Evening Brief: Aug. 14, 2026

From KUER News in Salt Lake City, I'm Jolene Kroesman. It's another evening of severe storm watch is around Utah. Rounds of heavy rain, thunderstorms, and lightning are expected across the state. Storms throughout Salt Lake Valley could mean winds reaching up to 60 miles per hour. And southwestern Utah is under a flash flood watch. Floods are likely in recent burnscar areas, drywashes, slot canyons, and slick rock areas. People should be careful when heading outside. The cost of a gallon of gas in Utah continues to fall, but it's still a pricey place to fill up. In the Beehive state, the average cost is $4.32 a gallon. That's more expensive than the national average by about 25 cents. Utah is among the top 10 most expensive states for gas, and prices nationwide are on the rise. This has been the most expensive August on record in the U.S. AAA says the demand at the pump is down, but crude oil prices are keeping costs higher than normal for this time of year. Tyson Foods is laying off 723 Utah workers. KBR's Caroline Ballard has more. The Arkansas-based meat giant is closing its plant in Eagle Mountain. It says it's responding to nationwide cattle shortages. Drought, rising costs, and more international competition have made it a tough year for the industry. And Tyson says it expects shortages to continue. It informed the Utah Department of Workforce Services of the layoffs on August 13th. The Eagle Mountain Plant is west of the Utah County Town. It's where large slabs of beef and pork are butchered into smaller pieces like steaks and roasts. Then they're packaged for retail. Tyson announced the Eagle Mountain Plant in 2019. At the time, it said it eventually planned to employ 1,200 people. Caroline Ballard, KUMEAR News. Utah patients with pancreatic cancer can now get treatment with a new drug that could nearly double their survival rate. Pancreatic cancer is often not caught until the disease is at an advanced state. Its five-year survival rate is just 9%. Mark Lewis is Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Intermountain Health. We're dealing with a very, very deadly problem in deep. So this year, and this is truly remarkable, We've had the greatest breakthrough in pancreas cancer that certainly I've witnessed in my career. The drug is called DARE Axon Ruseb. The health systems hospitals are part of a national program to give more patients access to it. It's an oral medication that addresses genetic mutations that drive tumor growth. It can help when a patient is diagnosed late. More than 52,000 Americans die from pancreatic cancer every year. You are listening to KUER News.