staging.rockymountainvoice.com

The Center Square

Biden, Trump spar over inflation, border, more in first presidential debate
National, The Center Square

Biden, Trump spar over inflation, border, more in first presidential debate

By Casey Harper and Ireland Owens | The Center Square President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump grappled over inflation, illegal immigration, abortion and more during the first debate of this election cycle Thursday night in Atlanta. A Quinnipiac poll released the day before the debate shows Trump with a 49%-45% lead over Biden, showing Biden needed to turn the tide Thursday night. But throughout the debate, Biden showed moments of murmuring, blank stares, trailing off in his responses, or seeming to lose his train of thought. “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence,” Trump said early in the debate. “I really don’t think he knows what he said either.” Questions have surrounded Biden, 81, for a growing number of stumbles and miscues in...
U.S. House Republicans prioritize funding border security, defunding Mayorkas’ salary
Local, The Center Square

U.S. House Republicans prioritize funding border security, defunding Mayorkas’ salary

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square The U.S. House of Representatives laid out a plan to prioritize funding border security and cut programs Republicans argue facilitate illegal immigration and national security threats when debating HR 8752, The Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2025. House Republicans also passed an amendment to the bill to defund Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ salary after they impeached him in February. House Republicans argue his policies facilitated the border crisis and escalated terrorist threats. Since January 2021, an estimated 12 million foreign nationals from more than 150 countries have illegally entered the U.S.; federal agencies, including DHS, have acknowledged they can’t locate millions of them, T...
Trump, Biden prepare lines of attack heading into presidential debate
The Center Square, National

Trump, Biden prepare lines of attack heading into presidential debate

By Casey Harper | The Center Square Former president Donald Trump has taken several shots at his opponent, President Joe Biden, heading into Thursday night’s first presidential debate, and Biden is returning fire. Both Trump and Biden are the presumed nominees of their respective parties this time around, a rematch of the 2020 election where Biden unseated incumbent Trump. This time, Trump is seeking to do the same to Biden, and he isn’t expected to hold back. Trump has repeatedly mocked Biden for his verbal flubs and moments of appearing lost and confused on stage. Biden has responded, with him and his team mocking Trump for his legal woes. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
Signatures being gathered to get charter schools protection in Colorado constitution
State, The Center Square

Signatures being gathered to get charter schools protection in Colorado constitution

By Joe Mueller | The Center Square An organization attempting to enshrine charter school rights in Colorado's Constitution published a report supporting the move as it gathers signatures to get it on the ballot. Advance Colorado, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization, has until July 25 to gather at least 124,238 signatures of registered voters for Initiative #138 to be on the November general election ballot. It also must get at least 2% of the total registered electors in each of the 35 Colorado state senate districts. “Protecting Educational Freedom: Why School Choice Must Be Placed in the Colorado Constitution,” is a 15-page report by Michael Tsogt, a policy analyst with Advance Colorado. The report states school choice in Colorado received bipartisan support throu...
Colorado e-cigarette company settles with FDA, DOJ on unapproved products
The Center Square, State

Colorado e-cigarette company settles with FDA, DOJ on unapproved products

By Joe Mueller  | The Center Square A federal court ordered a Colorado company to stop manufacturing, distributing or selling unauthorized vaping products. Earlier this month, a complaint against Boosted LLC, which markets itself as Boosted E-Juice, and its owner, Cory Vigil, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The complaint stated the company violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by introducing or delivering for interstate commerce adulterated products and others misbranded as tobacco, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The complaint alleges the defendants manufactured and sold electronic finished nicotine delivery systems products and e-liquids. The Food and Drug Administration warned the company its products, including flavore...
Report finds more Colorado 4th-graders struggle with reading, 8th-graders with math than those who don’t
State, The Center Square

Report finds more Colorado 4th-graders struggle with reading, 8th-graders with math than those who don’t

By Joe Mueller | The Center Square Colorado’s fourth-grade students are struggling to read and its eighth graders are having trouble with math, according to this year’s KIDS COUNT Data Book published by The Annie E. Casey Foundation. The report stated 62% of fourth graders weren't proficient in reading in 2022. In 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, 60% of fourth graders weren’t proficient. Nationally, 68% of all fourth graders aren’t proficient in reading, compared to 66% in 2019. Eighth graders not proficient in math increased to 72% in 2022, an increase in nine percentage points since 2019. The national percentage for the category is 74%, an increase of seven percentage points since 2019. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
Thanks to illegals, enrollment slump for Denver schools comes to an end
The Center Square, State

Thanks to illegals, enrollment slump for Denver schools comes to an end

By Tom Gantert | The Center Square Denver Public Schools saw a boost in enrollment for the first time since the pandemic thanks to a surge of migrant students, according to a report the school board received this week. From 2014 to 2019, the school district’s enrollment had grown from 88,886 to 92,211. But the enrollment dropped three years in a row post-pandemic, dropping to 87,802 in 2022. In 2023, it grew to 88,258 with an additional 3,926 migrant students joining the district. By comparison, the district had 1,020 migrant students in 2021-22 and 1,543 migrant students in 2022-23. The district stated it was starting to see more migrant students leave the district after the city of Denver stated it would no longer provide long-term shelter for arriving migrants. ...
Utah Gov. Cox criticizes Denver mayor for busing migrants to Salt Lake City
State, The Center Square

Utah Gov. Cox criticizes Denver mayor for busing migrants to Salt Lake City

By Derek Draplin | The Center Square Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is facing criticism from neighboring Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who said Colorado’s capital city has been sending migrants to his state “without proper notification or approval.” “This is completely unacceptable and follows on the failed catch-and-release policy of the Biden administration,” Cox, a Republican, said in a tweet on Friday morning. “Every state has received illegal immigrants and Utah’s resources are completely depleted.” Cox was referencing reporting by KUTV that said Denver has paid to bus approximately 2,000 migrants to Salt Lake City. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
Feds send millions of taxpayer dollars to the Taliban
National, The Center Square

Feds send millions of taxpayer dollars to the Taliban

By Casey Harper | The Center Square After two decades at war with the Taliban, the U.S. government is now sending millions of taxpayer dollars to the terrorist group. The Taliban resumed power in Afghanistan immediately after the chaotic and deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops earlier in the Biden administration. A recently released federal watchdog report shows that the U.S. government has sent at least $11 million to the Taliban since the 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops. But experts and even the federal watchdog estimate the number is much higher. "The U.S. government has continued to be the largest international donor supporting the Afghan people since the former Afghan government collapsed and the Taliban returned to power in August 2021," the federal watchdog, SIGAR, wrote in ...
Trump says death sentences for dealers will solve U.S. drug problem
National, The Center Square

Trump says death sentences for dealers will solve U.S. drug problem

By Brett Rowland | The Center Square Former President Donald Trump said soft sentences for drug dealers have helped fuel fentanyl overdose deaths in the U.S.  Trump, 77, is running against President Joe Biden in the presidential election this November.  "So many are dying where they think they're getting something and going to have a little fun on a Friday night and all of sudden their dead," Trump said on Fox News.  "You'll never really solve the drug problem unless you do what other countries do – and that's the death penalty for drug dealers," Trump said during the interview. "A drug dealer on average will kill, during that person's life, 500 people. Unless you have a death penalty. Right now, they don't even get charged with anything." READ THE FULL STORY ...