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As much to the disappointment of Los Utah Jazz and all the fans in South America, the Jazz finished their longest homestand of the season with a 1-5 record; that one win came on a career-high night for Keyonte George. But maybe they weren’t as disappointed, since the Jazz are now closer to the league’s worst record than to the seventh-best record, despite being #6.

Though the Jazz needed to grab at least one win during one of their longest road trips of the year — it’s okay to have a cheat day once in a while; you can’t live your life off eggplant stew. Their road trip began visiting our Yankee friends up North; free from their chains of the NBA’s Play-In Tournament (…so far), sitting high and mighty on their seats as the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. It goes to show you can just stick a million versatile wings on your roster and it just sorta works. Not only were the Raptors nearing full health minus Jakob Poeltl and two-way Chucky Hepburn, the Jazz won’t stop unleashing the bubonic plague on their team, or at least according to their injury report.

\Yes, the Jazz were going to lose their 10th game and 11 matches, but the pain Jazz fans feel is more masochistic than anything else. They were unable to get it done as they fell to the rising Raptors 107-100 on a freezing cold Sunday.

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Though the Jazz opened up the first quarter leading 5-3, that was quickly overtaken by Toronto’s 11-0 run from 9:11 to 6:38. Utah them went on their own little 8-0 run to cut the Raptors’ lead 17-16, with Svi and Lauri both contributing 3 points each during that stretch. Toronto collected 3 steals and 3 blocks through the quarter, with the Jazz only forcing 1 turnover. On the Jazz end, they had 20 rebounds, led by Nurkic’s 4. Lauri led the team in scoring with 6 points and 3 rebounds, shooting 1-4 from beyond the arc. On the other hand, however, Sandro Mamukelashvili was hot early, scoring 8 points on 2-for-3 threes in 6 minutes.

The game was a switch between who had the better run. It was a 12-4 run for the Raptors across quarters. hitting three straight threes from three different players to turn a 12-point deficit into a 31-25 lead. Then Utah’s turn was a 17-2 run in 3:20 minutes for their largest lead so far of the night — 5 of the Raptors’ turnovers came during this run. Utah took advantage of Toronto’s lack of Jakob Poeltl crashing the glass. They held a 14-rebound advantage (37-23) at the half, grabbing 25 defensive rebounds, with Nurkic and Ace grabbing 7 each. They had 5 offensive boards, leading to 9 second-chance points. Isaiah Collier was superb in the second quarter, 6 of his points came during this period. Not to mention nearly filling every category on the stat sheet: 2 boards, 1 assist, and 1 steal. To top off this quarter, there was this madness from Lauri Markkanen.

I know one of you did a switcheroo and tried to fool us by putting 22-23 Lauri Markkanen on the floor. We are not leaving this room until someone fusses up. Someone must’ve shown him the West All-Star reserves while he was on the bench, because that’s not normal.

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The Jazz trailed by three points headed into the fourth quarter. Raptors found their rhythm, shooting 62% on 21 attempts from the field during the third period, including shooting 3-6 from beyond the arc. They erased a 4-point Jazz lead by holding them scoreless on four straight shots and two turnovers. Ingram scored or assisted on six of those points. Mamukelashvili contributed 16 points for the Raptors, accounting for a significant part of Toronto’s bench scoring.

The Jazz were starting to feel the fatigue of being in a new country. They had 16 turnovers, and the shooting took the dip we all were anticipating. Utah had a 3:58-minute drought from the field before Filipowski finally sank a two-pointer. Not to mention they missed 12-straight team threes.

Scottie Barnes then sustained a foot injury, which checked him out of the game with 4:26 remaining, and the Jazz were merely trailing 98-93. Though the game still came crumbling down regardless. They couldn’t buy their shots and came sinking down to a 9-point deficit. They finished with a ghastly 21 turnovers, resulting in 24 Raptors points off turnovers. Jazz shot a ghoulish 23% from three-point range, only sinking 8 of their 35 attempts. Just like previous games, they shot themselves in the foot.

Though I’ll give them the credit that they never fell behind in a double-digit deficit — the largest lead Toronto had all night was 9. They managed to turn a putrid night from the field into something that shimmers like a rainbow after a hurricane. It didn’t go well for them in the fourth quarter, but they had the opportunity to win this one despite what the shat sheet tells you, which they can take with them through this Eastern road trip.

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At the end of the day, it was probably another loss they needed. The threshold between them and last place is dangerously close, but I think every fan has a subconscious desire that obviously wants them to win. Sometimes, games won’t have you buckled up. Tonight’s loss was one of those types of matchups.

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Jazz take a day off before they embark on their flight to Indianapolis. They play the Indiana Pacers on February 3rd at 5:00 PM MST.

Debate about the political independence of the Federal Reserve, highlighted over the past year in large part by President Donald Trump’s haranguing of the U.S. central bank over interest rate policy, continued this week after the president named Kevin Warsh as his choice to succeed current Fed chairman Jerome Powell.

Warsh, 55, is a Harvard-educated lawyer and former banking executive with an observable track record on monetary policy thanks to his previous stint as a Fed governor from 2006 to 2011. Relative support for the nominee, who is subject to a series of U.S. Senate approval votes beginning with the body’s Banking Committee, has fallen along partisan lines.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C, said in a statement that Warsh “has deep knowledge of markets and monetary policy that will be essential in this role.” The committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, suggested Warsh had passed Trump’s loyalty test, saying “This nomination is the latest step in Trump’s attempt to seize control of the Fed.”

Since the start of his second term, Trump and his allies have repeatedly clashed with the Fed’s leadership over interest rate issues, publicly criticizing Powell for not cutting rates quickly enough and even suggesting that the president should have more say in monetary decisions — a stance that would erode the traditional insulation of the Federal Reserve from political influence.

Tensions further escalated following the administration’s pursuit of legal efforts to remove a sitting Fed governor and initiating a federal investigation into Powell — moves that many observers see as attempts to assert greater White House control over the central bank.

Today’s debate over the design and purpose of the Federal Reserve mirrors, in many ways, challenges that arose amid conditions wrought by the Great Depression, namely, can the Fed act in the long-term economic interest of the nation if its decisions are subject to political pressure?

That was certainly on the mind of Marriner Eccles as he assumed the helm of the Fed in 1934, a time that found the U.S. central bank in a sorry state of fragmentation and weakened by its undue deference to the U.S. Treasury Department.

Eccles, a successful businessman and Republican, was considered an unlikely choice by Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt to head the U.S. central bank, but the Utah banker would go on to fundamentally remake the Fed and help solidify its political independence.

Eccles’ vision of a central bank that was close enough to government to understand national priorities yet independent enough to say “no” in the face of harmful monetary policy is a balance that continues to exist while being at the heart of the current turbulence.

In a Deseret News interview, BYU Marriott School of Business professor and former Federal Reserve economist Jason Kotter explained why keeping politics out of monetary policy is crucial for the country’s economic stability and how important a role Eccles played in establishing the central bank’s independence.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Deseret News: Why do economists place so much importance on the Federal Reserve’s independence from the executive branch?

Jason Kotter: Economists are pretty much unified on this point: independence of the central bank is crucial to a country’s economic well-being. From the very beginning, the Federal Reserve Act was written specifically to keep the Fed insulated from direct political control.

The reason is straightforward. The Fed has two primary goals — maintaining stable prices and keeping employment as high as possible — and essentially one main tool: interest rates. Political leaders, regardless of party, face extremely strong incentives to push for lower interest rates because that creates short-term economic growth, faster job creation and political rewards. The downside of interest rates being too low — higher inflation — usually shows up later, often after the next election.

DN: Why is inflation such a delayed but serious risk?

JK: If interest rates are kept lower than economic conditions justify, the economy can grow too quickly and overheat. Prices rise, and in extreme cases you get sustained inflation. The costs are real, but they’re delayed. A politician can enjoy the benefits quickly, while the consequences show up years later. That makes it very hard to resist the temptation to prioritize short-term gains over long-term stability.

This concern is exactly why Congress originally structured the Fed to be independent of the administration.

DN: Is there a comparison that helps people understand this independence?

JK: A good analogy is the Supreme Court. Justices serve lifetime terms because we want the judiciary insulated from political winds. We intuitively recognize that society is better off when courts aren’t changing direction every time power changes hands.

The Federal Reserve operates on the same principle. It’s part of government, but it’s isolated from political pressure so it can make decisions that may be unpopular in the short run but healthier for the economy over time. That’s also why Fed governors serve 14-year terms —long enough to span multiple administrations.

DN: What happens financially if presidents control monetary policy?

JK: You erode trust immediately. If I’m a bond trader and I see a president pushing aggressively for lower interest rates, I become skeptical. Ironically, that skepticism can raise long-term borrowing costs for the government, not lower them.

The Fed directly controls only short-term, overnight rates. Long-term rates depend heavily on expectations and trust. Political interference can actually push long-term Treasury rates higher, which is the opposite of what politicians want.

More broadly, investors depend on stable and predictable interest rates to evaluate investments — stocks, bonds, business expansions. Even when investors disagree with the Fed, they trust that decisions are data-driven and systematic. That trust disappears when monetary policy becomes political.

DN: How does this play out internationally?

JK: Around the world, countries where the executive branch controls the central bank almost always experience volatile prices and weaker economic growth. Investors flee uncertainty, and that pain is felt by everyone — higher prices, slower growth, fewer opportunities.

Loss of central bank independence creates uncertainty, which leads to slower growth and higher inflation. We’ve seen this pattern repeatedly.

DN: Critics often say the Fed isn’t accountable. Is that true?

JK: Not really. The Fed chair reports directly to Congress every six months. The Fed publishes its balance sheet every single week — far more frequently than most public companies. It also releases a fully audited financial statement annually. Transparency is actually quite high, probably higher than most people realize.

DN: What about alternatives like rule-based or algorithmic monetary policy?

JK: Some economists argue interest rates should be set by a formula or algorithm. That would remove concerns about discretion or bad motives, and there are some appealing features to that idea.

The problem is that it’s extremely hard to design an algorithm that handles unforeseen shocks — COVID being the obvious example. That’s the strongest argument for discretionary authority. It’s not unreasonable to want clearer rules, but total automation is unlikely to work in every situation.

DN: You’ve worked at the Fed yourself. How do you view it personally?

JK: I teach money and banking, and I’m a former Fed employee. There are economists who believe we’d be better off without a central bank at all. I don’t agree, but what’s interesting is that even many of those critics agree that if we’re going to have a central bank, independence is better than executive control.

That’s telling. The real debate right now isn’t whether the Fed should exist — it’s whether the administration should control it. On that question, the case for independence is very strong.

DN: Why is the Fed such a hard institution for the public to relate to?

JK: If the Fed is doing its job well, most people never think about it. That makes it hard to appreciate its importance. At the same time, managing the economy requires interest rate decisions that often feel personally painful — higher mortgage rates, higher credit card rates.

What’s hard for people is separating short-term personal costs from the long-term damage of an economy that runs out of control. But once you realize how much of daily life depends on borrowing — homes, cars, education — it becomes clear that Fed decisions affect almost every family.

DN: Some people see the Fed as a powerful, profit-driven institution. How accurate is that?

JK: The Fed isn’t funded by taxpayers. It funds itself through bank fees and its portfolio, and it sends its earnings back to the Treasury. It doesn’t operate like a profit-seeking bank, and Fed officials aren’t compensated based on financial performance.

The Fed’s only real mission is economic stability. They’re not perfect, but they’ve done a pretty good job overall. Nobody likes high interest rates — but you also don’t like $12 eggs. Stability benefits everyone.

DN: Is the Fed a political institution now?

JK: I don’t view this as a political issue — it shouldn’t be. Threats to the Fed have come from both parties. An independent central bank should be a nonpartisan value.

Everything feels political today, which makes these conversations harder, but the economic logic hasn’t changed.

DN: You often teach about Marriner Eccles. Why does he matter?

JK: Marriner Eccles is one of my favorite figures to teach. He was a very conservative, highly successful Utah businessman — not the kind of person you’d expect Franklin D. Roosevelt to appoint. Yet FDR brought him in to lead the Fed.

What’s remarkable is that Eccles centralized power within the Fed, strengthening federal authority over the system. You’d expect a conservative banker to favor decentralization, but he believed independence and coordination were essential.

Under Eccles, the Federal Open Market Committee operated with near-unanimity. His influence shaped the modern Fed in ways we still see today.

DN: What do you admire most about Eccles — and modern Fed leaders?

JK: Eccles tells this story from the Great Depression: his banks were doing fine while people suffered around him. He started asking himself what his work was really for and made a conscious decision to serve something bigger than himself.

I see that same mindset in people like (Fed chair) Jay Powell. Many Fed leaders were extremely successful in the private sector and chose public service instead. When I worked at the Fed, that’s how it felt — that we were contributing to something larger, even if imperfectly.

That sense of mission is what gives me hope in the institution. Talented people using their skills to improve the economy — that’s worth protecting.

Judging a team like the Utah Mammoth based off two consecutive losses is unfair.

But seeing as how the Mammoth didn’t just fall apart to Carolina- when it allowed three goals in the final two minutes, losing 5-4 outright in regulation– but it couldn’t rally against in its 3-2 home loss to the Dallas Stars, it is easy to feel discouraged.

“I feel like throughout the whole game, they (Dallas) made really good plays; they put a lot of pressure on us, especially D-zone draws for us,” said JJ Peterka. “We had trouble executing and getting out of that zone. You have to give them credit for that.”

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Add in the pressure of an especially competitive year in NHL, so full of parity that the two-time Stanley Cup champions seriously may lose its playoff spot to the the drought-ridden Buffalo Sabres, it isn’t a surprise that every game is being put on a microscope.

The league feels truly unpredictable and the Mammoth have been in a prime position to take advantage of this chaos. Utah is looking to steal a playoff spot away after all.

Recently, the Mammoth have been rising above the chaos, playing its best stretch of the season in the month of January, going 10-2-1 before these recent losses to cement itself as the top Wild Card team in the Western Conference.

Plus, Utah looked to be elevating its play even with an injury to such a key player like Logan Cooley. Instead of faltering behind, Utah has seen players rise up to the challenge.

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Though the Mammoth have lost back-to-back games, Kailer Yamamoto is having his own wild run, scoring four goals in a two game span and this is coming from a player who has plugged from first to fourth line whenever an injury occurs.

Utah has played incredibly well recently and it looks like a team hungry for a playoff spot.

But let’s get back to Utah’s two most recent losses.

The 5-4 loss Utah had to the Hurricanes- otherwise known as the Hartford Whalers- will be one of the most painful losses of the season.

To somehow lose that game in regulation despite being up 4-2 with less than two minutes to go will haunt Utah if it ends up a point or two short of the playoffs.

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Even more discouraging, the Mammoth come back home after a respectable 2-2 road stretch- with its only two losses coming from the Division leading Hurricanes and Lightning- just to put up only 14 shots on goal against a formidable opponent in the Stars.

To put into perspective how rough of a game it was for the Mammoth’s offense, those 14 shots were the lowest Utah has had in a game all season.

While January has been a great month for Utah, but the month is ending with the Mammoth simultaneously having its biggest collapse of the season and its worst offensive performance.

But it is important not to overreact to these losses. Utah certainly wants to show it can hang with the best teams in the league, but these two teams are some of the best for a reason.

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And though Utah still loss both games, it took a miracle comeback from Carolina and one of Dallas’ best defensive performances of the year to beat this team. There is plenty of optimism still to be had for the Mammoth.

As of now, Utah is still holding onto the top Wild Card spot with 60 points. But a large threat looms with the Anaheim Ducks, LA Kings and San Jose Sharks all tied at 59 points a piece.

Plus, the Seattle Kraken- who are currently third place in the Pacific Division- only are at 61 points.

Things couldn’t be tighter in West and the Mammoth are certainly aware of that.

“At some point in this league, if you feel sorry for yourself, everybody will step in your throat, and nobody will let you get back up,” said André Tourigny after the loss to Dallas. “So there’s no feeling sorry for yourself.”

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A lead is still a lead at the end of the day. So even if these two losses are particularly painful, Utah has played its way into a great playoff-bound position for the moment.

Only two games remain- starting with the league-worst Vancouver Canucks- before the Mammoth go on its long three week break for the Olympics.

If Utah can take care of business with a win against Vancouver, stopping the losing streak early, Utah will find itself in a good place before the break.

Even better, if the Mammoth can beat the Red Wings in the subsequent game, Utah will go into the Olympic break with a win against one of the best teams in the NHL.

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Utah certainly can accomplish its goal of becoming a playoff team this year. This team has shown how well it can play even when injured. But if the Mammoth squander these next two games, it will be a huge disservice to itself.

Utah’s Republican Governor Spencer Cox signed a bill Saturday expanding the state Supreme Court from five justices to seven, a move that takes effect immediately as Republican lawmakers await a crucial redistricting ruling.

The legislation passed with more than two-thirds support from legislators, allowing Cox to bypass the typical several-month waiting period and begin appointing new justices right away.

The timing has drawn scrutiny, coming just days after the Legislature asked the court to overturn a redistricting ruling that gave Democrats a strong chance at winning one of Utah’s four Republican-held congressional seats in the fall. New justices could be in place when the court decides the fate of the congressional map.

Why It Matters

The expansion gives Cox—who will appoint the two new justices—control over five of the seven seats on Utah’s highest court. The change comes amid mounting tension between Republican lawmakers and the state judiciary following a series of legal defeats, raising concerns among legal experts and Democrats about the independence of the judicial branch.

Utah’s redistricting battle is part of a broader national trend of mid-decade redistricting efforts that could reshape control of Congress. President Donald Trump has called for Republican-led states to redraw congressional boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterm elections to preserve the GOP’s slim majority, triggering redistricting efforts in multiple states. Democrats, who need to gain three seats to win back the House, are countering with their own redistricting efforts in Democrat-led states.

In Utah, a judge struck down the districts adopted after the 2020 census because lawmakers had circumvented an independent redistricting commission established by voters.

The Legislature approved a revised congressional map in October, which still requires court approval and could make some seats more competitive for Democrats. Republicans currently hold all four of Utah’s House seats.

What To Know

Republican supporters of the bill argued the expansion would improve court efficiency and align Utah with other similarly sized states. Most states have five or seven Supreme Court justices, though a few have nine. Cox has denied the policy is politically motivated, noting that Republican governors and senators have made all recent appointments.

In Utah, justices are appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate, unlike many states where justices are elected. The immediate implementation of the bill means Cox can fill the new seats before the court rules on the redistricting appeal, potentially reshaping the court’s composition at a critical moment.

Last month, Republican lawmakers also stripped state Supreme Court justices of their authority to select their own chief justice, giving that power to the governor instead. The moves are part of a broader Republican agenda that includes collecting signatures for a November ballot initiative to restore the Legislature’s ability to gerrymander voting districts.

Utah Chief Justice Matthew Durrant told legislators at the start of the 2026 session that the court had “essentially no backlog” and urged them to add judges to lower courts where the need is greater. Bill sponsors responded by adding some lower court judges and clerks to the legislation.

Two states—Arizona and Georgia—have added justices in the past decade with similar efficiency arguments. In Arizona’s case, several past and present justices said the expansion initially made things less efficient because more people had to review opinions before publication. Arizona’s court now issues slightly more rulings per year, while Georgia’s issues slightly fewer than before.

What People Are Saying

House Majority Leader Casey Snider, Republican bill sponsor: “Seven sets of eyes reviewing the most complex and difficult issues our state has ever faced is better than having only five sets of eyes.”

John Pearce, recently retired associate chief justice: “The more sets of comments you have to take into account, the longer the process takes. If what the Legislature is hoping to do is speed up the work of the court, it’s going to be counterproductive.”

What Happens Next

Cox will begin the process of appointing two new justices to the expanded court, with Senate approval required for each nominee.

Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.

This post is brought to you by FanDuel, proud partner of SBNation.

Aztecs favorites to win the regular season.

Heading into the last month of the college basketball regular season, the race to the conference title is heating up. In this poll, San Diego State emerged as the favorite, capturing 45% of the vote. Utah State is directly behind them, with 42% of people thinking they will take the season title.

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Aggies look to emerge victorious.

If the fans in the first poll think San Diego State will win the war, fans in this poll believe Utah State will win the battle this weekend. It’s shaping up to be a great game, but over half of the people here are confident in the Aggies.

Twenty minutes to Brigham City. Thirty minutes to Logan.

That’s how long Jennifer Schow said it would take residents of northern Box Elder County to reach the nearest support center for people leaving an abusive partner.

For some, she said, that distance can feel impossible.

“Tremonton, Garland, is kind of an island,” Schow said, describing the lack of nearby domestic violence services. “And that’s prohibitive for many women seeking help. You know, if they have work, if their kids are in school [or] if they don’t have a functional car, 20 to 30 miles is insurmountable for some to seek help.”

In 2024, Schow and her husband, Jan-Erik Schow, decided to step in. They donated 7 acres to a Logan-based nonprofit, Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse, which helps people affected by domestic violence, so the organization could build a new transitional housing project in Garland.

After two Tremonton-Garland law enforcement officers were shot and killed last August while responding to a domestic disturbance call, Josh Thompson, the nonprofit’s development and communications officer, said it amped up efforts to bring the housing project to the community where the officers were killed.

Now, Thompson said, $3.6 million in state funding, along with support from donors, puts the project on track to open by early 2027.

“We felt like we had to address it,” Thompson said of the shooting. “We had to say something. That’s part of our community.”

For Schow, the tragedy “brought home” how much the housing project is needed in the community.

The state funding comes from Utah’s Deeply Affordable Housing Fund, the nonprofit said in a news release. The program provides financial support for developing affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents.

Once completed, the project will include five fourplexes, totaling 20 units, along with office space for the nonprofit’s staff to provide support to residents.

The project will be the first transitional housing in northern Box Elder County, Thompson said, and will provide survivors with a place to stay for up to two years.

The nonprofit operates two transitional housing neighborhoods in Logan — Independence Way and Independence Place — made up of single-family homes, as well as a fourplex, for a total of 21 homes or units.

The Garland project will largely mirror those developments, Thompson said, but will use fourplexes instead of single-family homes to better maximize space and funding amid decreasing family sizes in recent years.

Few options close to home

The need for transitional housing is urgent in northern Box Elder County, Thompson said, where major industrial employers draw residents from across the area. Many people live near their workplaces, he said, but if they face abuse at home, options for safe housing close to family, friends or their community are few.

“If someone’s experiencing abuse, one of the hardest things is housing. Where are they going to go if they do decide to leave?” he said. “Being able to give survivors a place that’s close is really critical to helping them be able to leave.”

Thompson said it is not meant to be an emergency shelter — the nonprofit already operates one in Logan, and the New Hope Crisis Center has one in Brigham City — but rather a safe, longer-term place where survivors can rebuild their lives, work toward financial independence, and access support and resources.

“It’s a step where, I don’t need to go somewhere tonight,” he said, “but I need to make a plan to be somewhere in the next couple of weeks.”

Megan Talamantez, executive director of the New Hope Crisis Center, previously said that more survivors of domestic violence have sought help in recent years. She said the increase may be partly due to Utah’s lethality assessment protocol, which helps law enforcement identify at-risk individuals.

The protocol has helped support centers build stronger relationships with police, she said, leading more survivors to identify their needs and access resources — but the resulting influx has also left services in rural communities stretched thin.

After the Tremonton-Garland officers were killed, Schow said she often wonders whether it could have been avoided if more services were available to help women, men and children leave an abusive situation.

“We’re just hopeful that when this is built,” she said, “it will be a powerful resource in our community.”

Note to readers • Those who are experiencing intimate partner violence, or know someone who is, can call the Utah Domestic Violence Link Line, 1-800-897-LINK (5465), or the statewide sexual assault line run by the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault at (801) 736-4356 and in Spanish: Línea de Apoyo de Violencia Sexual las 24 Horas de Utah: (801) 924-0860.

A Utah mother obsessed with doomsday prophecies has been arrested overseas after allegedly kidnapping her four young children and abandoning them in a Croatian orphanage, triggering an international legal battle to bring the kids home.

Elleshia Anne Seymour, 35, was taken into custody in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on Jan. 16, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office confirmed to Fox News Digital. Prosecutors said they are now working with federal partners to explore extradition options, though no timeline has been announced.

Seymour is charged in Utah with four counts of custodial interference — removing child from state, all third-degree felonies, after authorities say she took her children out of the country without the consent of their fathers and failed to return them for court-ordered visitation.

Officials say Seymour boarded a one-way flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam on Nov. 29 before traveling on to Croatia with the children. Investigators allege the deadline for her to return the children to their fathers had “long since elapsed,” and both fathers told police they never agreed to allow the children to leave the state or the country.

COLORADO MOM ACCUSED OF KILLING 2 CHILDREN AND FLEEING TO UK RETURNS STATESIDE TO FACE MURDER CHARGES

Seymour’s children are shown in a family photo with her ex-husband, Kendall Seymour. Authorities said the children were later found in a Croatian orphanage after being taken abroad by their mother. (GoFundMe)

According to Kendall Seymour, the father of three of the children, the family did not realize the kids were missing until days after they had already been taken overseas.

“On Sunday, Nov. 30, my ex-wife flew to Europe, kidnapping all three of my kids and her fourth child from another dad,” Seymour wrote in his original GoFundMe post. “We didn’t learn until Tuesday, Dec. 2, that anyone was missing.”

Court records show a no-bail arrest warrant was issued in December after prosecutors argued Seymour posed a flight risk and a danger to her children.

CALIFORNIA MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING WIFE AND FLEEING WITH KIDS NABBED IN SOUTH AMERICA

Photos show the missing Seymour children alongside a separate image of their mother. Authorities said the children were allegedly taken abroad by their mother and later found at an orphanage in Croatia. (GoFundMe)

According to charging documents, officers later found Seymour’s apartment unlocked and abandoned, her vehicle parked at Salt Lake City International Airport, and a notebook outlining plans to discard phones and documents. Kendall Seymour said his ex-wife allegedly forged passport paperwork for the children and left behind what he described as a delusional note claiming she had received a message from God promising she would be in Italy by Christmas.

He also said police found a handwritten to-do list that included instructions to “shred paperwork,” “destroy identifying photos,” “throw away phone,” and “purchase pre-paid phone.”

In a voicemail left for Kendall Seymour days after disappearing, Elleshia Seymour allegedly claimed she was in France and said she needed to get the children out because the “end times” were coming, according to police.

FORMER DEMOCRAT POLITICIAN MAY HAVE FLED COUNTRY WITH SON AFTER ALLEGEDLY STEALING $30K: OFFICIALS

Kendall Seymour is shown with his children in an undated family photo taken prior to their alleged abduction. (GoFundMe)

The children were eventually located in Croatia and placed into a state-run orphanage.

Now, Kendall Seymour has flown to Europe in a desperate effort to bring them home.

In a Jan. 25 update posted to a GoFundMe campaign, Seymour said the children remain “trapped in Croatia in a state-run orphanage” as he works to secure their release from government custody.

“We are in the country, trying to get the kids out of the custody of the local government,” he wrote, adding that the family has been forced to hire Croatian lawyers who specialize in international child abduction cases, file applications under the Hague Convention, pay for court-approved translators, and extend their stay overseas indefinitely.

Seymour said the fundraiser’s original goal has already been consumed by travel costs alone and warned that future expenses — including therapy — remain unknown.

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“Who knows how much money is going to be needed for therapy for the five of us, after this is all over,” he wrote.

He also revealed that a fifth American child, who had been traveling with Seymour and her children, is housed at the same orphanage. That child has not been publicly identified, and Seymour said his legal situation is “even more difficult,” requiring additional legal strategy and assistance.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — House Bill 179, which proposes changes to how raw milk is treated under Utah law, was approved by the House Health and Human Services Committee on Friday.

While raw milk production previously required a permit in Utah, H.B. 179 would only require that raw milk producers notify the health department of their intent to produce, rather than requiring them to obtain a permit.

H.B. 179 also changes some sale restrictions, allowing raw milk producers to now sell raw milk or raw milk products off-farm through retail owned by the producer, if specific conditions are met.

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These conditions include:

• Notification to the state (no permit required)

• Strict handling and refrigeration rules

• Pathogen-testing thresholds

• Animal health requirements

• Detailed labeling, including a sell-by date, the producer name and address, a warning that raw milk may be unsafe, and a species and allergen statement

If a raw milk product is linked to a foodborne illness, the state must issue a cease-and-desist order, and the producer must stop sales until the issue resolved.

If passed, the bill would make it so that raw milk can now be sold off the farm for the first time in Utah. Nonetheless, the state regulations for raw milk production would remain in place.

The bill passed the House Health and Human Services Committee, which means that it will still need to be voted on by the legislature and then signed by the governor before it can become law.

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