*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).
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to block states from regulating artificial intelligence. He argues that heavy regulations could stifle the industry, especially given competition from China. Trump says the U.S. needs a unified approach to AI regulation to avoid complications from state-by-state rules. The order directs the administration to draw up a list of problematic regulations for the Attorney General to challenge. States with laws could lose access to broadband funding, according to the text of the order. Some states have already passed AI laws focusing on transparency and limiting data collection.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
House Republicans in key battleground districts are working to contain the political fallout expected when thousands of their constituents face higher bills for health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act. For a critical sliver of the GOP majority, the impending expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits after Dec. 31 could be a major political liability as they potentially face midterm headwinds in a 2026 election critical to President Donald Trump’s agenda. For Democrats, the party’s strategy for capturing the House majority revolves around pinning higher bills for groceries, health insurance and utilities on Republicans.
President Donald Trump says a deal struck by Netflix last week to buy Warner Bros. Discovery “could be a problem” because of the size of the combined market share. The Republican president says he will be involved in the decision about whether federal regulators should approve the deal. Trump commented Sunday when he was asked about the deal as he walked the red carpet at the Kennedy Center Honors. The $72 billion deal would bring together two of the biggest players in television and film and potentially reshape the entertainment industry.
The two-sentence footnote raised serious concerns about accuracy and credibility.
