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Senate Fails to Advance DHS Funding Amid Partisan Divide Over Immigration Enforcement
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CBS News, Approved, National

Senate Fails to Advance DHS Funding Amid Partisan Divide Over Immigration Enforcement

By Kaia Hubbard | CBS News Washington — The Senate failed to advance a measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, 11 days into a partial government shutdown with no apparent end in sight.  In a 50 to 45 vote, the measure fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed to move forward. The vote marked a second attempt to advance the measure and came after lawmakers returned to Washington following a weeklong recess without a deal to reform federal immigration agencies.  Congress' failure to reach an agreement on how to fund DHS prompted a funding lapse for the department, which also oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard. The major sticking point has been o...
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Feds Shut Down 550 Commercial Driving Schools Over Safety Failures
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KKCO-TV Grand Junction, Approved, National

Feds Shut Down 550 Commercial Driving Schools Over Safety Failures

By The Associated Press and Josh Funk | KKCO TV (AP) - More than 550 commercial driving schools in the U.S. that train truckers and bus drivers must close after investigators found they employed unqualified instructors, failed to adequately test students and had other safety issues, the federal Transportation Department announced Wednesday. The move marks the Trump administration’s latest effort to improve safety in the trucking industry. And unlike its actions last fall to decertify up to 7,500 schools that included many defunct operations, this latest step is focused on active schools inspectors identified as having significant shortcomings in 1,426 site visits completed in December. The department has been aggressively going after states that handed out c...
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Denver Mayor Johnston Claims Sanctuary Policies Boost Safety As Federal Lawsuits Advance
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Mayor Johnston Claims Sanctuary Policies Boost Safety As Federal Lawsuits Advance

By Deborah Grigsby | The Denver Gazette Denver has joined some 140 cities, counties and elected officials in filing two amicus briefs backing Minnesota and Rochester, New York — jurisdictions sued by the Trump administration’s over their “sanctuary” policies. In a statement, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston characterized the White House’s actions as “defunding” and “punishing” America’s “sanctuary cities.” The Trump administration, meanwhile, said sanctuary jurisdictions have stood in the way of enforcing immigration laws. Johnston’s office described Minnesota and Rochester as “cities that, like Denver, are fighting back against the White House’s baseless attempts to rewrite local and state law in violation of the U.S. Constitution.” An amicus brief – or friend...
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California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota File Suit Over Federal Health Cuts
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CBS News, Approved, National

California, Colorado, Illinois, and Minnesota File Suit Over Federal Health Cuts

By The Associated Press | CBS News Four Democratic-led states that have become frequent targets of President Donald Trump sued Wednesday to try to block his administration from cutting off hundreds of millions in public health grants. The Department of Health and Human Services told Congress on Monday that it planned to withhold about $600 million in grant funding allocated to the four states: California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota. Their attorneys general argue the cuts are backlash for the states' opposition to Trump's immigration crackdown. The lawsuit says the cuts violate the Constitution by imposing retroactive conditions on funding and asks a federal court in Illinois to block them from taking effect. Some grants could be terminated as soon as Thurs...
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Federal Officials Cite Fraud Concerns In Proposed Cuts Affecting Colorado and 3 Other States
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Federal Officials Cite Fraud Concerns In Proposed Cuts Affecting Colorado and 3 Other States

By: Thelma Grimes | The Denver Gazette The Trump’s administration is planning to withhold some public health and transportation money from a group of Democratic-led states, including Colorado. The other states are California, Illinois and Minnesota. Full details have not been released, including whether the states could take any steps to avoid losing the funding. Colorado has sued the White House or joined lawsuits filed by other states over similar efforts to withhold funding. The federal government cited concerns over fraud and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars. A spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Health and Human Services said the state learned of the potential cuts through the media and has not been formally notified by the federal agency. ...
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Boebert Delivers Nearly $15 Million for Rural Water and Infrastructure Projects
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kdvr.com, Approved, State

Boebert Delivers Nearly $15 Million for Rural Water and Infrastructure Projects

By Spencer Kristensen | KDVR DENVER (KDVR) — Rep. Lauren Boebert secured nearly $15 million for clean water projects in rural areas of Colorado, only about a month after President Donald Trump issued the first-ever veto to a unanimously-approved, bipartisan bill, the “Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act,” on Dec. 30, which would have funded the completion of a 130-mile pipeline that would have delivered clean water to over 50,000 residents in southeastern Colorado. Now, 13 communities in Boebert’s district, the 4th Congressional District, have secured $14.75 million in funding for water and infrastructure projects, after requests were signed into law. “I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that 13 of my community project funding requests have been signed int...
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Trump Moves to Cut Federal Funds to Sanctuary Cities Starting Feb. 1
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Fox News, Approved, National

Trump Moves to Cut Federal Funds to Sanctuary Cities Starting Feb. 1

By Emma Bussey | Fox News Move targets jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. President Donald Trump said his administration will cease federal payments to sanctuary cities and states with sanctuary policies starting Feb. 1, while citing jurisdictions that protect criminals and fuel fraud and crime. Speaking at the Detroit Economic Club, Trump said the move was aimed at cities and states that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and in the administration's bid to stamp out fraud. "Starting Feb. 1, we’re not making any payments to sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities because they do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens," Trump said. "...
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Colorado Risks $24M in Federal Funds as thousands of Commercial Driver’s Licenses Were Issued Illegally
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Colorado Risks $24M in Federal Funds as thousands of Commercial Driver’s Licenses Were Issued Illegally

By: The Associated Press | Denver7 DENVER (AP) — The head of the U.S. Department of Transportation threatened Monday to withhold $24 million in federal funding from the state of Colorado for what he described as a slow response to a major violation of federal commercial driver's license regulations. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pointed to a nationwide audit conducted in October that found about 22% of the commercial licenses doled out by Colorado to immigrants were done so illegally, many to Mexican nationals — a practice that's prohibited under federal law. Duffy accused Colorado of “slow walking” the required purge of these licenses. He said the state has failed to complete a full audit, provide a complete accounting of affected drivers, or revoke the inv...
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Minnesota’s Medicaid Scandal Shows Why Colorado Must Tighten the Guardrails
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Complete Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

Minnesota’s Medicaid Scandal Shows Why Colorado Must Tighten the Guardrails

By Cory Gaines | Complete Colorado To say Minnesota has had some fraud going on is an understatement. I don’t know that I’ve seen it mentioned much in local media, but it’s a big national story. Colorado should beware taking its turn in this barrel. First, some brief background. Minnesota sought (and received) Medicaid waivers during COVID to use taxpayer dollars to fund things like subsidized housing for recipients, which ended up an impetus for massive fraud. An MPR News article gives some context, but the sheer size of the numbers are what really popped out to me: “According to the Minnesota U.S. Attorney’s Office, DHS [Minnesota Department of Housing Stabilization] had initially predicted the housing stabilization program would cost about $2.6 mill...
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Conservatives Unite to End Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Providers
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The Daily Signal, Approved, National

Conservatives Unite to End Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Providers

By: Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell | The Daily Signal FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The pro-life movement has determined its newest priority: preventing Planned Parenthood from receiving full funding again, starting July 4. “Next year, our nation will mark its 250th anniversary. A celebration of human dignity and the God-given rights proclaimed in our founding,” Live Action founder and president Lila Rose told The Daily Signal. “But we cannot celebrate freedom while subsidizing the killing of American children.” President Donald Trump’s “One, Big Beautiful Bill” instructed the federal government to end Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, that received more than $800,000,000 from Medicaid in 2023. But on July 4, America’...
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