Author: reporter

After losing his first chance at the UFC flyweight belt in a unanimous decision to Alexandre Pantoja in December, Denver’s Brandon Royval rolled the dice to get himself back to another title fight. Royval took on renowned Mexican fighter Brandon Moreno on Saturday in Mexico City, winning by split decision. Now, he wants another crack at Pantoja at UFC 301 on May 4 in the champion’s native Rio de Janeiro. “I feel like I did everything to make that happen,” Royval said. “I just took out the No.1 contender on short notice in his home county. The odds were against…

One’s a born fibber, the other’s deluded. Sean Payton and Russell Wilson deserve each other, don’t they? Two tail ends of a pantomime horse, bound by Walmart money, galloping in opposite directions until the seams split. Alas, the laws of physics decree that two planets of that much ego, spinning their narratives like a Cal Quantrill splitter, can’t survive in the same space for long. We’re down to the final few weeks now, in all likelihood, as Payton, the Broncos’ coach, secretly cwosses days off the calendar the way Elmer Fudd did just before Wabbit Season. The lawyers drew up…

Colorado’s attorney general is forcing a national anesthesiology practice with private-equity ownership to sever contracts with five hospitals in the state because it created a monopoly in the Denver and Durango markets, forcing patients and their insurance companies to pay higher prices to be sedated during surgeries. A settlement between the attorney general’s office and U.S. Anesthesiology Partners, filed late Monday afternoon in Denver District Court, also will loosen the company’s stranglehold on its Colorado employees by requiring it to dissolve non-compete agreements that prevent doctors from switching to new practices. And the company, known as USAP, will pay a…

By JUAN A. LOZANO (Associated Press) HOUSTON (AP) — The gunfire that shattered the calm at pastor Joel Osteen’s megachurch in Houston only lasted about four minutes. But surveillance video and police body camera footage released Monday, more than two weeks after the Feb. 11 shooting at Lakewood Church, showed the terror of the brief attack: Parishioners scattering, searching for safety in rooms and hallways. Officers drawing guns and taking cover behind walls. And the shooter’s 7-year-old son covering his ears during the chaos, and moments later laying on the floor after being shot and wounded. “Put the weapon down,…

Colorado’s Aaronette Vonleh, center, tries to dribble past the UCLA defense during a women’s basketball game at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. (University of Colorado Athletics) Fast break Why the Buffs lost: Despite playing good defense all night, the Buffs could never sustain any rhythm offensively. They finished with a season low in points and their lowest field goal percentage (.286) in over a year. Three stars: 1. UCLA’s Kiki Rice: The Bruins’ point guard had a game-high 20 points, along with nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals. 2. UCLA’s Charisma Osborne:…

Colorado lawmakers are getting into the meat of the legislative session as we near the March midpoint of the 120-day session, and committees are in full swing. Bills are passing their first chambers, too, and crossing the hall. The first of this year’s land-use bills — a measure to ban occupancy limits — has already cleared the House, as has a bill to provide more displacement protections for at-risk tenants. On Monday morning, the House was set to pass two bills allowing transgender people and others to more easily use names that fit their gender identities, after a tense debate…

SAN FRANCISCO — The cartoonish Defensive Player of the Game chain is objectively the Nuggets’ corniest tradition, a blinged-up symbol of morale and affirmation usually reserved for college football sidelines rather than NBA locker rooms. If it seems one is too many, brace for impact. “We only travel with one. We’ve gotta change that,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after a 119-103 win over the Warriors on Sunday. “Because if we had two chains, Nikola would have gotten the other one.” The lone chain couldn’t belong to anyone but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for his dogged efforts in trying to out-cardio Steph…

After a delayed launch that set the timeline back by months, the overhauled Free Application for Federal Student Aid is off to a complicated start. The FAFSA, which typically opens in October, didn’t become available until Dec. 31, after the government revised the form and changed the formula for student aid in an attempt to make it easier to file. And the new form was hard to access for several weeks. The changes created a tighter timeline for students, especially those filing for financial aid for the first time, and a time crunch for colleges, which won’t get student information…

The days of White House hopefuls crisscrossing Colorado during primary season seem like a distant memory this year, with a visit to the state Tuesday by Republican Nikki Haley marking the rare appearance by a candidate ahead of the March 5 contest. Four years ago, Colorado voters could have seen a wide array of Democratic contenders in the flesh in the weeks leading up to the March 2020 primary, including Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, Mike Bloomberg and Tulsi Gabbard, while Joe Biden hit up donors in Denver. Several campaigns had paid staff on the ground here…

The Federal Trade Commission sued to block a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, saying the $24.6 billion deal would eliminate competition and lead to higher prices for millions of Americans. The FTC filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Oregon on Monday. It was joined in the suit by the attorneys general of eight states and the District of Columbia. Kroger and Albertsons, two of the nation’s largest grocers, agreed to merge in October 2022. The companies said a merger would help them better compete with Walmart, Amazon, Costco and other big rivals. Together, Kroger and…