Actress Gwyneth Paltrow testified Friday in a civil trial in which she is accused of knocking down another skier on the slopes of the Deer Valley Resort in Utah back in 2016 and then skiing away, leaving him injured on the ground. Carter Evans has the details.
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Oscar-winning actress and businesswoman Gwyneth Paltrow is in court this week for a civil trial over a 2016 collision with another skier, with the case raising questions about who is legally liable when collisions occur on the slopes.
In court arguments, lawyers for Paltrow and plaintiff Terry Sanderson have painted their clients as prudent skiers, while trading mutual accusations about who was at fault for a crash at Deer Valley resort in Park City, Utah.
Sanderson, 76, is expected to testify on Friday, while Paltrow also may take the stand. Sanderson’s lawyer has sought to portray the actor as out of touch, while Paltrow’s attorney cast doubt on Sanderson’s memory, noting his age and prior brain injuries. Paltrow, who also founded wellness and lifestyle brand GOOP, also alleges Sanderson sued her to exploit her fame and wealth.
Yet the case could turn on something more tangible, attorneys say: their location on the mountain when the crash occurred.
Uphill or downhill?
Sanderson sued Paltrow, 50, in 2019, claiming she was skiing recklessly and crashed into him from above, causing serious injuries and emotional distress. Paltrow later countersued, claiming it was Sanderson who hit her from behind.
The case hinges on which of the two parties acted in an unreasonable manner while on skis, experts told CBS MoneyWatch.
“When one skier hits another, the issue is negligence. Did they do something wrong?” said personal injury attorney Roger Kohn, of Kohn Roth Law.
Gwyneth Paltrow enters the courtroom after a lunch break in her trial, Thursday, March 23, 2023, in Park City, Utah, where she is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family ski vacation.
Jeff Swinger / AP
As far as conduct on the ski slopes go, it’s almost always the duty of the uphill skier to beware of the downhill skier. In other words, the downhill skier — the person who is further down the slope — has the right of way.
“The uphill skier has to watch out for the downhill skier. If you’re overtaking someone and hit them, chances are you are liable and at fault,” Kohn added.
According to the National Ski Areas Association’s responsibility code, which governs ski resorts in North America, “people ahead or downhill of you have the right of way. You must avoid them.”
Skiers must also “always stay in control” and be able to stop to avoid other people.
Collisions happen
Ski collisions are not uncommon and when injuries result, lawyers sometimes get involved.
“Some lawyers based their whole career on ski accidents,” Bryn “Butch” Peterson, a veteran Colorado ski instructor, told CBS MoneyWatch. He added that he once saw a woman get hit by a skier who came “blasting out of a tree trail” in Vail, Colorado.
Terry Sanderson arrives at court Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Park City, Utah. The retired optometrist is suing actor Gwyneth Paltrow over a 2016 ski collision that took place at Deer Valley Resort.
Rick Bowmer / AP
But unlike that incident, most ski accidents aren’t caused by skier-skier or skier-snowboarder collisions; they happen when skiers hit a tree or other type of obstacle.
There were 57 reported fatal incidents during the 2021-2022 ski season, according to NSAA, most of which resulted from skiers hitting trees. Males represented 95% of all fatalities. There were an additional 54 reported “catastrophic” incidents during the same season.
Homeowners insurance
Most homeowners insurance policies also include general liability coverage that essentially follows a homeowner around even when they’re outside of their residence, including when they are on skis.
“It covers you if there’s something dangerous in your home or on your property and someone gets hurt and sues you, but it also follows you around if you’re at the grocery store and run a kid over with a shopping cart, and it covers ski collision claims,” said David Cutt, of Cutt, Kendell and Olson in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“So that’s what is going on here. In this case, if Paltrow has homeowners coverage, then that steps in and pays a settlement or a judgement unto the limits of the policy,” he said.
Typically, a lawyer would only get involved if the defendant is wealthy or has homeowners insurance, according to Kohn.
“If you sue someone who doesn’t have homeowners coverage, it’s a waste of time,” he said.
But, he added, if they have insurance, that policy will kick in, and the insurer will defend the claim as well as pay it.
It’s not always the case that one party is negligent in a two-person collision.
“But there is a clear case of liability if you can show the other skier was skiing too fast, acting improperly or should’ve seen the other skier,” he said.
He said, she said
Cutt said he’s tried dozens or more of these cases in Utah and the judgment always hinges on who the jury believes were the uphill and downhill skiers.
“In this trial, Sanderson says he was the downhill skier and she ran into him from behind, and she says exactly the opposite — that she was skiing along and he plowed into her from uphill,” Cutt said.
“So what it’s going to come down to is, the jury is going to listen to everybody about the collision itself and the aftermath and decide who they think is credible and who isn’t,” Cutt said. “And the fact that it’s Gwyneth Paltrow is the big elephant in the room.”
Children and teenagers in Utah are to lose access to social media apps such as TikTok if they don’t have parental consent and would face other restrictions under a first-in-the-nation law designed to shield young people from the addictive apps.
The two bills Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed into law also prohibit kids under 18 from using social media between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., require age verification for anyone who wants to use social media in the state and seek to prevent tech companies from luring kids to their apps using addictive features.
The laws passed through Utah’s GOP-supermajority Legislature reflect changing perceptions of both Democrats and Republicans toward technology companies.
Tech giants like Facebook and Google have enjoyed unbridled growth for over a decade, but amid concerns over user privacy, hate speech, misinformation and harmful effects on teens’ mental health, lawmakers have begun trying to rein them in. Utah’s law was signed on the same day TikTok’s CEO testified before Congress about, among other things, the app’s effects on teenagers’ mental health.
But legislation has stalled on the federal level, pushing states to step in.
Other Republican-leaning states, such as Arkansas, Texas, Ohio and Louisiana, have similar proposals in the works, along with New Jersey. California, meanwhile, enacted a law last year requiring tech companies to put kids’ safety first by barring them from profiling children or using personal information in ways that could harm children physically or mentally.
In addition to the parental consent provisions, social media companies would likely have to design new features to comply with parts of the law to prohibit promoting ads to minors and showing them in search results. Tech companies like TikTok, Snapchat and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, make most of their money by targeting advertising to their users.
What’s not clear from the Utah bill and others is how the states plan to enforce the new regulations. Companies are already prohibited from collecting data on children under 13 without parental consent under the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. For this reason, social media companies already ban kids under 13 from signing up to their platforms — but children can easily get around it, both with and without their parents’ consent.
Cox said studies have shown that time spent on social media leads to “poor mental health outcomes” for children.
“We remain very optimistic that we will be able to pass not just here in the state of Utah but across the country legislation that significantly changes the relationship of our children with these very destructive social media apps,” he said.
Children’s advocacy groups generally welcomed the law, albeit with some caveats. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit focusing on kids and technology, hailed the law aimed at reining in social media’s addictive features. It “adds momentum for other states to hold social media companies accountable to ensure kids across the country are protected online,” said Jim Steyer, the CEO and founder of Common Sense.
He pointed to similar legislation in the works in California and New Jersey — and said the safety and mental well-being of kids and teens depend on legislation like this to hold big tech accountable for creating safer and healthier experiences online.
But Steyer said the other bill Cox signed giving parents access to children’s social media posts would “deprive kids of the online privacy protections we advocate for. The law also requires age verification and parental consent for minors to create a social media account, which doesn’t get to the root of the problem – kids and teens will still be exposed to companies’ harmful data collection and design practices once they are on the platform.”
The laws are the latest effort from Utah lawmakers focused on children and the information they can access online. Two years ago, Cox signed legislation that called on tech companies to automatically block porn on cell phones and tablets sold, citing the dangers it posed to children. Amid concerns about enforcement, lawmakers in the deeply religious state revised the bill to prevent it from taking effect unless five other states passed similar laws.
The social media regulations come as parents and lawmakers are growing increasingly concerned about kids and teenagers’ use and how platforms like TikTok, Instagram and others are affecting young people’s mental health.
It is set to take effect in March 2024, and Cox has previously said he anticipates social media companies will challenge it in court.
Tech industry lobbyists quickly decried the laws as unconstitutional, saying they infringe on people’s right to exercise the First Amendment online.
“Utah will soon require online services to collect sensitive information about teens and families, not only to verify ages, but to verify parental relationships, like government-issued IDs and birth certificates, putting their private data at risk of breach,” said Nicole Saad Bembridge, an associate director at NetChoice, a tech lobby group.
The governor of Utah signed a controversialbill on Thursday that will require minors to obtain the consent of a guardian before joining social media platforms, marking the most aggressive step yet by state or federal lawmakers to protect kids online.
As part of the bill, called the Utah Social Media Regulation Act,social media platforms will have to conduct age verification for all Utah residents, ban all ads for minors and impose a curfew, making their sites off limits between the hours of 10:30 p.m. – 6:30 a.m. for anyone under the age of 18. The bill will also require social platforms to give parents access to their teens’ accounts.
The legislation,which was introduced by Republican Sen. Michael McKell and passed by Republican Governor Spencer Cox, will go into effect on March 1, 2024.
“When it comes down to it, [the bill] is about protecting our children,” McKell said in a statement to CNN, citing how depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation has “drastically increased” among teens in Utah and across the United states Slongside the growth of social media sites. “As a lawmaker and parent, I believe this bill is the best path forward to prevent our children from succumbing to the negative and sometimes life-threatening effects of social media.”
The legislation comes after years of US lawmakers calling for new safeguards to protect teens online, amid concerns about social platforms leading younger users down harmful rabbit holes, enabling new forms of bullying and harassment and adding to what’s been described as a teen mental health crisis in the country. To date, however, no federal legislation has passed.
Utah is the first of a broader list of states introducing similar proposals. In Connecticut and Ohio, for example, lawmakers are working to pass legislation that would require social media companies to get parent permission before users under age 16 can join.
“We can assume more methods like the Utah bill could find their way into other states’ plans, especially if actions are not taken at the federal level,” said Michael Inouye, an analyst at ABI Research. “Eventually, if enough states implement similar or related legislation, we could see a more concerted effort at the federal level to codify these (likely) disparate state laws under a US-wide policy.”
Industry experts and Big Tech companies have long urged the US government to introduce regulations that could help keep young social media users safe. But even before the bill’s passage, some had raised concerns about the impact of the legislation. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group, said Utah’s specific set of rules are “dangerous” when it comes to user privacy and added that the bill will make user data less secure, internet access less private and infringe upon younger users’ basic rights.
“Social media provides a lifeline for many young people, in addition to community, education, and conversation,” said Jason Kelley, director of activism at the EFF. “They use it in part because it can be private … The law, which would limit social media access and require parental consent and monitoring for minors, will incalculably harm the ability of young people to protect their privacy and deter them from exercising their rights.”
Lucy Ivey, an 18-year-old TikTok influencer who attends Utah Valley University, agreed, saying some of her friends in the LGBTQ community may face challenges with the change.
“My worry with this bill is that it will take away privacy from teenagers, and a lot of kids don’t have good relationships with their parents or don’t have a reliable guardian that would be needed to get access to social media,” she told CNN. “I think about my LGBTQ friends; some who have had a hard time with their parents because of their sexuality or identity, and they could be losing an important place where they can be themselves, and be seen and heard.”
Ivey, who launched a publication called Our Era at age 15 and amplified its content on TikTok, said she’s also concerned about how the bill will impact content creators like herself. (If a legal guardian disapproves of a teens’ online activity or digital presence, those individuals may have to put their accounts on hold until they are 18 years old.)
“With a new law like this, they may now be intimidated and discouraged by the legal hoops required to use social media out of fear of authority or their parents, or fear of losing their privacy at a time when teens are figuring out who they are,” Ivey said.
Facebook-parentMeta told CNN it has the same goals as parents and policymakers, but the company said it also wants young people to have safe, positive experiences online and keep its platforms accessible. Antigone Davis, the global head of safety for Meta, said the company will “continue to work closely with experts, policymakers and parents on these important issues.”
Representatives for TikTok and Snap did not respond to a request for comment.
Given that the bill is unprecedented, it’s unclear how exactly the social media companies will adapt. For example, the legislation calls for platforms to turn off algorithms for “suggested content.” This particular guideline may help keep teens from falling down rabbit holes toward potentially harmful content, but it could present new issues, too. It might mean the company would no longer have the oversight and control over downranking problematic content that may show up in a user’s feed.
Some of the bill’s guidelines may also be difficult to enforce. Inouye said minors could “steal” identities – such as from family members who don’t use social media – to create accounts that they can access and use without oversight. VPNs could also complicate matching IP addresses to the states of the users, he said.
But even if legislative steps from Utah and other states prove to be flawed, Inouye says “these early efforts are at minimum bringing attention to these issues.”
A neuropsychologist who treated the man suing Gwyneth Paltrow over a 2016 ski collision cast aspersions on the testimony of medical experts hired by the celebrity’s legal team — and argued that, as his personal doctor, she was better suited to speak about 76-year-old Terry Sanderson’s post-concussion symptoms.
“A lot of the experts are opining. I feel like I’m the best judge of what happened to him,” Dr. Alina Fong said.
Fong’s videotaped deposition was the first to be shown on the third day of the trial in Park City, the upscale Utah ski resort town where Sanderson accuses Paltrow of skiing so recklessly that she crashed into him, broke his ribs and left him with lasting brain injuries.
Fong said that when she saw Sanderson less than a year after the accident, he had lost his love for life. He was often dejected and crying. And under her care, Sanderson worked tirelessly to rehabilitate the post-concussion symptoms — including pain, headaches and mood shifts. In cross-examination, she accused Paltrow’s attorneys of planting “red herrings” to mislead jurors. Fong said conclusions from Paltrow’s experts — who have yet to testify — were “easily reputable by just going online and looking at the CDC recommendations.”
Sanderson’s two daughters were also expected to testify on Thursday about the lasting effects of the crash as the trial takes on an increasingly personal note on the third day of proceedings.
Attorneys are expected to call Polly Grasham and Shae Herath to the stand and question them about the broken ribs and lasting brain damage that their father Terry Sanderson claims he sustained after his collision with Paltrow seven years ago.
Gwyneth Paltrow sits in court, Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in Park City, Utah. Paltrow is accused of injuring another skier, leaving him with a concussion and four broken ribs.
Rick Bowmer / AP
Neurologist Richard Boehme and Paltrow herself could also be called to testify on either Thursday or Friday.
Sanderson is suing Paltrow for $300,000, claiming she recklessly crashed into him while the two were skiing on a beginner run at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. In a counterclaim, Paltrow is seeking $1 and attorney fees. The amount of money at stake for both sides pales in comparison to the typical legal costs of a multiyear lawsuit and expert witness-heavy trial.
During the first two days of trial, Sanderson’s attorneys and expert medical witnesses described how his injuries were likely caused by someone crashing into him from behind. They attributed noticeable changes in Sanderson’s mental acuity to injuries from that day.
Paltrow’s attorneys have tried to represent Sanderson as a 76-year-old whose decline has followed a normal course of aging rather than the results of a crash. They have not yet called witnesses of their own to testify, but in opening statements previewed for jurors that they plan to call Paltrow’s husband Brad Falchuk and her two children, Moses and Apple.
Paltrow’s team has previously accused Sanderson of suing to exploit their client’s wealth and celebrity. She is the Oscar-winning star of “Shakespeare in Love” and founder-CEO of the beauty and wellness company Goop.
Her legal team has thus far attempted to poke holes in testimony from Sanderson’s team of experts — and are expected to question his two daughters about their father mentioning Paltrow’s fame, and an email alluding to footage recorded on a GoPro camera that hasn’t been found or included in evidence.
Although ski collisions in general are not uncommon, most accidents occur when a skier collides with a tree or another kind of inanimate object or obstacle. Incidents where a skier collides with another skier happen less often. The National Ski Areas Association recorded 57 fatal incidents stemming from collisions during the 2021-2022 ski season, and most involved skiers hitting trees. Of all skiers who died in those incidents, 95% were men, according to the NSAA, which also reported 54 “catastrophic” incidents over the course of the same season.
This case and its eventual outcome hinge on whether Paltrow or Sanderson acted in an unreasonable manner while skiing that day in Deer Valley, and if someone did, then whom. Roger Cohn, a personal injury attorney at Kohn Roth Law, told CBS MoneyWatch that negligence is a central part of the debate.
“When one skier hits another, the issue is negligence. Did they do something wrong?” Cohn said, adding, “The uphill skier has to watch out for the downhill skier. If you’re overtaking someone and hit them, chances are you are liable and at fault.”
His analysis is consistent with the NSAA’s responsibility code, which applies to ski resorts across North America. According to the code, “people ahead of downhill of you have the right of way. You must avoid them.” The rules also stipulate that skiers must “always stay in control” and be able to stop when necessary to avoid other people.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s lawyer called the story of a retired optometrist who is suing her over a 2016 ski collision “utter B.S.” on Tuesday during the trial’s opening day in Utah.
Terry Sanderson claims that the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer was cruising down the slopes so recklessly that they violently collided, leaving him on the ground as she and her entourage continued their descent down Deer Valley Resort, a skiers-only mountain known for its groomed runs, après-ski champagne yurts and posh clientele.
“Gwyneth Paltrow skied out of control,” Sanderson’s attorneys claim in the lawsuit, “knocking him down hard, knocking him out, and causing a brain injury, four broken ribs and other serious injuries. Paltrow got up, turned and skied away, leaving Sanderson stunned, lying in the snow, seriously injured.”
In a case that has lasted years, Sanderson is suing Paltrow for $300,000 — claiming that the accident in Park City was a result of negligence, and left him with physical injuries and emotional distress.
Sanderson and Paltrow both appeared on Tuesday at the Park City courthouse to begin the trial, which is slated to last longer than a week. A somber-looking Paltrow, wearing a beige knit sweater, tweed harem pants and aviator-style reading glasses, shielded her face from reporters and photographers with a blue “GP”-initialed notebook when she entered and exited the courtroom.
Park City is a resort town in the Rocky Mountains that hosts the Sundance Film Festival, which draws a throng of celebrities each year.
Actor Gwyneth Paltrow looks on before leaving the courtroom, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Park City, Utah, where she is accused in a lawsuit of crashing into a skier during a 2016 family ski vacation, leaving him with brain damage and four broken ribs.
Rick Bowmer / AP
On ski slopes, Utah law gives the skier who is downhill the right of way, so a central question in the case is who was farther down the beginner’s run when the collision transpired. Both Paltrow and Sanderson claim in court filings that they were farther downhill when the other rammed into them, causing their skis to intertwine and the two to tumble.
“All skiers know that when they’re skiing down the mountain, it’s their responsibility to yield the right of way to skiers below them,” Sanderson’s attorney, Lawrence Buhler, told jurors, who — unlike those selected for most trials — walked into the courtroom smiling, likely because of their proximity to a major celebrity.
In opening arguments, both sides presented their clients as conservative skiers who were stunned when a skier above them crashed into them. Both characterized the other’s version of events as implausible.
Buhler described Paltrow as wealthy, while highlighting Sanderson’s military service and how he sought medical care at the V.A. hospital after the collision.
“She hires multiple ski instructors for her children, which allows them to skip the lines. Private instructors cost thousands of dollars per day,” he said.
Paltrow’s attorneys told jurors Tuesday that Sanderson was the one who crashed into her — a collision in which she sustained what they called a “full body blow.” Attorney Steve Owens noted that members of Paltrow’s group checked on Sanderson, who assured them he was fine — an interaction Sanderson doesn’t deny but said in court filings that he can’t remember.
While showing images on a projector of Paltrow on a chairlift with her son, Paltrow’s attorney cautioned jurors not to let sympathy for Sanderson’s medical ailments skew their judgments. He questioned the 76-year-old’s credibility, noting his age and documented, pre-collision brain injuries. He said that the Utah man had confirmed he was fine after the crash. Owens also said that Sanderson posted a “very happy, smiling picture” of himself online, being tobogganed down post-crash.
“His memories of the case get better over the years. That’s all I’m gonna say. That’s not how memory works,” Owens said.
After his initial lawsuit seeking $3.1 million was dropped, Sanderson amended the complaint and he is now seeking $300,000. Paltrow — the Oscar-winning actor known for her roles in “Shakespeare in Love” and Marvel’s “Iron Man” movies — filed a counterclaim, seeking attorney fees and $1 in damages.
Paltrow has alleged that Sanderson was actually the culprit in the collision, is overstating his injuries, and is trying to exploit her celebrity and wealth. In addition to her acting career, she is also the founder and CEO of high-end wellness company goop.
“He demanded Ms. Paltrow pay him millions. If she did not pay, she would face negative publicity resulting from his allegations,” her attorneys wrote in a 2019 court filing.
Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed H.B. 467 into law on Wednesday, which outlaws providing licenses to abortion clinics in the state, and forces those in operation to close either by year’s end or when their license expires — whichever comes first. The law will take effect on May 3.
“Yesterday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed HB467 into law, legislation that will functionally eliminate access to abortion in the state on May 3, even though abortion is currently legal in Utah up until 18 weeks,” read a statement from Planned Parenthood released on Thursday.
People gather at the state Capitol to rally in support of abortion rights on May 3, 2022 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
George Frey / Getty Images
In a news conference on Thursday, Cox defended his signing of the bill, but denied that it would ostensibly ban abortion access in the state. He clarified that abortions would still be able to be performed in hospital settings.
After the law passed the House and Senate less than two weeks ago, Planned Parenthood of Utah took to Twitter to express concern at the legislation, writing, “Abortion is a critical component of health care and a safe procedure with a low risk of complications—there is no justification to ban access.”
The aim of #HB467 is to close down abortion clinics in #UT and put abortion out of reach for as many people as possible. Abortion is a critical component of health care and a safe procedure with a low risk of complications—there is no justification to ban access.#utleg#utpolpic.twitter.com/0fe79qbBn5
“Instead of working to make health care more accessible, reliable, and affordable, Utah politicians have enacted a law that only creates more uncertainty, chaos, and confusion for patients — all to circumvent the judicial process in the name of their anti-abortion crusade,” said the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, Karrie Galloway.
“Nothing in this bill makes abortions in Utah safer, more affordable, or more accessible for the thousands of Utahns who needs this essential health care each year,” added Galloway.
Sharon Barber is a proud “senior” at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
Decades ago, the now 79-year-old put school on pause and raised a family. Now, 16 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren later — and after retiring as a substitute teacher — she returned to class.
“It was scary,” Barber told CBS News. The first classes I took — my textbooks — I was like…’What even does this say? What does this mean?’ I don’t even know. So it was daunting at first.”
“There isn’t a certain age … to go back to school,” her classmate Sonia Gonzalez said. “And she proved that.”
Barber not only excelled in the classroom but also on TikTok. “Grandma Great” as she is known to her more than 2 million TikTok followers, is inspiring others, both on campus, and in the virtual world.
“I have 2.2 million TikTok grandchildren,” she said. “I feel I’m making a connection with people.”
Barber is proving it’s never too late to pursue your passions, sharing her own lessons with her followers.
“Just do it,” Barber said. “And just know that all you have to do is just do your best. That’s all. It doesn’t matter how old you are.”
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WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s been called the worst job in Washington. The gatekeeper to the most powerful leader on earth. The president’s alter ego or the chief javelin catcher.
The job of White House chief of staff is at the fulcrum of the federal government, yet it’s a role that remains largely opaque outside of Washington circles. The newest person to assume the title is Jeff Zients, a longtime Washington hand with a reputation as a managerial whiz who became President Joe Biden’s second chief of staff last week.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said the White House chief of staff is a kind of a “chief operating officer of the country.”
“He’s not the biggest problem solver. He shouldn’t have to do the analysis and he’s got all sorts of other people that will do that,” said Romney, who pondered his own chief of staff picks when he was the GOP presidential nominee in 2012. “But he’s got to run the government, and that’s a task which very few chiefs of staff have had real experience in doing.”
So what does a White House chief of staff actually do?
Zients is literally the chief of the West Wing staff, ensuring that trains run on time and that the president is well served by aides. Zients is the one who presents options to the president on any number of executive decisions.
The chief of staff controls access to the president and is charged with turning the administration’s ambitions into reality. The president’s top aide is part of the Cabinet and must maintain good relationships with the heads of other agencies to ensure they are all on the same page. The job means juggling countless competing constituencies and often being the person who has to say “no” to them.
In a 2005 Washington Post article, Andy Card, who served President George W. Bush for nearly six years, likened his approach to managing a kitchen. Top priority items were on the front and back burners of the stove and longer-term tasks got stashed into the freezer.
“I’ve described it as a wind tunnel,” said Mack McLarty, who was President Bill Clinton’s first chief of staff. McLarty recalled that as he was preparing to assume the role, he was told by Howard Baker, chief of staff in President Ronald Reagan’s second term, that there was no worse job in the nation’s capital.
During his first 10 days on the job, Zients has had to handle long-planned White House priorities ( a planned trip to Poland to mark one year since Russia invaded Ukraine) and unexpected challenges ( multiple unidentified objects shot down from the sky). All throughout, Zients’ chief objective as the president prepares for a likely reelection campaign is to seamlessly implement several landmark bills that Biden signed into law in his first two years.
“As a team, our approach to delivering results for the American people will be straightforward,” Zients wrote in a note to White House aides on his first day as chief of staff. “We must aggressively and equitably implement the President’s policies, ensure that Americans know how to access these benefits and clearly communicate what we have accomplished on behalf of ALL Americans.”
The new chief of staff, who was an initial investor in a Washington bagel shop, immediately resurrected an old tradition from his previous stint in the White House: Bagel Wednesdays.
Those who have been a White House chief of staff, as well as those who have studied them, can point to several traits that are key to success: experience serving in previous administrations, an intimate familiarity with Capitol Hill, managerial acumen and political shrewdness. Also: a temperament that doesn’t gyrate with the whims of a news cycle — not to mention a close, personal relationship with the president.
Past chiefs of staff with that precise collection of characteristics, according to Chris Whipple, who wrote extensively on the role for “The Gatekeepers,” include James Baker, Reagan’s first chief of staff; Leon Panetta, Clinton’s second chief of staff; and Ron Klain, who recently exited the White House after serving as Biden’s chief of staff his first two years.
“Every president learns — sometimes the hard way — that he cannot govern effectively without empowering a White House chief of staff as first among equals in the West Wing to execute his agenda and to tell him what he doesn’t want to hear,” said Whipple, who spent extensive time with Klain for his latest book, “The Fight of His Life.”
Panetta, who would go on to serve as CIA director and defense secretary under President Barack Obama, agreed.
“I think the success or failure of any chief of staff is going to be very dependent on the relationship that that individual has with the president,” Panetta said in an interview. “In order for any chief of staff to do his job, he absolutely has to have the trust of the president of the United States, and the two of them have to be able to trust one another.”
Romney said he would have picked either Mike Leavitt, a former Utah governor and Bush’s health secretary who led Romney’s would-be transition team, or just-retired Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, as chief of staff had Romney won the presidency. He said both possessed “extraordinary management capacity.”
Panetta also underscored the importance of the White House chief of staff maintaining close ties on Capitol Hill, which steers so much of the administration’s objectives or impede them. Zients has never worked in Congress, although he has won praise from Republican lawmakers from his time leading the Biden White House’s COVID-19 response team.
Lawmakers “can set the tone for what’s before the White House for that particular day, as to whether they’re having a good day or a bad day,” Panetta said.
As for those who weren’t quite as successful in the role, Whipple pointed to Mark Meadows, President Donald Trump’s final chief of staff — noting that Meadows declined to keep tight controls on who had access to Trump and did not push back on the president’s most outlandish demands.
“He swung the gate wide open for this Star Wars bar cast of characters parading into the Oval from Rudy Giuliani to Sidney Powell to the pillow guy,” said Whipple, referring to MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell, a high-profile Trump ally. Giuliani was Trump’s personal lawyer and Powell was a lawyer for Trump’s campaign’s legal team who was booted from that role after pushing unfounded conspiracy theories after the 2020 election.
Whipple also said Donald Regan, Baker’s successor under Reagan, did not serve the president well as the Iran-contra affair engulfed the Reagan administration, and saw himself akin to a prime minister with little interest in the “staff” part of his title. Regan, who died in 2003, famously feuded with first lady Nancy Reagan, who helped force him out in 1987.
In picking a chief of staff, presidents sometimes gravitate toward someone with whom they’ve had long-held ties. McLarty was a kindergarten classmate of Clinton in Hope, Arkansas. Klain spent decades alongside Biden on Capitol Hill and was a campaign adviser on Biden’s previous presidential bids and chief of staff when Biden was vice president.
Trump went the opposite direction with his first chief of staff, picking Reince Priebus, who led the Republican National Committee in 2016. Priebus struggled to unite the warring factions within the White House. He never overcame deep suspicion from Trump loyalists who viewed him as a stalwart of the party establishment they reviled. Priebus was unceremoniously fired via tweet just six months into Trump’s term.
Biden signaled the importance he places on his chief of staff during an event honoring Klain, saying a president is “only as good as the team you put around you.”
The White House chief of staff is one of just a handful of the most powerful jobs in government that have been occupied only by white men. Asked last month whether Biden would select someone who is not white or male if he has the chance to choose another chief of staff after Zients, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to say.
But she said the current administration is “the most diverse in history” and “we expect this trend to continue.”
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — In the 1990s, Dallas Mavericks point guard Derek Harper famously shot down an offer to be traded to the Jazz, quipping to ESPN: “You go live in Utah.”
Two decades later, members of the Golden State Warriors squad mocked Salt Lake as a nightlife-free city that could “lull you to sleep.”
And two months ago, former Jazz star Donovan Mitchell, reflecting on his time in Utah, said it was “draining” being a Black man in the mostly white, deeply religious state.
As the spotlight turns toward Salt Lake City and Utah during this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game, business and political leaders are seeking to chip away at long-held notions — in basketball circles and elsewhere — of the state as a peculiar, boring and homogenous place that lags behind on LGBTQ- and race-related issues.
Their push to showcase the city and state as increasingly diverse and vibrant has been complicated by Utah’s enduring legacy as a religious conservative stronghold, coupled with recent political developments at the intersection of race, gender and sports.
Just a year ago, a statewide ban implemented on transgender kids playing girls’ sports raised worries that organizers of some events like the All-Star Game would think twice about coming to Utah.
“What happens with those oddities that people think is, they’re very quickly dispelled when people actually come to Utah,” said Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican and avid Jazz fan.
Downtown, a pop-up liquor store has been erected to serve fans this weekend between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ flagship temple and the Jazz’s home arena. Team owner Ryan Smith is telling anyone who will listen about the state’s robust tech sector and progressive thinking. And the NBA is heavily advertising a pregame performance featuring Post Malone, a Utah-based, heavily face-tattooed rap star popular among residents.
Salt Lake City has long been more liberal and religiously diverse than the rest of Utah, a blue island in a sea of red. A majority of members on the current left-leaning city council identify as LGBTQ and are people of color.
In the three decades since 1993, the last time the All-Star Game was here, the population has diversified and almost doubled, transforming it into a thriving metropolis complete with the politics and problems that plague many midsize cities including pollution, housing shortages and homelessness.
A skyline dense with apartments, office buildings and two downtown malls has sprung up between Temple Square and the nearby mountains. The 2002 Olympics brought an influx of funding that helped build a light rail system many visitors will use during All-Star festivities.
Mayor Erin Mendenhall said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the counterculture that rose up in response and continues to thrive both contribute to the city’s social fabric.
“We may still be peculiar, but we’re minority Mormon now,” she said.
The extensive influence of the faith known widely as the Mormon church will still be apparent, yet changes within its culture and the influx of thousands of secular residents may complicate how the expected 150,000 All-Star visitors perceive Salt Lake City, said Patrick Mason, a professor of religious studies at Utah State University.
“Anybody who visits — especially for the first time — is going to be immediately struck by the Salt Lake Temple and the church’s holdings right downtown very close to the arena. This is, as a lot of people say, ‘Mormonism’s Vatican,’ ” he said.
High-profile church members also demonstrate how the image the faith projects has remained distinct while also becoming more assimilated into the mainstream, he said.
“That really gets reflected in the younger generation of entrepreneurs and politicians,” Mason added. “People like Cox and Smith are Latter-day Saints who are committed to their faith but also are savvy people who grow up with the internet, plugged in to a global culture.”
Hosting All-Star Weekend is a major opportunity in particular for Smith, who purchased the Jazz in 2020 after selling the survey-software provider company that he founded, Qualtrics, for $8 billion.
“This is just a chance to really have a moment together. People definitely know that there’s something here,” Smith said. “It’s absolutely unique in all the positive ways. I think the one thing that is beautiful about Utah, that the people keep telling me from a wellness standpoint, ‘Utah is like where I’m at my best.’ ”
Since Smith attended part of 1993′s All-Star Weekend as a member of the Jazz’s youth basketball program, the NBA has cultivated a reputation for embracing progressive politics and social justice to a greater extent than most other professional sports leagues.
The ban on transgender athletes in girls’ sports didn’t end up costing Utah the All-Star Game. But some fear marketing efforts could face challenges as the state doubles down on socially conservative stances on matters of race, gender and sports. Last month lawmakers banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth, a policy being considered by lawmakers in a number of states across the country.
Utah has among the highest white populations of any state at 78% of its 3.3 million residents, and less than 2% are Black. That lack of racial diversity is long believed to have hurt efforts by the Jazz to lure free agents and retain players.
Mitchell, after being traded to the Cavaliers last offseason, said it took a lot of energy to confront a series of highly public race-related experiences and the pushback he received in response. They included incidents of bullying against Black students in Utah schools that he called “demoralizing”; a dustup between him and the state Senate president over new restrictions on how race and history could be taught; and the time Mitchell said he was pulled over and “got an attitude from the cop” until the officer saw Mitchell’s ID and realized he was the Jazz player.
“It’s no secret there’s a lot of stuff that I dealt with being in Utah, off the floor. … I took on a lot because I felt like I could do it. But at some point, it became a lot to have to deal with,” he told the ESPN publication Andscape in December.
Some see All-Star weekend as a means of elevating social justice initiatives and changing Salt Lake City’s image through showcasing oft-overlooked pockets of diversity. Sheena Meade, CEO of the Clean Slate Initiative, helped organize an expungement clinic with the NBA’s social justice arm in the lead-up to the game, a year after Cox signed legislation to clear low-level convictions from people’s criminal records. She said the NBA’s presence in places regardless of the prevailing local politics has had tangible impacts.
“They are doing more than lip service. They’re putting out a host of events,” Meade said. “What it means for the All-Star Game to come to a state like Utah is it brings an immersion of culture and diversity and lifts up what’s happening on some social issues.”
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AP sports writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
Residents of a small eastern Utah community are grieving after authorities say a 17-year-old girl fell to her death from a cliff during a hike with friends on Friday.
Zoe McKinney, of Moab, was a student in her senior year of high school who had planned to cheer at a Saturday basketball game where her brother would play, CBS affiliate KUTV reported. McKinney’s loved ones and friends gathered at the trail where police say she fell 30 feet from “a sheer cliff face” to lay flowers in her honor, according to the station. Moab, with a residential population of just over 5,300 people, is a popular tourist spot because of its close proximity to some of the country’s most famous national parks.
McKinney fell at around 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon, while she and a group of friends hiked along one route through the area’s scenic Kane Creek Canyon called Moab Rim Trail, police said. The trail, described by the Bureau of Land Management as “a very tough and popular Jeep trail that is also adored by hikers,” offers a panoramic view of the Moab Valley, Arches National Park and the LaSal Mountains.
People placed flowers along the hiking trail in Moab, Utah, where 17-year-old Zoe McKinney fell to her death on Friday afternoon.
Arielle Harrison, KUTV
“Tragically, a 17 year old female somehow slipped and fell approximately 30 feet off of a sheer cliff face,” the Moab City Police Department said in a news release, confirming McKinney’s death on Friday. “Friends called 911 and attempted to find a way to get to the victim, but there was no safe way to do so.”
Police officers responded to the scene alongside personnel from the sheriff’s office, fire department, county search and rescue and emergency medical services teams, authorities said, adding that they “worked vigorously to climb to the area above the victim.” Responders used “harnesses and climbing gear with ropes” to reach McKinney, who was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries sustained in the fall, according to police.
“Moab Police Department wants to extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends,” the department said in a statement. “We recognize the devastating impact the loss of a beloved young woman and friend has in this small community, but know that the wonderful people of Moab will band together to support and comfort her family and friends at this time.”
McKinney was later identified in a statement released by the local Grand County High School, where the teenager had been enrolled.
“The purpose of this statement is to inform you that this afternoon a 17 year old high school student, Zoe McKinney, passed away,” the high school wrote on Facebook. “The school community is grieving with Zoe’s family and will provide love and support in any way we we can, including having therapists available at school on Monday. Zoe was a remarkable student and we will honor her memory throughout the remainder of this senior year.”
A staff member at the school has since created “Zoe Strong” t-shirts, which are available for purchase on its apparel website. Nearly all of the proceeds will benefit McKinney’s family, according to the site description. A GoFundMe campaign has also been launched to collect donations for the family’s funeral expenses. The campaign received nearly $12,000 of its $15,000 goal as of Monday morning.
As Utah State men’s basketball player Max Schluga stepped up to the free throw line during Saturday night’s game against Colorado State, the 6’4” junior heard something disturbing coming from the stands. “Russia! Russia!” opposing fans chanted at Schluga – who is from Ukraine.
Schluga, whose hometown is Kyiv, still has family in the war-torn country, which has been under attack from Russia for almost a year.
After the game, a statement was posted on the Colorado State Rams Twitter.
Following tonight’s basketball game, we became aware that a small group of individuals in our student section chanted “Russia” at a student-athlete from Utah State, who is from the Ukraine.
“Following tonight’s basketball game, we became aware that a small group of individuals in our student section chanted ‘Russia’ at a student-athlete from Utah State, who is from the Ukraine,” the statement reads.
“On behalf of Colorado State, we apologize to the student-athlete and Utah State,” the statement continues. “This is a violation of our steadfast belief in the Mountain West Sportsmanship Policy and University Principles of Community.”
The school said “every participant, student, and fan should feel welcomed” in its venues, and “for something like this to have occurred is unacceptable at Colorado State.”
Some criticized the apology’s use of “the Ukraine,” which is the way Russians typically refer to the former Soviet constituent state. Ukraine and Western nations generally refer to the independent nation simply as “Ukraine.”
Colorado State Head Men’s Basketball Coach Niko Medved also shared a statement on Twitter: “I have so much respect for [Utah State University Basketball] and Max Shulga. We have amazing fans and students but this is not acceptable! My sincere apologies.”
The day after the game, Utah State Athletics shared a statement about the chants toward Schluga, saying they fully support him and his family in Ukraine.
Statement from Utah State Athletics regarding last night’s game against Colorado State. pic.twitter.com/AfelA0eskl
“The incident that occurred during our men’s basketball game at Colorado State last night was inappropriate and unacceptable,” the statement reads. “We appreciate the Colorado state administration and basketball staff for not condoning such behavior.”
Schluga has played in Ukrainian basketball leagues – even during the war with Russia. Last summer, he played for his home country in the European Championships, during which his team ranked No. 7.
On Saturday, Utah won the game against Colorado – 88 to 79.
Colorado State University has apologized to Utah State’s Ukrainian junior guard after spectators chanted ‘Russia” toward him at a men’s basketball game in Fort Collins, Colorado, on Saturday night.
“We became aware that a small group of individuals in our student section chanted ‘Russia’ at a student-athlete from Utah State, who is from the Ukraine. On behalf of Colorado State, we apologize to the student-athlete and Utah State,” the school wrote in a series of tweets early Sunday.
The chant could be heard when Max Shulga, who is from Kyiv, went to the free throw line late in the game. Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, has been subjected to much of Russia’s violent assault on the country, from intense shelling to the killing of civilians attempting to flee and attacks on civilian settlements.
“This is a violation of our steadfast belief in the Mountain West Sportsmanship Policy and University Principles of Community,” Colorado State continued. “Every participant, student, and fan should feel welcomed in our venues, and for something like this to have occurred is unacceptable at Colorado State.”
Niko Medved, Colorado State head men’s basketball coach, also apologized on Twitter saying, “I have so much respect for @USUBasketball and Max Shulga. We have amazing fans and students but this is not acceptable! My sincere apologies.”
The Mountain West Conference told CNN in a statement they are “aware of the situation and are currently reviewing the incident.”
Utah State University said in a statement “its athletics department fully supports Max Shulga, and his family, who reside in Ukraine.”
“The incident that occurred during our men’s basketball game at Colorado State last night was inappropriate and unacceptable,” the statement read. “We appreciate the Colorado State administration and basketball staff for not condoning such behavior.”
Shulga finished with nine points and six assists in Utah State’s 88-79 win against Colorado State.
February 24 will mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s front with Russia is at least 810 miles long. It’s moved back and forth as small villages have been suffering a Russian onslaught in the east of the country. There is talk now, from Ukrainian officials, that Russia is planning a major assault in the next few weeks.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill on Saturday that bans gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, the latest in a string of transphobic legislation that Republicans have been circulating in the state and across the country.
Senate Bill 16 bans providers from performing surgical procedures on youth if the purpose is for gender-affirming care. The new law also creates a moratorium on future access to hormone treatment for new youth patients beginning on May 3, and grandfathers in existing youth patients currently receiving hormone treatment prior to that date.
The legislation directs the Utah Department of Health to conduct a “systematic review of the medical evidence” on gender-affirming treatments. The American Academy of Pediatrics has already stated that hormone therapy is appropriate for early adolescence onward, while gender-affirming procedures like “top surgery” ― which helps to match a trans person’s chest with their gender identity ― are appropriate for adults.
“Legislation that impacts our most vulnerable youth requires careful consideration and deliberation,” the Republican governor said in a statement. “While not a perfect bill, we are grateful for Sen. [Michael] Kennedy’s more nuanced and thoughtful approach to this terribly divisive issue. More and more experts, states and countries around the world are pausing these permanent and life-altering treatments for new patients until more and better research can help determine the long-term consequences.”
Prior to the governor signing the bill, the ACLU’s chapter in Utah urged Cox to veto the proposed legislation banning gender-affirming health care. In a letter to the governor, the organization said the bill would have damaging effects on medical care and violate constitutional rights.
“Trans kids are kids ― they deserve to grow up without constant political attacks on their lives and health care; we will defend that right,” the civil rights group tweeted after Cox signed the bill.
The Republican governor is no stranger to anti-trans legislation. Last year, Cox vetoed a ban on trans students playing sports for the team that aligns with their gender identity. While he “struggles to understand so much of it … I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy and compassion,” he said at the time.
Republican lawmakers across the country are flooding their state legislatures with proposals that threaten bodily autonomy, including abortion access and gender-affirming health care. Utah is just one of almost a dozen states where those lawmakers have introduced dozens of bills attempting to restrict trans health care access.
According to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, teenagers experiencing gender dysphoria can begin taking hormones at age 14, and can have certain surgeries at 15 or 17. While the group acknowledged there are potential risks, it said last year that it was unethical to withhold such treatments to youth when it reduces suicide risk.
“We know many families are frightened and wondering what will happen next. We are here for you, and are seeking solutions,” Equality Utah, the state’s largest LGBTQ rights group, said on Saturday.
“We are working with our legal team to assess the full ramifications of this bill. What is clear though, is that a legal challenge is inevitable,” the group continued. “This is not the end of this work. In many ways, it has just begun.”
Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed a bill Saturday that bans hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgery for transgender youth, making Utah the first state in 2023 to ban such care.
Senate Bill 16 provides new restrictions on trans youth seeking medical care in Utah, specifically banning “hormonal transgender treatment to new patients who were not diagnosed with gender dysphoria” before the bill went into effect, and “sex characteristic surgical procedures on a minor for the purpose of effectuating a sex change.”
SB16 also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct “a systematic review of the medical evidence regarding hormonal transgender treatments,” and subsequently, to “provide recommendations to the Legislature.”
Cox said in a statement that the bill is not “perfect,” but ultimately wrote in its defense, “More and more experts, states and countries around the world are pausing these permanent and life-altering treatments for new patients until more and better research can help determine the long-term consequences.”
“While we understand our words will be of little comfort to those who disagree with us, we sincerely hope that we can treat our transgender families with more love and respect as we work to better understand the science and consequences behind these procedures,” Cox added.
The Utah chapter of the ACLU was quick to condemn the bill on Twitter, writing, “Trans kids are kids — they deserve to grow up without constant political attacks on their lives and health care.”
Trans kids are kids — they deserve to grow up without constant political attacks on their lives and health care; we will defend that right. We see you. We Support You. #transkidsmatterpic.twitter.com/znfsPi7Kh2
“We will defend that right,” the organization added. “We see you. We Support You.”
Cox had not publicly signaled support or disapproval for the bill until signing it this weekend. The governor previously made headlines in 2022 for vetoing a bill that would bar trans athletes from playing girls’ sports, citing suicide statistics.
“Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few,” wrote Cox in a letter to the state’s legislative leaders at the time.
“I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do. But I want them to live,” he added.
The legislature ultimately overrode Cox’s veto.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Early gender affirming care is crucial to overall health and well-being” for trans and nonbinary youth, “as it allows the child or adolescent to focus on social transitions and can increase their confidence while navigating the healthcare system.”
Thousands of New Yorkers took to the streets of Manhattan to participate on the Reclaim Pride Coalition’s (RPC) fourth annual Queer Liberation March, where no police, politicians or corporations were allowed to participate. This year, the march highlighted Trans and BIPOC Lives, Reproductive Justice, and Bodily Autonomy.
Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images
But the rights of trans Americans have continued to be up for debate in America, with more and more states introducing legislation that restricts or bans access to healthcare, prohibits trans people from participating in sports concurrent with their gender identities and more.
Even so, more than two dozen states tried to enact measures that would either heavily restrict or completely ban access to gender-affirming care for trans youth in 2022, according to The Hill.
Additionally, 20 bills that targeted trans medical care were pre-filed in at least nine states for 2023, including Utah.
For the first time since 2020, the Sundance Film Festival is being held in-person in Park City, Utah, beginning this weekend. John Nein, director of strategic initiatives for the festival, spoke to CBS News about what it’s like being back in-person.
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After the COVID-19 pandemic forced it go completely virtual for the past two years, the 2023 Sundance Film Festival — one of the leading showcases for independent narrative and documentary films — returned Thursday with in-person screenings to kick off the festival in Park City, Utah.
The showcase, which runs for 11 days, will also make virtual screenings available across the U.S. via Sundance’s digital platform from Jan. 24-30.
The festival includes 110 feature-length films from 28 countries, most of which are world premieres.
General atmosphere of the Egyptian Theatre marquee at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 19, 2023 in Park City, Utah.
Getty Images
There will be documentaries about actors Michael J. Fox and Brooke Shields, NBA star Stephen Curry, author Judy Blume, and rock ‘n’ roll artists Little Richard and the Indigo Girls.
Other documentaries will also cover such topics as the war in Ukraine (“20 Days in Mariupol”), the pandemic (“A Still Small Voice”), refugees from North Korea (“Beyond Utopia”), South African apartheid (“Milisuthando”), the effects of Alzheimer’s (“The Eternal Memory”), sexual assault (“Victim/Suspect”), the hardships facing farmers and restaurants during COVID (“Food and Country”), indigenous and Native American rights (“Twice Colonized,” “Bad Press”), body image issues (“Is There Anybody Out There?”), the societal impact of photography (“Fantastic Machine”), cults (“AUM: The Cult at the End of the World”), film fanaticism (“Kim’s Video”), and protections for transgender sex workers (“The Stroll”).
A last-minute addition to the festival lineup, announced Thursday, is the Doug Liman documentary “Justice,” about the investigation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Narrative films include features starring Jennifer Connelly (“Bad Behaviour”), Emilia Jones (“Cat Person”), Cynthia Erivo (“Drift”), Daisy Ridley (“Sometimes I Think About Dying”), Emilia Clarke (“The Pod Generation”), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“You Hurt My Feelings”), Will Forte (“Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out”), and Tiffany Haddish (“Landscape With Invisible Hand”). There is also a new feature by “Once” director John Carney (“Flora and Son”).
The Midnight section offers genre films best watched late at night, including the macabre “Talk to Me” and “Sorcery.”
The festival also hosts a series of filmmaker conversations called “Beyond Film,” featuring Barry Jenkins, Dakota Johnson, Randall Park, Ruth Reichl and Marlee Matlin.
Although not all films have been previewed at press time, below are some of the highlights from the first few days of the festival. Additional highlights will be published as Sundance continues.
A scene from the documentary “Little Richard: I Am Everything.”
Bungalow Media + Entertainment/Sundance Film Festival
Richard Wayne Penniman grew up Black and queer in the segregated South. As Little Richard, his musical genius and showmanship would launch him to fame as one of the founding fathers of rock ‘n’ roll. He had a spate of hits in the mid-1950s (including “Tutti Frutti” and “Long Tall Sally”) that also became hits for White artists covering his songs. But before pop music could become more integrated, Richard shifted gears, dropped out of the rock scene, and studied at a seminary to become a preacher and gospel singer. But not for long.
Filled with rich and captivating concert footage spanning decades, Lisa Cortés’ documentary perfectly captures the power of Little Richard on stage, including the fluid sexuality he presented in performance, becoming a trailblazer for such artists as David Bowie and Prince. The numerous interview clips also show his progression from white-hot rock star to gospel artist to elder statesman of American music (with side forays of making controversial statements about homosexuality, both pro and con). Captivating and energizing, like its magnetic subject. [Side note: The film could have done without the excessive pixie dust superimposed onto footage; Little Richard was magical enough!] A co-production of CNN Films and HBO Max. Screens Jan. 19, 20, 21, 27, 28; streams online Jan. 24-30.
For two decades, Kim’s Video was a much loved, guerilla-style video store on Manhattan’s Lower East Side whose stock not only included rare genre movies from around the globe, but also bootlegs of esoteric titles that would be confiscated by authorities (and replenished, with startling regularity). The proprietor, Korean entrepreneur Youngman Kim, eventually succumbed to the death of the video rental store in 2008 by donating his entire stock of 55,000 VHS tapes and DVDs to Salemi, Italy, on the condition that they would use the collection as the basis of a cultural institution, part of the struggling town’s bid to boost tourism. But when documentary filmmaker (and loyal Kim’s customer) David Redmon went to Salemi in search of Kim’s videos, he discovered this cultural treasure moldering away behind (un)locked doors. And so, he hatched a plan. A wonderfully tongue-in-cheek tribute to film fanaticism which examines both European bureaucracy and one bemused businessman’s legacy. Screens Jan. 19, 20, 21, 22, 26; streams online Jan. 24-30.
As mankind looks again to the Moon, and to Mars, for extended periods of human exploration in outer space, NASA tries to prepare for the psychological deprivation of long-haul space expeditions. Dr. Al Holland, a NASA psychologist, has studied astronauts working on the International Space Station to determine the effects of their isolation and long-term separation from family and friends, to gauge how those effects might jeopardize a mission to a planet tens of millions of miles away.
Ido Mizrahy’s documentary examines those difficulties, from the astronauts’ Zoom calls to their kids back home, to the failure of experiments in living in manufactured isolation. The film proves that the human desire for exploration, noble as it is, does not come without huge personal costs. Screens Jan. 19, 20, 21, 24, 27; streams online Jan. 24-30.
A scene from the documentary “20 Days in Mariupol.”
Frontline PBS, Associated Press/Sundance Film Festival
There are a few notable horror films playing at Sundance, but nothing can match the real-life horrors inflicted upon the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the early days of Russia’s invasion. Associated Press journalists Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka and Vasilisa Stepanenko were the last remaining Western journalists in Mariupol as it came under bombardment from Russian shells, striking civilian homes and hospitals, and turning the city of nearly half-a-million into rubble. The film recounts the journalists’ efforts (under very real threats to their lives) to capture the devastating impact of the war, medical staff’s herculean attempts to save the wounded (including infants and young children), and the predicament of now-homeless residents seeking shelter from the onslaught. It also traces the reporters’ struggles to get internet or cellphone signals while dodging tanks in order to share their reporting with the world. And it captures the final results: images of medieval-style brutality, death and destruction disseminated by the AP to global media.
As documentarians of one nation’s barbaric assault upon another, the journalists act as clear-eyed witnesses to Putin’s inhumanity, in a warning to the world. Chernov, the narrator, describes what he has recorded with absolutely zero overstatement: “This is painful to watch. But it must be painful to watch.”
Essential viewing, especially for anyone who harbors any doubt about Ukraine’s right to defend its sovereignty. A co-production of Frontline PBS and the Associated Press. Screens Jan. 20, 21, 22, 25, 26; streams online Jan. 24-30.
The overfishing of our oceans is an environmental catastrophe in the making, but it is also a catastrophe in the preservation of traditional ways of life for Koli fisherman along the shores of Mumbai. Rakesh and Ganesh are friends who have taken different trajectories; one fishes the traditional way, on a tiny boat of his own in shallow waters; the other operates a massive industrial boat with a large crew in the deep Indian Ocean, hoping to score a large catch that will help pay his massive expenses. But Chinese fishing boats are depleting the waters off India, increasing Ganesh’s frustrations about his business’s failure.
Director Sarvnik Kaur’s film presents the friends’ struggles — and the increasing tension in their relationship as Ganesh tries to convince his friend to join his ventures — as a microcosm for the technological advances that are plundering the Earth and making livelihoods all the more difficult to achieve, and which tempt Ganesh to employ illegal measures to try to keep his head above water. Jan. 20, 21, 22, 26, 27; streams online Jan. 24-30.
The International Chopin Piano Competition, held every five years in Warsaw, Poland, is one of the supreme showcases for classical musicians in the world, helping to launch unique talents on the global stage. As such, it is a cause for joy, agony, distress, heartbreak and self-induced terror among the young musicians who are competing, some of whom aren’t even adults.
Jakub Piątek’s engrossing fly-on-the-wall documentary covers the most recent competition, held in 2021 (it’d been delayed a year because of COVID), and introduces us to many of the young artists from around the world who came to Warsaw in the hopes of grabbing the brass ring. There is less music than you might expect, as the film focuses more on the disharmony that the competition causes within some of the contestants’ psyches, as they maneuver the logistics of competition rounds and the fragility of their emotions while trying to deliver confident performances to a demanding audience, resulting in a nail-biter of a finale. (One lesson learned: Hair spray may not help.) Screens Jan. 20, 21, 22, 24, 26; streams online Jan. 24-30.
A scene from the documentary “5 Seasons of Revolution.”
The filmmaker behind this eyewitness account of Syrians’ fight against authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad goes by the name of Lina (as well as several other aliases, depending upon her audience). Beginning in the days of the Arab Spring, Lina and her cohort of activist and journalist friends document demonstrations against Syria’s oppressive regime, but soon stop believing that its downfall is imminent, at least not without incalculably large costs. One example of the painful consequences they witness is a shop owner who refuses to open his business out of solidarity with an anti-Assad general strike, and is consequently stuffed into the trunk of a car by security forces. The destruction of the city of Homs, in retaliation for anti-Assad protests, is horrific, especially compared to the relative calm in Damascus, where the regime’s grip was solid.
Shot surreptitiously over several years, “5 Seasons of Revolution” is a vivid testament to the challenges these friends confront as both participants in protests and their documenters. Screens Jan. 21, 22, 23, 25, 27; streams online Jan. 24-30.
A scene from the documentary “The Deepest Breath.”
Extreme sports don’t get more extreme than this: diving, alone and without an auxiliary tank, to depths of 100 meters or more, under pressures that shrink your lungs to half their normal size, and under stresses that could cause blackouts and even death upon your return to the surface. For audiences who may not understand why someone would willingly do this, Laura McGann’s gripping documentary presents its subjects — Italian freediver Alessia Zecchini and Irish freediving instructor Stephen Keenan — whose fascination with the sport, and their drive to set records, led them to each other, and to a fateful training session deep in the “Blue Hole” tunnel off a beach in Dahab, Egypt in 2017. Using a vast archive of creepily-beautiful footage from freediving competitions, and contemporaneous and recent interviews, McGann’s film makes us understand the allure of the sport at the same time that it presents an utterly horrifying picture of how vulnerable a human being can be, alone amid the silent, dark depths. Screens Jan. 21, 22, 24, 28, 29. Not available via streaming. The film will be released later this year on Netflix.
To purchase packages and individual tickets go to the Sundance website.
Download the Sundance 2023 mobile app (iOS and Android). You can also watch this year’s festival on your Smart TV via Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon FireTV.
ENOCH, Utah (AP) — A Utah man fatally shot his five children, his mother-in-law and his wife and then killed himself two weeks after the woman had filed for divorce, according to authorities and public records.
Police also revealed during a Thursday news conference that officers investigated the 42-year-old man and his family a “couple of years prior,” suggesting possible earlier problems inside the household. Enoch Police Chief Jackson Ames did not elaborate.
Investigators were aware of the divorce petition but didn’t know if it was the motivation behind the killings, Mayor Geoffrey Chesnut said.
The killings rocked the small town of Enoch in southern Utah about halfway between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. It’s in one of the fastest-growing areas of the country, and communities of new homes on big lots are made up primarily of large families that belong, like most in Utah, to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church. Many residents work and do business in nearby Cedar City, a city of about 35,000 that serves as a commercial hub for Enoch, which doesn’t have its own downtown.
The deceased were members of the faith and well known in town. Many residents served in church alongside members of the slain family or went to school with the children, city officials said.
“This is a tremendous blow to many families who have spent many nights with these individuals who are now gone,” Chesnut said.
City Manager Rob Dotson said people are “feeling loss, they’re feeling pain and they have a lot of questions.”
Community members gathered Thursday evening to mourn and sing hymns in a private vigil at a church up the street from the home where the victims were found the previous day.
Officials said they believe Michael Haight killed his wife, 40-year-old Tausha Haight; his mother-in-law; and the couple’s five children. Each appeared to have gunshot wounds.
The three girls and two boys ranged in age from 4 to 17 and included 7-year-old twins, authorities said. Tausha Haight’s mother, 78-year-old Gail Earl, was said to have been staying with the family to help during a difficult time.
Court records show that Tausha Haight filed for divorce Dec. 21. Her lawyer said Thursday that Haight had been served with the papers Dec. 27. The reasons for the divorce were unknown, in part because Utah law keeps details of divorce proceedings sealed from the public.
Tausha Haight and other members of the family were seen the night before the killings at a church group for young women, Chesnut said. Police were dispatched to the family’s home Wednesday afternoon for a welfare check after someone reported that she had missed an appointment earlier in the week, city officials said.
Family mass killings have become a disturbingly common tragedy across the country. In 2022 there were 17 of them, according to a database compiled by USA Today, The Associated Press and Northeastern University. Ten were murder-suicides, and 14 were shootings. The database defines a mass killing as four or more people slain, not including the assailant.
James Park, who represented Tausha Haight in the divorce case, said she had not expressed any fear that her husband would physically hurt her. Park declined to elaborate, citing the investigation into the killings. He said he met with Tausha Haight only twice, mostly recently on Tuesday, and she “was an incredibly nice lady.”
The White House said in a statement that President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were mourning with the Enoch community. It called for further steps to reduce gun violence, now the leading cause of death for children in the U.S.
The home where the victims were found was decorated with Christmas lights and located in a neighborhood of newly built single-family houses on a ridge overlooking Enoch. It has a view of houses with snow-covered roofs and mountains in the distance. Half the surrounding block was cordoned off by police tape.
The Cedar City area, historically agricultural, is being transformed by new subdivisions. Cattle and sheep line the highway at the edge of town, along with signs that advertise “Custom New Homes” and recreation in southern Utah’s famous national parks.
Sharon Huntsman of Cedar City came to the neighborhood with a bouquet of white flowers Thursday morning. She said the deaths had deeply rattled Iron County and cried as she propped up the bouquet in the snow at a makeshift memorial where neighbors left stuffed animals and flowers.
“It’s just one big community,” she said. “We all have one heavenly father.”
Archives from a local newspaper capture moments in Michael Haight’s life beginning with a picture of him laughing as a baby in an announcement marking his first birthday. He was in the Boy Scouts and went on a church mission in Brazil.
In 2003, Haight married Tausha Earl at a church temple. She was from Overton, Nevada, about two hours south of Cedar City, where he grew up. As an adult, Haight worked as an insurance agent.
Tausha Haight’s Facebook page showed pictures of the family looking happy in picturesque settings of Utah, and in front of a large statue of Jesus.
Jennie Earl, who is Tausha’s sister-in-law and a member of the Utah State Board of Education, posted a photo on Facebook of Tausha and her children and wrote about the “stiff competition” to be their favorite aunt.
“I pray that Christ’s love will mend our broken hearts and fill us with forgiveness and peace,” Earl wrote. She declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press.
Community members who gathered at Enoch City Hall to listen to Thursday’s news conference said it was wrenching to have to tell their own children that their peers may not be at school the next day.
“We told them last night,” said city councilman Richard Jensen, a father of eight. “We gathered them around for a family prayer type of thing. We told them a family in town, everyone had been killed and when they show up to school tomorrow it’s possible kids will be missing.“
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Associated Press news researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York and reporter Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report.
PARK CITY, Utah — The Park City Mountain employee who died in a chairlift accident was a 29-year-old ski patroller from Millcreek Utah, Summit County Sheriff Justin Martinez said on Wednesday.
Christian Helger died on Monday morning after being ejected from a chairlift shaken by a tree that fell onto a lift cable, resort officials and police said.
“Our prayers are with the Helger family as they grieve the loss of Christian,” Martinez said in a statement on Wednesday.
Representatives of Park City Mountain and the Summit County Sheriff believe Helger fell at least 25 feet (7.6 meters) from the Short Cut chairlift into a deep ravine around 11:25 a.m. on Monday.
Park City ski patrol attempted to treat his injuries and evacuated 10 others who also were on the chairlift.
Summit County Sheriff Captain Andrew Wright told KSL-TV on Tuesday that Helger fell to terrain that was difficult to access. Ski patrol members took at least 20 minutes to reach the victim and dig him out of what deputies called “chest-deep snow” before attempting to treat him. Wright said the department’s investigation may consider variables including snow, tree health and tree proximity to the lift.
PARK CITY, Utah — An employee at a Utah ski resort died Monday after being ejected from a chairlift shaken by a tree that fell onto a lift cable, resort officials and police said.
Representatives of Park City Mountain and the Summit County Sheriff said a 29-year-old resort employee fell at least 25 feet (7.6 meters) from the Short Cut chairlift into a deep ravine around 11:25 a.m.
The Park City ski patrol attempted to treat his injuries and evacuated 10 others who also were on the chairlift.
“We are all deeply saddened by this tragic incident, and we will be providing support for our employees as we grieve this devastating loss,” said Deirdra Walsh, the resort’s vice president and chief operating officer.
Park City declined to identify the employee. The Summit County Sheriff planned on Wednesday to release the name of the accident victim, a resident of Millcreek, following the wishes of his family.
Summit County Sheriff Captain Andrew Wright told KSL-TV that the man was a ski patroller who fell to terrain that was difficult to access. Ski patrol members took at least 20 minutes to reach the victim and dig him out of what deputies called “chest-deep snow” before attempting to treat him.
“This wasn’t over a run,” Wright said, noting that the department’s investigation may consider variables including snow, tree health and tree proximity to the lift.
The Short Cut chairlift remained closed while the investigation continued Tuesday.
As record snowfall continues in Utah, Park City has received 56 inches (1.4 meters) in the past week. Lift maintenance crews have been in a labor dispute with the resort over the past year, demanding higher wages, safer working conditions and more efforts to retain experienced mechanics.
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This article corrects a previous version stating the chairlift accident leading to the death of a Park City employee on Monday was caused by a tree shaking the chairlift’s cable and ejecting him, not severing the cable.
