It's About China, Not Panama

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Tuesday vetoed a new law to expand access to needle exchanges, one day after the measure was passed by the City Council. Johnston described the ordinance as “the wrong solution at the wrong time” in a letter to the City Council released by his office Tuesday night. “I support harm reduction strategies and also believe we need to place more emphasis on connecting individuals from needle exchange programs to substance misuse services to help them break the cycle of addiction,” Johnston wrote. The ordinance would have allowed an unlimited number of needle exchanges in areas zoned for medical offices and removed the 1,000-foot buffer between the sites and schools or daycares. Denver City Council approved the measure on an 8-5 vote.

It has been a week since Los Angeles’ devastating wildfires began, driven by powerful winds that have made the blazes highly difficult to fight. More than 40,000 acres have already burned, with at least 24 deaths; by comparison, the entirety of Washington, DC, is 43,000 acres. More than 12,300 structures have been destroyed, and at least 90,000 people are without power.

Legislative business in Minnesota’s 2025-2026 state House session began Tuesday at noon Central Time; or perhaps it hasn’t begun at all. It depends whom you ask. The 66 members of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Minnesota’s affiliate of the national Democratic Party, elected to its lower chamber did not show up; these Democrats argue that work can’t begin until after a January 28 special election takes place to fill an open seat in a blue district. With that seat unfilled, the Republicans lead the chamber 67-66.

When Donald Trump was president the first time, his Department of Education promulgated a set of rules under Title IX that made it harder for sexual assault survivors on school campuses to seek justice—limiting the definition of sexual harassment, for example, and forcing victims into complaint processes that magnified their trauma.

A Colorado state lawmaker is suing the ride-hailing company Lyft and a local transportation outfit after she says she was sexually assaulted by her driver on a ride last year. Rep. Jenny Willford, a Northglenn Democrat, spoke about the new lawsuit during a news conference in the state Capitol on Tuesday.

By MICHELLE L. PRICE, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Country music star Carrie Underwood will perform “America the Beautiful” at Donald Trump’s inauguration next week and the 1970s hitmakers Village People will perform at two inaugural events. Underwood, who launched her career on “American Idol,” is to perform shortly before Trump takes the oath of office at the U.