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Situational Analysis | December 15, 2025
It’s Monday and Bill of Rights Day!
What you need to know
At least 15 people were killed and dozens more were injured in a terror attack on Australia’s Jewish community on first night of Hanukkah. Under tight security, hundreds filled the Utah Capitol rotunda Sunday night to mark the first night of Chanukah, balancing grief with the joy of the holiday.
Rapid Relevance
Politico’s senior political columnist says Gov. Spencer Cox should run for president in 2028; Rob Reiner and his wife found dead with stab wounds in Los Angeles home
Utah Headlines
Political News
Emily Buss wins preference poll to replace state Sen. Daniel Thatcher of the Forward Party (KSL)
For this Utah senator, the trade mission was a homecoming (Deseret News)
Are young conservatives OK? Where Gen Z is taking the American right (Deseret News)
Behind the scenes of Utah’s public union bill backtrack (Deseret News)
Special session recap (Hinckley Report)
Municipal
S.L. County Council member privately sought to have day care worker who decried closures disciplined (Salt Lake Tribune)
Skating rinks, bike shops, new restaurants: What’s coming to southern Utah this winter (Salt Lake Tribune)
‘No ICE allowed’: West Valley City businesses use signs to protect and reassure immigrant communities (ABC4)
Service/Kindness/Christmas
Utah
Truck driver killed, 18 injured in Ephraim school bus crash (KSL)
Biz/Tech/AI
Will Trump’s new order invalidate state efforts to regulate AI? (Deseret News)
Roomba maker iRobot files for bankruptcy, pursues manufacturer buyout (Reuters)
The eerie parallels between AI mania and the dot-com bubble (Wall Street Journal)
Crime/Courts
Living with the aftermath: How Utah victims carry grief through a system not built for them (Deseret News)
A killer's regret, a judge's decision and their ongoing pursuit of justice (Deseret News)
Culture/Community
They met in ‘Wicked.’ Now they’re headlining the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert together (Deseret News)
'Untapped potential': Salt Lake restaurateur running culinary institute to help immigrant women (KSL)
‘The kind of help you can’t buy’: When a tree smashed into a Utah coffee roastery, a tight-knit community stepped up (Salt Lake Tribune)
Education
Editorial Board: Weber State leadership starts to understand what state DEI ban is, and isn’t (Salt lake Tribune)
Big 12 schools like Utah and BYU could soon get a slice of a new $500 million deal (Salt Lake Tribune)
Utah names defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley as program’s new head coach (KSL TV)
Environment/Energy
Not just Utah: The West is off to its slowest snow collection start in at least 25 years (KSL)
Faith
Church of Jesus Christ announces Maine’s first temple during stake Christmas fireside (Deseret News)
Health
Former BYU football greats agree to participate in infrared light therapy study, publicize their results (Deseret News)
Layin' it on the Line: The new retirement loneliness epidemic — why finances are only half the battle (St. George News)
New clues about long covid’s cause could unlock treatments (Washington Post)
Housing
LA uses AI to prevent homelessness. Utah’s new state coordinator is ‘all ears’ (KUER)
Opinion: Cities are solving Utah’s growth challenges, one center at a time (Deseret News)
Developer wins federal court battle over rejected Sandy mixed-use project proposal (KSL)
National Headlines
General
2 killed and 9 others injured in shooting at Brown University (Deseret News)
Perspective: When therapy becomes ‘speech,’ the legal landscape shifts profoundly (Deseret News)
Political News
Michelle Goldberg: Republican women suddenly realize they’re surrounded by misogynists (New York Times/Salt Lake Tribune)
Is Congress giving up its control to the White House? (Deseret News)
New batch of photos from Epstein estate shows Trump, Bill Clinton and other high-profile figures (Deseret News)
MAGA leaders warn Trump the base is checking out. Will he listen? (Washington Post)
VA plans to abruptly eliminate tens of thousands of health care jobs (Washington Post)
Cassidy says ‘I don’t care who gets the credit’ on ACA subsidies extension (The Hill)
Immigration
An ever-larger share of ICE’s arrested immigrants have no criminal record (Utah News Dispatch)
ICE holding Chinese man who documented Uyghur camps. Congressman and activists warn of risks to citizen-journalist if returned to China (Wall Street Journal)
Ukraine/Russia
Ukraine peace talks stretch into second day at start of pivotal week for Europe (Reuters)
As peace talks grind on, Russia zeroes in on Ukraine’s power (Washington Post)
Middle East
World
'Hero' who disarmed Bondi gunman recovers in hospital as donations pour in (Reuters)
Number of the Day
News Releases
Emily Buss wins preference poll in Senate District 11 race
Emily Buss has won the Forward Party of Utah’s Approval Voting preference poll to replace outgoing State Senator Daniel Thatcher in Senate District 11. Her name has been formally submitted to Governor Cox for official appointment. Senator Thatcher is officially retired from office, effective as of 10:00am today. (Read More)
Gov. Spencer J. Cox and former U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema to keynote the 2026 Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit
The Utah Chamber, Salt Lake Chamber and the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute announced Governor Spencer J. Cox and former U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema will host the second keynote session at the 2026 Utah Economic Outlook & Public Policy Summit, the state’s premier economic forecasting and public policy event attended by policy, business and academic thought leaders from across the state. (Read More)
Make-A-Wish brings back the Holiday Wish Line with heartfelt messages from Wish Kids nationwide
Make-A-Wish is bringing back a cherished holiday tradition: the Holiday Wish Line. This December, callers can listen to uplifting, pre-recorded messages from children who have faced critical illnesses with courage and joy. During a season that can bring both celebration and stress, the Holiday Wish Line offers a powerful antidote—hope, humor, and heartfelt wisdom straight from wish kids themselves.
From Dec. 8 through Dec. 31, anyone can dial (480) 914-9474 (WISH) to hear uplifting, pre-recorded messages from six wish kids as part of the Make-A-Wish “Wishful Giving” campaign. (Read More)
Tweet of the Day
Upcoming
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
1791 - Bill of Rights ratified with 10 amendments. (12 were proposed.)
1832 - Gustave Eiffel is born.
1836 - The temporary home of the U.S. Patent Office, the Blodget Hotel in Washington, D.C., goes up in flames. The office held approximately 10,000 patent documents from 1790-1836 and the fire destroyed nearly all of them.
1913 - Muriel Rukeyser is born. A poet who won the Yale Younger Poets award in 1935 for her first book, “Theory of Flight,” she also wrote 13 other books of poetry
1944 - US Congress gives General Eisenhower his 5th star
1961 - Architect of the Holocaust, Adolf Eichmann, sentenced to die by an Israeli war crimes tribunal
1966 - Walt Disney dies of lung cancer at age 65
1973 - Kidnapped grandson of Getty billionaire found alive near Naples, Italy, five months after his disappearance
1978 - US announces it will recognize communist China
1988 - U.S. House of Representatives recommends impeaching President Clinton
2011 - US declares an official end to the War in Iraq
2020 - MacKenzie Scott announces she has given away more than $4 billion to 384 nonprofit organizations across the US
2021 - Bell Hooks dies at age 69
Quote of the Day
A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference.
On the Punny Side
What do you call Santa's little helpers?
Subordinate Clauses.
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