Today is Dec. 19, 2023, and here’s what you need to know:

Wildlife experts on Monday released five gray wolves in Colorado’s Western Slope, the culmination of years of planning for a program that has stoked political tensions and is likely to lead to conflicts as the predators make the valleys, lakes and peaks of the north-central Rocky Mountains their new home.

Colorado officers released the wolves in Grand County after a last-ditch effort by cattlemen and livestock growers on Friday failed to persuade a federal judge to halt their reintroduction.

State officials said wildlife experts captured the wolves – three males and two females – in Oregon. Veterinarians and biologists then determined they are fit for relocation. Next, experts weighed and measured the wolves, and staffers collected genetic material, such as tissue and blood samples, and then fitted each animal with a GPS satellite collar.

State Rep. Said Sharbini, D-Brighton, a first-year lawmaker, announced Monday he is resigning effective Dec. 31.

Sharbini is the second first-year legislator to resign in recent weeks. Rep. Ruby Dickson, D-Greenwood Village, announced on Dec. 1 she would resign, effective Dec. 11, citing a “vitriolic” environment in the state House.

A vacancy committee will choose Sharbini’s successor, who will become the 29th current lawmaker – out of 100 – to gain a seat in the legislature through the vacancy process.

Sharbini, who represents House District 31, is an attorney. He cited financial pressures as the major reason, but he, too, said the vitriol of the chamber is a factor.

The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday refused to overturn a Fremont County judge’s order barring prosecutors from using a defendant’s statements at his trial, citing the district attorney’s office’s failure to address one of the key legal issues.

The 6-1 decision marked the second time in two weeks the state’s highest court shot down an appeal from the office of District Attorney Linda Stanley because of the prosecution’s own missteps.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision of Miranda v. Arizona, law enforcement must give a “Miranda warning” before interrogating a suspect in custody, notifying them of their constitutional rights to remain silent and to consult with an attorney. A suspect’s statements must be excluded, or suppressed, from trial if they are involuntary or the product of police coercion.

The 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office appealed a trial judge’s suppression order directly to the state Supreme Court, arguing the judge wrongly determined John Sanders was interrogated “in custody” during the 90 minutes a detective talked to him about his alleged sex assault on a child.

Plans are afoot to move than 400 homeless people from encampments and into temporary shelters over the next several days, Denver officials said.

A key part of the strategy is sweeping seven homeless encampments, which could translate to a make-or-break scenario for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, whose administration is racing to get 1,000 people off of the city’s streets before the year ends.

Denver officials have said the onset of frigid weather is a major reason for the push to move people into temporary shelters.

Temperatures in Denver have plunged at night in the last several days, conditions that likely will persist through the holidays, and, in theory, make it easier to persuade the city’s “unsheltered” population – those who live in public places, such as streets and parks – to move into a shelter.