't try to solve all the issues at once.

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"Our immigration system is a complex puzzle with dozens of interconnected pieces, and some reforms must be completed before others can even really begin," Lee said.
　

(Moab Utah/ SPRINGFIELD, Mass.) A man accused of rape in Agawam has been captured by federal agents nearly two thousand miles away.The U.S. Marshals Service says that 34-year-old John Blomquist, formerly of Agawam, was arrested outside a bar in Moab, Utah Wednesday.Blomquist was wanted on an outstanding warrant from the Agawam Police Department dating back to August 2012, accusing him of two felony counts of rape of a child. During the search for Blomquist, the Marshals say in a statement that Blomquist was "actively taunting" investigators by sending out postcards stating "catch me if you can."Investigators with the Mass. State Police and U.S. Marshals discovered that Blomquist was living in Moab, Ut. under an alias of Bradley Scott Allen. After some surveillance in the area, deputy Marshals saw Blomquist leave a business and get into a car. Marshals then approached him and identified himself as Bradley Scott Allen. owever, the Marshals note that once confronted, Blomquist allegedly declared his true idenity.

At the time of his arrest, the Marshals say that Blomquist was allegedly in possession of a gun and additional charges are pending in Utah. Blomquist remains in custody in Utah and is awaiting a return to Hampden County for further court proceedings.

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>>Teen Pregnancy Rates Down In State

(Salt Lake City, UT) -- Teen pregnancy rates have dropped to their lowest number in years, according to the Utah Department of Health. The rate of teen pregnancies in the state in 2011 has dropped 29-percent since 2006, when the department made a pledge to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The number of teen pregnancies has gone from a high of four-thousand-334 in 2008 to the state's lowest number of two-thousand 976 in 2011. The department credits the lower numbers to two federally-funded programs called "abstinence only" and "personal responsibility."

>>State Reaches Deal With Feds On Health Exchanges

(Salt Lake City, UT) -- Utah will have two online marketplaces for health insurance according to a new agreement between the state and U.S. Health and Human Services. According to a letter from Governor Gary Herbert to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the state will continue to operate its existing Avenue H for employees of small businesses, while the federal government will run a healthcare exchange to provide insurance as part of the Affordable Care Act. The online exchanges are intended to help millions of uninsured Americans buy affordable health insurance which will be required by January of 2014.

>>Park City Blames Herbicide For Killing Trees

(Park City, UT) -- Park City residents are blaming a widely-used pesticide for killing a forest of trees and shrubs in their community. A group of property owners filed a lawsuit against the DuPont company, claiming its herbicide Imprelis killed, ruined or stunted nearly one-thousand trees and bushes, and that an earlier settlement was inadequate in covering the damages. The suit seeks unspecified damages for the chemical that the company labeled as environmentally friendly. The lawsuit claims the herbicide is four times more powerful than Agent Orange.


>>Tooele Co. Slashed Employees Yet Again

(Tooele County, UT) -- Tooele County residents dealing with recent cutbacks are preparing for more. Facing a four-million-dollar shortfall the Tooele County government fired as many as 70 employees yesterday in their latest round of cuts. County officials won't say whether more firings are forthcoming but residents say they're bracing for the worst.

>>Girl Remains Uncertain After Backyard Fall

(Salt Lake City, UT) -- A three-year-old girl is fighting for her life after falling from a backyard slide a week ago. Kaylee Cox's parents say their daughter had a tumor in her heart, which caused the fall. Cox is in serious condition at Primary Children's Medical Center.

>>Filmmaker Trying To Raise Funds

(Salt Lake City, UT) -- Former Mormon filmmaker Richard Dutcher is not eating on purpose. Dutcher tells the "Tribune" that despite being quote "hungry as hell," he'll continue his three-week hunger strike to help raise money for his new movie. The 48-year-old says he's shed 19-pounds already since beginning his fast ten days ago. Dutcher is hopeful his efforts will bring him the 30-thousand-dollars in pledges needed to finish his comedy film, "The Boys at the Bar."

>>Student Loan Debt Nears One-Trillion Dollars

(Undated) -- Student loan debt in the United States is growing in a big way. Ernie Almonte [[ al-MON-tee]] with the American Institute of CPAs says that's making life more difficult for graduating college students.

{StuLoanDebt1} Q...has increased dramatically :13.9

A survey released by the AICPA shows the average student loan debt is over 24-thousand dollars. That level of debt is forcing a lot of people to put off marriage, buying a home or contributing to a retirement account. The survey also revealed more than half of graduates say they regret their choice of education financing.


WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – A woman is dead and a man is in critical condition after a crash in West Valley City.

28-year-old Erin Fritz was killed in the accident and 70-year-old Michael Steed is in critical condition.

The head-on crash happened at around 9:30 Thursday morning at 3900 South and 1100 West.

Police say Fritz was driving a Hyundai sedan westbound on 3900 South near 1100 East when witnesses say she drifted into the eastbound lanes, hitting a Dodge Caravan driven by Steed head-on.

"There are plenty of lanes of travel. It’s really surprising something like this happened," said West Valley City Police Sgt. Jason Hauer.

Police say Fritz died at the scene and Steed was taken to Intermountain Medical Center in critical condition.