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During his presentation Wednesday to the Legislature’s Higher Education Subcommittee, University of Utah President Taylor Randall talked budgets, housing and “Sputnik moments” with lawmakers.

Randall highlighted the beginnings of Utah’s flagship university while also signaling the pivotal role the school can play in emerging fields such as AI, nuclear engineering and genetics.

Read more from Jason Swensen about the school’s vision for the future.

Also on our minds:

Utah refugee group reacts to Trump’s executive order halting refugee admissions
BYU basketball’s win over Baylor marked big milestone for Cougars
‘The Chosen’ gives tour of new set built for Season 5

Some Utah schools are struggling to keep up with migrant students. This bill would give them emergency funds

Brigham Tomco writes:

The number of English language learners in Utah has spiked in recent years, leaving schools scrambling and spreading teachers thin as schools attempt to accommodate surges in immigration without additional resources.

This legislative session, House Education Chair Candice Pierucci, R-Riverton, is hoping to hand those schools a lifeline.

On Tuesday, Pierucci’s English Learner Amendments, HB42, received a unanimous recommendation from its House committee to advance to a floor vote.

The bill would make $500,000 in leftover weighted pupil unit funds for “at-risk” students available to split between school districts experiencing a significant increase in English language learner enrollment.

Read more about the bill and how legislators and the public have responded.

New Utah Hockey Club name survey will include a new option

I was hoping that the Utah Hockey Club’s final name would be the Utah Yeti (just think of the mascot costume!), but it appears my dream has been crushed.

“Smith Entertainment Group announced Wednesday that it will conduct another survey to determine the name and branding of its NHL team,” Brogan Houston reports. “Two of the proposed names came from previous surveys, while the third is new.” Here are the final choices:

Utah Hockey Club
Utah Mammoth
Utah Wasatch

Each name has a corresponding logo and jersey design, but the colors will remain the same as the current kit: mountain blue, salt white and rock black.

Read more about how to take the survey and let us know in the article’s comments what your pick is for the team name.

Relive the glory: BYU’s championship season

This is more than a look back; it’s a tribute to the spirit and passion of the Cougar community. Step back in time and celebrate the legendary moments of BYU’s epic 1984 National Championship season! Order your copy and relive the championship journey with us. Celebrate the past, inspire the future.

Utah

Utah refugee group reacts to Trump’s executive order halting refugee admissions (Deseret News)
Smith’s Ballpark to be ‘repurposed’ as Salt Lake City settles on its future (KSL)
Tiered water rates, sprinkler head bans considered in Utah legislature (FOX13)
Near-earth asteroid sample dropped off in Utah by NASA contains ingredients of life (KUTV)

Politics

Trump rescinds memo to freeze federal aid (Deseret News)
Republican leaders face internal squabbling as they look to quickly advance Trump’s agenda (Deseret News)
A deadly outbreak rocked Samoa. Hawaii’s governor blames RFK Jr. (Deseret News)
A new executive order cuts access to gender-related health care. What does it mean for a major lawsuit on transgender minors? (Deseret News)

The U.S.

FAA: Passenger jet and Blackhawk helicopter collided by Washington airport. See video (Deseret News)
Trump orders preparation of Guantánamo Bay facility to house migrants (The Hill)
Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle lawsuit from Trump after Jan. 6 suspension (The Associated Press)

The World

Trump’s refugee ban leaves Afghan allies abandoned (Deseret News)
Syria's Sharaa declared president for transition, consolidating his power (Reuters)

Faith

Asma Uddin: The Ten Commandments case points the way to more inclusive religious expression (Deseret News)
The faith-based college fighting to cut ties with its church (Deseret News)

Entertainment

Watch: Behind-the-scenes tour of 'The Chosen' set (Deseret News)
An 11-year-old Utahn continues to dominate on ‘Kids Baking Championship’ — but missed out on a Disney cruise (Deseret News)

🗓️ Events Calendar

We put together a list of events and activities going on around the state of Utah in January. Check it out and let us know if we are missing anything!

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today:

Utah Jazz vs. Orlando Magic | Delta Center 3 p.m.
Weber State men’s basketball vs. Idaho | Dee Events Center 7 p.m.
SUU women’s basketball vs. UT Arlington | America First Event Center 6:30 p.m.
Utah Tech women’s basketball vs. Tarleton State | Burns Arena 7 p.m.

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

More in Utah Politics

New Utah Hockey Club name survey will include a new option

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Relive the glory: BYU’s championship season

Faith

Entertainment

🗓️ Events Calendar