Morning Brief: Aug. 13, 2026

From KUER News in Salt Lake City, I'm Emily Pulsander. Lawyers for the man charged with killing Charlie Kirk say he shouldn't get the death penalty because the person, quote, hit the intended target. Tyler Robinson's attorneys filed documents late Tuesday. In then, they say the evidence shows the bullet traveled above the crowd at Utah Valley University. Whether the shooting endangered others is a key issue. Prosecutors have said numerous people were within a zone of danger around Kirk, where a stray or ricocheting bullet could have hurt someone else. They've pointed to that as an aggravating factor that makes the killing a capital crime. Firefighter deaths are adding up this summer. Two of the most recent happened because of a helicopter crash in Utah. A friend and colleague shared memories about the pilots with the Mountain West News Bureau's Murphy Woodhouse. The two pilots, Chris Anderson and Miles Elliott, were working for a U.S. Forest Service contractor on Utah's massive wide-mouth two fire. Their huge sky crane chopper went down Friday morning. Federal helicopter manager Jessica Reeves worked closely with the pair this season. want to get out how amazing these men were and yeah it's going to be a really big loss for the aviation community for sure she'll remember chris as a deeply experienced pilot who had flown missions around the world and who could be counted on in the toughest conditions She'll cherish memories of Miles taking advantage of quiet moments to play the video game Fortnite with his son back home in California. What I remember most about him is him trying to be in touch with his son as much as he could. Federal officials have logged more than a dozen fireline deaths so far this year. For the Mountain West News Bureau, I'm Murphy Woodhouse. Congressional Democrats are looking into a uranium mining company for alleged insider trading. Energy fuels portfolio includes White Mesa Mill in Utah's San Juan County and a number of nearby mines in the state. KNAU's Chris Clements has more on the investigation. Energy Fuels Resources CEO, Ross Bapu, bought 74,000 shares of stock in his own company on July 7th. Chairman of the board, Bruce Hansen, bought 4,000 shares on July 8th. Five days after that, President Donald Trump announced a 90% cut to Bears' ears' national monument. That timing is suspicious, says two Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee. Representatives Jared Huffman of California and Maxine Dexter of Oregon allege the Trump administration may have tipped the company off about the reduction before it happened.

The company owns the only conventional uranium mill in the U.S., and there's a lot of uranium underneath Bear's Ears, which is now free from a moratorium on new mining claims. The Congresspeople say the company stood to benefit from the Bears' ears reduction, but in an emailed statement to KNAU, energy fuels denied the allegations and said it was unaware of any evidence supporting the representative's claims. For KNAU, I'm Chris Clements in Flagstaff. Significantly more mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile than is normal in parts of Salt Lake County. Salt Lake City's mosquito abatement district found the virus in 35% of mosquitoes tested this week. The county health department says it's typically less than 5% for this time of year. South Salt Lake Valley and Magna had similarly high results. Everyone in the county is advised to take precautions because infected mosquitoes can travel miles. That includes using a mosquito repellent with DEET, draining standing water in yards, and wearing long sleeves and pants after dusk. You are listening to KUER News.