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‘We do not yet have a clear picture of his motive,’ FBI Director Wray says in Trump shooting hearing
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National, The Center Square

‘We do not yet have a clear picture of his motive,’ FBI Director Wray says in Trump shooting hearing

By Ireland Owens | The Center Square Members of Congress grilled FBI Director Christopher Wray Wednesday over details of the FBI’s investigation into the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Wray's testimony at a House Judiciary Committee hearing comes as the FBI faces criticism over unanswered questions surrounding the agency's handling of the ongoing investigation into the recent shooting at a Trump campaign rally earlier this month.  The Secret Service has also come under fire for the security issues surrounding the rally shooting.  Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Tuesday stepped down from her post after calls for her resignation, as The Center Square previously reported. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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President Biden tests positive for COVID in Las Vegas, will isolate in Delaware
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The Center Square, National

President Biden tests positive for COVID in Las Vegas, will isolate in Delaware

By Dan McCaleb | The Center Square President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday while in Las Vegas, the White House said. "Earlier today following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. Biden will return home "to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time," Jean-Pierre added. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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Working Coloradans funded $311M in family leave pay for 62,000 in first six months
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The Center Square, State

Working Coloradans funded $311M in family leave pay for 62,000 in first six months

By Joe Mueller  | The Center Square Approximately $311 million was distributed to 62,000 workers who filed claims under Colorado’s new Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program since payments started in January. Colorado became the first state to establish a partial paid-leave program when voters passed Proposition 118 in November 2020. The initiative allows all Colorado workers to obtain up to 12 weeks of paid leave to take care of themselves or their families during circumstances keeping them from working. Those experiencing pregnancy or childbirth complications can receive an additional four weeks. Colorado businesses and workers began paying premiums to fund the insurance program in 2023. The state provides an online premium and benefits estimates calculator. A worker with a ...
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Arapahoe County sheriff’s office under review for diverting $380k to sheriff’s non-profit
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Local, The Center Square

Arapahoe County sheriff’s office under review for diverting $380k to sheriff’s non-profit

By Shirleen Guerra  | The Center Square The Arapahoe County Board of County Commissioners is taking control of the Sheriff's office finances for overspending nearly $1 million and an alleged unauthorized transfer of $380,000 in taxpayer funds to a non-profit that the county claims was "inconsistent with state statutes." The non-profit was the Arapahoe County Sheriffs Office Foundation, the county told The Center Square in an email. The Arapahoe County Sheriffs Office Foundation was given its non-exempt status by the IRS in 2022, according to the website Candid. The form the non-profit filed with the IRS - known as a 990 - didn't list any compensation for its officers and stated that Kenneth McKlem was the secretary and treasurer and worked an average of one hour per week with the ...
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Fentanyl, weapons, other drug seizures at northern border setting records
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National, The Center Square

Fentanyl, weapons, other drug seizures at northern border setting records

By  Bethany Blankley | The Center Square Federal agents working at ports of entry in northern U.S. cities and in small towns along the U.S.-Canadian border are continuing to thwart illegal activity. Federal agents working in Detroit, Chicago, Cincinnati and in a small border town of North Dakota continue to interdict fentanyl, weapons, fake e-cigarettes and illegal prescription drugs stemming from the border crisis. In Detroit, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations agents seized nearly six pounds of fentanyl in one enforcement action at the Fort Street Cargo Facility. It was the largest seizure of its kind for the Port of Detroit, and one of the largest inbound fentanyl seizures at the northern border in the last five years, CBP says. READ THE FULL ...
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Report: Taxpayers are funding services for illegals; Congress, including Republicans, approved it
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National, The Center Square

Report: Taxpayers are funding services for illegals; Congress, including Republicans, approved it

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square Taxpayers are not only funding the border crisis, but they are also paying for numerous free services illegal foreign nationals receive, according to a new report published by the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement.  The committee blames the Biden administration in its new report, "Chauffeur at the Border, Concierge in the Interior: How the Biden Administration Rewards Illegal Aliens on the Taxpayers' Dime" for costs to U.S. taxpayers.   It also notes that Congress, including Republicans, voted to fund the programs it identified as wasting taxpayer money and facilitating the border crisis when Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill in M...
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Survey: Colorado business leaders’ confidence ‘tempered but positive’
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State, The Center Square

Survey: Colorado business leaders’ confidence ‘tempered but positive’

By Joe Mueller | The Center Square A survey of Colorado’s business leaders revealed their confidence is “tempered but positive” going into the third quarter of the year. The Leeds Business Confidence Index, a report from the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business, found all measured components posted year-over-year gains heading into the second half of the year, but all components slipped from the second quarter of this year heading into the upcoming third quarter. The index examines the national and state economy, industry sales, profits, hiring plans and capital expenditures. “Across the array of reasons given to explain their outlook, interest rates, election uncertainty, and sentiment were commonly cited as the most pressing factors,” according to the report. REA...
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56 Colorado counties with tax-exempt federal lands getting $48M, that’s $2 per acre
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The Center Square, State

56 Colorado counties with tax-exempt federal lands getting $48M, that’s $2 per acre

By Joe Mueller  | The Center Square Fifty-six counties in Colorado will receive $47.8 million as payment for approximately 24 million acres of tax-exempt federal lands within the state, or about $2.00 per acre. The funding, called “Payments in Lieu of Taxes,” was created in 1976 and rewritten and amended in 1982. The money paid to help local governments offset losses in property taxes for the nontaxable federal lands within their boundaries. A formula is used to calculate the payments. Population, revenue-sharing payments and the amount of federal land within the county are taken into account. “Payments in Lieu of Taxes” are made in addition to other federal funds paid for oil and gas leasing, livestock grazing, and timber harvesting, according to the U.S. Department of the Interi...
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Colorado utility bills may increase 10% over four years to pay for wildfire mitigation
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State, The Center Square

Colorado utility bills may increase 10% over four years to pay for wildfire mitigation

By By Joe Mueller | The Center Square Monthly Xcel Energy bills will increase approximately 10% or more by 2028 to pay for a wildfire mitigation plan submitted to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. The utility emphasized its primary focus is safety for both the communities it serves and its customers in a media release announcing the submission. If the agency approves the plan, residential bills will increase through incremental bi-annual amounts until reaching approximately $8.88 a month by Jan. 1, 2028. “Our goal is to ensure that no catastrophic wildfire is started by Xcel Energy assets,” Bob Frenzel, president and chief executive officer of Xcel Energy, said in a statement. “And, while we’ve made significant wildfire safety progress in Colorado and achieved key goals, t...
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Report: Colorado can and should improve energy permitting process
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State, The Center Square

Report: Colorado can and should improve energy permitting process

By Joe Mueller | The Center Square Colorado can improve its procedures, public input, timelines and coordination of state, federal and local governments to improve the environmental permitting process, according to a report. The state made significant progress in reforming regulatory processes in the past decade but improvements need to be made, according to James Broughel, a senior fellow at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute and author of the report, “Distilling Efficiency; Colorado’s quest to refine its permitting process.” “The state appears to be moving in the wrong direction with recent changes targeting the oil and gas industry, which have created a more burdensome permitting environment,” according to the report. “Enacting targeted legislative changes, insti...
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