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PROVO – A trial date has been set for a Provo High School teacher accused of sexually abusing a 17-year-old student. Donald Bills, 54, has been charged with one count of forcible sodomy and three counts of object rape, all first-degree felonies; and two counts of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony. During a court hearing Thursday afternoon, a five-day trial was scheduled for December. Bills was arrested and charged in January after he and the teen were interviewed. Provo police said in January that someone viewed a text between Bills and the student and reported it to school officials,...

A Provo, Utah jury found MacNeill guilty Thursday of assaulting his daughter Alexis Somers in 2007. Read more here: dailymail.co.uk

We are wrapping up our second and final week in Provo. Close to 50 people joined us as we went door to door testifying to our perfection in Christ. We reached thousands of homes and had hundreds of good conversations. Dozens of people expressed interest in our message and thanked us (sometimes with tears) for telling them that Jesus had done everything for them to be worthy and acceptable to God. A surprising number of people gave us their contact information so that we can continue the conversation in the weeks and months ahead. We found it interesting how varied...

PROVO -- After a year of complaints, doing their own investigation and raising Cain at Provo Municipal Council meetings, a group of citizens knew they were heard on Wednesday when the Utah County Attorney's Office charged Municipal Councilman Steve Turley with 10 second-degree felonies and his fellow elected officials asked him to resign. The "exhaustive" official investigation from the Utah County Bureau of Investigations took into account complaints, Turley's activities on the Municipal Council and as a developer and landowner and a request from the city for an ethical investigation, although they only looked at possible criminal activity, not any...

PROVO, Utah (ABC 4 News) - The Provo City Fire Department has released the full report on the December Provo Tabernacle fire. The 135-page report outlines events leading up to the fire from December 17th that destroyed the historic landmark in Provo. Trax Lighting and AV arrived at the Tabernacle a few days before the fire to setup lighting for a concert that was to be taped by BYU Broadcasting. During the setup of a lighting truss, a technician said he set aside two lamps that were part of the in-house lighting system. Fire officials believe these lights were placed...

A Provo police officer is accused of groping a woman after saying he would arrest her if she did not show him her breasts. Jeffery Westerman, 33, was fired from the police department after a woman claimed July 23 that Westerman sexually abused her during an accident investigation the night before, said Utah County sheriff’s Lt. Mike Brower. The woman, 29, was driving near 300 South and University Avenue when her car collided with another, according to jail documents. Westerman arrived at the scene and sent the other motorist away. He then conducted field sobriety tests on the woman, who...

PROVO -- There are fun things to do in Provo, right? Go to the movies. Go to the mall. Go out to dinner. Hike in Rock Canyon. Boat at Utah Lake. One publication apparently decided there is nothing fun about Provo at all. Portfolio.com rated the most fun and least fun cities. Provo was rated "least fun," lumped at the bottom with hot, dry places like Bakersfield and Modesto, Calif., and with cities with large water towers, like McAllen, Texas. Provo Mayor John Curtis disputes the ranking. "We'll show them what fun is," Curtis told KSL Newsradio Friday morning. "You...

PROVO, Utah (BP)--Drive an hour south of Salt Lake City down Interstate 15 and you enter a different world, says North American Mission Board missionary Mickie Kelly. "People think I'm exaggerating when I tell them the kinds of things that go on here," said Kelly, a church planter in Payson, Utah, near Provo. "The spiritual darkness is like a blanket that you wear every day." Around the well-kept homes and clean-cut families of Payson, a spiritual drawstring tightens under the influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). "Salt Lake City is 47 percent LDS," Kelly said....

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Mormon church officials say three residents of a missionary training center in Provo have been quarantined after being diagnosed with swine flu. Missionary Department Executive Director Richard G. Hinckley says all three are expected to make full recoveries. About 2,000 young men and women currently reside at the center. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has 52,494 missionaries worldwide. Hinckley says some missionary departures are being delayed one week to ensure those traveling are healthy and new missionaries are being asked to delay reporting to the center if they show any sign of illness....

Cannon’s Race May be Closest Call Yet of ‘06 Primary Season By Greg Giroux | 4:07 PM; Jun. 27, 2006 No congressional incumbent has yet been defeated in a primary at this midpoint of the 2006 nominating process. Republican voters in Utah’s 3rd District today are deciding whether five-term Rep. Chris Cannon will — or won’t — be the first. Cannon is, in fact, the target of the biggest intraparty threat to an incumbent so far this year, in a contest focused on the schism between Republican Party factions over how to address illegal immigration. While Cannon voices support for...

Utah primary an immigration test case Tuesday, June 27, 2006; Posted: 10:04 a.m. EDT (14:04 GMT) PROVO, Utah (CNN) -- Republican voters in Utah's 3rd Congressional District will go to the polls Tuesday for a primary vote that could signal how immigration will influence this year's congressional elections. Five-term incumbent Rep. Chris Cannon, a conservative Mormon from outside Provo, is facing a stiff challenge from businessman John Jacob, also a Mormon and a conservative. The race is dominated by the debate over how to handle the millions of illegal immigrants living and working in the United States. "I could lose,"...

House Race Hotline Extra: Utah 03 Some quotes to illustrate the importance of this race. "There is a very good chance that he could go down," Jeff Hartley, executive director of the Utah Republican Party, tells First Read. "You wouldn't have the involvement from the White House if he weren't in jeopardy." (NBC News) Consultant LeVarr Webb: "A low turnout is expected, so be one of the few who make a difference and have a voice." (Utah Policy Daily) ) UT GOP Chair Joe Cannon "says he's trying to stay neutral" in his brother's UT 03 primary, "but it didn't...

UT 3: Immigration, GOP’s Thorniest Issue, Takes the Stage in PrimaryBy Michael Teitelbaum | 12:11 PM; Jun. 27, 2006 The decision of House Republican leaders to road-test the volatile issue of illegal immigration in field hearings this summer has delayed a showdown between the two camps in a congressional majority deeply riven over the issue. But there is no deferring the biggest test that the issue is likely to get in this year’s congressional primaries: Tuesday’s face-off in Utah between Rep. Chris Cannon, who favors a path toward citizenship for many of the people in the country illegally, and John...

Primary seen as a test of immigration reform pulseCongress' 3rd District: A low voter turnout is expected, but it could gauge public sentiment on immigration overhaul By Glen Warchol and Rebecca Walsh The Salt Lake Tribune Though few voters are expected to turn out for today's primary election, how they vote in the 3rd District Congressional race is being watched nationwide as a so-called referendum on immigration reform. In several debates, incumbent Chris Cannon and political novice John Jacob have discussed little beyond immigration. They agree many of the problems facing the nation, from terrorism to quality public education, are...

Joe Cannon says he's staying neutral By Thomas Burr The Salt Lake Tribune Joe Cannon Utah Republican Party Chairman Joe Cannon says he's trying to stay neutral in his brother Rep. Chris Cannon's primary battle, but it didn't come across that way in comments he posted online last weekend questioning his brother's challenger. Cannon appeared to poke all the vulnerable spots in the campaign of John Jacob, commenting on allegations involving his employment of people with questionable immigration status and his published remarks blaming Satan for his campaign's financial problems. Joe Cannon starts off his post noting Jacob's "obvious problems."...

The latest from Utah is unbelievable! After the infusion of corporate money and the prestige of the White House into his campaign, Cannon is still in trouble. Our ads have damaged him severely. It’s amazing the damage a pro-amnesty record can do when revealed to the voters. Tomorrow is election day and a poll done by the Slat Lake City Tribune has Cannon barely ahead and his lead is within the margin of error. Even better—among those "definitely going to vote" Chris Cannon loses to Jacob! We have made the establishment pay—first we forced them to go to thecorporate well...

Corruption: Cannon aide found guilty Abramoff Cannon Norquist crewmember, David Safavian, goes down Utahns should take note of the corruption trial just concluded in Washington with a guilty verdict for Congressman Chris Cannon's former chief of staff, David Safavian. With the Safavian trial only one component of the still spreading Abramoff corruption scandal, the talk is of more indictments coming—including of members of Congress. Will Chris Cannon be one of those members? You have to wonder—especially since the Interior Department, where Cannon got his start in Washington, and where plenty of funny business has gone on, has been drawn into...

April 10, 2003 The Honorable Chris Cannon 118 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 The Honorable Howard Berman 2221 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 The Honorable Lucille Roybal-Allard 2330 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Congressman Cannon, Congressman Berman, and Congresswoman Roybal-Allard: Representing a broad alliance of educators, businesses, labor groups, civil rights organizations, faith-based groups, children and youth groups, and various community-based organizations from across the country, we write to express our strong support for the Student Adjustment Act.You recently reintroduced this important legislation to address the federal barriers to education and work confronted...

Fire That Cannon (Born-Again Congressman Chris Cannon of Utah) By Jan Herron Jun 25, 2006, 16:38 Well, well, well ... Congressman Chris "King of Amnesty" of Utah says he is against AMNESTY! Could it be he's talking about illegal immigration? Do tell us, Chris, why you are suddenly on board as the self-imposed champion of immigration reform while you still occupy the position of Vice Chairman on the U.S.-Mexico Congressional Caucus? One has to question if you are so intent on stopping the tidal wave of illegal aliens into this country, why you haven't joined Congressman Tancredo's Immigration Reform Caucus?...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Feb 9, 2005 NCLR TO HONOR DEMOCRAT SENATOR CHRISTOPHER DODD, CONGRESSMAN CHRIS CANNON, AND THE LLANO GRANDE CENTER AT 2005 CAPITAL AWARDS GALA Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., will hold its 2005 Capital Awards Dinner at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC on Tuesday, March 8. At this year’s annual gala, NCLR will honor Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Congressman Chris Cannon (R-UT) for their leadership on legislation that has had a significant impact on the Hispanic community, and...