Nicholas Riccardi

Read the latest stories and analysis from Nicholas Riccardi.

Senate majority could rest on the sage grouse

Nicholas Riccardi · July 5, 2014 5:00 pm

This April 2014 photo provided by Colorado Parks and Wildlife shows a Gunnison Sage Grouse with tail feathers fanned near Gunnison, Colo. Federal authorities have issued a moratorium blocking oil, gas and coal leasing on 800,000 acres of public land in southwestern Colorado and eastern Utah that is habitat for the imperiled Gunnison sage grouse. (AP Photo/Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Dave Showalter)

Threatened bird leads feds to block some drilling

Nicholas Riccardi · June 17, 2014 10:21 pm

File - In this March 10, 2014 file photo, Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips decorates a cake inside his store, in Lakewood, Colo. Colorado's Civil Rights Commission on Friday upheld a judge's ruling that Phillips cannot refuse to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples, despite Phillips' cited religious opposition to same sex marriage. The panel says doing so violates state laws prohibiting businesses from discriminating against gay people. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, file)

Panel: Baker must make cakes for gay weddings

Nicholas Riccardi · May 30, 2014 7:27 pm

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks to members of the media about the upcoming wildfire season, during a news conference at the History Colorado Center, in Denver, Tuesday, May 20, 2014. The U.S. Forest Service says it is adding four aircraft to its firefighting fleet as California recovers from a spate of blazes and other fire-prone states brace for another hot, dry summer.(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Ag secretary: US must figure out hemp production

Nicholas Riccardi · May 20, 2014 7:19 pm

Mark Rosenbaum, who argued the case on behalf of minority groups that opposed the affirmative action ban, said the sort of routine outreach that political parties perform is prohibited to public universities under laws like Michigan's. "They can say, 'If you're a person of color, you would not feel out of place in our party,'" Rosenbaum said. "But if a university said that, there would be 1,000 lawsuits tomorrow." (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Is GOP minority recruitment affirmative action?

Nicholas Riccardi · May 19, 2014 4:00 am

$FILE - This March 25, 2014 file photo shows perforating tools, used to create fractures in the rock, lowered into one of six wells during a roughly two-week hydraulic fracturing operation at an Encana Corp. well pad near Mead, Colo. The energy boom is scrambling national politics. Democrats are split between environmentalists and business and labor groups. Some deeply-conservative areas are allying with conservationists against fracking, the technique largely responsible for the surge. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)$ Business

National energy boom blurs political battle lines

Nicholas Riccardi · April 19, 2014 12:52 pm

Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck: "Mark Udall has done this country a great disservice during his service in Washington, D.C." (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Republican Senate hopefuls target Mark Udall at debate

Nicholas Riccardi · February 26, 2014 5:00 am

Kids with seizures use pot as treatment

Nicholas Riccardi · February 18, 2014 9:42 pm

In this Jan. 24, 2014 photo, Andy and Ceil Barrie stand for a photo next to their mining cabin near Breckenridge, Colo. Summit County wants to condemn 10 acres of land that belongs to the Barrie's through the controversial power of eminent domain. (AP Photo/Nicholas Riccardi)

Energy and Environment

A western wrinkle on eminent domain

Nicholas Riccardi · February 17, 2014 5:00 am

In this Jan. 24, 2014 photo, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, seen as the front-runner in the GOP primary for the upcoming U.S. Senate race, speaks to supporters during a campaign dinner event at Johnson's Corner, a truck stop and diner in Johnstown, Colo. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

Tea Party favorite Ken Buck makes second bid for Senate in Colorado

Nicholas Riccardi · February 3, 2014 5:00 am

James Holmes parents Robert and Arlene Holmes arrive at district court for the arraignment of their son Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes in Centennial, Colo., on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. The judge has entered a not guilty on behalf of James Holmes after his lawyer said he's not ready to enter a plea. Holmes is charged with killing 12 people and wounding more than 50 in a crowded Colorado movie theater last year. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

Colo. judge enters not guilty plea for Holmes

Dan Elliott, Nicholas Riccardi · March 12, 2013 4:00 am

Massacre-hardened Colorado a gun control test case

Ivan Moreno, Nicholas Riccardi · January 10, 2013 5:00 am