Federal agents arrested another suspected Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang member in Aurora, Colorado, Saturday morning. 

An illegal immigrant from Venezuela was charged locally with property damage and domestic violence, the Denver office for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said. 

The arrest was carried out by ICE Denver and the Denver office for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). 

The suspect will remain in ICE custody "pending a hearing before an immigration judge," ICE Denver wrote on X. The post did not further identify the suspect.

TREN DE ARAGUA MEMBER WANTED FOR AURORA, COLORADO, APARTMENT TAKEOVER BUSTED IN ICE RAID IN NYC 

The Trump administration said Friday it was in talks with El Salvador to revive an agreement that could allow the United States to send non-Salvadoran migrants to the Central American country.

This time, though, the government would also aim to send members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to Salvadoran prisons, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the State Department’s special envoy for Latin America, said in a call with media outlets.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in El Salvador as part of President Nayib Bukele's gang crackdown. Despite international human rights concerns, El Salvador has seen a sharp drop in violence in the country once plagued by the warring Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 gangs.

Meanwhile, six Americans who had been detained in Venezuela in recent months were freed by the government of President Nicolás Maduro after he met Friday with a Trump administration official tasked with urging the authoritarian leader to take back deported migrants who have committed crimes in the United States. President Donald Trump's envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, announced the release of the six men on social media. 

Grenell’s hours-long trip to Venezuela, according to the White House, was focused on Trump’s efforts to deport Venezuelans back to their home country. 

Trump wrote Saturday on his social media site Truth Social that he was happy to have the Americans back home.

'WE STOPPED THAT': NOEM CANCELS BIDEN ADMIN'S 11TH HOUR DEPORTATION SHIELD FOR VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS

"And very important to note, that Venezuela has agreed to receive, back into their Country, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of Tren de Aragua. Venezuela has further agreed to supply the transportation back," he wrote. "We are in the process of removing record numbers of illegal aliens from all Countries, and all Countries have agreed to accept these illegal aliens back."

ICE has been conducting operations across the United States prioritizing criminal illegal immigrants as part of Trump's campaign pledge. 

On Friday, ICE Denver announced that its officers arrested an illegal immigrant from Mexico charged with assault and kidnapping. 

The suspect was identified as 48-year-old Juan Benitez-Ortega, who unlawfully entered the United States in November 1998 "at an unknown location." Benitez-Ortega was taken into custody on Thursday in Adams County, Colorado. 

"Officials in Adams County, charged Benitez with felony assault, kidnapping or false imprisonment on Dec. 28. Benitez also has a prior conviction for driving while ability impaired," ICE Denver said. "ICE officers issued Ramirez an intent to reinstate a prior order of removal, and he will remain in ICE custody until his removal from the U.S." 

As of Friday, ICE reported 864 arrests and 621 immigration retainers lodged across the country. 

Parents are "overjoyed" with the trajectory of the education system under President Donald Trump after years of pushing back on so-called woke practices in schools, a parents' rights education group told Fox News Digital.

During his first two weeks in office, Trump signed several education-related executive orders on school funding and antisemitism, and launched a federal review of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices in federally funded institutions.

Additionally, the Trump administration launched an investigation into a Colorado school district for allegedly "discriminating against its female students" after a girls' restroom was reportedly converted into an "all-gender" facility, while the boys' restroom remained for males only. 

Nicole Neily, the founder and president of Parents Defending Education, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that the investigation will "open the floodgates" of the Trump administration's expected crackdown on similar policies in schools across the country.

TRUMP PUTS HIGHER EDUCATION ON NOTICE FOR ‘DANGEROUS, DEMEANING, AND IMMORAL’ DEI TEACHINGS

"I think what it is intended to do is to send a signal to families that obviously there's a new sheriff in town. This is a priority. This administration, as the executive orders have made clear, actually views the difference in the sexes to be significant," Neily told Fox News Digital.

On Tuesday, the Department of Education sent a letter to the superintendent of Denver Public Schools to sound the alarm over reports that East High School in Denver was in violation of Title IX after opening up a female-only restroom to all genders. 

"For this to be a very clear signal to families, to students, that if your school has engaged in something similar, this is something that the department is interested in looking into and adjudicating," Neily said, adding that the investigation is something "families are going to be really encouraged by." 

Neily said that in recent years, parents "have been gaslit by our states, by our local school districts, by the federal government" all because "we want our children to have a colorblind education," but that the educational system is already undergoing "sorely overdue" change under Trump.

TRUMP'S WRITTEN A DEI GOVERNMENT DEATH SENTENCE. SCHOOL POLICIES SHOULD BE NEXT

During his first week in office, the president launched a federal review of DEI teachings and practices in educational institutions receiving federal funding, in an effort to restore "merit-based opportunity," according to the White House.

Trump, prior to being sworn in, said he was open to considering abolishing the Department of Education in order to give states more individual control over their schools. Asked about the idea, Neily said she believes that states "know their communities, their needs, their values better than anybody in Washington ever can or would."

"I think there's a real opportunity to make sure that the department is focusing on the things it should be, which is educating children, restoring trust in the system and not doing things like giving out the billion dollars in DEI-focused grants," she said.

A Colorado woman was convicted of murder after she and a stranger she met on a bus killed her boyfriend who expressed skepticism about her ability to land a job.

Ashley White, 29, was found guilty of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and robbery in the August 2020 death of Cody DeLisa, 28, the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office said in a press release.

The couple had a "volatile and strained" relationship in the months leading up to the murder, as DeLisa often criticized White for her struggles with finding a full-time job, which contributed to tension between them, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said White expressed resentment over her boyfriend's criticism, even writing in her diary that she regretted ever meeting DeLisa.

DEA ARRESTS 4 IN COLORADO WITH SUSPECTED TIES TO SINALOA CARTEL, TREN DE ARAGUA

"Her frustration escalated after an incident in which she attempted to drown and burn DeLisa’s cat, a behavior that raised alarms about her mental well-being," prosecutors wrote.

On the day of the murder on Aug. 13, 2020, White attended a job interview in Denver. After the interview, she texted DeLisa about how it went while she was riding home on a bus.

During the exchange, prosecutors said DeLisa expressed skepticism about her chances of landing the job, which upset her.

White then began talking to a stranger during the bus ride home who said his name was "Scott."

COLORADO COURT RULES ELEPHANTS AT ZOO CANNOT PURSUE THEIR RELEASE BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT HUMAN

"Scott asked if she was in a relationship with a man and whether he raped her," prosecutors said. "White responded that he had, and Scott then said they must kill him."

White and Scott exited the bus and spent time together firing Scott’s gun before walking to White's home, where Scott introduced himself to DeLisa as White's brother from Texas, prosecutors said.

DeLisa was then shot twice in the head and his wallet was stolen, and his body was found the next day during a welfare check.

White and Scott spent the next few days together before Scott left, and they never saw each other again. White was later identified as a suspect and arrested and charged in DeLisa's death.

Three years after the killing, a woman came forward saying her boyfriend Michael Stratton may have been "Scott." He was in custody for a separate killing of a man in Pueblo that happened after DeLisa's murder, according to prosecutors.

The woman's description of Stratton's confession matched White's account of the crime, prosecutors said. But he was deemed incompetent to stand trial in the Pueblo murder case and has not been charged in DeLisa's case.

"This was a tragic and senseless murder and Ashley White bears significant culpability for it," District Attorney Brian Mason said in the press release. "Her callous actions led to the victim’s death, and now she will pay a significant price."

White is scheduled for sentencing on April 4.

Catherine waited in Colombia for nine years before her immigration application was approved, allowing her to join her siblings in the United States. Two years later, she said she's still waiting for her husband to be allowed to join her in her new home in Colorado.

She gets upset when she thinks about the tens of thousands of people flooding across the southern border each month who didn't wait like she did. 

"If you try to do [it] in a right way, you need to wait a long time. You need to pay fees," she told Fox News Digital. "And some people just cross the border for free and that's it."

"It is shameful that we have illegal migrants here that are cutting to the front of the line and not going through this process," Castle Rock town councilman and state Rep. Max Brooks, a Republican, told Fox News Digital.

ON THE GROUND IN THE COLORADO CITY WHERE PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP PROMISES TO REMOVE ‘SAVAGE GANGS’ OF ILLEGALS

Illegal immigration is among the political issues that drove President Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 election. Trump vowed in his inaugural address Monday to "end the practice of catch and release," and signed a slew of day one executive actions that included an order authorizing the military to draft a plan to "seal the borders," and another ending the use of the CBP One app to process migrants.

Trump's attention turned to Colorado after a viral video showed alleged Venezuelan migrants carrying guns inside an Aurora apartment complex.

Ahead of inauguration day, Fox News Digital spoke with Catherine and her sister Zully in Castle Rock, a town about 30 miles south of Denver, about immigration and Trump's deportation plans. Both agreed the country needed strict border security.

"Although most people come with the intention of working, helping the city grow, and growing personally, there are many who slip through who are not good people," Zully said. She added that it's important for immigrants to "receive an education in civic culture so that we all behave as we should."

Zully and Catherine felt that the wave of illegal border crossings slowed down the process for legal immigrants.

But David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, pushed back on the notion that illegal immigrants have any effect on wait times for legal immigrants because Customs and Border Protection doesn't process immigration applications.

"It's handled by a separate agency," he said. "So if someone crosses the border illegally, that is not going to directly affect anyone in the legal immigration system who is trying to come through the legal process."

Bier also argued that the delays plaguing the system, caps on green cards and tight restrictions on eligibility make legal immigration "nearly impossible."

"It's a guilty until proven innocent system. And the only way you can prove your innocence or your eligibility to immigrate is if you fall into very narrow exceptions," he said. 

CRISIS IN CALIFORNIA: A $6,500 CARTEL TICKET AND A DREAM OF DRIVING FOR DOORDASH

U.S. law currently allows officials to grant up to 675,000 permanent immigrant visas each year across certain categories, according to the American Immigration Council. Priority is given to non-immediate relatives of U.S. citizens (there is no cap on green cards for adult citizens' spouses, parents or children) and relatives of lawful permanent residents. Skilled workers, highly-educated individuals and "persons of extraordinary ability" in the arts, science, athletics or other fields may also qualify.

"The exceptions are so narrow that really only about 3% of all the people who were trying to immigrate legally last year actually got a green card and were able to become a legal permanent resident," Bier said.

He said efforts to strengthen border security are less likely to deter illegal immigration than addressing the incentives — primarily economic — for entering the U.S.

"The benefits of coming to the United States are enormous," Bier said. "You can make it more expensive for people to come in, but as long as the benefits keep rising to immigrating here, you're going to see people pay more, find ways around whatever restrictions are imposed, and lead to more chaos and disorder at our borders."

Bier argued that removing or increasing caps on immigration and making it easier for employers to sponsor workers "would ameliorate a significant part of the problems that we face at the border."

"When I talk to Border Patrol agents, they really want the people who are coming for peaceful reasons, for work purposes or family reunification, to apply at the consulate so we can focus on our job of securing the border against threats, criminals and other people who we want to keep out of our country," he said.

Meanwhile, in Colorado, State Rep. Brooks said he would support an "expedited system" to process illegal immigrants who wish to become lawful residents, but that they should have to leave the country to go through that process.

"Get them back south across the border and get the paperwork started for them if they wish to naturalize," he said. "But right now, if you are an illegal migrant in this country, you need to be removed."

A Colorado woman learned her husband was buried by an avalanche after he never checked in as planned, and she began searching for him under the snow. 

Donald Moden Jr., a 57-year-old veteran skier who was once a member of the Ouray Mountain Rescue Team, was killed on Jan. 7 in an area off Red Mountain Pass known as "Bollywood," the Ouray County Plaindealer reported. 

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) wrote in a report that the 57-year-old was likely buried for more than four hours before he was found. 

The avalanche was 800 feet wide and traveled 400 feet vertically, the agency wrote. 

TEEN DEAD AT SKI RESORT NEAR POSH MOUNTAIN TOWN

Moden's wife contacted the Ouray County Sheriff's Office when her husband didn't check in as planned, then went to the trailhead herself. She turned on her avalanche transceiver and immediately got a response from her husband's transceiver, The Colorado Sun reported. She immediately found him with an avalanche probe and called out to surrounding skiers for help. 

In addition to his transceiver, the outlet reported, Moden was wearing an avalanche airbag backpack that never deployed. 

COLLEGE ATHLETE DIES FROM ACCIDENT ON SKI RESORT'S MOST DIFFICULT TRAIL

He was likely skiing downhill when he was engulfed by the snowslide, the CAIC said, and was on his seventh run of the day. He was buried too deeply to rescue himself, they wrote.

"He had skied on Red Mountain Pass for 16 years and knew the terrain on Red Number 3 well," the report read. "He chose his terrain as appropriate for the day based on his previous experience of the slope and the snowpack."

'MAGICAL' MASSACHUSETTS BOY, 12, IDENTIFIED AS VICTIM IN FATAL RUN-IN WITH TREE ON NEW HAMPSHIRE SKI SLOPE

Moden skied on an adjacent slope a day earlier and probably did not see signs of dangerous snowpack, the CAIC said. 

Moden's death is the first reported avalanche fatality in Colorado this ski season. Since Nov. 9, the CAIC has reported 25 backcountry skiiers and travelers caught in 23 different avalanches.

Seven of those victims were buried in snow and debris. According to the Colorado Sun, those numbers are not notably higher than those in previous seasons.

A liberal activist group in Colorado is warning sheriffs in the state that they will hold them personally liable and sue if they cooperate with President-elect Trump's mass deportations plans or with ICE officials in any way, including working to deport illegal immigrants.

In a letter to Colorado sheriffs signed by ACLU of Colorado executive director Deborah Richardson and legal director Tim MacDonald, the group warned of severe personal consequences for law enforcement officials in Colorado if they comply with any ICE requests, including ICE detainers, which often keep the agency from having to undertake dangerous arrests in public spaces.  

The group compared Trump’s plans for mass deportations to the Japanese internment camps of the 1940s and said law enforcement aiding in these efforts could face personal legal penalties of tens of thousands of dollars.

MacDonald and Richardson warned Colorado sheriffs that "joining with ICE or other federal officers in mass immigration raids or using the power of your office to hold people solely at ICE request will expose you and your officers to personal liability."

BLUE STATE MAKES $350M 'DEFUND POLICE' COMEBACK AFTER RECORD HOMICIDES, VIOLENT GANG TAKEOVERS

"Any Colorado law enforcement officer who causes the violation of a right protected under the Colorado Constitution is subject to liability for damages and attorneys’ fees including potential personal liability up to $25,000, and their employer – defined to include the elected sheriff – is generally obligated to satisfy the full amount of any uncollectible judgment," said the letter.

ACLU of Colorado also harshly criticized the Aurora Police Department for working with ICE in December to detain over a dozen immigrants in a violent home invasion and kidnapping incident linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA).

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

The gang members allegedly forced their way into a Venezuelan immigrant couple’s apartment at the Edge at Lowry Apartments in the Denver suburbs and bound, beat, stabbed and kidnapped the victims, leaving them hospitalized. The perpetrators also allegedly stole jewelry from the victims.

MacDonald said the Aurora Police Department’s raid against the TdA-linked criminals "exceeded their authority under Colorado law" and that "this type of behavior inflicts harm and distress on a vulnerable community, and risks depriving residents of their rights guaranteed under the Colorado Constitution and state law."

TREN DE ARAGUA ARE IDEOLOGICAL TERRORISTS DISGUISED AS A STREET GANG WARNS FORMER MILITARY OFFICER

"We have taken legal action against law enforcement offices that ran afoul of Colorado law, and if necessary, will do so again," said MacDonald. "We are ready to respond to violations of our neighbors’ civil rights and to prevent constitutional violations of the rights of Colorado families and communities."

Roger Hudson, a city council member in nearby Castle Pines, Colorado, responded to the letter, telling Fox News Digital that "it’s disappointing to me that an organization whose sole purpose has been to defend the rights of Americans has now chosen noncitizens – many of whom are in our country illegally – over the rights of hardworking American taxpayers."

"Colorado taxpayers are exhausted from working hard to foot the high bill for failed liberal policies, not just regarding immigration, but also housing, education, transportation, infrastructure, and the economy," he said, adding: "Change is coming soon, and it begins with the inauguration of President Donald Trump."

As the incoming Trump administration trades barbs with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, those living in the Mile High City largely told Fox News Digital they would rather see action than "bluster."

"I think there's a lot of bluster from both men," Rob said. "Just solve the damn problem. That's all we want."

A viral video of alleged Venezuelan gang members carrying guns through an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, last year put a spotlight on immigration in the Denver area.

President-elect Donald Trump said he is prepared to declare a national emergency and potentially use military assets as part of a mass deportation effort. 

That prompted Johnston to predict a "Tiananmen Square moment" complete with police deployment and protesters meeting federal immigration officials at the county line. He has since walked those comments back, but still told 9News in November that he is prepared to go to jail for standing in the way of the Trump administration's promised crackdown.  

CHILDREN OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FEAR EXPOSING PARENTS ON COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID FORM: REPORT

"That's not going to happen. This is a nothing-burger. That's not going to happen, dude," George told Fox News Digital when asked about the mayor's comments. "I think basically everything is pretty much just bluster."

George, who said he doesn't "necessarily believe in borders in general," also doubted mass deportations would be possible logistically.

That skepticism was shared by Shane, even though he said an influx of migrants in recent years has strained the community.

1.4 MILLION ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN US HAVE BEEN ORDERED DEPORTED, BUT HAVE YET TO BE REMOVED: OFFICIAL

"There's already 1.2 million [people] that are already scheduled to be deported anyway that they probably are not going to be able to find and track," he said.

The war of words continued with Tom Homan, Trump's pick for "border czar," telling Sean Hannity that he and the Denver mayor "agree on one thing."

"He’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail," Homan said.

AURORA MAYOR BLASTS DENVER COUNTERPART FOR CITY'S TREN DE ARAGUA AND MIGRANT CRISIS

"I don't think it's super helpful," Josh said of the discourse. "President Trump has been too aggressive on this. We should find a middle ground. I don't think that Biden had it just right, either."

While the incoming president says removing illegal immigrants who have committed crimes is the priority, his administration is prepared to move on to otherwise law-abiding immigrants after that.

Denver residents Fox News Digital spoke with were split on whether they supported deporting people who are in the country illegally.

"We have had an influx of migrants. I know that it's been hard on our city, but I don't like [Trump's] approach and his sentiment," Karen said. "I do believe in the story of Americans and immigration."

Rob said he believes "70% of Americans sit somewhere in the middle" of the issue.

"But what you really hear are the two poles screaming, and I don't really think it serves the public," he said.

Mayor Johnston's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for an interview. Neither did several city councilors.

In the 1942 film "Holiday Inn," legendary crooner Bing Crosby describes the stroke of midnight on New Year’s as "one minute to say goodbye before we say hello." In 2025, Americans in several states around the country are "saying hello" to many new laws and changes in tax codes.

In West Virginia, for example, residents saw an automatic 2% personal income tax cut taking effect on New Year's Day.

"If anybody says there’s something [else] that could drive more growth to West Virginia than that, you’re out of your mind," outgoing Republican governor and Sen.-elect Jim Justice quipped of that particular policy change.

However, other states’ residents may face more proverbially "draconian" policies and regulations. Here's a look at some of them.

"Congestion pricing"

The Empire State’s heavily-debated congestion pricing law will take effect on Sunday, Jan. 5. 

While Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA Chair Janno Lieber have been supportive of the change, which charges the average driver crossing or entering Manhattan below Central Park a photo-enforced $9 toll, many New Yorkers remain outraged.

HOCHUL SPURS BIPARTISAN OUTRAGE OVER CONGESTION PRICING

"Congestion pricing, the latest in a long string of tyrannical taxes, has been pressed forward through consistent opposition about the burden on New York families and workers," several New York Republican federal lawmakers wrote in a December letter.

Meanwhile, Democrats like State Sen. Andrew Gounardes of Bay Ridge had urged the congestion-pricing plan to begin "immediately, before [Donald] Trump can block it."

Lather up

Visitors to one of the most popular tourism states in the country will no longer be welcomed by travel-sized shampoo and lotion bottles, as they will be prohibited come the New Year. 

The Empire State's ban took effect on Jan. 1, while a similar ban in Illinois goes into practice on July 1 for larger hotels and Jan. 1, 2026, for smaller ones.

While many hotels across the country have transitioned to affixing bulk shampoo dispensers into shower walls, many tourists still prefer the tiny bottles.

Tax hikes

California’s SB-951 of 2022 stipulated that workers will have slightly more money withheld from their paychecks in 2025. The state’s disability insurance program rate is to increase from 1.1% to 1.2%.

The average California worker will see $8 less per month in their net pay.

Gas prices

California Republicans estimated that new regulations taking effect in the New Year will cause "major sticker shock" for drivers in the Golden State.

"I’m concerned Californians will … be unprepared for the rapid gas spike in 2025, which could be an additional 90 cents per gallon," said state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones.

CA LAWMAKERS SLAM ‘IVORY TOWER’ ENERGY ‘POLITBURO’ AS GAS PRICE HIKE LOOMS

Jones estimated Californians will pay $900 more over the course of the year for gasoline.

Parental rights

AB-1955, or the SAFETY Act, took effect Jan. 1.

The law prohibits schools from enacting policies that require parental notification if their child changes their gender identity.

In December remarks to FOX-11, bill sponsor Assemblyman Chris Ward said "politically motivated attacks on the rights, safety, and dignity of transgender, nonbinary and other LGBTQ+ youth are on the rise nationwide, including in California."

Ward, D-San Diego, said school districts had wrongly adopted policies to "forcibly out" students and that parents should love their children unconditionally in all cases.

Immigrant health insurance coverage requirements

A 2022 bill relating to health insurance coverage for Coloradans regardless of immigration status will take effect next month, according to the Denver Post.

CALIFORNIA VOTERS NARROWLY REJECT $18-PER-HOUR MINIMUM WAGE

HB-1289 requires the state to provide "full health insurance coverage for Colorado pregnant people who would be eligible for Medicaid and the children's basic health plan (CHIP) if not for their immigration status and continues that coverage for 12 months postpartum at the CHIP federal matching rate," according to the bill text.

Abortion

As of July 2025, Delaware colleges will be required to provide emergency abortion access and contraception or direct the patient to an external facility, according to the Wilmington News-Journal.

A law is also primed to take effect in the First State that mandates insurance coverage and eliminates deductibles for abortion procedures, according to multiple reports.

State Sen. Bryant Richardson, R-Blades, ripped the new law after it passed the legislature earlier in 2024.

"This is a procedure you want my tax dollars to pay for. I’m sorry, I think this is evil," he said.

Stop light

Washington, D.C., will institute a ban on right-turns-on-red within District boundaries. The law is a rare regulation in a blanket context, with New York City being one of the few other major cities with a similar law.

Signage denoting the otherwise tacit law is typically posted when entering New York City from highways like Major Deegan or one of the city's many river crossings, but it is often lacking on the hundreds of small streets on the grid that traverse into Westchester or Nassau Counties.

In the same vein, the District of Columbia reportedly lacks funding for signage on most of the streets entering the nation’s capital from Maryland or Virginia, which may or may not affect enforcement, according to reports.

The $385,000 in district funds allocated to notifying residents and drivers of the law was never identified, a DDOT official told WTTG.

Bird watch

D.C.’s Migratory Local Wildlife Protection Act of 2023 imposes a new building restriction as of Jan. 1.

Permit applications or glazing alterations will require bird-friendly materials on exterior walls and fenestration within 100 feet of grade level, according to WTTG.

The district is also one of a handful of places where the sales tax will see an increase. In the capital’s case, it will rise to 6.5%.

Firearms

Minnesota will institute a ban on "binary triggers" on personally owned weapons, according to reports. That is, the function that allows a gun to fire multiple rounds with one press of the trigger.

Vaping ban

The Ocean State is set to enact a ban on sales of and possession-with-intent-to-sell flavored vape products in 2025. The law is currently facing litigation but will be able to preliminarily go into effect, according to the Providence Journal.

Global warming

Vermont’s Global Warming Solutions Act, which initiates limits on greenhouse gas emissions, will take effect in the New Year.

It requires a 26% reduction in 2025 emissions reduction versus 2005 levels, according to the Vermont Public.

The law, however, also opens the state up to legal action from green groups and more if it fails to reach the required reduction level. 

That aspect led Republicans to question the new law. Gov. Phil Scott vetoed the bill in 2020, saying it does not propose or create a good framework for "long-term mitigation and adaptation solutions to address climate change."

Meanwhile, Vermont Republican Party Chair Paul Dame recently said it opens up the state and taxpayers’ money to undue risk from such lawsuits.

"These goals were unattainable given the currently available technology, but now the state is getting dragged in to court for completely avoidable reasons," Dame told Fox News Digital.

No coal in your stocking

Oregon’s HB-4083 will direct the state onto a path toward divesting in coal firms and market instruments that include coal interests.

The laws that weren't

With many states, like those above, enacting tax hikes, new regulations and the like, Republicans in states with divided government are expressing cautious optimism that their trend of bucking liberal legislative interests can continue.

While Vermont’s Scott has seen key vetoes like the Global Warming Solutions Act overridden by the Democrat-dominated legislature, some states have the opposite dynamic where a Republican-majority chamber stymies the goals of Democrats.

With the state Senate in Republican hands, the State House one vote short of a 50-50 split and the governorship held by Democrats, Republicans expressed relief that legislation such as a 100% carbon-neutral 2050 Clean Energy Standard did not make it to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk.

In the gun control realm, both an assault weapons ban and proposed repeal of the state Stand Your Ground Law drafted by state Sen. Steve Santarsiero, D-Bristol, died in the legislature.

"It is time we take an evidence-based approach to our gun policy. ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws encourage gun violence. As such, it is time that we repeal ‘Stand Your Ground’ here in Pennsylvania," Santarsiero said in a memo.

Another bill enacting a firearms "Red Flag Law" languished through the legislative term.

A policy that would fund cost-free telephone calls from state prisoners also did not make it through, as did a bid for an "abortion protection package."

FLASHBACK: PA LAWMAKERS DRAFT BILL TO DIVERT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ‘GHOST FLIGHTS’ TO WILMINGTON

Those and several other top-line "draconian" bill failures are a product of GOP persistence, said state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Gettysburg.

"With a Democrat governor and Democrat House, the state Senate is the last line of reason to prevent Pennsylvania from becoming like California," the 2022 Republican gubernatorial nominee told Fox News Digital on Monday.

"There has been a litany of extreme legislation coming from Democrats."

As chair of the Emergency Preparedness committee, Mastriano added that the "most egregious" no-pass in 2024 was legislation to address Pennsylvanian effects from the biohazardous East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment.

Mastriano, along with state Sens. Elder Vogel Jr., R-Beaver, and Michele Brooks, R-Pymatuning, drafted legislation in July to exempt disaster relief payments from state taxes in one case.

That bill did not make it out of the legislature.

Republicans in the state also lamented the failure of the latest effort to withdraw Pennsylvania from a national "RGGI" Greenhouse Gas pact entered into by former Gov. Tom Wolf.

"Leaving our environmental and economic destiny to the whims of RGGI’s New England states is just bad policy for Pennsylvania," State Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Williamsport, said after the Senate approved the eventually-failed bill.

"It is time to repeal this regulation and focus on putting forth commonsense, environmentally responsible energy policy that recognizes and champions Pennsylvania as an energy producer."

"Pennsylvania’s greatest asset is our ability to produce energy," State Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Latrobe, added in a statement.

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Minimum wage hikes are also primed to take effect in several states.

Washington, Connecticut and California are set to see $16 per hour or higher as the minimum wage for most workers. Rhode Island's will rise to $15, Maine's to $14.65, Illinois to $15 and Vermont will go to $14.

More than a dozen states, including Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Utah, Tennessee and Mississippi, retain the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

The driver of the Tesla Cybertruck that blew up outside Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year's Day has been identified as 37-year-old Matthew Alan Livelsberger, a U.S. Army service member from Colorado, U.S. officials said.

Livelsberger was shot in the head in what police believe was a self-inflicted gunshot prior to the detonation of the vehicle, police said.

Authorities used his tattoos, along with his credit cards, military identification and passport, to identify him at the scene.

"There are two tattoos, one of which was on the stomach and one of which is on the arm that we can see bits and pieces of it, as in comparison to what it is that we now know he had, on his body," Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said Thursday.

"That has given us a lot of confidence that this is, in fact, the same person, as well as of which the clearly obvious, which is the credit cards, the military identification, the passport," he added.

1 DEAD, 7 INJURED AFTER TESLA CYBERTRUCK EXPLOSION OUTSIDE TRUMP HOTEL IN LAS VEGAS: POLICE

The 37-year-old recently returned from an overseas assignment in Germany and was on approved leave at the time of the incident, according to a U.S. official.

He had served in the Army since 2006, rising through the ranks.

"Master Sgt. Matthew Alan Livelsberger enlisted as an 18X and served in the active duty Army from January 2006 to March 2011. Livelsberger then joined the National Guard from March 2011 to July 2012, followed by the Army Reserve from July 2012 to December 2012. He entered the active duty Army in December 2012 and was a U.S. Army Special Operations Soldier," an Army spokesperson confirmed to Fox News.

BOMB DISPOSAL EXPERT BREAKS DOWN THE CYBERTRUCK EXPLOSION

He was awarded a total of five Bronze Stars, including one with a valor device for courage under fire, a combat infantry badge and an Army Commendation Medal with valor.

He deployed twice to Afghanistan and also served in Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia and Congo, the Associated Press reported.

There has been speculation online over his political affiliations, but no confirmed reports of how he voted.

Livelsberger’s uncle, Dean, told The Independent that he "loved Trump."

"He loved Trump, and he was always a very, very patriotic solider, a patriotic American," Dean said. "It's one of the reason he was in Special Forces for so many years."

INVESTIGATORS USE TATTOO, PHOTOS TO IDENTIFY SUSPECT BEHIND CYBERTRUCK EXPLOSION AT TRUMP HOTEL

Livelsberger appears to have at one point been married to Sara Livelsberger, a 38-year-old who lives in Delray Beach, Florida. The Denver Post reported that he had divorced in 2018 and remarried in 2022.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Sara Livelsberger for comment.

A Facebook page for Sara has been quiet since 2016, but makes multiple references to Livelsberger as her husband.

In Facebook posts from 2016, Sara said she was a registered Democrat and shared images that were disparaging of President-elect Trump. 

The Cybertruck was rented in Colorado, authorities said during a Wednesday news conference. 

The futuristic Tesla vehicle was complete with large firework mortars in the back and fuel canisters. It arrived in Las Vegas at about 7:30 a.m. local time Wednesday and drove up and down the strip before pulling into the Trump hotel. 

The vehicle was parked for about 20 seconds before it exploded, police said.

Authorities are continuing to investigate whether the incident was an act of terrorism, which came just hours after another U.S. veteran killed at least 15 people when he plowed a truck with an Islamic State flag down Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

Authorities are still working to determine a motive.

"It’s not lost on us that it’s in front of the Trump building, that it’s a Tesla vehicle, but we don’t have information at this point that definitively tells us or suggests it was because of this particular ideology," said Spencer Evans, the Las Vegas FBI’s special agent in charge.

Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Colorado man allegedly attempted to rob a bank but left with nothing after handing a note to a teller who was unable to decipher what he had written, according to police.

The incident happened shortly before 5 p.m. on Dec. 17 at First National Bank at 750 North Lincoln Ave. in Loveland, Colorado, according to the Loveland Police Department.

Police said the man walked into the bank and handed the teller a note.

COLORADO SKI RESORT MALFUNCTIONS, 174 RESCUED: 'ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME-EXPERIENCE'

The teller, however, had a difficult time reading the note since it was allegedly almost completely illegible, according to CBS Colorado.

The man allegedly grew frustrated as the teller was struggling to read the note, so he quickly left the bank, the outlet noted.

AURORA, COLORADO, POLICE SAY HOME INVASION 'WITHOUT QUESTION' TREN DE ARAGUA GANG ACTIVITY

Police are still searching for the suspect.

The man was captured in surveillance images wearing a brown hoodie, green pants, a green baseball cap, sunglasses and brown gloves.

More than 170 people were rescued from dangling gondolas at a Colorado ski resort after being trapped for hours due to a malfunction. 

A crack detected in a metal support structure prompted one of the lifts at Winter Park Resort outside of Denver to automatically shut down Saturday afternoon for safety precautions, according to media reports. It then took rescuers five hours to lower 174 people to the ground, a resort spokesperson told KDVR. 

"We were going up to do our first run, my wife and I, and we stopped. Stopped for about 15 minutes and we started kind of thinking, maybe it’s unusual," skier Aleksey Dmitriyev said to the station. "I called the line, and the line saying if it’s less than 20 minutes don’t worry, call us back… Then we waited a bit longer and we started seeing ski patrol coming down and talking to people from the ground to the cabin, like saying how many of you in the cabin, all that." 

"Everybody was pretty calm, ski patrol was calm and professional and assured us," he added. "It was kind of interesting because he kind of knew what he was doing, but we were a little bit concerned." 

11 INDIAN CITIZENS DEAD IN GEORGIAN SKI RESORT ACCIDENT, EMBASSY SAYS 

"We skied a few runs after that, we used a different lift, of course, and it was still an OK day but once-in-a-lifetime experience," Dmitriyev also told KDVR. 

Dmitriyev captured video showing a rescuer lowering himself into his stranded gondola’s cabin. 

"We are going to send a seat up, we are each going to get in a seat individually and slowly lower everyone down," the man says. 

FLASHBACK: SNOWBOARDER SPENDS 15 HOURS TRAPPED IN CALIFORNIA SKI RESORT GONDOLA 

The footage then shows multiple people – including a child – being brought down to safety. 

Winter Park Resort said the lift remained closed Sunday for repairs and inspections and the gondola manufacturer was on-site, according to KDVR. 

As of late Sunday, a new part had been installed and testing is underway in preparation to reopen the lift, the station adds. 

Aurora Police have confirmed that several members of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) were involved in an "incredibly violent" armed home invasion and kidnapping that left two victims seriously injured in an apartment complex this week. 

"I will say without question, in my opinion, that this is TdA activity. Some of these individuals have been identified as TdA gang members," Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said. "It's something that we are working very close with our partners in HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] and DHS [Homeland Security] to establish their relationship with gangs."

Chamberlain said authorities have little way of confirming that a suspect is a member of TdA since gang members do not typically broadcast their affiliation. 

"It is a real challenge to try to say, ‘Hey, 100%, you are a gang member,’" he said.

TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED IN NYC APARTMENT NEXT TO DAYCARE FACILITY

Chamberlain said it was not a "big step" for him to identify them as members of the notorious Venezuelan gang.

"But when you look at the circumstances of this, when you look at the events of this, when you look at the individuals involved in this, when you look at the veracity and the violence involved in this, again, it is not a big step for me to say that they are TdA gang members," he said.

The gang members allegedly forced their way into a couple’s apartment at the Edge at Lowry Apartments in the Denver suburbs and bound, beat, stabbed and kidnapped the victims, leaving them hospitalized. The perpetrators also allegedly stole jewelry from the victims.

SANCTUARY CITY DENVER SPENDING A WHOPPING $356 MILLION ON MIGRANTS: STUDY 

While the department cannot yet confirm whether all 19 of the suspects detained in the incident are TdA members, Chamberlain said he could categorically confirm that several are part of the gang that has been terrorizing Aurora residents in recent months. 

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Chamberlain said one of the detained TdA members was also involved in the violent apartment takeover in Aurora earlier this year. 

According to Chamberlain, this was not an isolated incident. He said the TdA members and their affiliates have regularly mistreated the couple and were extorting them for $500 every two weeks. He believes the couple were not the only victims being intimidated and extorted by the gang members. 

Chamberlain also said Aurora Police are fully cooperating with ICE, DHS and Homeland Security Investigations to determine the identities and potential gang affiliation of those involved in the incident. 

A total of 19 suspects were detained for questioning, three of whom have since been released and eight of whom are now in ICE custody. He said eight are still under investigation. 

"Those pending charges range from everything from second-degree kidnaping, aggravated robbery, first-degree assault, extortion and burglary," he said.

Police have not released the names of the 16 arrested individuals.

The police chief reiterated that authorities did not conduct a "mass sweep" for the suspects, but instead went door to door to thoroughly investigate all parties involved.

During a press conference, Chamberlain emphasized that Aurora Police would respond to calls and help any victim in trouble "regardless of immigration status."