(DENVER)—A Utah lawyer has lost his bid to interview Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols. The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court order Thursday allowing Jesse Trentadue to interview Nichols and David Paul Hammer, a death row acquaintance of Timothy McVeigh’s. Trentadue said he’s trying to learn more about how his brother, Kenneth, died while in federal custody in the months after the 1995 bombing which killed 168. The appeals court ruled the FBI complied with Trentadue’s Freedom of Information Act request while it also said Nichols and Hammer have nothing to do with Trentadue’s records request. Nichols is serving life for conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter. McVeigh was convicted of murder and executed.

(SALT LAKE CITY)—Utah’s state archaeologist, Kevin Jones, is raising doubts about the recently announced discovery of the missing remains of Everett Ruess, a legendary poet and painter who disappeared in the Utah wilderness in 1934. Jones said Ruess’ dental records don’t match the lower jaw found among remains a year ago in a remote spot in southeastern Utah. Family spokesman, Brian Ruess, of Portland, Ore. says the old dental records can’t be regarded as wholly accurate. Still, Brian Ruess says the family enlisted a dental expert to explore the evidence. The family is also preparing for a reexamination of DNA tests and other methods that seemed to erase any doubts.

(FARMINGTON)—A man accused of stabbing a woman to death with a steak knife remains mentally incompetent to face trial, court records indicate. During a hearing in 2nd District Court Wednesday, a judge said he had received a letter from the Utah State Hospital that indicated Phillip Joseph Simmons remains mentally incompetent to face trial. Court records indicate the judge scheduled another hearing for December 1 to determine if Simmons could be restored to competency. Simmons’ courtroom behavior has been described as “bizarre,” and the 37-year old man is charged with first-degree felony murder. He has been accused of stabbing 57-year old Suzanne Fry to death in her Bountiful apartment in January 2008. Reportedly, Fry had been stabbed 51 times with a steak knife, police said. Charging documents said the two had been arguing about food and that he heard the word “murder” in his mind, after which he blacked out. When he came to, the victim was lying on the floor and there was blood all over. Bountiful police said it appeared that Fry had invited Simmons to stay with her. Family and friends described Fry as having a “mental disability,” but say she was trying to help Simmons in some way.

(SALT LAKE CITY) – The Utah BLM has posted the proposed list of parcels for the quarterly competitive oil and gas lease sale scheduled for Aug. 18, 2009 in Salt Lake City. The list includes 37 proposed parcels totaling 50,647 acres and a 30-day public protest period. The parcels are located in four BLM Utah field offices in Fillmore, Moab, Price and Vernal.

(HILL AIR FORCE BASE)—The Ogden Air Logistic’s Center got a new leader Thursday. In a change of command ceremony Thursday morning, Major General Andrew E. Busch took over for Major General Kathleen D. Close. The center provides logistic management, engineering, and other services for a variety of aircraft and munitions. The center’s commander is responsible for the 75th Air Base Wing, the 84th Combat Sustainment Wing, the 309th Maintenance Wing and the 508th Aerospace Sustainment Wing. Busch’s last assignment was as commander of the Defense Supply Center in Richmond, Va. Close will now become director of logistics at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

(LAS VEGAS)—Big changes to gun laws in Nevada may change how some Utahns travel through the Silver State. Nevada is recognizing concealed carry permits from states like West Virginia and Ohio, but not Utah. Utah concealed carry instructor Steven Beckstead says Utah doesn’t require that you fire and qualify with the gun you’re going to carry but now Nevada does. Beckstead Utahns can still have guns in their cars but cannot carry them with them in Nevada. Gun rights advocates say they’re disappointed with the change as many Utahns travel to or through Nevada on vacation.

(SALT LAKE CITY)—The Utah Highway Patrol is asking a federal judge to toss a lawsuit filed by a woman who claims she was pulled over and her car searched because of her race. In a response to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court last week, the Utah Attorney General’s office said UHP trooper Brian Bairett did nothing improper when he stopped Sherida Felder’s car in Iron County in November 2008. The San Diego resident Felder, a black woman from San Diego, was headed to Colorado to see her grandson, with two of her grandson’s friends when she was pulled over. In her lawsuit, Felder claimed that she was pulled over because she, Elija Madyun, and Delarryon Hansend are black. They claim Bariett violated her civil rights. The UHP has asked a federal court to dispute this claim and award it court costs for defending the claim. The search of the vehicle was caught by UHP’s dash cam and depicts the officer arguing with Felders after she refused to consent to the search. Meanwhile, Felder, Madyn and Hansend were forced to stand near a fence while a drug dog searched their car for narcotics. Bairett acknowledged no drugs were found while everything he removed was carefully put back in its place according to a court document written by assistant Utah Attorney General David Wolf. Bairett also said he told Felder she was free to go and denies any charges of mistreatment against her. The case is set for a hearing in federal court next month and if no settlement is reached, it will be set for trial.

(AXTELL) – The Utah Highway Patrol is reporting a head-on accident between a semi and truck north of Axtell this afternoon. Crews are at the scene to clean up the highway. UHP says no fatalities have been reported in the accident and more details are forthcoming as the investigation continues.

(RICHFIELD) – Thunderstorms that moved through South-Central Utah Wednesday afternoon sparked three fires on the Fishlake National Forest. Two of the three fires were suppressed by fire crews and the third is being managed for resource benefits. The Prospect Fire is burning about 10 miles southeast of Marysvale in pinyon-juniper and sage brush. The fire has consumed about a quarter of an acre. Smoke from the fire may be visible from Highway 89 and signs have been posted to notify the public.

(LOA) – A huge marijuana growing operation has been discovered in Wayne County. A Wayne County resident discovered the grow on Sunday and reported it to local officials. Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived at the grow site to find that the growers had fled. Drug agents seized more than 29,000 plants and dismantled the operation. They said the grow had been underway for just a few weeks. Agents say that drug cartels are taking advantage of remote areas of Utah to grow marijuana. No suspects have been apprehended in the Wayne County discovery.

(BEAVER) – A Beaver couple were killed in a rollover north of Beaver early Wednesday morning. According to a UHP report, at about 12:30am, 46-year old, Darla Polhamus was driving a 2003 BMW south on North Creek Road, when she drove off the road, jumped a ditch, went up an embankment and hit a power-pole support cable and rolled twice. Both Polhamus and her husband, 46-year old, Howard Cox, were killed in the crash. The UHP report said that Cox was wearing his seatbelt but Polhamus was not. The report also stated that speed and alcohol were factors in the fatal accident.