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Undefeated DU women’s lacrosse not satisfied with Cinderella ride to first Final Four: Pioneers “love the doubters, and we love proving them wrong”

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

As the Nuggets waded through a sea of disrespect to get into their first NBA Finals, the DU women’s lacrosse team did the same en route to their first berth in the NCAA Division I Final Four.The Pioneers, like the Nuggets, are the Rocky Mountain team everybody refused to give the proper due… until the Pios went out and grabbed it for themselves with a 5-4 upset of defending champion North Carolina in the Elite Eight last week in Chapel Hill.Now in the Final Four as the nation’s last undefeated team left, No. 5 DU takes on No. 1 Northwestern on Friday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., with a spot in the national title game on the line.Lacrosse’s East Coast old guard might argue DU’s Cinderella story has to end there. But the Pioneers are determined to match the 2015 feat of the DU men as the first western women’s lacrosse program to win a national title, despite not garnering much respect in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches As...

Rockies Mailbag: What’s Charlie Blackmon’s future? Who will televise Rox games in 2024?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.Pose a Rockies — or MLB — related question for the Rockies Mailbag.Where do you see Charlie Blackmon next year?— Mark Newton, Grand JunctionMark, I honestly don’t know but don’t think he’ll be playing for the Rockies.As I’m sure you’re aware, Blackmon is in the final year of his six-year, $108 million contract. If he was having a great year, I could see Colorado trading him to a contending team this summer, as long as Blackmon was open to it. But right now, Blackmon is not producing at a high enough level to draw much trade interest.Blackmon has not said that he’s thinking about retirement, but he’ll turn 37 on July 1, and he and his wife, Ashley, have two young kids, so retirement is certainly a possibility.When I asked Blackmon in January if this was his final season, he said: “I think about everything, but I don’t really w...

Opinion: Tuberville should worry less about Colorado’s “abortion tourism” and more about Alabama’s abysmal outcomes for women and children

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

If Tommy Tuberville, aka “Coach,” wants to prevent members of the U.S. military from having abortions in Colorado, he’ll have to become a constituent and vote here against our safe-haven abortion policies. Until then, the senator from Alabama will just have to live with the fact that he can’t control the reproductive choices of women in the U.S. military.But Tuberville is prepared to die on this hill. Citing his disgust at the Department of Defense’s “abortion tourism,” Tuberville has been refusing for months to allow the U.S. Senate to process more than 200 promotions of Pentagon leaders both civilian and enlisted.Alabama should be barred from future consideration of base expansions by the Department of Defense for this stunt. If members of the U.S. military aren’t trusted by a state’s leaders to make their own family planning and health care decisions, then the federal government should not trust those states with hosting our m...

Kurtenbach: The 49ers have the best kind of quarterback problem

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers quarterback situation is a mess.A good mess, yes, but a mess nonetheless.The incumbent starter, Brock Purdy, is coming off a serious elbow injury, while last season’s Week 1 starter, Trey Lance, is coming off a serious ankle injury. The new guy — former No. 3 overall pick Sam Darnold — is coming off stints with the Jets and Panthers, which must have been pretty gruesome, psychologically.All three have the talent to be the starter in Week 1. All three carry themselves like they will be the starter in Week 1.And while only two — Darnold and Lance — are practicing at the beginning of the Niners’ off-season training program, the fact that all three spoke at the Levi’s Stadium dais on Tuesday is a clear sign that the period between now and that Week 1 game in Pittsburgh will be all about who will be the starting quarterback.At the start of every season, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan says there will be a competition for the top quarterback job.This s...

Opinion: Smartphones take a toll on teens. What choice do parents have?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

:We can’t keep ignoring social media’s harmful effects on the mental health of young people.Across the world, regardless of skin color or language, people are suffering from mental health problems that are linked to the age at which they got their first smartphone or tablet, according to a new report from Sapien Labs. The nonprofit organization, which has a database of more than a million people in dozens of countries, found that the younger that people were when they got their first smartphone or tablet, the more likely they were to have mental health challenges as adults, including suicidal thoughts, a sense of being detached from reality and feelings of aggression toward others.The effects were most pronounced among girls, who spend more time on social media than boys do. The harm of the devices seems to be rooted in the 24/7 access they provide to social media.The longer that parents wait to give children portable digital devices, the better. Respondents who got thei...

Target pulls some LGBTQ+ merchandise ahead of June Pride month after backlash from some shoppers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO | Associated PressNEW YORK — Target is removing certain items from its stores and making other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month, after an intense backlash from some customers including violent confrontations with its workers.“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement Tuesday. ”Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”Target declined to say which items it was removing but among the ones that garnered the most attention were “tuck friendly” women’s swimsuits that allow trans women who have not had gender-affirming operations to conceal their private parts. Designs by Abprallen, a London-based company that designs and sells occult- and satanic-themed LGBTQ+ clothing and ...

Two accused shooters appear in court to face charges from fatal mass shooting in Northern California

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

OROVILLE — Two men entered Butte County Superior Court to face charges of murder and attempted murder stemming from a drive-by shooting early May 6 in Chico that drew national attention.Oscar Sebastian Castrejon-Sanchez, 18, of Chico, and his cousin Marcos Tiny Douglas-Ayala, 21, of Hamilton City, were charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder Monday. They’re accused of involvement in a gang-related shooting at an apartment complex in the 1000 block of Columbus Avenue, near Chico State.Douglas-Ayala (Butte County District Attorney’s Office/Contributed)Castrejon-Sanchez (Butte County District Attorney’s Office/Contributed)Show Caption of ExpandBoth men also face additional charges of assault with a firearm, and Castrejon-Sanchez faces numerous firearms enhancements on his charges. The judge at Monday’s arraignment ordered both Castrejon-Sanchez and Douglas-Ayala held without bail, citing public safety concerns.They will next appear in court at 8...

Opinion: A President Kamala Harris might even be good for our republic

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

If an increasingly possible scenario develops — a 2024 rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump—age will be an issue. But not just Biden’s.Certainly, Biden is advanced in years. On Election Day 2024, he will be 81.But Trump will be 78. And while Biden is trim, athletic and a reasonably responsible eater, Trump is overweight, exercise-averse and devoted to fried chicken and cheeseburgers. Imagine either of these men as president in 2025 and speculate on which one is more likely to live through a four-year term. It’s hard to say.Therefore the vice presidential choice for both candidates is more important than usual.The only thing certain about Trump’s running mate is that it won’t be his insufficiently loyal former vice president, Mike Pence, who appears to be mounting a weak run against Trump. Reportedly Marjorie Taylor Greene is a possibility as a running mate, as is Kari Lake, who refuses to concede her defeat in the race for Arizona’s governorship.Both...

California school investigating substitute teacher seen on video using the N-word

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

Temecula Valley schools are investigating after a substitute teacher was captured on video using the N-word in a middle school classroom.The video shows him sitting at a desk and in a conversation with students at Bella Vista Middle School near Murrieta. The substitute discusses use of the word “negroes,” and says that using that word is OK. He says “the word that people don’t like is …” before saying the N-word.The man then says the slur a few times as students react with laughter and what appears to be shock. The video appears edited, with parts not being continuous. Also, children’s faces are digitally obscured.James Evans, Temecula Valley Unified School District spokesperson, said in an email Monday, May 22, that the district learned of the video Thursday, May 18, and immediately blocked the substitute from working at any of its schools.“The District does not tolerate the use of racial slurs … the District will appropriately investigate this matter and take all appropriate measu...

California board orders LA County to close juvenile halls within 60 days

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:32 GMT

A California regulatory board has ordered Los Angeles County to remove 275 youths from its troubled juvenile halls in Sylmar and Boyle Heights by the end of July.The Board of State and Community Corrections voted Tuesday, May 23, to declare the Barry J. Nidorf and Central juvenile halls “unsuitable.” Such a declaration gives the county 60 days to empty the halls of all “pre-disposition youths,” a category that covers juvenile detainees who have not been sentenced.At the meeting, county officials asked the board to delay the decision and to instead give them 150 days to implement a plan to consolidate their staff and youths to a soon-to-be reopened Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, but the board members declined that option, saying the proposal was “too little, too late.”The county promised sweeping reforms when the BSCC declared the same halls unsuitable more than a year ago, and yet the facilities, which narrowly avoided a shutdown at that time, are now once again out of compli...