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From the lab to the marsh, Georgia Southern students lead summer science research
As summer heat settles across the region, students in the College of Science and Mathematics (COSM) at Georgia Southern University are completing research projects from the laboratory to the salt marsh.
Sonoma County updates health advisory due to poor air quality caused by the Woodside Fire
8:15 P.M. UPDATE: Conditions are changing quickly and the air quality conditions have evolved to "hazardous" and "very unhealthy" levels. The Sonoma County Health Officer today issued the following health advisory: Areas of Sonoma County may experience "very unhealthy" or "hazardous" air quality caused by the wildfire event along the coast near Timber Cove and Salt Point State Park. People may experience adverse health effects from the smoke over Sonoma County and across the region. Below are some things you can do when the air quality is poor.
Salt Lake County Health Department reports first human West Nile Virus case of 2026
The Salt Lake County Health Department reported the area's first human West Nile Virus case of the year.The health department expects the infected adult, who wa
Salt Lake Acting Company blends comedy with politics in recent premiere
The Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC) premiered “The Gaslight Zone“, which brings humor to recent political topics. Every year, SLAC puts on a summer show that presents situations based on recent political events in a humorous, lighthearted and educational manner. This season’s show, “The Gaslight Zone,” runs through August 16 and blends local drag culture...
Recursion to Report Second Quarter 2026 Business Updates and Financial Results on August 5th
Company to host public Earnings call on August 5th at 8:00 am ET / 6:00 am MT / 1:00 pm BSTSalt Lake City, UT, July 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Salt Lake City, UT, July 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Recursion (Nasdaq: RXRX), a leading clinical stage TechBio company decoding biology to radically improve lives, announced today it will provide business updates and report its second quarter 2026 financial results on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, before the open of the financial markets. Recursion will h
A cleanup effort is underway on the shores of Sears Lake. Here’s what’s lurking in the dirt.
Cleanup is underway at the long-empty, and contaminated, former Sears site in Salt Lake City.
Exclusive: Co-Founded By Former Whoop CTO, Throne Science Raises $10M To Track Gut Health From The Toilet
Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Throne Science, a startup that makes an AI-powered toilet camera to track gut health and hydration, has raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Will Ventures, it told Crunchbase News exclusively. Emerson Collective, Workshop, LEAD VC, Salt VC, Accomplice, Moxxie Ventures, and several other investors also participated in […]
New study reveals additional health risks from Great Salt Lake dust
New research shows two additional routes that toxic metals in dust from the Great Salt Lake could move into soils, plants, and human bodies.
The Bees moved to the suburbs. Now, an entertainment district is taking shape around them.
The Salt Lake Bees' new ballpark was only the beginning. Here's how America First Square is transforming into a sports and entertainment district.
UMaine-led team selected for inaugural DOE Genesis Mission to advance AI in underground science
Beneath Maine’s salt marshes, an invisible transformation is constantly underway. Water moves through soil and rock. Chemicals react. Tiny microbes living underground help determine whether minerals dissolve or form, how fluids move and whether pollutants break down or spread. Existing computer models used to guide decisions about energy infrastructure and…
Syracuse Crunch owner teases moving out of War Memorial
The Syracuse Crunch have played home games at the War Memorial since moving to the Salt City in 1994.
The Science Behind Why You Prefer Sweet, Salty, Or Spicy Foods
Why do some people crave spicy food while others love sweets? It turns out there's an explanation, and it has more to do with science than you might think.
'A force for Utah politics': Family, friends remember Merrill Cook at state Capitol
Many gathered at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City on Saturday to celebrate the life of former congressman Merrill Cook.
Real Salt Lake apologizes after JJ Watt calls them out for not identifying his wife Kealia, a former NWSL player
Salt Lake City Awarded 2027 College Championships
Colorado Springs, Colo. (July 16, 2026)—The 2027 USA Ultimate College Championships have been awarded to Salt Lake City, the national governing body for the
Newcomer Creamery Gains Outdoor Entertainment License
Salt & Honey Creamery, a craft gelato parlor that recently opened at the former location of Sweet Caroline’s Ice Cream, has been granted an entertainment license by Sandwich Select Board.
Salt Lake City OKs $2M loan to help business owner drastically rebuild after Main Street fire
The owner of a Main Street building that was destroyed by a fire that broke out last summer is receiving a big financial boost from Salt Lake City as it looks to drastically rebuild the property.
Battery-like device pulls CO₂ from air using electricity and saltwater chemistry
Engineers have developed a new way to pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere using a process similar to charging and discharging a battery—an advance that could help address the planet's excess ...
Broncos Coach Thinks Officiating Transparency Is Coming Soon
Denver Broncos coach Sean Payton has been known to get salty about officiating, but he thinks transparency is coming.
Car crashes into Salt Lake business after three-vehicle collision
A car crashed into Getout Games in Salt Lake City following a three-vehicle crash, according to police.A Salt Lake City Police Department official said the cras
The science behind fireworks and their brilliant colors
Fireworks displays on Independence Day are created by the combination of different metal salts, which emit light at unique wavelengths to produce vibrant colors.
Naks Pan is a new salt bread business on Oʻahu
The home bakery specializes in shio pan, or salt bread, and cream pan. The Japanese bread rolls are available in a variety of flavors, while the cream pan…
Families describe daily health challenges near the Salton Sea
Research examines air quality and respiratory health among children
No injuries after fire sparks outside Morehead City carpentry business
Morehead City Fire-EMS was called to the fire at Old Salt Carpentry in the 2500 block of Bridges Street after 9:30 p.m.
Best of the Beehive: Art & Entertainment
Our 2026 Best of the Beehive Issue is here! ead on for all winners and finalists from the Arts & Entertainment category.
'Cruel, heartless': Critics raise health concerns with proposed immigrant detention facility
Critics warn that plans for a proposed immigration detention center in Salt Lake City may not be dead and are raising healthcare concerns if such a facility is built.
A Salt Lake City school’s new sports complex features a huge turf field. Neighbors say it’s a heat island
One couple said they’re no longer able to enjoy their yard because it now reeks of hot rubber.
These tiny soil microbes could rescue crops from salty farmland
Researchers have discovered that beneficial soil bacteria give plants an unexpected survival advantage in salty soils. Instead of helping plants keep salt out, the microbes stimulate the production of lignin, a natural compound that strengthens roots and makes plants more resilient. Greenhouse and field tests showed healthier plants and higher yields in salty conditions. The findings could lead to bio-based treatments that help farmers grow crops on land once considered too salty for agriculture.
This week in science: Exoplanetary salt clouds, ancient families and laughter's origin
Hosts from NPR's science podcast Short Wave talk about an exoplanet with pink, salty clouds, the surprising social structure of ancient human relatives and the origins of laughter.
Hershey names Pepsico vet as president of US business
Heather Hoytink will oversee the Reese’s maker’s confection, salty and protein portfolio when she takes over July 8.
Salt Lake City to begin requiring business licenses for short-term rentals
Utah's capital city is now cracking down on recent short-term rental challenges through an ordinance that will require business licenses to operate them.
Famous Pink Planet Mystery Decoded: JWST Says Salt Clouds are the Culprit
This Magenta world's strange atmosphere made no sense until JWST found intriguing clouds made of salt.
AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Utah’s state primary
Utah voters will nominate candidates for Congress Tuesday using a new map that created a Democratic-friendly district in Salt Lake City and scrambled the reelection plans of the state’s all-Republican delegation
University of Utah Health operating normally as Bonneville Fire burns nearby
University of Utah Health officials said that despite the Bonneville Fire burning east of Salt Lake City above the campus, clinics remained open and continued t
Macy’s Fourth of July show to feature Post Malone, Blake Shelton, Salt-N-Pepa and Shaboozey
Macy's is set to celebrate America's 250th birthday with a spectacular July Fourth fireworks show featuring performances by Post Malone, Blake Shelton, Salt-N-Pepa, Noah Kahan, Bebe Rexha and Shaboozey.
Downtown SLC location of Market Street Grill to close after almost 50 years in business
After almost 50 years in business, this downtown Salt Lake City restaurant is closing.
Globally significant volcanic event formed Giant’s Causeway, scientists find
Geochronologists say Antrim coastline’s basalt columns developed over 5.5m years – 8m less than thought
WHO urges targeted action to strengthen emergency workforce capacities for shared health risks across the Asia-Pacific region
At a time when the world is more interconnected than ever, the World Health Organization (WHO) is disseminating a comprehensive regional analysis of shared health risks across Asia and the Pacific, urging Member States to invest in enhancing workforce capacities regionwide to mitigate these risks and ensure health systems are better prepared to anticipate, tackle and withstand a range of crises and shocks. Over 100 delegates from 49 countries and areas in the Asia-Pacific region reviewed results from the regional risk analysis during the WHO-led Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework (APHSAF) Stakeholders Meeting in Malaysia. Synthesizing insights from 21 strategic risk assessments and more than 800 multisectoral experts, the regional analysis highlighted an urgent imperative: countries must proactively invest in emergency workforce preparedness to navigate a landscape where climate hazards, disease outbreaks and geophysical events increasingly overlap. These complex converging crises create devastating, compounding impacts on health systems and communities – reiterating the need for investing in a fit-for-purpose regional health workforce and multisectoral action.Key findings: an evolving risk landscape More than half of the participating countries ranked flooding, cyclones, dengue and pandemic-potential respiratory pathogens as being of high or very high risk, while antimicrobial resistance, landslides and gastroenteritis remain widespread concerns as well. “Given that 51% – over half – of these assessed hazards are deeply interconnected, isolated health interventions are no longer sufficient,” said Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific. “Extreme weather events like cyclones and floods directly trigger subsequent disease outbreaks, while environmental degradation – driven by sea-level rise, coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion – fuels health risks across the Pacific. Mitigating these cascading risks requires unified, cross-sectoral action linking environmental, agricultural and public health policies to build true regional resilience.” Priority recommendations for action To address critical vulnerabilities, WHO calls on Member States in the Asia-Pacific region to urgently prioritize the following strategic actions: Bridge workforce capacity gaps. Embed and standardize emergency preparedness within academia to promote regional workforce interoperability. Foster multisectoral coordination. Address ad-hoc taskforce responses and fragmented surge support through formalized contingency plans and standard operating procedures that are frequently updated and tested. Secure sustainable financing for emergencies. Overcome systemic barriers to access dedicated funding for both immediate anticipatory actions and long-term emergency preparedness initiatives. Enable emergency-ready primary health care. Embed emergency management into public health workforce readiness planning. Ensure that emergency planning is inclusive. Establish clear pathways for inclusive emergency planning that actively involves communities most at risk and other vulnerable groups. Optimize communication. Update risk communication and community engagement strategies, aligning them with seasonal risk calendars. Elevating workforce readiness to meet regional health risks While the gaps identified are significant, the Asia-Pacific region possesses solid foundational pillars, including dedicated clinicians, laboratory staff, rapid response teams, emergency medical teams and extensive community networks. However, to adequately address the compounding nature of modern crises, the various components of the emergency workforce must collaborate cohesively. True resilience depends entirely on transforming this currently fragmented workforce into a highly trained, interconnected and rapidly deployable asset. To achieve this, WHO is actively advancing regional workforce capacities through the Global Health Emergency Corps initiative. This initiative – supported by the Gates Foundation and the Institute of Philanthropy – seeks to build a seamless network of emergency workforce across borders and sectors, ensuring that when a crisis strikes, a standardized, well-coordinated and trained workforce is immediately ready to respond. “Scaling up emergency workforce readiness is no longer optional,” said Dr Gina Samaan, Regional Emergency Director for WHO in the Western Pacific. “It is the definitive factor that will determine how effectively the Asia-Pacific region safeguards health and protects lives in an increasingly unpredictable future.” ____________________For more information, or to arrange media interviews, contact: Ara Johannes, WHO Western Pacific Health Emergencies Division: johannesa@who.int WHO Western Pacific Communications: wprocom@who.int
University of Utah to build major new health campus at The Point in Draper, officials announce
The rapidly growing area of Salt Lake County, which once housed the state prison, has been eyed for significant development.
Too many free tickets and money left ‘on the table’: Here’s what consultants found when they reviewed Utah’s athletics operations
Utah athletics hired a consultant to review parts of its department last summer. Here's what they found, according to a document recently obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune.
Saving Great Salt Lake key issue in Utah’s House District 21 primary race
Democrats Aaron Wiley and Stephen Otterstrom are vying to replace Rep. Sandra Hollins in the Utah House of Representatives.
WHO urges targeted action to strengthen emergency workforce capacities for shared health risks across the Asia-Pacific region
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 11 June 2026 – At a time when the world is more interconnected than ever, the World Health Organization (WHO) is disseminating a comprehensive regional analysis of shared health risks across Asia and the Pacific, urging Member States to invest in enhancing workforce capacities regionwide to mitigate these risks and ensure health systems are better prepared to anticipate, tackle and withstand a range of crises and shocks. Over 100 delegates from 49 countries and areas in the Asia-Pacific region reviewed results from the regional risk analysis during the WHO-led Asia Pacific Health Security Action Framework (APSHAF) Stakeholders Meeting in Malaysia. Synthesizing insights from 21 strategic risk assessments and more than 800 multisectoral experts, the regional analysis highlighted an urgent imperative: countries must proactively invest in emergency workforce preparedness to navigate a landscape where climate hazards, disease outbreaks and geophysical events increasingly overlap. These complex converging crises create devastating, compounding impacts on health systems and communities - reiterating the need for investing in a fit-for-purpose regional health workforce and multisectoral action. Key findings: an evolving risk landscape More than half of the participating countries ranked flooding, cyclones, dengue and pandemic-potential respiratory pathogens as being of high or very high risk, while antimicrobial resistance, landslides and gastroenteritis remain widespread concerns as well. “Given that 51% - over half - of these assessed hazards are deeply interconnected, isolated health interventions are no longer sufficient,” said Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific. “Extreme weather events like cyclones and floods directly trigger subsequent disease outbreaks, while environmental degradation - driven by sea-level rise, coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion - fuels health risks across the Pacific. Mitigating these cascading risks requires unified, cross-sectoral action linking environmental, agricultural and public health policies to build true regional resilience.” Priority recommendations for action To address critical vulnerabilities, WHO calls on Member States in the Asia-Pacific region to urgently prioritize the following strategic actions: Bridge workforce capacity gaps. Embed and standardize emergency preparedness within academia to promote regional workforce interoperability. Foster multisectoral coordination. Address ad-hoc taskforce responses and fragmented surge support through formalized contingency plans and standard operating procedures that are frequently updated and tested. Secure sustainable financing for emergencies. Overcome systemic barriers to access dedicated funding for both immediate anticipatory actions and long-term emergency preparedness initiatives. Enable emergency-ready primary health care. Embed emergency management into public health workforce readiness planning. Ensure that emergency planning is inclusive. Establish clear pathways for inclusive emergency planning that actively involves communities most at risk and other vulnerable groups. Optimize communication. Update risk communication and community engagement strategies, aligning them with seasonal risk calendars. Elevating workforce readiness to meet regional health risks While the gaps identified are significant, the Asia-Pacific region possesses solid foundational pillars, including dedicated clinicians, laboratory staff, rapid response teams, emergency medical teams and extensive community networks. However, to adequately address the compounding nature of modern crises, the various components of the emergency workforce must collaborate cohesively. True resilience depends entirely on transforming this currently fragmented workforce into a highly trained, interconnected and rapidly deployable asset. To achieve this, WHO is actively advancing regional workforce capacities through the Global Health Emergency Corps initiative. This initiative - supported by the Gates Foundation and Institute of Philanthropy - seeks to build a seamless network of emergency workforce across borders and sectors, ensuring that when a crisis strikes, a standardized, well-coordinated and trained workforce is immediately ready to respond. “Scaling up emergency workforce readiness is no longer optional,” said Dr Gina Samaan, Regional Emergency Director for WHO in the Western Pacific. “It is the definitive factor that will determine how effectively the Asia-Pacific region safeguards health and protects lives in an increasingly unpredictable future.” For more information, or to arrange media interviews, contact: Ara Johannes, WHO Western Pacific Health Emergencies Division: johannesa@who.int WHO Western Pacific Communications: wprocom@who.int
The Family Business Behind the UWS New York Knicks Bear
Constantine and Nick Bazas, who own Q Florist on the Upper West Side. Photo by Gus Saltonstall. By Gus Saltonstall
Does Salt Secretly Damage Your Brain? Scientists Finally Reveal the Truth - Futura-Sciences
The answer is not as simple as saying salt “damages” the brain directly. Current research suggests that excess salt may influence brain health indirectly, especially through blood pressure, blood vessel health, inflammation, and possibly the gut-brain connection. Why Salt Matters for the Body Salt contains sodium, a mineral the body...
Overnight Amtrak train: Travel mistakes I made on a 15-hour ride
On a 2025 overnight Amtrak train ride from Denver to Salt Lake City, I regretted arriving at the dining car early and leaving snacks at home.
A study of 8,300 older adults revealed a surprising salt habit
A large study of older adults in Brazil found that adding extra salt at the table is still a common habit, especially among men. While too much salt is linked to serious health problems and faster cognitive decline, researchers discovered that women’s salt-shaking habits were tied more closely to lifestyle and diet.
Gordon Monson: Salt Lake City now ranks as one of the country’s best sports cities, ahead of Philly, Boston and Denver
Salt Lake City sits at No. 12 in Sports Business Journal’s ranking of more than 2,000 markets.
The dynamic science of Great Salt Lake
Dust and Sand: U researchers are out front seeking to unlock the lake's mysteries and understand what its decline means for Utah
Sal “The Voice” Valentinetti to headline Belmont Stakes Day entertainment
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) today announced that acclaimed vocalist Sal “The Voice” Valentinetti will headline the entertainment lineup for the final Belmont Stakes Racing Festival to be held at historic Saratoga Race Course.
New solar desalination breakthrough makes fresh water without toxic brine
Scientists have developed a solar desalination system that turns seawater into drinking water without creating environmentally damaging brine. Special laser-textured metal panels use sunlight to evaporate water while automatically moving salt deposits away from the working surface, preventing clogging. The process was successfully tested with water from three oceans and can recover nearly all salts as solids. Those leftover materials could even become a source of valuable lithium for batteries.
AANHPI Local Business Spotlight
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, celebrated each May, honors the rich history, culture, and contributions of AANHPI communities across the United States. For Real Salt Lake, it’s a meaningful opportunity to celebrate the diversity that strengthens both the club and the broader Utah community. That
Salting the earth for US science
Sometimes it feels like scientists in the US are trapped in a burning building and no one is even trying to put out the fire. So few people even seem to recognize that the fire is there.
Caesars Entertainment to be acquired by Fertitta in $17B deal
Caesars Entertainment has reached a deal with Fertitta Entertainment to be acquired. Fertitta is Texas billionaire Tilman Fertitta’s company. It owns Saltgrass Steakhouse, Golden Nugget Casinos, and the Houston Rockets. The deal could have local implications for the Mississippi Gulf Coast where Caesars operates the Harrah’s Gulf Coast Casino in Biloxi. Under the agreement, Caesars shareholders would receive 31 dollars...
Things to know before booking an overnight Amtrak train ride
I spent 60 hours on Amtrak trains between NYC and Miami, 15 on one from Denver to Salt Lake City, and 53 hours on the longest train ride in the US.
Do Utahns support tax increase for Salt Lake City sports, entertainment district?
City banking revenue for planned sports, entertainment, culture and convention district
DNA solves 250-year-old mystery of the Seychelles’ lost crocodiles
Scientists have solved the mystery of the Seychelles’ vanished crocodiles using DNA from historic museum specimens. The reptiles were not a unique species after all, but an isolated population of saltwater crocodiles that likely drifted thousands of kilometers across the Indian Ocean.
Beyond the Game: How Utah is Leading the Charge for Mental Health and Performance in MLS and NWSL
By Isabella Rubis Mental health in sports is an increasingly important topic, highlighting the psychological challenges athletes face both on and off the field as they strive for peak performance while navigating intense pressure and public scrutiny. Through the partnership with Intermountain Health, Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC
Cotiviti Pledges Support to CMS Digital Health Ecosystem
SALT LAKE CITY, May 26, 2026--Cotiviti has pledged its support to the CMS Digital Health Ecosystem to support efforts to modernize the nation's digital health infrastructure.
I joined my family's warehouse business after college
Ryan Saltzman joined his family's wholesale grocery business after college and now helps lead the century-old company.
Scientists just found a faster, cleaner way to extract lithium for EV batteries
A breakthrough lithium-extraction method could help solve one of clean energy’s dirtiest problems. Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a fast new technique that pulls lithium directly from salty underground brines using a temperature-sensitive solvent, avoiding the giant evaporation ponds that can take years and drain precious water supplies. Even better, the method works on low-quality lithium sources that current technologies struggle to use.
Sports in Brief: An update on the Wasatch High School spring sports teams
The Wasatch boys soccer team fell in the first round of the playoffs on May 8 3-2 to Salt Lake City’s West High. The Wasps were tied 2-2 with their opponents at the half, who scored the game winner in the second half. Wasatch ended the season 11-7, a down year for the program that […]
HLS Vegetation Indices
In this explainer, each vegetation index includes a visualization, an example application, and a description of the index that highlights how HLS’s increased temporal revisit empowers new research.
Mental Health Resources
As Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC honor Mental Health Awareness Month, the Club encourages all fans, staff, and players to remember that they are never alone. Reaching out for support is a sign of strength. Together with our partner Intermountain Health, here’s how we're working to support mental
Moved from Western US to East Coast; happier in North Carolina
I spent years living in big cities like Denver and Salt Lake City, before moving back East. Now, I love my life in Asheville, North Carolina.
Scientists warn that the world’s rivers are running out of oxygen
Rivers around the world are quietly running out of oxygen — and climate change is emerging as the main culprit. A sweeping global analysis of more than 21,000 river systems found that nearly 80% have been steadily losing dissolved oxygen over the past four decades, threatening fish, biodiversity, and the overall health of freshwater ecosystems. Surprisingly, tropical rivers are being hit the hardest, even more than rivers in rapidly warming polar regions.
WV-based business reaches millions of new customers overseas with Coupang
J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works produces salt from ancient underground reservoir J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works, a 14-employee family business in Malden, West Virginia that produces signature culinary salts, is expanding internationally for the first time by selling its products in Asia through Coupang, a U.S.-based technology company and international retailer. Nancy Bruns, a descendant of the original family […]
Mental Health Resources
As Utah Royals FC and Real Salt Lake honor Mental Health Awareness Month, the Club encourages all fans, staff, and players to remember that they are never alone. Reaching out for support is a sign of strength. Together with our partner Intermountain Health, here’s how we're working to support mental
WGU Launches Nation’s First At-Scale, Online Bachelor of Science in AI Engineering
Competency-based degree program has potential to transform AI engineering workforce gapSALT LAKE CITY, May 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WGU, the largest conferrer of technology degrees in the U.S., announced today the launch the nation’s first accredited, competency-based Bachelor of Science in AI Engineering (BSAIE), also among the first bachelor’s degree programs nationally in AI Engineering as a standalone undergraduate discipline. “This represents an important milestone in higher education.
Rumour: Project Helix Unlikely To Include Disc Drive, But Xbox May Have A Digital Solution
"Take this with a huge pinch of salt and a healthy dose of speculation"
Mountain View entertainment zones go into effect May 28
Mountain View’s pilot program to create public drinking entertainment zones on Castro Street will go into effect on May 28.
Can spreading basaltic volcanic rock dust improve crops and the health of Florida’s soils?
UF researchers are testing volcanic rock dust to improve soil health across the state’s sandy and organic farmlands.
Five Easy Ways Christians Can Get Involved in Politics
In America, Christians have the opportunity – and the responsibility – to serve as salt and light in our culture by influencing our nation’s politics.
The sugar intake – oral diseases nexus: Leveraging food environments for better population nutrition and health
Across the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region, our diets are changing rapidly. Globalization has made processed foods, which often do not align with healthy diets, easier to find, more affordable, and more heavily marketed than ever before. Unfortunately, many of these products are often high in saturated fat, trans-fatty acids, salts and free sugars, contributing to the burden of all forms of malnutrition, including diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The impact of these dietary changes is staggering. Sugars, in particular, are empty calories and are often hidden in processed foods and beverages. Over the last 20 years, the health burden linked to sugary drinks has nearly tripled, reaching 52.3 disability-adjusted life years per 100 000 in 2023. Excessive sugar is a leading cause of obesity, diabetes, and—most notably—oral diseases. Today, oral diseases affect over 960 million individuals in the Western Pacific Region. Tooth decay is the most common issue, especially for childre
History and small business take center stage at Salt Fest in Malden
History, heritage and small business were front and center on Saturday for Salt Fest in Malden.
Scientists stunned as volcano cloud destroys methane in the atmosphere
A colossal underwater volcano in the South Pacific may have revealed a surprising new weapon against climate change. After the 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai, scientists detected enormous amounts of formaldehyde in the atmosphere — a telltale sign that methane, one of the planet’s most powerful greenhouse gases, was being destroyed. Researchers now believe volcanic ash mixed with salty seawater and sunlight created reactive chlorine particles that effectively “cleaned up” some of the methane released by the eruption itself.
Mitt Romney returns to political fundraising, backs Susan Collins at Salt Lake City event
Former Massachusetts governor and Utah Senator Mitt Romney made his first foray back into national politics since retiring.
Trump Backed Forced Treatment for Homeless People. Utah Shows the Challenges.
State lawmakers declined to back a Trump-inspired plan to move 1,300 homeless people to a campus on the edge of Salt Lake City, but supporters are trying to keep the plan’s spirit alive.
Doctors Say This Cooking Mistake Could Be Harming Your Health
Doctors share how oversalting your food could increase your risk for heart disease, plus ways to cut back while still enjoying flavorful meals at home.
UWS Trader Joe’s at West 72nd Street to Temporarily Close for ‘Major Renovations’
Courtesy photo. By Gus Saltonstall The Upper West Side Trader Joe's at West 72nd Street and Broadway is set to
Salt shaker test: The Stetson poll is the real deal — but read the fine print
The real story is in the independent numbers — a large undecided bloc that neither party has locked up.
Letter: Science and the liberal elite
From Lord Wallace of Saltaire, Liberal Democrat Peer, House of Lords, London SW1, UK
🚨 Marco Reus brace leads LA Galaxy to narrow win over Real Salt Lake
LA Galaxy have defeated Real Salt Lake 2-1 in Sunday's MLS matchup, thanks to a brace of set-piece goals from Marco Reus. Scorers: Reus 9', 85' ; Marcinkowski 45+4' (OG)After a strong attacking start...
Cobi Jones’ Galaxy career honored with statue at Dignity Health Sports Park
Jones, who played 12 years with the Galaxy, saw the new bronze statue finally unveiled Sunday before the game against Real Salt Lake. Jones becomes the third Galaxy player to receive a statue at Dignity Health Sports Park.
What I buy at Trader Joe's for easy meals, from dietitian
As a dietitian, I buy items like turkey burgers, steamed lentils, frozen berries, salted edamame, and seeded bread at Trader Joe's for easy meals.
Four women accuse Eva Lopez Chavez, a SLC Council member, of unwanted ‘sexual’ advances
Four women from Utah political circles accuse Eva Lopez Chavez, a Salt Lake City Council member and Democratic congressional candidate, of what they consider unwanted sexual advances.
Just Two Years After Opening, Intermountain Health Primary Children’s Hospital - Miller Family Campus in Lehi is Expanding to Meet Growing Demand for Pediatric Care
Just two years after opening, Intermountain Health Primary Children’s Hospital - Miller Family Campus in Lehi has become a critical access point for pediatric trauma care and specialty services for children closer to home for residents in fast-growing communities in Utah County and Southern Salt Lake County.Since opening in 2024, Intermountain...
Salt Lake County Mayor shares more details on Salt Palace remodel
More details are emerging about the reconstruction plans coming to the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Unexpected Source of Salt May Be Raising Blood Pressure For Millions
This isn't a lifestyle choice.
‘Mormon Wives’ star Taylor Frankie Paul will not be charged in recent fights with ex-partner
Utah reality star Taylor Frankie Paul will not be charged in a pair of February fights with her former partner, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said | Newsradio 1140 WRVA
‘Mormon Wives’ star Taylor Frankie Paul will not be charged in recent fights with ex-partner
Utah reality star Taylor Frankie Paul will not be charged in a pair of February fights with her former partner, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office said | 830 WCCO
Utah Royals FC Welcomes Dave Tenney as Senior Director of Player Health and Performance
HERRIMAN, Utah (Monday, April 13, 2026) – Utah Soccer President of Soccer Operations Jason Kreis - overseeing Utah Royals FC (National Women’s Soccer League), Real Salt Lake (Major League Soccer), Real Monarchs (MLS NEXT Pro) and the RSL Academy - has named highly-respected sports medicine veteran Dave Tenney as the
'We knew we had to act': Great Salt Lake gets $30M boost from business community
Three prominent families with Utah ties pledged a combined $30 million toward efforts to boost Great Salt Lake levels, as the lake faces impacts from a record-low snowpack.
Utah business leaders put up $30M in race to save the Great Salt Lake before the Olympics
Utah business leaders just pledged $30M to help save the Great Salt Lake before the 2034 Olympics.
Science Pub: Investigating the Lithium Rush
Lithium has been described as “white gold,” the next oil, or a kind of savior from climate change. Consumers are
Staal Nets Number 20 – Hurricanes 4, Mammoth 1
Jordan Staal notched his 20th goal of the season and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Utah Mammoth, 4-1 on Saturday evening in Salt Lake City. It was Staal’s first 20 goal season in nine years. The Canes have now won three games in a row and they look like they are certainly peaking at the […]
Life on Mars? Tiny cells just survived shock waves and toxic soil
Mars may be hostile, but it might not be entirely unlivable. In lab experiments, yeast cells survived simulated Martian shock waves and toxic perchlorate salts—two major environmental threats on the Red Planet. Their secret weapon was forming protective molecular clusters that shield critical cellular functions under stress. Without these defenses, survival plummeted, pointing to a potential universal strategy life could use beyond Earth.
Nearly 100 Colorado businesses have left or scaled back operations since 2019, report finds
A new report from the Colorado Chamber Foundation suggests the state’s weakening competitiveness is driving businesses out of state. Companies are blaming factors like increasing regulations and cost of living for why they’re choosing to...
“AI polls” are fake polls
A few weeks after Donald Trump’s second presidential win, I took the train up from London (where I was living at the time) to Oxford to attend a conference on polls and forecasts of the 2024 election. Most of the attendees were pollsters or academics, but I also watched presentations from Aaru and Electric Twin, two companies that do what is interchangeably called synthetic sampling, silicon sampling, or synthetic audiences. Stripped of startup jargon, that means they use large language models (LLMs) to simulate responses to public opinion polls by having AI agents take on the role of survey respondents. I had already heard of Aaru thanks to some articles with eye-catching headlines like “No people, no problem: AI chatbots predict elections better than humans” in the months leading up to Election Day. The founders were making some big, some might even say far-fetched claims, such as: “within two years, we will simulate the entire globe — from the way crops are grown in Ukraine to how that impacts production of oil in Iraq, trade through the strait of Malacca, and elections for the mayor of Baltimore.” When Semafor asked Aaru’s cofounders — Cameron Fink and Ned Koh — about my boss, they said “we respect all those who came before us.” Nate (as he so often does) shared his thoughts on Twitter: Fink and Koh were relatively good-natured about this back-and-forth when we spoke at Oxford. They even offered to mail me one of the t-shirts featuring Nate’s quote they apparently had made. I never took them up on the offer, which I now somewhat regret. These synthetic sampling companies fell off my radar for a while, but they do still exist. In fact, Aaru recently received a $1 billion valuation. Is what they’re doing anywhere close to the most important frontier in AI development? Not by a longshot, especially when Anthropic just developed a model so adept at exploiting software vulnerabilities that it’s only being released to 40 companies. Still, silicon sampling is increasingly finding its way into public polling. Axios reported in March that “a majority of people trust their own doctors and nurses” based on findings from Aaru — without mentioning that the “people” in that sentence were actually LLMs. Around the same time, the Public Sentiment Institute “boosted” their online sample of 373 real survey respondents with 114 AI agents.1 (Spoiler alert: even the co-founder of Electric Twin doesn’t think that’s a particularly defensible approach.) Polling companies like Qualtrics and Ipsos are also developing synthetic data panels. So, what should we make of these … “polls”? Let’s get one thing out of the way: whatever they are, they’re not polls in the way that term is usually defined. Subscribe You can’t replace polls with AI On one hand, using LLMs to essentially make up fake survey respondents sort of sounds like the dumbest idea ever, one that will at best imperfectly replicate real polls while introducing all sorts of biases. On the other hand, with LLMs improving at a remarkable, perhaps even alarming rate, maybe that means I’m a dinosaur at the ripe old age of 24 because I still want to rely on polls that talk to actual people. I’m not going to argue that synthetic samples are completely useless. In fact, as I’ll return to later, there is evidence that some techniques can replicate topline survey results quickly and cheaply. But the marketing from certain companies can be slightly optimistic. “No traditional poll will exist by the time the next general election occurs,” said Fink in 2024. We’re just 206 days away from the midterms, and based on the fact that I still have to collect a bunch of polls every day, I’d say he should have run that prediction by a sample of AI agents before the interview.2 To see why synthetic samples can’t replace polls, here’s a quick primer on how they work. The simplest version of these models involves taking a LLM (like ChatGPT or Claude), giving it a demographic profile (e.g., a white, college-educated woman who lives in Utah and makes $70k a year), and then asking it to respond to a survey question. You repeat that process a few thousand times using different demographic profiles and end up with a sample of synthetic survey responses. The actual models used by private companies are more sophisticated than this, usually because they incorporate more hypothesized demographic characteristics for each agent and provide them with extra information. Aaru, for example, feeds agents a diet of news and information they’d be likely to consume, while Electric Twin incorporates their customers’ proprietary data about the audience they’re trying to replicate. The way Ben Warner, the co-founder of Electric Twin, explained it to me was “we have a large amount of data on […] for instance, 5,000 people. Can we make an accurate prediction of how they would respond to another question?” Still, it should be obvious why synthetic samples can’t replace polls. Polling is fundamentally a data collection process. We might use surveys to make predictions by feeding them into election forecasts, but the main purpose of a poll isn’t prediction, it’s gathering new data about what people think and how they feel. Silicon sampling, on the other hand, produces no new data. It’s simply a model: you input LLM training data, demographic prompts, and a bunch of other information, and it spits out a prediction for what a poll would say. We love models here, but models aren’t polls. That difference is an important philosophical sticking point for most pollsters I talk to. “I think politics should stay away from [synthetic sampling], because we’re trying to […] represent the voice of the people,” said Natalie Jackson, a vice president at GQR Insights. Democratic pollster John Hagner told me: “I think I’m just incredibly skeptical of this idea. I don’t think it’s research. At that point, you’re asking the machine to tell you what you already believe.” Hagner has seen some presentations of early synthetic sampling experiments, but so far, “if it’s being used in a campaign, people are keeping it incredibly quiet.”3 But Eli, I hear you saying, aren’t polls themselves increasingly governed by modeling decisions? Indeed they are: pollsters’ choices on which sampling method to use, how to define their likely voter models, and how to weight their samples can and do lead to dramatic differences in the results they publish. Aaru even referenced these limitations in the methodology statement included with that maternal mortality “poll” — although I’m using the term “methodology statement” loosely here, because it doesn’t really explain how the model works at all. We can ignore the (frankly preposterous) implication that synthetic sampling isn’t subject to a separate set of biases. The important point is that there’s still a meaningful difference between using weighting and other statistical techniques on actual polling data and using a model to predict what a poll would say. The latter is far closer to election forecasts or techniques like MRP — potentially useful models, but not a replacement for polls.4 To be fair, other synthetic sampling companies are perfectly happy with the distinction between polls and models. Warner compared polling and synthetic sampling to different tools in a toolbox. “The mistake I think we make is we think that these new tools should either work in exactly the same way or somehow replace these old tools,” he said. “Rather than thinking of it as, okay, so we’ve always had the hammer, we’ve always had the screwdriver, now we’ve got a saw. But don’t use a saw to try [to] do the job of a hammer.” A quick comment from Nate Eli didn’t ask me for a comment — rather rude of him, don’t you think? But since I’m editing this story, I figured I’d add a few quick thoughts rather than putting words in his mouth. Beyond the frequently misleading marketing, what bothers me about the AI “poll” hype is that as AI tools make statistical inference cheaper and/or better (note that these are not synonyms) that actually increases the comparative value of collecting original data. You might be able to train a model to make a reasonable estimate of what some hard-to-reach poll respondent would say — say, a young Black man who voted for Trump. (Such a person checks a number of boxes for a voter who is usually hard to reach in surveys.) Indeed, this is closely related to what models like the Silver Bulletin forecast already do. They essentially smooth out the kinks in noisy survey data by making inferences based on past voting patterns or national polls or surveys of other states. But you don’t actually know what these voters think unless you’re reaching them directly. If there’s a shift in opinion among this subgroup, you’re not going to detect it. So if I were running a campaign, I’d invest more in going the extra mile to find a representative sample of those voters. And then I’d hire some smart quants — or Claude? — to figure out the implications for campaign strategy based on proprietary data that my competitors didn’t have access to. -Nate Silver Are these models any good? If synthetic surveys are just a new type of model, the next obvious question is whether the models are at least accurate. The answer very much depends on who you ask. On one end of the spectrum, you have the maximalist argument that synthetic sampling is more accurate than actual polls. “It’s an incredibly challenging problem to go to someone and say ‘hey, we’re going to be more accurate at predicting human behavior than you, even when you talk to your customers directly’,” Koh recently told CNBC. In his view, synthetic sampling isn’t a saw to polling’s hammer, it’s “magic.” There’s certainly evidence that synthetic samples can replicate certain survey toplines. But if Aaru does have any examples of their approach outperforming the polls, they’re keeping those to themselves.5 Aaru’s 2024 election model, for example, had Kamala Harris leading in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin on November 4th. And although they’ve since taken down their forecast page, they gave Harris a 50.5 percent chance of winning the race on November 2nd.6 After the election, Fink told Semafor he was happy enough with those results because they were “within margin of error,” a term that is completely meaningless when applied to a “sample” of AI agents. And of course, Aaru says their models have improved since 2024, so supposedly now they’d be more accurate than the polls? Still, their stronger argument is on cost: “We are significantly faster and cheaper than traditional polling, and still more accurate,” said Fink. The first two claims are undeniably true, but the third brings us to the opposite end of the spectrum. Both Jackson and Hagner are skeptical that these models are reliable for anything beyond replicating common survey toplines. “I just […] don’t think the machines are what we want when we’re looking for nuanced views. My example on this is people in Arizona and Nevada in 2024 who voted for Trump and voted for expanding abortion in their states on ballot initiatives,” said Jackson. Hagner identified another issue. Maybe the synthetic respondents, like sycophantic LLMs, are inhuman in one important way: they’re too nice. “The reports that have come through at the meetings that I’ve been at are that the early experiments on this, they cannot get respondents to be as racist or sexist or, frankly, as negative as human respondents,” he said. Academic research mostly agrees on this point. While there are some papers that show promising results when using LLMs to replicate polling data, most show that LLMs suffer from various quirks like producing too few “don’t know” responses and can seriously overpredict the favorability of politicians like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. They also seem to struggle with too little variation between demographic subgroups, so the difference in predicted opinion between Democrats and Republicans, for example, is too small. When I asked Warner about these studies, his response to these papers was that just because academics can’t get synthetic sampling to work doesn’t mean that the technique doesn’t work in general. “Actually, the argument is, okay, yours does not [work]. That does not mean […] for this complex set of machinery, which uses a lot of investment, a lot of time, a lot of money, you can’t get it to work.” Cards on the table, I’m somewhat sympathetic to this argument because academics aren’t exactly great at making election forecasts. Usually, the people with skin in the game are the most accurate. Warner’s argument is that the approach Electric Twin takes — which includes, for example, making multiple predictions for each synthetic respondent using different models and prompts and subsequently averaging those to get a final prediction in a sort of ensemble forecast — produces better results than the simpler academic models. Warner shared a comparison between his method and the method from a recent academic paper with me, and Electric Twin was indeed able to get more accurate replication. But even still, he acknowledged that synthetic sampling “is not a crystal ball.” “If you asked me, do I think using other data sources will be more accurate than asking somebody who they will vote for, I would probably say no. But if you asked me ‘would your system be useful for our turnout modeling today?’ I would say yes.” For better or worse, it looks like the method is already getting more popular in the market research world. Most of the clients Aaru touts these days are businesses like EY and McDonald’s. And AI will probably begin to pop up in other parts of the political polling process. Pollsters are already using it to code open-ended survey responses, and some firms, like YouGov, are testing using LLMs to ask survey respondents questions. More worryingly, one danger to actual polls is that AI agents can be used to infiltrate online surveys. Most online polls use various checks to prevent that from happening, but there’s conflicting evidence on how effective those filters are and how prevalent AI agents currently are in online panels. If those agents ever become impossible to detect, it might spell the end of online polling, but the solution isn’t to replace all of your respondents with ChatGPT. Silver Bulletin is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe 1 That particular poll obviously doesn’t meet Silver Bulletin standards for aggregation. But we exclude all Public Sentiment Institute polls from our averages because we classify them as an amateur polling firm. 2 You could argue that Fink meant the next presidential election, but (a) I’m also confident we’ll still have real polls in 2028 and (b) in that case he should have asked an LLM to define “general election.” 3 Quick caveat: that’s reporting from a Democratic pollster. It’s possible that Republicans are more willing to use AI in political campaigns. 4 Indeed, Silver Bulletin does not include “polls” produced by MRP in our forecasts or averages, and we think it’s extremely misleading when their practitioners describe them in a way that suggests original data had been collected among a large number of states or Congressional districts. 5 A recent report from Aaru and EY did show two examples of a synthetic estimate being closer than a survey to a real-world benchmark — but I’d take those findings with a grain of salt because the report reads more like an ad and didn’t involve any sort of prediction being made ahead of time. 6 For comparison, our odds for Harris on the same day were 48.2 percent.
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