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US envoy Witkoff leaves Moscow without cease-fire agreement after Putin rejects Trump’s terms
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Approved, National, New York Post

US envoy Witkoff leaves Moscow without cease-fire agreement after Putin rejects Trump’s terms

By Caitlin Doornbos | New York Post Special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff left Moscow on Friday without a cease-fire deal in hand after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected President Trump’s terms to begin winding down the war with Ukraine. Putin met with Witkoff late Thursday after having kept the American waiting since roughly 12:30 p.m., according to flight tracking data and Russian reports, but ultimately sent him home with “signals” for Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told reporters. “A lot still needs to be done,” Peskov said of the cease-fire agreement, noting that Witkoff “presented additional information to the Russian side.” READ THE FULL STORY AT THE NEW YORK POST
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Chuck Schumer will vote to keep government open: ‘For Donald Trump, a shutdown would be a gift’
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Approved, Fox News, National

Chuck Schumer will vote to keep government open: ‘For Donald Trump, a shutdown would be a gift’

By  Stepheny Price , Julia Johnson , Kelly Phares , Megan Tome | Fox News Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., says he will vote to keep the government open, warning that a shutdown has worse consequences for Americans and would only empower President Donald Trump and Elon Musk further. "I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country to minimize the harms to the American people. Therefore, I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down," Schumer said while speaking on the Senate floor on Thursday.  The Democratic leader rattled off a list of reasons he disagrees with the House-passed stopgap spending bill, but added, "I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option." ...
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Never forget what the lockdowners did to us
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Approved, Commentary, National, The Federalist

Never forget what the lockdowners did to us

By M.D. Kittle | The Federalist, Commentary In March 2020, my aunt collapsed with a painful headache and was rushed to the hospital. We would soon learn that the headache was symptomatic of an aggressive form of brain cancer that no surgery or treatment could cure. Within six weeks we buried my beloved aunt and godmother.  Her death was swift and devastating, made all the more painful by the draconian “stay at home” orders that the state of Illinois issued. The blue state, led by the far-left Gov. J.B. Pritzker, was not alone. Lockdown madness was sweeping the nation. Among its first victims were people like my uncle, my cousins, my family — all locked out from seeing our dying loved one in the opening days of her hospitalization. My aunt’s husband of 60 years couldn’t even be a...
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Who gets to know? Lawmakers, media and watchdogs wrangle over public records access
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Who gets to know? Lawmakers, media and watchdogs wrangle over public records access

By RMV Staff | Rocky Mountain Voice Last year Democrat lawmakers created a loophole to dodge public scrutiny—and Governor Polis made it law. Now it’s easier for lawmakers to evade state open meetings law, through written and electronic communication. Republicans Sen. Byron Pelton and Rep. Lori Garcia Sander introduced House Bill 25-1242 to repeal and close that loophole. But the bill was killed in committee along party lines, reinforcing a trend toward less transparency at the state capitol. In response, a coalition of government watchdogs and media groups from across the political spectrum is pushing a ballot measure to strengthen public access to records and keep legislative meetings open. Transparency advocates, including the Independence Institute, League of Women Voters an...
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Colorado lawmakers opt to keep teen legislative panel, but cut its power
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Approved, KUNC, State

Colorado lawmakers opt to keep teen legislative panel, but cut its power

By Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun via KUNC Colorado lawmakers reversed course on Wednesday and decided to keep in place a 20-year-old program that gets teens involved at the Capitol — with a big caveat. The Colorado Youth Advisory Council will no longer have the power to draft bills for the legislature’s consideration. The General Assembly planned to ax the Colorado Youth Advisory Council — known as COYAC — to save $50,000 annually as lawmakers try to close a $1.2 billion budget hole. Republicans also complained that the council had become too liberal. Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, attempted Wednesday on the Senate floor to keep the council operating as-is, but an amendment she offered to Senate Bill 25-199, which will end a number of interim committees t...
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“Education desert” bill would let charters open without school board approval in underperforming areas
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun, Top Stories

“Education desert” bill would let charters open without school board approval in underperforming areas

By Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun New charter schools authorized by the Colorado Charter School Institute would be allowed to open in communities with low-performing schools — possibly without approval from local school boards — under legislation that Colorado Senate President James Coleman is considering introducing at the Capitol this year. Coleman, a Denver Democrat, is also exploring the prospect of giving Colorado school districts “the option to solicit proposals from their communities for new quality schools,” including traditional public schools, charter schools, magnet schools, innovation schools or “other innovative education models.” The key factor in opening new schools in areas with struggling schools, Coleman said, would be “demonstrated community demand from acros...
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Federal judge rules Trump must reinstate many fired federal employees
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Approved, National, THE HILL

Federal judge rules Trump must reinstate many fired federal employees

By Zach Schonfeld  | The Hill A federal judge ruled Thursday that the Trump administration must reinstate probationary government employees fired unlawfully at several agencies, lambasting the Justice Department at a hearing for a “sham” gambit that enabled a key official to avoid testifying in the case.  U.S. District Judge William Alsup’s ruling broadens his previous order to now require the government to reinstate probationary employees fired on Feb. 13 and 14 at the Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior and Treasury departments.  The case is one of multiple pending lawsuits challenging the mass terminations of probationary workers, who are usually in their first or second year in a role. The firings are just one dimension of a broader effort by the new...
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FBI’s new task force arrests 214 criminals, including Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangbangers, in two weeks
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Approved, National, New York Post

FBI’s new task force arrests 214 criminals, including Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gangbangers, in two weeks

By Diana Glebova | New York Post The FBI’s newly launched interagency task force in Virginia made 214 arrests in a two-week blitz since its inception, The Post has learned, rounding up members of violent gangs like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua. The interagency task force — the first of its kind — syncs the work of law enforcement agencies across the state to lock up criminals and illegal migrants. The coordinated effort led to four arrests of those affiliated with Tren de Aragua, 18 MS-13 members and 16 involved in other gangs or transnational organized crime. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE NEW YORK POST
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DOGE is terminating $9.4M in leases across Colorado
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Approved, kdvr.com, State

DOGE is terminating $9.4M in leases across Colorado

By Maddie Rhodes | Fox31 News Government agencies nationwide are experiencing spending cuts and layoffs with billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, and leases for property across Colorado are on the list. DOGE posted a “Wall of Receipts” on its website, listing contract, grant and lease cancellations. Over $9.4 million in leases are included, totaling 355,000 square feet. FOX31 matched the list to the U.S. General Services Administration’s inventory of federal government leases, which provided additional information, including addresses. READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX31 NEWS
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Where is my refund? Here’s how to track your federal and Colorado state tax refunds
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Approved, State, The Coloradoan

Where is my refund? Here’s how to track your federal and Colorado state tax refunds

By Nate Trela | Coloradoan Tax filing season has a little over a month left to go, with federal and Colorado state tax returns both due April 15. The IRS says it has already issued nearly 37 million refunds totaling nearly $125 billion as of Feb. 28. The average refund amount of $3,382 is up 6% from last year. Some taxpayers enjoy the big lump sum payment, although the refunds are largely the result of withholding more money from paychecks than you actually owed in a given year. That money could have been invested and generated a return instead of sitting in state and federal government accounts.   READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADOAN
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