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Rep. Burgess Owens won't seek reelection
Source: Axios
11 hours ago
Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) will not seek reelection this November, he said in a social media post on Wednesday.
Why it matters: Utah's newly drawn 1st Congressional District is widely expected to flip to Democrats, meaning one of Utah's four Republican House members was likely to be unseated.
What they're saying: "I will complete this term fully committed to my work in Washington, D.C., and then step away from elected office," the former NFL player said in a statement.
State of play: The congressional race has drawn several prominent Democrats into the fray, including former Rep. Ben McAdams, former state Sen. Derek Kitchen, state Sens. Nate Blouin and Kathleen Riebe, and Salt Lake City Council Member Eva Lopez Chavez.
Read more: https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2026/03/04/burgess-owens-wont-seek-reelection
NPR tracker now (including Steve Daines and Burgess Owens) - https://www.npr.org/2025/09/15/nx-s1-5534254/house-senate-retirement-tracker-2026
As of March 4, 2026, a record 13 senators and 54 House members have already announced they don't plan to run for reelection in their current seats — plus several more have died, resigned or lost their primary election.
10 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Ironically, I was assisted by AI. 
Maybe Axios needs smarter AI to get the template right. 
How we use AI in our journalism
...
Axios has been vigorously testing LLMs, machine learning models, and generative AI systems over the past several years, to see where new AI tools might best help our journalism in a trustworthy manner.
Our tech team has incorporated AI tools into our CMS system to help our journalists…
etc...https://www.axios.com/about/ai
...
Axios has been vigorously testing LLMs, machine learning models, and generative AI systems over the past several years, to see where new AI tools might best help our journalism in a trustworthy manner.
We allow our journalists to use an AI tool that can record interviews and meetings, and that offers transcription and AI-generated summaries to help confirm details and quotes. We do not allow this to write content for publication.
Axios and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement, which enables our reporters and editors to use ChatGPT to sort through large data sets or documents like earnings reports to find patterns, conduct initial research, and brainstorm story ideas. However, it does not write our stories.
Our illustration team sometimes uses standard built-in AI tools, such as those in Adobe Photoshop, to help craft illustrations more quickly. However, these illustrations are conceptualized and created by our visual journalists to fit the stories of the day.
Our visual standards do not allow the alteration of photos of real people or events in any substantial way, as that can misrepresent what happened. And, when people send in their profile photo, we ask if it has been altered with AI and, if so, will note that in the credit.
Our tech team has incorporated AI tools into our CMS system to help our journalists…
etc...https://www.axios.com/about/ai
I then I ran across this
Exclusive / It’s bots vs. reporters at the AP
One of The Associated Press’ leaders on AI had a blunt message for the publication’s staff: Resistance to AI is “futile.”
Last month, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s editor wrote that a recent job applicant withdrew from consideration for a reporting fellowship after discovering the position included filing notes to an AI writing tool instead of actually writing stories, touching off a heated debate in media circles.
One AP higher-up crystallized many media managers’ views on the debate: “Because local newsrooms are so strapped, they are turning for assistance on the news making process in every direction. Advance Publications got there first, others will follow,” AP Senior Product Manager for AI Aimee Rinehart wrote in internal company Slack messages first shared with Semafor, referring to the Plain Dealer’s parent company. “Resistance is futile.”
Rinehart, who oversees the wire service’s AI initiatives, suggested that in the future, reporters could go to events, get quotes, plug them into a large language model, and have the model generate a story, saving them time on writing stories they don’t feel passionately about. She also noted that some editors told her that they would “prefer to have reporters report and have articles at least pre-written by AI.”
“There are many — and I mean MANY — editors who would prefer an AI-written article to a human-written one. Reporting and writing are two different skill sets and rare — RARE — is the occasion when it’s wrapped into one person,” she wrote.
more... https://www.semafor.com/article/03/03/2026/its-bots-vs-reporters-at-the-ap
One of The Associated Press’ leaders on AI had a blunt message for the publication’s staff: Resistance to AI is “futile.”
Last month, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s editor wrote that a recent job applicant withdrew from consideration for a reporting fellowship after discovering the position included filing notes to an AI writing tool instead of actually writing stories, touching off a heated debate in media circles.
One AP higher-up crystallized many media managers’ views on the debate: “Because local newsrooms are so strapped, they are turning for assistance on the news making process in every direction. Advance Publications got there first, others will follow,” AP Senior Product Manager for AI Aimee Rinehart wrote in internal company Slack messages first shared with Semafor, referring to the Plain Dealer’s parent company. “Resistance is futile.”
Rinehart, who oversees the wire service’s AI initiatives, suggested that in the future, reporters could go to events, get quotes, plug them into a large language model, and have the model generate a story, saving them time on writing stories they don’t feel passionately about. She also noted that some editors told her that they would “prefer to have reporters report and have articles at least pre-written by AI.”
“There are many — and I mean MANY — editors who would prefer an AI-written article to a human-written one. Reporting and writing are two different skill sets and rare — RARE — is the occasion when it’s wrapped into one person,” she wrote.
more... https://www.semafor.com/article/03/03/2026/its-bots-vs-reporters-at-the-ap
