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Firefighters union declines to endorse Kamala Harris for president after being first to back Biden in 2020
Approved, National, The Post Millennial

Firefighters union declines to endorse Kamala Harris for president after being first to back Biden in 2020

By  Hannah Nightingale | The Post Millennial On Thursday, the International Association of Fire Fighters announced that it would not be endorsing any candidate in the 2024 presidential election. This comes after the union’s executive board had backed Joe Biden’s White House bid in 2020. IAFF President Edward Kelly said that the union’s executive board voted by a margin of just 1.2 percent not to endorse Democratic candidate Kamala Harris or GOP candidate Donald Trump. "Over the past year, the IAFF took unprecedented steps to hear our members’ views on the candidates and the policy issues that matter most to them," Kelly said. "As we have over our 106-year history, the IAFF will continue its work to improve the lives of firefighters and their families. The IAFF Execut...
FEMA’s failure leaves Hurricane Helene victims crying out for help
Approved, National, The Federalist

FEMA’s failure leaves Hurricane Helene victims crying out for help

By  M.D. Kittle | The Federalist The washed-out, mud-caked roads and bridges of Madison County, N.C., the river-ravaged homes and businesses in county seat Marshall, and the desperation of the Appalachian inhabitants are all testament to the merciless destruction of Hurricane Helene.  That so many remain lost, trapped, hungry, and hopeless a week after the hurricane unleashed historic rains and horrific flooding is testament, some residents and family members say, to the abject incompetence of the Biden-Harris administration and its ill-prepared Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Sarah Parkhurst, of Montgomery, Ala., born and raised in the small-town shadows of Asheville, N.C., tells The Federalist that she thanks God for the private citizens that have len...
Supreme Court to decide if Mexico can sue firearms makers over cartel violence
Approved, National, Washington Examiner

Supreme Court to decide if Mexico can sue firearms makers over cartel violence

By Kaelan Deese | Washington Examiner The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a significant case that could determine whether Mexico can bring a $10 billion lawsuit against U.S. gun manufacturers for allegedly facilitating the flow of firearms to drug cartels. The case, revived by a federal appeals court, challenges the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), a 2005 law that generally shields gun manufacturers from civil liability when their products are used in criminal activities. A lower court initially dismissed Mexico’s lawsuit based on this law, but the 1st Circuit Court ruled that Mexico’s claims fit an exemption in the PLCAA, allowing the suit to move forward. Mexico argues that U.S. gun manufacturers, such as Smith & Wesson, are culp...
[UPDATED] Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters given 9-year sentence by judge
Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

[UPDATED] Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters given 9-year sentence by judge

By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice Judge Matthew Barrett has sentenced Tina Peters, once the Mesa County clerk and recorder, to serve eight and a half years in prison with the Department of Corrections, and six months in the Mesa County Jail as a result of being found guilty on various election charges related to her former capacity. In a scathing rebuke of her defiant behavior after a guilty conviction, Barrett listed all the reasons that probation was not a possibility for Peters: “You are no hero… Yes, you are a charlatan… Incarceration is appropriate when a person is a danger to us all, by sword or by pen,” he said from the bench. Peters' attorney, Michael Edministor, asked the judge to consider a probated sentence, considering his client had exhibited a his...
Does Colorado’s public pension program invest in companies that boycott Israel?
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Does Colorado’s public pension program invest in companies that boycott Israel?

By Justin George | The Colorado Sun Colorado’s Public Employees’ Retirement Association, or PERA, is barred from investing in companies that have economic prohibitions against Israel under a law passed in 2016. The law requires PERA to identify all companies that have economic prohibitions against Israel and put together a list of these companies twice a year. PERA must notify any company on the list that it could be subject to divestment if the company continues its anti-Israel policy. If the company hasn’t dropped its policy within 180 days of being notified, PERA is required to stop investing in it. This year, a Colorado house bill proposed to repeal the rule but it failed. The issue has come under greater scrutiny since Israel has been at war in Palestine since an Oct. 7, 2023...
In Grand Junction, residents debate whether pilot project is promising solution or problem multiplier
Approved, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice

In Grand Junction, residents debate whether pilot project is promising solution or problem multiplier

By Jen Schumann | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice The 4th/5th Street Pilot Project in Grand Junction has sparked a public outcry. City officials call the project a step toward a friendlier downtown for pedestrians and cyclists, but many residents feel it has done more harm than good. The city of Grand Junction launched Engage GJ for community input on projects. As of this article, 286 comments are on the 4th and 5th Street Pilot Project page. A majority, 205 comments are critical of the project on three fronts: access for the elderly and disabled, safety and impact on local businesses. Many expressed concerns about the pilot project's impact on their access to vital downtown services. They argue that the changes on 4th and 5th streets are confusing. They make it harder to naviga...
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office arrests two in human trafficking investigation
Approved, gazette.com, Local

El Paso County Sheriff’s Office arrests two in human trafficking investigation

By Mackenzie Bodell  | The Gazette The El Paso County Sheriff's Office arrested two individuals on human trafficking charges Wednesday following a 911 call from Colorado Ped Patrol. Patrol deputies responded to the call at the 600 block of Hathaway Drive in the Cimarron Hills neighborhood of unincorporated El Paso County and made contact with the reporting party, according to a news release sent out Thursday. Based on the initial information gathered, detectives from the sheriff’s office responded and assumed the investigation. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
Mile High Red Cross calling on volunteers to help with Hurricane Helene recovery efforts
Approved, CBS Colorado, National

Mile High Red Cross calling on volunteers to help with Hurricane Helene recovery efforts

By Ashley Portillo | CBS Colorado Hurricane Helene caused widespread devastation, and because of the magnitude of just how large the storm was, the American Red Cross Mile High Area in Denver is making an urgent plea for more volunteers to help out at disaster shelters. As of this week, more than 1,000 Red Cross volunteers and disaster responders from across the country are boots-on-the-ground, helping those recovering in 10 states devastated by Hurricane Helene. That includes North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida. Norman Deeba, of Broomfield, and Pam Pickle, of Red Feather Lakes, are two of approximately 30 Coloradans currently on deployment helping during the aftermath of the storm. READ THE FULL STORY AT CBS COLORADO
Colorado Springs releases preliminary changes to Council district boundaries
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

Colorado Springs releases preliminary changes to Council district boundaries

By Breeanna Jent | Colorado Politics, via The Gazette A preliminary map of new boundaries for each of Colorado Springs' six City Council districts accounts for anticipated continued growth on the city's north and northeast sides. District 2, the city's northernmost district, and District 6, the northeast and eastern district, will shrink to account for expected future population growth in both districts, City Clerk Sarah Johnson told reporters Wednesday. "... We know that over the next four years it's just going to get bigger in some places in town. So the focus was really just trying to take a look at where that growth is happening and try to balance that population," she said. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
Obama to campaign for Harris in Pennsylvania, other key states
Approved, Fox News, National

Obama to campaign for Harris in Pennsylvania, other key states

By Michael Dorgan , Paul Steinhauser  | Fox News Former President Obama is preparing to hit the campaign trail next week for Vice President Harris, focusing on key battleground states in the lead up to Election Day, according to a senior campaign official with anonymity to discuss the matter. Obama, who served back-to-back terms as president from 2009 through 2017, will kick off his drive in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania on Thursday, a state which remains one of the tightest contests in the nation and which could tip the scales for either candidate.  A Fox News survey of Pennsylvania voters last week found Harris narrowly ahead of Trump by 2 points (50-48%) among registered voters, while the race is tied at 49% each among likely voters. President Bid...