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Soundtrack of this year’s March Madness begins with ‘CLANK!’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:33 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Folks across the country watching the first-round of the NCAA Tournament last week thought it rightfully funny when they saw a couple of stadium workers scurry up a ladder and place a construction level across the rim.Turns out Iowa State players, puzzled by their shots clanking off the iron during pregame warmsups, were right: It wasn’t perfectly horizontal.The NCAA acknowledged later that “a minor adjustment” was made before the game, and the Cyclones were quick to say afterward that it had no bearing on their 59-41 loss to Pittsburgh. But whether the rim was physically off-center, or caused Iowa State to be mentally off-base, the result was unmistakable: The Cyclones trailed 22-2 to start the game, finished 23.3% from the floor and, perhaps most jaw-droppingly, were an abysmal 2 of 21 from 3-point range.“It just wasn’t going in,” Cyclones sharpshooter Gabe Kalscheur said. “Sometimes that happens.”From the 3-point line, it’s happening more...

Zebra runs loose in Seoul before being taken back to zoo

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:33 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A young zebra walked, trotted, and galloped for hours in the busy streets of South Korea’s capital before emergency workers tranquilized the animal and brought it back to a zoo. The zebra — a male named Sero that was born in the zoo in 2021 — was in stable condition and being examined by veterinarians as of Thursday evening, said Choi Ye-ra, an official at the Children’s Grand Park in Seoul.She said the zoo was investigating how the zebra managed to escape. She didn’t immediately confirm media reports that the animal partially destroyed the wooden fencing surrounding its pen before busting out around 2:50 p.m.Social media was flowing with smartphone videos of the zebra trotting alongside lines of cars that were waiting for the greenlight at an intersection, and galloping through a street surrounded by commercial buildings as pedestrians stopped and gasped.Police and emergency workers managed to corner the zebra after it entered a narrow alleyway between hou...

Review: Salvant’s jazz album is a captivating musical mix

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:33 GMT

“Mélusine,” Cécile McLorin Salvant (Nonesuch Records) Cécile McLorin Salvant’s musical vocabulary is a marvel, and not only because she sings in four languages on “Mélusine.” The ambitious concept album mixes original tunes and inventive interpretations of material dating back as far as the 12th century into a potpourri that draws from jazz, Broadway, the Caribbean and more. It’s true roots music. The album was inspired by a European fable involving a hunting accident, pivotal bathing scenes and a marriage that goes sour (spoiler alert: The wife turns into a dragon). It’s confusing but fascinating, like a dream about a dream. Somehow, despite the unwieldy scope of the 45-minute set, Salvant never hits a false note. Whether the words are in French, English, Occitan or Haitian Creole, she sings them beautifully, navigating tricky melodies with the ease of Ella Fitzgerald and a playfulness that enhances Salvant’s astute sense of theatricality. She’s equally convincing singing about the...

Should there be public transportation to Red Rocks?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:33 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- If you ask someone who isn't from Denver what they associate the city with, any music lover will instantly respond with Red Rocks. But what many people who haven't lived or visited here will not know is just how far the venue is from downtown.Red Rocks is currently slated to host nearly 150 concerts this year, with the season-opening on March 31 and running through mid-November. Full list of Red Rocks concerts for 2023 The iconic venue has a capacity of 9,525, which means there could be up to 1.4 million people attending concerts in 2023. All of those people will have to find a way to get there which can be especially daunting if you don't own a car or are trying to avoid driving.RTD offers train service from Union Station to Golden Station at the Jefferson County Government campus, but this still leaves you five miles away from the entrance to Red Rocks. Denver mayoral candidate Ean Thomas Tafoya has recently launched a petition to get RTD service from Golden Sta...

‘I was poisoned by Russian agents,’ Georgia’s ex-President Saakashvili says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:33 GMT

Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been detained by authorities in Tbilisi for over a year, suffering dramatic weight loss and severe ill health, told POLITICO he believed he was “poisoned by Russian agents.”The claim from the pro-Western politician forms part of a broader series of accusations about nefarious Russian influence. In particular, he insisted that Bidzina Ivanishvili, the oligarch founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, was acting under instruction from Moscow to “capture” the Georgian state. Although the vast majority of Georgians support closer ties with NATO and the EU, critics of Georgian Dream say the government has deliberately undermined a more westward political trajectory in order not to inflame relations with Russia. The Russian agents “infiltrated [the] Georgian security services,” Saakashvili said. “I remember vividly the day when poison was administered, I almost died.”“S...

Former lawmaker’s wife sentenced in theft of COVID-19 funds

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:33 GMT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — The wife of a now-former Connecticut state lawmaker was sentenced Thursday to six months in federal prison in connection with her role in the alleged theft of federal coronavirus relief funds from the city of West Haven.Lauren DiMassa, one of several people arrested with former state Rep. Michael DiMassa in the investigation, had pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.Federal prosecutors said the city of West Haven paid Lauren DiMassa, nearly $148,000 for services she never provided to the city. She and her husband were accused of submitting fraudulent invoices to the city for coronavirus-related services including youth violence prevention, but instead they used the money for their own benefit, prosecutors said.“I am embarrassed and appalled at my own actions and simply wish to pay my debts and live out a quiet life with my family,” she wrote in a letter of apology to the judge.Judge Omar Williams ordered Lauren DiMassa to report to prison on May 23. He a...

Hot Property: Beacon Hill beauty delivers luxury

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:33 GMT

High-end and ultra high-end buildings are no longer a novelty in Boston.That is, anywhere except for Beacon Hill, where there are luxury residences aplenty but luxury buildings with all the trimmings? Not so much.Enter The Archer and its 62 unique residences. Located at 45 Temple Street, the mid-rise building is so prime Beacon Hill, you can gaze out to the State House’s gold dome and manicured courtyard from the building’s shared roof deck.Among the units currently available, unit 409 is an impeccably styled, single-level four-bedroom, 2,958 square-foot condominium. Perched on the fourth floor with views rising above charming rooftops, the condo boasts dramatic 16-foot ceilings. Coupled with floor-to-ceiling paned windows in the living room and an open floor plan that includes a Wolf and Sub-Zero clad kitchen, the end result is a refined, loft-like atmosphere.Two parking spaces are available in the on-site garage, with valet parking, naturally.On top of the roof deck — not literall...

Stocks rise, claw back some of the prior day’s steep loss

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:33 GMT

By STAN CHOE (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are clawing back some of their steep losses from a day before, when markets tumbled into the close.The S&P 500 was 0.6% higher in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 146 points, or 0.5%, at 32,181 as of 2:18 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.3% higher. A day earlier, stocks fell sharply after the Federal Reserve indicated that while the end may be near for its market-rattling hikes to interest rates, it still doesn’t expect to cut rates this year. Markets lost momentum after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that, along with an insistence that it could keep raising rates if inflation stays high. But traders on Thursday were still largely betting the Fed will cut rates later this year. Such cuts can act like steroids for markets, juicing prices for stocks, bonds and other investments. They would relax the pressure on the economy, but they could also give inflation more fuel. B...

East High shooting suspect died by suicide, DA says; leaders vow to put police back in schools

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:33 GMT

The suicide of suspected Denver East High School shooter Austin Lyle and the declaration by Denver Public Schools’ superintendent that police officers will be put back in schools reverberated Thursday with the city’s top law enforcer vowing aggressive prosecution of juveniles involved in violence.Denver District Attorney Beth McCann also called on Colorado lawmakers to pass stricter gun control as demanded by East High students who recently walked out of class and testified in the state capitol. Scores of students and parents rallied again at the Capitol Thursday demanding stricter gun control.McCann called DPS superintendent Alex Marrero’s decision “a courageous and necessary step,” urging DPS school board support.“I know the city of Denver is mourning after yesterday’s shooting at East High School and the subsequent suicide of the troubled young man who committed the shooting,” McCann said in a statement issued Thursday morning as DPS offi...

NHL team won’t wear Pride jerseys, citing new Russian law

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:33 GMT

CHICAGO — At least one National Hockey League team with a Russian player has decided against wearing special warmup jerseys to commemorate Pride night, citing an anti-gay Kremlin law that could imperil Russian athletes when they return home.The Chicago Blackhawks will not wear Pride-themed warmup jerseys before Sunday’s game against Vancouver, a person with knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press, because of security concerns involving the law Russian President Vladimir Putin signed in December to expand restrictions on supporting LGBTQ rights.The decision was made by the Blackhawks following discussions with security officials within and outside the franchise, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke to the AP on Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the move.Chicago coach Luke Richardson said he and his players were disappointed in the decision.“It’s an unfortunate situation, but that’s just wha...