(NEW YORK) — A major ice cream producer has recalled products sold by multiple brands due to potential listeria contamination, the Food and Drug Administration said.
The manufacturer — Totally Cool, Inc. of Owings Mills, Maryland — has recalled products from more than a dozen brands, including Friendly’s, Hershey’s Ice Cream, Jeni’s and the Frozen Farmer, due to the “possible health risk,” the FDA said.
No illnesses have been reported to date, the FDA said in its alert on Monday.
“Totally Cool, Inc. has ceased the production and distribution of the affected products due to FDA sampling which discovered the presence of Listeria monocytogenes,” the FDA said. “The company continues its investigation and is taking preventive actions. No other products produced by Totally Cool, Inc. are impacted by this recall.”
ABC News has reached out to Totally Cool for comment.
The full list of recalled products can be found here. They were distributed nationwide, available in retail locations and for direct delivery.
Consumers who have purchased any of the products are asked to return them for a full refund or throw them away.
Taharka Brothers Ice Cream, one of the impacted brands, said it outsourced production of two of its more popular ice cream flavors — honey graham and key lime pie — to Totally Cool.
“While no listeria has been detected in our ice cream, or any of the ice cream produced at Totally Cool, the FDA is requiring a full recall out of an abundance of caution,” Taharka said in a statement.
The company said it will begin making pints of the two flavors at its own factory “immediately.”
Chipwich was also among the brands included in the recall. Crave Better Foods said in a statement Monday that it operates a separate production line at the same Totally Cool facility and has issued a voluntary recall of its vanilla chocolate chip Chipwich ice cream cookie sandwiches “out of an abundance of caution and care for the product and its loyal fans.”
Crave Better Foods said it received a report from the Totally Cool facility about a “possible health issue” on a production line used to make frozen ice cream cakes.
Listeria monocytogenes can cause “serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems,” the FDA said.
Symptoms of listeria infection include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, the FDA said. Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
(WASHINGTON) — The third and final day of hearings in Donald Trump’s classified documents case reached a heated conclusion after prosecutor for special counsel Jack Smith accused the former president’s lawyers of “hijacking” the hearings with far-fetched allegations about the case.
“There is no hijacking going on — it’s about to end,” U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon responded, cutting off prosecutor David Harbach.
“It’s not fair,” Harbach responded, arguing that Trump’s lawyers effectively “hijacked” the hearing by raising issues that have “nothing to do” with the matters before the court.
Cannon had convened the hearings to hear arguments over the defense’s requests to have the case dismissed, as well as their efforts to limit prosecutors’ use of selected evidence.
Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 40 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials after leaving the White House, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to get the documents back.
Trump has denied all charges and denounced the probe as a political witch hunt.
Judge Cannon concluded Tuesday’s hearing without issuing any ruling from the bench. The judge generally appeared skeptical of the defense argument that the evidence seized from the FBI’s August 2022 search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate should be tossed because of a lack of specificity in the search warrant.
During the hearing, Cannon grew frustrated with arguments from both sides.
“Can we just stay focused on this motion, please?” Cannon told defense attorney Emil Bove.
Earlier in the hearing, she implored Harbach to “please try not to put words in my mouth.”
“I didn’t mean to try to put words in your mouth, your honor,” Harbach responded.
US Environmental Protection Agency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
(EAST PALESTINE, Ohio) — Federal investigators confirmed Tuesday that a hot railcar wheel bearing sparked a fire and caused the massive derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying tank cars with hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio, in 2023. Investigators said a series of missteps, faulty track sensors and delayed communications about the train’s toxic cargo from the railroad company contributed to the disaster.
In its final report on the Feb. 3, 2023, crash, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the crash which caused the evacuation of more than 2,000 residents and endangered the lives of first responders could have been avoided.
“Today we present our findings mindful of the challenges faced by those affected. We are here to ensure that the lessons learned from this derailment will lead to meaningful change so no other community has to relive the challenges faced by the people of East Palestine,” Mike Graham, an NTSB board member, said Tuesday during a public hearing in East Palestine.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB, opened the hearing by apologizing on behalf of her agency to the residents of East Palestine, saying some outside the NTSB sought to minimize the toxic threat caused by the crash because no one was killed or injured.
“The absence of a fatality or injury does not mean the presence of safety,” Homendy said.
Researchers estimate that 110 million residents in 16 states, or one-third of the nation’s population, were impacted by pollution, according to a study published in the Environmental Research Letters.
The findings released Tuesday confirmed and expanded on findings in the preliminary investigative report the NTSB released about three weeks after the crash.
Officials said the train comprised three locomotives and 149 freight rail cars, including 17 tank cars loaded with hazardous materials. The crash caused 38 rail cars to derail, officials said.
Eleven of the derailed cars were tank cars carrying flammable and combustible material, including vinyl chloride chloroethene.
“Post-accident inspections revealed that about 25% of the cars had federal defective conditions,” NTSB investigator Ruben Payan said while giving a summary of the agency’s investigative findings.
The investigation focused on the wheel bearing of rail car 23 that caught fire and caused the axle to fall off and derail the train in East Palestine around 8:54 p.m. local time, resulting in an explosion and fire, Payan said.
The crash occurred as the train was en route from Madison, Illinois, to the Conway Yard in Pennsylvania.
Before the crash, the train’s rail cars were inspected in Toledo, Ohio, and again in Decatur, Illinois, and no obvious defects were detected, Payan said.
He said investigators reviewed video taken from security cameras of private homes and businesses along the route from Decatur to East Palestine and saw the wheel bearing of car 23 initially glowing from being overheated to being in flames as the train approached East Palestine.
NTSB investigators said the train tracks are equipped with sensors to detect dangerously overheated bearings and trigger critical alarms to the crew.
As the train passed through Salem, Ohio, about 17 miles from East Palestine, an alarm was triggered and alerted a Norfolk back office analyst, who deemed it non-critical because the trackside sensor only showed car 23’s wheel bearing at 103 degrees, the NTSB investigation found. Investigators said the sensor did not properly detect the true temperature of the overheated bearing and that Norfolk Southern’s policies don’t call for a train to be stopped and inspected until the hot bearing reaches at least 115 degrees.
As the train approached East Palestine, critical alarms sounded on the train indicating that the overheated bearing had reached 253 degrees, prompting the train operator to apply the brakes in an attempt to stop the train, which was traveling at 42 mph, NTSB investigators said. By then, investigators said it was too late to avoid the derailment.
The NTSB also found that when East Palestine police and firefighters arrived on the scene at around 9 p.m. the incident commander called the Norfolk Southern center in Atlanta to ask what hazardous materials were in the derailed tank cars. The person who picked up the phone said they would check but did not get back to the incident commander, NTSB officials said.
Fire crews attempting to extinguish the fire with water didn’t learn of the specific hazardous materials on the train until 10 p.m.
About 2,000 residents in the vicinity of the crash were initially ordered to shelter in place, NTSB officials said. But around 11 p.m., fire officials, who learned some of the derailed tankers contained vinyl chloride chloroethene, ordered the residents to evacuate. Around midnight, volunteer firefighters stopped batting the blaze, retreated to a safe distance and moved the command center back, according to the NTSB.
NTSB also found it was unnecessary for Norfolk Southern to recommend firefighters perform what was described as a “vent and burn” procedure on the tank cars containing vinyl chloride, sending a toxic plume of smoke into the air and causing further potential health hazards.
The NTSB made several recommendations to prevent similar incidents, including ways to advance the speed of communication between Norfolk Southern and first responders and establishing standards for how railroads should respond to bearing failure alarms. The agency, whose recommendations are not binding, also suggested that the Federal Railroad Administration establish rules governing railroad responses to the alarms.
In addition, the agency recommended establishing a database to report hot wheel-bearing incidents.
The agency also recommended that volunteer firefighters receive training on how to handle emergencies involving hazardous materials.
“We will continue to pursue and advocate for these safety recommendations until each one is implemented,” Graham said.
In April, Norfolk Southern agreed to a $600 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit stemming from the train derailment. The settlement was approved by a judge in May.
“The agreement is designed to provide finality and flexibility for settlement class members,” the company said in a statement at the time. “Individuals and businesses will be able to use compensation from the settlement in any manner they see fit to address potential adverse impacts from the derailment. This could include healthcare needs and medical monitoring, property restoration and diminution, and compensation for any net business loss.”
On Tuesday, the company issued a new statement saying it has implemented measures to address the Federal Railroad Administration’s recommendation from its 2023 Safety Culture Assessment.
Some of the recommendations Norfolk Southern addressed are similar to those of the NTSB, including approving communications, training, trust and “going above and beyond” regulatory minimums.
“We appreciate the strong partnership with FRA on advancing safety and are grateful for its thorough assessment of our culture and their thoughtful recommendations, all of which serve as building blocks to our goal of becoming the gold standard for safety in the industry,” said Alan H. Shaw, president and CEO of Norfolk Southern.
(WASHINGTON) — The House Judiciary Committee plans to take the first step toward holding President Joe Biden’s ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer, in contempt of Congress, two sources familiar with the committee’s plans tell ABC News.
The committee plans to hold a “markup” on the contempt resolution on Thursday, which would be followed by a committee vote, the sources said. The move would pave the way for a floor vote in the House to hold Zwonitzer in contempt.
The news of the committee’s plans was first reported by ABC News.
In March, Republican House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan subpoenaed Zwonitzer after he failed to turn over documents, including transcripts, audio and video recordings of his interviews with Biden for the president’s two memoirs, “Promises to Keep” and “Promise Me, Dad.”
In a copy of the resolution obtained by ABC News, Republicans point repeatedly to special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Hur’s report stated that Biden relied “extensively on the notebooks’ notes he took during his vice presidency” in the writing of “Promise Me, Dad” and referred to the notebooks during interviews with Zwonitzer.
“Mr. Biden told Zwonitzer that some of the information in the notebook may be classified. Some of these entries remain classified up to the Top Secret level,” Hur stated in his report.
The report suggested that Biden was not consistent in how he handled classified information, stating he appeared to have sometimes “stopped at or skipped over the potentially classified material” while also stating that at other times, Biden “read his notes from classified meetings to Zwonitzer nearly word for word.”
According to Hur’s report, Zwonitzer deleted recordings of interviews he conducted with Biden after he learned of the special counsel’s investigation but voluntarily turned over his notes and devices. Hur decided not to pursue charges against Biden or Zwonitzer.
House Republicans insist Zwonitzer’s failure to fully comply with the House Judiciary Committee has “hindered” their own investigation.
“Zwonitzer continues to withhold all documents and materials in his possession that are responsive to the subpoena from the Committee,” the resolution states. “The materials requested from Zwonitzer are crucial for the Committee’s understanding of the manner and extent of President Biden’s mishandling and unlawful disclosure of classified materials, as well as Zwonitzer’s use, storage and deletion of classified materials on his computer.”
ABC News has reached out to Zwonitzer’s attorney for comment.
The move comes after the House of Representatives voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to turn over the audio of Biden’s interview with Hur to the House Oversight and Judiciary committees. The DOJ later said it has declined to prosecute Garland for contempt, according to a letter obtained by ABC News.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called the vote to hold Garland in contempt “a significant step in maintaining the integrity of our oversight processes and responsibilities.”
(NEW YORK) — A man is at large after committing a sexual attack on a 21-year-old woman sunbathing in New York City’s Central Park, according to police.
The young woman was alone and sunbathing in the Great Hill section of the park when a man came toward her exposing himself around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, New York Police Department Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a news conference.
“She screams and gets up to run,” but “he tackles her from behind” and “tried to get on top of her,” Chell said.
The victim fought the man off and he fled, Chell said.
Officers scoured the park for witnesses on Monday afternoon, Chell said. Police said they’re checking for surveillance video.
The attack unfolded in “one of the most iconic locations in the world” for New Yorkers and visitors, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard said.
Police “are going to continue to be out here until we feel that this perpetrator is off the streets,” Sheppard said.
There’s no pattern of sexual assaults in Central Park, Chell noted.
The attacker is described as a Black man in his 30s with curly hair, police said. He has a medium build and is about 6 feet tall, police said.
Authorities urge anyone with information to call 1-800-577-TIPS.
Protesters react after being pushed by Kenya Police officers while demonstrating during a nationwide strike to protest against tax hikes and the Finance Bill 2024 in downtown Nairobi, on June 25, 2024. (Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Police allegedly fired live ammunition at anti-government protesters in Kenya’s capital of Nairobi on Tuesday, as thousands of people demonstrated against proposed tax hikes in the East African nation.
Mathias Kinyoda, spokesperson for Amnesty International in Kenya, told ABC News that the death toll from Tuesday’s clashes between police and protesters was at least eight people, but said it was still too early to say with certainty.
(NEW YORK) — High-profile anti-LGBTQ+ consumer boycotts last spring left corporations little time to reconsider long-planned marketing campaigns for Pride Month, experts previously told ABC News.
Over the past year, major companies have had ample opportunity to prepare their advertising for the time of year when public attention centers on the LGBTQ+ community. In this case, however, Pride Month coincides with a growing conservative backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI) in the private sector.
Experts who spoke with ABC News differed about the scale of LGBTQ+-themed advertising so far during Pride Month, but they agreed the anti-DEI movement has made it more difficult for companies to align their policies with the support for LGBTQ+ employees voiced in such marketing.
“When you have this level of political animosity as part of our public discussion, it will show itself in the market,” Joanna Schwartz, a professor of marketing at Georgia College & State University who focuses on LGBTQ+ advertising, told ABC News.
In recent months, some business leaders have sharply criticized corporate DEI programs, including prominent figures such as billionaire investor Bill Ackman and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
At least 10 states have implemented restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI: Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
Some of these policies ban state funds for diversity-based programs, activities, and offices on college campuses, as seen in Alabama. Some states, like Texas, ban diversity offices at universities altogether. Florida’s law also targets diversity training or programs in private workplaces.
The political push accelerated after a Supreme Court decision last year disallowing affirmative action programs at undergraduate colleges that previously considered a candidate’s race as part of their admissions process.
“We know that politics are elevated in the current climate and we know companies are facing that,” Tammi Wallace, president of the Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce, an advocacy group that works with corporations headquartered in the area, told ABC News.
“I have heard of some companies that have pulled back DEI budgets,” Wallace added. “That’s probably the biggest impact that we’ve seen.”
Christie Lindor, a diversity strategist and CEO of Tessi Consulting, said she has heard from LGBTQ+ employees frustrated with what they perceive as risk aversion in company programming around issues of gender and sexuality.
“I’ve seen a lot of companies dilute organizational programming,” Lindor told ABC News. “LGBTQ programming is part of that.”
“It definitely has created opportunities where people, especially those in the LGBTQ community, are questioning the authenticity of their organizations,” Lindor added.
Still, executives at large corporations overwhelmingly support DEI initiatives, according to a Morning Consult poll in December. Diversity programs are considered important for business by 82% of executives at companies with 1,000 or more employees, the survey found. More than two-thirds of executives said they expect such programs to become more important in the coming years.
In response to the public scrutiny, some corporations are preserving DEI programs but doing so quietly, Frank Dobbin, a professor of sociology at Harvard University who studies corporate diversity, told ABC News.
“Some companies are changing the names of their DEI activities, so moving them from a focus on equity or diversity to a focus on talent,” Dobbin added.
The political push against DEI places even greater importance on the outward posture of corporations toward the LGBTQ+ community, Dobbin said.
“It’s a mistake for companies not to continue to express their support, especially in the face of all these people who are leading the charge against any kind of DEI programming,” he said.
Experts who study LGBTQ+ advertising differed about the relative volume of corporate marketing during Pride compared to previous years.
Schwartz described a “pull back” in advertising during Pride as a result of consumer boycotts and a surge of anti-LGBTQ+ political sentiment among some conservatives.
Instead of mass-market advertising and LGBTQ-themed merchandise displays, companies have prioritized targeted ads that are more likely to reach LGBTQ+ customers and less likely to stoke criticism, Schwartz said.
“Companies are finding other ways to connect with this community,” Schwartz said. “They are having to be more careful this year, and will probably have to be more careful for several years.”
Michael Wilke, founder of AdRespect, an archive of LGBTQ+ representation in marketing, disagreed with the assessment of a dropoff in themed advertising. Rather, he added, corporations have largely maintained their advertising, albeit in a quieter fashion.
“We’re in a golden era of inclusion of LGBTQ — and that extends to advertising,” Wilke said.
“In the past year, companies that are staying the course may not be touting that they’re doing so,” he added. “They’re not promoting it to avoid attracting a pile on.”
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued a new advisory on Tuesday declaring gun violence a public health crisis.
In his announcement, Murthy also called for an evidence-based approach to public health change and a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines for civilian use.
“Firearm violence is an urgent public health crisis that has led to loss of life, unimaginable pain, and profound grief for far too many Americans,” Murthy said in a statement.
Ten national medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Surgeons, American Public Health Association and the YWCA, issued statements of support in a press release distributed by the Office of the Surgeon General.
“Across the country, physicians everywhere treat patients and families afflicted by firearm violence,” said American Medical Association President Bruce A. Scott, MD, in a statement.
Gun violence is now the leading cause of death in the U.S. among kids and teens. Gun-related suicides have risen among all age groups from 2012 to 2022; the greatest rise has been among 10–14-year-olds, according to the advisory.
Rates of gun-related deaths among kids 1-19 years old in the U.S. are astronomically high and significantly higher than in other high-income countries.
“Pediatricians have long understood that gun violence is a public health threat to children and that its impact on families and communities can be devastating and long-lasting,” said American Academy of Pediatrics President Ben Hoffman, MD, FAAP, in a statement.
Over 50% of Americans say they or their family have experienced a firearm-related incident in their lifetime, and about 60% of U.S. adults say that they worry “sometimes,” “almost every day,” or “every day” about a loved one being a victim of firearm violence, according to the advisory.
The advisory also shows how certain groups are disproportionately impacted by gun violence, including people who are Black, American Indian, Alaskan Natives and veterans.
The advisory says the impact of firearm violence goes beyond deaths and injuries; it leads to cascading harm and collective trauma across society and threatens the mental and physical health of young people’s wellbeing, which warrants heightened attention and action.
“We don’t have to continue down this path, and we don’t have to subject our children to the ongoing horror of firearm violence in America. All Americans deserve to live their lives free from firearm violence, as well as from the fear and devastation that it brings. It will take the collective commitment of our nation to turn the tide on firearm violence,” Murthy said.
The advisory outlines an evidence-informed public health approach with prevention strategies that public health leaders and policymakers can consider to reduce and prevent firearm-related death and injury, including by increasing research investments and data collection, implementing risk reduction strategies and engaging communities.
The report also calls for a ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines for civilian use and says firearms should be treated like other consumer products to enhance and standardize safety.
“Gun violence is a national tragedy. It’s a serious public health problem that is highly preventable,” said American Public Health Association Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin, MD in a statement.
(NEW YORK) — Middle-age and older adults with long-term loneliness are at higher risk of stroke than those who do not report being lonely, according to a new study published in the journal eClinicalMedicine on Monday.
Researchers found the risk of stroke among lonely adults was higher regardless of co-existing depressive symptoms or feelings of social isolation.
“Loneliness is increasingly considered a major public health issue. Our findings further highlight why that is,” lead author Yenee Soh, a research associate in the department of social and behavioral sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a press release.
“Especially when experienced chronically, our study suggests loneliness may play an important role in stroke incidence, which is already one of the leading causes of long-term disability and mortality worldwide,” Soh continued.
Those who experienced situational loneliness — a temporary loneliness due to a change in circumstances — did not have an increased stroke risk, suggesting that the impact of loneliness on stroke risk occurs in the long term, according to the study.
The study used data from the University of Michigan’s Health and Retirement Study (HRS) survey that followed nearly 9,000 stroke-free adults who were aged 50 for 10 to 12 years.
Results showed those who experienced chronic loneliness had a 56% higher risk of stroke than those who consistently reported not being lonely, independent of social isolation, depressive symptoms, body mass index, physical activity and other health conditions.
Previous research has linked loneliness to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, but the new study is one of the first large-scale, long-term studies to examine the association between loneliness changes and stroke risk over time.
“These study findings are consistent with other research that has shown that loneliness has been linked to [poorer] health,” Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University and eminent researcher on the health effects of loneliness — who was not involved with the study — told ABC News.
“It’s also consistent with other research that shows that the detrimental effects seem to be most associated when it is persistent or chronic over time,” she continued. “This study because it looked at loneliness at multiple times to determine whether there were changes, and whether it was consistent over time [and] found that persistent levels were associated with the worst outcomes.”
Participants who only had baseline measurements of loneliness saw an occurrence of 1,237 strokes during the follow-up period from 2006 to 2018. Participants who completed two loneliness assessments and reported loneliness both times saw an occurrence of 601 strokes during the same follow-up period.
Each group’s stroke risk was analyzed in the context of their loneliness while controlling for other health and behavioral risk factors, including social isolation and depressive symptoms, which are closely related to — but distinct from — loneliness.
“Repeat assessments of loneliness may help identify those who are chronically lonely and are therefore at a higher risk for stroke,” Soh said in the press release. “If we fail to address their feelings of loneliness, on a micro and macro scale, there could be profound health consequences.”
“Importantly, these interventions must specifically target loneliness, which is a subjective perception and should not be conflated with social isolation,” she added.
(WASHINGTON) — Three more states are holding congressional primaries on Tuesday.
Voters in Colorado, New York and Utah will cast ballots. The Beehive State will also vote in a gubernatorial primary.
Colorado
Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.
The last day to register to vote in the primary and receive a mail-in ballot was June 17. Absentee ballots must be received by Tuesday, June 25, 9 p.m. ET. Early voting was from June 17 to 24.
Republican and Democratic primaries for several races — including the U.S. House, state House, state Senate and state Board of Education — will take place Tuesday.
Rep. Lauren Boebert announced in December that she will switch congressional districts when she runs for reelection.
Boebert, a House hardliner who made a name for herself as a staunch advocate for gun owner rights, said she will be running in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District rather than the 3rd Congressional District, which she currently represents. The winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary for District 3 will face Adam Frisch, the main Democratic challenger.
Republican Ken Buck previously represented the 4th Congressional District. Buck, who had already announced he would not be seeking reelection, left Congress in March. The district leans more Republican than the seat Boebert currently holds.
There is a special election Tuesday to replace Buck, and the winner will serve the remainder of his term; Boebert is not running in the special election.
New York
Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.
Mail-in ballots should be postmarked no later than Tuesday, June 25. Primary voters can also drop their ballots at their respective county Board of Elections Office no later than 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday. They can also deliver them to a poll site on Tuesday no later than 9 p.m. Early voting was from June 15 to 23.
One of the most anticipated congressional races is in District 16, where Rep. Jamaal Bowman faces Westchester County Executive George Latimer in the Democratic primary. District 16 includes a portion of the Bronx and the southern half of Westchester County.
Utah
Polls close at 10 p.m. ET.
June 18 was the last day residents could request a mail-in ballot for the regular primary election, and Monday, June 24, was the last day ballots could be postmarked.
Incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox and state Rep. Phil Lyman are on the ballot in the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary. Incumbent Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and Natalie Clawson are on the GOP primary ballot for lieutenant governor.
In Utah’s Senate GOP primary, voters will begin the process to elect a successor to Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, who announced in September 2023 that he would not seek reelection.
Romney — who once served as the governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and earned the 2012 GOP nomination for president — has had a storied career as a conservative public official. However, as an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump and Trump’s GOP, Romney has virtually lost his place in his party.
Trump supporters Brad Wilson, the former state House speaker, and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs are on the primary ticket. U.S. Rep. John Curtis is also on the ballot.
