Robert Redford, the Oscar-winning director, acclaimed actor and founder of the Sundance Film Festival, died yesterday at 89.

The latest: He died at his Sundance home in the Utah mountains — a "place he loved, surrounded by those he loved," his publicist Cindi Berger announced in a statement, per the AP.

Flashback: Some of most classic films Redford appeared in include "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969), "The Sting" (1973) and "All the President's Men" (1976), where he starred alongside Paul Newman and Dustin Hoffman.

• Redford's directorial debut, "Ordinary People" (1980), which won Academy Awards for "Best Picture" and "Best Director."

Catch up quick: Redford launched the Sundance Institute in 1981, which went on to host the now-renowned film festival.

• Earlier this year, organizers announced the festival would permanently relocate from Utah to Boulder, Colorado, beginning in 2027.
• Redford had taken a step back since 2019 as the festival's figurehead.

Redford's Sundance Resort near Provo was the launchpad for the institute and the film festival.

• In 1968, he bought what was then a small, one-lift ski hill behind Mt. Timpanogos, turning it into a luxe ski resort by winter and an outdoorsy arts retreat by summer, with a live theater series and a summer film lab.
• Redford and his family were frequently spotted on the slopes, along with an array of Hollywood stars who visited and lived there.
• When Redford sold the resort in 2020, Conde Nast ranked it "the #1 ski resort" in North America, with award-winning accommodations and dining.

What he said: In describing the psychological respite of the Wasatch Mountains, Redford reportedly said: "Other people have analysis; I have Utah."

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Redford was well known for his activism, using his star power to spotlight climate concerns and advocate for the preservation of public lands in the western U.S.

• He served as a trustee for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental advocacy group, for five decades.
• "The environmental movement has lost a giant," NRDC president and CEO Manish Bapna said in a statement yesterday.

Zoom in: Redford fought to protect Utah's public lands, opposing the Trump administration's plan to shrink the Bears Ears National Monument and efforts to create the Alton Coal Mine near Bryce Canyon National Park in 2017.

• "Ultimately, the Alton Coal Mine is not only about Bryce National Canyon or Utah's wildlands," he wrote for HuffPost. "It is also about how we as a nation manage our natural and energy resources in a new century."

Zoom out: He demanded action on climate change ahead of the Paris Climate Summit, a landmark United Nations conference that saw countries unite to tackle a warming planet.

• "We're running out of time," Redford said in a video at the time. "This is our only planet. ... This may be our last chance. So let's protect the most important thing in the world: our children's future."
• Redford also took on former Rep. Newt Gingrich's Republican "Contract with America" plan, which experts called a "war on environment" for suspending enforcement of environmental laws and cutting funding for local programs, the NRDC said.
• He also spent decades opposing industrial pollution in western states and land protections like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

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📱 Teachers, airline workers and other employees are facing discipline or termination over their social media posts about Charlie Kirk's killing. (Axios)

🏛 FBI director Kash Patel challenged criticism during a heated U.S. Senate panel yesterday over his handling of the Kirk shooting investigation. (Reuters)

• Patel's leadership has been called into question after he announced on social media that "the subject" of the shooting was in custody, but later said the individual had been released.

U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement organized a job fair in Provo this week as the agency seeks to expand its workforce amid President Trump's immigration crackdown. (Salt Lake Tribune)

Prosecutors will seek the death penalty in the case of the 22-year-old suspect in the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a spokesperson for the Utah County Attorney's Office announced yesterday.

The big picture: The investigation into the alleged shooter's motivations is ongoing, but filing the charges begins the criminal case.

What they're saying: "I am filing a notice of intent to seek the death penalty," Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said yesterday.

• "I do not take this decision lightly, and it is a decision I have made independently as county attorney based solely on the available evidence and circumstances and nature of the crime," Gray said.

State of play: Suspect Tyler Robinson faces seven charges including murder, weapons offenses, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

• As prosecutors seek the death penalty, Robinson will continue to be held without bail in the Utah County Jail.
• Agents are still investigating Robinson's motive for killing Kirk, although prominent members of the Trump administration are blaming left-wing ideology and social media networks.

Zoom in: In Utah, aggravated murder can be punished by death, life in prison with parole, or 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to a press release from the prosecuting attorney's office.

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