Basketball - Utah Jazz news

• What a comeback: Utah football storms back with 38 unanswered points to beat Washington State

  19-12-2020 23:41
  
  This is the type of thing that will get talked about forever among University of Utah fans.The backup quarterback, a former walk-on, not to mention a redshirt senior that was on the fence about even returning this fall for a fifth year, is pressed into duty and leads the Utes to a well-earned victory in the season finale.Picture the Jason Shelley-fueled comeback against BYU to close the 2018 regular season, only far-more improbable than that.Drew Lisk entered Utes lore on Saturday afternoon. Ins
  
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• Utah ICUs now at 99.4% capacity, as state reports 2,408 new COVID cases and 8 deaths

  19-12-2020 23:40
  
  Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every weekday morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.Intensive care units at Utah hospitals have never been so slammed during the pandemic — with many of them beyond officially full — as the state reported another 2,408 cases of COVID-19 and eight more deaths Saturday.The perce
  
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• Rudy Gobert not concerned with supermax extension deadline

  19-12-2020 23:04
  
  Ben Anderson: Rudy Gobert said he’s not concerned with the supermax deadline on the 21st. He’s worried about winning. Says he’ll be taken care of this year or next year.
  
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• Tribune Editorial: Utah officials should be standing up for our republic

  19-12-2020 23:00
  
  Benjamin Franklin’s oft-quoted answer to the question of what the Constitutional Convention of 1787 had come up with — “A republic, if you can keep it” — has been trotted out so many times over the years that it has almost become a joke.After more than 230 years, who really thought we would do anything other than maintain our democratic form of government?But 2020 will be remembered as the year we came close to losing it. And that the survival of our republic was th
  
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• Letter: Shame on you, Brad Wilson

  19-12-2020 22:30
  
  Brad Wilson,Jody Brings here. You should be ashamed of yourself for excluding Salt Lake City School District teachers and staff from this new “bonus.” You, a representative? Don’t make me laugh. Who or what, exactly, do you feel you represent? You do not represent facts, science, safety or the community.The only sane and scientific plan in this unprecedented year has been the well-planned, well-executed online platform that SLCSD has followed.Check your facts, the stats, the sp
  
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• Utah hospital ICUs now at 99.4% of capacity, as feds apologize for shipping less COVID vaccine than expected

  19-12-2020 21:46
  
  Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every weekday morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.Intensive care units at Utah hospitals hit a record percentage of their capacity on Saturday — with many of them beyond full — as the state reported another 2,408 cases of COVID19 and eight more deaths.The percent of all ICU
  
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• Utah hospitals ICUs now at 99.4% of capacity, as feds apologize for shipping less COVID vaccine than expected

  19-12-2020 21:43
  
  Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every weekday morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.Intensive care units at Utah hospitals hit a record percentage of their capacity on Saturday — with many of them beyond full — as the state reported another 2,408 cases of COVID19 and eight more deaths.The percent of all ICU
  
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• Gordon Monson: This is a version of the Utah Jazz you can fully believe in

  19-12-2020 21:30
  
  Here it is, the kiss of death.The Utah Jazz are going to be better than good this season, better than real good, better than all the undulating stages of good they’ve been since the best Stockton-and-Malone years. Great? They’ll edge toward it, if not wear it like a form-fitting gown.They themselves certainly think that is what’s coming, and they have company in this corner, a corner that prides itself on not being anything close to a homer. Just writing it like it is, or, at l
  
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• The demolition of the largest coal-fired power plant in the Western US brings reflection, hope to the northern Navajo Nation

  19-12-2020 21:17
  
  Page, Ariz. • A series of deep booms shook the desert around here on Friday morning as hundreds of people gathered to witness the end of an era that has shaped life on the northern Navajo Nation since the 1970s.Three 775-foot concrete smokestacks toppled in quick succession as part of the controlled demolition, kicking up a cloud of dust that hung in the air for hours and blanketed the town of Page.The 2.25-gigawatt Navajo Generating Station, which was located six miles south of the Utah st
  
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• UCF’s explosive offense will provide a serious test for BYU’s defense in Boca Raton Bowl

  19-12-2020 21:00
  
  Throughout the season, the BYU defense has had to face all kinds of offenses.But, for the first time this year, BYU will face an attack as explosive as their own when it goes up against UCF in the Boca Raton Bowl on Tuesday.In fact, the similarities between both offenses is slightly uncanny.BYU has a quarterback that has thrown for more than 3,000 yards this season, a wide receiver that has caught for more than 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns, and a running back that’s just shy of 1,000 r
  
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• As feds apologize for shipping less COVID vaccine than expected, Utah sees 2,408 new cases and 8 deaths

  19-12-2020 20:57
  
  Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every weekday morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.Utah reported another 2,408 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday — and eight more deaths — as federal officials apologized repeatedly on Saturday for smaller-than-promised vaccine deliveries in several states, including Utah.The
  
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• General sorry for ‘miscommunication’ over vaccine shipments

  19-12-2020 20:53
  
  The Army general in charge of getting COVID-19 vaccines across the United States apologized on Saturday for “miscommunication” with states over the number of doses to be delivered in the early stages of distribution.“I failed. I’m adjusting. I am fixing and we will move forward from there,” Gen. Gustave Perna told reporters in a telephone briefing.[Read More: The first doses of COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in Utah and here’s who will get them]Perna&
  
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• Andy Larsen’s NBA season preview

  19-12-2020 20:30
  
  It will be an NBA season like no other.From a 72-game schedule that we only know half of, to back-to-backs in the same city, to games played without fans, to all the player chaos around the league, we don’t have very much prior knowledge of what an NBA season like this one could look like.That makes it all the more fool-hardy to make predictions about what will happen in the league this year — 2020 taught us to expect the unexpected, and here we are setting expectations. But, as trad
  
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• The Utah Jazz are still trying to make the jump to NBA title contender. They’ll need better balance to do it.

  19-12-2020 19:30
  
  The Utah Jazz boast both one of the NBA’s most prodigious young flamethrowers in Donovan Mitchell and arguably the league’s premier rim-protector in Rudy Gobert.And yet, this remains a team that cannot seem to achieve simultaneous sustained excellence on both offense and defense, with years of double-big lineups producing elite guarding but inadequate firepower, followed by a roster overhaul that embraced small-ball shooting and yielded unmatched weaponry but insufficient deterrence.
  
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• Letter: Operation Rio Grande’s wasted resources

  19-12-2020 19:30
  
  As The Tribune reported, 80% of the $55 million “Operation Rio Grande” budget funded law enforcement and the criminal justice system in some way (court cases, jailing costs). If we divest from law enforcement, we can fund transformative justice solutions — addressing the context that makes homelessness possible. Where was the funding to expand our shelter system as previously promised? Where was the funding for veteran, immigrant and mental health care resources? Where is the f
  
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• Gov.-elect Spencer Cox explains his public silence in tiff over Salt Lake City teacher bonuses

  19-12-2020 19:15
  
  In a series of 14 tweets on Saturday, Republican Gov.-elect Spencer Cox said he’s glad he fought an urge to blast GOP lawmakers on social media this week for initially excluding Salt Lake City teachers from $1,500 state bonuses because they are all teaching online instead of in classrooms.Cox said that allowed emotions to cool, and helped leaders work out a solution announced on Friday that will allow city students there to return to class in January and February, and ensure that city teac
  
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• Park City cross country skier Rosie Brennan sitting atop the World Cup hill

  19-12-2020 18:48
  
  Rosie Brennan chose to go sledding as her way of celebrating her back-to-back World Cup cross country skiing victories last week. And that seems like a perfect metaphor for how she came to own the No. 1 overall World Cup ranking, plus two wooden Swiss sleds, in the first place.Sledding is about trudging to the highest point possible, often slipping backward for a few steps at a time along the way. Then, once there, it’s about settling in and letting nature take its course.That’s basi
  
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• Utah woodworker makes chairs for kids in need

  19-12-2020 18:38
  
  South Weber • Hearing stories of people losing their jobs due to the economic downturn brought on by COVID-19, Jeff Hansen figured he had to do something.Having a soft spot for kids, the motivation was even stronger.“It’s Christmastime. You got this COVID thing going on. I just thought if I could give something, that would help out,” he said.As such, the South Weber woodworker has been busy of late building a bunch of small rocking chairs meant as donations to area kids. H
  
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• Robert Kirby: Who else should be in your Christmas Nativity sets?

  19-12-2020 17:08
  
  Members of my daughter’s family put out their Nativity scene last week, a set of ceramic figures shaped and hand-painted by my mother years ago.In total, the scene consists of Mary, Joseph, a shepherd boy with what appears to be a dead lamb draped over his shoulders, two more sheep, a cow, three wise men bearing gifts, and two camels. Oh, and the Savior.That’s a lot to cram into a low-rent stable, which is where I’ve always been taught Jesus was born. As a kid, I was always dis
  
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• West Valley City says Mayor Jenny Wilson withheld federal coronavirus aid

  19-12-2020 14:00
  
  When Congress passed a major emergency relief bill this spring, Salt Lake County found itself with a lot of money and not much time to spend it.Not that there wasn’t need, especially as COVID-19 infections spiked. Mayor Jenny Wilson has praised her staff for directing the funds where they would do the most good. The county set up testing centers and quarantine facilities. The county Health Department hired an army of contact tracers. Millions of dollars went to help schools and small busin
  
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• These Utahns never got $1,200 federal relief checks and worry they’ll be left out again

  19-12-2020 14:00
  
  Josh and Jialing Bird were relieved when they found out the government was sending $1,200 relief checks to people as part of federal pandemic aid back in March.As two soon-to-be graduates, they were about to lose their part-time jobs with Ensign College, and Josh Bird’s summer internship had already been canceled due to the virus.“Getting that $2,400 would have helped us get through the summer,” he said. “We were just really worried about how we would do that otherwise.&r
  
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• Lisa Barlow of ‘Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ is a ‘Mormon 2.0’

  19-12-2020 14:00
  
  One of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” is proving to be a bit of an enigma to viewers who are familiar with Utah’s predominant religion. Lisa Barlow is a Latter-day Saint, but she owns liquor companies? And she drinks alcohol herself?“I’m Jewish by heritage, and I’m active LDS,” Barlow said. “But I also practice it my own way.“You can live it the way you want to, you just might not be able to go in the pretty building,” she said
  
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• Groups sue to block helium drilling project inside Utah wilderness

  19-12-2020 14:00
  
  Several environmental groups have gone to court seeking to block the Trump administration from authorizing a helium drilling project inside newly designated wilderness in southern Utah.Just weeks before Congress established the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness as part of a larger public lands bill for Emery County, the Bureau of Land Management issued leases on 1,400 acres to a company called Twin Bridges Resources, then fast-tracked an analysis of the Denver firm’s drilling program.“It&r
  
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• Letter: Remembering the lost

  19-12-2020 13:30
  
  During these difficult and very challenging times it is sometimes hard to remember those that live in the blindspots or shadows of our community. I have been working for the past 11 years as a social worker providing services to one of the most visible yet least understood groups of residents — our homeless.Every morning I grab the newspaper and read through less news and more pages of obituaries. Those who are mentioned in the obituaries have families, friends and co-workers missing them,
  
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• Letter: All of our teachers are valuable

  19-12-2020 13:00
  
  As we’ve all struggled through this pandemic year, I had hoped that our society would learn to value those who work at less glamorous jobs than politics or athletics. We saw early on that grocery store workers, delivery drivers and food service workers are very important in the day-to-day existence of Utah residents in 2020.The teachers all scrambled immediately to prepare online lessons while the districts worked to find computers and bandwidth for their students. Meals generally provided
  
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• State colleges: BYU rallies past Southern Utah in women’s basketball

  19-12-2020 07:28
  
  The BYU women’s basketball team used a 28-3 second-half run to secure an 84-74 victory over Southern Utah on Friday afternoon at America First Event Center in Cedar City.The Cougars (4-1) trailed 49-41 halfway through the third quarter before finding their rhythm and jumping out to a 69-52 lead three minutes into the fourth. BYU implemented a stifling, trapping defense in the second half that forced nine SUU turnovers over the final 20 minutes.Liz Graves scored 34 points to lead the Thunde
  
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• Oregon holds off USC to win second straight Pac-12 football title

  19-12-2020 07:13
  
  Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, right, of Oregon, intercepts a pass intended for wide receiver Tyler Vaughns, center, of USC in the first half of an NCAA college football game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. (Keith Birmingham/The Orange County Register via AP) (KEITH BIRMINGHAM/)Los Angeles • Anthony Brown threw two touchdown passes in his unusual Oregon debut, Jamal Hill made an interception with 2:47 to play, and the Ducks won their second stra
  
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• Utah State turns up the defense, pulls away from Northern Colorado for 63-50 victory

  19-12-2020 07:06
  
  Logan • Utah State returned to the court for the first time since having its previous two games canceled due to COVID-19 protocols, and the 10-day layoff definitely had an effect on the Aggies.But not enough to keep them from posting a victory in head coach Craig Smith’s return to the bench.Redshirt junior guard Marco Anthony scored 19 points and junior forward Justin Bean had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds as the Aggies pulled away for a 63-50 win over Nor
  
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• Letter: ‘Bring out your dead’

  19-12-2020 06:30
  
  I appreciated the erudition of The Tribune’s Editorial Board in their reference to Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Further research would have unearthed a buried gem — “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and its classic scene depicting the Black Plague with the admonition, “Bring out your dead.”Given the lack of political leadership nationally and statewide, this admonition is extremely applicable to analyzing The Tribune’s recommendation to put our ch
  
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• Salt Lake City schools reach deal with Utah lawmakers on teacher bonuses

  19-12-2020 05:51
  
  Utah lawmakers and the Salt Lake City School District reached an agreement Friday that will allow students to return to class in January and February. In exchange, Republicans in the Legislature will make sure teachers in the district receive bonuses like every other public school educator in the state.On Wednesday, legislative leaders proposed $1,500 bonuses for all licensed educators in appreciation for their efforts during the pandemic. Non-administrative staffers will receive $1,000. But, Ho
  
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• Salt Lake City schools reach deal with Utah House speaker on teacher bonuses

  19-12-2020 05:42
  
  Utah lawmakers and the Salt Lake City School District reached an agreement Friday that will allow students to return to class in January and February. In exchange, Republicans in the Legislature will make sure teachers in the district receive bonuses like every other public school educator in the state.On Wednesday, legislative leaders proposed $1,500 bonuses for all licensed educators in appreciation for their efforts during the pandemic. Non-administrative staffers will receive $1,000. But, Ho
  
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• Utah hammers overmatched Idaho 79-41 at the Huntsman Center

  19-12-2020 05:06
  
  What exactly can be gleaned from the University of Utah pounding a low-major opponent is up for debate, but here is what is not up for debate.After an 18-point loss to BYU on Dec. 12, then having to survive a late rally Tuesday night vs. Utah Valley, Friday night vs. the University of Idaho went as scripted. The Utes took care of the glass, a problem that has popped up early this season, the overall effort was better, and the outcome was never in doubt as Utah defeated the Vandals, 79-41, at an
  
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• Mother charged after Uintah County shooting leaves child dead

  19-12-2020 04:44
  
  The Uintah County District Attorney has charged a woman in the fatal shooting of her 2-year old son.Valerie Peck, of Vernal, was charged with child abuse and first-degree murder.The Uintah County Sheriff’s Office said in a charging document that officers found Peck and the child Monday in the area of Fantasy Canyon, south of Vernal in Uintah County, after receiving a call reporting a shooting.The child was dead and Peck was injured when police arrived. She received medical treatment at the
  
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• Letter: A new day of the week

  19-12-2020 04:30
  
  Many months ago, I wrote a letter noticing how my days during the requested sheltering in place (the month of April) were very similar to those days that Bill Murray experienced in the movie “Groundhog Day.”Fast forward to now, a day in December. My pondering over many past days has prompted me to declare another day of the week: Sameday. And, while I thought this finding might produce smiles, I sobered up when our country repeatedly notched well over 2,000 COVID deaths day after day
  
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• David Brooks: Mark Shields and the best of American liberalism

  19-12-2020 04:00
  
  Every Friday evening for the last 19 years, Mark Shields and I have gathered to talk politics on the “PBS NewsHour.” When people come up to me to discuss our segment, sometimes they mention the things we said to each other, but more often they mention how we clearly feel about each other — the affection, friendship and respect. We’ve had thousands of disagreements over the years but never a second of acrimony. Mark radiates a generosity of spirit that improves all who com
  
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• More than 100 people protest Salt Lake County Health Department for homeless camp removals

  19-12-2020 03:57
  
  More than 100 advocates for unhoused people protested outside the Salt Lake County Health Department’s building at 610 S. 200 East on Friday because of recent homeless encampment clearings ordered by the Health Department.They held signs saying “a person’s a person no matter how homeless” and “protect and respect don’t eject.” Activists gave speeches and chanted “Black Lives Matter.” Carl Moore, co-founder of Peaceful Advocates for Native Dia
  
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• Letter: Renaming Dixie State University

  19-12-2020 02:30
  
  Regarding the renaming of Dixie State University: How about Juanita Brooks State University of Utah?Melvin C. Johnson, class of 1972, St. GeorgeSubmit a letter to the editor
  
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• University of Utah police chief is being forced out, lawyer says, over his transparency about missteps in Lauren McCluskey’s case

  19-12-2020 01:58
  
  The new police chief at the University of Utah is being forced out as a scapegoat, his attorney said, over persistent concerns about how slain student-athlete Lauren McCluskey’s case was mishandled — and for his transparency in discussing them.Rodney Chatman, the chief chosen to oversee the department in a campus safety overhaul after McCluskey’s murder, was placed on administrative leave Dec. 10. The U.’s spokesman, Chris Nelson, confirmed that development Friday but dec
  
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• Decision over Dixie State University name change moves to state Legislature

  19-12-2020 01:26
  
  After the Utah Board of Higher Education voted unanimously Friday to recommend changing the name of Dixie State University, the decision moves to the state Legislature.The process of renaming the college began Monday when the school’s board of trustees voted in favor of removing “Dixie” from the college’s name.It’s the latest discussion over several years about the controversy of whether to retain “Dixie,” due to its connections to the Confederacy and th
  
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• Marina Gomberg: How we can honor the struggle that was 2020

  19-12-2020 01:22
  
  December with a Santa-believing kid is pretty special. The depth of gleeful anticipation coupled with the power to encourage good behavior makes for a very magical month.And we’ve needed it. The last nine haven’t been so sweet.I’m actually a bit taken by how much fun we’re having. This unrelenting joy. It’s not that kids loving presents is a big surprise, but that anything could fracture my newly hardened shell is an unexpected and quite welcomed relief.It got me th
  
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• BYU takes down No. 18 San Diego State on road for Cougars’ biggest basketball win of season

  19-12-2020 01:09
  
  If BYU was looking to make a statement win, it got it.Brandon Averette, who was scoreless in the first half, hit a key 3-pointer and the Cougars forced a turnover to close out a game that BYU led for all but 24 seconds.The Cougars took down No. 18 San Diego State 72-62 Friday on the road, for the first BYU win at Viejas Arena in nearly a decade (Feb. 26, 2011).San Diego State took the court with renewed vigor to start the second half, and Matt Mitchell single-handedly kept the Aztecs in the game
  
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• Unified officer deemed justified in fatal shooting of armed man in Kearns

  19-12-2020 01:07
  
  Salt Lake County prosecutors on Friday determined a Unified police officer was justified in fatally shooting a man who pulled a gun on the officer after an August traffic stop.Investigators believe that Officer Leopoldo Lopez shot Andrew Shane Gwynn because the officer feared for his own life, one of the legal justifications in Utah for police using lethal force.“Mr. Gwynn unlawfully presented an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury by pointing his gun at Officer Lopez’
  
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• Nalini M. Nadkarni: The trees of the city can be our heroes

  19-12-2020 01:00
  
  Humans need heroes — entities that inspire us to overcome the challenges we face. A hero protects and provides inspiration for others.As a child, I learned about human heroes in my history books — those who distinguish themselves in wars. Today, our heroes occupy the front lines in battles against COVID-19.But I also look to trees as my heroic figures.Can trees — so sedentary, so silent — be heroes? The word “tree” is derived from the Sanskrit word “deru
  
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• Ryan Smith, approved as new Utah Jazz owner by NBA’s Board of Governors, says, ‘I’m just here to help’

  19-12-2020 00:49
  
  Back on Oct. 28, Gail Miller announced that after 35 years of her family owning and running the Utah Jazz, they would be selling the team to Qualtrics founder Ryan Smith.On Friday morning, it became official, with the NBA announcing that the league’s Board of Governors had unanimously approved the sale, which will give the 42-year-old Smith the majority ownership stake in the team.A few hours later, he was on a Zoom call with local media to introduce himself and his vision for the Jazz. He
  
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• Mitt Romney gets vaccinated and he presses Congress to help others

  19-12-2020 00:15
  
  Sen. Mitt Romney on Friday decided to take a shot and give a shot. He received the COVID-19 vaccine. The shot he gave was a renewed call for the members of Congress being vaccinated to pass a long delayed pandemic relief bill to help others.“Our most urgent task is to get emergency COVID relief across the finish line,” Romney said. “I look to congressional leadership to finalize the [relief] bill, hopefully in a way that is consistent with much of the bipartisan proposal we [a
  
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