VERDICT HANDED DOWN IN THEATER MASSACRE CIVIL SUIT
CENTENNIAL(AP) – The Latest on a lawsuit against the owner of a Colorado movie theater where 12 were killed (all times local):
11:40 a.m.
A jury has found the owner of a Colorado movie theater is not liable for a 2012 shooting that left 12 dead after victims argued that lax security allowed for the rampage. The six jurors concluded Thursday that Cinemark, the nation’s third-largest movie theater chain, couldn’t have prevented James Holmes’ meticulously planned attack. Several survivors and families of the dead had sued the suburban Denver theater, saying it lacked armed guards during the crowded midnight premiere of a Batman movie. There also was no silent alarm that would have sounded when Holmes slipped into an auditorium and started shooting. They say Cinemark should have foreseen the possibility of violence at the summer blockbuster. Cinemark attorneys said guards weren’t needed at a theater with no history of serious violence.
BANKRUPT COLORADO ENERGY COMPANY TRYING TO SURVIVE
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS (AP) – Officials with Peabody Energy say they hope additional financing will help them maintain operations at the Twentymile Mine in Routt County amid bankruptcy proceedings. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Missouri on Tuesday approved $800 million in financing for Peabody, which is restructuring $6.2 billion in debt it could no longer make payments on.
MEDIOCRE REGIONAL ECONOMIC FORECAST
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Monthly survey of bankers suggests the economy remains sluggish in rural areas of 10 Western and Plains states. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says weak crop prices and farm values are weighing on the economy in the region. And farmers aren’t making many big equipment purchases.
