Utah Headlines

Political news

• Utah lawmakers who approved luxury ski resort took $100k in donations from developer (Salt Lake Tribune)
• Utah AG’s Office insists it has no bias related to investigation of ~$1 million donor (Fox13)

Election news

• Utahns will see an additional political party on their ballots in 2024 and 2026: the Green Party of Utah (Deseret News)
• Utah Rep. Cory Maloy announces candidacy for reelection in House District 52 (Daily Herald)

Utah news

• Fire destroys $3.9 million Orem mansion under construction (Fox13)
• Brick-and-mortar survivor advocacy center opens in Tooele (KSL TV)
• Business Insider lists Provo among top Cities to watch in 2024 (KSL Newsradio)
• Body found near steps on Salt Lake Community College campus (KUTV)

Business/Tech

• Artificial intelligence was all the rage in ’23, as were concerns about where it is headed (Deseret News)
• Utah’s recreation economy is booming, reaping benefits for all (Deseret News)
• 2023’s high-profile Silicon Slopes layoffs portend slower growth, not disaster (KUER)
• Online retailer Zulily says it will go into liquidation, surprising customers (AP)
• U.S. appeals court grants Apple's request to pause smartwatch import ban (NPR)

Crime/Courts

• Jodi Hildebrandt pleads guilty to 4 counts of felony child abuse (Deseret News)

Culture

• What people still don’t get about loneliness (Deseret News)
• Dallas Jenkins says he’s ‘walking through land mines every day’ as he creates ‘The Chosen’ (Deseret News)
• Less church, less prayer: Data challenges ‘spiritual but not religious’ mantra (Deseret News)

Education

• Utah public colleges are phasing out DEI statements used in hiring, says higher ed board (Deseret News)

Environment

• How the Endangered Species Act has affected Utah’s wildlife (KSL Newsradio)
• Utah’s snowpack is falling behind and the forecast doesn’t look too helpful (KSL Newsradio)
• A ‘snow drought’ is leaving the West’s mountains high and dry (KUER)

Family

• From ‘Harry Potter’ to tapioca pudding: An ode to family traditions (Deseret News)

Health

• New study finds that pediatric RSV led to higher hospitalization rates than omicron or flu (The Hill)
• What is hospice care? 6 myths about this end-of-life option (NPR)
• America has a life expectancy crisis. But it’s not a political priority. (Washington Post)

Housing

• Are microshelters in the West effective at combatting homelessness? (Deseret News)

National Headlines

General

• US airlines deliver holiday improvement over the rough end to 2022, figures show (KSL TV)
• Social media companies made $11 billion in US ad revenue from minors, Harvard study finds (AP)
• Trapped in his crashed truck, an Indiana man is rescued after 6 days surviving on rainwater (AP)
• Tom Smothers, one half of TV comedy legends the Smothers Brothers, dies at 86 (NPR)
• Dozens arrested in pro-Palestinian protests at two major U.S. airports (Reuters)
• Prosecutor urged to drop case against woman charged after miscarriage (Washington Post)

Political news

• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene backs mass government layoffs: 'There are plenty of jobs' (KUTV)
• US announces new weapons package for Ukraine, as funds dwindle and Congress is stalled on aid bill (AP)
• Gen X and President Biden: Reality bites (NPR)
• Don’t Let Trump ‘Inject Politics’ Into Courtroom, Special Counsel Urges (Wall Street Journal)
• Special counsel asks D.C. judge to bar Trump misinformation at trial (Washington Post)

Election news

• Nikki Haley has bet her 2024 bid on South Carolina. But much of her home state leans toward Trump (AP)
• Nikki Haley, asked what caused the Civil War, leaves out slavery. It’s not the first time (AP)
• Joe Lieberman’s Campaign for Third-Party Ticket Draws Ire of Democrats—Again (Wall Street Journal)
• Vivek Ramaswamy: TV ads are for ‘chumps’ (Politico)

Ukraine 🇺🇦

• Russia covered up and undercounted true human cost of floodings after dam explosion, AP investigation finds (AP)
• US announces new weapons package for Ukraine, as funds dwindle and Congress is stalled on aid bill (AP)
• Ukraine's frontline children yearn for return to classroom (Reuters)
• Ukraine Opens Inquiry Into Alleged Execution of POWs by Russian Troops (Wall Street Journal)

Israel 🇮🇱

• On foot and by donkey cart, thousands flee widening Israeli assault in central Gaza (AP)
• Two weeks in Gaza, through one Israeli soldier's eyes (NPR)
• The latest Israel-Hamas cease-fire proposal drops details of future governance of Gaza (NPR)
• Top Israeli official threatens stronger action on Lebanon border (New York Times)
• The number of wounded Israeli soldiers is mounting, representing a hidden cost of war (AP)

World news

• The Sudanese commanders waging war on the Masalit (Reuters)
• River Danube bursts its banks in Budapest (Reuters)

Number of the Day 

Tweet of the Day

Meme 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 

• 1065 - Westminster Abbey consecrated
• 1732 - Benjamin Franklin under the pseudonym Richard Saunders begins publication of "Poor Richard's Almanack"
• 1856 - Woodrow Wilson is born. He became the 28th US president
• 1886 - Josephine Cochran receives patent for the automatic dishwasher. Today, her patents are owned by the KitchenAid corporation.
• 1894 - Burnita Matthews is born. As a young law student in the District of Columbia, she learned that she could carry a banner outside the White House but would be arrested for not having a permit if she spoke, stayed silent and avoided arrest. She gained admission to the bar in 1920, worked for the National Woman’s Party, and was chosen as Federal District Court Judge by President Truman in 1949
• 1945 - The Pledge of Allegiance is formally adopted by Congress.
• 1967 - Muriel Siebert becomes the first woman to own a seat on New York Stock Exchange
• 1973 - Endangered Species Act signed into law
• 1981 - First American “test-tube baby”, Elizabeth Jordan Carr is born in Norfolk, Virginia
• 2000 - U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business after 128 years.
• 2002 - LinkedIn is founded by Reid Hoffman and others in Mountain View, California
• 2012 - Vladimir Putin signs into law a ban on US adoption of Russian children
• 2016 - Debbie Reynold dies, one day after her daughter Carrie Fisher
• 2021 - Harry Reid dies of pancreatic cancer at age 82

Quote of the Day

“It's not natural to outlive your child. This has always been my greatest fear.”
― Debbie Reynolds, Unsinkable

On the Punny Side

Did you hear about how people in Athens don't even wake up until noon?

They say dawn is pretty tough on Greece.

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