The supervisor will be Kristen Wyatt, followed by Ivan Moreno at 2:30 p.m. Reruns of stories are available from , from the Service Desk (877-836-9477) or by calling the Denver bureau at 800-332-6917 or 303-825-0123. Jim Clarke (jclarke(at)ap.org) is chief of bureau. Jim Anderson (janderson(at)ap.org) is news editor.
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AROUND COLORADO:
AIRPLANE DIVERTED-COURT
DENVER—A man accused of disrupting an airline flight and prompting the military to tail the plane with two jets said he doesn’t remember the events that got him into trouble. Muhammad Abu Tahir, 47, of Glen Allen, Va., pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Denver federal court to interfering with a flight crew. Authorities say he drank five mini-bottles of wine, locked himself in a lavatory to shave and then became unruly when he was asked to return to his seat. By P. Solomon Banda. Moved.
CLIMATE CHANGE-COLORADO
DENVER—Colorado’s $2 billion winter sports industry and millions of acres of forests are threatened as climate change causes “oddball winter weather” in the state, business and conservation leaders said Tuesday. Bark beetles have been able to infest about 3 million acres of pine trees in Colorado without long bouts of subzero weather to kill them, said Joe Duda of the Colorado State Forest Service. By Judith Kohler. Moved.
PRAIRIE DOG-OUTLOOK
Associated Press Writer—On Groundhog Day, an environmental group released a bleak forecast for his smaller Western cousin—the prairie dog. New Mexico-based WildEarth Guardians flunked one federal agency, gave another a “D” and graded most states low on efforts to maintain populations of prairie dogs, considered a key part of the Western ecosystem but reviled by ranchers. Moved.
AP Photo COEA401.
BUSINESS:
CAR REGISTRATIONS
DENVER—Fewer Coloradans are driving new cars these days. A Colorado auto group reports that new-car registrations dropped 28 percent last year—the largest decline in a decade.
Moved.
OF COLORADO INTEREST:
COURT-OKLA IMMIGRATION LAW
OKLAHOMA CITY—A federal appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld much of an injunction against Oklahoma’s tough anti-illegal immigrant law but said the state can now force businesses to cross-check employee names against a government list of eligible workers. By Tim Talley. Moved.
HAITI SCHOOL ASSAULTS
NEW HAVEN, Conn.—A Colorado man charged with sexually abusing boys at a school he founded for street children in Haiti pleaded not guilty Tuesday to new charges that raise the number of alleged victims to 18. Authorities accuse Douglas Perlitz of Eagle, Colo., of enticing children at the Project Pierre Toussaint school in Cap-Haitien into sex acts by promising them food, shelter, cash, cell phones, electronics and shoes.
By John Christoffersen. Moved.
WATER FUNDS MISTAKE
TOPEKA, Kan.—Kansas lawmakers accidentally spent $17 million set aside to finance litigation aimed at forcing Colorado and Nebraska to abide by water compacts, state officials said Monday.
By Tim Carpenter, The Topeka Capital-Journal.
An AP Member Exchange. Moved.
WOUNDED SOLDIERS-HUNT
GARDEN CITY, Kan.—Soldiers who have been injured spend weeks and months in physical therapy trying to overcome their injuries. And for some, a weekend of hunting and bantering with fellow servicemen helps in the healing process, soldiers said. The second annual Heartland Heroes Hunt brought 13 soldiers and their families stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., to Garden City for a weekend of hunting and camaraderie.
By Monica Springer, The Garden City Telegram.
An AP Member Exchange. Moved.
Also Moved:
— GREELEY BUS CRASH—A teenager is dead after a car she was riding in ran a stop sign and was hit by a school bus north of Greeley.
— MARINE IMPOSTOR—A federal law that makes it illegal for anyone to falsely claim military medals is facing First Amendment challenges in Colorado and California.
— BOULDER NUDITY—The Boulder City Council gave the initial OK to a proposal to expand the city’s ban on public nudity.
— PRESCHOOL TEACHER-ARREST—State officials have closed a Nederland preschool following allegations that a teacher sexually assaulted a student.
— LONGMONT TEEN KILLED—The murder trial of a Longmont man accused of stabbing a teen to death in a park is nearing an end.
— DU DENTAL SCHOOL—Federal investigators plan to look into the distribution of controlled substances at the University of Colorado dental school.
— FIRE FATALITIES—Students at Western State College of Colorado are gathering to mourn two classmates killed in a Gunnison house fire over the weekend.
— SEX OFFENDER EVICTED—A sex offender living in an on-campus apartment at Colorado State University has been ordered to leave.
— SNOWMOBILE LAWSUIT—A snowboarder who sued Aspen Skiing Co. after an employee hit him with a snowmobile in 2006 has lost an appeal in the case.
— SPYWARE STALKER—A Boulder man accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend is suspected of using high-tech gadgetry to keep tabs on the woman.
— BOULDER NUDITY—A stricter nudity law is under consideration Tuesday in Boulder.
SPORTS:
BLUE JACKETS-AVALANCHE
DENVER—Brandon Yip had two goals, including the go-ahead score, Ryan O’Reilly added a pair of short-handed goals, and the Colorado Avalanche snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-1 on Tuesday night. T.J. Galiardi had four assists, and Craig Anderson made 20 saves for Colorado, which completed a sweep of the four-game season series with the Blue Jackets. Moved.
AP Photos CODZ105, CODZ108, CODZ109.
Also Moved:
— US OLYMPIC TEAM—The U.S. Olympic Committee has announced 216 athletes for the Vancouver Games, including two who have been selected to five straight teams. Nordic combined skier Todd Lodwick and luge athlete Mark Grimmette were chosen for their fifth straight team when the list was made official early Tuesday. Teams can make changes only in case of injuries.
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The AP-Denver
