Today is Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, and here’s what you need to know:

Arizona Republican Kari Lake, who refused to concede after narrowly losing the 2022 race for governor, is set to headline the Colorado GOP’s annual fundraising dinner in November, state Republican Chairman Dave Williams announced on Tuesday.

The party’s 2023 Centennial Dinner is scheduled for Nov. 4 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Loveland Hotel Conference Center & Spa in Loveland.

Williams said the state GOP has invited all “major” Republican presidential candidates to address the crowd at what could be the first opportunity to reach a large number of potential Colorado delegates ahead of next year’s Super Tuesday primary on March 5.

Tickets to the fundraising dinner range from $125 for a single meal up to $14,650 to sponsor a table of 10 with access to a VIP reception.

A pulmonary physician said he believes health complications from Elijah McClain’s struggle with Aurora police officers contributed to his death, but said in testimony Tuesday he could not assign blame.

Defense attorneys for the two officers currently on trial sought to lay responsibility at the feet of the paramedics at the scene, repeatedly pointing out they did not examine McClain or monitor him after injecting him with ketamine.

David Beuther, a pulmonary and critical care doctor, acknowledged the paramedics’ actions. But he insisted, when pressed, that laying any fault for McClain’s death was not his role.

“You can’t state with a reasonable degree of certainty what specific law enforcement action caused Mr. McClain to have metabolic acidosis?” asked Reid Elkus, one of Officer Randy Roedema’s defense attorneys. 

“Correct,” Beuther replied.

A federal judge earlier this month allowed a single excessive force claim to proceed against Denver’s former police chief for his alleged role in directing the city’s response to racial justice protests in the summer of 2020.

At the same time that U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Martínez declined to dismiss the claim against ex-Chief Paul Pazen, he threw out the allegations against several other law enforcement officers, two local governments and the Jefferson County sheriff.

The lawsuit from Suzy Dennis was one of several filed in federal court following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020. International demonstrations also erupted in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in America. Then-Mayor Michael Hancock imposed an overnight curfew for multiple days in the wake of violence and property damage. Officers enforced the curfew and used projectiles and tear gas to contain or disperse protesters.

Dennis alleged she was walking along Colfax Avenue during the curfew when she stopped and decided to record the non-violent protesters. Within minutes, police began using force. A projectile hit Dennis’ hand, causing serious damage to her index finger that required extensive medical treatment.

For the first time in its history, a woman is set to lead Colorado Counties, Inc.

The statewide county association announced Tuesday that Kelly Flenniken, formerly of Xcel Energy, will become its next executive director, effective Oct. 16.

She will replace John Swartout, who is retiring after more than four years at the helm. CCI represents 62 out of the state’s 64 counties. 

Flenniken most recently served as director of community relations for Xcel. She is also the former executive director of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership, and has held local government positions in Denver and Chicago.

Flenniken brings nearly 20 years of experience in public policy, leadership, and government relations to the position, according to a statement from the CCI board of directors Tuesday.

North Korea said Wednesday that it will expel a U.S. soldier who crossed into the country through the heavily armed border between the Koreas in July.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said that authorities have finished their questioning of Pvt. Travis King. It did not say when officials plan to expel him or to where.

King, who had served in South Korea, sprinted into North Korea while on a civilian tour of a border village on July 18, becoming the first American confirmed to be detained in the North in nearly five years.

At the time he crossed the border, King was supposed to be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, following his release from prison in South Korea on an assault conviction.

On Wednesday, the state news agency said that King confessed to illegally entering the North because he harbored “ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination” within the U.S. Army and was “disillusioned about the unequal U.S. society.”