Having consolidated power and extended his term, President Xi Jinping is now the mightiest Chinese leader since Mao. And, his rise to political primacy coincides with a moment in history when China itself is rising – economically, militarily, and geopolitically.

Congressman Scott Tipton, who represents Colorado’s third district, authored a bill to speed up permitting on Forest Service land. He said it’s to benefit local economies.

Welcome to the beginning of another week in the Roaring Fork Valley! This is Week in the Arts, a curated list of upcoming exhibitions and events.

Artist Ai Wei Wei became famous for works criticizing the Chinese government. He paid a high price for standing up to the authoritarian regime; he was imprisoned, and now lives in exile in Berlin. He continues to use his art to address global issues, ranging from freedom of expression to the refugee crisis. Ai Wei Wei spoke at Anderson Ranch Arts Center recently and said human connection and communication are central to his work.

The nation’s second most senior law enforcement official describes the work of the Attorney General’s Cyber-Digital Task Force and makes an exclusive policy announcement. A panel of prominent former government officials and industry leaders reacts to that announcement.

The Lake Christine Fire continues to grow on Basalt Mountain, and hot, dry weather the past couple of days has meant increased activity. It’s estimated to be nearly 8,000 acres, and officials said it grew about 500 acres Wednesday.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen spoke Thursday at the Aspen Security Forum.

Alan Fletcher hosts this weekly chat with AMFS artists. This week he talked with Lawrence Power and Alexander Shelley. Audio file below!

From pulling out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Paris climate accord, to questioning the value of NATO and imposing tariffs on European allies, to renegotiating NAFTA, to tearing up the Iranian nuclear agreement, to promising to pull troops out of Afghanistan and Syria in the not too distant future, President Trump is upending 70 years of foreign policy orthodoxy in pursuit of his “America First” agenda. Meanwhile, a rising China and a revanchist Russia are working feverishly to fill

Kirstjen Nielsen, the Homeland Security Secretary, briefs us on the security challenges the nation faces and how the Department and its partners, domestic and foreign, are working together to meet them.