Today is April 26, 2024, and here’s what you need to know:

Pro-Palestinian protesters occupy Auraria campus in Denver, demand divestment

More than 200 hundred protesters — many of them students — occupied the Auraria campus on Thursday night to make several demands, notably divestment from corporations that operate in Israel.

The protesters, who chanted anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian slogans, also asked to meet with Michelle Marks, chancellor of the University of Colorado Denver, to discuss how to implement their demands.

The protest in front of the Tivoli Student Union is the latest in what has been a wave of pro-Palestinian rallies on campuses across the United States in the last several days and increasing worries by Jewish students for their physical safety.

Among those who joined the protest was Rep. Elisabeth Epps, a Democrat who was reprimanded for joining pro-Palestinian protesters in the House gallery back in November. At the time, Epps called fellow lawmakers “fascist.” The reprimand from House Speaker Julie McCluskie included a sternly-worded warning that such actions in the future could lead to more serious consequences.

Appeals court rules juries may have unrestricted access to 'pretext' calls between sex assault victims, suspects

Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday ruled that trial judges may provide juries with unrestricted access during their deliberations to “pretext” phone calls made by sex assault victims to their alleged perpetrators with a goal of eliciting incriminating statements.

The Court of Appeals had never before decided whether pretext calls should be treated like a defendant’s own statements — which do not require safeguards when given to jurors — or like a witness’s statements, which can be unfair during deliberations because the accuser is effectively “in the room.”

A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals decided pretext calls fall into the unrestricted category and declined to reverse a man’s Adams County child sex assault convictions.

Colorado small businesses express worry about bill seeking to combat 'algorithmic discrimination' in AI systems

Colorado lawmakers have advanced legislation that sponsors say would enhance consumer protections against discrimination by artificial intelligence systems, though worries persist regarding its potential effects on small businesses and innovation.

At its core, Senate Bill 205 establishes regulations governing the development and use of artificial intelligence in Colorado and focuses on combatting “algorithmic discrimination.”

The bill defines “algorithmic discrimination” to mean any condition in which AI increases the risk of “unlawful differential treatment” that then “disfavors” an individual or group of people on the basis of age, color, disability, ethnicity, genetic information, race, religion, veteran status, English proficiency and other classes protected by state laws.

Colorado Senate to consider bill to further regulate towing industry

The next step for a proposal to regulate the towing industry more strictly is the state Senate.

On Wednesday, the House approved House Bill 1051 through a mostly party-line 45-16 vote.

Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, whose car was towed last year, will sponsor the bill in the Senate.

The work of the Transportation Legislative Review Committee from last fall, House Bill 1051 is the result of attention paid to what some described as predatory towing that lawmakers thought they fixed in 2022.

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

Colorado's school finance rewrite raises concerns with teacher union and districts

The long-awaited rewrite of Colorado’s 30-year-old school finance formula raises red flags for the state’s largest teacher union and some of its largest school districts.

However, House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, says amendments will address some of those concerns in the coming days.

House Bill 1448 is co-sponsored by Assistant House Majority Leader Rep. Jennifer Bacon of Denver, a former Denver Public Schools board member. In the Senate, it is championed by Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, D-Arvada and Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, a former member of the state board of education.