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Miami Dolphins are ‘big fans’ of offensive lineman Spencer Fano
Former Utah lineman could be the pick at #11 for the Dolphins.
Women’s Basketball: Utah G Avery Hjelmstad commits to TCU
The Horned Frogs have now added four players through the portal.
Staal Nets Number 20 – Hurricanes 4, Mammoth 1
Jordan Staal notched his 20th goal of the season and the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Utah Mammoth, 4-1 on Saturday evening in Salt Lake City. It was Staal’s first 20 goal season in nine years. The Canes have now won three games in a row and they look like they are certainly peaking at the […]
“AI polls” are fake polls
A few weeks after Donald Trump’s second presidential win, I took the train up from London (where I was living at the time) to Oxford to attend a conference on polls and forecasts of the 2024 election. Most of the attendees were pollsters or academics, but I also watched presentations from Aaru and Electric Twin, two companies that do what is interchangeably called synthetic sampling, silicon sampling, or synthetic audiences. Stripped of startup jargon, that means they use large language models (LLMs) to simulate responses to public opinion polls by having AI agents take on the role of survey respondents. I had already heard of Aaru thanks to some articles with eye-catching headlines like “No people, no problem: AI chatbots predict elections better than humans” in the months leading up to Election Day. The founders were making some big, some might even say far-fetched claims, such as: “within two years, we will simulate the entire globe — from the way crops are grown in Ukraine to how that impacts production of oil in Iraq, trade through the strait of Malacca, and elections for the mayor of Baltimore.” When Semafor asked Aaru’s cofounders — Cameron Fink and Ned Koh — about my boss, they said “we respect all those who came before us.” Nate (as he so often does) shared his thoughts on Twitter: Fink and Koh were relatively good-natured about this back-and-forth when we spoke at Oxford. They even offered to mail me one of the t-shirts featuring Nate’s quote they apparently had made. I never took them up on the offer, which I now somewhat regret. These synthetic sampling companies fell off my radar for a while, but they do still exist. In fact, Aaru recently received a $1 billion valuation. Is what they’re doing anywhere close to the most important frontier in AI development? Not by a longshot, especially when Anthropic just developed a model so adept at exploiting software vulnerabilities that it’s only being released to 40 companies. Still, silicon sampling is increasingly finding its way into public polling. Axios reported in March that “a majority of people trust their own doctors and nurses” based on findings from Aaru — without mentioning that the “people” in that sentence were actually LLMs. Around the same time, the Public Sentiment Institute “boosted” their online sample of 373 real survey respondents with 114 AI agents.1 (Spoiler alert: even the co-founder of Electric Twin doesn’t think that’s a particularly defensible approach.) Polling companies like Qualtrics and Ipsos are also developing synthetic data panels. So, what should we make of these … “polls”? Let’s get one thing out of the way: whatever they are, they’re not polls in the way that term is usually defined. Subscribe You can’t replace polls with AI On one hand, using LLMs to essentially make up fake survey respondents sort of sounds like the dumbest idea ever, one that will at best imperfectly replicate real polls while introducing all sorts of biases. On the other hand, with LLMs improving at a remarkable, perhaps even alarming rate, maybe that means I’m a dinosaur at the ripe old age of 24 because I still want to rely on polls that talk to actual people. I’m not going to argue that synthetic samples are completely useless. In fact, as I’ll return to later, there is evidence that some techniques can replicate topline survey results quickly and cheaply. But the marketing from certain companies can be slightly optimistic. “No traditional poll will exist by the time the next general election occurs,” said Fink in 2024. We’re just 206 days away from the midterms, and based on the fact that I still have to collect a bunch of polls every day, I’d say he should have run that prediction by a sample of AI agents before the interview.2 To see why synthetic samples can’t replace polls, here’s a quick primer on how they work. The simplest version of these models involves taking a LLM (like ChatGPT or Claude), giving it a demographic profile (e.g., a white, college-educated woman who lives in Utah and makes $70k a year), and then asking it to respond to a survey question. You repeat that process a few thousand times using different demographic profiles and end up with a sample of synthetic survey responses. The actual models used by private companies are more sophisticated than this, usually because they incorporate more hypothesized demographic characteristics for each agent and provide them with extra information. Aaru, for example, feeds agents a diet of news and information they’d be likely to consume, while Electric Twin incorporates their customers’ proprietary data about the audience they’re trying to replicate. The way Ben Warner, the co-founder of Electric Twin, explained it to me was “we have a large amount of data on […] for instance, 5,000 people. Can we make an accurate prediction of how they would respond to another question?” Still, it should be obvious why synthetic samples can’t replace polls. Polling is fundamentally a data collection process. We might use surveys to make predictions by feeding them into election forecasts, but the main purpose of a poll isn’t prediction, it’s gathering new data about what people think and how they feel. Silicon sampling, on the other hand, produces no new data. It’s simply a model: you input LLM training data, demographic prompts, and a bunch of other information, and it spits out a prediction for what a poll would say. We love models here, but models aren’t polls. That difference is an important philosophical sticking point for most pollsters I talk to. “I think politics should stay away from [synthetic sampling], because we’re trying to […] represent the voice of the people,” said Natalie Jackson, a vice president at GQR Insights. Democratic pollster John Hagner told me: “I think I’m just incredibly skeptical of this idea. I don’t think it’s research. At that point, you’re asking the machine to tell you what you already believe.” Hagner has seen some presentations of early synthetic sampling experiments, but so far, “if it’s being used in a campaign, people are keeping it incredibly quiet.”3 But Eli, I hear you saying, aren’t polls themselves increasingly governed by modeling decisions? Indeed they are: pollsters’ choices on which sampling method to use, how to define their likely voter models, and how to weight their samples can and do lead to dramatic differences in the results they publish. Aaru even referenced these limitations in the methodology statement included with that maternal mortality “poll” — although I’m using the term “methodology statement” loosely here, because it doesn’t really explain how the model works at all. We can ignore the (frankly preposterous) implication that synthetic sampling isn’t subject to a separate set of biases. The important point is that there’s still a meaningful difference between using weighting and other statistical techniques on actual polling data and using a model to predict what a poll would say. The latter is far closer to election forecasts or techniques like MRP — potentially useful models, but not a replacement for polls.4 To be fair, other synthetic sampling companies are perfectly happy with the distinction between polls and models. Warner compared polling and synthetic sampling to different tools in a toolbox. “The mistake I think we make is we think that these new tools should either work in exactly the same way or somehow replace these old tools,” he said. “Rather than thinking of it as, okay, so we’ve always had the hammer, we’ve always had the screwdriver, now we’ve got a saw. But don’t use a saw to try [to] do the job of a hammer.” A quick comment from Nate Eli didn’t ask me for a comment — rather rude of him, don’t you think? But since I’m editing this story, I figured I’d add a few quick thoughts rather than putting words in his mouth. Beyond the frequently misleading marketing, what bothers me about the AI “poll” hype is that as AI tools make statistical inference cheaper and/or better (note that these are not synonyms) that actually increases the comparative value of collecting original data. You might be able to train a model to make a reasonable estimate of what some hard-to-reach poll respondent would say — say, a young Black man who voted for Trump. (Such a person checks a number of boxes for a voter who is usually hard to reach in surveys.) Indeed, this is closely related to what models like the Silver Bulletin forecast already do. They essentially smooth out the kinks in noisy survey data by making inferences based on past voting patterns or national polls or surveys of other states. But you don’t actually know what these voters think unless you’re reaching them directly. If there’s a shift in opinion among this subgroup, you’re not going to detect it. So if I were running a campaign, I’d invest more in going the extra mile to find a representative sample of those voters. And then I’d hire some smart quants — or Claude? — to figure out the implications for campaign strategy based on proprietary data that my competitors didn’t have access to. -Nate Silver Are these models any good? If synthetic surveys are just a new type of model, the next obvious question is whether the models are at least accurate. The answer very much depends on who you ask. On one end of the spectrum, you have the maximalist argument that synthetic sampling is more accurate than actual polls. “It’s an incredibly challenging problem to go to someone and say ‘hey, we’re going to be more accurate at predicting human behavior than you, even when you talk to your customers directly’,” Koh recently told CNBC. In his view, synthetic sampling isn’t a saw to polling’s hammer, it’s “magic.” There’s certainly evidence that synthetic samples can replicate certain survey toplines. But if Aaru does have any examples of their approach outperforming the polls, they’re keeping those to themselves.5 Aaru’s 2024 election model, for example, had Kamala Harris leading in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin on November 4th. And although they’ve since taken down their forecast page, they gave Harris a 50.5 percent chance of winning the race on November 2nd.6 After the election, Fink told Semafor he was happy enough with those results because they were “within margin of error,” a term that is completely meaningless when applied to a “sample” of AI agents. And of course, Aaru says their models have improved since 2024, so supposedly now they’d be more accurate than the polls? Still, their stronger argument is on cost: “We are significantly faster and cheaper than traditional polling, and still more accurate,” said Fink. The first two claims are undeniably true, but the third brings us to the opposite end of the spectrum. Both Jackson and Hagner are skeptical that these models are reliable for anything beyond replicating common survey toplines. “I just […] don’t think the machines are what we want when we’re looking for nuanced views. My example on this is people in Arizona and Nevada in 2024 who voted for Trump and voted for expanding abortion in their states on ballot initiatives,” said Jackson. Hagner identified another issue. Maybe the synthetic respondents, like sycophantic LLMs, are inhuman in one important way: they’re too nice. “The reports that have come through at the meetings that I’ve been at are that the early experiments on this, they cannot get respondents to be as racist or sexist or, frankly, as negative as human respondents,” he said. Academic research mostly agrees on this point. While there are some papers that show promising results when using LLMs to replicate polling data, most show that LLMs suffer from various quirks like producing too few “don’t know” responses and can seriously overpredict the favorability of politicians like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. They also seem to struggle with too little variation between demographic subgroups, so the difference in predicted opinion between Democrats and Republicans, for example, is too small. When I asked Warner about these studies, his response to these papers was that just because academics can’t get synthetic sampling to work doesn’t mean that the technique doesn’t work in general. “Actually, the argument is, okay, yours does not [work]. That does not mean […] for this complex set of machinery, which uses a lot of investment, a lot of time, a lot of money, you can’t get it to work.” Cards on the table, I’m somewhat sympathetic to this argument because academics aren’t exactly great at making election forecasts. Usually, the people with skin in the game are the most accurate. Warner’s argument is that the approach Electric Twin takes — which includes, for example, making multiple predictions for each synthetic respondent using different models and prompts and subsequently averaging those to get a final prediction in a sort of ensemble forecast — produces better results than the simpler academic models. Warner shared a comparison between his method and the method from a recent academic paper with me, and Electric Twin was indeed able to get more accurate replication. But even still, he acknowledged that synthetic sampling “is not a crystal ball.” “If you asked me, do I think using other data sources will be more accurate than asking somebody who they will vote for, I would probably say no. But if you asked me ‘would your system be useful for our turnout modeling today?’ I would say yes.” For better or worse, it looks like the method is already getting more popular in the market research world. Most of the clients Aaru touts these days are businesses like EY and McDonald’s. And AI will probably begin to pop up in other parts of the political polling process. Pollsters are already using it to code open-ended survey responses, and some firms, like YouGov, are testing using LLMs to ask survey respondents questions. More worryingly, one danger to actual polls is that AI agents can be used to infiltrate online surveys. Most online polls use various checks to prevent that from happening, but there’s conflicting evidence on how effective those filters are and how prevalent AI agents currently are in online panels. If those agents ever become impossible to detect, it might spell the end of online polling, but the solution isn’t to replace all of your respondents with ChatGPT. Silver Bulletin is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe 1 That particular poll obviously doesn’t meet Silver Bulletin standards for aggregation. But we exclude all Public Sentiment Institute polls from our averages because we classify them as an amateur polling firm. 2 You could argue that Fink meant the next presidential election, but (a) I’m also confident we’ll still have real polls in 2028 and (b) in that case he should have asked an LLM to define “general election.” 3 Quick caveat: that’s reporting from a Democratic pollster. It’s possible that Republicans are more willing to use AI in political campaigns. 4 Indeed, Silver Bulletin does not include “polls” produced by MRP in our forecasts or averages, and we think it’s extremely misleading when their practitioners describe them in a way that suggests original data had been collected among a large number of states or Congressional districts. 5 A recent report from Aaru and EY did show two examples of a synthetic estimate being closer than a survey to a real-world benchmark — but I’d take those findings with a grain of salt because the report reads more like an ad and didn’t involve any sort of prediction being made ahead of time. 6 For comparison, our odds for Harris on the same day were 48.2 percent.
Grizzlies offer chance for slumping Jazz to play different tune
The Utah Jazz have shown flashes of potential and competitiveness during its current 10-game losing streak. But the lows have outnumbered the highs heading into a showdown with the Memphis Grizzlies in Salt Lake City on Friday night.
Measles outbreak spreads in Utah, hitting people without the vaccine
What started as a small outbreak of measles along the Utah-Arizona border has spread to every corner of the Beehive State.
Photos: Pelicans vs. Jazz | Fans and Entertainment 4/7/26
Check out fan and entertainment photos from the New Orleans Pelicans vs. Utah Jazz game on Tuesday, April 7 during the 2025‑26 NBA season.
Hidden gem road trip destinations for families in the US
Florida-based road trip expert Rob Taylor shares his favorite hidden-gem destinations for family trips, from Utah to Alaska.
Utah court rules Taylor Frankie Paul can't have unsupervised visits with 2-year-old son
f a e n general-news courts religion business u-s-news entertainment | 104.1 FM KMOX
Meet the ‘Zammoth,’ the Utah Mammoth’s new rideable Zamboni
The Zammoth will cruise eight riders around the ice before each period of Mammoth games.
Taylor Frankie Paul faces protective order hearing in Utah after 'Bachelorette' cancellation
f a e n indictments business courts religion u-s-news general-news entertainment | KNSS Radio
I spend $12,000 a year to keep up my appearance in Utah as a publicist
Hilary Reiter Azzaretti had never done Botox or gotten regular facials before moving to Utah. Once she saw the people in Park City, she started both.
Bridging Political Divides: How faith can help find common ground
About 80% of American adults believe our political divides run so deep that we cannot even agree on basic facts, according to the Pew Research Center. But some Utah leaders say faith is helping them to find the common ground needed to bridge those political divides and find a new path forward.
Manuel's El Burrito in Clearfield marks 50 years in business; operators hope for 50 more
Manuel's El Burrito in Clearfield held a small celebration on Tuesday to mark 50 years in business, making it among Utah's longest-lasting Mexican restaurants.
Utah Jazz vs Houston Rockets recap and final score
The Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets played and we will now forget it happened
Rockets Take Care of Business vs The Jazz: Three Takeaways
The Houston Rockets got the job done at home over the Utah Jazz as they continue to build momentum.
Eastern Utah measles infections double within a week, health officials say
Health officials have confirmed a doubling of measles cases in Daggett, Duchesne and Uintah counties in the past week.
Health officials flag several University of Utah areas for possible measles exposure
Several areas on the University of Utah campus have been singled out for possible measles exposure as cases continue to rise across the state.In an update post
Interventional radiology vendor Merit Medical to acquire rival for $140M
The Utah-based company plans to merge with View Point Medical, which manufactures the OneMark Detection Imaging System.
Fossil of Pincer-Wielding Crawler Reveals Origins of Spiders, Scorpions and Others
Researchers argue that a newly examined specimen found decades ago in Utah provides new clues to the ancestors of chelicerates before the group hit it big on land.
Athlete Health & Performance Symposium Champions Student Research, Collaboration and Innovation - University of Utah Athletics
The College of Health and University of Utah Athletics are partnering for the fourth year in a row to hold the Athlete Health & Performance Symposium , April...
On verge of postseason, Nuggets face future-focused Jazz
The Denver Nuggets are soaring to the finish line and look to post their seventh consecutive victory when they visit the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
Democrats try new tactic to win a House seat in Utah — running as progressives in a red state
For decades, Democrats' only chance of getting elected to Congress from the conservative state of Utah was by convincing voters that they were sensible moderates. But the political landscape has changed, thanks to a redistricting shakeup that created a deep blue district anchored by Salt Lake City.
Data Breaches Announced by Corewell Health & Rocky Mountain Care
Rocky Mountain Care in Utah has announced a January 2026 data breach, and Corewell Health in Michigan has confirmed that more than 19,000 patients have Rocky Mountain Care in Utah has announced a January 2026 data breach, and Corewell Health in Michigan has confirmed that more than 19,000 patients have been affected by a data breach at business associate Pinnacle Holdings.
Scientists discover potentially huge freshwater reservoir hidden beneath Great Salt Lake
Researchers have found a layer of fresh water beneath Utah's Great Salt Lake that reaches up to 2.5 miles deep and could turn out to be as big, or bigger, than the lake.
Utah Sen. John Curtis helps lead push to ban sports betting contracts on prediction markets
Curtis and Schiff’s bill has support from the Indian Gaming Association and the California Nations Gaming Association
A former Utah regent and a business executive join Tribune’s board of directors
Meet the two newest members of The Salt Lake Tribune's board of directors, academic Nina Barnes and executive Drew Maggelet.
Kings suffocate in 6-2 loss against Utah
Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe's goals wouldn't be enough in the LA Kings 6-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena. The Kings have now lost five of their last six games and only have nine games remaining in the regular season. LA remains in the third place Wild Card spot at 29-26-18.
TST Images: Mammoth defeat Kings, 6-2, in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES -- The Utah Mammoth defeated the Los Angeles Kings, 6-2, on March 28, 2026 at Crypto.
USU roundup: Great meet for Aggies in track & field
It was a memorable indoor track & field season for Utah State sophomore sprinter Ayodele Ojo Jr., and the outdoor one is also shaping up to be great.
How Utah State became college basketball's most influential mid-major job for future power conference coaches
Utah State has served as a stopping point for several coaches on their way to jobs in the power conferences
Kyle Whittingham at Michigan: Not a Michigan man anymore
The former Utah coach goes to Ann Arbor.
Superstar Connor McDavid hits multiple milestones in Utah
McDavid became the third-fastest player in NHL history to hit 1,200 points — and that’s not the only milestone he hit on Tuesday.
Nebraska and Indiana traded sports, plus Kyle Whittingham’s Utah exit
Until Saturday is The Athletic's free college football newsletter.
Utah Sen. John Curtis helps lead push to ban sports betting contracts on prediction markets
Utah Sen. John Curtis and California Sen. Adam Schiff are leading a push to make clear that sports prediction markets are indeed gambling.
Cincinnati hires Jerrod Calhoun: Utah State coach leaving after two years to guide his alma mater
The Bearcats have agreed to a six-year deal with the 44-year-old coach, a source told CBS Sports
Arizona vs Utah State live updates: Prediction, how to watch March Madness Round 2 game
Folks were gushing about Jerrod Calhoun and Utah State's offense in Round 1. Arizona is a whole different obstacle. Follow March Madness Round 2 game.
Edgecombe's double-double helps 76ers down Jazz 126-116
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) VJ Edgecombe had 22 points and 13 rebounds and Quentin Grimes scored 26 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 126-116 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.
Washington Football Hires Utah State Analyst as Special Teams Analyst
Washington will once again have two coaches working on specials teams in 2026 after added a rising analyst to work alongside Chris Petrilli.
Entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to investors during Utah filming of 'Meet the Drapers'
A group of entrepreneurs took turns giving pitches in front of venture capitalists and an audience during a live recording of
Knights finish critical homestand on down note
Three goals on its first three shots propel Utah to a 4-0 win and a 2-2 homestand for Vegas.
Tooele business owners worry proposed road project could negatively impact daily operation
A proposed road project aimed at improving safety has drawn mixed reactions from local business owners.The Utah Department of Transportation, along with Tooele
New dispute emerges around Subnautica 2’s early access release
Lawyers for the ousted—and now partially reinstated—leadership team of Unknown Worlds, the studio behind Subnautica 2, are crying foul over news that the game will be released into early access in May. The release announcement earlier this week was made improperly, potentially “damaging the game and sowing additional confusion among the Subnautica community,” the lawyers said in a letter sent on Tuesday to Vice Chancellor Lori Will of Delaware’s Court of Chancery. In their letter, the lawyers also floated the idea of asking Will to find Krafton in contempt of the court’s ruling. The letter was sent just one day after Will’s bombshell ruling that publisher Krafton had breached its contract with Unknown Worlds’ executive team, when it fired them last June. The new issue isn’t necessarily the May early access timeframe, but how the news was announced. The letter and Krafton’s response have not been previously reported. A quick recap of prior events: Subnautica 2 is an unreleased, underwater survival adventure and the most-wishlisted game on Steam. Last year, longtime Unknown Worlds CEO Ted Gill, along with studio co-founders Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, were fired by Krafton. They swiftly sued, saying the publisher had terminated them to avoid paying out up to $250 million in potential performance-based bonuses. The studio leaders had hoped to earn that with an early access release of the game, which Krafton had blocked. The publisher argued in court that Subnautica 2 wasn’t ready, which the ousted execs disputed. On Monday, Will ruled that Krafton had violated its contract, firing the execs to avoid the performance payouts, and that it had to reinstate Gill and give him full authority over any early access release for Subnautica 2. On Tuesday, IGN reported on a new memo issued that day to Unknown Worlds staff by Steve Papoutsis, the executive Krafton had put in charge of Unknown Worlds after the 2025 firings. In the note, Papoutsis said that Subnautica 2 had passed a key development milestone “last week” and that he and Krafton had determined the game “is ready for Early Access release in May.” This news appeared to catch the lawyers for Gill, Cleveland and McGuire by surprise. On Tuesday night, they sent a letter to Will expressing “serious concerns” about whether it would be possible to forge an agreement with Krafton consistent with the judge’s order. Papoutsis’ memo was a problem, they wrote. He didn’t have the authority to declare anything about Subnautica 2’s release. As of 9am ET on Monday, March 16, the effective date of Will’s order, Papoutsis wasn’t CEO of Unknown Worlds. Gill was. And, per Will’s order, only Gill could make Subnautica 2 release decisions. They continued: Krafton self-servingly announced the launch without any regard to its impact on the game, the team, or the community—let alone this Court’s Opinion. Announcing the release of a game is momentous, and it is typically accompanied by significant marketing activity, fanfare, and community coordination. And most importantly, the announcement is carefully designed to maximize excitement for the game. That entire process was supposed to be driven by Mr. Gill. However, in defiance of the Court’s Opinion, Krafton has now taken that away, further damaging the game and sowing additional confusion among the Subnautica community. The lawyers speculated that Krafton had “intentionally leaked” Papoutsis’ memo and then issued an official statement to confirm the leak. Game File is a reader-supported publication. My reporting is only possible through support from readers like you. To support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe On Wednesday, lawyers for Krafton defended their client in their own letter to vice chancellor Will, saying nothing they did violated her order nor showed contempt: Papoutsis’s message was simply celebrating the UW employees’ efforts toward a past event: Krafton’s pre-Opinion determination that Subnautica 2 was ready for Early Access release. There was nothing improper about conveying the results of the milestone review or thanking the development team for their dedication and talent. They added that Gill could still make his own call about Subnautica 2’s release: In his role as CEO, Gill will be able to assess independently his views on the state of Subnautica 2 and the appropriate release schedule; nothing in Papoutsis’s message alters Gill’s authority or discretion. Vice chancellor Will has not responded to the letters and doesn’t necessarily have to. Both parties were previously ordered by Will to confer this week and submit a proposed judgment consistent with her ruling. The letter from Gill’s attorney’s this week doesn’t indicate whether he would or would not support a May release for Subnautica 2. But it could limit his options. And, if Gill’s lawyers are right, the lack of marketing fanfare around the leak of the May date could dull the launch of the game. Any harm to Subnautica 2’s launch is an extra sensitive issue given the context of the legal dispute: millions of dollars of payouts are on the line, tethered to the scale of the game’s initial performance. In her ruling on Monday, Will noted that there was obvious “bad blood” between Gill’s side and Krafton but that the two would need to work together: “They can—and must—act in good faith to navigate their remaining contractual relationship.” Item 2: A new kind of couch co-op game A highlight of GDC each year is the Alt.Ctrl showcase that features games played with extremely experimental controllers. Perusing this year’s offerings last Friday, I found a game controlled with giant scissors, another with big toothbrushes and one that amounted to dumpster diving. My favorite was Pivot, a co-op game about collectively maneuvering a couch. It was developed by students at the University of Utah’s masters of arts and engineering games program. Players lift and tilt the physical couch in order to control the position of a virtual one. That virtual one is moving through an obstacle course on-screen, while being pursued by a giant skull. Developer Nishant Verma told me at GDC that the couch is made of styrofoam (this became more evident as I watched!) and that the name was a riff on an episode of the sitcom Friends. Item 3: In brief… 🚫 Ubisoft is laying off more than 100 workers at its Red Storm studio, as the North Carolina location known for decades for its Tom Clancy games, ceases in-house game development, VGC reports. 👀 On Monday, Nvidia’s revealed its DLSS 5 AI-driven graphics technology that purports to improve game graphics… and it has been roasted about it by the media and the online gaming public for the remainder of the week. The tech changed the faces of characters in footage from Resident Evil Requiem, Hogwarts Legacy and EA Sports FC, drawing accusations of giving carefully art-directed games the generic look of AI “slop.” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had said on Monday that “DLSS 5 is the GPT moment for graphics—blending handcrafted rendering with generative AI to deliver a dramatic leap in visual realism while preserving the control artists need for creative expression.” By mid-week, Huang was telling Tom’s Hardware that the new tech’s critics were “completely wrong” because game-makers could still “fine-tune the generative AI” to suit their game’s aesthetics.
The politics behind the SAVE Act
Commentary: Voting should not depend on navigating bureaucracy, locating old documents, or overcoming financial and logistical barriers.
Opinion: The dirty politics behind Judge Torgerson’s censure
Doug McMurdo: If Utah lawmakers were really worried about “the children,” where was their outrage when Stuart Adams ushered in a change to Utah’s statutory sexual assault law to protect a relative? It’s hypocrisy, plain and simple.
Girl Scout Cookies booths are open for business
Girl Scout Cookies season is officially underway in Utah, and cookie booths are popping up outside grocery stores and community locations across the state.
Girl Scout cookie booths are open for business
Girl Scout cookie season is officially underway in Utah, and cookie booths are popping up outside grocery stores and community locations across the state.
Downers Grove snacks maker closing two plants in Minnesota, Utah
Maker’s Pride is shuttering two of its 27 facilities to cut costs and increase efficiencies.
Arizona baseball loses at home to New Mexico
Though it lost two of three at Utah last weekend in its first Big 12 series, Arizona showed plenty of fight by tying or taking the lead in the 9th inning of each game. Unfortunately, that kind of effort didn’t come back with the Wildcats from Salt Lake City. The UA lost 6-3 to New […]
Penguins overcome another multigoal deficit to win in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — For almost 35 minutes Saturday, it was shaping up to be a very bad night for the Penguins. The Islanders and Blue Jackets both won,...
Utah mom, breast cancer survivor turns hardship into hope through permanent jewelry business
A Lehi mom and cancer survivor finds hope after divorce and health challenges in new permanent jewelry business.
New restaurants, parks and a swap meet: What’s happening in southern Utah this month
Southern Utah is growing fast. Find out where to eat, exercise and shop at new places opening or under construction in March.
Utah aquarium, pediatric care facility among recent measles exposure sites, health officials say
Utah health officials issued a warning of new measles exposure locations on Friday.
Utah measles outbreak speeds up but there are few changes to daily life
Health officials in the outbreak's epicenter are relying on social media and talk radio to reach residents. Many aren't listening.
Hogg’s political group makes endorsements in Utah, New York House races
Leaders We Deserve, the political group co-founded by gun control activist David Hogg, has endorsed state Sen. Nathan Blouin (D) and state Assemblywoman Claire Valdez in open primaries for House se…
An Empty Middle: RV Utah 16, Marquette 7
It was a game, and then the Golden Eagles stopped scoring and the Utes ran away with it.
Pens Points: A tough road trip begins
Here are your Pens Points for this Tuesday morning… The Pittsburgh Penguins begin a difficult stretch of games on Tuesday, with a five-game road trip against several likely playoff teams, including the Carolina Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights, and Utah Mammoth. Pittsburgh recently earned some important points despite Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin’s absences. Is it […]
Web of Science Now Expanded - Office of the Vice President for Research
For years the Marriott Library has provided the vast database Web of Science to the University of Utah campus. This powerful database covers journal articles,...
Women’s sports are ‘at risk’ due to growing deficits. Here’s how the University of Utah plans to solve the problem.
Facing mounting deficits, the U. believes private equity is the best way to ensure the future of women’s sports at the university.
The legislative session is over — but Utah’s busy political year is just beginning
Utah's 2026 legislative session may have come to a close, but politicking in Utah is just starting during a busy midterm election year.
Affordable healthcare clinic opens in Orem offering low-cost care for uninsured patients
For many Utahns with or without health insurance, a visit to the doctor can often get put on the back burner.Some face the reality of choosing between paying fo
Girl Scout cookie program helps Utah girls build business skills, confidence
The annual Girl Scout Cookie Program does more than satisfy a sweet tooth — it gives thousands of girls hands-on experience running their own small business whi
Measles is 'worse than expected' in Utah, officials say
Measles patients in Utah are developing severe complications, health officials say, including potentially life-threatening anemia and liver inflammation.
‘It’s not a mild virus, it’s a severe illness,’ Utah health officials warn as measles cases keep climbing
Measles cases continue to climb across Utah, with more than 350 infections reported since June. Health officials say many underestimate how severe the virus can be.
Republican Rep Burgess Owens to retire from Congress when term ends
Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, announces he won't seek reelection in 2026. The former NFL player and President Donald Trump supporter will complete his current term.
Health officials revoke licenses on transport company after three clients found dead
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services have revoked
UNLV defeats Utah State 92-65
LAS VEGAS (AP) Kimani Hamilton's 24 points helped UNLV defeat Utah State 92-65 on Tuesday.
Keyonte George returns for the Jazz in loss to Pelicans
The Utah Jazz’s guard played in his first game since Feb. 7
The nation now sees Utah as a ‘sports boomtown.’ Here’s the role the Utah Royals help to play
Utah continues to grow its reputation as the state of sport, and the Royals "fit in right at the top," Miller Sports + Entertainment president says.
Justice Department Sues 5 States, Most Republican-Led, for Voter Data
The Trump administration sued Utah, Oklahoma and West Virginia, as well as Kentucky and West Virginia, to obtain unredacted voter registration databases in pursuit of baseless claims of voter fraud.
To fight ‘inherent distrust,’ Utah lawmakers say lieutenant governor shouldn’t run elections
Following false claims of election fraud, Utah lawmakers are advancing a proposal to remove election oversight from the lieutenant governor's office.
Storm warning: A needed reset
Coming off a loss at BYU where the Cyclones looked constantly one step behind, TJ Otzelburger’s squad will play their second of a two leg trip to Utah as they take on a woeful Utah Utes team that has clinched just two conference wins so far this season. While road games in the Big 12 […]
Federal court rejects GOP-led effot to block House map that helps Democrats in Utah
A federal court ruling means the new Utah voting districts that give Democrats an improved shot at winning a U.S. House seat can be used in this year’s election.
Utah High School Basketball 2026 Streaming Guide: 1A/2A/5A/6A Tournaments
Here are this week’s Utah high school basketball live streams.
How Utah evolved into a sports boomtown — and MLB expansion frontrunner
The population of the Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem corridor, now nearly 3 million, has roughly doubled since MLB last expanded in 1998.
BYU sports tickets soon an acceptable gift for Utah lawmakers
The Utah Legislature is on track to approve a new lobbying bill that will allow lawmakers to receive tickets to BYU sports games as gifts.
Fulks' late foul shots help UCF sink Utah 73-71
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Themus Fulks scored 24 points and made his only two foul shots of the night with three seconds left and UCF beat Utah 73-71 on Saturday night.
3 takeaways from Utah’s loss to UCF
Utes had their chances, but the Knights made the plays to earn a 2-point win.
Salt Lake City revisits business nuisance ordinance following significant adjustments
Utah's capital city is revisiting a proposed ordinance that seeks to tackle issues with problem businesses, but with significant changes after the initial effort ran into complaints.
February 20, 2026
Autism has long been thought of as a condition that mostly affects boys, but data suggest that’s not true. Plus, an update on the first state-run psilocybin therapy programs, and why the American Medical Association is joining an effort to launch an independent vaccine review panel. And, what record-low snowpack in Utah and Colorado means for the region's water supply.
The science that saved Briar
How a U cardiologist's research into genes associated with sudden death in young people saved the life of a girl from rural Utah.
Utah House OKs bill expanding tax credit for businesses that provide child care
The House passed a bill expanding tax credits for Utah employers who provide child care services.
USU UWLP Releases Research: 'The Status of Women in Utah Politics: A 2026 Update'
Utah Women & Leadership Project recently published a research brief,
Miller Sports + Entertainment Announces Legacy Partnership with SME Industries
SANDY, UT (February 18, 2026) – Miller Sports + Entertainment (MSE) announced today a new legacy partnership with SME Industries, Inc. (SME) across the platform, including Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals FC, Salt Lake Bees and Megaplex. Together, the organizations will focus on community-driven experiences and initiatives fueled by the
Miller Sports + Entertainment Announces Legacy Partnership with SME Industries
SANDY, UT (February 18, 2026) – Miller Sports + Entertainment (MSE) announced today a new legacy partnership with SME Industries, Inc. (SME) across the platform, including Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals FC, Salt Lake Bees and Megaplex. Together, the organizations will focus on community-driven experiences and initiatives fueled by the
Miller Sports + Entertainment Announces Legacy Partnership with SME Industries
SANDY, UT (February 18, 2026) – Miller Sports + Entertainment (MSE) announced today a new legacy partnership with SME Industries, Inc. (SME) across the platform, including Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals FC, Salt Lake Bees and Megaplex. Together, the organizations will focus on community-driven experiences and initiatives fueled by the
Miller Sports + Entertainment Announces Legacy Partnership with SME Industries
SANDY, UT (February 18, 2026) – Miller Sports + Entertainment (MSE) announced today a new legacy partnership with SME Industries, Inc. (SME) across the platform, including Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals FC, Salt Lake Bees and Megaplex. Together, the organizations will focus on community-driven experiences and initiatives fueled by the
$26 million entertainment destination opens near UT-WY border
Utah's First TV Station and your destination for news, sports, weather and more across Utah
$26 million entertainment destination opens near UT-WY border
After a successful ribbon-cutting ceremony on Feb. 14, the Utah-Wyoming border is officially home to Horse Palace Gateway, a new entertainment destination off of Interstate-80.
Smartwatch blood pressure feature should not replace screenings, U. Health study says
The FDA last year approved the Apple Watch's hypertension notifications feature, but a study from University of Utah Health suggests people should still receive regular screenings.
Bolanga's 18 lead Utah Tech over Cal Baptist 70-65
ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) Noah Bolanga scored 18 points as Utah Tech beat Cal Baptist 70-65 on Saturday night to snap the Lancers’ nine-game win streak.
Utah State takes down Memphis 99-75
LOGAN, Utah (AP) Michael Collins Jr. had 24 points and Mason Falslev scored 20 in Utah State's 99-75 win over Memphis on Saturday night to extend its win streak to seven games.
Roundup: Weber State football, basketball schedules affected by realignment
Future schedules for Weber State’s football and basketball teams have been affected by recent college sports realignment. And, speaking of realignment and schedules, Utah State released its first Pac-12 Conference football schedule as it joins with several outgoing Mountain West teams to form a new home in the fall of 2026. Changes likely for 1 […]
Trump nominee stalls after GOP senator challenges him on remarks about Jews and Israel
Sen. John Curtis of Utah said he opposes Jeremy Carl for a State Department post in part because of his "anti-Israel views and insensitive remarks about the Jewish people."
This state tried to overhaul math instruction. It didn’t go as planned
Utah tried to infuse data science into its math standards. That effort got caught up in a broader debate about rigor and what math high schoolers need.
2026 Pac-12 football schedule revealed, including Week 13 flex
Eight schools -- Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State and Washington State -- comprise the rebuilt Pac-12
How Utah’s fear-driven politics is reshaping courts and elections
Commentary: Utah’s recent moves to expand courts and restrict elections follow a pattern of using fear as a way to secure power.