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  • Geneva fire contained after spreading from house fire in Golden Gate Canyon

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    A house fire in western Jefferson County started a small wildfire Thursday morning, causing pre-evacuation warnings for people living in Golden Gate Canyon after flames spread to nearby trees and grass.

    The Geneva fire burned less than an acre after it was first reported in the 10600 block of Ralston Creek Road at 11:35 a.m., according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

    Jefferson and Gilpin county officials sent out pre-evacuation warnings for a 3-mile radius around the fire and for homes in Golden Gate Estates, Braecher Ranchettes and the surrounding area.

    The fire also briefly caused evacuations for the southern part of Golden Gate Canyon State Park and visitor center, Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kara Van Hoose said in an email to The Denver Post.

    Fire crews stopped forward progress on the fire by 12:34 p.m., and county officials lifted pre-evacuations for the surrounding area just after 1 p.m.

    The Geneva fire was fully contained as of Thursday afternoon, according to the wildfire dispatch program WildCAD.

    Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.

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  • Arrest log

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    The following arrests were made recently by local police departments. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Massachusetts’ privacy law prevents police from releasing information involving domestic and sexual violence arrests with the goal to protect the alleged victims.

    LOWELL

    • Tasha Perry, 39, 65 Summer St., Apt. 162, Lowell; warrant (failure to appear for assault and battery with dangerous weapon).

    • Ibrahim Mbouemboue-Yogno, 35, 218 Wilder St., Apt. 24, Lowell; keeper of disorderly house, disturbing peace, assault and battery on police officer, assault and battery with dangerous weapon (door).

    • Whitney Labossiere, 28, 1005 Westford St., Apt. 4, Lowell; disorderly conduct, trespassing after notice.

    • Kenneth Eng, 21, 27 Hastings St., Lowell; operating motor vehicle after license suspension, making illegal turn from wrong lane.

    • Jeremy McWhinnie, 35, 157 Summer St., Apt. L, Lowell; warrants (failure to appear for assault and battery on police officer, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct).

    NASHUA, N.H.

    • Kevin Mulligan, 29, 7 1/2 Martin St., Nashua; simple assault.

    • Hayden Lee Wilburn, 32, 44 Amherst St., Nashua; warrant.

    • Ricardo Encarnacion, 31, 290 Ruggles St., Roxbury Crossing; three counts of theft by unauthorized taking ($0-$1,000).

    • Danielle Evans, 32, 39 Palm St., Apt. 2, Nashua; criminal trespassing.

    • Kenneth Gurski, 70, no fixed address; criminal trespassing, nonappearances in court.

    • Edgar McIntosh, 19, 20 Century Road, Nashua; disobeying an officer, speeding (26 mph over limit of 55 mph or less).

    • Rachel Tutein, 30, 16 Cold Spring Road, Westford; stalking (domestic violence).

    • Kimberlee Bryson Cora, 29, 104 Ash St., Nashua; nonappearances in court.

    • David Perez, 37, 18 Mulberry St., Nashua; nonappearance in court.

    • Brian Anthony Desautels, 54, 23 Cushing Ave., Nashua; simple assault.

    • Hector Solano, 54, 25 Amory St., Roxbury; lane control violation, driving motor vehicle after license revoked/suspended, nonappearances in court.

    PELHAM, N.H.

    • Victoria Coyle, 38, Dracut; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Nicholas Gentile, 39, Chelmsford; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Sara Beaulieu, 46, Tyngsboro; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Jean Richard, 28, Lowell; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Heloisa Moreira Oliveira, 28, Lowell; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Michael Ingham, 50, Pelham; driving under influence.

    • Brian Arsenault, 39, Tyngsboro; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Robert Carleton, 23, Pelham; simple assault (domestic violence).

    • Daniel McGillicuddy, 45, Dracut; two counts of violation of protective order.

    • Jessica Conway, 25, Dracut; driving motor vehicle after license revoked/suspended.

    • Luis Lopez, 55, Lowell; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Tamy Smith, 33, Lowell; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Frantz Letang, 48, Andover; arrest on another agency’s warrant.

    • Nathan Harrington, 49, Lowell; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • Carmen Ruiz, 25, Hudson, N.H.; suspension of vehicle registration.

    • James Frederick, 51, Hudson, N.H.; operating motor vehicle after certified as habitual offender, driving under influence (subsequent offense), driving motor vehicle after license revoked/suspended for driving under influence.

    WILMINGTON

    • Mohammed Ali Jones, 43, 25 School St., Apt. 2, Everett; operation of motor vehicle with registration suspended or revoked, uninsured motor vehicle, license not in possession.

    • Nolan Patrick Vigeant, 22, 42 Hanover St., Wilmington; operation under influence of alcohol, two counts of leaving scene of property damage, marked lanes violation, speeding.

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  • What to know about the boat shooting in Cuban waters that killed 4

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    SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica — Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops, who fired back, killing four and wounding six, according to the Cuban government.

    The Cuban Ministry of the Interior said the people aboard the boat Wednesday were Cubans living in the U.S. and accused them of trying to infiltrate the country to engage in terrorism. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was not a U.S. government operation.

    Here’s what to know about the confrontation that has resulted in investigations in both Cuba and the United States and could add to tensions between the two countries.

    Cuban president says island will defend itself

    Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Thursday that Cuba “does not attack or threaten.”

    “We have stated this repeatedly, and we reiterate it today: Cuba will defend itself with determination and firmness against any terrorist or mercenary aggression that seeks to undermine its sovereignty and national stability,” he wrote on X.

    Cuban authorities launched an investigation, the foreign minister said.

    Rubio said the American government was gathering its own information, including whether the people were U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said it was pursuing answers “through every legal and diplomatic channel available.”

    One man was obsessed with Cuban freedom

    The wounded people were detained, Cuban officials said, and the government identified seven of the 10 passengers.

    It said that two of them, Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, are wanted by Cuban authorities “based on their involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission” of terrorism.

    It identified the others as Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra.

    Cuba’s government said one of the four killed was Michel Ortega Casanova. His brother Misael Ortega Casanova told The Associated Press that his sibling had developed an “obsessive and diabolical” quest for Cuba’s freedom given the suffering they endured on the island before moving to the U.S. He said his brother was an American citizen who lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years.

    Meanwhile, Galindo Sariol, another passenger, was identified as a former political prisoner in a 2025 interview with Martí Noticias, a U.S.-based news site that has long called for a change of government in Cuba.

    The Cuban government said it was a Florida-registered speedboat and that officials who searched it found assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, bulletproof vests, telescopic sights and camouflage uniforms.

    The AP was unable to verify details because boat registrations are not public in Florida.

    Confrontations with US are not unusual, but deaths are rare

    The island’s foreign minister wrote Thursday on X that Cuba has faced “numerous terrorist and aggressive infiltrations” from the U.S. since 1959, “with a high cost in lives, injuries and material damage.”

    The most famous attempt involving Cuban exiles was the Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961.

    The CIA had trained a group of exiles under the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower that was led by José Miró Cardona, a former member of Fidel Castro ’s government and head of the Cuban Revolutionary Council in the U.S.

    The failed invasion that occurred under former President John F. Kennedy led to the surrender of some 1,200 exiles, while more than 100 others were killed.

    Another high-profile encounter occurred on Feb. 24, 1996, when Cuba’s air force shot down two unarmed civilian airplanes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami-based organization. Four men were killed following the attack that the International Civil Aviation Organization said occurred over international waters.

    According to the radio communications between the MiG-29 and a military control tower published by the Organization of American States, the MiG-29 celebrated upon striking the second plane: “Homeland or death, you bastards!” in a reference to the famed Cuban revolutionary cry.

    In 2022, several incidents were reported in Cuban waters involving an exchange of gunfire and arrests but no apparent casualties.

    It’s not unusual for skirmishes to erupt between Cuba’s Coast Guard and U.S.-flagged speedboats in Cuban waters, although deaths are rare. In past years, some of those U.S.-flagged boats were laden with unidentified cargo headed toward the island, or they were going to pick up Cubans to smuggle them into the U.S.

    The potential effects on US-Cuba relations

    The shooting threatens to increase tensions between the two countries after President Donald Trump ‘s administration has already having taken an increasingly aggressive stance toward Cuba.

    When the U.S. attacked Venezuela and arrested its leader on Jan. 3, oil shipments to Cuba that were largely keeping the island afloat were halted.

    Then Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 29 that would impose a tariff on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba, which recently implemented austere fuel-saving measures.

    William LeoGrande, an American University expert on Cuba, said there’s a risk that the Trump administration “uses this incident as some kind of an excuse to come up with even more sanctions.”

    “But if the Cuban government lays out all the guns that they captured and has some of these people confessing to what they were up to, that might put the issue to rest,” he told journalists Thursday in an online briefing.

    On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department slightly eased restrictions on the sale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, but the island’s energy and economic crisis is expected to persist.

    LeoGrande said Cuba’s private sector would not import enough oil “to really make a significant dent in the humanitarian crisis.”

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    Danica Coto

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  • Douglas County wildfire sparked by trash truck, sheriff says

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    A wildfire that raced across more than 1,000 acres of dry, grassy land in Douglas County on Tuesday was started by a trash truck, according to the sheriff’s office.

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    Lauren Penington

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  • Fourth annual Day of Remembrance at SJSU emphasizes activism and solidarity

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    Gordon Yamate, who serves on the Los Gatos Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission, spoke about inspiring solidarity and activism for a panel at this year’s Day of Remembrance of Japanese American incarceration at San Jose State University.

    Feb. 19 nationally commemorates the anniversary of Executive Order 9066, a 1942 decree that ordered the removal of all people of Japanese descent from the West Coast to camps in remote areas of California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Arkansas. San Jose State held an event on that day to acknowledge the Japanese American experience and the campus’ connection to it. In 1942, Yoshihiro Uchida Hall, which used to be the university’s men’s gymnasium, was used as a registration center for Japanese Americans in Santa Clara County before they were sent to the incarceration camps.

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    Nollyanne Delacruz

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  • NASA moves its Artemis II moon rocket off the launch pad for more repairs

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA moved its grounded Artemis moon rocket from the launch pad back to its hangar Wednesday for more repairs.

    The slow-motion trek at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center was expected to take all day. The 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket had spent a month at the pad ready for potential liftoff, but encountered a series of problems serious enough to require a return to the Vehicle Assembly Building, about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) away.

    Managers ordered the rollback over the weekend after the rocket’s helium pressurization system malfunctioned. Already delayed a month by hydrogen fuel leaks, the launch team had been targeting March for astronauts’ first trip to the moon in decades. But now the Artemis II lunar fly-around by a U.S.-Canadian crew is off until at least April.

    All four astronauts were at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday night for President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address as invited guests, since the flight delay means they no longer need to quarantine.

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    Marcia Dunn

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  • 2nd day of dry, windy weather fuels Colorado wildfires in Thornton, Eastern Plains

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    A second day of powerful, gusty winds hit the Front Range and Eastern Plains on Wednesday, fueling at least two wildfires in metro Denver and northeastern Colorado and snarling travel at Denver International Airport.

    More than 100 firefighters from across the metro area responded to a grass fire that sparked at 11:30 a.m. near Pinnacle Charter High School, 8412 Huron St. in Thornton.

    The fire burned across 10 acres of dry, grassy fields and charred vehicles as it produced billows of black smoke visible across the Denver area. Smoke reduced visibility on Interstate 25 to the point that state transportation officials closed the highway in both directions for more than an hour.

    Four firefighters and one other person were injured by the fire, Thornton Fire Chief Stephen Kelley said at a briefing at City Hall. Their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, but no further information on the nature or severity of the injuries was available, Kelley said.

    Police officers went door to door Wednesday afternoon to evacuate people after the fire started, and city officials sent out evacuation notices through the statewide Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, Kelley said. Pinnacle Charter High School and several nearby businesses also were evacuated.

    Thornton is in the process of switching to a different city emergency alert system and does not have one in place currently, Kelley said.

    City leaders could not say how many homes were evacuated and did not provide a map of affected neighborhoods, although officials confirmed most evacuations occurred northeast of the fire.

    Flames burned for more than two hours before fire crews gained full containment at 2:07 p.m. Thornton officials lifted evacuations at 3:30 p.m. Kelley said firefighters were to remain in the area overnight to put out hot spots and prevent the fire from rekindling. Continued road closures were likely because of firefighting activity, he said.

    No homes were destroyed by the fire, which started on a greenbelt between a residential neighborhood and businesses, Kelley said. The cause of the fire is under investigation and crews are evaluating fire damage to businesses. Although none of the businesses’ buildings appear to be damaged, rows of cars in nearby lots were burned.

    “It is our intent to get ahead of these fires so we don’t have the spread … experienced during the Marshall fire,” Kelley said. “I think we’re very fortunate today that we did not have an outcome similar.”

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  • Former Cherry Creek teacher arrested for child sex assault

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    A former Cherry Creek School District teacher was arrested Monday on suspicion of child sex assault after a former student came forward, police said.

    Robert Combs, 56, was arrested on investigation of five counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust and three misdemeanor counts of abusing public trust as an educator, according to Arapahoe County court records.

    Combs was a CTE Engineering and Technology Teacher at Grandview High School, 20500 E. Arapahoe Road, between 2002 and late 2025, according to a letter sent to parents and families by the Cherry Creek School District.

    The school district placed Combs on administrative leave in October 2025, when Grandview Principal Lisa Roberts was first made aware of the sexual assault allegations by the Aurora Police Department, police wrote in his arrest affidavit. Combs was officially “separated” from the school district on Nov. 13, according to the letter sent to parents.

    “The safety and security of our students and staff is our highest priority,” school district officials wrote in the letter. “We appreciate your partnership in these critical efforts. We are committed to keeping you informed about all aspects of your child’s education.”

    Aurora officers responded to Grandview High School on Oct. 30, after a former student reached out to Roberts to apologize for lying to her in 2022 and said they were considering reporting Combs, according to the affidavit.

    The student previously denied having an inappropriate relationship with Combs to Roberts in 2022 after a security guard and other teachers came forward with suspicions about the nature of the two’s relationship, the affidavit stated. At that time, the student said Combs was “like a father.”

    Roberts encouraged the student to report Combs and also contacted the Aurora Police Department in October to report the incident on her own, according to the affidavit.

    The unidentified victim first met Combs in August 2021 when the student joined a high school club the man advised, the Technology Student Association, according to Combs’ arrest affidavit.

    Other teachers at Grandview High School also recommended that the student reach out to Combs for assistance with getting into a military academy, police wrote in the affidavit. Combs helped the student with interview preparation, essay writing and physical training.

    In February 2022, Grandview students and staff attended the association’s state conference in Denver, according to the affidavit. Combs allegedly encouraged the then-underage student to come back to his hotel room, where they kissed and he “expressed romantic feelings” for them.

    The victim told Aurora Police they “felt shocked and unsure how to respond,” according to the affidavit.

    Combs’ interactions with the student after the conference “became more frequent and increasingly inappropriate,” police wrote in the arrest affidavit.

    The student would meet Combs after school to work on applications, and those meetings often turned intimate, the student told police. Combs also sent the student inappropriate photos and text messages.

    Combs and the student had sex in classrooms, offices and closets at the high school almost every day between March 2022 and May 2022, according to the arrest affidavit. They would also drive to empty parking lots and have sex in cars.

    The student told police that it felt like they “owed” Combs for his help, the affidavit stated.

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  • 3,500-acre grass fire in eastern Colorado ignited by motor vehicle crash

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    Residents in a small town on Colorado’s Eastern Plains were ordered to evacuate Wednesday afternoon after a grass fire sparked from a vehicle crash nearby, fueled by strong winds and dry vegetation, according to fire officials.

    The fire burned between 3,500 to 4,000 acres and drew responses from departments in eastern Colorado and Nebraska.

    The fire ignited at roughly 1:20 p.m. near the intersection of Colorado 113 and Logan County Road 66, according to a news release from the Logan County Office of Emergency Management. Winds at that time were between 25 and 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph, driving the fire through rough, dry terrain.

    The fire was 80% contained as of 4:26 p.m., the release stated.

    Evacuation orders were lifted as of 4:33 p.m., according to a Facebook post from the Logan County Office of Emergency Management.

    The first orders were issued just before 2 p.m. Wednesday for the town of Padroni, home to roughly two dozen people in northeast Colorado, according to the Sterling Fire Department. The town is about 11 miles north of Sterling.

    By 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the evacuation zone had expanded to include parts of Peetz and Iliff, according to the Logan Office of Emergency Management. The zone included residents along Colorado 113 between County Road 62 and County Road 67.5, and in the area south to U.S. 138, according to the office.

    Colorado 113 in Logan County reopened between County Road 56 north of Padroni and County Road 74 in Peetz as of 3:59 p.m., according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. The closure, from milemarker 9 to 16, was caused by fire activity, according to the agency.

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  • Macklin Celebrini welcomes pressure as spotlight on Sharks starts to grow

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    SAN JOSE – Macklin Celebrini had just finished his first practice back with the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday – after an unforgettable Olympic experience — when he entered a room filled with cameras and reporters.

    “Most media we’ve had. Ever,” Celebrini said. “Starting to feel like a Canadian market.”

    And a reflection of his growing popularity, as Celebrini’s record-setting performance at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics – capped by a gold medal game watched by tens of millions of fans — raised his profile here at home and across the NHL.

    Roughly a dozen news outlets, several more than usual, attended the Sharks’ practice on Wednesday as Celebrini skated with his teammates for the first time since he returned from Italy late Monday night.

    Some of those local media outlets were at a Sharks practice for the first time this season, underscoring the team’s growing relevance and Celebrini’s reach as one of the Bay Area’s most recognizable sports figures.

    “I know Mack is certainly proud to be Canadian, and he should be,” but we were also proud to represent, you know, San Jose Sharks, the Bay Area, the community around here, the fans, obviously, he’s become, you know, the face of the franchise, in a sense,

    Thursday’s game against the Calgary Flames, which begins a six-game homestand, is trending toward a sellout crowd of 17,435.

    Tickets are also scarce and pricey for San Jose’s weekend games against McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday and goalie Connor Hellebuyck – who made 41 saves for Team USA in the gold medal game — and the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.

    The Sharks have already sold out 12 of 26 home games this season, after having capacity crowds in 15 of 41 games at SAP Center last season.

    “This was the goal,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Not to talk to this many media people, but the goal was to get the energy back in the building and get people talking about the Sharks again, and I think the players did a great job of doing that.”

    San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini speaks about his experience representing Canada at the Olympics during a press conference at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) 

    “This homestead is going to be pretty much sold out,” Warsofsky added. “Crowds and people are going to be excited to see our team play again.”

    As excited as Celebrini was to be back in San Jose, there was still some bitterness as to how the Olympic tournament ended.

    Playing alongside the game’s greatest player in Connor McDavid, Celebrini had a tournament-leading five goals in six games, and his 10 points made him the highest-scoring teenager in an Olympics involving NHL players.

    While Celebrini on Wednesday expressed gratitude for the opportunity to represent his native country of Canada on hockey’s biggest international stage, where he played with several of the game’s greatest stars, there remained – reasonable or otherwise — a feeling of failure.

    Celebrini and the Canadians did enough to beat the United States in Sunday’s gold medal game at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Italy. But the heart-stopping final came down to 3-on-3 overtime, where New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes scored the winning goal, handing the Americans a 2-1 win and their first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980.

    For anyone who thought Celebrini would now be past the disappointment of losing the men’s hockey gold medal game, think again.

    “A lot of those guys I looked up to my whole childhood, and it was an honor play with them and be around them every single day,” Celebrini said at Sharks Ice. “But it sucks. It’s a little sour that you look back at it and just didn’t get the job done.”

    How long does he think that sour feeling will last?

    “Forever,” Celebrini said.

    San Jose Sharks' Macklin Celebrini (71) and San Jose Sharks' Vincent Desharnais (5) talk during the first practice after the Olympics at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
    San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) and San Jose Sharks’ Vincent Desharnais (5) talk during the first practice after the Olympics at Tech CU Arena in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) 

    Now the Sharks are hoping other Olympians, Sweden’s Alex Wennberg, Switzerland’s Philipp Kurashev, and Slovakia’s Pavol Regenda, can use the pressure of an Olympic tournament – and the disappointment that came with it — to their benefit as their playoff chase resumes.

    Celebrini said playing with McDavid, the NHL’s leading scorer before Wednesday and a three-time Hart Trophy winner, and Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, the league’s second-leading scorer, showed him “where the bar is at.”

    “Those guys play with such pace, and they think the game so fast, and the level that they play at, the practice that they play at, probably the fastest practices I’ve ever been a part of.

    “Just being around them, practicing with them, playing with them, it’s a different level.”

    The Sharks’ homestand is going to be vitally important to any postseason hopes, as they entered Wednesday five points out of a playoff spot with 27 games left to play.

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    Curtis Pashelka

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  • Bill would ban prop bets on sports apps in Colorado as lawmakers seek to curb gambling addictions

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    Colorado lawmakers who are concerned about rising gambling addiction and betting scandals in professional sports filed a bill Wednesday that would prohibit sports betting apps from offering proposition bets on individual athletes’ performances.

    The bipartisan responsible gaming bill — SB26-131 — would also attempt to slow down gambling habits by eliminating credit card usage on sports betting apps, limiting the number of deposits a person can make into an account, and banning push notifications to gamblers’ cellphones from betting companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel.

    “Frankly, the more I looked into i,t the more I became really, really alarmed by everything that has happened as a consequence of legalized sports betting and, in my view, placing very few restrictions on it,” said Sen. Matt Ball, D-Denver, one of the bill’s sponsors.

    Ball, who is sponsoring the bill with Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, said the rapid growth of sports betting in Colorado is causing unexpected problems — including financial debts — across the state, and the legislature needs to move to protect people and the integrity of professional and collegiate sports. The bill also has a Democratic and a Republican sponsor in the House.

    He cited studies that show more than half of 18-to-22-year-olds have engaged in some form of sports betting, and surveys of high school students that report that between 60% and 80% have gambled for money within the previous 12 months.

    “We just didn’t know what we didn’t know,” Ball said of Colorado’s quick entry into legalized sports betting. “It’s just exploded and it’s happened very fast. I think we can see the harm that’s happened very clearly.”

    Colorado voters legalized sports betting in 2019 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a law that previously had prohibited states from allowing it. It was one of the first states to launch online sports books in May 2020, just after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the country, including putting a pause on most sports. But the state’s residents quickly took to sports betting apps as the world returned to normal.

    The amount Colorado bettors have wagered has steadily increased each year, with people betting more than $6 billion on sports in 2025. At the same time, the number of people calling the state’s problem gambling hotline has risen, too. The hotline averaged about 350 calls per month in 2025, according to the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado.

    Joshua Ewing, executive director of Healthier Colorado, an advocacy group that pushes for better health policies in the state, said new studies are showing a growing rate of addiction among young men and boys who gamble, and addiction is causing financial debt, strained relationships and emotional stress.

    “It’s not about rolling back voter-approved betting. It’s about guardrails,” Ewing said of the bill. “The goal is smart policy, not prohibition.”

    The sports betting industry is prepared to push back on the legislation.

    “Colorado should seize this moment to strengthen its state-regulated market — not hand it back to illegal operators or chase bettors to federally regulated platforms,” said Joe Maloney, president of the Sports Betting Alliance. “This proposal undermines the very consumer protections it claims to advance, rewarding actors who openly flout Colorado law and contribute nothing to the state’s communities by way of tax revenues.”

    Maloney said the alliance will continue to engage elected leaders and regulators to reinforce consumer protections and responsible gaming standards that the industry already follows.

    Proposition bets, or prop bets, are the moneymakers for sports betting apps because they come with higher odds. In those bets, a gambler could bet on whether Denver Nuggets star Nicola Jokic will score 30 or more points in a game or whether Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix will throw more than one touchdown.

    Sports betting apps also allow gamblers to make multiple prop bets at one time to form parlays, which further increase odds in favor of the sportsbooks, but are wildly popular with gamblers.

    For example, Bet365 on Wednesday offered a parlay bet called “Joker x Jamal,” where a gambler would win if the Nuggets’ Jokic and Jamal Murray both scored more than 20 points, and if Murray had more than 10 assists and Jokic grabbed more than 10 rebounds. A $10 wager could earn $100 if all four things happened in the Nuggets game against the Celtics.

    Colorado already prohibits prop bets on college athletes, but Ball and the bill’s other sponsors want to prohibit all of these bets because of the temptation among athletes to take bribes to influence outcomes for gamblers.

    The bill also aims to curb the barrage of television advertisements and phone notifications that people see during sporting events.

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    Noelle Phillips

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  • Bill Gates apologizes for Epstein ties, admits to affairs with Russian women

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    Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates issued an apology for his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a townhall for the Gates Foundation, during which he also confessed to having two affairs while married to his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, according to reports.

    Speaking to foundation staffers on Tuesday, Gates admitted to traveling on Epstein’s private jet as well spending time with the disgraced financier at home and abroad, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a recording of the town hall meeting. He also denied any wrongdoing, going as far as to say that he did not witness anything “illicit” while spending time with late billionaire.

    “It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein,” Gates said. “I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made.”

    Larry Summers will resign from teaching at Harvard during review of Epstein ties, university says

    He added: “To be clear, I never spent any time with victims, the women around him.”

    Gates said he first met Epstein in 2011, a couple years after the late financier was convicted in Florida of procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute in 2008. Gates said Tuesday that he’d been aware of some “18-month thing” that had limited Epstein’s travel, but did not look into the matter further. He also credited his former wife, Melinda, “who was always kind of skeptical” of Epstein.

    Gates wanted to take “responsibility for his actions,” a foundation spokesperson told the WSJ, explaining that he chose to do so during the townhall, one of two held each year. It comes after the United States Justice Department dumped a round of evidence related to its investigation into Epstein. The documents included an unsent email accusing Gates of  having sexual relations with two “Russian girls” and getting sexually transmitted infection.

    “I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities,” Gates said on Tuesday.

    Gates also told his staff that the last time he had contact with Epstein was in 2014. “After that, he continued to email me,” he added.

    “I never went to the island, I never met any women,” the tech giant said. “And so, the more that comes out, the more clear it’ll be that, although the time was a mistake, it had nothing to do with that kind of behavior.”

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    Jessica Schladebeck

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  • Ethics committee finds probable cause to investigate if Colorado House member broke rules

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    Colorado state Rep. Ron Weinberg will face more scrutiny for allegations of unethical behavior following a vote of his peers Wednesday morning.

    The House Ethics Committee found probable cause to further investigate two out of six allegations filed against Weinberg, a Loveland Republican, by fellow GOP Rep. Brandi Bradley. One surviving claim involves allegations that he copied or otherwise misused a master key that could access any of the offices of his fellow legislators and that he used the key to enter at least one member’s space.

    The other still-active claim by Bradley alleges that Weinberg made sexually suggestive and inappropriate comments to her and others on multiple occasions.

    Weinberg originally faced seven claims, but two of them were combined. The committee, made up of three Democrats and two Republicans, voted unanimously on all counts either to continue with or dismiss them.

    Rep. Javier Mabrey, a Denver Democrat, said it was the pattern of alleged behavior, more than evidence around individual accusations, that warranted further discussion.

    “There’s a pattern and practice of behavior here that suggests maybe some form of sexual harassment that crosses the line has happened,” Mabrey said.

    That logic followed for accusations that Weinberg may have misused a master key to access areas of the building he normally wouldn’t be able to. Rep. Matt Soper, a Delta Republican, noted that legislative leaders had their offices rekeyed following the allegation — proof that suspicion was at least widespread enough to warrant further examination.

    “They took action that they otherwise would not have taken,” Soper said. “And you don’t take action like that if you honestly don’t believe someone had ever had a key or had access to a key.”

    Claims that Weinberg carried a gun in the Capitol and while drunk, both potentially crimes, were found to be unsubstantiated and dropped by the Ethics Committee. Claims that Weinberg accosted Bradley and was beligerent toward Rep. Stephanie Luck, also a Republican, during a 2025 committee meeting were also unsubstantiated as crossing ethical lines.

    “Nothing this body has decided at this point determines one way or the other whether an ethics violation has occurred,” Rep. Steven Woodrow, a Denver Democrat, said. “It has simply found probable cause to proceed forward on those two points, and that’s all anyone should take away from this.”

    Weinberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning.

    He can request an evidentiary hearing to further investigate the claims against him, which would kick off more proceedings to determine if he breached ethical guidelines. If he does not make that request, the Ethics Committee will recommend to the House which actions, if any, it should consider taking against him, potentially including a reprimand, censure or removal.

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    Nick Coltrain

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  • Report: Three of six Tahoe avalanche survivors buried in snow before rescue

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    Three of the survivors of last week’s deadly avalanche near Lake Tahoe were buried under the snow before being dug out by their fellow skiers in the moments after the disaster, according to an initial avalanche occurrence report from the Sierra Avalanche Center.

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    Caelyn Pender, Ethan Baron

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  • Douglas County adopts law requiring stores to report theft — but drops fines for failing to do so

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    Douglas County commissioners passed a measure Tuesday that requires hundreds of retail stores in unincorporated parts of the county to file a report with law enforcement when thieves rip them off.

    But unlike an initial version of the law that was made public in December, the county will levy no fines on retailers for failing to do so — instead leaving any decision about punishment to a local court.

    The first version of the law called for fines of $50, and all the way up to $1,000, for businesses that failed to report a crime. That caused some unease in the business community that Douglas County was overreaching.

    Commissioner Abe Laydon said during the business meeting Tuesday that the ordinance was not meant to punish retailers but to keep the community safe.

    “This is the most prosperous county in the state of Colorado — we don’t want us to become a target for organized crime,” he said. “When we tolerate organized retail theft, we normalize lawlessness.”

    The latest rendition of the ordinance increased the time — from 24 hours to 96 hours — that businesses will have to report a theft. It also allows a retailer to report a crime via an online form rather than have police called to the scene.

    That was enough to allay concerns from Chris Howes, the president of the Colorado Retail Council. In an attempt to make the measure more palatable to local businesses, he said his organization had some “fruitful discussions” with the county after the law was first unveiled.

    “We don’t feel it punishes retail,” he said. “The focus on retail crime is overall going to be a benefit to us.”

    District Attorney George Brauchler said he wants to get the message across that “we do not tolerate thieves.”

    “If you come here to steal from us, plan on staying,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “Business owners and citizens alike should know that we will continue to protect their property rights.”

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  • Army pilot wounded in Maduro raid gets Congressional Medal of Honor during State of the Union

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    WASHINGTON — A helicopter pilot wounded in the raid that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro received the Congressional Medal of Honor during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening.

    Trump said Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover, who appeared using a walker, was the pilot of the lead CH-47 Chinook helicopter that descended on the “heavily protected military fortress” that held Maduro during a raid that, while successful, left seven U.S. service members with gunshot wounds and shrapnel-related injuries.

    President Trump honors National Guard members shot in Washington at State of the Union

    “While preparing to land, enemy machine guns fired from every angle, and Eric was hit very badly in the leg and hip, one bullet after another,” Trump said, adding that Slover “absorbed four agonizing shots, shredding his leg into numerous pieces.”

    Months of covert planning led to the brazen operation that plunged the South American country’s capital into darkness as troops infiltrated Maduro’s home and whisked him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.

    Trump’s description of Slover’s actions that night offer a new, detailed glimpse into the military action that has been largely shrouded in secrecy since it was carried out in the early hours of Jan. 3.

    As Slover prepared to land his helicopter, he was confronted with “two machine gunners who escaped the wrath of the previous planes,” according to Trump.

    “Eric maneuvered his helicopter with all of those lives and souls to face the enemy and let his gunners eliminate the threat,” Trump said, “saving the lives of his fellow warriors from what could have been a catastrophic crash deep in enemy territory.”

    The president said “the success of the entire mission and the lives of his fellow warriors hinged on Eric’s ability to take searing pain.”

    Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, commander of Joint Special Operations Command, presented Slover with the Medal of Honor in the gallery overlooking the House chamber.

    Slover was in his dress uniform and used a walker to steady himself. Trump said the soldier was still recovering from his wounds.

    Trump also said 10 other service members who took part in the operation will be receiving medals at a private ceremony soon to be held at the White House.

    In addition to Slover, Trump also presented the Medal of Honor to retired Capt. E. Royce Williams, a Navy pilot who shot down multiple Soviet jets during the Korean War, upgrading his existing award of a Navy Cross.

    Trump called the 100-year-old former fighter pilot “one of the last living legends.”

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    Konstantin Toropin

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  • Warriors instant analysis: Melton’s big game, dunk not enough to rally past Pelicans

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    NEW ORLEANS – Tuesday night’s promotion at Smoothie King Center was “Y2K,” where Usher’s music blasted through the speakers and the half-empty crowd were given 2000s-style bird hats to wear. 

    On the court, the Warriors and Pelicans decided to also pay homage to that low-scoring era of hoops by throwing up copious amounts of bricks in the Warriors’ 113-109 loss to New Orleans.

    Golden State shot just 40% and 23% from behind the arc, while the Pelicans had a 43% accuracy rate from the field.

    The Warriors got as close as 104-103 with 1:47 left in the game, but Saddiq Bey pushed the lead back to four with a scooping and-one reverse layup. Three De’Anthony Melton free throws got the deficit back to three after another Pelicans score, but the Pelicans held on for the win after a few empty Warriors possessions.

    Melton scored a season-high 28 points and threw down a shocking poster dunk in the second half, while Moses Moody continued to shoot well and scored 24. Brandin Podziemski came off the bench to score 16 and grab 16 rebounds. Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 26 points.

    The Warriors were without Steph Curry (runner’s knee) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness) as neither man made the trip with the team. 

    That lack of firepower was apparent in the first half, as the visitors shot just 31.3% from the field and made a ghastly 23% of their triples over the first 24 minutes. Melton’s off-the-bounce game and some timely shotmaking by Moody were the only things keeping the Warriors offense afloat. 

    It was only through sheer effort – and ineptitude from the cellar-dwelling Pelicans – that the Warriors were down just 46-39 at halftime. 

    The Warriors even took a 58-57 lead with six minutes left in the third, but a Derik Queen layup gave the Pelicans back the advantage with three minutes remaining. The Pelicans led 77-72 while Dejounte Murray played his first game of the season. 

    The Warriors ran out of steam down the stretch, while the talented but raw Pelicans made enough shots to stretch out the advantage.

    The Warriors (30-28) will play at Memphis on Wednesday, and then have two days off before facing LeBron James and the Lakers on Saturday.

    Draymond Green returns

    After missing Monday’s game with lower back soreness, Draymond Green made his return to the starting lineup against New Orleans. The results were uneven in the first half.

    On one side of the floor, Green was his vintage self while matchup up against Williamson. He denied the Pelicans star advantageous position while also flying around as a weakside help defender. 

    But on offense …. It was a night to forget for Green. Yes, he scored 11 points, but the Pelicans did not care. Green’s defender routinely sagged 5-to-10 feet off Green even when he had the ball, inviting harmless drives into the paint.  

    That changed in the second half, when Green handled the ball far less but remained active as a screener and option for layups in the dunker’s spot.

    Green ended the night a plus-5 while shooting 5-of-11 to go with seven rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots. 

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    Joseph Dycus

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  • Man arrested for murder in fatal Denver Valentine’s Day shooting

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    A man accused of shooting and killing another man in Denver on Valentine’s Day and fleeing Colorado was arrested Friday in Kansas on suspicion of murder, police said.

    As of Tuesday afternoon, 20-year-old Yeanbraiker Yriarte-Valera was being held at the Wyandotte County Detention Center in Kansas on a Denver homicide warrant, according to jail records. He was booked into the jail on Friday.

    Yriarte-Valera is under investigation for first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, four counts of first-degree assault and a violent crime sentence enhancer, according to Denver court records.

    Denver police responded to the shooting in the 1500 block of West Maple Avenue at about 5:15 a.m. on Feb. 14. When officers arrived, they found a woman who had been shot in the ankle and a man who died from his injuries at the scene.

    Paramedics took the woman to the hospital, police said. The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner will identify the man killed in the shooting.

    Investigators believe a fight started at a party in the area that escalated into the shooting, according to a news release from the Denver Police Department. At least two people fired off shots, hitting the two victims, but the second suspect had not been publicly identified as of Tuesday.

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  • Douglas County wildfire chars more than 1,000 acres south of Franktown

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    A wildfire scorched more than 1,000 acres of dry, grassy terrain south of Franktown on Tuesday, forcing evacuations as gusty winds pushed flames toward nearby homes.

    The Dahlberg fire was first reported near Dahlberg and Lake Gulch roads at 12:39 p.m., Douglas County sheriff’s officials said. The area is roughly 8 miles south of Franktown and 8 miles east of Larkspur.

    Tinder-dry fuels, drought and winds up to 20 mph allowed the fire to grow quickly, county Emergency Management Director Mike Alexander said at a briefing.

    Douglas County sheriff’s deputies began evacuating nearby homes immediately, Patrol Division Chief Joel White said. Deputies contacted 20 homes threatened by the fire, and 17 of those evacuated, he said.

    The nearby Cherry Valley Elementary School was ordered to hold students in place and released them from school early so parents and guardians could pick up their children, White said. The school was fully evacuated as of 4 p.m.

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  • OSHA fines 3 companies $247,000 after 6 die of gas exposure at dairy farm near Keenesburg

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    The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Tuesday that it had cited and fined three Weld County companies a combined $247,000 after it determined six people died following a hazardous gas exposure at a Weld County dairy farm in August.

    Prospect Ranch LLC, which operates Prospect Valley Dairy east of Keenesburg, faces $132,406 in penalties after OSHA cited the company for failure to protect workers from atmospheric hazards, failure to communicate the hazards in writing and failure to train workers on how to detect hazardous gases, according to a U.S. Department of Labor news release.

    Fiske faces $99,306 in fines and HD Builders faces $14,897 in penalties for failure to protect employees from atmospheric hazards and failure to provide hydrogen sulfide detection training. HD Builders employees were present during the incident, but were not harmed.

    Fiske, based in Johnstown, is a construction and consulting company that provides equipment for dairy farms and other industrial services. HD Builders, based in Windsor, is owned by Agrifab Colorado, according to county records, and is a construction company specializing in agricultural equipment and structures.

    OSHA’s investigation into the Aug. 20 incident found that a pipe in Prospect Valley Dairy’s manure management system had disconnected and released manure water and hydrogen sulfide gas, according to the news release. Contractors from Fiske and HD Builders had been hired to work on the system.

    Hydrogen sulfide occurs naturally in crude petroleum and natural gas, but is also produced from decomposing manure, according to OSHA. In low doses, it is mildly irritating to eyes and lungs, but in high doses in a confined area it can quickly become deadly.

    A Fiske employee and a Prospect Ranch employee attempted to stop the flow of the gas but died due to the exposure, according to the investigation. Three more Fiske employees and one Prospect Ranch employee entered the pump room where the gas was leaking and also died.

    Weld County Chief Deputy Coroner Jolene Weiner confirmed the identities of the six victims as Oscar Espinoza Leos, 17, Carlos Espinoza Prado, 29, Noé Montanez Casanas, 32, Jorge Sanchez Pena, 36, Ricardo Gomez Galvan, 40, and Alejandro Espinoza Cruz, 50. In October, the coroner confirmed that the men died due to exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas. 

    Four of the people who died were part of the same extended family, including father Espinoza Cruz and his sons Oscar Espinoza Leos and Espinoza Prado. They were related to Sanchez Pena by marriage, who lived in the employer-provided housing. The family worked in machinery repair for multiple dairy farms in the area.

    The companies have 15 business days after receiving their citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest the findings, officials said.

    County records show the dairy farm is owned by Prospect Valley Dairy and Colorado business registrations show a Bakersfield, California, address for the owners of Prospect Ranch.

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