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Mother of severely-injured Lakewood toddler arrested for possible child abuse
LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The mother of a 2-year-old girl who was brutally beaten last month witnessed at least one of the beatings allegedly undertaken by her boyfriend, and now faces investigation on child abuse charges, according to prosecutors.
Melissa Nicole Mangeri, 28, faces investigation on one count of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury related to her daughter’s alleged abuse.
Her boyfriend, 21-year-old Joshua Gonzales, was arrested on Sept. 17 and charged with reckless child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury. He faces between 10 and 32 years in prison if convicted. Continue reading
3 dead in Fort Collins shooting identified, including gunman who took his own life
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The gunman who killed two people outside a Fort Collins apartment complex early Thursday morning also killed himself, the Larimer County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday as it identified the three dead in the shooting.
The office identified the second victim in the shooting as Tristian Kemp, 26, of Destin, Florida, and said Kemp died of multiple gunshot wounds. It also formally identified Colorado State student Savannah McNealy, 22, as the other person murdered. Continue reading
‘Underwear Bomber’ sues over alleged mistreatment, force-feedings at Colorado ADX supermax prison
DENVER – The Nigerian man known as the “Underwear Bomber” sued the Federal Bureau of Prisons and Attorney General Jeff Sessions Wednesday in federal court in Denver, alleging his constitutional rights are being violated at the ADX supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court of Colorado, alleges that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been forced into solitary confinement for an undetermined amount of time, that he’s been chastised by other prisoners and guards for being Muslim, and that he’s been force-fed non-halal food when he went on hunger strikes to protest his alleged mistreatment. Continue reading
Sen. Michael Bennet calls for government accountability office to probe Trump voter fraud commission
DENVER – U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is doubling down on President Trump’s election integrity commission, and is now calling for the U.S. Government Accountability Office to probe the panel.
Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., sent a letter to the GAO Wednesday requesting the investigation while questioning the motives of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. Continue reading
Ticket prices for Pence speech in Denver lowered after sluggish sales
DENVER – Tickets to see Vice President Mike Pence speak in Denver later this month are cheaper than they were a week ago, as the state Republican party has had trouble filling the room.
The Colorado Republican Party’s chairman, Jeff Hays, sent out an email Wednesday morning that said, “Due to popular demand, we have made more tickets available at a lower price.” Further down in the email, an RSVP notification says RSVPs are required by Oct. 24 “due to limited space.” Continue reading
Denver a major target in latest FBI sex trafficking operation
DENVER – FBI agents and the Rocky Mountain Innocence Lost Task Force recovered dozens of trafficked children, including several in Denver, in this year’s annual operation to break up sex trafficking rings across the country.
The 11th-annual “Operation Cross Country” wrapped up on Oct. 15 after four days of arrests, and netted 120 alleged sex traffickers and 84 victims. Continue reading
Michael Bennet pitches public option as bipartisan senators say they have deal to fund ACA subsidies
DENVER – U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet on Tuesday pitched a public option health care measure as a bipartisan panel of senators he’s been part of announced it had reached a deal to fund insurer subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that President Trump has stopped paying for the time being.
Bennet had scheduled an informational call for Colorado journalists regarding his and Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia’s “Medicare-X” measure, but the deal reached by Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., took precedent on the call. Continue reading
Democrats out-raise Republicans in quarterly fundraising for 2018 Colorado governor’s race
DENVER – Democratic candidates for Colorado’s governorship in 2018 far out-raised most Republican candidates in the third quarter of 2017 fundraising, though two political action committees are making splashes in the race already as individual fundraising tops $7.3 million.
All five Democratic candidates out-raised their Republican counterparts this quarter, which covers the period between July 1 and Sept. 30. Continue reading
Sen. Michael Bennet to unveil public option health plan aimed at rural areas this week: ‘Medicare-X’
DENVER – U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet will unveil legislation this week to bring a public option to the federal health care system that is seen as a middle point between those pushing for a single-payer system and possibly some Republicans who are on the fence about repealing and replacing the law altogether.
Bennet and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., first unveiled the plan Monday in a Washington Post story, and are expected to further elaborate upon the plan on Tuesday afternoon. Continue reading
Opioid-related deaths fell 6.5% after recreational marijuana legalized in Colorado, research finds
DENVER – Opioid-related deaths fell by more than 6 percent in Colorado in the two years after the state started selling recreational marijuana, according to new research published in November’s edition of the American Journal of Public Health.
The researchers who conducted the study found the 6.5-percent reduction represented “a reversal of” a 14-year increasing trend in opioid-related deaths in Colorado since 2000. Continue reading