Author: reporter

Sean Payton did it. Can you believe it? As predicted, he sent tremors through the NFL draft with a shocking move. The most aggressive coach in the league, a man who called an onside kick in the Super Bowl and a fake punt in last January’s playoff game, made one of the most surprising picks Thursday. He stayed put at No. 20 and took a cornerback. Wait, what? The Broncos selected Texas star Jahdae Barron. They picked a defensive back with two running backs — North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton and Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson — on the board. They were…

Initial thoughts from the Nuggets’ Game 3 loss to the Clippers Thursday night at the Intuit Dome in the Western Conference playoffs. 1. Out of it at Intuit: The Clippers and their crowd displayed megawatts of energy. The Nuggets? Except for a hot start, they didn’t show enough juice to illuminate a light bulb. And to think, Nuggets interim coach David Adelman had the temerity to take the Clippers to task before Thursday night’s game at the Intuit Dome. “It’s like a high school crowd, which is actually really cool,” Adelman said. But he didn’t stop while he was ahead.…

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Michael Porter Jr. was playing at “20 or 30%” health in the Nuggets’ Game 3 loss to the Clippers on Thursday, leaving him uncertain whether it’s worth playing through his shoulder injury again in Game 4. “If I can go out there and feel more confident that I can help the team, then I’m gonna play,” he said. “But if it’s still in a place like it is today and I don’t feel like I can help the team at all, then there’s no point in trying to go out there.” Porter was held to seven points…

Jahdae Barron lamented missing a chance to connect with Pat Surtain II in recent days. The University of Texas cornerback had been playing phone tag with the Broncos’ reigning defensive player of the year and All-Pro cornerback in the leadup to the NFL draft, put in contact by a financial planner. Barron, though, didn’t miss the next call from the Front Range. The Broncos made him the No. 20 overall selection Thursday night in the first round of the NFL draft, adding him to an already strong defense and proving in the process that general manager George Paton and head…

By HOLLY RAMER and COLLIN BINKLEY, Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday blocked Trump administration directives that threatened to cut federal funding for public schools with diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the National Education Association and the American Civil Liberties Union, which accused the Republican administration of giving “unconstitutionally vague” guidance and violating teachers’ First Amendment rights. A second judge in Maryland on Thursday postponed the effective date of some U.S. Education Department anti-DEI guidance, and a third judge in Washington, D.C., blocked another provision from taking effect. In…

Fans of Australian dance-pop goddess Kylie Minogue are losing the second-to-last show on her Tension Tour — and her first-ever Denver concert — due to a basketball conflict. Minogue’s Tuesday, April 29, concert at Ball Arena has been scuttled in favor of the Denver Nuggets game against the L.A. Clippers. The Minogue concert, scheduled for 8 p.m., is making way for Game 5 of this year’s NBA playoffs, which starts at 7:30 p.m. Ticketmaster has updated the page for the show with the cancellation notice. “Unfortunately, the Event Organizer has had to cancel your event,” Ball Arena posted on its…

Colorado’s new statewide hotline to help students stay in school or return to the classroom after entering the criminal justice system launched this week. The online Justice Engaged Student Hotline aims to help students continue their education after they’ve been arrested or ticketed by assisting them with school credit recovery and re-enrolling into school, according to a news release. “We believe in the power of second chances and the importance of compassionate guidance,” said Wendy Loloff Cooper, chief executive officer of Generation Schools Network. “Beyond the cost of a human life, data shows it makes economic sense to get youths through…

By JANIE HAR SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in California on Thursday barred the Trump administration from denying or conditioning the use of federal funds to “sanctuary” jurisdictions, saying that portions of President Donald Trump’s executive orders were unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued the injunction sought by San Francisco and more than a dozen other municipalities that limit cooperation with federal immigration efforts. Orrick wrote that defendants are prohibited “from directly or indirectly taking any action to withhold, freeze, or condition federal funds” and the administration must provide written notice of his order to all federal…

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a ban on transgender people in the military, while legal challenges proceed. Without an order from the nation’s highest court, the ban could not take effect for many months, Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote, “a period far too long for the military to be forced to maintain a policy that it has determined, in its professional judgment, to be contrary to military readiness and the nation’s interests.” The high court filing follows a brief order from a federal appeals court…

On the second anniversary of a shooting at a Denver restaurant that left two people dead, police are still searching for a suspect. Anyone with information about the shooting that leads to an arrest is eligible for a cash reward of up to $32,600, according to the Denver Police Department. On April 24, 2023, Emerall Vaughn-Dahler and Ignacio “Nacho” Gutierrez Morales were shot and killed inside the American Elm restaurant in Denver’s Highland neighborhood. Police said their bodies were found inside the restaurant at West 38th and North Raleigh Street, which was closed for two weeks after the shooting. Both…