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Good morning and Happy October! 🎃 Here are today’s temperatures:

☀️ 37 – 77° in Logan

☀️ 52 – 81° in Salt Lake

☀️ 66 – 100° in St. George

I’ve been keeping a close tab on the U.S. presidential election, and things are heating up the closer we get to Election Day.

On Sunday, former GOP Sen. Jeff Flake endorsed Kamala Harris for president. Flake, a BYU graduate and Latter-day Saint, said it was a matter of “putting country over party.”

His remarks echo similar statements from Sen. Mitt Romney, who has not endorsed Harris but said her performance at the debate showed she’s “an intelligent, capable person,” as Gitanjali Poonia reported.

Read more from Samuel Benson about why Flake endorsed Harris.

Also on our minds:

We might soon see the rarest form of divided government in U.S. history
‘Harry Potter’ cast shares favorite Maggie Smith memories with fans at FanX in Salt Lake
Meg Walter tried the Oreo-flavored Coke and Coke-flavored Oreos so you don’t have to

Homelessness is on the rise in Utah. Residents feel hope in this community

A “microshelter” pilot program to address homelessness in Utah is seeing success, acting as a stepping stone to help residents get back on their feet and into permanent housing.

While traditional shelters generally set up multiple beds within the same room, a microshelter gives residents their own personal space. Microshelters also allow case managers to work one-on-one with residents to address their specific needs.

Hanna Seariac reports that Utah started a microshelter community with 50 beds as a pilot program in December 2023. The community is part of an effort to fulfill the mission of Utah’s Office of Homeless Services — to make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring.

This office recently released its annual report dashboard on homelessness, which showed:

The number of Utahns experiencing homelessness for the first time increased in 2023.
The number of Utahns experiencing homelessness multiple times in a year has also increased.
Utah’s homelessness rate still tracks below the national average.

Read more about life in a microshelter community and how Utah plans to expand the program.

Kalani Sitake gives injury update, gently chides those who said BYU ‘too conservative’ vs. Baylor

I must confess that I still have yet to attend a single football game, but at least a dozen friends of mine attended the home game against Kansas State last week and shared enough videos on social media that I wished I had been there. Besides the crazy upset and Cosmo’s pyrotechnic gymnastics, those donuts look really good.

At a press conference Monday, BYU football coach Kalani Sitake addressed questions on a number of topics, including:

The No. 17-ranked Cougars’ 5-0 start.
The team’s injury situation.
The successful fake punt in the 34-28 win over Baylor.
Whether a BYU player would ever quit the team for NIL reasons.

Before Sitake ended the press conference, he had a message for the fans.

“He gently chided ‘people’ who said, or wrote, that BYU got too conservative in the second halves of the recent wins over Wyoming, Kansas State and Baylor, particularly on offense,” Jay Drew reports.

Read more about the update on the Cougars.

More in Sports

Why President Biden borrowed a former BYU runner’s phone (Deseret News)
Watch Ashley Hatch’s viral postgame interview — and her 51st goal (Deseret News)
Tyler Huntley will start for his hometown Dolphins. What it means to him (Deseret News)
Lauri Markkanen is putting all of his trust in the Utah Jazz (Deseret News)
What Zach Wilson said about returning to New York (Deseret News)

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Utah

‘Harry Potter’ cast shares favorite Maggie Smith memories with fans at FanX (Deseret News)
Taylor Randall and Jonathan Freedman: Why nonstop service from Salt Lake City to Seoul will charge Utah's economy (Deseret News)
Here’s what the world’s Olympic leader said about Romney (Deseret News)
Feel the booms? Army continues routine detonations in Utah’s west desert (KSL)

The Nation

Economic skepticism won’t slow down holiday shopping this year (Deseret News)
Jimmy Carter turns 100 (Deseret News)

Politics

Biden may call Congress back for special session for hurricane relief (Deseret News)
2025 could see the rarest divided government in U.S. history (Deseret News)
Jennifer Graham: Is it time to stop making fun of Joe Biden? (Deseret News)

The World

Israel says it's targeting Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon ground raids (Reuters)
Claudia Sheinbaum to be sworn in as 1st female president of Mexico, a country with pressing problems (The Associated Press)

Faith

200 years of Latter-day Saint art: New exhibit paints the picture of a global faith (Deseret News)
Church of Jesus Christ begins Hurricane Helene relief efforts (Church News)

Lifestyle

The maniacs at Oreo and Coca-Cola need to be stopped (Deseret News)
Are restaurants trying to hurt our feelings? (Deseret News)

Check your inbox tomorrow morning for more news from the Beehive State and beyond!

And reply to this email or email newsletters@deseretnews.com to tell us what you think of Utah Today.

Thanks for reading!

— Ariel