How do we help more Utah families achieve the American Dream? 

Utah has the best upward mobility in the nation, but some families still feel stuck – hungry for opportunities to work and earn their way out of poverty. On Thursday, December 12, from 9 am-3 pm, join a group of policymakers, practitioners, and state and national experts to examine challenges these families face and explore how to improve the social safety net in ways that strengthen the American Dream. Get more info and register here.

Utah Headlines

Political news

• Learn how the State of Utah decides what to do with your tax dollars (Hinckley Report)
• Rep. Tyler Clancy was on 'Dr. Phil' (Deseret News)
• Opinion: Reflections on Martha Hughes Cannon and Senator Orrin Hatch (Deseret News)
• Editorial Board: Time to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits (Deseret News)
• Utah, 8 other states poised to end coverage for millions if Trump cuts Medicaid funding (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Longtime Utah GOP senator, who has bucked his party on key votes, loses a chairmanship and an office (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Poll finds wide opposition to Amendment D, but Utah voters could have been tricked by ballot language (Salt Lake Tribune)

Utah

• Kyle Whittingham announces return for 2025 season (Deseret News)
• BYU gives head coach Kalani Sitake a ‘long-term’ contract extension (Deseret News)
• Gene England: remembering a legendary trucker (Deseret News)
• The FBI raided their homes and arrested their prophet. Then the polygamous group found out who the informants were. Read part 2. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Man who died in Cedar City auto-pedestrian crash identified as Evans Hairstyling College founder (St. George News)

Holiday season

• The way to renew the message of Christmas in a divisive age remains simple: Promote understanding (Deseret News)
• Elf on the Shelf ideas your kids might love — or hate (KSL)
• Scammers love the holidays, too. Here’s how to protect yourself. (Washington Post)
• How to manage seasonal stress and enjoy the holidays (Washington Post

Culture

• Walking fundraiser to spread awareness about struggles of children with disabilities in Ghana (KSL)
• ‘Women of the World’ celebration honors refugee women’s achievements (KSL TV, Salt Lake Tribune)
• Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour grand total: A record $2 billion (New York Times)

Education

• Taylor Randall speaks about the University of Utah’s efforts to not only teach, but also inspire (Deseret News)
• High school students put education to use for a good cause by building wheelchair ramp (Fox13)
• Utah wants third-graders ‘reading at grade level.’ There’s still a long way to go (KUER)

Environment

• Cox rails against ‘stupid’ federal permitting regulations (Deseret News)

Health

• Opinion: We cannot afford a world without effective antibiotics (Deseret News)

National Headlines

General

• Beloved animal rescue pilot is buried with the puppy he tried to save (Washington Post)
• The killings of young mothers (New York Times)

Political news

• They’re conservatives who oppose Trump. What do they do now? (Deseret News)
• What does Donald Trump’s victory mean for the rest of the world? (Deseret News)
• 5 takeaways from Trump’s ‘Meet the Press’ interview (The Hill)
• Trump vows to pardon Jan. 6 defendants on Day 1 (Reuters)
• Trump says members of Jan. 6 committee should be jailed (Washington Post)
• Trump says he can’t guarantee tariffs won’t raise US prices and won’t rule out revenge prosecutions (AP)
• Trump says he will end birthright citizenship (Politico)
• Vance, GOP committees ask Supreme Court to strike down coordination limits (The Hill)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

• Trump calls for immediate Ukraine ceasefire (Reuters)
• Ukrainians face another harsh winter as Russia attacks coal country (NPR)
• Zelensky says Ukraine war deaths are a small fraction of Trump claim (Washington Post)
• Inside Ukraine’s battle for the skies as Russian bombardments hit records (Wall Street Journal)

Israel and Gaza

• Israel says it will destroy Syria's heavy strategic weaponry (Reuters)
• Israel claims credit for al-Assad’s ouster, but sees risk in his absence (New York Times)

World news

• France says 'merci' as Notre-Dame Cathedral rises from ruins of fire (Reuters)
• Massacre in Haiti’s capital leaves over 100 dead, rights group says (New York Times)

Number of the Day 

News Releases

Moore to co-chair the DOGE Caucus

Congressman Blake Moore will serve as Co-Chair of the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus for the 119th Congress alongside Co-Chairs Congressman Aaron Bean (R-FL) and Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX). The caucus will work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut wasteful government spending, eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic regulations, and reorganize inefficient federal agencies. (Read More)

Utah Department of Commerce supports the upholding of the TikTok ban

The Utah Department of Commerce fully supports the recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to deny TikTok’s appeal regarding the requirement to divest from its parent company, ByteDance. This ruling highlights the critical importance of national security in the digital age. Given the potential risks associated with foreign ownership—risks that we assert in our lawsuit in Third District Court, claiming that TikTok has deliberately misrepresented these issues, especially concerning the exposure of American users’ data—stringent measures are necessary to protect our citizens, particularly minors, from potential harm.

Our commitment to pursuing the lawsuit against TikTok for its impacts on our youth remains steadfast. We will not waver in our efforts to seek the necessary reforms to ensure the safety and privacy of our communities. This decision reinforces our stance that accountability and transparency are essential in maintaining trust in digital platforms. We will continue to advocate for responsible practices that prioritize the well-being and safety of Utahns and our children. 

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• Dec. 11 — Martha Hughes Cannon Statuary Hall Installation, 12:30 pm - 3:00 pm MST, Utah State Capitol open house and livestream
• Dec. 12 — UpwardMobility and Benefit Cliffs Summit with Sutherland Institute, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, Weber State University, Register here
• Jan. 9 — What’s Up Down South Economic Summit. St. George. Register here
• Jan. 10 — Rural Utah Data Symposium. St. George. Register here
• Jan 14 — Utah Taxpayers Association Legislative Outlook Conference, 9 am - 12:00 pm, Little America Hotel, Register here
• Jan. 21 — Utah legislative session begins
• Mar. 7 — Utah legislative session ends

On This Day In History

• 1793 - Noah Webster establishes New York's first daily newspaper, the "American Minerva"
• 1835 - The Texan Army captures San Antonio in its war for independence from Mexico
• 1872 - P.B.S. Pinchback was sworn in as the first African American to serve as a governor of a U.S. state. He replaced Governor Henry C. Warmoth when his term ended due to impeachment charges.
• 1886 - Clarence Birdseye is born. He developed a quick-freezing method for preserving foods that revolutionized the food preservation industry.
• 1906 - Grace Hopper is born. Rear Admiral Hopper ​​was a pioneering computer scientist who invented the compiler, co-invented COBOL and is credited with coining the phrase “debugging” after seeing an actual bug inside a computer.
• 1906 - Esther Peterson is born in Provo, Utah. As head of the Commission on the Status of Women, she was the most powerful woman in the Kennedy administration. 
• 1958 - John Birch society founded.
• 1965 - A Charlie Brown Christmas premieres on CBS.
• 1979 - Smallpox is officially declared eradicated, following a global inoculation effort
• 1992 - U.S. Marines storm Mogadishu, Somalia in Operation Restore Hope
• 2002 - Award-winning ABC News journalist, Michele Norris, becomes the first African American female regular co-host of National Public Radio’s news magazine, All Things Considered
• 2008 - Rod Blagojevich, Governor of Illinois is arrested by federal officials
• 2021 - More than 40 camels disqualified from the King Abdulaziz Camel Festival beauty contest after Botox injections and other cosmetic enhancements were discovered

Quote of the Day

"Write your future in pencil…Be prepared. Plan for the future. But also be ready to pivot if a new opportunity comes your way, or if you discover something that was not part of the master plan– makes your heart sing and your mind buzz with possibilities."
—Michele Norris

On the Punny Side

I've decided to form a choir this Christmas.
Anyone wanting to join will be welcome.
So far, it's just Dean, Don, Mary, Lee and I.

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