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In recent years, faith has increasingly become more integrated into the public sphere. The Supreme Court has voted in favor of allowing religious minorities to wear religious attire at work and allowing accommodations for workers who want to take a certain day off for religious reasons. Salesforce runs a religious resource group called Faithforce, and many corporations like Intel and American Airlines have faith programs. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney has cited his faith to explain his decisions, including his votes during the impeachment trials of President Donald Trump, and Melinda Gates has spoken about how her Catholic faith influences her philanthropic efforts. With the wider acceptance of entwining the personal and professional, Miller’s questions about work and faith are gaining new relevance. If you’re allowed, and even encouraged, to make your faith visible every day at work, what would that actually look like? | By Mariya Manzhos

Following filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Redbox is in the process of liquidating its assets, including the 24,000 red DVD rental kiosks found at locations such as Walmart and McDonald's. The company has struggled for years and, in 2022, with a debt of $325 million, was acquired by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc., per NBC News. Since then, its debt has surged to $1 billion. In addition to shutting down kiosks, more than 1,000 employees will lose their jobs. During a town hall meeting, employees learned they would not receive back pay due to the company’s financial struggles, according to NBC News. | By Chase Martin

Business leaders in Utah and across the country continue to post reactions to President Joe Biden’s weekend announcement that he would be stepping away from his pursuit of a second term in office. While some responses to the news included pointed partisan commentary, many simply signaled their support of Biden’s decision in the aftermath of a disastrous performance during the June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump, one that left party leaders reeling and spurred widespread calls for the incumbent to end his pursuit of four more years in office. | By Art Raymond Read more about what the business leaders said here: bit.ly/3WjljyQ

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While the Marco Polo app has been around since 2014, its use soared during the pandemic, with people flocking to the app for human connection and a glimpse of their loved ones. In April of 2020, in one 24-hour period, 20 million video messages were shared in the app, according to TechCrunch. But even as life returned to normal, many people have stuck with Marco Polo, and the app remains a powerful way to maintain connection. At a time when our communication is often truncated to texts and emails, and loneliness has risen to a public health crisis, Marco Polo offers an antithesis to the doom-scrolling and unsatisfying dopamine drip of social media. | By Mariya Manzhos Read more about Marco Polo here: bit.ly/4cNRHRh

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Samuel Benson is the national political correspondent for the Deseret News. He covers politics and the 2024 presidential election. He recently interviewed Lee Greenwood, who sang "God Bless The USA" at the Republican National Convention, about why he is selling patriotic Bibles. "I knew Lee Greenwood's 'God Bless the USA' would be played, over and over again, during the Fourth of July weekend," Benson said. "But did people know that Greenwood was using his song, along with Trump's endorsement, to sell a custom Bible that includes copies of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Pledge of Allegiance? I got Greenwood on Zoom to discuss — along with a Utah evangelical man who led the effort against the volume, which he deemed 'Christian nationalism.' Both interviews were interesting. And both made very clear the dangers of mixing Christianity, or any religious belief, with partisan politics." Read more here: bit.ly/4dcbPfD

The Deseret News has covered Utah ties in the Olympics for years — from Tokyo to Beijing and beyond. As the world now turns its attention to the Paris 2024 Olympics, our reporters are bringing readers to the starting line, finish line and all the glorious seconds in between. Even before the Olympic flame arrives in Paris, the Deseret News will be on the ground in the City of Lights for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) final vote and announcement of the city who will host the 2034 Winter Games. In the early morning hours of July 24, the world will know if Salt Lake City, Utah, has won the bid to host the 2034 Winter Olympics as the IOC votes in Paris. Deseret News Olympics reporter Lisa Riley Roche and editor Sarah Jane Weaver will be in Paris with the Utah delegation for the announcement.

Ethan Bauer writes features, profiles and explanatory pieces as a staff writer for Deseret Magazine. He recently interviewed Jimmer Fredette, who was named to the U.S. men’s 3-on-3 Olympic basketball team.  “I was 15 years old when Jimmermania was happening, and I wasn’t a big college basketball fan, so I didn’t follow it too closely. Living in Miami, Florida, I had no connection whatsoever to BYU or Utah or the Church, either," Bauer said. "But I do remember his name coming up when playing basketball with some friends after school. One of them pulled up from near half court, shouted 'Jimmer range!' and clanked a shot off the corner of the backboard. As far as I know, that memory is the only time anything related to Utah/BYU/the Church penetrated my consciousness until I started working here five years ago." "For that reason, speaking to Jimmer was a unique thrill because, in a way, my journey to this moment in my life and career started with him. That’s why I wanted this story to look deeply at the significance of Jimmermania as a cultural force. As something capable of reaching someone as distant as a non-basketball-fan teenager across the country. A force like that is something special and unique, which is why I’ll really be looking forward to watching him in Paris this summer. We’re a long way from Jimmermania, but from what his teammates and coaches told me, watching him today is still pretty special and unique, and given that he’s getting on in years, it could be the last time the people he captivated in the past get to see that.” Read Bauer's article about what Jimmer and Whitney Fredette had to say about the path to the Paris Olympics here: bit.ly/4bKwkPr #BehindTheScenes #Olympics2024