The highly competitive race for CD-3 will now be going to recount, thanks to a Colorado law mandating recounts when votes are under a certain percentage apart.
By The Associated Press, Christina A. Cassidy and Colleen Slevin
A former elections manager who allegedly helped a Colorado clerk accused of tampering with voting equipment plans to plead guilty under an agreement with prosecutors. Sandra Brown is scheduled to be in court Wednesday afternoon. According to court documents, she intends to plead guilty to attempting to influence a public servant, a felony, and official misconduct, a misdemeanor under the deal, which must be approved by a judge. The deal also requires Brown to sign a “cooperation agreement” but the details of what she would be required to do in weren't known. Her lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has visited the memorial outside a gay club where five people were killed in a shooting attack last week. He solemnly walked Tuesday past flowers, crosses and photos of the victims. Polis is the first openly gay man elected a governor in the U.S., back in 2018. He picked up a piece of pink chalk and drew a heart and wrote “We remember” on the pavement outside Club Q in Colorado Springs — an LGBTQ gathering place. The motive for the Nov. 19 attack there remains under investigation and one person is in custody. Polis later visited a brewery and hugged its owner — the man who tackled the shooting suspect.
A member of the U.S. Navy who was injured while helping subdue a man who shot and killed five people at a gay nightclub in Colorado said he simply wanted to save the family that he had found. U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Thomas James issued a statement Sunday through Centura Penrose hospital in Colorado Springs, where is recovering from undisclosed injuries suffered in the attack. James urged bravery among the young in the LGBTQ community. Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said that James was one of two men who helped to stop the shooter who walked into Club Q late on Nov. 19 with multiple firearms, including a semiautomatic rifle, and killed five people.
Vandals defaced a sign outside a local Christian ministry Thursday, accusing the organization of complicity in the horrific massacre at an LGBTQ+ nightclub.
By The Associated Press, Sam Metz and Stephen Groves
A mass shooting at a popular gay club in Colorado Springs has resurfaced questions about the city's past and future among its residents. Though the suspect facing possible murder and hate crime charges is not from Colorado Springs, the targeting of LGBTQ people has reminded some of the 1990s, when the city was known as an epicenter of religion-infused, family-values conservatism unfriendly to the LGBTQ community. Colorado Springs has increasingly become a diverse and vibrant city, and, like anywhere a mass shooting occurs, the shocking act of violence in a space considered a refuge for LGBTQ people has sent residents reeling.
By The Associated Press, Colleen Slevin, Thomas Peipert, Jesse Bedayn and Brittany Peterson
The alleged shooter facing possible hate crime charges in the fatal shooting of five people at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub has been ordered held without bail in an initial court appearance.
By The Associated Press, Jesse Bedayn and Stephen Groves
A witness to a shooting at a Colorado Springs gay nightclub says the suspect showed “no hesitation” when entering Club Q and opening fire. Deanne VanScyoc says the shooter wearing body armor moved in a crouch through the club with a rifle at eye-level, firing at people gathered at the bar then spraying a dance floor with bullets. Authorities say five people were killed and 17 injured by gunfire in the weekend rampage at Club Q, a well-known gathering place for the LGBTQ community in Colorado Springs. The suspect was ordered to be held without bail during an initial court appearance Wednesday.
By The Associated Press, Amy Forliti and Stephen Groves
A man who survived a weekend shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs says he wants to be resilient and won't be "taken out by some sick person.” Another survivor says the shooting left him feeling hopeful and surrounded by community support. They are among the 17 people injured by gunfire on Saturday after police say a 22-year-old man went on a shooting rampage at Club Q, a well-known gathering place for the LGBTQ community in Colorado Springs. The injured who have been speaking out from their hospital rooms have recounted the chaos of the shooting — as well as the aftermath when club patrons worked to help each other. Five people were killed in the attack.
By The Associated Press, Thomas Peipert, Jesse Bedayn and Brittany Peterson
Public records show that the suspect in the mass shooting of 22 people at a Colorado gay nightclub changed his name more than six years ago. The request came just months after he was targeted by online bullying. Anderson Lee Aldrich, who is 22, faces murder and hate crime charges. He was was known as Nicholas Brink until 2016. Records show that just before his 16th birthday, he petitioned a Texas court to change his name. The reason were unclear. The name change and bullying were first reported by The Washington Post.
By The Associated Press, Sam Metz, Jamie Stengle and Stephen Groves
The five people who were killed at a gay club in Colorado are being remembered as loving parents, enthusiastic performers and longtime patrons who cherished Club Q as a safe haven for members of the LGBTQ community. They came to Colorado Springs' preeminent LGBTQ establishment on Saturday evening and were met with tragedy when a gunman entered just before midnight and began spraying bullets before he was tackled and subdued. The dead have been identified as Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Kelly Loving, Raymond Green Vance and Ashley Paugh. Another 17 people were injured by the gunfire.
By The Associated Press, Amy Forliti and Jesse Bedayn
In the mostly conservative city of Colorado Springs, Club Q has long been a go-to spot for members of the LGBTQ community — a safe space where many felt they could just be themselves. But that was shattered this weekend when a gunman entered the club as people were drinking and dancing, killing five people and injuring 25 others. As the community mourns the lives lost, many are also grieving because it happened in a place that has become a sanctuary for many longing to fit in. Stoney Roberts, a nonbinary trans person, says they came of age at Club Q, and it has been a place where LGBTQ people "can take a deep breath and you can be your authentic self.”
By The Associated Press, Jesse Bedayn and Thomas Peipert
Court records show the man suspected of killing five people and injuring others at a gay bar in Colorado Springs is facing murder and hate crime charges. According to online court records obtained Monday, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich is facing five murder charges and five charges of committing a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury. Information on a lawyer who could speak on Aldrich's behalf wasn't immediately available Monday. A law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity has said the suspect used an AR-15-style semiautomatic weapon in Saturday night's attack.
Daniel Aston would let loose on a typical night at Club Q in Colorado Springs as a bartender and entertainer, sliding across the stage on all fours. The venue provided Aston, a 28-year-old transgender man and the self-proclaimed "Master of Silly Business," with the liberating spotlight he had long sought. But on Saturday it became the site of the latest mass shooting in the U.S. when a gunman with a semiautomatic rifle opened fire and killed Aston and four others. Twenty-five others were injured.
By The Associated Press, Colleen Slevin and Bernard Condon
The suspect in the Colorado Springs gay nightclub shooting allegedly threatened his mother with a homemade bomb last year. Yet despite that scare, there's no public record that police or relatives tried to trigger Colorado's "red flag" law that would have allowed authorities to seize the weapons and ammo the man's mother says he had with him. Gun control advocates say his June 2021 threat is an example of a red flag law ignored, with potentially deadly consequences. It's not clear the law could have prevented Saturday night's attack, but experts say it could have at least slowed Aldrich and put him higher on the radar.
Travelers planning to use Highway 145 on Monday may need to budget for extra travel time as the Colorado Department of Transportation will be working to remove a crashed car.
A thin margin in Colorado Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert's reelection race against Democrat Adam Frisch could trigger a rare automatic recount in an election that will help determine the extent of the GOP's slim House majority. The Associated Press has declared race too close to call with Boebert up by 0.16% or 551 votes out of nearly 327,000 with nearly all votes counted. An automatic recount in Colorado comes when the margin is at or below 0.5% of the leading candidate's vote total. The Colorado Secretary of State's office has until Dec. 5 to declare an automatic recount.
Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert is likely headed to an automatic recount in her bid to fend off a surprisingly difficult challenge from a Democratic businessman from the ritzy ski town of Aspen. The Associated Press has declared the election too close to call in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District. AP will await the results of a potential recount to call the race.
A class-action federal lawsuit is accusing 11 of the United States' largest beef and pork producers of conspiring to depress wages and benefits for its workers. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Denver last week. It alleges that the producers have worked together since at least 2014 to keep workers' compensation lower than the market would allow in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. It seeks to represent hundreds of thousands of other people who have worked in jobs from slaughtering to production at the companies' collective 140 plants. The lawsuit says they produce about 80% of the red meat sold to U.S. consumers.
Colorado police say a man died Tuesday after being handcuffed during a response by a mental health crisis team. Police in Colorado Springs say a 911 caller described the man as experiencing a mental health episode but they didn't provide any other details about the man's mental state. Police say the Crisis Response Team tried to guide the man out of a roadway and a "struggle" ensued. After the man was handcuffed, they say he became unresponsive. The police haven't released further information on the incident, including what the struggle entailed.
Fired Miami police chief Art Acevedo will be the latest interim police leader in a Colorado city where police officers and paramedics are being prosecuted in the death of a Black man in 2019. Aurora, Colorado announced that Acevedo had reached out to officials there offering to serve as the city's second interim police chief. In April, Aurora fired the chief who the city hired while under scrutiny for the killing of Elijah McClain. He was put into a chokehold by an officer and injected with a powerful sedative. The fatal encounter provoked national outcry during racial injustice protests in 2020.
Democratic state Rep. Yadira Caraveo has defeated Republican state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer in Colorado's new 8th Congressional District, which stretches north of Denver. The Associated Press called the race Tuesday. The win comes as Republicans try to flip control of the U.S. House in the midterm elections after Democrats secured control in the Senate. Caraveo is a pediatrician and defender of abortion rights who voted for police accountability after protests that followed the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. Caraveo hoped her cultural lineage as the child of Mexican immigrants would attract support in a swing district where Latinos comprise nearly 40% of voters.
The struggle for affordable housing is playing out in Vail, Colorado, where the owners of a ski resort are trying to create an affordable housing complex for the chefs, bus drivers, ski lift operators and other workers who keep the resort humming. The problem? A group of bighorn sheep live on a fraction of the land designated for the project. The years-long dispute is nowhere close to being solved, and it's leading local businesses to have a tough time recruiting workers to keep local businesses afloat.
By The Associated Press and Jesse Bedayn, Associated Press/Report for America
Colorado residents have voted to rewrite the state's tax law to direct an estimated $300 million a year to affordable housing projects. The ballot initiative funnels a fraction of Colorado's taxable income into programs that include helping essential workers buy homes and supporting local governments to increase affordable housing stock.
Police in Aurora, Colorado, say they have arrested a suspect as part of their investigation into a Friday shooting that left a 12-year-old boy dead and a 14-year-old boy wounded. Aurora police said Saturday that they have detained an 18-year-old suspect and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
Republican Lauren Boebert's race against Democrat Adam Frisch remained extremely tight on Thursday and could be headed for a recount. The tightness of the race has garnered national attention as Republicans inch closer to the 218 seats that would give them control of the U.S. House. Boebert was seen as a lock in the state's sprawling, conservative leaning 3rd Congressional District but she trailed on election night. Boebert only took a roughly 800-vote lead after two days of additional counting with thousands of ballots left to be tabulated. The margin gave her a 0.2 percentage point lead, well within the 0.5-point margin that triggers an automatic recount.
A Colorado woman convicted of plotting to kidnap her son from foster care after associating with supporters of the Qanon conspiracy theory has been sentenced to 60 days in jail and two years supervised probation. The judge said she thought Cynthia Abcug still saw herself as a victim and could pose a danger, but that her sentencing options were limited.
A Colorado man who is a registered Democratic voter has been arrested on suspicion of tampering with voting equipment in an incident in which the man is accused of inserting a USB thumb drive into a voting machine during the primary election in June. Police in Pueblo say 31-year-old Richard Patton was arrested Thursday. No secure elections data was breached in the June 28 incident. But the alleged tampering heightened concerns among election officials and security experts that conspiracy theories related to the 2020 presidential election could inspire some voters to meddle with — or even attempt to sabotage — election equipment.
Colorado Democrats will look to cement their hold on the once purple state this Election Day. The top race has Sen. Michael Bennet seeking a third term against Republican Joe O'Dea for a seat that Republicans think they can flip. Democratic Gov. Jared Polis is going for his second term against University of Colorado regent Heidi Ganahl. The state also gains an eighth seat in the U.S. House thanks to its growing population. And voters will be asked whether to legalize the therapeutic use of "magic mushrooms."
Colorado's Democratic governor, Jared Polis, has emphasized in his reelection campaign his efforts to ease inflation's burdens on families and fight crime while touting first-term triumphs in health care affordability, public education funding and climate policy. Crime, drugs, inflation and underperforming schools are the chief talking points for his challenger, Republican Heidi Ganahl, a University of Colorado regent and successful entrepreneur.
Colorado voters are set to decide whether to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms for those 21 and older and create state-regulated "healing centers" where participants can experience the drug. If the ballot initiative passes, the state will join Oregon in establishing a regulated system for substances like psilocybin and psilocin, the hallucinogens found in some mushrooms.
Police say three suspects in a vehicle opened fire on a small group of people standing on a street corner in east Denver on Tuesday, killing one person and wounding four others before fleeing the scene. There were no immediate arrests, and police were trying to determine a possible motive.
A former longshot Idaho gubernatorial candidate has been convicted of kidnapping and killing a 12-year-old Colorado girl who went missing nearly 40 years ago.
Colorado House Minority Leader Hugh McKean, known for his warm personality, wicked sense of humor and for reaching across the aisle to build legislative consensus, has died.
A wildfire that destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and businesses in suburban Denver last winter caused more than $2 billion in losses, making it by far the costliest in Colorado history.
By Jesse Bedayn, Associated Press/Report for America
Prosecutors say a grand jury is investigating the death of a 22-year-old Colorado man who was shot by police after calling 911 for roadside assistance and while experiencing what his mother described as a mental health crisis.
The Biden administration's approval of oil leases in a corner of New Mexico that has become a battleground over increased development and the preservation of Native American sites has prompted another legal challenge. Environmental groups are suing the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. They contend in a complaint filed Wednesday that the federal government is going back on its word by clearing the way for oil and gas development on federal lands near Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The Bureau of Land Management says the parcels in question are outside a 10-mile buffer zone around the park.
By Felicia Fonseca and Kathleen Ronayne, Associated Press
The Interior Department announced Friday that it will consider revising a set of guidelines for operating two major dams on the Colorado River. It's the first sign of what could lead to federal action to protect the once-massive but shrinking reservoirs behind them. The public has until Dec. 20 to weigh in on three options to keep Lake Mead and Lake Powell from dropping so low they couldn't produce power or be a reliable water source for several Western states, tribes and Mexico. One option would allow the federal government to take unilateral action, as it threatened this summer when it asked states to drastically cut their use. The states haven't come up with a plan.
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