Comptroller's Job: More Than A Financial Balancing Act

U. S. law enforcement officials seized more than 115 million pills containing illicit fentanyl in 2023—a dramatic increase that experts say is “alarming” and shows the need for increased public health efforts to prevent the distribution of these pills and possible overdoses. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] A new study published Monday in the International Journal of Drug Policy found that the number of individual pills containing fentanyl that was seized by law enforcement was 2,300 times greater in 2023 than in 2017.

Just one week before the world’s second-ever global summit on artificial intelligence, protesters of a small but growing movement called “Pause AI” demanded that the world’s governments regulate AI companies and freeze the development of new cutting edge artificial intelligence models. They say that the development of these models should only be allowed to continue if companies agree to let them be thoroughly evaluated to test their safety first.

Eastbound Interstate 70 reopened at Quebec Street after a crash closed the highway Monday afternoon, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Eastbound I-70 reopened at 5:51 p.m., approximately 90 minutes after CDOT announced the closure and said drivers in the area should expect delays. The Denver Police Department said on social media that the injury crash involved three motorists, with one person taken to a local hospital. No further information about the crash was immediately available. This is a developing story and will be updated. Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.

1st Lt. Zachary Galli (Photo via U. S. Army) A 23-year-old Fort Carson soldier was killed in a training accident in Louisiana, Army officials announced Monday. First Lt. Zachary Galli, an explosive ordnance disposal officer, was killed in a “non-combat related training accident” at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson in Vernon Parish, Louisiana. Army officials provided few details about the accident in a news release Monday afternoon, only stating it was under investigation.

The Colorado Avalanche has been the NHL’s best offense in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it might get a needed boost against the stingy Dallas Stars. Jonathan Drouin skated in his normal spot with the first power-play unit Monday morning and could return to the Avs lineup in Game 4 against the Stars at Ball Arena. “He’s a good player — really good player,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said.

As the spring semester comes to a close, protests demanding an end to the Israel-Hamas war continue to spread at Colorado colleges, with a new encampment at the University of Denver and disturbances reported at graduation ceremonies last weekend for the University of Colorado Denver and Metropolitan State University of Denver. A group called DU for Palestine set up a Gaza solidarity encampment at DU’s Carnegie Green on Thursday, mirroring the efforts of the Denver Students for a Democratic Society and Colorado Palestine Coalition, who began an encampment at the Auraria Campus on April 25. DU administrators shared a new interim policy on protests and demonstrations that day, creating guidelines for acceptable demonstrations and prohibiting those that disrupt meetings or events, impede other DU community members from engaging in free expression, or harm people or property.