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Good morning!

The Park City Mountain ski patrollers’ strike against Vail Resorts continues, and Park City leaders are urging an end to the dispute.

Mayor Nann Worel and the Park City Council released a statement Tuesday calling on Vail Resorts to take immediate action to conclude negotiations.

“Park City Mountain is a cornerstone of Park City’s community well-being, and it is Vail Resorts’ responsibility as an essential employer to resolve this conflict without further delay,” the statement read.

Read more about the latest on the Park City Mountain strike.

Also on our minds:

A plane with 2 bodies in the landing gear made a stop in Utah
Health officials reassure public after first U.S. bird flu death
5 takeaways from Trump press conference

National battles come to Utah: 3 key issues up for debate in the coming legislative session

The Utah policymaking season will spring into motion on Jan. 21 when the Legislature gathers to begin its work.

“Republican lawmakers made it clear on Monday that Trump’s top issue, immigration law enforcement, will also be their top priority early on in the 2025 legislative session,” Brigham Tomco reports. The bills aim to “facilitate the incoming president’s deportation agenda and to enhance penalties for immigration-related crime.”

Other dominant issues this year will include:

Higher education funding
Election oversight
Changes to the vote-by-mail process
Potential reforms to the judiciary system
Culture war clashes in public schools
Chronic homelessness

Read more about what to expect from the upcoming legislative session.

Utah athletic director Mark Harlan speaks for the first time about BYU-Utah incident — and more

Joe Coles writes:

In one of his first interviews since his postgame comments following the BYU-Utah football game, Utah athletic director Mark Harlan addressed his actions the night of Nov. 9 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, including his apologies to BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe, BYU football coach Kalani Sitake and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark.

Harlan made headlines following Utah’s 22-21 loss to then-No. 9 BYU after going onto the field postgame to confront the referees, then heading to the postgame media pulpit.

Two months later, Harlan reflected on his actions that night.

“I think as we talk about last season, just like Kyle (Whittingham) would say, there’s things that they need to improve in as we head into the next year, I would say the same of myself,” Harlan said. “I think that night, obviously, I reacted emotionally and my frustrations were expressed in a way that was not worthy of a true leader of a program of this stature. And certainly as any leader should, you learn and grow from those experiences.”

Read more about what Harlan had to say about Kyle Whittingham’s return, revenue sharing, the transfer portal, NIL, the state of Utah men’s basketball and more.

Relive the glory: BYU’s championship season

This is more than a look back; it’s a tribute to the spirit and passion of the Cougar community. Step back in time and celebrate the legendary moments of BYU’s epic 1984 National Championship season! Order your copy and relive the championship journey with us. Celebrate the past, inspire the future.

Utah

Plane with 2 bodies in the landing gear made a stop in Utah (Deseret News)
Utah leaders serve at food bank, talk of upcoming legislative session (Deseret News)
Utah saw 281 road fatalities in 2024, preliminary state data shows (KSL)
Utah’s rural population growth outpacing urban areas (Axios Salt Lake City)

Tech

Half of U.S. parents think TikTok ban would make kids safer online (Deseret News)
Meta cites political bias in move to suspend fact-checking on Facebook, Instagram (Deseret News)

Politics

5 takeaways from Trump press conference — including hostages held by Hamas, control of Panama Canal (Deseret News)
Renae Cowley & Frank Pignanelli: How will Trump’s immigration actions play in Utah? (Deseret News)
Sen. John Curtis reflects on passing 27 bills during House tenure (Deseret News)
Federal judge bars publication of Trump investigation report pending appeal (Deseret News)

The Nation

Thousands evacuated in Southern California due to fire and wind event. Here’s what we know so far (Deseret News)
With first bird flu death in U.S., what is your risk? (Deseret News)

The World

U.S. says a genocide is happening in Sudan. Here’s why that matters (Deseret News)
Over 100 dead after Tibetan earthquake, with more injured (Deseret News)
Donald Trump Jr. arrives in Greenland with a message from his dad: ‘We’re going to treat you well’ (The Associated Press)

Faith

Church-supported garden in Alberta grows 16,000 pounds of fresh produce each year for those in need (Church News)
Freedom from Religion Foundation dissolves honorary board in spat over trans issues (Religion News Service)

🗓️ Events Calendar

We put together a calendar list of events and activities going on around the state of Utah the next month. Check it out and let us know if we are missing anything!

Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond!

And reply to this email or email newsletters@deseretnews.com to tell us what you think of Utah Today.

Thanks for reading!

— Ariel