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⛅ 22 – 42° Logan | ⛅ 27 – 44° Salt Lake

🌤️ 19 – 42° Manti | ☀️ 28 – 49° Moab

☀️ 23 – 48° Cedar City | ☀️ 34 – 59° St. George

🌅 Good morning!

Did you happen to catch Andy Reid on Hallmark this week?

He made a small appearance in Hallmark’s “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story,” which premiered that night.

The Kansas City Chiefs head coach’s line was included in the movie’s trailer. In the movie, it comes near the end.

Reid says, “Guys, we kind of need the field now.”

Read more about what he said about the experience.

🎄🏈 Tell me: What person from the NFL universe would you love to see in a Hallmark movie?

Gov. Cox's budget reveal

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox revealed his budget to combined Deseret News and KSL editorial boards this week.

The recently reelected Republican governor campaigned heavily on signing a record $1.2 billion of tax cuts into law during his first term.

Here are three stories with highlights from the budget reveal:

1 — Debt relief to senior citizens: Cox announced that a “cornerstone” of his budget recommendations for the upcoming legislative session will be to completely eliminate the state tax on Social Security benefits. This would provide $1,000 in tax relief to 150,000 Utahns receiving Social Security benefits.
2 — Eliminating some university programs to expand others: Cox confirmed his support for legislative efforts to eliminate some public university programs and to expand others that emphasize high-demand skills.
3 — Ambitious water, energy goals: Continued funding to help the struggling Great Salt Lake is part of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s budget recommendations for the coming year, in addition to $10 million to boost dam safety and to improve the health of key watersheds in the state.

Utah Hockey Club players bring the fun to Primary Children’s patients

Patients at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital got the exciting opportunity to play games and connect with a few of the Utah Hockey Club players Wednesday afternoon at the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Campus in Lehi.

Whether it was an intense game of Go Fish, a mean game of Foosball or just getting their hands yucky with slime, the holiday visit from members of Utah’s newest professional sports team made for a fun visit.

In addition to those activities, there were holiday gifts handed out along with autographs from the hockey players.

See more photos from the day's festivities.

More in Utah

Bill to name Santaquin post office after fallen Sgt. Bill Hooser passes House (KSL)
Utah businesses paid $8.1 billion in state and local taxes in 2024 (Utah Business)
What the IOC president said about Utah’s 2034 Winter Games (Deseret News)
Realigning a mountain roadway: Dixie National Forest wants to hear from Southern Utahns (St George News)
Washington County schools ensure no child goes hungry, regardless of lunch account balance (KUTV)
Park City history seen as at stake in talks about future of Main Street (Park Record)
Utah hit-and-run rates spiked after the pandemic and remain stubbornly high (KUER)

FROM OUR SPONSOR GREAT AMERICAN TRAIN SHOW

Great Train Show in Salt Lake City, this weekend!

Join us at the Great Train Show in Salt Lake City on December 6th & 7th at Utah State Fairpark. Experience two buildings brimming with trains, from collectibles to huge operating displays! Enjoy workshops, a test track, and a riding train for kids. Discount online tickets: $11 for adults, kids under 11 free!

Health

Murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO prompts discussion of insurance practices (Deseret News)
U.S. sets Thanksgiving record for whooping cough cases (CBS News)
Stay away from Dr. Google, and other lessons learned about hypochondria (NPR)

Faith

Be a ‘purveyor of light,’ Elder Andersen invites in Washington, D.C. (Church News)
Senate approves move to add American Jewish history museum to Smithsonian (Religion News)

The U.S. & World

Apex the $45M stegosaurus found near Dinosaur, is on display in New York. Here’s what scientists hope to learn about it (The Associated Press)
US students' declining math scores are 'sobering,' expert says (ABC News)
Tsunami warning cancelled after magnitude 7 earthquake strikes California coast (BBC)

Sports

Who will play in the Alamo Bowl this year? Here’s why it will for sure be an all-Big 12 matchup (Deseret News)
BYU falls to Loyola Chicago in NCAA tournament (Deseret News)
Utah season wrap-up: While not perfect, Utah defense turned in another solid season (Deseret News)
BYU has 3 case studies to learn from and 3 games to play before the Big 12 arrives (Deseret News)
When it comes to College Football Playoff, Big 12 is being disrespected — big time (Deseret News)

Entertainment

Get to know Dreamwalk Park, Utah County’s newest entertainment adventure (Daily Herald)
Spotify Wrapped: Salt Lake City's most-streamed songs and artists (Axios)
What to know about the release of Brandon Sanderson's newest book (Deseret News)

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Photo of the week by Scott G Winterton

Dayanna Di Maggio begins to run as she bursts into tears as she spots her father Giovanni Di Maggio Sr., whom she hasn’t seen for six years, at the Salt Lake City International Airport on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024.

🗓️ 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!

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today:

Festival of Trees | Sandy
Draper City’s Candy Cane Hunt | Draper
Ephraim City’s Christmas Celebration | Ephraim
Zach Bryan | Delta Center
“Almost Maine” | On Pitch Performing Arts Center
“Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings” | St. George Musical Theater
Utah Jazz at Portland Trail Blazers | 8 p.m.
U of U women’s and men’s swimming & diving
Weber State women’s volleyball at Pacific | 12 p.m.
UVU wrestling at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational | 10 a.m.
SUU women’s gymnastics vs. 2025 Team Preview | 6:30 p.m.
Utah Tech women’s basketball at Boise State | 1 p.m.

Please reach out to me at sgambles@deseretnews.com if you have any thoughts, feedback or ideas you would like to share.

Thanks for reading!

✨ Cheers ✨

— Gambles