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3 takeaways from USU's win against Hawai'i

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3 takeaways from USU's win against Hawai'i


Utah State got back to winning in about as dominant a fashion as it could Saturday in Logan.

The Aggies dominated the visiting Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors from opening kick to final whistle en route to a 55-10 victory.

It is USU’s third win on the season and has the Aggies 2-3 in Mountain West Conference play with two more games to go. Believe it or not a winning record in conference play is possible for Utah State.

There was no shortage of standouts or areas of excellence. Outside of two interceptions thrown by starting quarterback Spencer Petras, the Aggies were close to flawless in nearly every aspect.

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Here are three takeaways from Utah State’s latest victory.

Rahsul Faison is the best Aggie running back since…

There have been some good running backs who have gone through the Utah State football program.

All-time definitely, but in recent history, too.

There was Darwin Thompson in 2018, who rushed for 1,044 yards (6.8 yards per carry) and 14 touchdowns and caught 23 passes for 351 yards (15.3 yards per reception) and two touchdowns in his lone season as an Aggie.

There was Gerold Bright, who in four years playing for the Aggies ran for over 2,000 yards (2,145) and 22 touchdowns.

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There was Calvin Tyler Jr., who in two years with Utah State rushed for 2,006 yards on 449 carries. In his final season in Logan, Tyler Jr., rushed for 1,122 yards alone.

When all is said and done, Rahsul Faison may deserve to be considered better than all of them.

Back in action after being sidelined against Washington State with a knee injury, Faison was his usual electric self Saturday. He rushed for a career-high 191 yards and two touchdowns, averaging nearly 10 yards per touch.

With two games remaining this season, he is now nine yards away from the 1,000 yard mark on the year and has now rushed for 100 yards or more in five games this season now, seven in his USU career.

Faison has it all. Explosiveness and speed (both of his touchdowns against Hawai’i went for 30-plus yards). Power. Elusiveness. Vision. Patience.

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You name it, and Faison has it as a running back.

Faison still has a chance to make program history, entering the top 10 in multiple rushing categories in only two season played at Utah State.

Will he go down as the best ever at USU?

No, but he is arguably the best Aggie running back in the last five years, if not more.

You get an interception, you get an interception, you get an interception

Entering the season, there was a lot of hope (maybe even hype) regarding Utah State’s secondary.

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With Ike Larsen back at safety along with Avante Dickerson, JD Drew at cornerback/nickel back and the arrival of safety Jordan Vincent and cornerback DJ Graham, the Aggies’ secondary was expected to be the strength of the USU defense.

Strength has not been a good descriptor for Utah State’s defense this season, and while the secondary has had its moments, it has also struggled.

Entering the game against Hawaii, USU ranked eighth in the MW in passing defense and sixth in interceptions (with seven).

Against the Rainbow Warriors, the Aggie secondary finally showcased its real potential and then some as USU registered five interceptions. Vincent had two and Drew had another, as did nickel back Torren Union and cornerback Noah Flores.

Time and again, the Aggies’ defensive backs were in the right place at the right time, and more importantly they made the plays that have so often been lacking this year for Utah State.

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In total, Utah State won the turnover battle 5-2, a plus-3 differential has been pretty rare for USU for a couple of seasons now.

The Aggies may or may not be able to replicate their performance against Hawai’i in upcoming games against San Diego State and Colorado State, but for a game the USU secondary showed its real potential all at once.

Hello, tight ends

If there has been one real criticism of the Aggies’ offense the last few seasons under Blake Anderson and now offensive coordinator Kyle Cefalo’s direction, it has been the absence of the tight ends.

Utah State has had solid tight ends on the roster, guys like Broc Lane, Josh Sterzer and Will Monney for multiple seasons, but they haven’t been a featured part of the Aggies’ passing game, or even really slight contributors.

Utah State has relied almost exclusively on its wideouts in the passing game, and slot receivers especially until the emergence of Jalen Royals on the outside.

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Against Hawaii, though, USU utilized its tight ends, and to great effect.

Sterzer and Monney combined for 11 receptions (Sterzer had a team-high seven catches) for 117 yards and three touchdowns. Each player was nearly perfect, as Sterzer was targeted eight times and Monney targeted five times (he had four receptions).

Against Hawaii’s zone defense, both Sterzer and Monney proved the perfect safety valves for Petras, often in the middle of the field.

Neither player went down easy when hit, either. The pair combined for 55 yards after the catch. With the tight ends so effective, Petras had open receivers on the outside again and again (he hit some, missed others).

And when the Rainbow Warriors dropped linebackers more into coverage to handle the tight ends in the passing game, Faison and fellow running backs Herschel Turner, Derrick Jameson and Nick Floyd made Hawai’i pay on the ground (that quartet combined to rush for 299 yards in the game.

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Will the Aggies’ tight ends be utilized as much going forward? Ever again? Who knows, but they showed their value in the passing game against Hawaii.



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911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas

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911 recordings detail hours leading up to discovery of Utah girl, mother dead in Las Vegas


CONTENT WARNING: This report discusses suicide and includes descriptions of audio from 911 calls that some viewers may find disturbing.

LAS VEGAS — Exclusively obtained 911 recordings detail the hours leading up to the discovery of an 11-year-old Utah girl and her mother dead inside a Las Vegas hotel room in an apparent murder-suicide.

Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, lived in West Jordan and had traveled to Nevada for the JAMZ cheerleading competition.

The calls show a growing sense of urgency from family members and coaches, and several hours passing before relatives learned what happened.

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MORE | Murder-Suicide

Below is a timeline of the key moments, according to dispatch records. All times are Pacific Time.

10:33 a.m. — Call 1

After Addi and her mother failed to appear at the cheerleading competition, Addi’s father and stepmother called dispatch for a welfare check.

Addi and her mother were staying at the Rio hotel. The father told dispatch that hotel security had already attempted contact.

“Security went up and knocked on the door. There’s no answer or response it doesn’t look like they checked out or anything…”

11:18 a.m. and 11:27 a.m. — Calls 2 and 3

As concern grew, Addi’s coach contacted the police two times within minutes.

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“We think the child possibly is in imminent danger…”

11:26 a.m. — Call 4

Addi’s stepmother placed another call to dispatch, expressing escalating concern.

“We are extremely concerned we believe that something might have seriously happened.”

She said that Tawnia’s car was still at the hotel.

Police indicated officers were on the way.

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2:26 p.m. — Call 5

Nearly three hours after the initial welfare check request, fire personnel were en route to the scene. It appeared they had been in contact with hotel security.

Fire told police that they were responding to a possible suicide.

“They found a note on the door.”

2:35 p.m. — Call 6

Emergency medical personnel at the scene told police they had located two victims.

“It’s going to be gunshot wound to the head for both patients with notes”

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A dispatcher responded:

“Oh my goodness that’s not okay.”

2:36 p.m. — Call 7

Moments later, fire personnel relayed their assessment to law enforcement:

“It’s going to be a murder suicide, a juvenile and a mother.”

2:39 p.m. — Call 8

Unaware of what had been discovered, Addi’s father called dispatch again.

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“I’m trying to file a missing persons report for my daughter.”

He repeats the details he knows for the second time.

3:13 p.m. — Call 9

Father and stepmother call again seeking information and continue to press for answers.

“We just need some information. There was a room check done around 3:00 we really don’t know where to start with all of this Can we have them call us back immediately?”

Dispatch responded:

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“As soon as there’s a free officer, we’ll have them reach out to you.”

4:05 p.m. — Call 10

More than an hour later, Addi’s father was put in contact with the police on the scene. He pleaded for immediate action.

“I need someone there I need someone there looking in that room”

The officer confirmed that they had officers currently in the room.

Addi’s father asks again what they found, if Addi and her mother are there, and if their things were missing.

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The officer, who was not on scene, said he had received limited information.

5:23 p.m. — Call 11

Nearly seven hours after the first welfare check request, Addi’s grandmother contacted police, describing conflicting information circulating within the family.

“Some people are telling us that they were able to get in, and they were not in the hotel room, and other people saying they were not able to get in the hotel room, and we need to know”

She repeated the details of the case. Dispatch said officers will call her back once they have more information.

Around 8:00 p.m. — Press Conference

Later that evening, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police held a news conference confirming that Addi and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, were found dead inside the hotel room.

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The investigation remains ongoing.

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Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing

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Ban on AI glasses in Utah classrooms inches closer to passing


AI glasses could allow you to get answers, snap photos, access audio and take phone calls—and now a proposal moving through the legislature would ban the glasses from Utah school classrooms.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Kizzy Guyton Murphy, a mother who accompanied her child’s class on a field trip to the state Capitol on Wednesday. “You can’t see inside what the student is looking at, and it’s just grounds for cheating.”

Mom Tristan Davies Seamons also sees trouble with AI glasses.

“I don’t think they should have any more technology in schools than they currently have,” she said.

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Her twin daughters, fourth graders Finley and Grayson, don’t have cell phones yet.

“Not until we’re like 14,” said Grayson, adding they do have Chromebooks in school.

2News sent questions to the Utah State Board of Education:

  • Does it have reports of students using AI glasses?
  • Does it see cheating and privacy as major concerns?
  • Does it support a ban from classrooms?

Matt Winters, USBE AI specialist, said the board has not received reports from school districts of students with AI glasses.

“Local Education Agencies (school districts) have local control over these decisions based on current law and code,” said Winters. “The Board has not taken a position on AI glasses.

MORE | Utah State Legislature:

Some districts across the country have reportedly put restrictions on the glasses in schools.

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“I think it should be up to the teachers,” said Briauna Later, another mother who is all for preventing cheating, but senses a ban could leave administrators with tired eyes.

“It’s one more thing for the administration to have to keep track of,” said Later.

The proposal, HB 42, passed the House and cleared a Senate committee on Wednesday.

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Kalshi sues Utah over efforts to stop prop betting in the state

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Kalshi sues Utah over efforts to stop prop betting in the state


SALT LAKE CITY — A prediction market is suing Utah over plans to regulate proposition betting that it says would run afoul of federal regulations.

Kalshi is a New York-based prediction market that allows users to place “event contracts” on future outcomes and earn a payout if they are correct. Those transactions are regulated through the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, the company said Utah has plans to prevent the company from offering contracts in the state and asked the courts to block any enforcement that “interferes with the operation and function of plaintiffs’ futures market.”

“Plaintiff KalshiEX LLC believes the governor of Utah and the Attorney General’s Office of Utah will imminently bring an enforcement action against Kalshi with the intent to prevent Kalshi from offering event contracts for trading on its federally regulated exchange,” the complaint states. “Defendants have repeatedly represented that they believe Kalshi is operating unlawfully under Utah anti-gambling laws.”

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The lawsuit points to a couple of posts from Gov. Spencer Cox and an op-ed written by Attorney General Derek Brown in the Deseret News on Sunday. After Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Mike Selig announced that his agency would “defend its exclusive jurisdiction” over prediction markets last week, Cox took to X calling the markets “gambling — pure and simple.”

“They are destroying the lives of families and countless Americans, especially young men,” he wrote. “They have no place in Utah. Let me be clear, I will use every resource within my disposal as governor of the sovereign state of Utah, and under the Constitution of the United States to beat you in court.”

He followed that up last Thursday, saying Utah is “ready to defend our laws in court and protect Utahns from companies that drive addiction, isolation and serious financial harm.”

In his op-ed, Brown argued that prediction markets are “the newest iteration of gambling” and said he didn’t see a difference between betting and trading futures.

“Although traditional sports betting apps are illegal under Utah law, these platforms argue that they merely allow users to hedge their risk,” he wrote. “But what is the real risk to hedge when you are simply predicting whether LeBron James will score more or less than another player? It’s simply a bet, dressed up in different clothing.”

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The lawsuit also comes as the state Legislature is advancing a bill that would clarify that proposition betting — or betting placed on specific players or events during games — falls under the state’s definition of gambling, which is prohibited by the Utah Constitution. HB243 has passed the House and a Senate committee and is awaiting consideration on the Senate floor.

But Kalshi says its contracts are lawful thanks to a carveout in Utah’s anti-gambling laws that allows for “lawful business.” Its lawsuit claims Kalshi’s attorneys made “multiple attempts” to contact Brown about potential action against the company but were “met with silence, even though the Utah AG had previously been willing to communicate with counsel.”

Asked about the lawsuit on Tuesday, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said he is “standing with the governor on this one.”

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.



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