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Colorado state government spending increases outpaced inflation, report says
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Colorado state government spending increases outpaced inflation, report says

By Tom Joyce | The Center Square Colorado has vastly grown its government spending over the past 20 years, according to a new report from Common Sense Institute. CSI's "Then and Now" report found that government spending in Colorado has vastly outpaced inflation over the last 20 years. Adjusted for inflation, the state government has increased spending by 35% in that stretch from $5,140 per Coloradoan to $6,924. Healthcare is a big reason for that spending increase over the last 20 years. The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing grew its budget by 429% from Fiscal Year 2005 to Fiscal Year 2025, from $3 billion to $15.9 billion; that department went from 22% of the budget to 37%. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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Harper: Political realignment in 2024 has changed American politics
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Approved, Commentary, National, The Center Square

Harper: Political realignment in 2024 has changed American politics

By Casey Harper | Commentary, The Center Square Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump face off at the ballot box on Tuesday with control of the U.S. Senate and House up for grabs. This election cycle has featured unusual alliances and demographic shifts not seen in recent elections. Billionaire Elon Musk joined former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to endorse Trump this time around. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.
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AG Paxton: Texas investigation into ActBlue uncovers suspicious donations
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National, The Center Square

AG Paxton: Texas investigation into ActBlue uncovers suspicious donations

By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square A nearly year-long investigation into ActBlue, a Democratic Party online donation platform, alleges a large number of suspicious donations have been made, resulting in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton petitioning the Federal Election Commission to get involved. On Monday, Paxton petitioned the FEC EditSign to consider implementing new regulations to prevent straw donations from being made on online political fundraising platforms. Since launching the investigation, Paxton said it’s been publicly reported that potentially fraudulent transactions have occurred on political committee online platforms. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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California government blocks new Musk rocket launches, citing Trump support
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California government blocks new Musk rocket launches, citing Trump support

By Kenneth Schrupp  | The Center Square The California government denied an Air Force request to allow Elon Musk’s SpaceX to increase its California rocket launches, citing Musk’s politics. The Department of Defense and a large bipartisan coalition of lawmakers endorsed the launch expansion, with some center-left housing activists attacking the vote as no different than the California Coastal Commission’s consistent denial of housing.  The Air Force and Space Force had requested that the California Coastal Commission allow SpaceX to increase its annual permitted launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara from 36 to 50. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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‘High risk noncitizens’ without IDs flying across U.S.
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‘High risk noncitizens’ without IDs flying across U.S.

By  Bethany Blankley | The Center Square Twenty-three years after Islamic terrorists used airplanes to conduct the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, the federal agency created to protect Americans from national security threats “cannot ensure they are keeping high-risk noncitizens without identification from entering the country.”  The potentially high-risk noncitizens are being flown on domestic flights without identification, creating a public safety risk, according to the latest Office of Inspector General report assessing several federal agencies within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The OIG has repeatedly published reports identifying potential national security risks created by Biden-Harris policies identified within DHS and its subagencies. READ THE FU...
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Federal gun charges filed against suspect in 2nd assassination attempt on Trump
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Federal gun charges filed against suspect in 2nd assassination attempt on Trump

By Dan McCaleb | The Center Square Federal authorities in Florida on Monday filed two gun charges against the suspect in what the FBI is calling an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, the second in two months. Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was charged with possession of a firearm as a felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Additional charges are expected. Law enforcement officials allege Routh was armed with a semiautomatic rifle and scope just outside Trump's West Palm Beech golf club while the former president was playing the course. A Secret Service agent who was monitoring the course a hole ahead of Trump noticed a man with a rifle, pointing the barrel through a chain-link fence near shrubbery that surrounds the course, a...
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U.S. borrowing tops $1.9 trillion so far this year
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The Center Square, Approved, National

U.S. borrowing tops $1.9 trillion so far this year

By Jennie Tae and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon | The Center Square  The federal government borrowed $1.9 trillion in the first eleven months of fiscal year 2024, including $380 billion in August, a startling amount as federal watchdogs sound the alarm on spending. Those borrowing figures come from the the latest Monthly Treasury Statement from the Treasury Department. Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said that is roughly $6 billion borrowed per day this fiscal year. "America faces steep fiscal challenges in the very near future – next year alone, we’ll need to confront the multi-trillion dollar question of extending the 2017 tax cuts, we’ll need to raise the debt ceiling, and we’ll need to address the expiration of discretionary spend...
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Federal funds to assist Coloradans in online filing of state, federal tax returns
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Federal funds to assist Coloradans in online filing of state, federal tax returns

By Joe Mueller | The Center Square Federal tax money is returning to Colorado via free online tax filing for state and federal returns, which could help low-income taxpayers obtain more credits. Taxpayer money from the $500 billion Inflation Reduction Act will pay for Coloradans to electronically file their state and federal returns for tax year 2025 in 2026 through a program called Direct File. The Colorado Department of Revenue currently offers a free electronic service to file state tax returns. However, the Democratic Gov. Jared Polis and the Department of Revenue contend Direct file will save Coloradans millions in filing fees, hours of time and help taxpayers get information on possible additional tax credits. READ THE FULL STORY THE CENTER SQUARE
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Three years after withdrawal, Taliban rules Afghanistan
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Three years after withdrawal, Taliban rules Afghanistan

By CASEY HARPER | Center Square This week will mark the three-year anniversary of President Joe Biden’s chaotic and deadly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Biden committed on the campaign trail to withdraw U.S. troops, a move supported by his predecessor Donald Trump, but the process left 13 U.S. service members killed and the country within the hands of the Taliban. The Taliban also received billions of dollars in U.S. military equipment because it was left behind. READ MORE AT CENTER SQUARE
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Drug traffickers, with ties to Colorado, sentenced to prison in Oregon
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Drug traffickers, with ties to Colorado, sentenced to prison in Oregon

By Tom Joyce | The Center Square An Oregon-based drug trafficking cell leader with ties to a large Mexico-based drug trafficking organization received a federal prison sentence this week after an investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Horacio Luna-Perez, 42, of Hillsboro, Oregon, got a 97-month federal prison sentence and five years’ supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. DEA special agents started investigating a drug trafficking organization that operated in several states, including Oregon; the organization had ties to Mexico. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE CENTER SQUARE
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