Author: Associated Press

DURANGO — The U.S. Forest Service has canceled a decision to use chain saws to clear trees killed by bark beetles in two wilderness areas in southwestern Colorado. The Durango Herald reports Rocky Mountain Regional Forester Brian Ferebee announced the decision in a letter to forest supervisors Monday, citing reports of avalanches blocking trails in…

KEMMERER, Wyo. – A federal judge has approved the sale of a Wyoming coal mine following the Colorado owner’s bankruptcy. The Casper Star-Tribune reports that a judge in Houston approved the sale of the mine in Kemmerer last week to a group of secured lenders. Douglas County-based Westmoreland Coal declared bankruptcy in October, leaving the…

Lester Holt and four of his NBC News colleagues will share moderating duties for the first debate of 2020 Democratic presidential contenders. The debate, shown on NBC News networks, will unfold over two nights in Miami on June 26 and June 27. For each night, Holt will anchor the first hour, where he’ll be joined…

SANTA FE, N.M. – New Mexico proposed new pot production rules Tuesday intended to shore up supplies to its medical marijuana program without flooding the rapidly expanding market. Under the proposal, the Department of Health would limit medical cannabis production to 1,750 mature plants for each licensed producer. The prior 450-plant limit was struck down…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to drill a test well into an inactive mine tunnel in southwestern Colorado to get information for a Superfund cleanup, the agency said. The EPA said it will drill into the American Tunnel next month to measure water levels and investigate how the passage is connected to other shafts.…

A U.S. Forest Service job training center for rural youth in western Colorado will be taken over by a private contractor, and its employees have been told they can either retire or apply for new jobs. Colorado Public Radio reports the federal government has informed the Collbran Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center that its 46…

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has put on hold his plan to begin imposing tariffs on Mexico on Monday, saying the U.S. ally will take “strong measures” to reduce the flow of Central American migrants into the United States. But the deal he announced Friday night, after returning from a trip to Europe, falls short…

PUEBLO – An Army facility here has temporarily stopped destroying obsolete chemical weapons because of liquid hazardous waste seeping from a storage tank. Officials said Thursday the liquid is a byproduct of the destruction process at the Pueblo Chemical Depot and contains no chemical weapons. They say less than 8 ounces seeped out. The seepage…

Castle Rock has banned the sale of the herbal supplement kratom to anyone under the age of 18. The town council approved an ordinance this week that imposes a $300 fine on anyone caught selling the substance to minors. The town late last year imposed a six-month moratorium on the licensing of any new kratom…

Jefferson County Schools authorities are gauging support for demolishing Columbine High School and rebuilding it nearby. In a letter Thursday, Jeffco Schools Superintendent Jason Glass says the school building has remained “a source of inspiration” for people with a dark interest in the 1999 shooting that killed 12 students and a teacher. In April, a…