In this photo provided by NORAD, a U.S. F-15C Eagle from the 12th Fighter Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska is seen flying next to a Russian Tu-95 Bear bomber on Thursday during a Russian exercise that brought the Bear near the west coast of Alaska. NORAD

By Washington and the West – North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado Springs dispatched fighter jets late Thursday after Russian bombers were detected on an exercise off Alaska, NORAD disclosed today.

Six fighters were launched from Alaska and Canada in response to “a number of the Russian Tu-95 Bear heavy bombers participating in an annual Russian air force exercise near the coast of Alaska and Canada,” Maj. Gen. Brett Cairns, NORAD director of operations, said in a drill. >> MORE

Private investigator Bryan Wagner of Littleton refused to testify before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee in Washington D.C. Thursday. AP

By Mike Soraghan in Washington - Bryan Wagner, a Littleton private investigator ordered to appear Thursday before a congressional panel investigating the Hewlett-Packard corporate spying scandal, joined several other witnesses in refusing to testify.

But Wagner - who was subpoenaed to talk about the alleged improper gathering of private phone records as part of HP’s probe of boardroom leaks - offered to help congressional investigators stop the abuses of “pretexting,” the practice of lying to gather personal information. >> MORE

Senators Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar

By Anne C. Mulkern in Washington – Disagreement over how to best bar future development in Rocky Mountain National Park triggered a nasty spat Thursday between Colorado’s two U.S. senators.

Junior Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo. accused senior Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., of breaking an agreement to work together to give much of the park wilderness status. >> MORE

By Christopher N. Osher — In an acrimonious debate Thursday, Republican congressional candidate Rick O’Donnell charged that the lobbying his Democratic opponent’s wife does in Washington, D.C., would present a conflict of interest.

“So the question is, on the key issues in Congress, who are you going to represent?” O’Donnell asked former state Sen. Ed Perl mutter. “The clients putting money in your pocketbook or the citizens of the 7th Congressional District?” >> MORE

By Jeffrey Leib — Air safety officials on Thursday published strict new pilot-training rules aimed at halting an epidemic of accidents involving Mitsubishi MU-2B turboprop aircraft.

Over the past five years, there have been at least 25 MU-2B accidents, 16 of them fatal, according to National Transportation Safety Board records. >> MORE

By Katy Human — NASA officials Thursday defended the $3.9 billion contract given to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. against criticism from federal watchdogs that the award was too large and open- ended.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration last month selected the Lockheed Martin team, based in Jefferson County, to build the next-generation space shuttle. >> MORE

The whooping crane is one of four endangered species that would be affected by the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program AP

By Washington and the West - Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne formally signed off on a federal program Thursday that would regulate water use of the Platte River in order to protect endangered species.

Kempthorne announced department backing of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program, a $300 million proposal signed by the governors of Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska in 1997 to comply with the Endangered Species Act. >> MORE

Denver now has a better chance of hosting the 2008 Democratic Convention Post

By George Merritt and Mike Soraghan - Colorado Democrats hoping to bring their party’s national convention to Denver in 2008 got a boost Wednesday from an unlikely source: Republicans.

The GOP selected Minneapolis-St.Paul for its 2008 convention, effectively eliminating that city from contention for the Democratic National Convention. >> MORE

Many of us find Tom Tancredo’s views on immigration a bit much, but that certainly doesn’t mean the guy is wrong about everything.

The most recent brouhaha surrounding the GOP congressman from Littleton began when he penned a letter urging Pope Benedict XVI not to apologize for remarks he made about radical Islam. >> MORE

Democratic candidate for Congress Ed Perlmutter speaks Wednesday in Denver, outlining strategies for the Iraq wa Post

By Christopher N Osher - Democratic congressional candidate Ed Perlmutter on Wednesday criticized his opponent’s call for more troops to stabilize Iraq and renewed his call for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

At a news conference where he was flanked by veterans, Perlmutter said the Iraq war was the most important issue in his race against Republican Rick O’Donnell for the 7th Congressional District seat currently held by GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez. >> MORE

AP

By Kimberly S. Johnson in Littleton - When his employer, Action Research Group, gave Bryan Wagner a list of names to investigate in February, he thought nothing of it.

On Wednesday afternoon, those names were all he could think about as he paced the hallway outside his Littleton apartment, talking on a cordless phone, clutching a Bud Light, waiting for a Super Shuttle van to take him to the airport. >> MORE

Troy Eid, at his office in Denver, officially takes over as U.S. attorney for Colorado at a ceremony today. Post

By Bruce Finley — At dinner atop a Denver office tower recently, a visiting Jordanian military chief who’d just been introduced to the new U.S. attorney, Troy Eid, an Arab-American, approached Eid incredulously.

“‘How can that be?”‘ Eid recalled the Jordanian asking. A man of Arab descent couldn’t possibly be picked to represent U.S. government interests, the Jordanian said. “‘It must be a token post … Are you wealthy?”‘ >> MORE

A Border Patrol agent takes an alleged illegal immigrant into custody in southern New Mexico. Post file / John Epperson

By Anne C. Mulkern in Washington — As congressional negotiators struggled Tuesday to find agreement on immigration proposals, a Colorado woman re-emerged in a new push for the reform plan she inspired.

Helen Krieble of Parker, president of the Colorado-based Vernon K. Krieble Foundation, has proposed using private business to match foreign guest workers with U.S. jobs. Her idea formed the basis of a proposal from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, and Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., that attempts a middle ground in the Republican split between border enforcement and accommodating immigrants. >> MORE

Deer stroll at the site of the former Rock Flats nuclear weapons factory near Golden.

By Washington and the West - The U.S. Supreme Court will use a 17-year-old case involving Colorado’s Rocky Flats to clarify the ability of whistle-blowers to sue and collect from private contractors for the misuse of federal funds.

The high court agreed Tuesday to hear an appeal of a $4.2 million award in a lawsuit brought in 1989 by James Stone, a former engineer for Rockwell International Corp. During the 1970s and ’80s, Rockwell was a contractor at Rocky Flats, a nuclear weapons plant north of Golden that has since been demolished. >> MORE

A crew works on the Emerald Lake Trail on Monday in Rocky Mountain National Park. Post

By Jeremy P. Meyer in Rocky Mountain National Park - Almost 100 years ago, men with picks and shovels traveled into the wilderness and cut 350 miles of trails through this land that would become a national park.

This week, trail crews - with the help of a helicopter - are fixing some of those backcountry trails that have fallen into disrepair. >> MORE