*By Alyssa Caverley*
With almost 70 percent of Coloradans happy with the way he does his job, Gov. John Hickenlooper enters the final months of his second term with plenty of positive energy.
Could a White House run be next for the Colorado Democrat?
Hickenlooper was coy when he sat down Tuesday with Cheddar's CEO Jon Steinberg at the Milken conference in Los Angeles.
"We're doing stuff that most other states haven't come close to," said Hickenlooper. "The moment I start talking to you or any media ー 'here's what I'm going to do in 2020, I'm really leading in this direction, I need to do this, I need to do that' ー not only do I get distracted, but my cabinet gets distracted."
He said he wants to finish his last days in office strong, following the strategy that has served his administration to this point: "I think what we've done in Colorado again and again and again is taken some very controlled level of risk when there was outsized benefits."
Hickenlooper also discussed his recent budget approval.
"We are the number one economy in America right now, so we've had a dramatic increase in revenue over the last two years and that allows us a certain amount of freedom," he said.
The state's pension, he said, has seen an investment of $250 million a year even though retirees had to give up a bit of their cost of living adjustment.
Colorado is one of several states in the country that has seen its teachers stage protests over their pay and other issues. Hickenlooper said he was confident that his state could address the issue by dealing with education, transportation, and pensions separately in the state's new budget.
For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/governor-hickenlooper-talks-2020-plans).
For President Donald Trump, tariffs — or the threat of them — can bend nations to his will.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive.
The White House budget office says mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
