Dan Elliott, The Associated Press

  • In this Aug. 14, 2019, photo, a sign designates a boundary of the Hanford Reach National Monument as the world's first large scale nuclear reactor, the B Reactor, is seen in the background where it sits unused on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation along the Columbia River near Richland, Wash. (Elaine Thompson/AP)
    Wildlife now roam where US once forged its deadliest weapons

    From a tiny Pacific island to a leafy Indiana forest, a handful of sites where the United States manufactured and tested some of the most lethal weapons known to humankind are now peaceful havens for wildlife.

  • Michael Whyte, 58, of Thornton, Colo. (Colorado Springs Police Department via AP)
    Man arrested in ’87 cold case slaying of Fort Carson soldier

    A suburban Denver man has been arrested in the unsolved slaying of a soldier in Colorado 32 years ago after DNA evidence was used to create an image of what a suspect might look like, authorities said Friday.

  • In this April 12, 2017, photo, light shines through the stained glass at the Cadet Chapel at the U.S. Air Force Academy outside Colorado Springs, Colo. The landmark Cadet Chapel is suffering from leaks and corrosion, so the school has drawn up the most ambitious restoration project in the building’s 55-year history. (Thomas Peipert/AP)
    Landmark Air Force chapel suffering from leaks, corrosion

    The landmark Cadet Chapel that towers over the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado is suffering from leaks and corrosion, so the school has drawn up the most ambitious restoration project in the building’s 55-year history.

  • In this Dec. 24, 2017, file photo, Canadian Lt. Maj. Chris Hache takes a call while volunteering at the NORAD Tracks Santa center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo. Hundreds of volunteers will help answer the phones again when the program resumes on Monday, Dec. 24, 2018, for the 63rd year. Children from around the world call to ask when Santa Claus will get to their house. (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP)
    Santa tracker will still run despite government shutdown

    The government may be partially shut down, but that won’t stop hundreds of volunteers dressed in Christmas hats and military uniforms Monday from taking calls from children around the world who want to know when Santa will be coming.

  • Peterson Air Force Base west gate entrance. (Air Force photo)
    Police arrest man who tried to enter Colorado Air Force base

    A man who barricaded himself inside a minivan with propane tanks strapped to its roof tried to enter an Air Force base on Tuesday before being arrested, Colorado authorities said.

  • In this Jan. 29, 2015, file photo, an ordnance technician uses a robot to to handle inert simulated chemical munitions used for training at the Pueblo Chemical Depot, east of Pueblo, in southern Colorado. (Brennan Linsley/AP)
    US plant that destroys chemical weapons beset by troubles

    A highly automated, multibillion-dollar plant in Colorado that destroys U.S. chemical weapons is over budget, behind schedule and bedeviled by troubles that could worsen the danger to workers.

  • In this Jan. 29, 2015, file photo, a remotely controlled robot handles an inert simulated chemical munition during training at the Pueblo Chemical Depot in southern Colorado. The Army said in March 2018 it wants to change the way it will destroy some of the weapons stored at the Pueblo depot, switching to a closed detonation chamber instead of the highly automated, $4.5 billion plant. The shift worries some local residents, who say it will be harder to control gases produced by detonation. (Brennan Linsley/AP)
    Army seeks changes to chemical weapons disposal in Colorado

    The U.S. Army wants to change the way it destroys part of its huge stockpile of obsolete chemical weapons in Colorado, but some people worry that could increase the chances of contamination escaping into the air.

  • This undated photo released by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office shows Matthew Riehl. (Douglas County Sheriff via AP)
    Former Army medic made descent from star student to deputy killer

    He was once a standout student in law school and an Army medic who deployed to Iraq. By last weekend, he lay dead in a Colorado apartment building, killed by a SWAT team after he gunned down a 29-year-old deputy.