Free Republic

Venezuela's new petroleum minister sees her South American home not as a dilapidated former oil giant, but as an emerging energy economy ripe for U.S. and foreign investments in new oil and gas exploration, both onshore and offshore. Paula Henao, who took over as the hydrocarbons minister in March after the forced U.S. removal of former leader Nicolás Maduro, told an overflowing Houston energy audience on Wednesday that Venezuela is much more than just its famed heavy-grade crude oil. There are more than 916 exploration opportunities awaiting foreign investment, she said, including natural gas and other untapped oil basins. She...

Colorado state officials on Thursday morning released the results of spring 2023 K-12 achievement tests and the results are mixed -- suggesting that where students were developmentally when their learning was disrupted by the COVID pandemic may play a role in how well they're succeeding academically today. In the English Language Arts portion of the Colorado Measures of Academic Success for example, higher percentages of students in grades 5, 6 and 7 met or exceeded expectations than in 2022, but grades 3 and 4 saw drops or nominal gains. The CMAS tests students in grades 3-8, finding that across the...

Democrats on Thursday narrowed the list of potential host cities for their 2028 presidential convention to Boston, Denver and Philadelphia as their party looks ahead to a wide-open primary to succeed President Donald Trump. Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement the cities put forward “incredibly strong bids,” and he promised the convention would be an “inspiring celebration of our party’s future nominee.” A final decision is expected to be made later this year by party leaders. Republicans have already chosen Houston for the site of their 2028 convention. The Democratic convention, scheduled for Aug. 7-10, 2028,...

Restaurants and other businesses have lost their challenge to Denver ordinances that forbid them from using natural-gas appliances, as a judge has found they are not preempted by federal law. The Restaurant Law Center and the National Association of Home Builders were among the trade associations that sued Denver in July 2024, arguing rules passed in Denver this decade were preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Judge Philip Brimmer disagreed in an Aug. 7 ruling granting the city’s motion to dismiss. Preemption only applies to energy use requirements on manufacturers before the appliances reach consumers, Brimmer wrote....

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a 27-year-old Ecuadorian woman as she prepared to board a flight from Denver to Oakland on July 20, according to ICE and a friend who witnessed the arrest. Chantal Morales Rojas had been living in Oakland and was returning from a visit to Denver with her former host family, according to Bay Area resident Alycia Dantzker. Dantzker said Rojas previously worked for the family as an au pair when they lived in Santa Cruz County. The family has since moved to Denver. Dantzker said she has known Rojas for three...

This isn't the first time Melat Kiros has rationalized violence against civilians.

Local moratoriums spring up after state inaction, while New Mexico and Utah fight “hyperscale” data polluters .... Local governments in Colorado are moving quickly to slap moratoriums on new data center development in reaction to a public backlash against rising electricity prices, heavy pollution and lucrative tax breaks. Denver, Jefferson County and Longmont have all moved in recent weeks to limit data centers, which house servers for mass computation that demand enormous amounts of electricity and cooling water. Cities and counties are moving in part because the state legislature failed to act in 2026, eventually letting two competing bills die...

A woke Colorado woman who stormed out of a local barbecue restaurant because it was playing the national anthem says she will never return. Autum Trayler, 24, filmed her horrified reaction to the patriotic tune blaring inside Mission BBQ in Arvada. 'I'm not doing none of this,' said Trayler in the June 9 clip, which racked up nearly 8,000 views on TikTok. 'Help me,' she whispered as she gestured to the camera with a fist and mimicked choking herself out of disgust. Trayler, of Denver, also wrote in her caption that she was not in a safe space and added...

Denver Public Schools board members voted unanimously May 20 to dismiss a 50-year-old foreign language teacher following a district investigation and an independent review into student complaints about a class assignment. The board voted 7-0 after meeting in executive session to consider the firing of Jennifer Honka. Honka taught French Language and Culture at Northeast Early College for all of her eight years with the district. Officially, Honka was fired for incompetence and neglect of duty. There was no public debate among the board members prior to the vote. Honka's classroom instruction first came into question during the 2023-24 school...

The Denver Public Schools Board of Education voted UNANIMOUSLY to dismiss French teacher Jennifer Honka. Honka, who taught at Northeast Early College high school, reportedly made female students kiss each other during classroom skits and graded them on their performance. . . One student who refused to participate testified she received a zero on the assignment. Students told other teachers they felt pressured and uncomfortable being forced to engage in these highly personal and sexualized role-plays in front of classmates.

Denver International Airport is preparing to open portions of a mysterious underground tunnel system that has long been plagued by conspiracy theories. Officials announced plans this week to convert sections of the airport’s underground baggage tunnels into pedestrian walkways connecting concourses A, B and C. The tunnels, which have long fueled speculation involving secret bunkers, "lizard people" and underground military facilities, will become an alternative route for passengers traveling between terminals. Currently, travelers primarily move between concourses using the airport’s underground train system. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston acknowledged the airport’s unusual reputation while discussing the project.

The Denver airport trespasser who was dismembered by a jet engine after he calmly stepped in front of a Frontier flight had a dark criminal past, The Post can reveal. Michael Mott, 41, racked up over 20 arrests in Colorado dating back to 2002 — including for attempted murder. snip Starting when he was just 17, Mott was repeatedly arrested for minor infractions like shoplifting and underage alcohol consumption – but within just a couple of years, he had devolved into a hardened, violent criminal, his public rap sheet shows. By February 2005, he was arrested by officers from the...

A Frontier Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles reportedly struck a person walking on the runway at Denver International Airport on Friday night, according to the airline. The incident happened during takeoff at around 10:15 p.m. In audio traffic control recordings, the pilot can be heard saying the engine caught fire and smoke was in the aircraft before telling ATC the plane had to be evacuated on the runway. Out of precaution, the passengers used slides to evacuate, Frontier Airlines said in a statement. "We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other...

The Justice Department announced Tuesday that it has filed a lawsuit against the city of Denver, Colorado, "alleging that the City unconstitutionally bans certain constitutionally protected semi-automatic rifles." "These laws unconstitutionally infringe on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms in common use for lawful purposes," according to the Justice Department. "The Constitution is not a suggestion and the Second Amendment is not a second-class right," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. "Denver's ban on commonly owned semi-automatic rifles directly violates the right to bear arms. This Department of Justice will vigorously...

When the FBI's official crime stats come out later this year, we're likely to learn that 2025 saw a record-setting decline in homicides nationwide, and that the overall homicide rate is the lowest it's been since the FBI started keeping track in 1960. [snip] Still, there are some outliers, and one of them is Denver, Colorado. Last year Denver saw a 48% decrease in homicides, with Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas pointing to "a mix of faster police response, medical intervention, and long-term prevention strategies." This year, though, homicides are trending in the wrong direction. [snip] Last year, Democrats in...

At least 2,000 flights were canceled Sunday as winter blizzards continue to batter the Upper Midwest, turning at least one normally bustling airport into a virtual ghost town. According to the latest data from FlightAware, U.S. flight cancellations Sunday accounted for roughly 78% of all canceled flights worldwide, with at least 2,216 flights grounded out of roughly 2,842 global cancellations. Meanwhile, an additional 6,826 delays have reportedly rippled across the national air network, further straining travel schedules across the world. Many airlines have since issued guidelines allowing passengers to change their flights without major fees, providing flexibility for travelers affected...

Colorado Democrats have officially introduced a bill to fully decriminalize prostitution. If passed, Senate Bill 26-097 would make Colorado the first state in the entire country to completely remove criminal penalties for buying and selling sex between consenting adults. If enacted, the legislation would repeal the state criminal offenses of: - Prostitution - Soliciting for prostitution - Patronizing a prostitute - Keeping a place of prostitution - Pandering related to arranging prostitution

A bill introduced into the Colorado State Senate last week would make Colorado the first state in the U.S. to fully decriminalize prostitution if it became law. Senate Bill 26-097 would require the entire state to decriminalize “commercial sexual activity among consenting adults,” both for people who buy sex and who would sell it. This would be unique in the U.S., as the only other states with any form of legal prostitution, Maine and Nevada, still have certain rules around it. In Nevada, for instance, prostitution is only legal within licensed houses of prostitution, or brothels, and some counties in...

Palantir announced Tuesday it has moved its headquarters from Denver to Miami – joining a slew of tech firms fleeing to South Florida as a growing number of industry leaders deem it the new Silicon Valley. Tech giants have been increasingly flocking to Florida from business hubs like New York and California in pursuit of lower taxes, warm weather and safer neighborhoods. “We have moved our headquarters to Miami, Florida,” Palantir wrote in a brief post on X Tuesday morning. The company did not immediately respond to inquiries about its reason for the move. Palantir was founded in Palo Alto,...

Tampering with federal election results is against the law, and a new study by Unite4Freedom exposes an explosive problem—federal election records of the vote are changing after the election has been certified. Is this Malice, ignorance or pathetically pervasive Apathy (MIA) by our election officials?