Federal employees, in their own words, talk about how the government shutdown will hurt their ability to provide for themselves and their families.---

Top of the Alty World

"In Their Own Words: Federal Workers Reveal How the Shutdown Will Impact Their Lives"--ThinkProgress

A look at the multidimensional problems surrounding the staggering murder rate in “Killadelphia”--Philadelphia City Paper

Washington state has become the latest battleground over genetically modified food and consumers' right to know about it.--Pacific Inlander

Freed by DNA evidence, Henry James talks about the 30 years he spent behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.--Democracy Now!

Top of Alty Utah

Closing statements in the Green River nuclear trial reveal a long battle to come.--Salt Lake City Weekly

Judi Hilman from health-insurance cooperative ARCHES Health Plan joins KRCL to talk about what Obamacare will mean for you.--RadioActive!

A local man is seeking stories of excommunication from the LDS Church for a reality-TV-series pilot.--Q Salt Lake

Famed activist Erin Brockovich rallies Stericycle protesters in North Salt Lake.--KUER

Rantosphere

The Libertarian-leaning Libertas Institute questions why Utah does not allow for jury trials in cases where the state is seeking to terminate an individual's parental rights.

“Jury trials are afforded alleged criminals who face jail time. These individuals, even if innocent, will enter the penal system, serve their time, and return to society. While this punishment may be harsh—especially if the accused is actually innocent—it is temporary and tolerable. This is not true of cases where a parent’s rights to his or her children are terminated. If juries are allowed to determine the guilt and punishment of alleged criminals, then why are they denied from independently judging the state’s claims against a parent whose very relationship to their children is at risk of legal termination?”--Libertas

The Long View

Salt Lake City Weekly looks at the case of a woman busted in Utah for bringing marijuana over the border from California to help a friend who was dying of cancer.

“The night Gary Williamson lost his battle with cancer, he asked his wife, Debra, “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” Then, he said, “Don’t forget about Mike. And don’t stumble.” Mike was Gary Williamson’s best friend, who’d been diagnosed with lymph-node cancer several years before Williamson’s own diagnosis of esophageal cancer. Cannabis oil, Debra and Gary had discovered, was a remarkable pain reliever, and Debra had learned to extract the oil from California-grown cannabis to make candy that Gary could take for his pain. And in his last hours of life, Gary asked Debra to continue making cannabis-laced candy for Mike. The reference to not stumbling was their code for “don’t get caught” by law enforcement.”--Salt Lake City Weekly