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DOT Sec. Duffy warns blue states: comply with Trump orders or lose transportation funding
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Approved, Breitbart, National

DOT Sec. Duffy warns blue states: comply with Trump orders or lose transportation funding

By Olivia Rondeau | Breitbart Department of Transportation (DOT) Sec. Sean Duffy has threatened to withhold funding from states that refuse to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders, warning them that utilizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices and resisting compliance with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could result in “enforcement actions being taken by DOT.” Duffy, a former Wisconsin congressman who was selected by Trump in November to run the department, addressed a letter to all DOT grant recipients on Wednesday to remind them that they must comply with federal law to receive taxpayer dollars for transportation projects, Breitbart News learned. The secretary’s office told Breitbart News that failure to fall in line with the ...
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Colorado law limits what voters can verify—and critics say that needs to change
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Approved, Local, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado law limits what voters can verify—and critics say that needs to change

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Mesa County’s Ballot Verifier tool has been praised for giving residents unprecedented access to redacted ballot images and cast vote records. But for some longtime election integrity advocates, it’s only part of the solution. “This is a great step forward,” said Ed Arnos, a Mesa County resident and former lottery systems designer. “But it doesn’t verify the most important part—how the ballots were actually read.” This article is Part 3 of a three-part series on the Ballot Verifier: Mesa’s launch, Ada County’s pilot and the debate over election transparency laws. A philosophical divide Mesa County residents Tom Keenan and Ed Arnos have supported election transparency efforts for years. But both say the current syste...
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From critics to champions: How a ballot transparency tool won over Idaho voters—and inspired Mesa County
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Approved, Local, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

From critics to champions: How a ballot transparency tool won over Idaho voters—and inspired Mesa County

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice When Ada County launched a ballot audit tool built by a small independent company, no one knew what to expect. But what followed surprised even the clerk who helped shape it.  Election skeptics became supporters, recount demands dropped and voters started tracking their own ballots—sometimes using nothing more than a $2 bill. What began as a simple idea sketched on napkins between an Idaho election official and a civic-minded data entrepreneur would grow into a public-facing ballot verification platform now used by counties in multiple states, including Mesa County, Colorado. This article is Part 2 of a three-part series on the Ballot Verifier: Mesa’s launch, Ada County’s pilot and the debate over election transpa...
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Rubio overhauling ‘bloated’ State Department in sweeping reform
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Approved, Fox News, National

Rubio overhauling ‘bloated’ State Department in sweeping reform

By Michael Dorgan  | Fox News The Trump administration has announced it is overhauling the State Department and shuttering more than 130 offices around the world in order to streamline operations and align the department more closely with the administration's foreign policy objectives. The move was announced on Tuesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said region-specific functions will be consolidated to increase functionality and redundant offices will be shut down. Programs that are misaligned with America’s core national interests will be shuttered too, he said. Rubio said the State Department had become bloated, bureaucratic and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission in a new era of great power competition.  READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX ...
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DOJ files first-ever RICO charges against 27 Tren de Aragua gang members
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DOJ files first-ever RICO charges against 27 Tren de Aragua gang members

By Bob Price | Breitbart The Department of Justice filed multiple federal charges against 27 members of the hyperviolent Tren de Aragua Venezuelan gang on Monday. The charges include Racketeering, Narcotics and Sex Trafficking, Robbery, and Firearms offenses. DOJ officials say this marks the first time RICO charges have been filed against Tren de Aragua gang members. On Monday, DOJ officials unsealed indictments against 27 current or former members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang. Officials report that 21 of the 27 indicted gang members are currently in federal custody. “As alleged, Tren de Aragua is not just a street gang – it is a highly structured terrorist organization that has destroyed American families with brutal violence, engaged in human trafficking, and spread deadly d...
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Pam Bondi hosts first ‘Eradicating Anti-Christian bias task force’ meeting
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Approved, National, The Post Millennial

Pam Bondi hosts first ‘Eradicating Anti-Christian bias task force’ meeting

By Roberto Wakerell-Cruz | The Post Millennial Attorney General Pam Bondi hosted the Trump administration’s first meeting for the Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias Task Force on Tuesday.  "Together, this task force will identify any unlawful anti-Christian policies, practices or conduct across the government, seek input from faith-based organizations and state government to end anti-Christian bias, find and fix deficiencies in existing and regulatory practice that might contribute to the anti-Christian bias," Bondi said, also noting that the previous administration “abused and targeted Christians.” "As President Trump has stated, the Biden administration engaged in an egregious pattern of targeting peaceful Christians while ignoring violent, anti-Christian offenses....
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Over 100 countries have approached US ‘wanting to help rebalance global trade’: Treasury’s Bessent
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Approved, Fox Business, National

Over 100 countries have approached US ‘wanting to help rebalance global trade’: Treasury’s Bessent

By FOX Business Team , Christina Shaw and Stephen Sorace | Fox Business Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that more than 100 countries have approached the U.S. "wanting to help rebalance global trade" in response to President Donald Trump's tariff announcements. "These countries have responded openly and positively to the president's actions to create a more balanced international system," Bessent said at the Institute of International Finance. "We are engaged in meaningful discussions, and look forward to talking with others." READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS
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Children ‘Do not belong to government,’ Education Dept. warns Colorado on transgender bill
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Approved, National, State, The Daily Signal

Children ‘Do not belong to government,’ Education Dept. warns Colorado on transgender bill

By Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell  | Daily Signal As Colorado lawmakers consider a bill that would take custody rights away from parents who diverge from transgender orthodoxy, the Trump administration’s Education Department says that children aren’t the property of the government. “Children do not belong to the government. They belong to parents,” Education Department spokeswoman Julie Hartman told The Daily Signal. The Colorado House of Representatives passed a bill April 6 that would remove kids from parents’ custody for behaviors such as “misgendering” and “deadnaming” a transgender-identifying child. The bill has yet to progress in the Colorado Senate. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE DAILY SIGNAL
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Tina Peters asks court for relief, feds ask for caution—judge asks why
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Approved, denvergazette.com, National, State

Tina Peters asks court for relief, feds ask for caution—judge asks why

By Michael Karlik | Denver Gazette A federal judge on Tuesday struggled to understand why the United States government is claiming an "interest" in a relatively narrow issue related to the prosecution and conviction of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters. Although the government now alleges Peters' state criminal case may have been politically motivated, the U.S. Department of Justice's attorney would not say what evidence, if any, the department has to that effect. When the federal government files a statement asserting it has an interest in a case, "the typical situation is, 'We have an interest, judge, that you may not know about and we want you to be aware of it,'" said Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak during a hearing. "I’m just struggling to see what you all br...
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Not political theater: Montrose federal intervention request grounded in Constitutional oath
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Approved, National, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Not political theater: Montrose federal intervention request grounded in Constitutional oath

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice What does it mean to defend the Constitution? Two commissioners say this is what it looks like. On April 16, the Montrose County Board of County Commissioners voted 2–1 to send a formal Request for Federal Intervention to President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Commissioner Sue Hansen abstained.  The letter, authored by Commissioner Sean Pond and finalized with Chair Scott Mijares’ signature, argues that recent legislation passed by the Colorado General Assembly—particularly SB25-003—violates constitutional rights. The message does not call for military action or oversight. Instead, it asks national leaders to review Colorado laws, advocate for liberty and support rural coun...
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