Today is May 23, 2024, and here’s what you need to know:

A top Republican political action committee on Wednesday booked $5 million worth of fall ads for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District race, confirming that the toss-up seat will likely be home to the state’s marquee general election contest.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, earmarked the funds as part of its initial $141 million in national ad reservations on TV, streaming and digital platforms across 37 media markets, the group said in a release.

The announcement follows the $4 million in TV ad reservations in the Denver market made earlier by the group’s Democratic counterpart, the House Majority PAC.

Federal judge throws out Tina Peters' lawsuit against US government

A federal judge on Monday threw out an attempt by former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters to end an alleged criminal investigation of her for conduct related to election equipment tampering.

Peters, a Republican who unsuccessfully ran for secretary of state in 2022 and GOP party chair in 2023, is set to face criminal trial in state court in July. The charges center on Peters’ alleged actions as clerk to grant an unauthorized person access to an upgrade of the county’s voting equipment, resulting in videos and confidential passwords later being posted online.

In January, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang dismissed Peters’ attempt to halt those proceedings. However, Peters separately sought Wang’s intervention into an alleged U.S. Department of Justice investigation for her potential violations of federal law. No charges are pending against Peters from that investigation.

Appeals court says name, birthdate, 'Caucasian male' not descriptive enough to prove prior offenses

Colorado’s second-highest court last week clarified that a defendant’s name, date of birth and description as a “Caucasian male” did not combine to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the same person who had three prior drunk driving convictions.

An Arapahoe County jury convicted Dennis Herold in 2022 of felony driving under the influence. While DUI is normally a misdemeanor, it becomes a felony if the defendant has at least three prior impaired driving convictions.

Prosecutors introduced evidence that Herold had four priors from the 1980s and ’90s. Records from two of the prior offenses had Herold’s full name, date of birth, and a description of his race, sex, hair color, eye color and weight. The third offense had only Herold’s name and birthdate.

Appeals court finds no constitutional violation from hard-to-hear livestream during trial

Colorado’s second-highest court last week ruled that problems with livestreaming technology during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic did not violate a defendant’s constitutional right to a public trial if observers were still free to watch in the physical courtroom.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees the criminally accused the right to a public trial. In recent years, the Court of Appeals has had to interpret that right in light of the livestreaming protocols Colorado courts employed during pandemic-era restrictions. Where violations occurred, judges had closed only their physical courtrooms to spectators.

A Denver jury convicted Jeffrey Sloan of killing Yasir Hasan and Mark Karla by running a red light and colliding with his victims on Colfax Ave. Karla was the son-in-law of then-Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers. Sloan received a sentence of 72 years in prison.

Gov. Jared Polis signs bills on renewable energy, mental health professional requirements

Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday signed several bills into law, including multiple measures aimed at advancing the state’s renewable energy goals.    

Polis, who visited the northern part of the state, stopped at the North Range Behavioral Health in Greeley, where he signed Senate Bill 115. The bill removes the need for mental health professionals to explain different levels of regulation to clients and eliminates the master’s exam requirement for social work licensure.

It also requires candidates for licenses, such as clinical social workers and family therapists, to pass the Colorado jurisprudence exam. Additionally, the bill allows candidates to renew their registration if they’re unable to complete the post-degree licensure requirements within four years and reapply if their regulations have expired.