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Hundreds protest in wake of Ralph Yarl shooting, leaders call for hate crime charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:24 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Hundreds of protesters gathered for a rally outside Kansas City's Federal Courthouse just hours after the suspected shooter of a teenager was released on bond.The protest in the wake of the shooting of Ralph Yarl, 16, was peaceful, but they hoped to send a strong message. As teen recovers, Ralph Yarl’s mother, attorney still want answers "Black Lives Matter, "Black Lives Matter," protesters chanted as they marched to KCPD Headquarters voicing their concerns about the handling of the shooting investigation of Yarl. Andrew Lester, 84, was charged Monday with two felony counts, four days after the shooting."As a mother of four I was deeply disturbed how police could allow that question him for just two hours and release him knowing that any of us had done that we'd ever be released from jail," Jalisa Davis said.The protest was planned before Lester turned himself in, but took place a short time after he bonded out paying 10% of a $200,000 bond."You tried to kill th...

Bluey and friends coming to St. Louis this summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:24 GMT

ST. LOUIS — Bluey is coming to the Fabulous Fox Theater on Saturday, June 17. Bluey is a cartoon Australian Cattle Dog, also known as a "Blue Heeler," who stars in a kid show named after her. She has a mom, a dad, and a little sister named Bingo. The show will feature Bluey and Bingo trying to get their father to play, despite Dad wanting to take a timeout on that particular Sunday. This is the first time Bluey will be on stage. Tickets are on sale at the Fabulous Fox. Shows are from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Colorado free speech fight over legal definition of “true threat” goes before U.S. Supreme Court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:24 GMT

A Colorado free speech case that went before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday could shift the boundaries of what is considered protected by the First Amendment and what qualifies as an illegal threat across the country.Billy Counterman, a man convicted of stalking a Colorado musician, is challenging his conviction on the grounds his unsolicited and unwelcome social media messages were protected free speech.At stake is the legal definition of a “true threat” — a threat of violence that is not protected by the First Amendment. Currently, the definition varies by state. Some states require judges and jurors to consider the speaker’s state of mind and intent when a threat was made. But other states, including Colorado, consider only the impact of the threat on a “reasonable person,” not the threat-maker’s intent.“The only issue before us is, are we going to approve of a pure negligence standard that doesn’t take into account any of the intentions of the speake...

Longmont business appeared on “Shark Tank,” and orders came flying in

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:24 GMT

A Longmont family business pitched their products to an international audience last week in an episode of TV series “Shark Tank.”Kendra Bennett of Honey Bunchie LLC, which sells handmade snack bars, took to the stage in the hopes of swaying investors. Although she walked away without celebrity investments, the company – which is 50% woman-owned and 50% veteran-owned – succeeded in catching the eye of viewers.When the episode aired on Friday, their family gathered to watch it, monitoring their online traffic all the while. At its peak, under 10,000 people clicked on their website at one time, with orders flying in.“We were able to watch in real time the effect of ‘Shark Tank,’ and it was unbelievable,” Bennett said. “We were jumping up and down, screaming.”Their team is quickly growing, as 1,200 locations – predominantly in Colorado – sell Honey Bunchies. Popular retailers include Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, King Soopers and City Mark...

The Wonder Academy preschool to close in downtown Denver after landlord sells property to developer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:24 GMT

Parents with kids attending The Wonder Academy in downtown Denver recently learned the childcare facility will permanently close on July 28.“Early last week, the owner sent a message to all the parents, I think she had received news very shortly before she sent it to us, that the landlord had decided to sell the property to a developer. And therefore, we were being given notice to vacate the facility,” said Philippe Carpin, a parent of two children who attend The Wonder Academy.Carpin said the owner was told to vacate the property within 30 days but was able to get an extension until the end of July.“Very upset. Very upset. It takes a lot of effort, you know, to get into a daycare… so upset and sadness for the entire staff, you know. There’s about 30 people that work here. They’re all being affected,” Carpin said.Many parents said they were on the waiting list for about a year before being able to secure a spot for their child.Related ArticlesEducation | ...

Nuggets’ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope relishes matchup vs. “little brother” Anthony Edwards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:24 GMT

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope knew all along that Anthony Edwards was going to be the top pick in the 2020 draft.Both Georgia Bulldogs, Caldwell-Pope saw something special in the burly 6-foot-4 guard about the same time the Timberwolves did.“I knew the season that he had at Georgia and then even the SEC tournament that he had, I knew then he was going to be the number one pick,” Caldwell-Pope told The Denver Post.In this best-of-seven first-round series, where Denver will try and stake a 2-0 lead Wednesday night, Caldwell-Pope has drawn the defensive assignment on Edwards. On one hand, it’s a natural matchup between two physical, aggressive players in the backcourt. On the other, the two share a close friendship.They talk often on the phone, hitting subjects like family, shared roots and Georgia. But during a playoff series, it’s church and state. There’s no institutional basketball knowledge exchanged between the two.“I mean, we’re friends outside of basketball, we’re from the same town...

Maine shooting suspect was recently released from prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:24 GMT

By PATRICK WHITTLE and DAVID SHARP (Associated Press)BOWDOIN, Maine (AP) — A Maine man who police say killed four people in a home and then shot three others randomly on a busy highway had been released days earlier from prison, where he had been serving time for a probation violation, a state official said Wednesday.Joseph Eaton, 34, was released Friday from the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, where he had been sentenced in March 2021, said Anna Black, director of governmental affairs for the Maine Department of Corrections.State records also show that Eaton carried with him a criminal history that should have prevented him from legally possessing a gun.The shootings in Maine began in the small town of Bowdoin, where four people were killed Tuesday. Then a chaotic scene developed in which shots were fired at vehicles on an interstate highway over 20 miles away in the community of Yarmouth, police said. Three people were shot there, and one remained in critical condition...

SF Giants place Alex Wood on injured list; how will they fill his rotation spot?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:24 GMT

MIAMI — If there was one bright spot in the Giants’ loss Tuesday night, it had to be the seven outs recorded by Ross Stripling. After three tough outings to begin the season, Stripling turned in his first clean outing in a Giants uniform, and he will become only more important over the next two-plus weeks.Barring “something unforeseen,” Stripling will fill the rotation spot vacated by Alex Wood, who was placed on the 15-day injured list after straining his left hamstring fielding a bunt in the third inning Tuesday night, manager Gabe Kapler said before Wednesday’s series finale against the Marlins.Despite surrendering six home runs and posting a 9.00 ERA in his first three appearances, Kapler said he has “a ton of confidence” in the 33-year-old right-hander, one of two starting pitching additions, along with Sean Manaea, who both signed two-year, $25 million free-agent contracts this past winter.“I’m very confident that we’re going to look b...

Controversial statue in downtown San Jose will be gone by May

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:24 GMT

San Jose is finally preparing to remove a divisive statue downtown almost a year and a half after a decision was made to take it down.The controversial Thomas Fallon statue on St. James Street is expected to be dismantled by May 4 —  the result of a decadeslong effort from those who consider it a symbol of American imperialism and the persecution of Mexican and indigenous community members. City officials said that the 16-foot-tall, 12,000-pound bronze statue will be placed in storage — and cost $450,000 to dismantle.The artwork, which depicts the former San Jose mayor and captain in the Mexican-American war on horseback raising the American flag, is worth $6,000. City officials said there are currently no plans for another piece of art at the location — and the spot will be replaced with a traffic median.“As we observe April as Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month, today’s start of the Fallon statue removal is a powerful statement that the era of the Amer...

Los Gatos revokes commissioner’s censure over ‘rich, white, anti-housing men’ comments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:24 GMT

Los Gatos Town Council voted Tuesday to revoke its censure of a planning commissioner after the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to sue the town for violating that commissioner’s First Amendment rights.Mayor Maria Ristow said at the meeting that the council did not consider Commissioner Kylie Clark’s right to free speech when choosing her punishment.“The process by which we came to the censure was not the smoothest, and we already know we need to look at our process,” Ristow said. “I really do think that the censure was too strong, but it’s where the council landed. The ACLU made a good point that we trampled the First Amendment rights of one of our residents.”The council voted to censure Clark on Feb. 15 after several residents complained that an email she wrote to the state, blaming “rich, white, anti-housing men” for thwarting future housing development in town, was racist against White people.The case caught the attention of the Northern California chapter of the ACLU, ...