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Some violent crime in Aurora on downward trend in 2023, despite violent weekend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:47:49 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Some violent crime in Aurora is on a downward trend so far this year, despite a violent weekend. That may sound surprising to some people, especially after four shootings over the weekend in Colorado's second-largest city. Was last weekend especially violent around Denver? Not quite Firearm-related murders and aggravated assaults peaked in February 2022 at 220, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. They’ve been trending down since then. In January of this year, the number dropped to 124. Murders are down 33% in Aurora during the first two months of this year compared to last year. Non-fatal shootings are down 12.8% during the same time period. But they are still at elevated levels that began in 2020.Repeat gunfire near family's backyardThose stats may sound good on paper, but not in Alexzandra Henderson’s backyard. There were two shootings near Henderson's home this past weekend. “It’s scary because I was sitting in the kitchen when I heard gun...

Everything to know about the men's NCAA basketball tournament in Denver

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:47:49 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The Mountain West Conference will host six games at Ball Arena for the first and second rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.The games will take place on Friday and Sunday in Denver. These teams will play in Denver for NCAA Tournament "I feel like we're always one of the top sports destinations in the country," said Matthew Payne, executive director of Denver Sports Commission.Payne estimated the city could see an economic impact between $4 million and $8 million."It's the magic of tourism. People outside of our region are coming into our city," Payne said.March 17 NCAA games at Ball ArenaHere is a look at the schedule of games for March 17:No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 14 UC Santa Barbara: 11:30 a.m.No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 11 NC State: 2 p.m.No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 14 Grand Canyon: 5:35 p.m.No. 6 TCU vs. No. 11 Arizona State or No. 11 Nevada: 8:05 p.m.NCAA tournament ticketsThe tickets are separated by sessions. There are three sessions that will take place at Bal...

Acqualina Resort offers unique beachfront dinner

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:47:49 GMT

Think about it: your lover, amazing views, and an amazing meal. It doesn’t get much better than that. That’s what awaits you at dinner in Acqualina Resort & Residences on the beach from March until April 1st.Did we mention you don’t have to be a guest or resident to get in on this sweet deal?The dinner menu offers a five-course meal experience that guarantees something for everyone. Only ten tables per evening and a maximum of ten guests per table which makes the experience very exclusive. FOR MORE INFO:acqualinaresort.com

NYC bike path terrorist to serve life in prison after jury fails to reach unanimous decision on death penalty

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:47:49 GMT

 (CNN) — A terrorist convicted of committing a 2017 attack for ISIS that killed eight on a New York City bike path will serve life in prison after a jury said Monday it could not reach a unanimous decision on the death penalty.Sayfullo Saipov effectively learned his sentence when the jury in the penalty phase of his trial in Manhattan federal court told a judge that it was unable to reach an undivided decision favoring the death penalty on any of the nine capital counts it was asked to consider.A unanimous decision would have been required to sentence Saipov to death in the first death penalty trial under the Biden administration. Absent the death penalty, the statutorily mandated sentence for the convictions is life in prison, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York said.US District Judge Vernon Broderick did not immediately impose the mandated sentence Monday, and said an official sentencing date will be scheduled.Broderick read the jur...

Column: Chicago Bears’ aggressive start to free agency has one common thread — young players entering their prime years

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:47:49 GMT

Ryan Poles wanted to pay Roquan Smith last summer — he just didn’t want to get to the $20 million annual salary the linebacker desired. So the Chicago Bears opened 2023 free agency by dropping even more money in the position.The Bears agreed to terms with three players Monday after the two-day negotiating window opened leading into the official start of free agency at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The headliner is Tremaine Edmunds, whom the Buffalo Bills drafted with the 16th pick in 2018 — eight slots after the Bears picked Smith.Edmunds figures to be the weak-side linebacker alongside new middle linebacker T.J. Edwards, who also agreed to terms. That makes Jack Sanborn a likely candidate to play on the strong side. The Bears also agreed to terms with guard Nate Davis, the first piece in a makeover of the offensive line.Poles has talked about being calculated in free agency, and the first three additions have at least one significant trait in common: All appear to be entering...

Boston cops involved in anti-vaccine-mandates push say they’ve been fired

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:47:49 GMT

Shana Cottone and Joe Abasciano, two Boston cops involved with the anti-vaccine-mandate push over the past year and a half, say they’ve been fired.Cottone, who had been a police sergeant, led the Boston First Responders Union, a group that started to push back on the employee  COVID-19 vaccine mandates that Mayor Michelle Wu put into place in December 2021.Those mandates ultimately never were enforced, but Cottone was placed on leave last January. After that, she and a small group of assorted protesters continued to dog Wu around the city, bullhorn-amplified chants of “shame on Wu” showing up at assorted public events that ranged from criticism of North End dining fees to press conferences of Mass and Cass.The mayor last year introduced legislation ultimately passed by the council that limits targeted demonstrations at people’s homes to daytime hours.Abasciano, a patrol officer, has been out on medical leave, but at one point was the subject of an investigati...

Malden Catholic returns to the Div. 2 state boys basketball final

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:47:49 GMT

WOBURN — Making consecutive trips to a title game isn’t easy.Yet Malden Catholic is back where they were 12 months ago.Nicholas Martinez and Matthew Gaffney registered 18 points apiece Monday, as the top-seeded Lancers overcame a 15-point deficit en route to punching a ticket to the Div. 2 boys basketball finals for a second straight season with a 66-54 victory over No. 5 Charlestown at Woburn Memorial High School.These two programs had previously met twice this season, with Malden Catholic (22-2) taking both contests (a 66-64 win on Dec. 13, followed by a 76-66 victory Feb. 14). However, for most of the first half Monday, Charlestown controlled the pace of play.After the Lancers opened the game by seizing a 7-2 lead, the Townies answered with a 13-0 scoring run of their own to jump ahead, 15-7.Then with 5:31 to play in the first half, sophomore Jaylin Crawford-Williams drilled a three-pointer to provide Charlestown its largest advantage of the night at 24-9.“They were ready to play...

Boston Police say white supremacists ‘on our radar’ if they show up at St. Patrick’s Day parade again

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:47:49 GMT

In the first of what officials claimed will be periodic public availabilities by police brass aimed at greater transparency, Boston’s top cop touted the city’s crime stats and warned both public drinkers and white supremacists who might be thinking of coming to this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox and Mayor Michelle Wu spoke to the press for about half an hour on Monday in police headquarters, taking multiple questions that focused on the upcoming Paddy’s Day parade, which is back to the full-length version that hasn’t been done since before the pandemic.“We’re very grateful to the Boston Police for taking on the additional staffing and resources and intense planning that’s required to return to a longer traditional route that does go by many more of these historical sites,” Wu said.Last year, the parade was notable for some unwelcome guests: a small group of white supremacists who sho...

Barney Frank bristles at FDIC, blames ‘crypto’ for bank takeover

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:47:49 GMT

Former fiery Bay State Congressman Barney Frank — the co-author of the Dodd-Frank landmark banking bill — reportedly tried to take some teeth out of the law.As a board member of Signature Bank, Frank sought to soften Dodd-Frank regs that former President Donald Trump actually accomplished in 2018 — a move Frank denied.Signature Bank has been taken over by the FDIC, the federal agency that insures bank deposits until the bank can be sold. The bank was closed just a day after the government did the same for Silicon Valley Bank.Frank — who has earned more than $2.4 million in compensation from Signature Bank since 2015, according to the Wall Street Journal — said Signature Bank will sell.“I believe they’re going to get a very good price,” Frank told the Associated Press, “proof that it was not a bank problem.”Frank, a Democrat who served in Congress from 1981 until 2013, co-authored the Dodd-Frank act that boosted government oversight of banks following th...

19-year old Red Sox prospect full of potential

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:47:49 GMT

He’s been called the right-handed version of Rafael Devers, and aspires to be like Ronald Acuña Jr.His name is Miguel Bleis, and he’s one of the most promising talents in the Red Sox organization.Signed out of the Dominican Republic in January 2021, Bleis was one of the top players available in that international signing class. A hard-hitting outfielder with a strong arm and serious speed, he’s already earning a rare baseball label:Five-tool player.“You don’t talk about five-tool players too often, but he is one of them,” Red Sox farm director Brian Abraham told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe last fall.Acuña is a role model for that reason, Bleis told Speier through Red Sox translator Carlos Villoria-Benitez.Bleis is the No. 4 prospect in the Red Sox organization and No. 93 in MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects. He’s in the top 100 at Baseball Prospectus (67) and Baseball America (88), Keith Law ranked him No. 72, and Kiley McDaniel put him at No. 95. Fa...