Today is Feb. 8, 2024, and here’s what you need to know:

History, democracy and violence: Groups weigh in to SCOTUS ahead of Trump disqualification arguments

In the days leading up to the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic consideration of whether Donald Trump is constitutionally barred from seeking another term as president, 73 sets of legal briefs representing thousands of individuals and organizations flooded in to offer perspectives on the Colorado Supreme Court’s finding of Trump’s ineligibility.

Although most of the “amicus” — or friend-of-the-court — briefs took a position on Trump’s disqualification from office, 14 submissions were formally filed in favor of neither side. Some groups simply asked the Supreme Court to decide the case as soon as possible, as voters have already cast primary election ballots in multiple states. Others warned that federal courts should not second-guess state courts’ interpretations of their own election law.

Republican congressional candidate Gabe Evans wins endorsement from House Speaker Mike Johnson

House Speaker Mike Johnson is formally endorsing state Rep. Gabe Evans, one of the Republicans challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District.

Calling the first-term state lawmaker from Fort Lupton “uniquely qualified” to beat the incumbent, Johnson said that Evans has what it takes to make a splash in Washington.

“Today, I’m honored to endorse Gabe Evans for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District,” Johnson said in a statement obtained by Colorado Politics.

Colorado House bill takes on 'predatory towing' practices

Towing companies are on notice to change their towing practices under a bill approved Tuesday by the state House Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee.

House Bill 1051 is the work of the Transportation Legislative Review Committee from last fall and the result of attention to what some described as predatory towing that lawmakers thought they fixed a year ago.

Small business owners, apartment owners and homeowners’ association representatives are raising concerns that the bill’s intent to put the onus on property owners to pay for most tows will result in “towing anarchy” and could drive up the costs of affordable and low-income housing.

El Paso, Denver buckle under strain of immigration surges | Border Crossroads

EL PASO, TEXAS — From an overlook at 4,200 feet on the southern tip of the Franklin Mountains in west Texas, the city of El Paso and Mexico’s Ciudad Juárez appear as one sprawling metropolis.

The Rio Grande — or the Río Bravo as it’s called in Mexico — is a natural boundary that doesn’t just cut between these two cities and their dissimilar realities but also divides the North and South. In El Paso, large coils of barbed wire — placed along the Rio Grande by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — mar the river bank and serve as a poignant reminder of the practical and political stakes over illegal immigration and securing the nation’s border.

First gun bills of the new session arrive at the Colorado Capitol

Multiple bills tied to the Democrats’ focus on gun control made their way to the state Capitol this week, with the first hearing on what is expected to be at least a half-dozen measures this year.

But in a tight budget year, the bill will be competing with other Democratic priorities for limited dollars needed to pay for new programs.

Senate Bill 3 would allow the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to investigate illegal firearms activity, including failed background checks, illegal firearm transfers, and gun shops and other sellers that sell ammunition magazines that exceed the 2013 law that limits them to 15 rounds.