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Colorado Repeat Offender Freed by Court Accused of Killing Mother of Three
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Fox News, Approved, State

Colorado Repeat Offender Freed by Court Accused of Killing Mother of Three

By: Julia Bonavita | Fox News Thomas Perales allegedly killed Annette Marie Valdez following years of domestic violence incidents and court violations. A Colorado repeat offender is accused of brutally murdering the mother of his children before spending several days pushing her lifeless body around in a shopping cart just a week after being released from jail. Thomas Perales, a homeless man with multiple prior arrests, is accused of killing Annette Marie Valdez after her body was discovered inside a Westminster trash can Dec. 4, according to 9NEWS.  Perales had allegedly violated a protection order taken out by Valdez numerous times and had been released from jail just a week before the alleged murder, the outlet reported. The 37-y...
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Minnesota’s Medicaid Scandal Shows Why Colorado Must Tighten the Guardrails
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Minnesota’s Medicaid Scandal Shows Why Colorado Must Tighten the Guardrails

By Cory Gaines | Complete Colorado To say Minnesota has had some fraud going on is an understatement. I don’t know that I’ve seen it mentioned much in local media, but it’s a big national story. Colorado should beware taking its turn in this barrel. First, some brief background. Minnesota sought (and received) Medicaid waivers during COVID to use taxpayer dollars to fund things like subsidized housing for recipients, which ended up an impetus for massive fraud. An MPR News article gives some context, but the sheer size of the numbers are what really popped out to me: “According to the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office, DHS [Minnesota Department of Housing Stabilization] had initially predicted the housing stabilization program would cost about $2.6 mill...
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SMART Act hearings offer rare oversight of Colorado state agencies
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

SMART Act hearings offer rare oversight of Colorado state agencies

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project SMART act: speak up at state department/division hearings The Colorado SMART act (see the first link below for the bill) is the formalism by how our state legislature provides oversight of various governmental agencies. Reading through the bill makes me nod with approval while at the same time pegging my scoff meter. What I mean is that the language is lofty, and I’m not sure how much genuine oversight happens. The good news is that (regardless of the effectiveness of the oversight) a SMART act hearing is your chance to speak up if you have comment about a particular department or division of a department. I will use the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee as my example for this ...
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Accused Charlie Kirk Assassin Smirks in Court as Transparency Fight Heats Up
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Breitbart, Approved, National

Accused Charlie Kirk Assassin Smirks in Court as Transparency Fight Heats Up

By: Olivia Rondeau | Breitbart Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, smirked Thursday during his first in-person court appearance since his September arrest. Footage of the 22-year-old sitting in the Provo court shows him sport a smile while speaking with his attorney: https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1999196198150816109?s=20 “Zero remorse,” wrote Jack Posobiec, a close friend of Kirk’s: https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1999199003464831101?s=20 Robinson was granted permission to wear street clothes instead of a typical prison jumpsuit before the judge, but his request to ditch the shackles was denied, Fox News noted in its coverage. He is facing charges of aggravated murder, felony us...
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Ranchers Warn of Coordinated Cattle Thefts in Weld County
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kdvr.com, Approved, Local

Ranchers Warn of Coordinated Cattle Thefts in Weld County

By Alliyah Sims | KDVR FOX31 WELD COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Something strange is happening in Weld County: 14 Black Angus cattle have vanished from multiple ranches, and now deputies believe the animals were stolen, not lost. Since the beginning of October, ranchers in Weld County have been discovering missing cattle, but there’s no broken fences, no tracks, nothing left behind. Deputies say the pattern points to deliberate theft, not wandering animals. Chad Sanger, owner of Turnkey Cattle Company, says he checked every fence and gate, even the automated ranch entrance. The Weld County Sheriff’s Office confirms 14 missing Black Angus cattle across multiple herds. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT KDVR FOX31
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Colorado Declines Federal Tip Relief Creating Tax Season Confusion
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kdvr.com, Approved, State

Colorado Declines Federal Tip Relief Creating Tax Season Confusion

By Shaul Turner | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) – As the end of the year approaches, many workers who rely on tips and overtime pay may face some confusion as they prepare for tax return season. President Trump’s bill passed by the legislature provides a temporary tax break for tips but that doesn’t apply on the state level. The new federal tax break for tips allows employees to deduct up to $25,000 of tip income and is effective through the 2028 tax year, but Colorado will not follow suit. “It’ll be Christmas on the federal and no holiday season on the state,” said tax attorney Chadwick Elliot of the Denver Tax Group. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT KDVR FOX31
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BLM Oklahoma Leader Charged in Massive Federal Fraud Case
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The Gateway Pundit, Approved, National

BLM Oklahoma Leader Charged in Massive Federal Fraud Case

By Cristina Laila | The Gateway Pundit An executive director of Black Lives Matter Oklahoma was charged with wire fraud and money laundering. A federal grand jury on December 3 returned a 25-count indictment against Tashella Sheri Amore Dickerson, 52. Dickerson was charged with 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. “On December 3, 2025, a federal Grand Jury returned a 25-count Indictment, charging Dickerson with 20 counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. For each count of wire fraud, Dickerson faces up to 20 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $250,000. For each count of money laundering, Dickerson faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the amount of the criminally derived property ...
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Colorado Faces Federal Lawsuit as Griswold Refuses to Release Voter Data
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Faces Federal Lawsuit as Griswold Refuses to Release Voter Data

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold after she refused to provide the agency with certain voter information. Last week, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division asked Griswold’s office to provide unredacted voter data, including full names, dates of birth, residential addresses, and driver’s license numbers. Federal authorities have sought voter data from more than 20 states, saying it’s part of project to ensure election security. The DOJ lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Denver, alleges that Griswold violated the federal Civil Rights Act by refusing to provide the records. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Trump Targets State-Level AI Rules Amid Concerns Over Innovation
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, National

Trump Targets State-Level AI Rules Amid Concerns Over Innovation

By Wire Services | The Denver Gazette President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at blocking states from crafting their own regulations for artificial intelligence, saying the burgeoning industry is at risk of being stifled by a patchwork of onerous rules while in a battle with Chinese competitors for supremacy. Members of Congress from both parties, as well as civil liberties and consumer rights groups, have pushed for more regulations on AI, saying there is not enough oversight for the powerful technology. Business groups, including in Colorado, have argued against state-by-state regulations, arguing the federal government should tackle this topic and any law passed should apply nationwide, instead of a patchwork of regulations. Last year,...
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State accessibility law exposes gap between lawmakers’ intentions and local reality
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

State accessibility law exposes gap between lawmakers’ intentions and local reality

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project How is our state’s accessibility law playing out? Part 1 If you spend your days immersed in politics, things don’t really sneak up on you; you watch a bill work its way through the process, then get signed, then get enacted. If you have other things occupying your attention, say you have kids and a family and a mortgage, bills can sometimes be a surprise. The 10 cent bag fee is a great example. Despite lots of news coverage, you didn’t see a lot of fuss about it in the public square until the bag fees were enacted, until Wal-Mart said they were just going to stop putting bags out altogether. HB21-1110 is like those bag fees, though perhaps it won’t intersect with as many lives as grocery bags d...
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