Rocky Mountain Voice

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Duffy defends a father’s duty to protect his daughter’s soul over her résumé
Fox News, Approved, Commentary, National

Duffy defends a father’s duty to protect his daughter’s soul over her résumé

By Sean Duffy | Commentary, Fox News I will never apologize for wanting to protect her soul. That is a father’s sacred duty, whether the left likes it or not. My wife and I have a saying we’ve repeated often over the years to our nine children, "My job is to get you into heaven, not Harvard." This week, I learned that motto is pretty controversial. On Wednesday, I officially launched "The Great America Road Trip" series on YouTube. The show, which follows my family as we discover America, promotes road trips at a time when so many Americans feel disconnected from their country and even from their own families. On one of our stops, my family did what many families do; we visited prospective colleges. We drove to Boston to tour Boston College and Harvard University, the...
Trump Foreign Aid Cuts Put Years of USAID Waste and Fraud Under New Scrutiny
Just The News, Approved, National

Trump Foreign Aid Cuts Put Years of USAID Waste and Fraud Under New Scrutiny

By John Solomon | Just the News House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer says Democrats have a pecuniary interest in keeping foreign aid going because nonprofit recipients of federal largesse are big Democrat donors. A half-billion-dollar fraud and bribery scheme conducted by a USAID contract officer and three conspirators that went undetected for a decade. American-bought equipment stolen by a terror group. Millions of dollars in food that spoiled in warehouses. These are but a few of the wasteful — if not corrupt ways -- millions of USAID dollars have been lost. While President Donald Trump has sharply cut foreign aid from the auspices of USAID and shifted what remains to the State Department, the massive abuse of America’s generosity to foreign countries ove...
Former Durango Teacher Gets 40 Years For Sex Crimes Against 37 Teenage Boys
CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Former Durango Teacher Gets 40 Years For Sex Crimes Against 37 Teenage Boys

By Logan Smith | CBS Colorado A former Durango middle school teacher who obtained sexual images from more than three dozen teenage boys by pretending to be a 16-year-old girl on social media was sentenced last week to four decades in prison.  Benjamin Smith was sentenced in a Denver federal courtroom Tuesday. The judge ordered lifetime supervision, too, once Smith is released from prison.  Smith, 30, posed as "Kristin" on Snapchat under the username "MTNCHICK69," according to evidence presented by federal prosecutors. Behind that identity, Smith reached out to boys in the Durango area as young as 12. He started conversations, sent out photos of a naked girl, then asked the boys to send back photos of themselves in return, prosecutors stated. Smith ...
Aurora Council Members Split Over Statewide Fentanyl Felony Proposal
DENVER7, Approved, Local

Aurora Council Members Split Over Statewide Fentanyl Felony Proposal

By Adria Iraheta | Denver7 Initiative 85 would make possession of any amount of fentanyl a felony in Colorado, but Aurora city leaders say increased incarceration isn't the answer. AURORA, Colo. — Aurora's Government Relations Committee approved a resolution this week opposing Colorado's Initiative 85, a statewide ballot initiative which would make possession of any amount of fentanyl — even under one gram — a felony offense. Under current Colorado law, a felony possession charge only applies to amounts over one gram. The resolution opposing the measure now heads to a full vote at the next Aurora City Council meeting. Initiative 85 would also require court-ordered treatment for users and expand habitual criminal classifications for drug possession charg...
Colorado Voters To Decide Whether To Cap State Income Tax At 4.4%
Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Voters To Decide Whether To Cap State Income Tax At 4.4%

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Election officials on Thursday confirmed that the proposal to cap the state’s income tax at the current rate submitted signatures and voters will consequently decide its fate this November. The fight over tax rates is part of the tug and pull in Colorado between opposing political forces feuding over state revenue. One side of that fight argues that Colorado isn’t generating enough revenue to spend on state priorities, such as education. The competing side counters that the state already collects enough — but policymakers’ spending priorities are misplaced. The Secretary of State’s Office on Thursday cleared Initiative No. 232 after Advance Colorado, the group behind it, submitted more than 184,000 signatures to get it on the b...
Walmart Targets Lower Prices After Receiving Nearly $3 Billion in Tariff Refunds
Fox Business, Approved, National

Walmart Targets Lower Prices After Receiving Nearly $3 Billion in Tariff Refunds

By Bradford Betz | FOX Business Walmart plans part of nearly $3 billion in tariff refunds to support its pricing strategy as the retailer posted higher sales and raised its annual outlook. Walmart has received nearly $3 billion in tariff refunds and says it will use some of the benefit to help keep prices low for shoppers, while the windfall also gave quarterly profit growth a significant boost. The company said it "prioritized investment in price" after receiving refunds tied to tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The refunds came as Walmart continued leaning into its value proposition. The retailer pointed to more than 11,000 price rollbacks across its U.S. stores during the quarter. "We’re i...
New Federal Rule Ends Medicaid Funding for Some Youth Gender Treatments in Colorado
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

New Federal Rule Ends Medicaid Funding for Some Youth Gender Treatments in Colorado

By John Ingold | The Colorado Sun The new rule blocks federal dollars from being spent on the care. The change will affect hundreds of transgender youth in Colorado. Colorado will suspend Medicaid coverage for hormone therapy and other gender-affirming care for transgender youth due to a new federal rule, the state agency that oversees the program said. The rule, finalized earlier this month, blocks federal funds from being used to pay for the care for youth. Specifically, the rule applies to coverage for people under 18 who are covered by Medicaid and people under 19 who are covered by a companion program called CHIP, which in Colorado is known as CHP+. The rule affects coverage for hormone therapy and puberty blockers, as well as other procedures. It do...
Federal Judge Blocks Colorado Law Expanding State Oversight of ICE Facility
Courthouse News Service, Approved, State

Federal Judge Blocks Colorado Law Expanding State Oversight of ICE Facility

By Amanda Pampuro | Courthouse News Service Months before reports of tuberculosis infecting a detainee at an immigration detention center in Aurora, state lawmakers sought to expand the public health department’s ability to inspect the facility. DENVER (CN) — A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Thursday blocking a Colorado law that sought to expand the state public health agency’s ability to inspect an immigrant detention facility in Aurora. “HB-1276 applies only to civilian detention centers, of which there is one,” Chief U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico wrote in the opinion. “Though Colorado argues that the law only brings GEO into compliance with existing state regulations applied to other detention facilities, that law singles out this o...
Before students vote on capitalism, they should learn how it works, professor argues.
Fox News, Approved, Commentary, National

Before students vote on capitalism, they should learn how it works, professor argues.

By Scott Carrell | Commentary, Fox News Young Americans turn to socialism amid affordability crisis The recent election victories of socialist and progressive candidates in New York, Michigan and Minnesota, along with Democratic Socialist Francesca Hong’s narrow loss in Wisconsin, highlight the changing political and economic attitudes of a growing segment of Americans. Perhaps most surprising is the constituency driving this movement: younger, college-educated voters. Recent analysis shows support for Democratic Socialist candidates particularly strong among highly educated younger voters. By contrast, support among working-class voters without a college degree is weaker, despite these candidates’ emphasis on policies intended to benefit working-class households. ...
Colorado Ballot Measure Would Protect Hunting and Fishing in State Constitution
Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Ballot Measure Would Protect Hunting and Fishing in State Constitution

By Mike Krause | Complete Colorado DENVER–Colorado voters will decide in November whether to enshrine hunting and fishing as a constitutional right, after the secretary of state’s office on Wednesday confirmed Initiative #302 qualified for the general election ballot. Backers of the measure, formally titled “Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish,” turned in over 184,000 petition signatures, with state election officials declaring more than 145,000 of those as valid, easily clearing the roughly 124,000 signature threshold required for constitutional amendments, as well as the 2% per-district requirement in all 35 of Colorado’s state senate districts. The measure, backed by the newly formed T. Roosevelt Conservation Alliance, amends the Colorado Constitution to establish...