Comment on Pleasant Hill's first-ever public mural sprouts up with colorful flowers. Find out where:

A number of prominent companies have scaled back or set aside the diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that much of corporate America endorsed following the protests that accompanied the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in 2020. Emboldened by a U. S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions, conservative activists have used the courts and social media to target workplace programs.

Colorado isn’t the only area struggling to produce enough homes to meet demand. A survey reveals that many U. S. cities face significant housing shortages, with some mayors anticipating deficits of over 50,000 units. That shortage continues to increase housing prices, making buying a home increasingly unaffordable. Median home prices hit $488,272 nationally last year and sat at $580,000 in Denver in November and December. The United States Conference of Mayors and the American Institute of Architects National Housing Survey released in mid-January shows the housing shortage is a national problem. Over half of the mayors surveyed anticipate a 5,000-to-20,000-unit shortfall in their city in the next 5 years. Almost one in six mayors anticipate a 20,000- to 50,000-unit shortfall in their city.

Who knew that a musical would be the talk of the town going into the 2025 Oscars? No, not Wicked (though that movie has received its fair share of recognition at the box office and from the Academy) or the still puzzled-upon Robbie Williams monkey biopic Better Man, but Emilia Pérez. The film, a French-made, Spanish-language musical about a Mexican drug cartel leader, starring Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Karla Sofía Gascón, is a somewhat off-kilter awards chatter favorite.

No injuries were reported after a propane tank exploded in a vehicle near the intersection of Speer Boulevard, Sixth Avenue and Sherman Street in Denver late Thursday. Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | CDOT to double arsenal of mountainside avalanche blasters in war against highway-covering snow slides Crime and Public Safety | FBI searches for motive behind Colorado soldier’s detonation of Cybertruck outside Trump hotel in Las Vegas Crime and Public Safety | Cybertruck that exploded outside Trump Hotel in Las Vegas rented in Colorado Crime and Public Safety | CDOT ramps up blasting to straighten I-70 bottleneck A Denver police spokesperson said Friday morning that they were still investigating the explosion, which was heard by employees of Fox31, whose office is located a short distance away. Newsroom employees felt the shockwave of the explosion just after 10 p.m.

In her first letter from Gaza, the former blogger Amal Murtaja described daily life in war. A second dispatch closed with the news that she had managed to escape to Egypt with her children. Murtaja, who taught English at Gaza’s American International School, wrote this from Giza, outside Cairo. As the potential cease-fire agreement neared, the news was a whirlwind of conflicting reports.

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and CHRISTINE FERNANDO, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s new Justice Department leadership issued an order Friday to curtail prosecutions against people accused of blocking reproductive rights facilities, calling the cases an example of the “weaponization” of law enforcement. Justice Department chief of staff Chad Mizelle said in a memo obtained by The Associated Press that prosecutions and civil actions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act or “FACE Act” will now be permitted only in “extraordinary circumstances” or in cases presenting ”significant aggravating factors.” Mizelle also ordered the immediate dismissal of three FACE Act cases related to 2021 blockades of clinics in Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Ohio.