Denver, CO
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet rings alarm about Biden as other lawmakers offer support, silence
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet said Tuesday night that he believes Donald Trump is on a trajectory to win the presidential election — “maybe in a landslide” — amid fallout from President Joe Biden’s halting debate performance.
“For me, this isn’t a question about polling, it’s not a question about politics — it’s a moral question for the future of our country,” the Colorado senator told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during her prime time show, warning that a Trump victory would be “an American tragedy.” He suggested Republicans may win control of Congress, too.
“I think we could lose the whole thing,” he added about the November election, calling the situation “staggering.”
But Bennet repeatedly declined to say whether Biden should step down as the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee, which would open the door for others to seek the nomination before the August convention.
Bennet’s comments came after reports that he and two other senior Democratic senators told colleagues earlier Tuesday that Biden was on a path to lose. His comments were the most forceful condemnation of his party’s trajectory of any voiced publicly to date by Colorado’s seven congressional Democrats. The others have offered either support or silence as concerns have mounted about Biden’s ability to win.
U.S. Rep. Diane DeGette told The Denver Post on Tuesday that Biden had her full support. She said his public appearances since the June 27 debate had convinced her that he could win in November.
Colorado’s other senator, John Hickenlooper, has also backed Biden.
Bennet, who told CNN that voters he’s spoken to have likened the president’s condition to an aging parent, has sent increasingly concerned messages since the late June debate. He had said in a statement Sunday that Biden must “reassure” voters of his abilities, adding that he would discuss “the most viable path forward” with fellow senators. (A Bennet spokesman did not return messages seeking comment late Tuesday afternoon.)
On Tuesday night, Bennet suggested Biden had not done enough to reassure voters.
“The White House, in the time since that disastrous debate, I think, has done nothing to demonstrate that they have a plan to win this election, that they have a convincing plan to win in the battleground states,” he said.
His apparently rising alarm stood in contrast with DeGette, who said her concerns had been assuaged.
After the debate, during which Biden spoke quietly and haltingly and appeared to fully lose his train of thought at least once, DeGette, of Denver, said in a statement that Biden needed to “intensify his efforts to reassure voters” that he could continue on as president.
On Tuesday, DeGette told The Post that she had received that reassurance through Biden’s subsequent media and public appearances as she’s “basically been trying to watch everything.” She said she’d also spoken with him Tuesday morning during a bill signing ceremony.
“He was articulate, cogent and knew everything that he was talking about,” she said, referring to a conversation they had about the NATO summit in Washington, D.C. “As I said in my statement, like everybody else, I was shocked at the performance in that debate, and I’ve known the president for almost 30 years now.”
“I’ve been trying to see, ‘Do I think he’s competent for both reelection and to serve another term?’ And I can’t help but say, ‘Yes, he is.’ ” said DeGette, the longest-serving member of Colorado’s congressional delegation.
U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a freshman member of the delegation, said in a statement that it was up to Biden to decide whether to stay in the race or not.
Nearly half of the state’s seven Democrats in Congress did not return messages seeking interviews or comments in recent days. Repeated messages sent to U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse’s office were not returned; Neguse is the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House. The office of U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo, a freshman who sits in what is likely to be one of the most hotly contested seats in America come November, also did not return requests for comment.
No one from U.S. Rep. Jason Crow’s office would comment on the record.
Bennet’s criticism and DeGette’s support comes as Biden seeks to shore up support on Capitol Hill and prevent further internal calls for him to step aside. National polling shows Biden trailing Trump, and subsequent polls about Biden’s fitness show broad voter concern about the 81-year-old’s age.
Though Trump is 78 and has faced sharp criticism over his own fitness for office, his age has been less of a focal point than Biden’s.
DeGette — the only member of Colorado’s Democratic delegation to agree to an interview — blamed the media for focusing on Biden’s debate performance and age, though it’s an issue that polls consistently show is a concern for a majority of American voters.
She said the focus instead should be on Trump’s ability to lead the country, his party’s anti-abortion stances and the repeated falsehoods he told at the debate.
“I understand the issue du jour is Joe Biden’s abilities,” DeGette said. “I do believe he has the capabilities, and he’s our nominee.”
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Denver, CO
Denver Barkey scores first career goal as Flyers take down Oilers
Item 1 of 33 Jan 3, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers right winger Garnet Hathaway (19) skates on the ice during the pre game warm up as the Edmonton Oilers take on the Philadelphia Flyers before the first period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images
[1/33]Jan 3, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers right winger Garnet Hathaway (19) skates on the ice during the pre game warm up as the Edmonton Oilers take on the Philadelphia Flyers before the first period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images Purchase Licensing Rights
January 3 – Denver Barkey’s first NHL tally highlighted a three-goal first period for the Philadelphia Flyers, who beat the host Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Saturday.
Travis Sanheim and Bobby Brink also scored in the first, while Nick Seeler and Owen Tippett each posted a goal with an assist and Sean Couturier added two helpers for the Flyers, who finished a 3-2-0 road trip. Dan Vladar made 22 saves for Philadelphia, which allowed 13 Edmonton shots on goal in the first period, but just 11 the rest of the way.
Connor McDavid extended his point streak to 15 games with his 25th goal of the season and Evan Bouchard also scored for the Oilers, who have dropped two straight and three of four.
Philadelphia made its mark early in the first period. Tippett passed the puck into the slot for a streaking Barkey, who beat Oilers’ Calvin Pickard (24 saves) for his milestone goal just 7:16 into the contest.
Barkey’s marker essentially set the tempo, as the visitors made it 2-0 with 9:29 left in the first when Sanheim beat Pickard from the right circle.
Philadelphia then extended its lead a little over four minutes later when an Edmonton turnover led to the puck deflecting into the net off the heel of Brink’s skate off a shot from Cam York.
Vladar, meanwhile, was solid by stopping 12 shots in the first period. However, he couldn’t prevent McDavid from scoring on a breakaway, which came off a Sanheim turnover in the neutral zone, with 3:52 remaining before the first intermission.
The Oilers made it 3-2 on the power play with 10:06 remaining in the second period. With an assist from McDavid, Bouchard unloaded a successful slap shot from the left point to give Edmonton at least one goal on the man advantage in nine of the last 10 games.
Philadelphia found some breathing room with 10:51 remaining in regulation off Seeler’s wrister for his first goal of the season. Tippett added an empty-netter as the Flyers scored at least five goals for the third time in their last six.
McDavid, meanwhile, has 14 goals with 22 assists in the last 15 games.
–Field Level Media
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Denver, CO
A franchise quarterback is vital to winning division titles
You might respond to this headline with ‘and water is wet’ and I wouldn’t blame you, but I was looking over the Denver Broncos history and how often they have won a division title. In their 65 years, the Broncos have brought home 16 AFC West division titles. That’s not very many, but given their first winning season was almost 20 years into it then it doesn’t look so bad.
The other thing I noticed is that only those teams who had a franchise quarterback type player under center did they repeat often as division winners. 11 of those 16 titles were won while John Elway or Peyton Manning were quarterbacking the franchise. Craig Morton won two backed by the vaunted Orange Crush defense of the 70s, but the rest were one-off division winners like Jake Plummer and Tim Tebow. Now that latter list includes Bo Nix.
The craziest stat that I found researching this topic was that all but one Broncos team that did not win the division were one-and-done in the playoffs. The lone team that wasn’t was that 1997 Super Bowl winning squad. Every single other team that finished second or third in the division and made the playoffs did not win a game once they got there. That doesn’t have much to do with the franchise quarterback topic here, but I found this little tidbit too interesting to not share.
As for the division winners, there were plenty of one-and-done seasons there too, but all of their playoff wins sans-1997 are also there.
The question I meant to get to sooner before going off on that side quest regarding the playoff outcomes was whether or not Bo Nix joins Elway and Manning or ends up with the Plummer and Morton’s of history of pretty good but not all-time great. A few playoff wins over the next month would certainly move the needle some before adding more division titles down the road.
Denver, CO
Denver police report increase in street racing arrests and citations in 2025
DENVER — Street racing continues to pose threats to Colorado drivers, so Denver7 looked into the trends we saw throughout 2025.
Denver Police report 80 citations and arrests as of December 17 for 2025. That’s 20 more than last year, according to Doug Schepman, director of communications for the Denver Police Department (DPD).
There is one strip of road in Denver we asked Schepman about specifically, after hearing from business owners that it’s particularly troublesome.
We’re talking about the 2000 block of S. Santa Fe Drive in Denver.
Michael Gray, owner of Discount Fishing Tackle, said it’s a weekly occurrence to watch or hear cars and motorcycles zip past.
“Recently, we’ve seen the kids on the motorcycles coming by with the front wheel in the air, going just as dangerous as can be, and especially dangerous because so many other people are going so fast on this road,” Gray said.
He said he’s noticed that as more turnoffs are removed and the spacing between traffic lights gets longer, more drivers tend to use it as their personal raceway.
“It doesn’t affect us really too much, but you don’t like to have something as dangerous as that going on all the time,” he said.
Schepman said patrol districts are aware that street racing occurs along this stretch of South Santa Fe Drive, and that officers are directed to patrol the area during periods when reports are more prevalent.
He adds that the community plays a critical part in helping investigators curb this problem.
The Colorado State Patrol said it has received more than 1,700 reports from the community this year.
You can continue to report street racing here.
Denver7
Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Allie Jennerjahn
Denver7’s Allie Jennerjahn covers stories that have an impact in all of Colorado’s communities, but specializes in reporting on crime, corruption and ways to protect your family. If you’d like to get in touch with Allie, fill out the form below to send her an email.
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