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Good morning, Utah Today readers! Here’s today’s forecast:

☀️ 51 – 97° in Logan

☀️ 72 – 103° in Salt Lake City ⚠️ Heat Advisory

☀️ 75 – 108° in St. George ⚠️ Excessive Heat

Football fans rejoice because football is back! I don't know about you, but I definitely missed this beloved sport. 🏈

The Cougars kick off Utah's football-filled Saturday with their 2 p.m. game against the South Florida Bulls. Could we potentially see a BYU running back rush for 200 yards in a game this season for the first time since Tyler Allgeier rushed for 266 yards against Virginia? Could Jaren Hall become the first BYU quarterback to throw for 400 yards in a game this season since Zach Wilson did against Houston?

The Utes travel to Gator Country to invade The Swamp and take down the Florida Gators on primetime television. After losing Devin Lloyd and Nephi Sewell to the NFL, Utah might have found their next great linebacker, and he happens to only be a freshman. The reigning Pac-12 Champions are well-stocked and ready to tackle their high expectations for the season.

Since I prefer watching the NFL over college football, I'm more excited about next week's football lineup and to watch my Arizona Cardinals redeem themselves from last season's collapse.

Tell me: What are you most excited for this football season?

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Also on our minds: The world of college sports and NIL, how inflation is hitting millennials and Gen Z and the Williams sisters take one last bow together.

The future of work: Utah business leaders mixed on solving the remote vs. in-person dilemma

Companies are still grappling with the questions left behind by the COVID-19 pandemic — more specifically, where their employees should work.

Should employees still be allowed to work remotely?
Should they be required to work in the office?

In a roundtable discussion hosted by Overstock.com, two dozen Utah business leaders tried to tackle this dilemma. While they failed to come to a consensus on what scenario is best for Utah, the company leaders are embracing diverse approaches after sharing their different philosophies with each other.

What Republicans are saying about Biden calling MAGA a threat to democracy

In his Thursday speech in front of Independence Hall, President Joe Biden said former President Donald Trump and extremists loyal to Trump "represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic." Utah Sen. Mike Lee sarcastically responded to the speech with a tweet that called Biden a uniter, and Rep. John Curtis said the speech was the low point of his week.

"What a perfect time to try to unite," Curtis said in an Instagram video. "An individual president who promised in his campaign to unite, continues to divide and drive that wedge even deeper."

Business:

Inside the college sports NIL gold rush (Deseret News)
Mental health takes center stage at the inaugural Park City Song Summit (Utah Business)

Faith:

October general conference to include 90-minute Saturday evening session for all Latter-day Saints (Deseret News)
Don Lind, Latter-day Saint astronaut, scientist, dies at age 92 (Church News)

Southern Utah:

Intruders in St. George home break-in remain at large; police emphasize personal safety (St. George News)
Smelly, potentially toxic dumping in Beaver County has neighbors concerned (KSL)

The West:

Inflation is hitting millennial, Gen Z renters harder than the average American (Deseret News)

The Nation:

Parents worried more about school shootings than COVID (Deseret News)
This teacher survived the Uvalde shooting. Here's why she is returning to the job (NPR)

The World:

Argentina VP survives assassination attempt. Here’s what happened (Deseret News)
Russian oil exec falls from hospital window — another mysterious death (Deseret News)

Venus and Serena Williams leave the court together for the last time at the U.S. Open

Serena and Venus Williams may have played their last professional tennis match together after losing to Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova, of the Czech Republic, in the first round of the U.S. Open women’s doubles on Thursday. The U.S. Open is expected to be the final tournament of Serena Williams' career before she retires.

New With:

Utah Jazz: How Donovan Mitchell (reportedly) reacted to being traded (Deseret News)
BYU Cougars: Jim McMahon on greatest memory, Mondays with LaVell and what may determine Jaren Hall’s season (Deseret News)
Utah Utes: Upstart Utes one of the feel-good stories entering new season of college football (Deseret News)
College Football: College Football Playoff will reportedly expand to 12 teams (Deseret News)

Thanks for reading Utah Today! If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, we’d love to hear them — just reply to this email or send an email to newsletters@deseretnews.com.

— Krysyan