[ Local ]

• Colorado Department of State website accidentally lists passwords to voting machines, forcing election workers to scramble to ensure the safety of votes.
• Winter storm leads to a record number of people being turned away at Boulder’s largest homeless shelter, All Roads, amid county funding cuts.
• Ballot Question 2C, which will tie Boulder City Council’s pay to the median income in the area, and 2D, which allows council members to meet privately under certain conditions, pass in Boulder. 2E, which would have given the city council more control over boards and commissions, is defeated.
• Erie elects mayor Andrew Moore and passes a 5% excise tax on cannabis, but the town council would have to repeal a ban on dispensaries before any could be opened in Erie.
• The Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission unanimously votes to indefinitely pause the controversial Draco Oil and Gas Development Plan which would have allowed for horizontal drilling and fracturing of 26 wellbores, some of which would have extended underneath residential areas and schools.

[ National ]

• Donald J. Trump wins election in spite of extreme policies, making him the second person to ever be elected to two non-consecutive terms as President of the United States. He also becomes the first convicted felon and twice impeached former president to win election
• Trump nominates several strange and unqualified candidates for key positions including Matt Gaetz for attorney general, RFK Jr. as secretary of health and human services, Dr. Mehmet Oz as administrator of Medicaid and Medicare, and Elon Musk to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency. Gaetz withdraws from the nominating process due to an ongoing investigation by the House Ethics Committee.
• Democrats urge Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to step down so that Biden can name a younger successor before Trump takes office, but Sotomayor has no plans to retire.
• The US carries out air strikes in Yemen attacking The Houthis, a group allied with Hamas and Hezbollah against Israel.

[ International ]

• Israel steps up its attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, launching an air strike against the village of Almat, which is well outside of Hezbollah strongholds.
• Violence erupts during a soccer match in the Netherlands between Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. and Dutch AFC Ajax team related to the Israeli government’s actions in the War in Gaza
• At least 26 people killed and over 60 wounded after separatists bomb a crowded railway station in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
• At least 30 people have died in post-election violence in Mozambique amidst accusations that the election was rigged to keep the ruling Frelimo party in power.
• A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hits Cuba as the country is recovering from Hurricane Rafael.

Quotes

“That’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to make our country better than it ever has been. They said that many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason. And that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness. And now we are going to fulfill that mission together. We’re gonna fulfill that mission. The task before us will not be easy, but I will bring every ounce of energy, spirit, and fight that I have in my soul, to the job that you’ve entrusted to me.”
– Donald J. Trump in his terrifying victory speech

“Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable. A defeat does not mean we are defeated”
– Joe Biden addressing the nation following Harris’ loss to Trump

“Prosperity and abundance agenda. We have focused on saving people money through three income tax rate reductions (two at the ballot box and one through the leg: 4.63%>4.5%>4.4%>4.25%), cutting property taxes, free preschool and kindergarten for every child, eliminating sales tax on necessities like diapers and feminine hygiene products, and we are in the process of delivering on pro-housing supply solutions, investing in transit and transit-enhanced living opportunities… all while protecting and expanding personal freedom and respect for everyone.” 
– Colorado Governor Jared Polis on the secret to keeping Colorado blue while much of the nation went red

“We’re really apprehensive about what we’re going to do this winter” 
– Andy Schultheiss, chief development and communications officer at All Roads, discussing the organization’s fears about the high demand for homeless shelter services amid funding cuts

By the Numbers

10,901,567

The difference between votes that Democrats received in 2020 and 2024. While the Democrats’ number of votes decreased significantly between elections, Donald Trump received roughly the same number of votes in both elections

727

The estimated number of unhoused people in Boulder County according to the latest Point in Time count from the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative

3,002

The estimated number of people killed in Lebanon by Israel over the past 13 months

2

Thankfully, the number of terms a President is allowed to serve, even non-consecutively, according to the 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution