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Before he enrolled in BYU, Veikoso served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2018-20 in Brazil. He began his college career at Arizona State. Veikoso was part of a crew working on a 15-foot retaining wall when it partially collapsed, according to KITV News in Honolulu. Multiple individuals were trapped after the collapse. Firefighters responded to the scene and removed the rubble to reach the people who were trapped, the report revealed. At least two were in serious condition.

Students at religious schools across the country walked out of class Tuesday to demand widespread changes be made to how LGBTQ people are treated at religious universities and high schools. Tuesday’s walkouts at more than 50 schools were organized by the Religious Exemption Accountability Project (REAP) and the Black Menaces, a group of five Black students at Brigham Young University (BYU) whose viral TikTok videos show their mostly white peers often struggling to answer questions about race and identity. ... The walkouts coincide with National Coming Out Day, celebrated each year on Oct. 11, the anniversary of the National March...

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox ripped rowdy irreverent fans who chanted “-—- the Mormons” during a football match between Oregon and BYU Saturday. “Religious bigotry alive and celebrated in Oregon,” the Republican governor tweeted in response to a video of the hateful chant at the University of Oregon home game. Oregon Ducks fans can be heard repeating the line at least twice before the ugly chant trails off in one video. The school and its student section both apologized Sunday for the “offensive and disgraceful” chant in a series of tweets.

A college volleyball player alleged spectators hurled racist abuse at her, but the claims were never proven — and it took a student newspaper to expose the truth as major left-wing media outlets ate up the tale. The racist saga involving Brigham Young University first made national headlines late last month when Duke University sophomore Rachel Richardson went public with allegations that she had been subjected to racist slurs every time she served during a volleyball match in Provo, Utah, on Aug. 26. But BYU dropped a bombshell last week when it revealed that its “extensive” investigation into the matter,...

Brigham Young University announced Friday morning that, following an "extensive" investigation, there has been no evidence to corroborate an allegation made by a Duke women’s volleyball player that she was subjected to racial slurs during a game at BYU last month. The Cougars athletics department released a lengthy statement summarizing its investigation into an Aug. 26 incident where Duke player Rachel Richardson claimed she was "targeted and racially heckled throughout the entirety of the match," which then evolved into "threats." Richardson alleged that BYU officials and coaches were made "aware of the incident" at the time but failed to act....

Brigham Young University - owned by the Church of Latter-Day Saints- in Utah has removed fliers advertising resourceful pamphlets for LGBTQ students in welcome bags for news students. The private college's administration said that it removed the pieces of resourceful information so that students could refer to its Office of Belonging, NBC News reported. The brochures had details on regular LGBTQ events being held off campus, as well as local therapeutic resources, scholarship funding and mentorship. They were made by a non-profit called RaYnbow Collection, which is not school-affiliated. Maddison Tenney, a LGBTQ student at BYU, revealed that she was...

"The South Carolina University women's basketball team canceled two games - one this year and one next - against BYU in response to the alleged incident. Duke's Rachel Robinson claimed that a fan subjected her and her Black teammates to racial slurs 'throughout the entirety of the match' against BYU. However, the claim has received pushback from witnesses who say they 'heard absolutely nothing'. Despite the conflicting reports, Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley is comfortable with her decision."

Barely a freshman with just a redshirt and the COVID-19 impacted year of 2020 under his belt, BYU defensive back Tavita Gagnier is well accustomed to the football program's True Blue Heroes. In the middle of the week after practice, the Cougars break the huddle a little early and surround an invited guest or member of the community to join them for a short celebration of life. Oftentimes, it's a thank you to a valued member of the BYU family, someone going through hardships or trials, or university staffer who just needs a reason for cheer. Over the years, the...

A Brigham Young University student was brewing homemade rocket fuel on a dormitory stove when the concoction suddenly exploded into a massive “fireball,” according to campus police. The blast from the experiment-gone-wrong set off fire alarms and sprinklers at Heritage Halls around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, flooding parts of the building, BYU police said. Campus police and The Provo Fire Department responded to the scene. “The flames from the explosion had engulfed the walls and ceiling around the stove and the intense heat tripped the fire sprinkler system. Firefighters quickly secured the scene and were able to put out the...

Elk hunting is immensely popular in Utah, so popular that it took fewer than 10 hours for all 17,500 of Utah's elk hunting permits to be scooped up last season. But while Utahns know when it's hunting season through a set calendar, a recent study suggests Utah elk also seem to know when it's hunting season — and where to go to seek refuge until it's over.

Just before the Democratic National Convention kicks off Monday, Joe Biden’s campaign staged a national virtual event Saturday in which a parade of Latter-day Saints told fellow church members why they support the former vice president. And sometimes they also said why they see President Donald Trump as wicked. It came during an event where participants opened and closed with prayer, quoted scriptures, repeated teachings of church leaders and sometimes shared testimonies that helped put Biden in a divine light. “We can probably all agree that Donald Trump isn’t good or right,” said Abigail Woodfield, president of BYU College Democrats....

WW2 hero passed yesterday, age 95 I’ve posted before about Raymond T. Matheny, my second cousin. He authored the book, “Rite of Passage” describing his experience as a B17 flight engineer, shot down in January 1944, then spent 16 months as POW in Stalag 17. After the war, he eventually became a professor of archeology at BYU. Last summer at age 94, he presented his last paper at an archeology meeting before his retirement. Some links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Matheny Interview: https://www.pbsutah.org/sites/default/files/mathenyray_0.pdf Book: https://www.bookdepository.com/Rite-Passage-Ray-T-Matheny/9780981848914 Article with photos: https://magazine.byu.edu/article/in-the-mayan-jungle/ Article: https://www.deseret.com/1999/7/3/19453785/a-festive-reunion-for-2-vets-br-each-thought-the-other-had-died-in-wwii photo: https://jazzroc.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/raymatheny.jpg?w=225&h=307 Raymond lived a magnificent and grand life. Part of the greatest...

Mormon church-owned Brigham Young University ended a six-decade ban Thursday on the sale of caffeinated soft drinks on campus, surprising students by posting a picture of a can of Coca-Cola on Twitter and just two words: "It's happening." The move sparked social media celebrations from current and former students, with many recalling how they had hauled their own 2-liter bottles of caffeinated sodas in their backpacks to keep awake for long study sessions. "I drank a lot of caffeinated beverages while I was here but none of them was purchased on campus," said Christopher Jones, 34, a visiting BYU history...

These BYU students have ably signaled their virtue, and can now sit back and enjoy the rounds of applause they will receive from the enlightened and intelligent, but where is their concern of for Aqsa Parvez, whose Muslim father choked her to death with her hijab after she refused to wear it? Or Aqsa and Amina Muse Ali, a Christian woman in Somalia whom Muslims murdered because she wasn’t wearing a hijab? Or the 40 women who were murdered in Iraq in 2007 for not wearing the hijab; or Alya Al-Safar, whose Muslim cousin threatened to kill her and harm...

A US student who supposedly died in China in 2004 has reportedly turned up alive in North Korea after being kidnapped to serve as Kim Jong Un's personal tutor. David Sneddon of Brigham Young University disappeared in Yunnan Province aged 24, in what Chinese police said was probably a hiking accident. But the reality, according to Choi Sung-yong, head of South Korea's Abductees' Family Union, is that he was kidnapped to be an English tutor to the then-heir to North Korea Yahoo News Japan reported Wednesday.

A coalition of national LGBT advocacy groups is urging the Big 12 not to admit BYU as a new member, FOX Sports has learned. On Monday, Athlete Ally, a non-profit that conducts LGBT awareness campaigns for sports leagues, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, sent a letter to Big 12 administrators detailing what they believe are discriminatory policies by BYU, a religious institution owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In the letter addressed to commissioner Bob Bowlsby, the authors write in part: “BYU … actively and openly discriminates against its LGBT students and staff. It...

A Brigham Young University Islamic studies professor and an ISU professor who practices Islam said there are a lot of misconceptions about the law. . . . BYU Islamic studies professor Daniel Peterson tells Local News 8/KIDK that while the Mormon and Muslim religions are very different there are similarities. The idea behind Shariah is somewhat like the Word of Wisdom put out by the Mormon Church. It's a moral code. Unlike Shariah, the Word of Wisdom does not have a capital punishment extension as Shariah does. Peterson said when people say that all Muslims are associated with ISIS it's...

Some BYU students are defying national odds by showing their support over Ted Cruz and they’re encouraging others to do the same. The Ted Cruz College Republicans coordinated an ‘bubbly’ event to spark conversation for the upcoming election and show support for Cruz on Saturday, Feb. 6. The event was held at Sodalicious at the Village at South Campus in Provo. Many students gathered together to watch the Republican Debate and enjoy refreshments. Fliers and posters were hung up to show support, and many attendees wore stickers with Ted Cruz’s name on them. According to Pew Research the rate of...

BYU has fumbled once, and thrown three interceptions -- two "pick sixes" and a third one returned to the BYU 1-yard line in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the Las Vegas Bowl!

(KUTV) A co-founder of genealogy company Ancestry.com has been arrested, accused of sexually abusing a teen. Prosecutors say 50-year-old Daniel Taggart gave his daughter and her 15-year-old friend alcohol and sex toys during an overnight party. Police say Taggart played cards with the girls and encouraged a twerking contest. The 15-year-old allegedly got shot glasses and sex toys as prizes. Eventually the alcohol, police say, took effect. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the victim told police once Taggart’s daughter feel asleep, he turned on a pornographic video and sexually assaulted her. She said the same thing happened at another...