Today's Guests

Ryan Edwards is cohost of KOA Sports weekdays from 3 PM to 6 PM here on KOA. We'll preview Sunday's Broncos-Jaguars game (where I'll be manning a sideline microphone for KOA, the first half on the Jags' sideline, the second half on the Broncos' sideline.)

KOA Sports with Dave Logan & Ryan Edwards - KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM

Jaguars-Broncos Preview - CBS Sports

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Mason Tvert is the spokesman for Colorado Leads and a long-time pro-marijuana activist. He joins us to talk about President Trump's signing an executive order yesterday that orders the government to move expeditiously to reschedule marijuana from the DEA's Schedule I (high possibility of abuse, no medical use) to Schedule III (low/moderate risk of abuse; potential medical use).

Trump weighs executive order on cannabis restrictions

Trump signs executive order that could reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug - Denver Gazette

The executive order: INCREASING MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND CANNABIDIOL RESEARCH – The White House

(Mason says the biggest change will be the tax part for businesses “Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code” and the general step towards broader reform)

Colorado Leads' comment to the DEA: CO_Leads_Pub_Comment_re_Reschduling.pdf

More on this topic below...

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Mike Johnston is the mayor of Denver. We'll talk about his highlights and lowlights of 2025.

Key vote on proposed Denver Summit FC stadium delayed, but councilwoman feels confident plan will come together

Can you make a mean cocktail Mr. Mayor?

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Other Stuff

It took a long time, but it's done. Interesting that ByteDance retains 20%: Scoop: TikTok signs deal for sale of U.S. unit after yearslong saga

Axios reports that the deal values TikTok's US operations at roughly $14 billion, which is MUCH lower than numbers I'd seen previously: TikTok’s U.S. unit could be worth as much as $50 billion in a sale

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A lot of fast-moving news on Thursday evening about the Brown Univ shooter and the murder of a brilliant MIT scientist, but at about 7:15 PM MT yesterday reports hit that the suspect, who killed two and injured 9 at Brown, was found dead (by suicide) in a storage unit in Salem, New Hampshire. Interesting how law enforcement went from saying that the murders at Brown were not related to the killing of an MIT professor 50 miles away, but now they're saying the killings were committed by the same person. UPDATE: As of Friday morning, reporting is more definitive that the same murderer killed the Brown students and the MIT scientist, and that the shooter and the scientist attended the same university in Portugal.

Brown University shooting live updates: Suspect found dead; he's also accused of killing MIT professor

The shooter was 48 years old, briefly a PhD student at Brown 25 years ago, and a Portuguese national. I'll be interested to see if Trump mentions him within a conversation about immigration policy. UPDATE: That didn't take long: Trump suspends green card lottery program that allowed Brown, MIT shooting suspect to enter U.S.

From NBC News: "Neves Valente had studied at Brown on a student visa beginning in 2000, according to an affidavit from a Providence police detective. In 2017, he was issued a diversity immigrant visa and months later obtained legal permanent residence status, according to the affidavit. It was not immediately clear where he was between taking a leave of absence from the school in 2001 and getting the visa in 2017."

Earlier headlines as the story was developing:

Man suspected in Brown University shooting found dead, AP source says | AP News

Brown shooter manhunt zeroes in on NH town where suspicious vehicle found | New York Post

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Tonight's the night: Democrats Say the Release of the Epstein Files Won’t Be the End of the Story - NOTUS — News of the United States

(Congress is now out of session and Republicans at least will do their best to be out of town for this release. It also remains unknown -- until the info is actually released -- how much will be redacted. Trump, Patel, Bongino, and Bondi created this problem for the GOP and handed a (stupid) political gift to the Dems who never cared before but do now that they think it can somehow be used to hurt the GOP. As one website said about Republicans' obsession with "the Epstein Files", be careful what you wish for.

Democrats keep releasing photos of Epstein and girls and friends, some of which are rather creepy: More Photos Released by Oversight Dems Give Disturbing Glimpse Into Epstein’s World - NOTUS — News of the United States

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This is a perfect example of why the Palestinians should not now, and maybe never, have their own state. Far too many of them are murder-loving bigots who will never be cured of their Nazi-like hatred of Jews.

Muslim Bondi Beach hero branded a 'traitor' in Arab media for saving Jewish lives: report | New York Post

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The "Trump-Kennedy Center"?!? Uh, no. This is an embarrassing and banana-republic level of pandering to Trump. It will only last until the next Democratic president. And, as usual, even when the truth is good enough for him, Trump lied about it: Kennedy Center Board Votes to Rename Storied Arts Institution After Trump - NOTUS — News of the United States

I note that it's actually Congress that has the power to change the name but I suspect the Trump-installed Board of Directors will go ahead and put his name on the building anyway, with Trump laughing at those who don't like it.

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So we’re going to fine you for using a convenient bag and then use the money to implement another coercive rule. Seriously, is there any part of your life that the left won’t tax and regulate?

Denver to use bag fees to implement Waste No More compost initiative

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We talked about this when the news broke yesterday. It's quite a story and strikes me as a tale of inexperienced management. Merging two companies that have nothing whatsoever in common is quite rare. No reason to think it will work out particularly well. I suspect TAE is using Trump Media as a way to go public without all the paperwork and Trump Media is using TAE as a way to try to make the company interesting again. If I had to bet, I'd bet that in two years the stock will be much lower than it is now, which is already down more than 50% from a year ago even after a big up-day yesterday on this news. The odds that the first fusion company to go public will be the first to figure out how to make it work economically are pretty low, in my view. That said, I'm not trading it and talk is cheap so my opinion is worth what you just paid for it.

Trump Media to Merge With Fusion Power Firm TAE Technologies in $6 Billion Deal - WSJ

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A different version of "that which is seen and that which is not seen". Quite a remarkable story: How Gary Winnick, Once L.A.’s Richest Man, Went From Billions to Bust - WSJ

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Great note by a conservative Republican district attorney: Peters earned her prison time; GOP must move on | BRAUCHLER - Denver Gazette

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Doesn't seem like a great way to learn: DNC under fire for hiding autopsy report on 2024 election

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This Denver Gazette opinion piece argues against rescheduling marijuana because of the risk to kids. I find it entirely unpersuasive. And the data suggests the argument is wrong: GUEST COLUMN: Heed Colorado’s mistakes; don’t ‘reschedule’ pot - Denver Gazette

Youth marijuana use over past 10 years, summarized by ChatGPT. Hint: youth use is down since legalization: https://chatgpt.com/share/6944ad45-6508-8010-b958-987d179a19de

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Caught ya: District of Massachusetts | Two Massachusetts Men Charged with Large-Scale SNAP Benefits Trafficking | United States Department of Justice

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Seems fine to me: US House passes Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert's bill to remove gray wolves from endangered species list - Colorado Politics

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Today's Videos

I wish this were my music class when I was a kid...

Colorado's Morning News with Jeana Gondek