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U.S. borrowing tops $1.9 trillion so far this year
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The Center Square, National

U.S. borrowing tops $1.9 trillion so far this year

By Jennie Tae and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon | The Center Square  The federal government borrowed $1.9 trillion in the first eleven months of fiscal year 2024, including $380 billion in August, a startling amount as federal watchdogs sound the alarm on spending. Those borrowing figures come from the the latest Monthly Treasury Statement from the Treasury Department. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said that is roughly $6 billion borrowed per day this fiscal year. "America faces steep fiscal challenges in the very near future – next year alone, we’ll need to confront the multi-trillion dollar question of extending the 2017 tax cuts, we’ll need to raise the debt ceiling, and we’ll need to address the expiration of discretionary spend...
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Federal funds to assist Coloradans in online filing of state, federal tax returns
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The Center Square, State

Federal funds to assist Coloradans in online filing of state, federal tax returns

By Joe Mueller | The Center Square Federal tax money is returning to Colorado via free online tax filing for state and federal returns, which could help low-income taxpayers obtain more credits. Taxpayer money from the $500 billion Inflation Reduction Act will pay for Coloradans to electronically file their state and federal returns for tax year 2025 in 2026 through a program called Direct File. The Colorado Department of Revenue currently offers a free electronic service to file state tax returns. However, the Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and the Department of Revenue contend Direct file will save Coloradans millions in filing fees, hours of time and help taxpayers get information on possible additional tax credits. READ THE FULL STORY THE CENTER SQUARE
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Three years after withdrawal, Taliban rules Afghanistan
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The Center Square, National

Three years after withdrawal, Taliban rules Afghanistan

By CASEY HARPER | Center Square This week will mark the three-year anniversary of President Joe Biden’s chaotic and deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Biden committed on the campaign trail to withdraw U.S. troops, a move supported by his predecessor Donald Trump, but the process left 13 U.S. service members killed and the country within the hands of the Taliban. The Taliban also received billions of dollars in U.S. military equipment because it was left behind. READ MORE AT CENTER SQUARE
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Drug traffickers, with ties to Colorado, sentenced to prison in Oregon
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The Center Square, State

Drug traffickers, with ties to Colorado, sentenced to prison in Oregon

By Tom Joyce | The Center Square An Oregon-based drug trafficking cell leader with ties to a large Mexico-based drug trafficking organization received a federal prison sentence this week after an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Horacio Luna-Perez, 42, of Hillsboro, Oregon, got a 97-month federal prison sentence and five years’ supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. DEA special agents started investigating a drug trafficking organization that operated in several states, including Oregon; the organization had ties to Mexico. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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Is the migrant flow slowing? Denver claims it hasn’t received a bus from Texas since June 11
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The Center Square, Local

Is the migrant flow slowing? Denver claims it hasn’t received a bus from Texas since June 11

By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square In January, the city of Denver called its migrant crisis "unsustainable" due to the constant arrival of noncitizens. However, the city said this week that it hasn't received a bus of newly arriving migrants since June 11.  A new report shows that charter bus arrivals in Denver with migrants sent from Texas have dropped off significantly. Denver is seeing a significant drop in charter buses arriving from the southern border, reporting no new buses coming in since June, according to documents from the Aug. 20, 2024, Newcomer program update. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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Taxpayers are annually on the hook for $3 billion in food stamps for noncitizens
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The Center Square, National

Taxpayers are annually on the hook for $3 billion in food stamps for noncitizens

By Tom Gantert | The Center Square Every year, the United States has allowed between 1.47 million to 1.86 million noncitizens to receive food stamps from the federal government at a taxpayer cost of almost $3 billion a year. That is according to annual reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its Supplement Nutritional Assistance Program. “Only U.S. citizens and certain lawfully present non-citizens may receive SNAP benefits,” said Hal Sullivan, spokesperson for the USDA in an email to The Center Square. “SNAP is not and has never been available to undocumented non-citizens. Non-citizens like tourists and students are generally not eligible. Non-citizens who are eligible based on their immigration status must meet SNAP eligibility requirements, such as income and resour...
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Report: If Initiative 91 ban of big cat hunting passes, it could cost CPW, hunting industry more than $65M
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The Center Square, State

Report: If Initiative 91 ban of big cat hunting passes, it could cost CPW, hunting industry more than $65M

By Derek Draplin | The Center Square A new report says a ballot measure banning big cat hunting in Colorado would prove costly for state wildlife management and the hunting industry. Initiative 91, which will appear on the November ballot, would ban the hunting of mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx, removing them from the state’s definition of “big game.”  The report, by the Common Sense Institute, a free-enterprise think tank, estimates that Colorado’s mountain lion population would increase by 443 cats, noting an average of 508 were harvested annually since 2019. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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Votes have been bought at taxpayer expense, and the White House is lying about it, congressmen say
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The Center Square, National

Votes have been bought at taxpayer expense, and the White House is lying about it, congressmen say

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square Only 40% of student loan borrowers make payments, and congressional committee leaders from North Carolina and Louisiana said Wednesday the federal report confirms the White House’s efforts to win votes at taxpayers’ expense. U.S. Reps. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and Sen. Dr. Bill Cassidy, R-La., requested the Government Accountability Office analysis because they believed the Biden administration “has repeatedly failed to communicate to borrowers on how to transition to repayment,” a release says. Payments resumed in October 2023 after a 3½-year pause due to COVID-19. The congressional leaders – Foxx as chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and Cassidy as ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor an...
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As debt tops $35 trillion and deficit reaches $1.5 trillion, critics ask where’s the debt plan?
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The Center Square, National

As debt tops $35 trillion and deficit reaches $1.5 trillion, critics ask where’s the debt plan?

By Casey Harper | The Center Square The federal deficit so far this fiscal year has already hit $1.5 trillion, the U.S. Treasury Department reported in its monthly fiscal update. The federal data comes just days after the national debt surpassed $35 trillion, an unprecedented figure that worries economists and budget analysts. For now, though, neither Republicans nor Democrats have prioritized getting the deficit under control or showed unity in putting a plan forward to do so. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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FACT CHECK: Harris was Biden’s second ‘border czar,’ despite recent media claims
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National, The Center Square

FACT CHECK: Harris was Biden’s second ‘border czar,’ despite recent media claims

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square As Vice President Kamala Harris began campaigning to become the next Democratic presidential nominee, media outlets started claiming she was never President Joe Biden’s border czar. The claims are verifiably false. “Kamala Harris Was Never Biden’s ‘Border Czar,’” TIME Magazine claimed. A USA Today "fact check" headline said, "Harris' border work was on 'root causes' of migration; she wasn't in charge." Axios wrote, “The Trump campaign and Republicans have tagged Harris repeatedly with the ‘border czar’ title – which she never actually had.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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