NFL players face pressure as never before, in the digital-age surge of betting and fantasy

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:28 GMT

NFL players face pressure as never before, in the digital-age surge of betting and fantasy EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Alexander Mattison and the Minnesota Vikings had boarded the flight home after a tough loss earlier this season, when the fifth-year running back found dozens of hateful and racist messages directed toward him on social media.Criticism for the fumble he lost or his lack of rushing yards in the game? Fine. That comes with the job. But the trolling that night was so egregious that Mattison, after conferring with a trusted friend and fellow Black teammate, decided to push back and share some screen shots.“Under my helmet, I am a human, a father, a son,” Mattison posted on Instagram in his lament and challenge to the 60-plus users to reflect on their words and the harm they can inflict. “This is sick.”The intensity of NFL fandom that increased with the surge of fantasy football participation around the turn of the century has spiked further in the age of online betting. “When you used to lose, you would hear about it because of a fan’s loyalty to the team. They want ...

Kingston music strategy goes to city council

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:28 GMT

Kingston music strategy goes to city council At Tuesday’s meeting, Kingston city council will consider a strategy meant to support the city’s music community.It will call for the transfer of $200,000 in funds from the capital budget of the arts and culture services department to Tourism Kingston to support the implementation of the strategy.The strategy enlisted the consulting firm Nordicity to identify existing issues in the local music scene and make recommendations to support its growth and sustainability. The document is dense with a number of ideas that will be longer term goals, but an immediate step and one that is emphasized in the strategy is the creation of a Kingston Music Office and the appointment of a Music Officer. That person will in effect act as the middle-man between city hall and the music community and try to lend a perspective from the music community to city made decisions and events. Of the $200,000 proposed as an initial annual cost, $100,000-$150,000 is expected to be used for staffing. To...

Colorado Supreme Court blocks Trump from 2024 ballot

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:28 GMT

Colorado Supreme Court blocks Trump from 2024 ballot DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot, setting up a likely showdown in the nation’s highest court to decide whether the front-runner for the GOP nomination can remain in the race.The decision from a court whose justices were all appointed by Democratic governors marks the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.“A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” the court wrote in its 4-3 decision.Colorado’s highest court overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but said he could not be barred from the ballot because it wa...

Swatting closes Littleton mall on Tuesday

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:28 GMT

Swatting closes Littleton mall on Tuesday DENVER (KDVR) -- The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office responded to the Southwest Plaza Mall in Littleton at about noon on Tuesday for an alleged swatting incident.The mall was closed for approximately three hours as law enforcement searched the building, reopening just before 3 p.m. Deputies were posted at every entrance, and no one was allowed into the building while they searched. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies were joined by multiple jurisdictions, and six K-9s were deployed to search the mall. No threat was found.The sheriff's office told FOX31's Kim Posey that they had no reason to believe this was anything other than a swatting call.Swatting is the action of making a fake call to emergency services, usually with the intent of drawing a large emergency response, and often leading to a dangerous situation for individuals who are at the location and unaware of the impending police response.

Westminster teen accused of plans to fight with Islamic State group

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:28 GMT

Westminster teen accused of plans to fight with Islamic State group DENVER (KDVR) — A Westminster teen arrested at the airport on Monday is accused of planning to serve as a fighter for the Islamic State group, according to federal prosecutors.Humzah Mashkoor, 18, faces a federal charge of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Mashkoor was arrested on Dec. 18 at Denver International Airport, where he was traveling to the United Arab Emirates, allegedly with ultimate plans to join the Islamic State group in Afghanistan or Syria, the Justice Department said in a release.He made his first appearance in federal court on Tuesday.The FBI Denver Field Office is investigating the case.

Denver weather: More mild days before a chance for snow returns to Colorado

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:28 GMT

Denver weather: More mild days before a chance for snow returns to Colorado DENVER (KDVR) — Denver tied a record high temperature in Denver weather Tuesday, reaching 67 degrees to tie the old record set more than one hundred years ago in 1917. The area will stay mild through the end of the week with afternoon readings about 15 degrees above normal. The Pinpoint Weather Team, Colorado's Most Accurate Forecast, is closely watching the next chance for showers arriving by the holiday weekend. Details on exact timing, temperatures and possible snow totals will be worked out in the coming days.Rain and snow showers possible as the Christmas holiday approachesWeather tonight: Lots of clouds and coldThere will be lots of clouds streaming in from the West Coast that will make for a mostly cloudy night. Clouds at this time of year can act like a blanket making overnight lows not as cold. The coldest low will be in the Colorado mountains with single digits and teens. Denver will be chilly, but above freezing in the upper 30s. Denver ties Tuesday’s 106-year-old heat ...

Hit-and-run driver pins CDOT worker to vehicle on I-76

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:28 GMT

Hit-and-run driver pins CDOT worker to vehicle on I-76 DENVER (KDVR) — A hit-and-run driver crashed into a Colorado transportation worker on Monday along Interstate 76.According to Colorado State Patrol, it happened around 12:38 p.m. on westbound I-76 near the Interstate 270 off-ramp interchange. The crash was reported as a possible hit-and-run. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox The worker is a contractor for the Colorado Department of Transportation, CSP said.On Tuesday, CSP said the worker was standing on the side of a vehicle when a semi backed into an open door, pinning the worker between the closing door and the vehicle, CSP said. The truck driver then left the scene.CSP said state troopers later made contact with the trucker's company.CDOT closed the I-270 ramp for the investigation.

Colorado Supreme Court bans Trump from the state’s ballot under Constitution’s insurrection clause

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:28 GMT

Colorado Supreme Court bans Trump from the state’s ballot under Constitution’s insurrection clause DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot, setting up a likely showdown in the nation’s highest court to decide whether the front-runner for the GOP nomination can remain in the race.The decision from a court whose justices were all appointed by Democratic governors marks the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.“A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” the court wrote in its 4-3 decision.Colorado’s highest court overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but said he could not be barred from the ballot because it wa...

Elderly woman exploited by caretaker in South Florida

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:28 GMT

Elderly woman exploited by caretaker in South Florida A woman who was hired to take care of an elderly woman is facing several felony charges after, officials said, she financially exploited the woman for over $100,000.Officials with the State Attorney’s Office announced the charges during a press conference, Tuesday afternoon. Eighty-one-year-old Myriam Fernandez, officials said, fell prey to exploitation by her caretaker, 61-year-old Gladys Smith, who now faces three first-degree felonies, including the exploitation of the elderly and grand theft of over $100,000.“To scammers, these homes are like buried treasure, and like the pirates of the past, they work to unearth and steal that fortune,” said state attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle.Fernandez, who lives with an eye disease, found herself alone after losing her Florida driver’s license following a 2021 car accident. Smith, a former Broward County resident, befriended Fernandez, eventually becoming her caretaker. Due to Fernandez’s impaired vision, s...

Civil rights groups say Trump’s comments are ‘reminiscent’ of Hitler

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:56:28 GMT

Civil rights groups say Trump’s comments are ‘reminiscent’ of Hitler The League of United Latin American Citizens and the Anti-Defamation League accused former President Donald Trump of pandering to “the lowest and most sinister human emotions” after he told supporters migrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” at a campaign rally over the weekend.“Donald Trump’s remarks in recent days accusing immigrants of ‘poisoning the blood of America’ are reminiscent of the language of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime,” Domingo Garcia, national president of LULAC said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “Trump’s words very intentionally create hatred of the other and are nothing more than fear-mongering. They play to the lowest and most sinister human emotions to incite hatred and cause harm or worse to innocent men, women, and children.”It’s not the first time Trump’s comments have drawn the comparison. President Joe Biden’s campaign seized on the caustic rhetoric shortly after Trump wrapped his Saturday rally in Durham, New Hampshire.“Tonight Donald Trum...