In August, a Thai distributor halted sales of the video game Grand Theft Auto after a teenager confessed to robbing and murdering a taxi driver while trying to recreate a scene from the controversial game. Grand Theft Auto, now available in its fourth edition, has been criticized for depicting violence including beatings, carjackings, drive-by shootings, [...]

PROVO — Eric Baker never thought of band as an extreme sport until he joined the "Power of the Wasatch" as a freshman at Brigham Young University. More…

Just as vinyl once gave way to compact discs as the main physical medium for music, could CDs be replaced now by a fingernail-sized memory card? Perhaps not entirely, but SanDisk Corp., four major record labels and retailers Best Buy Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are hoping that albums sold on microSD memory cards will [...]

County Council approves children's museum budget More…

Years ago, when Jim Barry traipsed across the country to show off the latest and greatest consumer electronics gadgets to the news media, he needed at least two large bags and sometimes a box or two to carry it all. More…

The Center for Digital Government survey also included for the first time sustainability efforts, especially in the area of environmentally sensitive IT. More…

"Forever Strong" is the slickest, most polished film that has emerged from a recent glut of locally produced features. It's also the best of this group, in terms of quality — and that's not just by a little bit either. While it does boast some of the expected tropes and formulas of cinematic sports dramas, [...]

The Salt Lake County Center for the Arts has delayed the release of its draft Cultural Facilities Master Plan until sometime in mid-October. More…

When Odyssey Dance Theatre's Thayne Jasperson talked with the Deseret News a few hours before he took the stage with 11 others for the "So You Think You Can Dance" tour, he said he hoped the show was going to be everything he wanted it to be. More…

PROVO — Brigham Young University is launching a reality-TV series. No, Ute fans, the title is not "Survivor: Provo." Nor will it be called "Biggest Loser: UCLA," Cougar fans. Or even "American Idol: The BYU Quarterback Edition." But the producers might have dubbed the show "Cosmonanny," after the BYU sports mascot. The straight-laced, religious university [...]

A family-life reality show — the first of its kind to air on BYU Television — dealing with issues of marriage, parenting, finances and more, is set to launch tonight. More…

A U.S. Muslim advocacy group Tuesday asked the Federal Election Commission to investigate whether a nonprofit group that distributed a controversial DVD about Islam in newspapers nationwide is a "front" for an Israel-based group with a stealth goal of helping Republican presidential candidate John McCain. More…

September 19, 2008 (New York, NY) – Glenn Beck received the 2008 Marconi Award for Network Syndicated Personality of the Year from the National Association of Broadcasters. The Award was announced Thursday night at the annual NAB Marconi Radio Awards Dinner. Beck’s self-titled national show “The Glenn Beck Program,” syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, launched [...]

Who doesn’t want to be successful? Who doesn’t want to achieve in their field and find fame, fortune, or power? This kind of success is about achieving measurable results. But there’s another kind of success that is not so measurable—the success of being significant in someone else’s life. American swimmer Michael Phelps has won more [...]

All people are capable of achieving great things. Many of the things that are accomplished will be through the encouraging words and love we receive from great mentors. Award-winning tenor, physician and Paralympian Ronan Tynan spoke to BYU students in a forum address Tuesday. He detailed events he has experienced throughout his life and the [...]

There are a few kids who are Vivien Cardone's age who haven't even begun to assess their careers and futures. But at 15, she is already living in what she calls a state of "semi-retirement." More…

Perhaps these words of advice are too late. Perhaps all you high school students are settled into the semester and the time for changing your schedule is over. Or, perhaps you're so completely booked in other after-school activities you can hardly think about taking on another. But, if it's not too late … Get in [...]

Murray Louis remembers what it was like to work with the late choreographer/artist Alwin Nikolais on "Tower." "First of all, it wasn't called 'Tower,"' said Louis during a rehearsal break at the Rose Wagner Center a couple of weeks ago. "Nik developed the work as we went along." The work utilized scaffolding and the construction [...]

The 2008-09 season of Jazz at the Sheraton City Centre begins Monday with a performance by Eliane Elias. More…

The works of Norman Rockwell, renowned artist and official Boy Scouts of America illustrator for 50 years, are coming to Salt Lake City, courtesy of the Great Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The Joseph Smith Memorial Building will be the site of this free display of Boy Scout art on Oct. [...]

The Salt Lake Symphony kicks off its 33rd season Saturday picking up where it left off at the end of last season — bringing its audience works that are staples of the repertoire not often done by community orchestras. More…

Each year the Eccles Organ Festival at the Cathedral of the Madeleine attracts organists from around the world. Since the festival spans only five concerts (spread out over two months), it's not easy deciding on whom to invite. But each year, the festival brings Salt Lake audiences the widest possible group of performers representing the [...]

With the assistance of the Lord, parents can employ a tailored approach to help children reach their full potential. More…

The newly created Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program has named Janet Wolf as director. More…

PLEASANT GROVE — Brandon Mull, the author of the New York Times best-selling Fablehaven series, took time out of his schedule Thursday evening to answer questions posed from his many fans and participate in a book signing. More…

A research-based BYU reality show taking viewers into the homes of families of all kinds to watch them deal with issues of marriage, toddlers, teens, blended families, time and money will premiere Tuesday at 8 p.m. on BYU Television. More…

While Mormon culture has had some similar things come along (think CTR rings, for example), the way these changes seem to happen isn’t as straightforward or under the control of promoters. We don’t have mass media to speak of, so there isn’t a way to get a new cultural idea out for even most English-speaking [...]

The hangar-size LDS Conference Center really is too big for an orchestra concert. Fortunately, Brian Stokes Mitchell has enough talent and charisma to fill the cavernous space a couple of times over. Sharing the billing at the roughly biennial Tanner Gift of Music concert on Friday were opera great Denyce Graves, pops maestro Erich Kunzel, [...]

Cinderella twirls her final curtsy Saturday on a South Salt Lake stage. But her director and supporting cast are hoping for some help with their own "happily ever after." More…

The term "Mexican colonies" conjures family lore for many Valley Mormons. Some can pull family histories from their bookshelves with rich stories of persevering ancestors who lived in thriving northern Mexican enclaves where polygamy was practiced and the large families made a living in the isolation of the mountainous desert. More…