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ABORTION AMENDMENT-COLORADO
DENVER — Colorado abortion opponents say they have enough signatures to put an abortion-ending proposal on the ballot this fall — potentially the first state this election year to see the question. Abortion opponents turned in more than 46,000 signatures on Thursday, the second deadline for the ballot initiative. By Kristen Wyatt. Moved.
CHURCH-SEX ABUSE
DENVER — A California man has filed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic diocese of Pueblo, saying a former priest sexually abused him more than 40 years ago. John Yengich said he was abused by Daniel Maio from 1968 to 1969 while the former priest was the youth director for the diocese. The lawsuit filed late Wednesday in Pueblo County District Court says the diocese knew Maio was abusing children. Yengich is seeking damages in excess of $1 million, according to the lawsuit. By Samantha Abernethy. Moved.
BOOK FLAP
LINCOLN, Neb. — An Illinois man who put out a self-published book of stories about life on Nebraska farms and ranches agreed to pay an undisclosed sum of money to a Denver man and to remove three disputed chapters from future reprints. Moved.
Also Moved:
— MARKEY-HEALTH OVERHAUL — Rep. Markey changes course, plans to support health care overhaul.
— DENVER AIRPORT SCREENING — New security screening at Denver International Airport detects explosives.
— ADOPTING STREETLIGHTS — Colo. Springs residents can 'adopt' streetlights turned off to save money.
— COLORADO SNOW-HOMELESS — Denver emergency homeless shelters open to handle overflow due to snow storm.
— GUARDSMEN KILLED — 2 Colorado National Guardsmen killed in crash.
— AIR FORCE ACADEMY-APPLICATIONS — Applications up 17 percent at Air Force Academy.
— TOPLESS GARDENER — A nudist in Boulder who was threatened with eviction last spring for gardening outside wearing only pasties and a thong has caused another stir by gardening topless.
— COLORADO SNOW — Strong cold front bringing heavy snow to mountains.
— UNION STATION-LAWSUIT — Judge to rule soon on Denver Union Station work.
LEGISLATURE:
CHILD DEATHS-REVIEW
DENVER — State lawmakers said Thursday that they plan to hold hearings to examine Colorado's child welfare system because of failures by the state human services department to appropriately follow up on the deaths of 10 children. Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, said that the chamber would hold the hearings in response to a request from Senate Republican leader Josh Penry. It wasn't immediately clear whether members of the House would also participate. By Colleen Slevin.
COLO-URANIUM CLEANUP
DENVER — State lawmakers approved legislation on Thursday that would require Colorado uranium mines and mills to clean up nuclear wastes while they continue producing nuclear fuel. State lawmakers worry a new national focus on nuclear energy will allow uranium mines to postpone cleanup of radioactive wastes while they ramp up production. Under the current law, mines and mills are allowed to postpone cleanup until they finish production and decommission their production facilities. By Steven K. Paulson.
Also:
— XGR--BOOSTER SEATS — Children under age eight would have to ride either in a car seat or a booster seat under a bill passed by the Senate.
OF COLORADO INTEREST:
AMERICAN-TERROR PLOT
PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania woman accused of trolling the Internet as "Jihad Jane" while she cared for her boyfriend's father denied in court Thursday that she sought to kill a Swedish artist targeted by radical Muslims or agreed to marry a terrorism suspect to help him get travel documents. By Maryclaire Dale. Moved.
AP Photos PAMR101-104, NY122, NY114, FRA513.
TRAVEL-TRIP-GENEALOGY TOURISM
SALT LAKE CITY — Thousands of family history buffs are expected to descend on Salt Lake City in April for a unique week of four conferences focused on genealogy research and technolgy. By Jennifer Dobner.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA-VIOLENCE
SAN FRANCISCO — Patients, growers and clinics in some of the 14 states that allow medical marijuana are falling victim to robberies, home invasions, shootings and even murders at the hands of pot thieves. There have been dozens of cases in recent months alone. The issue received more attention this week after a prominent medical marijuana activist in a Seattle suburb nearly killed a robber in a shootout — the eighth time thieves had targeted his pot-growing operation. By Lisa Leff.
AP Photos WASEA102, WATW102, WATW101, WATW104, WATW103.
GAS DRILLING-ENVIRONMENT
NEW ORLEANS — The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday that it will study potential human health and water quality threats from an oil and natural gas drilling technique that injects massive amounts of water, sand and chemicals underground. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking," has gained widespread use to unlock huge natural gas reserves, but the technique also has raised concerns about environmental damage. By Cain Burdeau. Moved.
SPORTS:
ROCKIES-MARINERS
PEORIA, Ariz. — With only four hits in 33 at-bats coming into Thursday's game, Eric Young's days in the Colorado Rockies' major league camp are probably numbered. Tablesetters hitting .121 don't win jobs too often. Moved.
BBN--ROCKIES-GONZALEZ
TUCSON, Ariz. — Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez arrived in spring training last season unsure of his role, unsure of anything really. He was the player involved in the deal that sent All Star Matt Holliday out of town, but felt lost. "It takes times to get comfortable," he said. Once he did settle in, Gonzalez helped the Rockies to a spot in the postseason. By Pat Graham. Moved.
AP Photos.
HORNETS-NUGGETS
DENVER — Carmelo Anthony pulled down a career-best 18 rebounds to go with his 26 points in leading the Denver Nuggets past the New Orleans Hornets 93-80 Thursday night. Despite allowing a late run, it was another in a long line of fine performances by the Nuggets while the team awaits the return of defensive stalwart Kenyon Martin, who's undergoing therapy for left knee tendinitis and rookie point guard Ty Lawson, who's been out all month with a sprained left shoulder. By Sports Writer Arnie Stapleton. Moved.
AP Photos CODZ105, CODZ104, CODZ101.
VONN'S VACATION
NEW YORK — One of the world's most dominant athletes finally gets recognized on the streets of New York. Her triumphant ski season over, Lindsey Vonn returned to her home country to discover a strange new phenomenon. By Sports Writer Rachel Cohen. Moved.
AP Photos NYR103, NYR104, NYR105.
UFC ON CABLE
BROOMFIELD — Versus is airing its first live Ultimate Fighting Championship event on Sunday, a broadcast the sports cable network and the mixed martial arts circuit are both touting as a watershed for their partnership. Veteran Brandon Vera will take on rising star Jon Jones in the light heavyweight main event. The undercard, airing at 9 p.m. ET, includes Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga, Cheick Kongo vs. Paul Buentello and Alessio Sakara vs. James Irvin. By Sports Writer Arnie Stapleton. Moved.
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The AP-Denver
