K2 Radio News: Flash Briefing For July 5th, 2017 – Morning

WYOMING HAS JOINED MORE THAN 40 OTHER STATES IN REFUSING TO TURN OVER PUBLIC VOTER DATA TO A FEDERAL COMMISSION INVESTIGATING THE INTEGRITY OF THE 2016 GENERAL ELECTION.

WYOMING SECRETARY OF STATE ED MURRAY SAID MONDAY HIS OFFICE WON'T GIVE VOTER INFORMATION TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S ADVISORY COMMISSION ON ELECTION INTEGRITY BECAUSE IT RISKS THE PRIVACY OF WYOMING VOTERS.

THE COMMISSION LAST WEEK ASKED STATES FOR A LIST OF THE NAMES, PARTY AFFILIATIONS, ADDRESSES AND VOTING HISTORIES OF ALL VOTERS, IF STATE LAW ALLOWS IT TO BE PUBLIC.

COMMISSIONERS ALSO WANT DATES OF BIRTH, THE LAST FOUR DIGITS OF VOTERS' SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS AND ANY INFORMATION ABOUT FELONY CONVICTIONS AND MILITARY STATUS.

BUT MURRAY SAID ELECTIONS ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STATES UNDER THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AND THE REQUEST COULD LEAD TO FEDERAL OVERRREACH.

HE FURTHER SAID THE COMMISSION'S REQUEST HAS NOT CLEARLY STATED ITS PURPOSE IN WANTING THIS INFORMATION.

FINALLY, MURRAY SAID WYOMING'S ELECTIONS ARE SECURE, FAIR, TRANSPARENT AND WELL-RUN, AND HE WILL SAFEGUARD THE PRIVACY OF WYOMING VOTERS AND PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF ELECTIONS.

TRUMP LOST THE POPULAR VOTE TO DEMOCRAT HILLARY CLINTON BUT HAS SAID, WITHOUT PROVIDING EVIDENCE, THAT 3 MILLION TO 5 MILLION PEOPLE VOTED ILLEGALLY.
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TWO MEN WERE KILLED ON WYOMING HIGHWAYS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE INDEPENDENCE DAY HOLIDAY.
THE WYOMING HIGHWAY PATROL REPORTED JACKSON RESIDENT ROBERT ARNDT DIED AT THE SCENE OF A THREE-VEHICLE COLLISION ON WYOMING HIGHWAY 22 NEAR JACKSON EARLY FRIDAY.

PATROL TROOPERS DETERMINED A SPORT UTILITY VEHICLE WAS TRAVELING EASTBOUND ON THE ROAD BEHIND A SPORTS CAR DRIVEN BY ARNDT.

A PICKUP, WITHOUT ITS HEADLIGHTS ON, WAS TRAVELING WEST IN THE EASTBOUND LANE OF THE HIGHWAY.

ARNDT DID NOT SEE THE PICKUP AND A HEAD-ON COLLISION OCCURRED.

TROOPERS IDENTIFIED THE PICKUP DRIVER AS RUDY ISLA MEJICO AND ARRESTED HIM FOR DRIVING WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE AND AGGRAVATED VEHICULAR HOMICIDE.

IN THE SECOND FATALITY, OGDEN, UTAH, RESIDENT DOUGLAS HAZELTON DIED AT THE SCENE OF A COLLISION ON INTERSTATE 80 NEAR ROCK SPRINGS EARLY SATURDAY.

HIGHWAY PATROL TROOPERS DETERMINED A SEDAN DRIVEN BY HAZELTON WAS TRAVELING WESTBOUND ON INTERSTATE 80 AT A REDUCED RATE OF SPEED, AND THE SEDAN WAS WEAVING BETWEEN BOTH LANES OF TRAVEL.

A SEMI-TRACTOR ALSO WAS WESTBOUND ON THE HIGHWAY, CAME UPON THE SEDAN AND WAS UNABLE TO AVOID STRIKING IT FROM THE REAR.

TROOPERS ARE INVESTIGATING DRIVER IMPAIRMENT AS A RESULT OF MEDICATION AS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO THE ACCIDENT.

THESE MARKED THE 65TH AND 66TH HIGHWAY FATALITIES THIS YEAR COMPARED TO 45 IN 2016, AND 66 IN 2015.
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A FEDERAL APPEALS COURT HAS RULED THAT THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY IS NOT REQUIRED TO ESTIMATE THE NUMBER OF MINING JOB LOSSES THAT MAY BE CAUSED BY AIR POLLUTION REGULATIONS.

THE RULING ISSUED THURSDAY BY THE 4TH U.S. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS REVERSES A WEST VIRGINIA JUDGE'S RULING THAT SIDED WITH COAL COMPANIES. OHIO-BASED MURRAY ENERGY AND OTHER COMPANIES ARGUED THE EPA SHOULD HAVE TO REPORT ON POTENTIAL JOB LOSSES CAUSED BY ITS POLICIES. THE EPA UNDER THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HAD APPEALED THAT RULING.

MURRAY ENERGY CEO BOB MURRAY HAS BEEN CRITICAL OF OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES, SAYING THEY LED TO MASSIVE JOB LOSSES IN THE COAL INDUSTRY.

A MURRAY ENERGY SPOKESMAN SAYS THE COMPANY PLANS TO APPEAL THE RULING.
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EFFORTS BY WYOMING'S URANIUM INDUSTRY TO GET A TAX BREAK ARE GETTING A COOL RECEPTION FROM MEMBERS OF A LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE.

COMPANIES THAT OPERATE IN WYOMING HAD ARGUED THAT REDUCING TAXES WOULD KEEP THEM AFLOAT UNTIL PRICES RISE.

GLOBAL COMPETITION HAS PRESSURED SOME COMPANIES TO CUT STAFF AND DEFER EXPANSION PLANS.

HOWEVER, MEMBERS OF THE JOINT MINERALS COMMITTEE WEREN'T CONVINCED A TAX CUT WOULD BENEFIT THE STATE GIVEN THE DOWNTURN IN THE STATE'S OIL, GAS AND COAL INDUSTRIES, ALL OF WHICH HAVE HIGHER TAX BURDENS THAN URANIUM.

STATE DEMOCRATIC REP. JAMES BYRD, OF CHEYENNE, SAYS HE FEELS IF AN EXCEPTION WAS MADE FOR URANIUM, THE OTHER EXTRACTION INDUSTRIES WOULD DEMAND TAX BREAKS TOO.

WYOMING EMPLOYS ABOUT 300 PEOPLE IN THE URANIUM INDUSTRY.