(Matthew Gollop/Pixabay) Plastic waste is found on the most remote mountains, in the deepest ocean trenches, in our food, our water, and our bodies. It has an enormous climate impact, most of it cannot be recycled and consumers have few options to avoid it. So the announcement of new “advanced recycling” technologies to turn plastic waste back into plastic may seem a cause for celebration. But the reality is much more grim. “Advanced,” “chemical” or “molecular recycling” are greenwashing terms for pyrolysis and gasification facilities that turn plastic into dirty fuels. They are not recycling ..read more

Teachers stage a sit-in at the Colorado Capitol while students meet with the governor's staff to voice their concerns about gun violence during a protest in the wake of recent shootings at Denver's East High School, in Denver, March 24, 2023. (Kevin Mohatt for Colorado Newsline) Colorado’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention opened up applications for grant funding available for grassroots and nonprofit organizations working to prevent gun violence within the state.  The grant funding will go to Colorado-based organizations whose gun violence prevention initiatives offer evidence-based pro ..read more

The Tivoli Quad at Denver's Auraria Campus is pictured in this undated photo. (MSU Denver) Police in riot gear on Friday began arresting anti-war demonstrators at Denver’s Auraria Campus who had set up an encampment on the Tivoli Quad earlier this week in protest of Israel’s war on Gaza. Echoing activists on college campuses across the country, organizers with the Denver chapter of Students for a Democratic Society and other left-wing groups say they were inspired by the actions of protesters at Columbia University, where similar demonstrations have continued following a police crackdown a we ..read more

People attend a bill signing ceremony for the Respect for Marriage Act on the South Lawn of the White House Dec. 13, 2022, in Washington, D.C. The Respect for Marriage Act will codify same-sex and interracial marriages. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Colorado voters could be asked to amend the state constitution this fall to remove language against same-sex marriages. Even though civil unions for same-sex marriage became legal in the state in 2013 — and same-sex marriages became legal nationwide in 2015 with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling — the Colorado constitution retains language that states “On ..read more

The House Judiciary Committee considers a bill on Feb. 13, 2024. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline) Two Coloradans who intentionally misgendered transgender people while they testified against a bill are suing the legislators who cut them off and asked them to be respectful.  The initial complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Colorado in early April claims the legislators named as defendants violated the plaintiffs’ right to free speech by stopping them from misgendering and deadnaming transgender people during their testimony. A hearing has yet to be scheduled in the case. “The First Am ..read more

(File photo) I’m writing because Colorado Newsline is one of the only news sources I have seen cover the Reclaiming 7 Mountains movement. Only a few days ago, I returned from the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State’s second annual conference. The conference was educational and a beautiful example of American plurality, with 800 Americans united for the separation of church and state. Ten percent under 25 and 27% under 39. People over 80, 10%. The mix of attendees included 56% women, 30% people of color, 39% LGBTQ, 8% transgender and, most amazingly, 47% nonreligious and 53 ..read more

Dozens of anti-Trump protesters gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court on April 25, 2024, while the justices heard arguments about whether former President Donald Trump has immunity from prosecution on criminal charges related to his actions while in office. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical Thursday of former President Donald Trump’s argument he is immune from criminal charges that he tried to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. But conservatives who dominate the court appeared open to returning key questions to a trial court ..read more

An RTD train departs the Westminster light-rail station as Gov. Jared Polis and state energy and transportation officials give an update on the state's climate-action "roadmap" on Feb. 26, 2024. (Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline) As it struggles to come up with the funds to build a long-awaited rail line and maintain the reliability of its bus service, Denver’s Regional Transportation District is facing a barrage of criticism from all sides. Connecting the news in Colorado to the big picture. The Colorado governor, a longtime critic of the agency, says the state won’t spend any more on public ..read more

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, speaks during a press conference at Columbia University on April 24, 2024 in New York City. Johnson visited the campus as school administrators and pro-Palestinian student protesters made progress on negotiations after the school set a midnight deadline for students to disband the encampment, and agreed on a 48-hour extension. Johnson has called for the resignation of Columbia University President Minouche Shafik. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson decried antisemitism and raised the possibility of calling in the ..read more

President Joe Biden shakes hands with NABTU President Sean McGarvey after giving remarks at the North American Building Trades Unions 2024 Legislative Conference at the Washington Hilton on April 24, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Biden attended the conference to receive an official political endorsement from NABTU. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Cheered for his pro-union stance and promise to rework the tax code, President Joe Biden picked up a major endorsement Wednesday from North America’s Building Trades Unions, a massive labor organization now committing resources in the battleg ..read more