Murray • In an extraordinary move on Saturday, Utah Democrats voted to back independent candidate Evan McMullin over Democrat Kael Weston to challenge the winner of the Republican primary later this year.

At the Utah Democratic Convention at Cottonwood High School in Murray, McMullin received 782 of the delegate’s votes, nearly 57%, to Weston’s 594 votes, according to preliminary results.

It’s an unprecedented measure for Utah’s Democrats, who grappled between party loyalty or backing an outsider to increase the likelihood of defeating a Republican in November. The Democrats were motivated by the prospect of unseating Sen. Mike Lee, who is running for his third term this year, and won the support of Republican around 75% of delegates at his party’s convention.

Lee still needs to defeat challengers Ally Isom and Becky Edwards in his June primary to face McMullin in the general election.

PHOENIX — Two Republicans seeking statewide office are asking a federal judge to block the use of machines to tabulate the votes in Arizona in the 2022 election.

The machines are unreliable because they are subject to hacking, contend Kari Lake, a gubernatorial hopeful, and Mark Finchem, who is running for secretary of state. And the use of components in computers from other countries makes them vulnerable, they say.

The is an even more basic problem, says Andrew Parker, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on their behalf.

The tabulation of votes is an inherently governmental function, he said. Yet by using machines built and programmed by private companies the state has effectively farmed that out that obligation.

Washington (CNN)Someone set themself on fire Friday at the plaza in front of the US Supreme Court building, a court spokesperson said.

Supreme Court Police, US Capitol Police and the DC Metropolitan Police Department responded to the incident, which happened at about 6:30 p.m. ET.

The individual was airlifted to a local hospital after a medical helicopter landed on the plaza, and no one else was injured, according to the Supreme Court spokesperson.

"The area remains closed for further investigation, but this is not a public safety issue," the spokesperson said.

The strippers themselves are in need of some stimulus.

Chippendales, the famed male dancer troupe, has turned to K Street to help it tap into a potential new round of federal pandemic aid. The iconic franchise, known for commanding the attention of bachelorette parties lined across the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, retained the services of white-shoe law and lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig to lobby on a pandemic-era program designed to help concert halls, movie theaters and others in the live events industry, according to a disclosure filed this week.

Lobbying records show it’s the first time Chippendales has retained federal lobbyists. And it’s further evidence that the pandemic has pushed businesses of all stripes — and sartorial reputations — to turn to the government for a lifeline amid difficult economic times.

As the world shut down in the spring of 2020, the closures hit the live events industry especially hard, and the Chippendales, like any other business, had to adapt to the new normal after canceling its “Get Naughty” Tour and Vegas performances.

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — An Air Force major general in Ohio has been convicted by a military judge of one of three specifications of abusive sexual contact in the first-ever military trial of an Air Force general.

The charge faced by Maj. Gen. William Cooley during the weeklong court-martial at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio had three specifications, one alleging a forcible kiss and two alleging forcible touching in 2018. Cooley was convicted Saturday of the forcible kissing specification but acquitted of the other two.

Officials said the verdict marks the first court-martial trial and conviction of a general officer in the Air Force’s 75-year history.

A former commander of Air Force Research Laboratory, Cooley was charged with abusive sexual contact in an encounter with a woman who gave him a ride after a backyard barbecue in New Mexico nearly four years ago. Officials said the woman is a civilian who is not a Department of Defense employee.

Driving the news: During Friday's hearing, Greene denied knowing about plans to violently, or even noisily, disrupt Congress' proceedings as they certified electoral votes on Jan. 6.

Asked if, before Jan. 6, she had "heard that people were planning to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6 and engage in violence," Greene repeatedly responded, "No."

Asked if she was aware "people were going to make noise outside the Capitol as a means to disrupt the proceedings," she replied, "No, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Greene said she couldn't remember meetings with lawmakers or the White House about plans for Jan. 6, despite a video showing her at the White House saying she had "a great planning session for our Jan. 6 objection."