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Denver Zoo welcomes new Amur tiger, Viktor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:54 GMT

A new face will soon be making appearances at the Denver Zoo.Viktor, a 12-year-old Amur tiger, will soon make Denver his home after leaving the Roosevelt Park Zoo in North Dakota on a species survival breeding recommendation, the Denver Zoo announced in a Facebook post.Once he settles into his surroundings, he will be introduced to Nikita, Denver’s 13-year-old female Amur tiger.Viktor has fathered cubs at the Roosevelt Park Zoo, and Denver’s animal care specialists are looking forward to the possibility of more cubs here to contribute to their endangered species.While Nikita and Viktor will be introduced for breeding when the time is right, they will live separately and rotate between spaces in the zoo’s tiger habitat, The Edge.Related ArticlesOutdoors | Things to do this weekend: Lil Yachty at the Fillmore, sea monsters at the Denver Zoo Outdoors | Tobias, leader of Denver Zoo’s African lion pride, euthanized after severe infection...

Denver to open additional overnight shelters during upcoming frigid weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:54 GMT

Two additional overnight shelters are scheduled to open this weekend ahead of a winter storm that is expected to bring freezing overnight temperatures.The city activated its Cold Weather Shelter plan, opening the ballroom in the former Best Western hotel, 4595 Quebec St., and the Denver Coliseum, 4600 Humboldt St., as overnight shelters for Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights.Both shelters will be open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. all three days.Individuals in need of shelter should be referred to the city’s “front door” shelter access points (denvergov.org/findshelter), which are also expanding their capacity for the cold weather. If those facilities reach capacity, they will refer people to St. Francis Center, 2323 Curtis St., for transportation between 6 and 9 p.m. each night to the Best Western and the Coliseum.After 9 p.m., individuals should be referred directly to the Coliseum.Families in need of shelter should call the Connection Center at 303-295-3366.In addition to the overnight s...

Aurora firefighters work 2-alarm fire at restaurant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:54 GMT

Aurora firefighters worked on a 2-alarm fire at a restaurant in southeast Aurora on Friday.Initial arrival crews had a large fire with black smock coming from the back of a restaurant.Fire crews have brought the fire under control, and are beginning to overhaul/look for hot spots.Thankfully, no reports of injuries at this time. Fire is under investigation.— Aurora Fire Rescue (@AuroraFireDpt) October 27, 2023The fire was in the back of a restaurant in the area of Gartrell Road and E470, Aurora Fire Rescue said in a post on X. Black smoke could be seen coming out of the restaurant when crews arrived.The fire is under control, and no injuries were reported.Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.

I-76 eastbound reopened near Henderson after crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:54 GMT

Interstate 76 eastbound has reopened at 96th Avenue after a crash.#I76 eastbound: Road closed due to a crash at 96th Avenue. https://t.co/N5B2wIZ7cH— Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) (@ColoradoDOT) October 27, 2023Traffic had been diverted onto 96th Avenue, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s traffic cameras.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Both directions of I-25 near Pueblo reopen after deadly train derailment Crime and Public Safety | I-70 eastbound in Eagle reopened after crash Crime and Public Safety | 100 gallons of fuel spill on I-76 ramp Crime and Public Safety | I-76 west reopened north of Commerce City after crash Crime and Public Safety | Colo. 93 in Arvada reopened after “serious injury” crash Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.

Authorities arrest 2 men in connection with dead body found in barrel in Malibu; 1 connected to shirtless El Monte smash-and-grab 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:54 GMT

Almost three months after a dead body was found in a barrel in Malibu Lagoon State Beach, law enforcement officials have announced the arrest of two men who may be linked to the murder. The body of 32-year-old Javonnta Murphy was found on July 31 floating in a 55-gallon drum in shallow waters near the Malibu Lagoon State Beach by a lifeguard investigating the floating barrel. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department began an investigation and found that Murphy’s body had not been in the barrel for long before it was discovered, and that due to high tide, it was possible that the current had carried the barrel into the lagoon from the ocean. Investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are continuing to work to find out the identity of the man found dead inside a 55-gallon drum in Malibu Lagoon on July 31, 2023. (KTLA)After LASD continued their investigation, they were able to identify two suspects: Joshua Lee Simmons, 37, and Dennis Vance, 41. They were each arr...

Parents outraged after video shows son being hazed in high school locker room

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:54 GMT

In a brief but disturbing video, a football player at Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga begs for mercy and struggles to escape as a larger classmate whips him with a belt.Now, the child’s parents are demanding action and accountability.The hazing incident purportedly took place on Oct. 11 inside the boys' locker room and involved several football players.“One of the kids comes behind him and starts choke-holding him,” the victim’s mother, Cassandra, told KTLA’s Chip Yost on Friday. “My son is trying to get himself free and he’s yelling 'Stop! Stop! No! Stop!' and the other boy is whipping him with a belt.” The video quickly circulated throughout the school. However, Cassandra, who didn’t want her last name shared, said she and her husband didn’t learn about it until nine days later.Video shows two football players hazing a third inside the Los Osos High School boys' locker room. October 2023. Initially, Cassandra says her 16-year-old son got in trouble for the incident a...

Cruise, GM's robotaxi service, suspends all driverless operations nationwide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Cruise, the autonomous vehicle unit owned by General Motors, is suspending driverless operations nationwide days after regulators in California found that its driverless cars posed a danger to public safety. The California Department of Motor Vehicles this week revoked the license for Cruise, which recently began transporting passengers throughout San Francisco.Cruise is also being investigated by U.S. regulators after receiving reports of potential risks to pedestrians and passengers.“We have decided to proactively pause driverless operations across all of our fleets while we take time to examine our processes, systems, and tools and reflect on how we can better operate in a way that will earn public trust,” Cruise wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Thursday night.The choice to suspend its driverless services isn't related to any new on-road incidents, Cruise added. Human-supervised operations of Cruise's autonomous vehicles, or AVs, will continue —...

Live Updates | Authorities have ID'd all Maine shooting victims, who ranged in age from 14 to 76

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:54 GMT

Eighteen people were killed in shootings at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday night, sparking a massive search for the suspect. On Friday, investigators continued to work at the two shooting scenes and divers joined the effort along the Androscoggin River, near where the suspect’s car was found. Follow for live updates.WHAT TO KNOW— Here’s what we know about the suspect and where the shooting happened.— Family members confirmed the deaths of the shooting victims. — Social media posts spread an incorrect photo of the Maine suspect.— Maine passed a law to try to prevent mass shootings, but some say more is needed.— The shooting is the 36th mass killing in the United States this year.AUTHORITIES HAVE IDENTIFIED ALL 18 PEOPLE KILLED IN MAINEAll 18 of the people who died in a mass shooting in Maine have been identified, according to the state medical examinerThe 16 males and two females killed Wednesday night ranged in age from 14 to 76, the medical examin...

Veteran Oakland firefighter named new chief of city’s fire department

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:54 GMT

OAKLAND — Damon Covington, a highly respected Oakland firefighter for 24 years, was named Oakland’s next permanent fire chief by Mayor Sheng Thao and City Administrator Jestin Johnson, the city announced on Friday.Covington, 50, has been the interim fire chief since June 2023. He assumed the position following the retirement of Reginald Freeman, who served as chief less than two years after coming from Hartford, Connecticut.In announcing the appointment, Mayor Thao said: “I am thrilled that Chief Covington has accepted this important appointment to become the next chief of our proud Oakland Fire Department. Damon Covington has a distinguished professional resume from his 24 years of experience in the fire service, and his personal commitment to the safety of Oaklanders is unparalleled.”Prior to being named chief, Covington served in an array of capacities over his 24-year career with the Oakland Fire Department, including firefighter-paramedic, fire engineer, battalion c...

Request by former Alameda County prosecutor to dismiss misdemeanor charge denied

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:54 GMT

OAKLAND — The bid by a former Alameda County prosecutor — and vocal critic of District Attorney Pamela Price — to have the criminal case against him tossed on constitutional grounds was denied Friday.Amilcar “Butch” Ford was ordered to appear for trial on Nov. 27 after Alameda County Judge James Cramer struck down a request by the former longtime senior county prosecutor to have his case tossed. In ruling from the bench, Cramer disagreed with Ford’s contention that the law in question is unconstitutionally vague or overbroad, while also stressing that his decision said nothing about the actual evidence in the case, filed by Ford’s former boss.Ford — now a prosecutor with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office — could be disbarred if convicted of defending after public prosecution as the prosecutor, a seldom-used line of the state’s business and professions code aimed at rooting out corruption. He pleaded not guilty moments after ...