Trump Vetoes Colorado Water Project; Former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell Dies at 92; Right to Repair Law Takes Effect

Headlines Thursday January 1, 2026

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    Trump Vetoes Colorado Water Project; Former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell Dies at 92; Right to Repair Law Takes Effect KGNU News

 

Trump Vetoes Colorado Water Project

President Trump has vetoed a bill to fund a drinking water pipeline project in rural Colorado. The bipartisan Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act passed unanimously in both the House and Senate. It was meant to help finish a project that’s been decades in the making and would bring clean water to 39 communities in the south Eastern Plains of the state. It was designed to eventually stop groundwater withdrawals in the area, which can produce water tainted with radioactivity.

The veto is notable because it’s in a rural portion of GOP Representative Lauren Boebert’s district that voted heavily for Trump. The project would also provide badly needed jobs for the area. While she did not threaten an override vote in a statement Tuesday night, the Republican lawmaker expressed her displeasure with the president’s decision.

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Former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell Dies at 92

Former US Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell has died. He started out representing the state as a Democrat before switching to the Republican Party several years into his term. During his nearly two decades in Congress in both the house and senate, Nighthorse Campbell helped create National Parks and championed Native American issues.

He was also chief of the Northern Cheyenne tribe, a celebrated jewelry designer, and a member of the first US Olympic judo team. In 2012, Nighthorse Campbell ushered the Christmas Tree for the US Capitol. Ben Nighthorse Campbell was 92 years old.

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Right to Repair Law Takes Effect

Coloradans will have more options for repairing broken cell phones and computers starting today when the state’s new right to repair law takes effect.

The law is meant to give Coloradans more options to repair their busted cell phones and other electronic devices. It requires manufacturers such as Samsung and Apple to provide “documentation, software, data, and other tools” to device owners and independent repair shops to help people fix equipment. The goal is to save money and  to help people get repairs done faster. It does include some exemptions such as video game consoles because of piracy and security concerns.

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Private Equity Firm Buys Aspen Newspaper

Hoffmann Media Group has bought the Aspen Daily News. Aspen Public Radio reports that the newspaper has been purchased by the media branch of a Florida-based equity firm.

David Hoffmann, the billionaire owner of the Hoffmann Family of Companies, has been acquiring a growing portfolio of local news outlets across the U.S. in recent years, including the Telluride Times.

The sale comes amid a decades-long decline in the newspaper industry. News deserts are expanding, and billionaire investors are consolidating ownership of print media. Critics worry these owners could engage in editorial overreach and destroy journalistic integrity.But the Aspen Daily News assured readers that their news product will not change, and David Cook, co-owner since 2017, will stay on as publisher.

In a press release, Cook said this acquisition gives them the stability to keep doing its work. Last year, the New York Times reported that Hoffmann believes in the value of local newspapers and in their potential to succeed alongside digital media.

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You can hear daily headlines on the Morning Magazine, KGNU’s weekday morning show with coverage of local and regional public affairs and news with headlines and commentary. Click here to listen to full episodes of the Morning Magazine.

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