Utah Headlines

Political news

• The ripples of Sandra Day O’Connor’s influence continue today (Deseret News)
• Greg Hughes spearheads campaign against UTOPIA model, government involvement in fiber development (KSL)
• Sean Reyes’ calendars should not be made public, Utah A.G.’s office argues (Salt Lake Tribune)

Election news

• Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson will seek reelection next year (KSL)
• Republican forms exploratory committee for Salt Lake County mayoral race (KSL Newsradio)

Holiday corner

• Flying during the holidays? Here are tips for traveling smart (Deseret News)

Utah news

• A Salt Lake City rabbi talks about the support he’s felt from the community (Deseret News)
• Layover blues? Salt Lake City International Airport is where fliers want to be (Fox13)
• Tiny house missing in southern Utah (Fox13)
• Stick a nav pin in it: 3,113 Navajo Nation homes now have a Utah address (KUER)

Business/Technology

• Utah native and Nikola Corp. founder Trevor Milton headed to prison after fraud conviction (Deseret News)
• Provo-based Nu Skin laying off 5% of its US workforce (KSL)
• Google to pay $700 million to US consumers, states in Play store settlement (Reuters)

Crime/Courts

• Ruby Franke plea agreement details abuse of her 2 young children (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Ruby Franke pleads guilty, will testify against Jodi Hildebrandt (KUTV)
• NetChoice challenges Utah Social Media Regulation Act in lawsuit (Deseret News)
• Salt Lake police chief: ‘We stand up to bigotry and evilness’ (Deseret News)
• OUR files countersuit stating it properly responded to reports of Tim Ballard’s sexual misconduct (Fox13)

Culture

• How listening to Elvis in Las Vegas led Lee Greenwood to write “America’s song” (Deseret News)

Education

• DeSantis had no influence on new AP African American studies course, College Board says (Deseret News)
• Quran facing review under Davis School District 'sensitive materials' book policy (KSL)
• Utah public schools may soon share student data with charters — so charters can advertise to families (Salt Lake Tribune)

Environment

• Cities want to recycle water. Here’s why that’s bad for the Great Salt Lake. (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Utah's rules on lithium extraction in the Great Salt Lake open for public comment (Fox13)
• Colorado River stakeholders say there's no one solution to the water crisis (UPR)

Family

• 5 things not to tell someone who is grieving — try using these 5 helpful phrases instead (Church News)
• Put a ring on it. How Americans stopped getting married and started falling behind (Deseret News)

Health

• How winter changes behavior and mood (Deseret News)
• What breathing dirty air does to the body (ABC4)
• Quaker Oats recalling granola bars, cereals for salmonella risk (Deseret News)
• 11 Utahns among salmonella outbreak linked to cantaloupe (Fox13)
• Can family doctors deliver rural America from its maternal health crisis? (NPR)

Housing

• At long last, Salt Lake City has its first legal homeless camp (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Home buyers are ready to buy. But sellers aren't selling (Wall Street Journal)

National Headlines

General

• What is Southwest’s plus-size traveler policy and why is it trending on TikTok? (Deseret News)
• These kids want to go to school. The main obstacle? Paperwork. (AP)
• Marvel, Disney drop actor Jonathan Majors after he’s convicted of assaulting his former girlfriend (AP)
• Pope Francis approves Catholic blessings for same-sex couples, but not for marriage (NPR)
• A father and daughter went fishing in Wisconsin. What they found was a 152-year-old shipwreck (NPR)
• The nation’s capital, built on water, struggles to keep from drowning as underground "zombie streams" come back to life  (Washington Post)

Political news

• Locked out of local government: Residents decry increased secrecy among towns, counties, schools (AP)
• New US refugee program lets Americans choose who to sponsor (Reuters)
• Texas governor signs law allowing Texas to arrest migrants, setting up  showdown with the federal government (New York Times)
• Senate Republicans recoil at Trump ‘poisoning the blood of our country’ remarks (The Hill)

Election news

• Tucker Carlson rules out running as Trump’s vice president (Deseret News)
• Trump tops Biden by 2 points among registered voters in new survey (The Hill)
• The polls look awful for Biden. He keeps insisting otherwise. (Politico)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

• The UK and France reiterate that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine must end in failure as US aid falters (AP)
• Ukraine economy heads for tough 2024 as Western aid concerns grow (Reuters)
• Moscow glows triumphant as front freezes and Western aid for Ukraine stalls (Washington Post)

Israel 🇮🇱

• US envoys work for a new hostage release deal and a scale-down of the Israel-Hamas war (AP)
• Israel pounds Gaza, Houthis vow more Red Sea attacks (Reuters)
• Israel's freed child hostages are haunted by trauma of captivity (Wall Street Journal)

World news

• A volcano erupts in southwestern Iceland and spews magma in a spectacular show of Earth’s power (AP)
• An earthquake in northwestern China kills at least 127 people and is the deadliest in 9 years (AP)
• Pentagon announces new international maritime protection force for the Red Sea (NPR)

Number of the Day 

News Releases

Gov. Cox orders flags to half-staff in recognition of the passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor

Per a Presidential Proclamation, Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox has issued an order for the flags of the United States of America and the great state of Utah to be flown at half-staff on all state facilities in recognition of the passing of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Flags should be lowered to the half-staff position beginning at sunrise on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, and return to full-staff at sunset on the same day. (Read More)

Gov. Cox names Donna Law as new head of Department of Cultural and Community Engagement

Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox has appointed Donna Law as the interim executive director of the Department of Cultural and Community Engagement. This appointment requires approval by the Utah State Senate. Law will replace Jill Remington Love, who announced her departure in September after serving seven years in the position. (Read More)

Derek Brown announces Finance Committee for 2024 Attorney General campaign

Derek Brown’s Attorney General Campaign announced the formation and initial membership of his Finance Committee to ensure he has the support he needs to raise funds to carry his conservative message to the voters of Utah. 

The committee will be chaired by Scott Anderson (President and CEO of Zions First National Bank), Deidre Henderson (Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah), and Scott Keller (Chairman and CEO of Keller Investment Properties). (Read More)

Jenny Wilson launches re-election campaign for Salt Lake County Mayor

Jenny Wilson announced her campaign for re-election as Salt Lake County Mayor. Jenny has served as mayor since 2019 initially filling a vacated seat mid-term. She was elected to a full term in 2020 and is now seeking a second full-term. (Read More)

Tweet of the Day

Upcoming

• Jan. 2 — Candidate filing period opens
• Jan. 16 — Legislative session begins
• Mar. 1 — Legislative session ends 

On This Day In History 

• 1843 - "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens is published
• 1848 - Emily Brontë dies of tuberculosis at 30
• 1919 - Sally Ann Lilienthal is born. In 1981, she founded Ploughshares, which gave $50 million in grants to promote peace, reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons
• 1950 - General Eisenhower named NATO commander
• 1980 - BYU “Miracle Bowl”
• 1997 - Chicago-born Janet Jagan becomes president of Guyana
• 1998 - Bill Clinton impeached
• 2012 - Park Geun-hye wins the South Korean presidential election to become the nation’s first female president

Quote of the Day

“No space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

On the Punny Side

How does Mr. Scrooge get around his neighborhood?
On a pair of cheap skates.

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