By Quentin Young | editor
“Donald Trump and Republicans have spent years telling Americans that we cannot afford to help families here at home, but apparently they can find tens of billions of dollars, and potentially much more, for a reckless war that is leaving Americans to pay the price.”
— U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, House Budget Committee ranking member
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on July 21, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
By Jennifer Shutt
The cost of U.S. military operations in Iran has exceeded $40 billion and the war will continue to cost taxpayers between $2 billion and $3 billion per month, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The ongoing bombing campaign, which President Donald Trump launched alongside the Israeli government in February, has also significantly reduced American military weapons stockpiles, according to the analysis.
(Getty Images)
By Anne Schimke
Colorado teachers and other public school employees can now get help with down payments and closing costs through a new state program aimed at making homeownership more attainable. The Schools to Home program launched July 1 to provide assistance to educators and other public school employees who are first-time homebuyers. This story comes to Newsline from Chalkbeat Colorado.
An image smoke coming from the Aspen Acres Fire in Colorado, posted on July 2, 2026. (Courtesy of Aspen Acres Fire 2026 Facebook)
COMMENTARY
By Tony Cheng and Matt Thompson
One of the problems with how America deals with wildfires is thinking there is one primary strategy that can end the nation’s wildfire crisis. Whether that’s detecting and putting out every fire fast, increasing logging and forest thinning, or allowing fires to burn under safe conditions, the default choice today is to pour more money and effort into the star approach of the moment. But effective wildfire strategy in the face of worsening fire seasons demands a system of actions — interconnected pieces that reinforce one another.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Majority of Coloradans dislike AI, new survey finds | By Sara Wilson
Police cooperation with ICE to appear on Colorado ballot | By Sara Wilson
US Supreme Court blocks Trump rule limiting mail voting, sides with Dem states | By Jacob Fischler
Divorce becomes next battleground as states debate family values | By Anna Claire Vollers
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