A scuba dive boat captain has been ordered to pay about $32,000 in restitution to the families of three of the 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019.

Salt Lake City has been formally awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics following a vote by the International Olympic Committee in Paris.

World Cup qualifying resumes Thursday for USA Basketball.

Two Western states known for rugged landscapes and wide-open spaces are bucking the trend of sluggish U.S. population growth, which dipped to the lowest level since the Great Depression.

As coronavirus cases are surging around the U.S., some colleges and universities are rethinking some of their plans for next semester. By November, a total of 76 of the roughly 1,400 students on campus had tested positive, the school said. When students come back for the spring semester, St. Michael’s will begin testing them weekly. Schools that are bringing students back are adjusting testing protocols, introducing new screenings, and eliminating spring breaks to discourage students from traveling to help keep campuses open. In the spring semester, Colby College in Maine wants to add some rapid antigen tests to twice-weekly tests for students, faculty and staff.

University of Utah student Abigail Shull takes a rapid COVID-19 test at the University of Utah student testing site Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, in Salt Lake City. Now, many students are heading home for Thanksgiving, raising the risk of the virus spreading among family, friends and other travelers. Only about 100 colleges initially tested all students once or twice a week, regardless of symptoms, as part of their back-to-school plans. The few institutions that already regularly test students even without symptoms don’t have to change much. “We, of course, have health services and we have nurses, but they’re working like dogs and there’s not enough of them.”For students, testing availability can be a relief.

University of Utah President Ruth Watkins, right, looks on as Jill McCluskey, the mother of slain University of Utah student-athlete Lauren McCluskey speaks during a press conference announcing they have reached a settlement in their lawsuit against the university Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, in Salt Lake City. University of Utah President Ruth Watkins and the parents of Lauren McCluskey announced the settlement at a joint news conference in Salt Lake City that came on the second anniversary of her death. The case brought new national attention to campus safety and dating-violence issues at universities, spurring several changes at the University of Utah. An indoor track facility will also be built and named after Lauren McCluskey as part of the settlement. The McCluskeys said all the money will go to the Lauren McCluskey foundation.

A fly lands on the head of Vice President Mike Pence during the vice presidential debate Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. (Justin Sullivan/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – The vice presidential debate featured plexiglass barriers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The incident went unmentioned onstage, with the Republican vice president and Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris continuing to focus on the discussion of systemic racism in the justice system. It's on his head,” tweeted MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. Wednesday night’s visitor wasn’t the first fly to take center stage at a presidential debate.

(AP Photo/Morry Gash, Pool)SALT LAKE CITY – There were three participants in the vice presidential debate: Republican Mike Pence, Democrat Kamala Harris and the plexiglass between them. Sen. Harris' team requested plexiglass be used after President Donald Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 shortly after his first presidential debate against Democrat Joe Biden last week in Cleveland. Other reminders that these are not normal times for a vice presidential debate: 20 chairs for guests were spaced roughly 6 feet (1.8 meters) apart in the debate hall, a performing arts center on the University of Utah campus. Pence’s guests in the debate hall were meant to convey a “law and order” message that has been a centerpiece of the Trump campaign. Before the debate, dozens of Trump and Pence supporters stood on the street outside waving flags and chanting, some holding anti-abortion signs.

Addressing criminal justice reform at Wednesday’s vice presidential debate, Harris says a Joe Biden administration would ban chokeholds and require a national registry for police officers who break the law. Vice President Mike Pence was also asked if justice was done in the Taylor case. For several minutes, a fly landed in Vice President Mike Pence’s hair, not moving as he answered questions about racial injustice and whether justice has been done in the death of Breonna Taylor. The vice presidential debate is much more cordial than last week’s raucous presidential debate with frequent interruptions and outbursts. The campaign reported her results on Wednesday, less than 12 hours before she is scheduled to debate Vice President Mike Pence.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Kamala Harris and Mike Pence will be separated by a see-through barrier to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission at Wednesday’s vice presidential debate. The debate in Salt Lake City will come less than a week after President Donald Trump tested positive for the virus. It is the only planned debate between the two vice presidential contenders and will take on heightened attention following the president's diagnosis. Pence will appear despite recent exposure to people who have tested positive for the virus, though he has not tested positive. The president's diagnosis puts a new spotlight on the vice presidential debate and on the continued presence of the virus, a key campaign message for Biden and Harris.