CHRIS STEWART

WENDOVER, Utah — (AP) — In the Utah desert, a treeless expanse of pristine white salt crystals has long lured daredevil speed racers, filmmakers and social media-obsessed tourists. It's mined from other iconic salt flats, including in Chile, where the thickness is not shrinking in a similar manner. In Utah, after three decades of studies examining the salt flats, nothing has slowed the deterioration. His organization, the Salt Flats Racing Association, is convinced the potash mining company that extracts minerals from the flats is the primary reason that the aquifer is being depleted. ___The story has been updated to correct the name of the Utah agency overseeing a study into the Bonneville Salt Flats.

WENDOVER, Utah — (AP) — In the Utah desert, a treeless expanse of pristine white salt crystals has long lured daredevil speed racers, filmmakers and social media-obsessed tourists. It's mined from other iconic salt flats, including in Chile, where the thickness is not shrinking in a similar manner. In Utah, after three decades of studies examining the salt flats, nothing has slowed the deterioration. His organization, the Salt Flats Racing Association, is convinced the potash mining company that extracts minerals from the flats is the primary reason that the aquifer is being depleted. Though racers insist the answer is obvious, scientists contend that there’s no hard evidence that simply returning briny water will reverse the effects of extraction and maintain the salt flats.

The glistening white salt of the world famous Bonneville Salt Flats is shrinking near the Utah-Nevada line.

In the Utah desert, a treeless expanse of pristine white salt crystals has long lured daredevil speed racers, filmmakers and social media-obsessed tourists. The glistening white terrain of the Bonneville Salt Flats, a remnant of a prehistoric lakebed that is one of the American West’s many other-worldly landscapes, serves as a racetrack for land speed world records and backdrop for movies like “Independence Day” and “The World’s Fastest Indian.” Research has time and again shown that the briny water in the aquifer below the flats is depleting faster than nature can replenish it.

U.S. intelligence agencies are shifting more money and resources to China.

Vladimir Putin is raising fears that he has become more reckless, more committed to restoring the USSR, perhaps more likely to set off a world-altering war.

Members of two top-secret World War II military units referred to as the “Ghost Army” will be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal more than 75 years after their service, under legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden. The Ghost Army refers to two units that used inflatable equipment, sound effects, radio trickery, and other deceptions in Europe to draw enemy forces away from American units, saving an estimated 30,000 lives. “Through their courageous, creative, and innovative tactics, the top-secret Ghost Army outmaneuvered and deceived the Nazis, saving thousands of Allied lives during World War II,” said U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, a Democrat who sponsored the bill in the House.

A Missouri coroner's inquest jury on Tuesday found that the death of a Black man at the hands of a white neighbor in a small-town trailer park was justified.

The Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for millions of federal workers seems to be working, with no apparent disruption to law enforcement, intelligence-gathering or holiday travel.

About 4 million federal workers, from FBI agents to Bureau of Prisons guards to U.S. Food and Drug Administration workers, are to be vaccinated by Nov. 22 under the president’s executive order aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

Virus Oubreak Intelligence Vaccines FILE - Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, left, next to CIA Director William Burns, testifies at a House Intelligence committee hearing on diversity and equity in the intelligence community on Oct. 27, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Thousands of intelligence officers could soon face dismissal for failing to comply with the U.S. government's vaccine mandate, leading to concerns from Republican lawmakers about potentially hurting agencies considered critical to national security. Haines says she doesn't anticipate the mandate affecting the mission of national security agencies. Citing information that he said had been provided to the House Intelligence Committee but not released publicly, Stewart said several intelligence agencies had at least 20% of their workforce unvaccinated as of late October. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined several requests to provide figures for the intelligence community.

Thousands of intelligence officers could soon face dismissal for failing to comply with the U.S. government's vaccine mandate, leading to concerns from Republican lawmakers about potentially hurting agencies considered critical to national security. Haines says she doesn't anticipate the mandate affecting the mission of national security agencies. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined several requests to provide figures for the intelligence community. “My question is what’s the impact on national security if we do that?” Stewart said. House Intelligence Committee Democrats say they’re confident that the vaccination mandate will not cause a problem for the intelligence community.

Thousands of intelligence officers could soon face dismissal for failing to comply with the U.S. government’s vaccine mandate, leading to concerns from Republican lawmakers about potentially hurting agencies considered critical to national security.

Chris Stewart reports from Maryum Al-Hammami's toy store, The Game Chest.

Excessive Force Atlanta Messiah Young speaks during a news conference accompanied by attorney L. Chris Stewart, right, who represents plaintiff Taniyah Pilgrim, background center, in Atlanta on Thursday, June 17, 2021. Young and Pilgrim were pulled from their car on May 30, 2020 by Atlanta police and are suing the city and officers for excessive force. The suit names the city, nine officers and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as defendants. Video of the May 2020 confrontation — shared widely online — shows officers shouting at Pilgrim and Young, firing Tasers at them and dragging them from the car. Another officer said concern about a gun led him to hit Pilgrim with a stun gun, according to the suit.

Attorneys say two students pulled from their car and hit with stun guns by Atlanta police while they were stuck in traffic caused by protests over George Floyd’s death have sued the city.

The Department of Homeland Security plans to ramp up its social media tracking as part of an enhanced focus on domestic violent extremism. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File) (Lynne Sladky)WASHINGTON — (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security plans to ramp up social media tracking as part of an enhanced focus on domestic violent extremism. DHS will also train analysts on tracking social media and how to distinguish a threat from the exercise of free speech. Stewart also questioned the department’s plans to contract with private companies for social media data. And public posts on social media showed people expressing support for trying to stop the Electoral College certification, including by using force.

The Department of Homeland Security plans to ramp up social media tracking as part of an enhanced focus on domestic violent extremism.

– A deepening divide among Republicans over President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the election runs prominently through Wyoming, the state that delivered Trump's widest prevailing margin by far. The Wyoming Republican Party has made party fealty a core issue and punished state party officials seen as disloyal. I just don't think that's going to play out in Wyoming," University of Wyoming political science professor Jim King said. Though Wyoming voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2020 and 2016, the state embraced Trump reluctantly. In 2016, Republicans in Wyoming initially backed Cruz over Trump almost unanimously for the GOP presidential nomination.

As vice president in 2012, Joe Biden endeared himself to many LGBTQ Americans by endorsing same-sex marriage even before his boss, President Barack Obama. Now, as president-elect, Biden is making sweeping promises to LGBTQ activists, proposing to carry out virtually every major proposal on their wish lists. Now, as president-elect, Biden is making sweeping promises to LGBTQ activists, proposing to carry out virtually every major proposal on their wish lists. Biden says he wants the act to become law within 100 days of taking office, but its future remains uncertain. — Ensure that LGBTQ rights are a priority for U.S. foreign policy and be prepared to use pressure tactics, including sanctions, against foreign governments violating those rights.

Law enforcement supporters protest during a Back the Blue rally Thursday, Sept. 3, 2020, in West Valley City, Utah. Several police groups, including the state's Department of Public Safety, have condemned the use of KKK imagery to portray law enforcement officials. He said there are areas in which local police departments can improve, but he is confident that in Utah policing as a whole is good." White supremacists have made it a point to infiltrate law enforcement. The broad stroke used to widely disparage the law enforcement profession is disheartening, irresponsible, and does nothing to bring us together for the common good, the letter said.

Seven current or former black NHL players formed the Hockey Diversity Alliance on Monday, creating another avenue to fight racism and intolerance in the sport. Our mission is to eradicate racism and intolerance in hockey, the group said in a letter. The Hockey Diversity Alliance will be independent of the NHL but hopes to work in tandem with the league to promote diversity and inclusion. He called on white athletes in hockey and others sports to also speak out, and more than 100 NHL players have posted on social media about the subject. In creating our alliance, we are confident we can inspire a new generation of hockey players and fans, the group said.

Stewart's bill counts support from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Seventh-day Adventist Church, but it has yet to win a backer among House Democrats who unanimously supported a more expansive LGBTQ rights measure in May. That prospect has informed Stewart and outside groups' work on a proposal to enshrine rights for the LGBTQ community while also preserving the right for religious groups to act in accordance with their faiths. The bill also would prohibit religious groups that oppose same-sex marriage from having their tax-exempt status revoked. Deaton added that some religious conservative groups who were consulted on the bill ultimately chose not to endorse it. Despite that resistance from some on the right, Stewart's bill sparked sharp criticism from progressives who decry its exemptions as large enough to enable ongoing mistreatment of LGBTQ individuals.

Newsmakers on TVHere are the guest lineups for the Sunday morning TV news shows (lineups subject to change without notice):Meet the Press: Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. NBC, Ch. 2, 9 a.m.State of the Union: Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Democratic presidential candidate; former Gov. Fox News Sunday: Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., and Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah. This Week: Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. 9, 10 a.m.Face the Nation: Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn.; Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The whistleblower complaint filed to the intelligence community inspector general containing allegations about President Donald Trump's conduct is still a mostly unknown document, after it was sent to Congress on Wednesday afternoon. Members have not been told the identity of the whistleblower or where the complainant works in the government. A lawmaker who has seen the complaint told CNN's Jim Acosta " there are more dimensions " to the complaint than first reported. Rep. Chris Stewart, a Republican from Utah, said he has " no concerns " about what he read in the complaint. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the complaint also dealt in part with how White House officials handled internal records describing the call.

Utah Congressman Chris Stewart joins CBSN to discuss the Orlando mass shooting and the state of national security in the United States.