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The Salt Lake City Olympics planned for 2034 are now the Utah Games after organizers announced a new logo and name to reflect the multi-community work that goes into hosting the largest winter sports event on Earth. The state’s Governor, Spencer Cox, says the new logo has united peoplethough not in a good way. “It’s really brought people together because everyone seems to not like it,” Cox said at a recent press conference. [Image: Utah 2034] The new logo is temporary until the final emblem of the Games is released in 2029. It spells out “Utah” in irregularly shaped characters (does that say “IJTAH?”) that are stacked on top of “2034.” Its launch color palette is just black and white. Cox called the logo bold. “I’m a little old-fashioned and it’s certainly a bold logo,” he said. The comment section of one local Utah news site included reviews like “beyond terrible,” “a marketing disaster,” and “unreadable.” Some don’t like the name change that leaves out Salt Lake City. “It hurts,” Salt Lake County Mayor Erin Mendenhall told The Salt Lake Tribune. [Image: Utah 2034] A starting point, not a finish line This bare-bones logo, though, is just the beginning of what will become an expansive visual brand expressed across venues, apparel, and more. It’s a starting point, not a finish line. “I think that Olympics are uniquely a moment to do something new and different. And yet, many Olympics have bland and forgettable design,” Doug Thomas, an associate professor at Brigham Young University’s Department of Design and author of Never Use Futura, tells Fast Company. “Personally, I like that the Utah 2034 design team are swinging for the fences and trying something new and memorable.” [Image: Utah 2034] Utah organizers say the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allows for “transition logos” to “help the host regions build early awareness and momentum,” but they’re limited to typography only. The Utah 2034 mark, then, is a chance to introduce shapes through letters and numbers alone, the beginnings of a geometric visual language that could one day be revealed in a full Olympics brand expression. Just as the “Chrystal Rhythm” pattern of the 2002 Salt Lake City Games appeared in the snowflake-like Chrystal logo and was repeated across assets like venue signage and the iconic jackets worn by volunteers, the shapes in the letterforms of the Utah 2034 mark could well be repeated in future expressions of the brand. “The typography is recognizable, it is distinctive, and as such, opens space to create new meaning,” Thomas says. “The visual forms may not work in every application, but for a transition team logo, this is excellent as a starting point.” [Image: Utah 2034] Brand inspiration Organizers say the shapes of the letters in the logo were inspired by Utah’s landscape. It’s most noticeable in the stylized A designed to evoke southern Utah’s Delicate Arch. Other characters were drawn to resemble rivers, mountains, canyons, and petroglyphs, and one can imagine these same angles and shapes showing up in Olympic pictograms that denote sports and venues. [Image: Utah 2034] The letterforms are monospaced and laid out on a grid. Inspired by the urban grids that Mormon pioneers laid out in cities across Utah and the American West in the late 1800s, it gives the otherwise unusual logo a sense of balance. The logo was designed by a project team led by Molly Mazzolini, cofounder of the Salt Lake City design studio Elevate Creative. As for the name change, Salt Lake shouldn’t take it personally. Cox, the governor, says naming the Games for Utah instead of Salt Lake City was a decision made following decades of feedback from other cities and counties in the Salt Lake metro area that also hosted events during the 2002 Games but didn’t get credit. But it’s also aligned with the recent trend of Winter Olympics naming themselves after multiple cities or a region instead of a single city. The 2026 Milano Cortina Games are named for both Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy as they’re being held across a wide region, and they 2030 Games are named for the French Alps. In Utah, where events will be held from Provo to Park City, organizers are going with the state name. And by embedding the geography of Utah into the very letters of their new logo, designers found a creative way to begin telling Utah’s story in just a few characters.
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For many children, the experience of getting their first pair of glasses is an inevitable milestone, the first in a lifetime of visits to the eye doctor.But what if those lenses could actually help preserve the child’s vision and reduce the chances for more serious eye problems in adulthood?That’s the promise of a new type of lens approved by the Food and Drug Administration in September. While the technology has previously been available in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world, it’s now rolling out in the U.S.Here’s what to know about the new approach. What is myopia and why is it increasing? Myopia, commonly called nearsightedness, is when people can clearly see objects at close range but struggle with distant objects, which often appear blurry or indistinct.Studies conducted around the world have shown rising rates of myopia, which researchers have associated with increased time indoors looking at screens, books and other objects held close to the eyes.In the U.S., 30% to 40% of children will have myopia by the time they finish high school, according to Dr. Michael Repka, a professor and pediatric ophthalmologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.Until now, doctors had few options for treating the condition.“It was typically and simply: ‘Your child needs to wear glasses and they’ll live with it,'” Repka said. “‘It will be lifelong and it will likely get worse over the next few years.'” How do the new lenses work? The specialized glasses, sold under the brand Essilor Stellest, are approved by the FDA to slow nearsightedness in 6- to 12-year-olds.The FDA said it cleared the lenses based on company data showing children experienced a 70% reduction in the progression of their myopia after two years.Over time, myopia causes the eye to grow longer, worsening vision and increasing the risk of tears to the retina the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that is essential for vision.The new lenses use 11 concentric rings filled with tiny raised dots to refocus light onto the retina in a way that is believed to slow elongation of the eye.“Whether this hypothesis is ultimately proven to be true, of course, matters only in part,” Repka said, noting that the lenses appear to work regardless of how the underling science works.In the company study, children wearing the lens showed a 50% reduction in eye lengthening when measured after two years. Currently, researchers in the U.S. and other countries are conducting their own independent studies to confirm those results.Ophthalmologists say the potential benefits go beyond preserving vision to heading off some long-term consequences of severe myopia, which can include cataracts, glaucoma and retinal detachment that can lead to blindness.“Now we have a way to slow that down and maybe we can prevent kids from having that really elongated eye that puts them at risk for blindness,” said Dr. Rupa Wong, a Honolulu-based pediatric ophthalmologist. How much will the lenses cost? The suggested retail price is $450, according to EssilorLuxottica, the company that makes the lenses.Major U.S. vision insurance providers are expected to cover the lenses for children who meet the prescribing criteria. How do the new lenses compare to older treatments? The only other FDA-approved product to slow myopia are contact lenses made by a company called MiSight. The daily disposable lenses, approved in 2019, use a similar approach intended to slow the progression of nearsightedness in children ages 8 to 12.But Gupta says many parents and physicians are likely to prefer the glasses.“A lot of people might be hesitant to put a child as young as 8 in contact lenses, so the glasses offer a really nice alternative,” she said.Some doctors prescribe medicated eye drops intended to slow myopia, but those are not approved by the FDA. Which children are good candidates? Under the FDA’s approval decision, the lenses can be prescribed to any child with myopia who’s within the recommended age range. There were no serious side effects, according to FDA, although some children reported visual disturbances, such as halos around objects while wearing the lenses.The studies that the FDA reviewed for approval were conducted in Asia. Repka said U.S. ophthalmologists and optometrists may want to see some additional research.“I think before it becomes widely used, we will need some data in the United States” showing that the lenses work, said Repka, who is conducting a U.S.-based study of the new lenses supported by the National Institutes of Health. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer
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“Zootopia 2” had a roaring and record-setting opening at the box office.The animated animal city sequel from the Walt Disney Company brought in $96 million in North America over the weekend, earned $156 million over the five-day Thanksgiving frame, and scored a staggering $556 million globally since its Wednesday opening, according to studio estimates Sunday.That made it the highest international opening ever for an animated movie, the fourth highest global debut of any kind, and the top international opener of 2025.“Wicked: For Good” stayed aloft in its second weekend for Universal Pictures, earning another $62.8 million domestically over the weekend for a North American total of $270.4 million. The second half of the “Wicked” saga has brought in $393 million internationally.The pair of PG-rated sequels combined to make the Thanksgiving weekend a glimmering exception to an otherwise dark year at movie theaters. The five-day holiday run brought in $290 million in total, $188 million of it coming Friday through Sunday.That could be a blip or an indication that a strong finish might salvage Hollywood’s box office year, with “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” among the films still to be released in 2025.“This is a great result and a big momentum builder for the box office as we head into the final four weeks of the year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.“Zootopia 2” arrives almost a decade after the original, a hit that outpaced expectations and had a March domestic opening of $75 million.Like the first, it features the duo of bunny cop Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and small-time hustler fox Nick Wilde ( Jason Bateman ) in a city of comically domesticated wildlife.Dergarabedian said the sequel represented “a beloved franchise delivering what audiences were looking for around the world.”It was the sixth biggest North American opening of 2025. But its biggest market was China, which made for nearly half of the film’s global total with a whopping $272 million in ticket sales. No American-made animated film has ever opened bigger. It was the second best nonlocal film opening of all time in China, after “Avengers: Endgame.”Such a result in China was once almost commonplace for Hollywood. But in recent years, as geopolitical relations have grown uneasy, box-office results have turned unpredictable at best. Aside from a handful of exceptions, like the “Jurassic World” films, Hollywood has come to virtually write off Chinese theaters and recalibrate blockbuster budgets accordingly.The big bounty in China for “Zootopia 2” could be an aberration or a signal of a thaw in the freeze. In recent years, China, which censors which films that are released in theaters, has leaned more toward homegrown fare. Earlier this year, the locally made blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” grossed $1.8 billion in China.“Zootopia 2” had a clear path to a big Chinese opening. The first “Zootopia,” known there as “Crazy Animal City,” grew into a surprise hit, grossing $236 million. Shanghai Disneyland has a theme land devoted to the films.“Wicked: For Good” didn’t seem to be hurt by the beastly competition as Universal’s gamble of splitting the Broadway tale of Oz into two films continued to pay off. It brought in a worldwide weekend total of $92.2 million.“Hamnet,” certain to be a major player in awards season after a celebrated festival run, had a strong limited opening and landed in the overall top 10. In just 119 theaters it earned $1.35 million from Wednesday through Sunday and $880,000 on the weekend, with a per-theater average of more than $11,000. Director Chloe Zhao’s Shakespeare story starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal expands next weekend. Top 10 movies by domestic box office With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore: “Zootopia 2,” $96.8 million. “Wicked: For Good,” $62.8 million. “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” $7 million. “Predator: Badlands,” $4.8 million. “The Running Man,” $3.7 million. “Eternity,” $3.2 million. “Rental Family,” $2.1 million. “Hamnet,” $880,000. “Sisu: Road to Revenge,” $810,000. “Nuremberg,” $749,325. This story has been corrected to show that “Zootopia 2” had the sixth biggest North American opening of 2025, not the fourth. Andrew Dalton, AP Entertainment Writer
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