By Mike Soraghan and Anne C. Mulkern

Washington - Colorado Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar gave wholehearted backing Friday to a ban on lawsuits against gun manufacturers and sellers by crime victims, leaving gun-control advocates in the state feeling betrayed and gun-rights forces pleased. >> MORE

By Anne C. Mulkern

Washington - On her 48th birthday, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette awoke to what she called the best present she ever received, one gift-wrapped by Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

DeGette, D-Colo., learned Friday morning that Frist had cautiously endorsed the Senate version of a bill she co-authored and helped pass in the U.S. House - legislation that would dramatically increase federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research, opposed by many religious conservatives and foes of abortion. >> MORE

By Kirk Mitchell

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo’s remarks about bombing Islamic holy sites, including Mecca, were so inflammatory and insensitive that a simple apology is not enough, Muslim officials said Saturday at a Denver rally.

“He needs to be removed from office,” said Gerald Muhammad, a Nation of Islam minister from Denver. “We’re not going to stop pushing until he is censored. We can’t afford to have a man like that in office.” >> MORE

By Jeffrey Leib

U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat from Denver, appears to have pulled off a coup by securing $50 million for Union Station redevelopment in the new $286 billion multi- year transportation bill passed by lawmakers Friday. >> MORE

The chairman of the Republican Party said Friday that the party backs U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, despite rifts the Colorado congressman has created with some Hispanic groups. >> MORE

By Mike Soraghan

Washington - Congress today is set to pass a sweeping energy bill intended to boost domestic production amid a boom in oil and gas drilling across the West.

The legislation passed the House 275-156 Thursday and is expected to be voted on today by the Senate. It contains $14.5 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas drillers, coal companies and nuclear plants, along with breaks for renewable energy and conservation. >> MORE

By Anne C. Mulkern

Washington - Armed with decades-old documents and a fierce resolve, a Colorado widow who believes she has the right to stay in her Rocky Mountain National Park summer home pleaded her case Thursday before lawmakers.

Betty Dick, 83, told senators the government reneged on a 1979 agreement to let her stay at the house within the park’s boundaries. >> MORE

By Mike Soraghan

Saying that President Bush believes “Islam is a religion that teaches peace,� a White House spokesman addressed Rep. Tom Tancredo’s controversial remarks about attacking Muslim holy sites for the first time Thursday. >> MORE

By The Denver Post

The U.S. Senate confirmed Colorado Secretary of State Donetta Davidson to the federal Election Assistance Commission, Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., announced Thursday. >> MORE

By Mike Soraghan

Washington - Rep. Tom Tancredo told a Muslim group (pictured) Wednesday that he was sorry if anyone was offended when he suggested the bombing of Islamic holy sites in retaliation for a nuclear attack by terrorists.

But his spokesman said later that Tancredo did not retract his comments. >> MORE

By Anne C. Mulkern and Steve Lipsher

Washington - On the eve of a U.S. Senate hearing considering an 83-year-old Colorado widow’s plea to remain in her Rocky Mountain National Park summer home, the National Park Service offered Wednesday to endorse her permanent stay with three stringent conditions. >> MORE

By Nancy Lofholm

When government bureaucracy stalls, not even a 60-ton block of rock can move it.

A marble slab sitting in a quarry parking lot near Marble - envisioned as the replacement for the cracking Tomb of the Unknowns memorial in Washington - proves the point.

Instead of heading to Arlington National Cemetery, the marble has had its future placed in doubt by a tangle of Beltway wrangling. >> MORE

By Mike Soraghan

Washington - Congress is expected to vote this week on a comprehensive energy bill that would speed up development of oil shale in the Rocky Mountain West as a way to help wean the United States from foreign oil.

The federal government could begin selling leases for oil-shale development in western Colorado within 2 1/2 years under the legislation, after an environmental review.

The bill would also exempt aspects of oil and gas production from two federal water pollution laws and block plans to charge companies for drilling permits. >> MORE

By Mike Soraghan

Washington - The final piece of legislation needed to create the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in eastern Colorado is on its way to the White House after gaining final congressional passage, Sen. Wayne Allard said Tuesday. >> MORE

By Anne C. Mulkern

Washington - A group of Senate Democrats on Tuesday unveiled their plan to overhaul how the government funds veterans’ health care, a response to news in June that the Bush administration underfunded such programs by as much as $2 billion.

But the proposal � co-sponsored by Ken Salazar of Colorado � appears to have almost no chance of gaining the votes it needs to pass. >> MORE