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Good morning! Here are today’s temperatures:

⛅ 16 – 35° Logan | ⛅ 25 – 40° Salt Lake

☀️ 17 – 37° Manti | ☀️ 27 – 46° Moab

🌤️ 15 – 43° Cedar City | 🌤️ 30 – 53° St. George

Disney movies sure have a lot of plot holes when you give them some thought. Why didn’t Mother Gothel just make up a new birthday for Rapunzel so the lanterns didn’t give her away? Why didn’t Ariel (my namesake) just write Eric a letter explaining her curse?

The list goes on, but Meg Walter ponders an especially concerning conundrum: Why can some Disney animals talk and others can’t?

“The primary animal sidekick in the original ‘Moana’ was Hei Hei the rooster, who could not speak and was very dumb. Dumber than the average rooster, if I may be so bold,” she writes. “Pua the pig also could not speak, but could understand Moana. More than, say, the average dog understands its owner. Pua comprehended every word, but was unable to respond beyond humanesque gestures and knowing smiles. A villainous giant crab, however, not only spoke, but sang.

“So, one would assume, this means that in the Disney cinematic universe, crustaceans can speak, mammals can understand but not reply, and birds are stupid. But in ‘The Little Mermaid,’ both Sebastian the crab and Scuttle the seagull can speak while Max the dog cannot speak nor understand.”

Read more of Meg’s musings and about the upcoming “Moana 2.”

Also on our minds:

Meet the new music director for the Utah Symphony
Is debt affecting your health like it is for nearly half of Americans?
Pope Francis calls for a genocide investigation in Gaza

Both Trump and Harris reached out to Latter-day Saint voters. Here’s who they voted for

In the waning days of their campaigns, Trump and Harris scaled up their outreach to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Did their efforts make a difference?

According to Fox News exit polls, President-elect Donald Trump won over a large number of Latter-day Saints who voted in elections in early November, although the percentage was different from 2020:

In 2024, 64% of Latter-day Saints surveyed supported Trump and 32% supported Vice President Kamala Harris.
In 2020, 72% of Latter-day Saints supported Trump compared to 23% for former President Joe Biden.

“It’s no surprise the Latter-day Saint community helped deliver President Trump’s win — his commitment to faith, family and freedom resonates with Utahns and LDS members across the country,” Utah Rep. Burgess Owens said in a statement to the Deseret News.

Jacob Rugh, a sociology professor at Brigham Young University, said he believes Harris made inroads with Latter-day Saint voters based on early available data, calling her support among Latter-day Saint voters in Arizona, Utah and nationally “impressive in a year when non-LDS voters clearly moved rightward nationally.”

Read moreabout how Latter-day Saints voted in the nation and in each state.

Utah’s top political leaders take strong stand on Mountain West’s transgender competition policy

Jason Swensen writes: Utah’s top political leaders — including Gov. Spencer Cox, ranking state legislative leaders and the entire U.S. congressional delegation — voiced unified opposition Monday to a Mountain West Conference policy allowing “biological men” to compete in women’s sports.

Citing a need to “defend our female athletes,” Cox was joined by Utah Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz in calling for action in a high-profile lawsuit involving college transgender athletes.

The three men asked Utah State University “to move to intervene” in the lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference and San Jose State University that was filed last week in a U.S. District Court.

Read more about the lawsuit and the Mountain West Conference’s response.

More in Utah

The Utah Symphony was the first American orchestra he ever conducted. Now, he’s the new music director (Deseret News)
Hunters want to donate game meat to food banks, but Utah doesn’t allow it (KSL NewsRadio)
Granite School District shares new high school bathroom designs to combat vandalism, bullying (KSL)
How unconventional crops could save water — and reshape Utah farming (KUER)

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.

Politics

Who is calling the shots — Hakeem Jeffries or Nancy Pelosi? (Deseret News)
West Virginia bans assisted suicide (Deseret News)

The U.S.

Financial stress linked to mental health issues for many Americans (Deseret News)
Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy, but flight operations continue (Deseret News)

The World

Geo-political tensions rise as Russia-Ukraine war hits 1,000 days of conflict (Deseret News)
The pope called for a genocide investigation in Gaza. Here's how Israel responded (Deseret News)
Hong Kong jails 45 democracy activists in landmark national security trial (Reuters)

Sports

‘Good moment for our identity to show’: Can BYU bounce back against fired-up Arizona State? (Deseret News)
Morgan Scalley ‘very involved’ in Utah offensive coordinator search (Deseret News)
A conversation with a surgeon about Taylor Hendricks’ injury — and timeline for recovery (Deseret News)
Is it realistic to believe Utah State has turned a corner? (Deseret News)

Faith

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff brings touchdowns and Jewish teachings to predominantly Mormon school (The Associated Press)
Navigating the journey of adoption reunification (Church News)

Health

Organic carrots linked to E. coli outbreak in 18 states (Deseret News)
First U.S. case of more aggressive mpox detected (Deseret News)

Entertainment

Review: ‘Red One’ isn’t the next Christmas classic, but it is entertaining (Deseret News)
Country legend Alan Jackson said farewell to Salt Lake City — and the fans showed up (Deseret News)

🗓️ Events Calendar

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

Here are some highlights for events in Utah today:

Nov. 12-30 — Gallivan Center Ice Rink | The Gallivan Center, Salt Lake City
Nov. 19-30 — 2024 World of Illumination: Reindeer Road | Utah State Fairpark and Event Center, Salt Lake City

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