On Monday, President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris participated in the Presidential Armed Forces Full Honor Wreath-Laying Ceremony on Veterans Day in Arlington Virginia.
Colorado Governor
Governor Polis released the following statement congratulating the newly elected Colorado Senate Leadership and House Republican Leadership. “Congratulations to the members of the 75th General Assembly who were elected to lead the Colorado State House and Senate for the next term,” said Governor Jared Polis. “I look forward to working with the new legislative leaders to build on our work to protect freedoms, save Coloradans money, and make life in our beautiful state even better,” said Governor Jared Polis.
Denver Mayor
Downtown Denver voters approved ballot measure 6A, allowing the city to invest a historic $500 million into Denver’s economic core through the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and bring transformative changes to the city center. “As cities across the country struggle to bring their downtown back to pre-pandemic levels, Denver has decided to face this seemingly unsolvable challenge head-on and bet on our cultural, civic, and economic core by passing 6A with more than 80 percent support,” said Mayor Mike Johnston.
In an effort to curb mothers dying in childbirth, Niger is offering free emergency Caesarean sections to “poor and vulnerable” women. Niger has the fourth highest maternal mortality rate in the world. The country’s National Bureau of Statistics shows that more than 40 percent of Nigerians live below the international extreme poverty line.
Nigeria army chief dies
Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, Nigeria’s army chief, has passed away at the age of 56. Lagbaja died after suffering from an undisclosed illness. His status as Chief of army staff had made him the highest-ranking military officer in the Nigerian army.
Asia
Railway bomb kills dozens in Pakistan
At least 25 people were killed after a bomb exploded at a railway in Pakistan. The incident occurred when a popular morning train was about to leave. The militant group Baschistan Liberation Army said it was responsible for the attack.
Endangered Indian bird born
Officials in India performed the first successful hatching of a great Indian bustard chick through artificial insemination. The great Indian bustard is a critically endangered bird that primarily lives in India. The new chick was called an important development by scientists in the country as habitat loss and poaching has made the bird endangered.
Europe
Ukraine targets Moscow
Russia announced it intercepted 84 Ukrainian drones, some of which were near Moscow. Meanwhile, Ukraine said Russia launched 145 drones toward every part of the country, but most of them were shot down. Ukraine’s attack on Moscow was its largest strike on the city since the war began.
Irish murder suspect arrested
An unnamed 37-year-old Irish man, who is accused of murdering an American nurse, was arrested in Hungary. The victim, Mackenzie Michalski, was reported missing after a night out in Budapest, Hungary’s capital. The suspect confessed to killing Michalski and showed police where he disposed her body.
Latin America
Pig’s head thrown on Brazil soccer field
A pig’s head was thrown on a soccer field during a Brazilian championship game. The match was between rivals Corinthians and Palmeiras, whose symbol is a pig. Two fans were arrested after the incident.
Bodies found in pick truck in Mexico
Police in a southern Mexican city discovered the remains of 11 people inside a vehicle. Among the victims included two children. The incident occurred in the city of Chilpancingo, a region where a mayor was beheaded last month days after taking the job. The case is being treated as a homicide.
North America
FBI investigates racist texts
The FBI is investigating racist text messages that were sent to Black Americans across the country. The texts included a message telling Black people to report to a plantation to “pick cotton.” People received the texts in states like Alabama, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
Monkeys escape lab
Around 43 monkeys escaped a research facility in South Carolina. The animals broke out of Alpha Genesis, a company that breeds monkeys for medical testing and research. The company located the monkeys eventually and were enticed with food. The monkeys were able to escape because a keeper left a door open to their outdoor enclosure.
While his comments were directed at a game, legendary wordsmith and baseball icon Yogi Berra’s words of it being ‘déjà vu all over again,’ came to pass on Election Night 2024 for ex-president Donald Trump.
Photo courtesy: Whitehouse.gov
Despite facing 34 felony convictions in a New York court case, fines of half a billion dollars, and other court cases pending in Florida, Georgia and the District of Columbia, the twice impeached Trump has won a second term and now rightfully owns the moniker of ‘The Comeback Kid,’ if a 78-year-old man can even be considered a kid.
The vaunted ‘blue wall’ confidence Kamala Harris’ team came into Tuesday with, slowly crumbled as states and key voting blocs she was counting on failed to deliver. As evening darkened,so too did the hopes of the country having the first woman and woman of color sitting in the Oval Office.
While the election of 2024 will be dissected a thousand different ways in the coming days and provide future historians with the same challenge, a couple of factors they’ll certainly examine is the consequential drift right by Latino voters.
Over the course of recent Presidential Elections, Latino voters, once a sure-thing bloc, have drifted right. That proved to be the case on Tuesday but in even bigger numbers than anyone imagined.
In exit polling conducted by NBC News, Latino men were backing Trump by a 54-44 margin. Team Harris had counted on reversing this trend, but hope—especially in politics—can be fickle as it was last night. The best Harris could do was 54-44.
The same exit polling also showed a lesser but equally as demoralizing drop in support among Latino women. While Harris enjoyed a 25-point margin with this group, it was significantly lower than Biden’s 39-point margin in 2020.
Democrats went into Tuesday with ‘casino dreams,’ optimistic but tinged with reality. Former Colorado state Republican Senator Norma Anderson—the only woman to lead her party in both houses—spent Tuesday trying to escape what she knew might happen as results coalesced.
“I went shopping, had lunch with a friend and tried to enjoy my time before I had to look at the results,” she said, punctuating her words with, “I’m worried.”
What worried Anderson were some of the often poorly considered campaign promises Trump has been known to make, including one recent commitment to noted vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The ex-president said he would give Kennedy a “big role” in healthcare saying he would let Kennedy “go wild” on food and drug regulation.
Doing that, said Anderson, ought to worry everyone. “Children need to be vaccinated,” she said. “I lived through the polio (pandemic) and had a friend who lost one of her brothers. I saw him in an iron lung.”
In the end and despite Democrats exhortations that the U.S. economy had recovered from the pandemic and was the strongest among all industrial nations, it wasn’t enough.
Trump’s main arguments in his nearly two-year quest to regain the White House—where he could presumably sweep away his legal problems—the economy and immigration, outweighed the Harris chorus of ‘hope and joy.’
The argument was enough to entice enough young White men, Latinos and African Americans in swing states to the Trump side, especially the argument on the economy.
“Voters will vote for literally anyone who is not the incumbent when they’re still ticked off about spikes in the cost of groceries,” said Trump Republican strategist, Liz Mair. Her assessment seemed to hold considering many of Trump’s often racially tinged comments in the closing days of the campaign.
Based on nothing more than rumor, Trump pumped air into a false story about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, stealing and eating family pets. He also denied any knowledge of a comedian’s slur against Puerto Ricans at a closing rally that labeled the U.S. territory as a “floating island of garbage.”
While Trump’s win, a 277-244 Electoral College margin according to the Associated Press, was not entirely unexpected, Democrats still thought Harris almost seamless campaign along with Trump’s criminal challenges would result in a win. “My wife said we were being ‘nauseously optimistic’ about Harris,” said former Democratic state legislator and civil rights attorney Joe Salazar.
With Trump now headed back to the White House, Democrats and the nation remain uncertain about what awaits. Will Trump, in fact, award high level jobs to dubiously qualified people like Robert F. Kennedy or General Mike Flynn? Will the ultra-right wing of his party implement Project 2025? How will the ‘ex’ and soon to be next president deal with conflicts in both Ukraine and Israel? Will he end them in “24 hours,” as he has boasted?
While news coverage will remain stationary hovering over the election, one sure to be a big story on a day of big stories is Vice President Harris’ concession. Several news outlets say it is expected to be delivered sometime Wednesday afternoon.
The 2024 Electoral vote count will be certified on January 6th, 2025.
Veterans Day is nearly upon us, a time to reflect and honor those who have served in the United States Armed Forces.
Since the Revolutionary War, soldiers of Spanish or Latin American heritage have fought in every U.S. conflict. Recent data from the Department of Defense statistics show that Latinos make up 17 percent of active-duty service members with the Marine Corps having the highest percentage (23 percent) of Latino active-duty members.
To celebrate Veterans Day, which falls on Nov. 11 this year, LaVozColorado is honoring Latinas who have proudly served our country in the military and sacrificed so much. Here are some trailblazing Latinas who have played key contributions in the United States Armed Forces.
Carmen Contreas-Bozak
Carmen Contreas-Bozak was born in Puerto Rico and was the first Hispanic American to serve in the Women’s Army Corps. During World War II, the Army hired bilingual Hispanic women to fill assignments in fields like cryptology, communications, and interpretation.
Contreas-Bozak joined the Women’s Army Corps in 1942 and trained in Fort Lee, Virginia. She was eventually assigned to the Army Signal Corps in North Africa and sent and received coded messages between Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s headquarters in Algiers and the battlefield in Tunisia.
Contreas-Bozak was honored for her service, receiving the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, two Battle Stars, a World War II Victory Medal, an American Campaign Medal, a WAAC Service Medal, and the Good Conduct Medal during her military career.
Angela Salinas
A child of Mexican immigrants, Angela Salinas enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1974. Her 39-year military career included time spent as a legal services officer, commander, executive officer, and battalion operations officer.
In 1989, Major General Salinas assumed command of Recruiting Station Charleston, becoming the first woman in the Marine Corps to command a recruiting station. During the 1990s, she was responsible for the assignments of over 1,000 senior officers.
When Major General Salinas retired in 2013, she was the highest-ranking woman officer in the Marines.
Linda Garcia Cubero
Linda Garcia Cubero is of Mexican-American-Puerto Rican descent and was a member of the first class of women to graduate from the United States air Force Academy. She is also the first Hispanic woman to graduate from any service academy.
Cubero spent seven years in the Air Force serving as a commander brief and at The Pentagon. She was honored with a Joint Service Commendation Medal for her work with The Pentagon’s intelligence task force assigned to the Falkland Island conflict, a brief military conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982.
Cubero has also been honored with the 1991 Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Pioneer Award and served as a mentor to Hispanic Air Force cadets.
Over the weekend the Broncos were in Baltimore facing a stellar Raven’s offense led by Lamar Jackson who’s had a great season thus far, with the complementary addition of Derrick Henry to the backfield.
The Ravens are second in their division a game behind the Pittsburgh Steelers. Baltimore was reeling after losing to divisional foe, the Cleveland Browns the week prior and were at home to face a gritty Denver Broncos defense.
Photo courtesy: Denver Broncos/Gabriel Christus
The Broncos first three possessions resulted in a turnover on downs and one interception. Coach Sean Payton decided to go for it on fourth down on back to back consecutive drives, both of which resulted in great field possession for the Ravens who by half time had accumulated a 24-10 lead.
Getting the ball back in the second half didn’t help Denver as the Broncos once, high flying defense was now getting picked apart by both Derrick Henry on the ground and Lamar Jackson by air.
By the end of four, the Broncos failed to get any additional points on the board however, the Ravens added 17 more to embarrass the Broncos 41-10.
Denver has little breathing room heading into this weeks game where they will be in Kansas City Missouri to face the Kansas City Chiefs who are undefeated after beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-24 in overtime on Monday night.
The Chiefs moved to 8-0 on Monday and hope to keep their streak going at home against a divisional opponent, while the Broncos look to split their road trip with a win and hopes of delivering the Chiefs their first loss. Sunday’s game is scheduled for 11 a.m. MST.
In other sports the Denver Nuggets have won two straight after their loss to the Timberwolves last Friday night in Minnesota. The Nuggets beat the Utah Jazz at Ball Arena on Saturday night (129-103) before hosting the Toronto Raptors on Monday night. Toronto led through most of the game however Denver’s grit in the fourth cut the Raptors lead and eventually the win.
The Nuggets are currently in 8thplace in the Western Conference behind the Minnesota Timberwolves, Lakers, Mavericks and Rockets who all are 4-3. Denver will host the Oklahoma City Thunder this week along with the Miami Heat before facing the Dallas Mavericks this weekend at Ball Arena.
The Colorado Avalanche have lost three straight after going on a five game winning streak. On Saturday the Avs lost 5-2 to the Nashville Predators, on Wednesday they lost 5-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning and on Friday (October, 28th) they lost 5-2 to the Chicago Blackhawks.
This week the Avs are at home to face the Seattle Kraken (results of game not available at the time of this writing) before heading to Canada to face the Winnipeg Jets this Thursday at 6 p.m. MST.
When you first see him or, as I did, chat with him over the phone, you are a bit taken aback by the fact that Chris Williams seems as out of place as Mark Twain’s ‘Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.’ But here he is, living comfortably in a pocket of northern New Mexico, a place he never even heard of before landing here.
Photo courtesy: Chris Williams
Williams, whose boyhood was spent ricocheting between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, along with his wife, Sharon, (an offspring of a long-standing New Mexico Arellano family) and a women he met on one of his first visits, is now part of the fabric of this historic New Mexico hamlet. “I came down to visit from Denver and fell in love with the area,” Williams said. “At this point, I don’t see myself living anywhere else. This is it.”
Williams is also a military and disabled veteran, having served more than a decade in both the Air Force and the Army National Guard, including a couple of deployments. He’s hoping he will soon get word from the Veterans Administration on his claim for total disability.
Williams’ disability is the result of a traumatic head injury sustained in the first Gulf War. Headaches involving various levels of pain are a single facet of his disability. But disability has not stopped him from working with fellow veterans who live both far and wide in the open spaces near Costilla, New Mexico.
Williams is a member of two veterans organization, the American Legion and the VFW, in Costilla County. He holds the rank of Senior Vice Commander in the Cerro, New Mexico, VFW Post 9516. Post 9516 is also where a lot of his energy is directed.
The post had been closed for several years, Williams said. Shuttering is often a regular consequence among rural veterans’ clubs. A lot of members, WWII, Korea and Viet Nam veterans, he said, have died or simply grown too old to pump life into the clubs. But while he can’t put a date on it, renovations on the Cerro club, he promises, will return it to life and provide a post for the many Latino veterans who reside in the communities of Costilla and Cerro. The commander of VFW Post 9516 is Corey Mead.
In the meantime, it will provide a place, perhaps a threadbare one, for the community of veterans across this endless stretch of New Mexico to call home. The VFW Post 9516 in Cerro serves the surrounding community well. In the vastness of northern New Mexico, it hosts weddings and special events. It also sponsors motorcycle rallies, including the holidays Toys for Tots and the Not Forgotten Outreach runs. Williams, a biker himself.
Military service in his family goes back, he said, to the beginning of the country with most of his family connected to the Navy. He broke that string when, after high school, he opted for the Air Force. He said his father’s only consolation was, ‘at least it wasn’t the Marines.’
In the Air Force Williams worked as a guidance system control specialist, a job working on an aircraft’s auto pilot and the countless other sensors essential in completing the mission. In the seven years Williams has lived in this out-of-the-way stretch of northern New Mexico, he has become a part of the community. In addition to the work he does for and with veterans, he is also a member of the local volunteer fire department.
When he’s not working with his fellow veterans or answering a fire call, Williams and wife, Sharon, operate a dog rescue in Costilla. It’s a connection that even shocks Williams. Until moving here, his only connection with animals was long ago family cats. Today there are three felines who, along with his rescues—now numbering 28—that share the couple’s home today.
Willams’ veterans work and his dog rescue operation has made him a ‘go-to’ guy in his adopted community. But neither role came easily, he said with a chuckle. “The first year and a half was brutal,” said the east coast transplant. “I was the only White guy within twenty miles,” he remembers. “Locals don’t deal well with outsiders, and I was definitely that.
All in all the military has a way of uniting soldiers in the service and as veterans. The many northern New Mexico veterans (family names) who have proudly served their country include Lucero, Romero, Duran, Vallejos, Maes, Martinez, Mead, Archuleta, Vigil, Mascareñas, Rivera, Galvez, Malouff, DeHerrera, Trujillo, Arguello, Arellano, Quintana and so many more.
The Pennsylvania native said there is no plan to change course. Just as in the military, he said. You don’t walk away until the job is done and there’s still work to do.
David Conde, Senior Consultant for International Programs
As we approach Veterans Day this year there appears to be a demonstrable decline in people going out of their way in saying to a veteran, “Thank you for your service.” It seems that the politics of war and peace dictates that we forget the sacrifices of our warriors as soon as they come home, take off their uniforms and the drums of war go silent.
December 7, 1972 was the last time that the draft lottery made a call. The following month on January 27, 1973 the military draft came to an end.
Up until 1940, the draft was exclusively used as a way to populate a military going to war. This included three major wars: the American Revolution, the Civil War and World War I.
The first peace-time draft came in 1940. It was continued during three more major wars, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam.
I served during the time of the draft as a volunteer in the United States Air Force. During my time in the service I attended university classes in the evenings.
The majority of the courses I took at the time were in languages, history and politics. The program of studies allowed me the opportunity to look closely at the history of American military involvements beginning with the United States Navy’s running fight with the North African Barbary Pirates (1801-1805) to the Cold War with the Soviet Union that was very much a part of my own daily life.
The histories of the many wars fought by those that came before me populate the epic events that created the greatest country in the world. Many of these pieces of history have been in part fictionalized by the movie industry to make the impact of their greatness even stronger.
Much less attention has been paid to the results of the sacrifice of our soldiers in the field. Once in a while we see in old movies that show the dislocated bitterness of veterans, many times with missing limbs, that have not been able to find their way back to “normality.”
As an example, in addition to the sometimes incomprehensible number of battle dead, the history of the American Civil War also includes so many wounds that result in amputated limbs. World War I produced survivors of gas attacks that came home as walking cripples.
The most unconscionable conditions surrounding the draft came during the Vietnam War. In this war, the politics of draft deferrals ran rampant as part of a wave of corruption that allowed those with means to pay for ways to avoid going to war.
It was left for the poor, the voiceless, many from ethnic and racial minorities, to carry the burden of fighting and dying for our way of life. Not only that, the returning soldiers many times were deliberately scheduled to arrive back in the United States at night because the general feelings against the war were so strong that it exposed our men and women to danger from our own citizens.
Since the advent of the all volunteer armed forces, the military has become part of the labor market as another area of professional work. No longer made up of citizen soldiers, this new professional class is blurring the lines of separation between the military and politics to advance their interests.
Some politicians are also encouraging the use of our military to police our civilian population. The politics during war and peace continues to represent major challenges to veterans.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of LaVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to News@lavozcolorado.com.
Emmanuel Hernandez Garcia – Rocky Mountain High School
Photo courtesy: Emmanuel Hernandez Garcia
Profile:Emmanuel Hernandez Garcia is a high school senior at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins who currently holds a 4.042 GPA. Hernandez Garcia’s academic achievements include National Honor Society, National Hispanic Recognition Award; and Los Lobos – Outstanding Leadership Award. Hernandez Garcia belongs to Los Lobos Club (serves as co-president), Cultural Arms Leadership, PEERS (serves as counselor), DECA, and HOSA.
Favorite Book: The Alchemyst by Michael Scott
Favorite Movie: Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Favorite Subject: History
Favorite Music: Latin
Future Career: Pediatrician/Doctor
Hero: My parents, Ramon and Maria Hernandez Garcia
Favorite Hobby: Soccer or Volleyball.
Words to live by: “Get your act together.”
Community Involvement: Hernandez Garcia has volunteered for Holy Family Catholic Church and provides PEERS counseling through presentation and for individual meets within the school system.
Why is Community Involvement important? Hernandez Garcia says, “Many people have inspired me to become the person I am today. I want to be that person for others. In addition, a good community uses community asset building and being involved in the community allows you to identify and flourish those individual assets.”
If I could improve the world I would…
“…. make sure everyone has access to healthcare, everyone deserves it.”
Three extra shelters open 1 p.m., Monday, Nov. 4 through 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 7
With colder weather approaching early next week, the City and County of Denver will activate its Cold Weather Shelter plan. For this activation, the Department of Housing Stability will provide extra 24/7 shelter from 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4 to 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 7 at the Stone Creek shelter (former Best Western hotel), 4595 Quebec St. and at city facilities located at 2601 W. 7th Ave., and 375 S. Zuni St.
Cold weather poses a serious danger to people who are unsheltered and the city encourages people to come inside.
Individuals in need of shelter can also be referred to the city’s “front door” shelter access points (denvergov.org/findshelter), which are also expanding their capacity for the cold weather. Front door shelters include:
For individual men – Lawrence Street Community Center, 2222 Lawrence St.
For individual women – Samaritan House, 2301 Lawrence St.
For youth ages 15-20 – Urban Peak, 1630 S. Acoma St.
Families in need of shelter should call the Connection Center at 303-295-3366.
Statement from President Joe Biden on the October 2024 Jobs Report: “In October, unemployment was unchanged at 4.1 percent, but the devastation from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and new strike activity, lowered job growth. Job growth is expected to rebound in November as our hurricane recovery and rebuilding efforts continue. In addition, I want to congratulate the leadership of the Machinists and Boeing for negotiating a new contract proposal that will be voted on by union members. Machinists at Boeing have sacrificed over the years and deserve a strong contract.”
Colorado Governor
Governor Polis released the administration’s Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget proposal. This strategic budget proposal makes prudent investments that protect Colorado’s funding for education, continue investing in public safety, and prioritize fiscal responsibility to maintain financial reserves and ensure the state is prepared for future rainy days.
Denver Mayor
Mayor Mike Johnston, Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST), partners from the Regional Transportation District (RTD), Elevation Community Land Trust (ECLT) and Shanahan Development, and community members celebrated the groundbreaking of The Hattie McDaniel, a new affordable condo development in Five Points. The project will include 62 affordable homeownership units ranging from one to three bedrooms, with seven units designed as accessible for persons with mobility impairment and three designed for persons with sensory impairments.
