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Situational Analysis | December 10, 2025
It’s Wednesday and Human Rights Day.
What you need to know
Gov. Cox joined Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaking at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. about the rise in hate and political violence, their worries that the nation is headed toward a destabilizing, violent clash, but also the hope they find in their respective faith traditions and on finding common ground.
Rapid Relevance
Utah legislature condemns redistricting ruling, repeals anti-union law in special session; Elon Musk says DOGE 'somewhat successful' but would not do it again
Utah Headlines
Political News
Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point Action will support Utah GOP effort to repeal redistricting law (Deseret News)
Proposed Thanksgiving Point STEM center gets financial backing from Lehi City Council (KSL TV)
In bid for time, GOP lawmakers push deadline for Utahns to register for 2026 congressional races (Salt Lake Tribune)
Utah spends millions to unlock federal education money. State audit examines: Is it worth it? (Salt Lake Tribune)
Cache County Republicans move quickly to replace outgoing council member Barbara Tidwell (Cache Valley Daily)
Service/Kindness/Christmas
From memories to money: How to slay the gift-giving game with your adult kids! (Deseret News)
Officials offer holiday fire safety reminders (KSL)
See where Utah ranks on GoFundMe’s list of most generous states in 2025 (Salt Lake Tribune)
Cocoa with Cops returns to Ogden's Christmas Village for third year, will help benefit local charity (Standard-Examiner)
Giving Machine locations expanded to 9 new countries this year. Here’s how leaders and visitors reacted (Deseret News)
Utah
University of Utah unveils first-of-its-kind revenue plan for athletics department (Deseret News)
Man originally arrested in No Kings protest says he was treated as a ‘psychopathic villain’ (KSL)
Why Arturo Gamboa brought a rifle to SLC’s No Kings protest, in his words (KUER)
Biz/Tech/AI
Australia’s social media ban for under-16s takes effect. Kids are split — and so are adults (Deseret News)
Trump says AI executive order limiting state rules coming this week (Politico)
Crime/Courts
Widow of slain Utah sergeant finds peace, calls killer’s accomplice her ‘friend’ (KSL)
A system under stress: Audits paint troubling portrait of Salt Lake County’s criminal justice network (Deseret News)
Audit finds overcrowding at Salt Lake County Jail increases recidivism (KSL)
Utah County elementary school worker arrested after more than 2k child abuse images found (KUTV)
Culture/Community
Grand Blanc shooting survivor shares recovery story (KSL)
Education
Environment/Energy
Energy Secretary Chris Wright visits INL to push nuclear (Deseret News)
Utah just had its warmest November — and fall — on record (KUER)
Faith
Meet the 14 new members of the Young Men general advisory council (Church News)
Tim Allen, beloved American Santa Claus, is surprised by his own time in the Bible (Deseret News)
Health
University of Utah Health research funding reaches record $531M in 2025 (Deseret News)
Women with PCOS seek relief in weight-loss drugs (Reuters)
FDA opens safety review of injectable RSV drugs approved for babies and toddlers (AP)
Housing
Springdale moves forward with housing project to make workers 'part of our community' (St. George News)
National Headlines
General
Shooting at Kentucky State University leaves one dead, one critically hurt and a suspect in custody, officials say (KSLNewsRadio)
PepsiCo to cut prices, eliminate products as part of a deal with an activist investor (KSLNewsRadio)
Vermont rescue team sees increase of calls as social media lures skiers into danger (AP)
Political News
Trump’s speech on combating inflation turns to grievances about immigrants from ‘filthy’ countries (AP)
Trump touts economy in Pennsylvania speech, blaming Democrats for rising costs (Wall Street Journal)
Supreme Court Considers Taking Another Ax to Campaign Finance Limits (New York Times)
Health care face-off: Competing GOP and Democratic plans head to the floor (Deseret News)
Epstein files: Judge releases grand jury materials from the Ghislaine Maxwell case (Deseret News)
Democrat elected Miami mayor for first time in nearly three decades (Reuters)
Democrat flips Georgia state House seat in district Trump won (The Hill)
Ex-employees of US Justice Department blast 'destruction' of civil rights unit (Reuters)
What Trump told POLITICO about health care (Politico)
Trump once denied using this slur about Haiti and African nations. Now he boasts about it (AP)
Immigration
Illinois Governor signs bill imposing new limits on immigration enforcement (New York Times)
Ukraine/Russia
European leaders agree to fund Ukraine for 2 years but using Russian assets poses a major test (KSLNewsRadio)
Inside Ukraine’s daring ‘Operation Spiderweb’ attack on Russia (Wall Street Journal)
Middle East
Israeli army takes journalists into a tunnel in a Gaza city it seized and largely flattened (AP)
World
Australia social media ban takes effect in world first (KSL)
After Trump threatens tariffs, Mexico seeks a deal on water (New York Times)
Honduras issues arrest warrant for ex-president pardoned by Trump (New York Times)
Number of the Day
News Releases
Utah Senate and House Democrats respond to special session
“Utah House and Senate Democrats continue to oppose the call for today’s Special Session. Once again, major decisions were rushed through without public input or meaningful transparency.
“We strongly oppose the passage of H.J.R. 201, S.B. 2001, S.J.R. 201, and S.B. 2002. Collectively, these bills undermine the will of the people, create confusion in the election process, and weaken the safeguards established by Proposition 4, which provide a constitutionally sound check on the Legislature’s power. We are deeply concerned about altering court procedures during an active case, further eroding trust in our judicial process and effectively giving the Legislature another chance at redistricting after the court found its map to be noncompliant with Prop 4. We reaffirm our support for Prop 4 and for the map currently in place, which reflects the voice of Utah voters and upholds the principles of fair and representative government.” (Read More)
Better Boundaries statement on special session
Better Boundaries releases the following statement from Executive Director Elizabeth Rasmussen regarding the legislation passed during the 2025 Second Special Session:
“The Special Session was unnecessary, and the legislation passed was unnecessary. The legislature should listen to the will of the people, and follow the law. The only uncertainty about the maps has been manufactured by the legislature.”
Utah gives consumers instructions on accessing $700 million Google settlement
The Utah Department of Commerce’s Division of Consumer Protection and the Office of Utah Attorney General are directing consumers’ attention to new information and instructions to receive funds from a $700 million settlement with Google secured by Utah and a coalition of 52 other attorneys general. Preliminary approval was granted on November 20, 2025, triggering the court’s notice and approval process. If the settlement is approved by the court, the majority of the settlement funds will be used to pay consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023 and were harmed by Google’s anticompetitive conduct. Google will also make changes to stop its anticompetitive practices that harmed consumers and app developers. (Read More)
Curtis introduces legislation to strengthen Western energy security
Today, U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) introduced the Western Refined Fuel Reserve (WRFR) Act, legislation to establish a dedicated reserve of refined fuels west of the Rocky Mountains. The bill is designed to protect Western communities, military readiness, and regional economies from fuel shortages during emergencies by ensuring secure, strategically-located storage of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. (Read More)
Hatch Foundation convenes experts to examine AI’s impact on national security, healthcare, and the economy
The Orrin G. Hatch Foundation today hosted a webinar, “AI at the Crossroads,” bringing together leaders in national security, healthcare, finance, and technology governance to discuss the rapidly changing challenges and opportunities created by artificial intelligence. (Read More)
Tweet of the Day
Upcoming
Dec 11 - 2025 Common Good Awards with Envision Utah, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Grand America Ballroom, Register here
Jan 8 — Men and Boys Wellbeing Symposium with the Sutherland Institute, 8:30 am - 1:00 pm; RSVP here
Jan 12 — Utah Taxpayers Association Legislative Outlook Conference, 9:00 am, Little America Hotel, Register here
Jan 20 — 2026 Legislative Session begins
Feb 4–7, 2026 — Summit with Silicon Slopes and Visit Salt Lake
Mar 6 — Legislative session ends
On This Day in History
1520 - Martin Luther publicly burns papal edict demanding he recant
1690 - First paper currency is issued in the Colonies
1830 - Emily Dickinson is born.
1851 - Melvil Dewey is born. The librarian invented the Dewey Decimal system of library classification.
1869 - Wyoming becomes the first state to grant women the right to vote, but Utah was the first state where a woman actually cast a vote.
1896 - Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist who invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize ceremony on this date, dies at 63
1898 - Treaty of Paris ends Spanish-American War
1901 - First Nobel Prizes awarded
1903 - Marie Curie is awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics
1936 - Edward VIII signs Instrument of Abdication, giving up the British throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson
1948 - UN General Assembly adopts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
1950 - American diplomat Ralph Bunche receives Nobel Peace Prize for his peace mediation during the first Arab-Israeli war. He was the first African American to win the prestigious award.
1964 - Nobel Peace Prize presented to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Oslo, Norway
1977 - Soviets arrest dissidents on United Nations Human Rights Day
Quote of the Day
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
On the Punny Side
Why is the Grinch such an excellent gardener?
Because he has a green thumb!
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