Anti-ICE protests; Parents of deceased CU freshman prepare for independent case review; House declines to override Trump water pipeline veto

Headlines Monday January 12, 2026

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    Anti-ICE protests; Parents of deceased CU freshman prepare for independent case review; House declines to override Trump water pipeline veto KGNU News

 

Anti-ICE protests mount across Colorado 

Protests touched down across Colorado this weekend after a week where fatal and non-fatal shootings perpetrated by immigration enforcement agents in Portland and Minneapolis shocked the United States. The Trump administration justified both shootings saying the ICE agents involved were acting in self-defense against victims who, “weaponized” their vehicles. Demonstrations took place at Aurora’s ICE detention facility, as well as in Denver and across Boulder.

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Parents of deceased CU freshman prepare for independent case review

The parents of Megan Trussell are preparing for an independent review of their daughter’s case after the Boulder County coroner ruled her death a suicide earlier last year. 18-year-old Megan Trussell was in her first year at the University of Colorado Boulder when she went missing and was later found deceased in February of last year.

Outside the headquarters for the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, Trussell’s mother and father said in a press conference that they’re hoping to expose the confirmation bias they felt was present in their daughter’s death investigation. Boulder County Coroner Jeff Martin ruled Trussell’s death was as suicide back in May, citing the, “toxicology results and the presence of undigested prescription medication found during the examination.”

The review centers around the suspicion of a lack of surveillance within the investigation and findings in Trussell’s autopsy. A press release about the review said Trussell’s parents are invoking a Colorado law mandating review when an Indigenous person’s death is ruled a suicide or overdose under suspicious circumstances.

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House declines to override Trump water pipeline veto 

The Arkansas Valley Conduit Act was first approved in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy, to create a 130-mile pipeline to carry clean water for communities in southeastern Colorado, spanning Lake Pueblo to the Lamar area. While the act to finish the conduit passed Congress unanimously last year, President Trump vetoed the bill, withholding federal funding from Colorado. Last Thursday, the House failed to override the veto, falling short of the two-thirds majority to pass the legislation. The Colorado Sun reports that 248 representatives were in favor of overriding the veto and 177 opposed. Republican U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert and U.S. Representative Jeff Hurd were in favor of overriding the veto and holding the federal government to support rural areas that overwhelmingly voted for Trump. Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse, joined his Republican colleagues from Colorado in asking that the House override the veto.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill would add less than $500,000 to the federal government’s cost and the total cost of the project is estimated to be $1.3 billion shared between the federal and local governments. Now, the bill will not move forward to the Senate. U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat who worked on the bill stated that “Rural Colorado is paying the price for these political games.”

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Democrats reviving a unionizing proposal 

Colorado Democrats are reviving a proposal to make it easier for workers to unionize after Governor Polis vetoed it last year. The legislation would abolish an eighty-year-old rule unique to Colorado requiring that workers hold a second election before their union can fully negotiate. Senator Julie Gonzales is one of the bill’s sponsors:

The bill is a top priority for Democratic lawmakers and labor unions. Polis and business groups say they remain opposed to the bill in its current form.

Colorado joins suit over freezing of resources for low-income families

Colorado and four other states are suing the Trump administration over a freeze on more than $10 billion in federal funding for low-income families. The money being withheld supports programs that provide cash assistance, child care, and other essential services. The administration says the freeze is due to concerns that benefits may be going to non-citizens. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser argues the administration has provided no evidence of fraud to justify the move. This is the 50th lawsuit Weiser has filed against the Trump administration since January 2025.

 

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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