Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly’s legal team is urging a federal appeals court to uphold a ruling that allows the former Navy captain to keep his retirement rank and pay while his First Amendment case against the Pentagon moves forward. By @jennifershutt.bsky.social

Get daily election news from around the country, including Colorado, at @statesnewsroom.com's new Election 2026 page. Stories are free to read.

Get original reporting from Newsline delivered to your inbox. Signing up is easy. The newsletter is free.

A Colorado bill would require higher education institutions that have student health centers to provide medication abortion services on-site. The Legislature's House Education Committee approved the bill on an 8-5 vote along party lines, with Republicans opposed. By @lindseytoomer.bsky.social

Colorado lawmakers passed a bill that raises the number of hours an agricultural worker must put in to qualify for overtime. The measure helps farms and ranches, but opponents say the benefits come at the expense of workers.

Colorado at 150: In April 1876, a group of Colorado Springs residents gathered for the inaugural meeting of the Rocky Mountain Club, the first organization dedicated to mountaineering in the soon-to-be state of Colorado, aka "The Switzerland of America.” By @chasewoodruff.bsky.social

The Colorado House advanced a bill Thursday that would raise the overtime threshold for agricultural workers. Opponents say the measure, which would ease a 2021 overtime law, accommodates farm owners and industry groups at the expense of workers. By @sarawilson.bsky.social

Trump on Thursday said he will nominate Erica Schwartz, who served in his first administration, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a seat left vacant for months after his last director said she was ousted in a rift over childhood vaccines. By @ashleymurray.bsky.social

RFK Jr. testified before Congress that he’s not pleased with how spending cuts to programs that help lower-income Americans afford food will affect his efforts to bolster healthy eating habits, but he suggested the country's $39 trillion debt made cuts necessary. By @jennifershutt.bsky.social

The Colorado Senate gave final approval to the $46.8 billion state budget Thursday. Amid a $1.5 billion budget gap, lawmakers cut Medicaid provider rates and put limits on other Medicaid coverage. Money for wolf reintroduction faced bipartisan opposition. By @sarawilson.bsky.social

Crews have contained portions of the Schwachheim Fire, burning near the Colorado-New Mexico border. The fire's growth slowed Wednesday. But “critical” fire weather expected Thursday could bring wind gusts between 35 and 40 miles per hour. By @lindseytoomer.bsky.social

The approval gap on Trump’s war in Iran narrowed slightly in the House, when a War Powers Resolution gained a handful of votes but failed. The Colorado delegation voted along party lines, with Rs against limiting Trump's powers except Rep. Boebert, marked as not voting. By @ashleymurray.bsky.social

Commentary: Expanding Colorado prisons are costly not only in state treasure but also in moral standing. A society’s incarceration rate is directly proportional to its failure to support its members, and state leaders should enact more policies that reduce the need for prisons.

Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife, Cerina Fairfax, before taking his own life early Thursday at the family’s home in Fairfax County, police said. From @virginiamercury.com

Republicans in Congress are once again looking toward the complex budget reconciliation process as a way to achieve some of their policy goals without Democratic votes. By @jennifershutt.bsky.social

State Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer qualified Wednesday for the Republican primary in the Colorado governor’s race after her petition was verified by the secretary of state’s office. By @sarawilson.bsky.social

Tucked into President Donald Trump’s new budget request is a plan that could dramatically change — and, critics say, slash — how much money and help states provide to people needing jobs and training.

Commentary: Former cops: "Minneapolis offered a clear warning. Public safety cannot be built through force alone. It must be sustained through trust, stability and cooperation." From @minnesotareformer.com

A sweeping reorganization of the Forest Service signals that the agency is planning to lean heavily on states to help manage millions of acres of federal land. Many forestry veterans fear the shake-up will cause more attrition in an agency that’s already shrunk under Trump. From @stateline.org

The DOJ’s stated reason for obtaining sensitive personal data on millions of voters, including Coloradans, masks the Trump administration’s true intention for obtaining state voter lists, Michigan’s top election official asserted in federal appeals court Monday. By @jonshorman.bsky.social

The Trump administration notified Colorado Gov. Jared Polis that it denied two disaster declaration appeals, which would have opened up federal funding to support recovery. It's the first time in 35 years Colorado has been denied federal disaster assistance. By @lindseytoomer.bsky.social

Commentary: Colorado’s climate decisions are health decisions — and this moment matters

ICYMI: Last-minute far-right challenger makes Colorado GOP primary ballot against Rep. Hurd

As states enact stricter work requirements for the federal food stamp program, a new analysis suggests those requirements won’t enhance employment and will push more people off of food assistance. From @stateline.org

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd will have a Republican primary challenger in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District after all, following a last-minute campaign launched by a far-right opponent at the state GOP assembly in Pueblo. By @chasewoodruff.bsky.social

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who is running for governor, said during a candidate forum in Grand Junction he is committed to youth mental health, teachers, and career and tech education. To be successful in addressing those issues TABOR must be changed, he said.

President Donald Trump lashed out at Pope Leo XIV Sunday night following the pontiff’s sharp criticism of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and wider Middle East conflict. Also Sunday, the president posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ. By @ashleymurray.bsky.social

Four members of Congress — two Democrats and two Republicans — could face expulsion from the House in the coming weeks, an extraordinarily rare rebuke from their colleagues. By @jennifershutt.bsky.social

Commentary: Climate change so far has not figured prominently in 2026 statewide elections in Colorado. But it should. The worst effects of climate change can still be avoided, but only if voters insist leaders address it with the emergency response it demands.

ICYMI: Republicans pick Scott Bottoms, Victor Marx for Colorado governor primary ballot at state assembly

The controversy around how the CoreSite data center facility in Denver was approved mirrors debates nationwide around the approval of such developments. From @capitalandmain.bsky.social

State Rep. Scott Bottoms won the highest share of support among candidates for governor at the Colorado Republican State Assembly on Saturday. Governor candidate Victor Marx also made it to the primary ballot. By @sarawilson.bsky.social

Trump’s threats to destroy power plants and bridges in Iran before saying he was prepared for a “whole civilization” to die have renewed questions about what constitutes an illegal order and what, if any, repercussions officials could face for committing war crimes. By @jennifershutt.bsky.social

Colorado Republicans are holding their state assembly in Pueblo today. Reporter @sarawilson.bsky.social is in the hall. Her photos from the event include images of U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert and Gabe Evans, and GOP activist and podcaster Joe Oltmann.

Spikes in energy prices caused by the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran drove up inflation for Americans in March, according to the latest consumer price index figures released Friday. By @ashleymurray.bsky.social

Commentary: Climate change doesn’t care about your bandwidth

An AI platform that generated messages last year describing itself as “MechaHitler” while highlighting individuals’ Jewish surnames says in a lawsuit that Colorado has no legal basis for protections against “algorithmic discrimination” by AI systems. By @chasewoodruff.bsky.social

Commentary: The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the Colorado conversion therapy case is a double-edged sword for conservatives with traditional views of gender identity. From @theconversation.com

Colorado at 150: There were at least five breweries in Denver in 1876, according to a city directory, and several others were scattered throughout the territory. Coors was not yet the behemoth it became. By @chasewoodruff.bsky.social

A Republican Colorado lawmaker added hours to debate in the state House of Representatives over the state budget bill this week after she asked for the bill to be read out loud in its entirety. By @sarawilson.bsky.social

First lady Melania Trump said Thursday she was “never involved in any capacity” with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and that “baseless lies” about her are being circulated. But it was unclear what spurred the first lady’s statement. By @ashleymurray.bsky.social

At Newsline, we’re proud to cover the stories from Colorado that affect your life. For Local News Day, we’re sharing this Local News Finder tool so you can cut through the noise and turn to trusted journalists in your community. #FairFearlessFree #LocalJournalism localnewsday.org/newsrooms/

Colorado officials say they’ve taken another big step towards launching preliminary passenger rail service between Denver and Fort Collins by 2029 — with or without approval of a new tax later this year to fund a larger Front Range rail project. By @chasewoodruff.bsky.social

Colorado lawmakers in their effort to balance the state budget are considering whether to shift $130 million from an affordable housing fund approved by voters. By @sarawilson.bsky.social

House Democrats on Capitol Hill Thursday slammed President Donald Trump’s rhetoric on Iran as “beyond the pale” and urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to reconvene Congress and rein in the president’s war powers. By @ashleymurray.bsky.social

Commentary: It can seem in these days of multiple crises that there's no bandwidth anymore to think about climate change. But climate change doesn’t care about your bandwidth, and conditions in Colorado prove the point.

With concerns about the economy and the cost of living on the rise, Colorado voters have a sharply negative view of President Donald Trump — but they’ve also soured somewhat on top Colorado Democrats over the last year, a new poll found. By @chasewoodruff.bsky.social

It’s Local News Day! Show your support for the journalists working in your community by sharing this post and subscribing to our daily newsletter, Newsliner. #FairFearlessFree #LocalJournalism coloradonewsline.com/subscribe/

At least 2.5 million low-income people quickly lost help affording groceries under a Republican-passed law that added new requirements for the nation’s largest nutrition program and shifted hundreds of millions of dollars in costs from the federal government to states. By @fischler.bsky.social

Commentary: If we don’t immediately halt the buildout of hyperscale data centers in the American West, we will continue the legacy of failed water management: giving our water away to polluters and profit-hungry developers at the expense of our communities and our future.