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Family-friendly movies dominated the box office this year. PG-rated movies made up one-third of domestic box office ticket sales, the highest percentage since 1995.

“PG is the new PG-13,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, told Axios. “It no longer has the stigma of not being hard-edged enough.”

These five movies are all among the top 10 highest-grossing movies in 2024:

"Inside Out 2" (No. 1)
"Despicable Me 4" (No. 3)
"Wicked" (No. 6)
"Moana 2" (No. 8)
"Kung Fu Panda 4" (No. 10)

🎥 Tell me: Did you see any of these movies? And why do you think PG-rated movies saw a surge in popularity this year?

‘What would Mitt Romney do?’: Senators praise outgoing colleague’s character, wit

Sen. Mitt Romney is wrapping up his eventful time in the Senate. Republican, Democratic and independent senators offered speeches honoring Romney Wednesday.

Here are notable things three different senators said about Romney:

Sen. Mitch McConnell: “On the bingo cards of American politics, the ‘governor of Massachusetts, senator from Utah’ combination isn’t known to be hit very often. But Mitt Romney’s repeated success in public office is attested to his transcendent appeal of his character.”
Sen. Joe Manchin: He said the country is "much better off" due to Romney's service in the Senate. “Most importantly, I’m a better person. I know that Gail and I are much more enriched because of your and Ann’s friendship, and we appreciate that more than you know.”
Sen. Susan Collins: “It’s a day of sadness, because I can’t imagine the Senate without Mitt Romney."

Romney's response

Romney, for his part, spent much of his farewell speech crediting his Senate colleagues. “My biggest surprise in the Senate has been how much I enjoy the other senators, on both sides of the aisle,” Romney said.

Read more about how senators from both parties requested floor time to recognize Romney for his work in the Senate.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona touts Utah’s students, educators during visit

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona’spent much of Wednesday meeting with students and educators at two Utah schools.

First, he met with educators, social workers and mental health support professionals at Kearns Junior High, followed by a visit to Salt Lake Community College’s South City Campus to engage with students involved in career technical education programs.

Following his visits to the two Utah schools, Cardona was asked about the possible demise of the education department that he directs.

He offered a direct comment: “What the next administration is going to do — I’ll leave it up to them,” he said.

Read more about Cardona's visit and the educational support programs highlighted by it.

More in Utah

Peruvian lawmakers, business officials visit Utah to bolster commercial ties (KSL)
St. George has cut a slice of turf from its golf game — and is eyeing more (KUER)
Shop local: Support the heart of Utah’s economy (Utah Business)
TRAX sparked many changes in its first 25 years. What will its next 25 look like? (KSL)
Spotify Wrapped: Salt Lake City's most-streamed songs and artists (Axios)
Utah trail crews complete 500 miles of trail work, 126 projects during 2024 season (St George News)
Opportunity to decorate Kearns Mansion Christmas tree serves as civics lesson for Polk Elementary 4th grade class (Standard-Examiner)
‘A magical community event’: 50 years on, Festival of Trees supports local children’s health (Deseret News)

FROM OUR SPONSOR JON M. HUNTSMAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Setting the Standard: What It Means to Be a Huntsman Scholar

The Huntsman Scholar Program at Utah State University is a selective business and economics program. We seek students with academic excellence, servant leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and integrity, aligning with Jon Huntsman’s vision of purpose-driven individuals.

Health

Should you blow your nose when you have a cold? (Deseret News)
Tips on how to sleep, breathe and drink water more effectively, according to an expert (CBS News)

Faith

🎧 Podcast: Elder W. Mark Bassett and David N. Weidman of the Church’s Missionary Department on the expanding role of missionary work (Church News)
Does everything happen for a reason? Here’s the answer (LDS Living)

The U.S. & World

Mysterious illness in Congo has killed dozens of people, health authorities report (NBC News)
UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson shot and killed in NYC. Police say it was a targeted attack (CBS News)

Sports

This Utah athlete was just named to Forbes 30 under 30 (Deseret News)
Will Retzlaff face Sanders in Alamo Bowl? (Deseret News)
How much would a major league baseball stadium cost in Salt Lake City? (Deseret News)
Utah volleyball bought into ‘above and beyond’ mantra. The net result is getting to host early rounds of NCAA tournament (Deseret News)
2 Utah Hockey Club players chosen to represent their country for upcoming international tournament (Deseret News)

Entertainment

Christmas movies filmed in Utah — one might surprise you (ABC4)
Peak Performance Dance Studio taking Utah ballroom dancing to the ‘next level’ (Daily Herald)
Taylor Swift named most-streamed artist of the year (Deseret News)

🏈🖋️ National Signing Day 2024

Today is National Signing Day for the 2025 college football recruiting cycle. Here are some of our top stories:

National Signing Day running list of Utah high school football players who’ve signed on Early Signing Day (Deseret News)
BYU coaches focusing on ‘getting the right fits’ in building 2025 football signing class (Deseret News)
Utah inks 21 on early signing day, headlined by 3 four-stars (Deseret News)
Utah State didn’t shy away from the uncertainty and it paid off with the Aggies’ early signing class (Deseret News)

Live updates:

BYU Cougars football: 2025 recruiting class
Utah Utes football: 2025 recruiting class
Utah State Aggies football: 2025 recruiting class

🗓️ Events Calendar

We are still working on the calendar for December and are hoping to have it done later this week. In the meantime, here are some stories that include holiday events around Utah:

A Kurt Bestor Christmas | Eccles Theater
Christmas Town Festival | Helper, Utah
“A Christmas Carol” | Midvale Performing Arts Center
BYU women’s basketball at UTEP | 7 p.m.
U of U women’s and men’s swimming and diving vs. US Open

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