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Poker player who drew donations for Las Vegas event lied about dying from cancer

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:25:42 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A poker player who said he had terminal cancer and accepted thousands of dollars in donations so he could play in a World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas now admits it was all a lie. Rob Mercer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he made up a stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis for his GoFundMe page in June, the newspaper reported Wednesday. Mercer, of Vallejo, California, was trying to raise enough funds to meet the $10,000 buy-in for the No-limit Hold’em World Championship. He received contributions worth between $30,000 and $50,000, including a stay at a suite in the Bellagio. Even a fellow player from Arizona who suffers from chronic illness donated $2,500. “I’m sorry for not being honest about what my situation was. If I would have done that from Day One, who knows what would have happened,” Mercer told the newspaper. However, the 37-year-old says he won’t be refunding anyone because he believes he has undiagnosed breast cancer. He said he ha...

Moose charges, headbutts and stomps on woman who was walking her dog on wooded trail in Colorado

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:25:42 GMT

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A woman walking her dog on a wooded trail in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains spooked a cow moose Wednesday and it charged, headbutting the hiker and stomping on her before she escaped back down the trail, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Authorities said the woman was taken to a hospital but they declined to provide information on the woman’s injuries or condition. They said the moose had stomped on her “several times” and that the dog had minor injuries.The moose attack occurred just west of Boulder and was the third in Boulder County this year, said Kara Van Hoose, a spokesperson for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. She added fatal encounters are rare.Hoose said the animals are often aggressive with dogs, which they perceive as a threat. They also become more aggressive during mating season — called the rut — which is just beginning in Colorado. “If a moose thinks a dog is a threat it’s going to react to it, and that’s normal for a moose,” s...

McCarthy struggles to pass a temporary spending bill to avoid a shutdown as others look at options

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:25:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — With no clear strategy, no sure support and not much time left, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy nevertheless vowed Wednesday he would not give up trying to persuade his colleagues to pass a temporary funding bill to prevent a federal government shutdown.But lawmakers watching and waiting for the beleaguered leader to deliver are looking at other options.The Republican speaker met behind closed doors with his GOP colleagues for another day of grueling negotiations — arguing publicly that he still had time to win over hard-line conservatives but privately running out of options to keep the government funded before money runs out before the end of the month. “It’s not September 30 — the game is not over,” McCarthy told reporters as he arrived at the Capitol.But after a more than two hour evening meeting he had only inched closer to a resolution.“We’re very close there,” McCarthy said. “I feel like I just got a little more movement to go there.”Even if McCarthy is able to...

Campusano, Choi lead rally for the Padres, who beat the Rockies 3-2 for their 7th straight win

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:25:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — It’s the $250 million question: Why has it taken until Sept. 20 for the high-priced San Diego Padres to start playing like everyone thought they would have all season?The Padres extended their season-best winning streak to seven games by beating the last-place Colorado Rockies 3-2 on Wednesday. Luis Campusano tied the game with a bases-loaded single with one out in the seventh and Ji Man Choi followed with a sacrifice fly for his first RBI with the Padres.“We kind of proved it to ourselves that it’s in there,” said shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who hit a walk-off, two-run homer the night before. “Really sad and it sucks that it took long, but I really have no answer for that.”Campusano and Choi were both pinch-hitting and the moves paid off for manager Bob Melvin, whose Padres have struggled offensively most of this underwhelming season.Campusano lofted a single to right to bring in Juan Soto, who started the rally with a walk. Choi’s fly ball t...

Officers who put Elijah McClain in neck hold ignored pleas of ‘I can’t breathe,’ prosecutors say

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:25:42 GMT

BRIGHTON, Colo. (AP) — Two Denver-area police officers who put Elijah McClain in a neck hold ignored his pleas of “I can’t breathe” before the Black man was injected by paramedics with a powerful sedative and died, prosecutors said Wednesday, as a trial began over the 2019 confrontation that became a rallying cry for protests and spurred police reform.In opening arguments for the first of several trials stemming from McClain’s death, lawyers for the two sides painted contrasting pictures of the fatal struggle after he was stopped by police in Aurora. Officers Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt approached McClain, a 23-year-old massage therapist, as he walked home from a convenience store carrying only a plastic bag with three cans of iced tea and his phone. A 911 caller had reported him as “sketchy.”If prosecutors can convince jurors the Aug. 24, 2019 stop was unjustified, that would undermine any argument that McClain’s injuries were a result of the officers just doing their ...

MILAN FASHION PHOTOS: Scenes from Cavalli, Marras and N. 21 shows

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:25:42 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Milan Fashion Week kicked off Wednesday with a flurry of shows, including a rainy visual spectacle by Diesel and supermodels taking in Fendi’s latest collection.Other designers including Cavalli, N. 21 and Antonio Marras debuted their newest collections. Here are some highlights of their shows:ANTONIO MARRAS’ “NEVER HAPPY” DIVAIt’s never just about the runway for Antonio Marras. He creates worlds for his fashion shows.The one he created for his Spring-Summer 2024 collection, previewed Wednesday during Milan Fashion Week, starred U.S. actress and model Marisa Berenson, who lent her considerable screen credits — having appeared in films by such greats as Luchino Visconti, Stanley Kubrick and Bob Fosse — to Marras’ mock movie set.Skipping between English and Italian, Berenson played a diva lamenting a warm Bloody Mary and her missing playboy husband, in a performance really about the fear of losing relevance. Marras has nothing to fear there. He created a summe...

Raiders’ Crosby is facing even more attention from opposing offenses with Chandler Jones out

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:25:42 GMT

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Almost lost in the Chandler Jones situation is the effect his absence has had on the Raiders defensive line.In trying to make up the difference at one of the defensive end positions, Las Vegas has used a tackle in Jerry Tillery, an undersized Malcolm Koonce and not-yet-ready rookie Tyree Wilson.Opponents have been able to pay even more attention than usual to Maxx Crosby on the other end, mostly neutralizing one of the NFL’s top pass rushers.“It gives other people opportunities because if he’s got two on him, they usually have one on somebody else,” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “So there are opportunities that are there that will present themselves. We just need to be able to try to take advantage of it.”Crosby facing double teams isn’t new. He often did so last season even with Jones in the lineup, but still found a way to account for nearly half of Las Vegas’ 27 sacks.He has one sack through two games this season, getting to Denver...

Poor second halves after fast starts have doomed Broncos’ offense during 0-2 start

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:25:42 GMT

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Russell Wilson figures there’s a simple solution to the Denver Broncos’ Jekyll & Hyde offense that has contributed to an 0-2 start under new coach Sean Payton.“I think we just have to play cleaner in the third quarter,” Wilson said Wednesday.The Broncos’ first- and second-half splits through two weeks are both perplexing and perilous for a team trying to snap a seven-year playoff drought. In home losses to the Raiders and Commanders, the Broncos have scored a whopping 4.38 points per possession before halftime but just 1.67 points per drive afterward. Even more night and day are Wilson’s numbers: In the first half, he’s completed 23 of 27 passes (85%) for 177 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and two sacks. In the second half, he has completed 18 of 32 passes (56%) for 308 yards with one touchdown ( a 50-yard Hail Mary on Sunday ), one interception and seven sacks.His QB rating has plummeted from a league-high 97.0 ...

Biden administration to protect hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:25:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Wednesday that it was granting temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who are already in the country — quickly making them eligible to work — as it grapples with growing numbers of people fleeing the South American country and elsewhere to arrive at the U.S. border with Mexico.The move — along with promises to accelerate work permits for many migrants — may appease Democratic leaders who have pressured the White House to do more to aid asylum-seekers, while also providing grist for Republicans who say the president has been too lax on immigration.The Homeland Security Department plans to grant Temporary Protected Status to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived in the country as of July 31, 2023, making it easier for them to get authorization to work in the U.S. That's been a key demand of Democratic mayors and governors who are struggling to care for an increased number of migrants in their care.That's in...

Victim in US 285 road rage shooting describes what happened

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 15:25:42 GMT

CONIFER, Colo. (KDVR) — A Park County man is out of the hospital and recovering after he was shot in the arm during a U.S. 285 road rage incident Tuesday afternoon. It happened just a few miles outside of Conifer, where Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies briefly closed portions of U.S. 285 to search for evidence. Refugee who recently moved to Denver killed by carjackers The victim of the shooting, who does not want to be identified, spoke exclusively with FOX31 on Wednesday. He said it all started after another driver seemingly took offense to him going the speed limit in the left lane."The individual came flying around me, squeezed between my car and the car in front of me, and brake-checked me to the point where I had to slam the brakes on pretty hard,” he said. "I should have known better, should have let it be at that point, but I reacted."He said he gave the other driver the middle finger, passed him and cut him off. "He came back around me on the passenger side, and th...