News roundup: Mitt Romney, the new GOP 'kingmaker'

Mitt Romney: Kingmaker. Two Mormon women threatened with ex-communication. What Cantor's loss means for Utah.

Happy Thursday. You may have heard of Rockefeller Republicans but how about Romney Republicans? Could be the new thing. Mitt Romney jets into Utah today with some heavyweight Republican politicians and donors as part of his leadership retreat in Park City and it could help cement himself as a new kingmaker in the GOP. [WaTimes]

Topping the news: Two Utah Mormons, including the woman who founded the Ordain Women group, are being threatened with excommunication by the LDS Church. [Trib] [DNews] [KUTV] [KSL] [Fox13] [NYTimes]

-> If you're wondering what House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's loss in the primary election to a tea party candidate means for politics at large and in Utah, check out the five takeaways from the Cantor upset here. [Trib] Also, local politicos react to the shocking loss. [DNews]

Tweet of the day: From @SpencerJCox: "So, the same experts that told me Cantor would win easily are now qualified to tell me exactly why he lost?"

-> From @greggutfeld: "'Having not followed the Brat/Cantor race I still feel qualified to make pronouncements about it.' -everyone including myself."

Happy Birthday: To Taylorsville City Administrator and Treasurer John Taylor, former Senate President Michael Waddoups and Elisabeth Jessop.

In other news: The Mormons Building Bridges group denied entry into this year's Day of '47 Parade said it is no more an advocacy group than the LDS church. [KUTV]

-> The Utah Transit Authority expects to fully approve the plan for a five-story parking garage in West Valley City at the end of this month. [Trib]

-> Take a look at Pat Bagley's cartoon comparing the weight of student debt to the 2008 bank bailout. [Trib]

-> West Valley City is also forging ahead with UTOPIA, a broadband grid to bring Internet access to the area, with the additional incentive of free telephone service. [Trib] [DNews]

-> The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources plans to sell land from Lake Canyon to different counties in the state. [Trib]

-> Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams appointed Sarah Brenna to head the county's Department of Administrative Services. [DNews]

-> Ogden residents are concerned with the city's plans to widen Harrison Boulevard because they fear losing yard space. [Fox13]

Nationally: Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, plans to resign in two weeks from his position as House majority leader after his loss in a primary; talk of who will replace him has already begun. [NYTimes] [WaPost] [WSJ] [LATimes]

-> President Barack Obama said Cantor's loss makes "it is easy as a Democrat to smile," but is now worried about moving forward with immigration reform. [Politico]

-> The FBI is now involved in the investigation of the backlog at veterans hospitals. [WaPost]

-> Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel defended Obama's decision to trade five Taliban captives for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and said because of the situation Obama could not have let Congress know any sooner than he did. [WSJ]

-> Obama spoke at a high school graduation in Massachusetts, saying, "Each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere, invested in our success." He encouraged students to not forget the people that helped propel them this far. [LATimes]

Where are they?

Rep. Jason Chaffetz lunches with Gov. Gary Herbert and the rest of the Utah delegation and attends various meetings throughout the day.

Rep. Chris Stewart participates in a working policy group breakfast with the "Problem Solvers," speaks with Unisys, also eats lunch with Gov. Gary Herbert, meets with Boeing, talks with the American Healthcare Association and later sits down with Sen. Orrin Hatch.

Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox takes part in the Utah State Hospital ribbon cutting in Provo and speaks to the Utah Association of Elementary School Principals.

SL Co. Mayor Ben McAdams attends the United Way Board of Directors annual meeting and later goes to the Governor's Office of Economic Development meeting.

SLC Mayor Ralph Becker speaks with Vernal Mayor Sonja Norton, takes part in a Mountain Accord Stakeholder forum and attends a dinner honoring Molly Melching.

President Barack Obama attends a bilateral meeting with the prime minister of Australia, meets with Vice President Joe Biden for lunch and speaks with the WNBA champion team, the Minnesota Lynx.

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven't already, sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox. [Trib]

— Thomas Burr and Courtney Tanner Twitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/CourtneyLTanner