Highlights from the 32nd-annual hot-rod extravaganza.… The post 2019 Goodguys Pacific Northwest Nationals appeared first on autoNXT.net. Goodguys Pacific Northwest Nationals More than 2,000 hot rods, classics, customs, muscle cars and trucks invaded the Washington State Fair Events Center in Puyallup July 26 28, 2019, for the Goodguys 32nd Pacific Northwest Nationals presented by Griot's Garage. Entries in this annual car show and competition covered the spectrum from outrageous performance machines to pristine classics, but don't expect to find any vehicles newer than the 1980s in this highlights coverage   although you might find a bit of modern components and new technology under the skin. Take a look at favorites from the 2019 Goodguys Pacific Northwest Nationals. Custom Corvette This custom 1957 Chevrolet Corvette owned by Rhonda Ralph of Portland, Oregon, was built by Steve's Auto Restorations, also from Portland. Painted in customer Crème de Menthe pearl, the Chevy's body mods include the addition of a 1953 windshield frame, custom bumpers, chrome trim, a C2 Corvette-inspired Stinger hood and C2 Turbine inspired custom aluminum wheels. Custom Corvette This restomod '57 'Vette now rolls on an Art Morrison chassis and is powered by a 430-horsepower GM Performance LS3 V8 engine combined with a 5-speed transmission, for the perfect combination of 1950s look with modern performance. 1934 Ford 3 Window Coupe This custom Ford 3 Window Coupe owned by Jerry Dushal of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, features a fiberglass body with 2.5-inch chop; custom steel hood and fenders; LED taillights; power windows; pop-out suicide doors; and Budnik Famosa wheels on BFG tires. 1934 Ford 3 Window Coupe Under the hood of this coupe resides a GM Performance Parts 502 big block V8 with Edelbrock aluminum heads and dual carburetors, combined with a polished Turbo-hydramatic 350 transmission and Mark Williams 9-inch Ford polished rear end. Additional upgrades include Kugel front independent suspension with coilovers and Baer disc brakes at all four corners. 1966 Chevrolet Crew Cab One Ton 4X4 Randall Robertson's 1966 Chevrolet Crew Cab One Ton 4X4 was a Builder's Choice Top 10 award winner this year in Puyallup, Washington, finished in factory light green with a matching custom interior. Robertson is one of the owners of Rtech Fabrications, which specializes in 1967 72 GM trucks. Known as The Ponderosa, this truck is based on a 1964 66 Chevrolet truck with an additional two doors, a back seat and dual rear wheels. 1966 Chevrolet Crew Cab One Ton 4X4 The Ponderosa is powered by a 550-horsepower 12-valve 5.9-liter Cummins inline 6-cylinder diesel engine combined with a manual gearbox and Dana 60 axles. Additional features include Bilstein 5165 shocks, slotted rotors, high-performance brake pads and 37-inch Nitto Trail Grappler tires. Pinstripes and Flames What says "hot rod" more than a custom paint job with pinstripes and flames? This 1934 Chevrolet 3 Window Coupe owned by Ken Stortini is finished in a beautiful dark pink with striping and flames by Bill Williams. Pinstripes and Flames This '34 Coupe features a Fiberglass Outlaw body; the rod is powered by a 350 Crate Motor combined with a Turbo 350 transmission and a 9-inch Ford rear end. The look is finished with Billet Specialties Polished Eagle wheels and a custom leather interior. Ain't Misbehavin' A "Gasser" drag car based on a 1957 Chevrolet Wagon, "Ain't Misbehavin'" is owned by Eamonn and Jenny Culkin of Spokane, Washington, and named a Goodguys 2019 Display of Excellence. Mostly housed beneath the tilt front end lurks an 810-horsepower supercharged 454 engine with an 871 The Blower Shop blower and Dual Quick Fuel 750 carburetors that stand tall above the hood. Ain't Misbehavin' Power for this "Gasser" gets delivered through a 700 R4 transmission with B&M Slap Shifter and line lock. Underneath the front end is a straight axle with disc brakes, and at the rear are custom 68-inch ladder bars. 1955 Ford Thunderbird Another Goodguys 2019 Display of Excellence winner, this pristine 1955 Thunderbird is owned by Pat and Dennis Hasard of Tacoma, Washington. Body and paintwork was performed by Twisted Kustoms of Fife, Washington, applying the beautiful Colorado Red paint with House of Kolor clearcoat. 1955 Ford Thunderbird This red 'Bird is powered by a 292-cubic-inch Ford V8 engine combined with a Ford-O-Matic 2-speed automatic transmission. Features include a power seat and tinted windows. The classic look is completed with wire wheels and wide whitewall tires. 1940 Studebaker Commander The official model name of this restored 1940 Studebaker Commander was 10A-W3 Four Door Touring Sedan, manufactured in Los Angeles and sold new at the factory for $965. The paint is Velvet Black with California Grapetone Maroon around the side windows. 1940 Studebaker Commander Powered by a flathead 6-cylinder engine producing 90 horsepower combined with a 3-speed manual transmission, the Commander will accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 17 seconds with a top speed of 85 mph. Options include automatic hill holder, shockless variable-ratio steering, non-slam rotary door latches, hydraulic shock absorbers and fog lights. 1950 Ford Club Coupe At first glance, this Club Coupe might look relatively stock, but many subtle modifications have been made to achieve its clean, smooth lines. Owned by Bob and Sarah Davidson of Graham, Washington, the coupe's hood, trunk and front end have been decked and filled, with the door handles and vent windows removed. The French Blue paint is a Sikkens base coat and clear coat; French headlights and taillights have been added. The look is completed by a 1954 Pontiac grille, 1959 Cadillac Eldorado wheel covers and chrome 86-inch lakes pipes below the rocker panels. 1950 Ford Club Coupe Powered by 225-cubic-inch flathead engine, this Club Coupe delivers power through a factory 3-speed overdrive transmission and Lincoln positraction rear axle. Power 4-wheel disc brakes have been added, and the interior features vinyl tuck-and-roll upholstery. Jade Revival John Foxley's 1952 Chevrolet Coupe, known as the "Jade Revival," is another Builder's Choice Top 10 award winner and previously won the George Barris Kustom d'Elegance Award at the 2010 Grand National Roadster Show. Foxley of Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, performed all the extensive body and metalwork. This coupe has been chopped 5 inches, channeled 2 inches, shortened 6 inches and sectioned 6 inches and now rides on a 1978 Chevrolet Malibu wagon chassis and floor pan. Jade Revival Legendary custom car builder and painter Gene Winfield applied the Candy Green over Lime Gold paint. The custom look is completed with chrome reverse wheels and a grille made from 425 Caterpillar engine camshafts. The coupe is powered by a small-block Chevrolet V8 engine. 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 1954 GMC 1946 Dodge Wrecker Rat Rod 1923 Ford Roadster 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 1970 American Motors AMX 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A 1951 Ford Country Squire 1923 Ford T-Bucket 2019 Goodguys Pacific Northwest Nationals 1962 Volkswagen Beetle 1949 Ford Bus 1960s Hippie Camper 1949 Ford Bus 1960s Hippie Camper 1949 Ford Bus 1960s Hippie Camper 1969 Chevrolet El Camino 2019 Goodguys Pacific Northwest Nationals 1956 Chevrolet Nomad 1932 Ford Roadster 1956 Ford Convertible 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air 1936 Ford 1939 Chevrolet Rat Rod 1976 Toyota Land Cruiser Ford Econoline Pickup 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Wagon Mercury Pickup 2019 Goodguys Pacific Northwest Nationals 1968 Ford Mustang California Special 1970 American Motors AMX 1956 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup 1934 Ford 3 Window Coupe


The Detroit Pistons have emerged as the favorites to sign former MVP Derrick Rose when NBA free agency officially begins at 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Free agent G Derrick Rose will meet with the Pistons on Sunday, with both sides motivated on finding a pathway to a two-year contract, league sources tell ESPN.   Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 29, 2019 Since being named MVP of the league in 2011, Rose has been afflicted with multiple injuries that have hindered his potential to become one of the most sought after players in the NBA. However, the 30-year-old had a revival season with the Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 18 points, 4.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds in the 2018-19 campaign. Rose is coming off a $2.4 million minimum contract with Minnesota, and presumably will serve as a backup point guard for the Pistons, who are over the salary cap and don't have much flexibility money-wise in the run-up to Sunday's opening of free agency. For someone coming off a resurgent year looking to be of assistance to a team that went 41-41 and finished 8th in the Eastern Conference last year, this move would be mutually beneficial for both Rose and Detroit. More from Yahoo Sports: Why Alex Morgan was key to USWNT despite not scoring Report: Durant's free agent wish list has four teams Rapinoe steals show as USWNT beats co-favorite France Report: Kawhi wants Magic involved in Lakers meeting


Many Texans know to watch for the possibility of snakes in tall grass, under rocks and burrowed inside a pile of leaves. Shopping carts became the latest addition to that list after a Walmart employee in Texas recently came upon a large rat snake twisted inside a collection of shopping carts outside the store, according to a Facebook post from the Northeast Police Department. "Recent heavy rains are forcing a lot of snakes out of their natural habitats, and this goes to show, that they can turn up just about anywhere," the department said in the post. TEXAS SNAKES: Rare, cobra-like snake spotted at Brazos Bend State Park after floodwaters recede A police officer patrolling the area on Saturday came upon the snake after hearing a loud scream in the parking lot. But there was nothing to fear with Savannah resident John Heckaman around. Heckaman, described as "The Snake Charmer" in the Facebook post, was bitten "only" once while moving the snake out of the area, the post said. It's unclear if he needed any treatment. Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site , Chron.com , and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com . | julian.gill@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.


THIS MOTHER'S DAY as I celebrate 13 years of motherhood, I'm feeling especially sentimental. My sweet twin boys, so loving and kind, are on the verge adolescence, meaning we're in for body odor, acne, and changing voices   and likely some wall-punching and locked doors. Even so, I've been looking forward to certain rites of passage, especially the middle school dance. Promposals are popping up on my Facebook feed and stretch limos are wending their way through neighborhood streets this spring, and all I can think about are the dances of my youth, growing up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., in the 1980s. Okay, maybe my memories are unduly tainted by John Hughes movies, with their soft-lens teen wish-fulfillment scenes embellished by sentimental Brit-pop soundtracks. All the same, I'm nostalgic for that moment when I was a shy, gangly seventh grader in a dimly lit gymnasium, hoping (praying!) for a boy to ask me to slow-dance to "Purple Rain." If he ever came, we'd rest our fingertips lightly on each other's shoulders, struggling to focus on anything but the person awkwardly shifting weight from foot to foot at arm's length in front of us, trying to look somehow bored and cool while our friends in the shadows giggled and fake gagged (with equal parts love and envy). That was an important rite of passage: Overcome with longing, disappointment, and sex hormones, my tween girl posse would join me in the bathroom to cry it out, and somehow we'd emerge from those bleach-soaked stalls a little stronger and a bit wiser to the ways of this cruel, cruel world. So naturally, I envisioned as much for my own 13-year-old twin boys. After all, school dances are a staple of American culture. They force budding young citizens to experiment with the bizarre American mating game, which involves a series of contortions designed to simultaneously attract and repel a potential mate. And then the reckoning, if you do land one, as to how to move without drawing an authority's tap on the shoulder for inappropriate contact. So many potential pitfalls, one night to play out all of them. Only it turns out, my kids' middle school doesn't offer dances. "We used to have them nine or 10 years ago," Wayland Middle School principal Betsy Gavron tells me, "and we had lots of kids." "Why did you stop?" I ask, imagining an unfortunate alcohol-related incident . . . or maybe liability concerns? No, it turns out the reason can be summarized in a single word: "Grinding." I had to look it up. It's when two people dance bum-to-crotch, the boy often holding the girl's hips as they gyrate together. Gavron and her colleagues wanted nothing to do with the sexually suggestive dance moves and told students that grinding would not be permitted at future events. So when the next dance came around, only 25 kids showed up   more teachers than students. With such a light turnout, the dances eventually just faded away. Gavron says she was fine with the students' decision to boycott the dances. And Wayland wasn't the only town struggling with this issue at the time. IN THE EARLY- to mid-2010s, schools across the country were cancelling dances altogether, or making students sign dance contracts that specifically forbade grinding (also called freak dancing). Attendance dwindled and schools stopped hosting dances. The trouble is, nearly a decade later, many of those schools   including Wayland Middle School   haven't bothered to bring them back. I walked away from my meeting with Principal Gavron, dejectedly kicking No. 2 pencil stubs against the lockers as I went, and thought, Well, at least there's always high school . . . Or not. Wayland High School only hosts two dances a year, principal Allyson Mizoguchi tells me: a sophomore semiformal and a junior prom. No Homecoming . . . no Sadie Hawkins . . . no Winter Formal. "This isn't a huge dance culture," she explains. The Student Council and SADD make regular attempts to throw dances with funky, creative themes, "but we only get 30 to 50 kids," she says, adding "the idea of a schoolwide dance just hasn't taken off." Why do you think that is? I ask. "We have to contend with the coolness factor," she admits. "A lot of the kids go to house parties instead." But a house party with just the popular kids isn't the same. The school dance was a melting pot of social cliques   nerds, jocks, artists, stoners, musicians, theater geeks. You never knew who you might see there, and that made it more fun. The school hallways were abuzz with who was going, what you were going to wear, who you wanted to dance with and, more importantly, to what song. If you grew up in the '80s, chances are it was "Stairway to Heaven"   but only if it was with someone you really liked because the song, with its running time of eight minutes, felt like an eternity. I remember the excitement of getting ready with my friends and then piling into the family station wagon to be dropped off at the curb. We'd run into the gym squealing with delight when the DJ played "Livin' on a Prayer." My friends would ask a boy (invariably half my height) if he wanted to dance with me, and I'd shyly breathe in his exotic, other-person scent as we swayed to the music. That's about as good as it gets for a seventh grader   that electric feeling of almost touching. Or at least it should be. Instead, our kids are cozied up to their phones on a Friday night   texting, Snapchatting, or browsing through endless photos on Instagram for hours at a time. Or, like my twin boys, they're holed up in a dark basement playing Fortnite with people they may not even know. "Social media has replaced face-to-face interactions, like school dances, where you had to actually talk to somebody," says Michael Rich, a pediatrician and director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children's Hospital. "They feel safer in these environments because they're more at arm's length and feel less vulnerable." The problem is that our kids aren't learning to deal with the "awkwardness of the real world   that maybe someone doesn't want to dance with them, or that they might step on their toes or say something stupid," Rich says. As painful as these cringe-worthy moments can be, they're important for social growth. It's how kids learn to read social cues, like body language, facial expressions, or tone of voice   which you can't interpret from a text conversation. They're also not learning how to deal with rejection in real time   to shake it off and try again. "Isn't it better that kids learn to come to grips with not being chosen to dance to 'Stairway to Heaven'," Rich says, "versus later, with not getting into college?" That's how they begin to develop resilience and grit   two qualities that college students are decidedly lacking these days . We know that social media, plus the sad state of the environment and a whole host of issues are contributing to teen depression. In a recent article in Tufts Magazine, Nassir Ghaemi, a professor of psychiatry at Tufts School of Medicine, says that 22 percent of teens today show signs of depression and anxiety. That's double the rate of 20 years ago. He calls that statistic "staggering" and attributes most of it to our teens' "increased engagement with smartphones, digital technology and social media." He asserts that "the more depressed adolescents are, the more they use social media; the more they use social media, the more depressed they are. It's a vicious cycle." It's clear we need to break that cycle by pulling our kids away from their devices and offering them worthy alternatives to the countless hours spent online. But what does that mean exactly? When I asked Principal Gavron if she'd consider bringing back dances, she was noncommittal. It requires staff members to stay late on a Friday night   and then there's the inherent drama of a middle school dance. "There were always tears," Gavron explained. "We had to have a guidance counselor there for kids who got upset." I DON'T REMEMBER guidance counselors hovering in the wings when we were in junior high. We fought, we fled to the bathroom, and we cried with our entourage. I thought that was just normal teen angst. And anyway, doesn't all the drama, the insecurities, the awkwardness   even the possibility of (gasp!) grinding   seem preferable to the anxiety and depression of the alternative? I think so   and so do other parents of teens in my town, which is how Wayland Cares, a community coalition dedicated to reducing youth substance use and abuse, came to host the first Wayland Middle School Fun Night in March. It wasn't a dance, but it promised music, as well as games, crafts and pizza, for sixth, seventh and eighth graders, and that seemed like a step in the right direction. I eagerly signed up my boys and recruited a handful of their friends. When I walked into the brightly lit gymnasium to pick them up at the end of the night, I spied my towheads among a group of seventh grade boys cruising the perimeter of the event, trying to look as cool and disengaged as possible. A bunch of kids were shooting baskets, and I saw remnants of board games and arts and crafts. It looked like a lot of fun. But as soon as we got into the car, the boys glared at me. "Really? Why? It looked so fun." "They wouldn't let us use our phones." "And they didn't have enough dodge balls." "And Mom, it was all sixth graders . . . or kids whose parents forced them to come!" one of my boys added. I was irritated. So much work went into this event, and they sounded so ungrateful. "Well, what could they do to make it better?" I asked. "Not call it 'Fun Night,'" retorted one of my boys. "Most of my friends didn't come because of the dumb name." "That's ridiculous," I told him. But of course, seventh graders are ridiculous and frequently make decisions based on superficial reasons, like the name of an event. "But really, what should they do differently next time?" "Bring more dodge balls." I rolled my eyes and looked to my other son. He gave it a bit more thought. "I think they tried to offer too many activities in one night," he said. "Maybe it would have been better if they had a theme?" "You mean like a sports night? Or a board game night?" I asked. "No," he said, mulling it over, "more like . . . maybe more like a dance?" I could barely suppress my grin as I pulled my car into our driveway. My 13-year-old was asking for a school dance. Shouldn't we listen? These kids don't need games or crafts or contests. Just dim the lights, crank up the tunes, and see what happens. Even if it turns out the best part of their night is spent getting ready with friends, that's a win in my book. We'll have succeeded in getting them out of their virtual worlds   for a little while anyway. Freelance writer Julie Suratt lives in Wayland with her husband and three children. She covers topics ranging from travel to food to parenting to pop-culture.


Tony Romo offers his analysis on the special things Patriots coach Bill Belichick does to give him unprecedented success.


A transgender woman said she was assaulted in downtown Denver last week by two men who targeted her because of her identity. The Denver Police Department is investigating the attack. Amber Nicole, 23, said she had gone out to enjoy Denver's nightlife and drink and dance with friends last Saturday, when she was assaulted outside her friend's car after leaving a downtown bar. Just before the attack, two men had followed behind her and her friend and started to harass them, so Nicole started to take a video, she said. "We felt like these two men were going to attack us," she said. "I'm pretty much giving warning in this video that if anything does happen to me, I was attacked by these two men." Nicole said she walked away to get help, but her friend soon found her later with her hands on her face, begging two men to stop hitting her. A Denver Police Department report said that an unidentified male suspect struck "the victim three (3) times in the face with a closed fist causing a suspected broken jaw." Witnesses around her friend's car who saw Nicole's injuries encouraged her to call the police. "We're still investigating it as a normal assault, but our bias-motivated crime unit is involved in the investigation," Carlos Montoya, public information officer for the Denver Police Department, told NBC News. Nicole said she woke up the next morning with her jaw resting on her neck because it had been dislocated. It had also been broken in three different places, requiring it to be wired shut, she said. Blood vessels burst in her left eye, Nicole said, adding that doctors told her she may not recover from the nerve damage on the right side of her face. Nicole spoke out against attacks on trans people like here. "If you can't accept someone for who they are or what they are, then turn and walk away," she said. "There's no need to hurt people." Her mother also spoke out, telling NBC News that people should come to the aid of others under attack. "People should step in," Juliann Martinez said. "Don't be afraid. We're afraid too. We're afraid that every time we let our daughters go out we have to worry."


In the aftermath of last weekend's mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, violent video games have become a popular target of blame for President Donald Trump and several conservative voices . Apparently, ESPN has been listening. According to a report from Bloomberg , ESPN has quietly delayed a broadcast of an "Apex Legends" tournament previously scheduled for Aug. 10 in response to the mass shootings. The taped segments will now reportedly be aired on three nights in October, and will still be available on ESPN's digital channels and app this weekend. However, it appears the tournament will no longer be aired on ABC, which had been previously planned. Trump and Republicans point to video games after mass shootings "Apex Legends" is one of many games that feature guns as a primary gameplay mechanic, and among the most popular examples of the "Battle Royale" genre that has dominated the industry in the last few years. Violent video games were among the many factors Trump pointed to on Monday when addressing the nation about the mass shootings : We must stop the glorification of violence in our society. This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace. It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence. We must stop or substantially reduce this, and it has to begin immediately. Cultural change is hard, but each of us can choose to build a culture that celebrates the inherent worth and dignity of every human life. That's what we have to do. Trumps' remark echoed several Republican leaders who have tied such video games to mass shootings, a group that includes House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick. With its decision to inch away from video games directly after the mass shootings, it appears ESPN also buys the idea, or is at least convinced that enough people subscribe to it that airing the tournament would be received in bad taste. The sports giant has made a concerted effort to avoid political discussion in the last year , and this decision could be another example of that. Video game enthusiasts and independent researchers have blasted the argument of video games as a risk factor, pointing to studies that have found no links between video games and violence . That assertion is backed up by the fact that Japan, the world leader in per-capita video game spending, had just three gun deaths in 2017 . Not three mass shootings or three gun deaths per week. Three gun deaths total. While Japan has video games, mental health issues and so many other things that have been tied to mass shootings in the U.S., one thing it does not have is easy access to firearms. More from Yahoo Sports: NYJ coach left to meet Peyton Manning hours after wife gave birth QB Rodgers already unhappy with LaFleur's decisions Dabo on Bryant not getting a Clemson ring: 'He wasn't on the team' Biles blasts USAG for failing to protect gymnasts


Denver is due to see light rainfall this coming week, according to drone-powered weather forecasting service Saildrone . Today's forecast shows the highest chance of rain at 96 percent, while the most rainfall is predicted on Monday at 0.85 inches. The coming days will also bring mild temperatures, due to last through Thursday. Temperatures will make way for warmer weather from Friday to Saturday, with a high of 76 degrees on Saturday. Skies will be cloudy tomorrow, and partly cloudy Thursday through Friday. Winds will continue to be fairly calm through the week, with the highest speeds tomorrow at only 11 miles per hour. This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


If the Washington Redskins are to find any success in 2019, there's one thing that needs to happen - the wide receiver corps must step up. After losing Jamison Crowder to the New York Jets in free agency, a chasm has opened up on the edges of the offense, and a bunch of question marks remain. Josh Doctson and Paul Richardson Jr. are headlining the position. The former was once thought to be a supremely talented prospect who has yet to break out, and the latter is a former breakout who has struggled to stay healthy as of late. Filling out the depth chart behind them are Trey Quinn and Brian Quick, a pair of unproven receivers hoping to see the field, as well as newly drafted Terry McLaurin and Kelvin Harmon. From the outside, it may look like a jumbled mess, but Redskins coach Jay Gruden thinks that his receivers will be paramount in the team's success this year. "Josh Doctson, like I mentioned, I think is going to have a big year, " Gruden said via Redskins.com. "Trey Quinn has taken over the inside slot role. He's confident, he's quick, he's got strong hands, he's physical, he's tough. Brian Quick with some veteran experience. Paul Richardson's not even out here yet with his speed. But Terry and Kelvin are - knock on wood right now - are very, very good." To expect a head coach to say anything less of his guys is irresponsible, but Gruden's confidence in the depth of the position is encouraging. If he's right, whoever is standing in at the QB position will have some weapons at his disposal. MORE: James Holzhauer breaks his silence about the leaked 'Jeopardy!' result Report: Suns, Bulls offering lottery picks for Lonzo Ball Darnell Savage, Josh Jackson could unlock full potential of Packers secondary Raiders WR Tyrell Williams named 'breakout star' of OTAs Fans are realizing Inglewood stadium is shaped like Rams logo


Linebackers Josh Bynes and Stephone Anthony visited the Bills on Monday, a source tells ESPN.com's Adam Schefter (on Twitter ). Both players profile as high-upside, yet low-risk, depth options. The Cardinals released Bynes in March to save just $667K against $1.87M in dead money. That was a sharp turn from the previous year, when Bynes was being played ahead of both Deone Bucannon and Haason Reddick . Anthony seemed to have a great deal of promise when he entered the league as a first-round pick of the Saints in 2015. But, after starting in all 16 games as a rookie, he was moved from middle linebacker to strongside linebacker with poor results. The Dolphins acquired him for a fifth-round pick in 2017, but the change of scenery didn't do much for him. Anthony had just seven tackles across 16 appearances last year and the Dolphins declined his fifth-year option, making him a free agent.


CHICAGO - A federal judge ordered R. Kelly held without bond Tuesday in Chicago on federal charges he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to recover child-sex tapes and pressured witnesses to change their stories before his Cook County pornography trial ended in an acquittal a decade ago. The decision by U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber means the beleaguered R&B singer will be taken to New York while still in custody to face a separate indictment alleging he sexually abused underage girls across the country. Kelly's long legal saga took its latest dramatic turn Friday when federal indictments against him were made public in New York and Chicago, charging a sweeping scheme by Kelly and those around him to groom and sexually exploit young girls and then cover it up. The dual indictments are the most serious blows yet to the one-time superstar, who was arrested in downtown Chicago late Thursday as he walked his dog near his residence at Trump Tower. The Chicago indictment alleged that Kelly paid his former manager, Derrel McDavid, and a former employee, Milton "June" Brown, to help him cover up his sexual transgressions. Both were also charged, But it is the New York case that now casts the biggest shadow on Kelly's future. That indictment, unsealed at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, alleges a racketeering conspiracy in which Kelly and his associates recruited women and underage girls for illegal sexual contact with the singer, then isolated them and threatened them to keep them under his control. Kelly, who was already free on $1 million bond stemming from pending sex abuse charges in Cook County criminal court, has been held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in the Loop since his arrest Thursday. Federal prosecutors said in a court filing that Kelly should remain in custody pending trial, contending he poses a flight risk in the face of such serious charges and that his "psychological abuse and control of the young girls, who are now adults, is real and ongoing." Kelly "spent many years of his adult life exploiting and manipulating young girls, including by threatening members of a victim's family," prosecutors said in the memo filed Friday. Kelly's lawyers, meanwhile, have said they will seek his release. In a statement Friday, Kelly's lead attorney, Steve Greenberg, called the new charges an "unfair piling on" and an "abuse" of anti-racketeering law. Federal prosecutors in New York have said they'll seek his detention once he arrives in Brooklyn on the basis he's a flight risk and a continuing "danger to the community." Since the New York indictment has the broadest scope and the highest potential penalties, it could become the leading case of the three Kelly now faces, experts have told The Chicago Tribune. It also carries an intriguing legal twist, charging Kelly under an anti-racketeering law that historically has been used to prosecute Mafia bosses and street gangs for running criminal enterprises. Kelly was named in the New York indictment as the leader of a criminal enterprise that included "managers, bodyguards, drivers, personal assistants and runners for Kelly." "The purposes of the Enterprise were to promote R. Kelly's music and the R. Kelly brand and to recruit women and girls to engage in illegal sexual activity with Kelly," the New York indictment said. According to the Chicago charges, Kelly recorded himself having sex with five minor girls beginning in 1998. After learning that some of the tapes were missing from his "collection," Kelly, McDavid and Brown embarked on a scheme to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to recover the recordings from various individuals, the indictment alleged. One of the girls Kelly is alleged to have abused, identified only as "Minor 1," was the same girl at the center of the child pornography charges lodged against Kelly in 2002 - a case that ended with Kelly's stunning acquittal by a Cook County jury six years later - according to the indictment. The indictment alleges that Kelly instructed the girl - who was his goddaughter - to lie to police about her sexual encounters with the singer. Kelly also pressured the girl's father in May 2002 to falsely tell a Cook County grand jury that his daughter had never had a sexual relationship with Kelly and that she was not the person depicted in the sex tape, according to the charges. The indictment also alleged that Kelly paid McDavid and Brown to help him cover up his sexual transgressions, including forcing those he allegedly abused to submit to lie detector tests to show they had turned over all of the sex tapes in their possession. McDavid pleaded not guilty last week to four counts of conspiracy and child pornography-related charges. Brown is scheduled for an initial court appearance on Friday. Controversy continued to swirl around Kelly despite his 2008 acquittal, driven largely by investigative stories by music critic and reporter Jim DeRogatis in BuzzFeed and The New Yorker as well as damning allegations in a Lifetime documentary series earlier this year. In February, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx announced that a county grand jury had indicted Kelly on sexual abuse counts involving four people - three of whom allegedly were underage. Kelly has pleaded not guilty to those charges. Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com


The NCAA did not merely make the correct decision in choosing to reinstate Silvio De Sousa. They made the right decision at the right time. The NCAA Tournament didn't have a lot of buzzer beaters in 2019. There was Mamadi Diakite's jumper for Virginia to tie Purdue in the Elite Eight and force overtime, and otherwise a lot of missed opportunities. But if the NCAA hadn't beaten the deadline it faced this month, imagine what that would have meant for De Sousa. MORE: Top college hoops programs since 2010 He is currently on the NBA Draft early entry list, because what other choice did he have? As of early February, he was suspended from intercollegiate competition for all of 2018-19 and 2019-20 as the result of payments allegedly made by adidas representative T.J. Gassnola to De Sousa's guardian to secure his commitment to Kansas. The deadline to withdraw from the early entry list to retain NCAA eligibility is May 29. So the NCAA made it with five days to spare. The NCAA student-athlete reinstatement committee factored the timing of the draft process into its consideration of the De Sousa case and held a hearing with him Friday morning. Its ruling that he could return to eligibility next season with the Jayhawks arrived at around 1:30 p.m. ET. The committee worked with the awareness of the time constraints and, once the NCAA had the information it requested regarding the facts of the De Sousa case, went through the hearing process and its deliberations as swiftly as possible to assure that the proper call was made in time for it to matter. Let me be honest here: I was rough on the NCAA for its initial decision to suspend De Sousa for two full seasons. Given that all parties concerned agreed De Sousa had been unaware of any arrangements made regarding his recruitment, the logical punishments after his eligibility had been investigated consisted of three options: A suspension lifted as of Feb. 1, by which time he would have missed 21 games. A suspension of a full season. A suspension of a full season that required him to transfer to another school to return to competition. At no point did a suspension of two full seasons appear to be justified. The NCAA could have saved itself from another public harangue had it administered any of the other three penalties. It's possible the appeals board still will be scolded for allowing him to return to Kansas, given that sworn testimony Gassnola presented during the trial last fall of former adidas executives Jim Gatto and Merl Code and former agency representative Christian Dawkins indicated Gassnola paid and/or promised thousands to De Sousa's guardian. The most important factor in the decision, however, is that De Sousa not be unduly punished for events in which he was not a participant. MORE: Best teams that didn't win NCAA Tourney A 6-9, 245-pound center/forward, De Sousa is neither a superstar nor an inconsequential player. He averaged 4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 20 games for Kansas after joining the Jayhawks midway through the 2017-18 season. His role grew as the season advanced, and he became more comfortable with the college game, including a 16-point, 10-rebound performance in the Big 12 Tournament title game and a 4-point, 10-rebound effort in the NCAA Midwest Region final victory over Duke, which sent the Jayhawks to the Final Four. It is not known whether the results of those games will stand, given that De Sousa could be determined to have been ineligible for competition in that season because of the alleged payments to his guardian   which led to his absence from the entire 2018-19 season. It is clear that if De Sousa beats the NCAA's withdrawal deadline regarding the NBA Draft, which seems fairly certain at this point, there will be no further repercussions for him. He'll be back on the floor, where he belongs. The NCAA does not deserve applause for making the correct call here, because the proper remedies were available to them nearly four months ago. But neither should we ignore that justice was done. Related slideshow: Best photos of NCAA Championship (Provided by imagn)


In search of a new favorite fitness spot? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top fitness spots around Aurora, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to venture next time you need a good sweat sesh. 1. Corepower Yoga Topping the list is CorePower Yoga . Located at 18884 E. Hampden Ave., the yoga spot is the highest-rated fitness spot in Aurora, boasting five stars out of 17 reviews on Yelp. 2. Dance 2-Gather Next up is Meadow Hills's Dance 2-Gather , situated at 15232 E. Hampden Ave., Suite A. With five stars out of 12 reviews on Yelp, the dance studio has proven to be a local favorite. 3. Crunch Aurora Colorado City Center's Crunch Aurora Colorado , located at 15141 Mississippi Ave., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the gym and personal training spot four stars out of 22 reviews. 4. The Island The Island , an amateur sports team and fitness and instruction spot in Dayton Triangle, is another much-loved go-to, with 4.5 stars out of 24 Yelp reviews. Head over to 2233 S. Geneva St. to see for yourself. 5. CycleBar Check out CycleBar , which has earned 4.5 stars out of 12 reviews on Yelp. You can find the cycling class spot at 6300 S. Main St., Suite N-103. This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


Start your day off right by browsing through cuddly canines! There are dozens of dogs up for adoption right here in Pittsburgh. Hoodline partnered with Petfinder , an online adoption site that lists "more than 315,000 adoptable pets from nearly 14,000 animal shelters and rescue groups" to bring you this roundup of dogs near you. (Details like pet availability, training, vaccinations and other features are based on data provided by Petfinder and may be subject to change; contact the shelter for the latest information.) Sparky, treeing walker coonhound Sparky is a male treeing walker coonhound dog in the care of Forever Home Beagle Rescue . Sparky is friendly as can be, and he gets along well with cats, dogs and children. No need to worry: He is already house-trained, neutered and has all his shots. Sparky is a special needs pet, so please inquire about his specific care requirements. Here's more about Sparky: Sparky is about two years old and has good potty training habits. He gets a little nervous in crates. He loves to be attached to his owners. He also has minor seizures, which are well controlled with inexpensive medication. Read more about how to adopt Sparky on Petfinder . Mars Rover, treeing walker coonhound Mars Rover is a female treeing walker coonhound dog currently residing at Senior Pet and Animal Rescue, Inc . Mars Rover gets along well with other dogs. She is already spayed, and she has all her shots. She's mastered her house-training etiquette. Here's more Mars Rover: Mars Rover is a sweet, well-adjusted pup who loves and comforts children. She likes taking short walks with her family once or twice a day. Mars Rover is accustomed to being left home alone during the work day. Read more about Mars Rover on Petfinder . Brie Brie, pit bull terrier mix Brie Brie is a lovable female pit bull terrier mix in the care of Humane Animal Rescue . Her vaccinations are already up to date, and she is spayed. Here's more about Brie Brie: Brie Brie is an enthusiastic gal that wants to learn new tricks and work on perfecting her manners. She likes going on walks and relaxing at home with a nice, long cuddle afterwards. Brie Brie would do best in a home without other pups. Read more about how to adopt Brie Brie on Petfinder . Charlie, bull terrier mix Charlie is a male bull terrier mix currently residing at Humane Animal Rescue (North) . He's been vaccinated and neutered. Here's more about Charlie: This pup prefers kissing your face and cuddling on your lap, along with a good play session. Apply to adopt Charlie today at Petfinder . This story was created automatically using local animal shelter data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


If you're in your mid-40s, you may have missed the window for early retirement. But that doesn't mean you can't still achieve some financial security for your future. It's game time. You can play around when you're younger and put off saving for the future (though it is not recommended). If you get to your 40s, though, and you don't have a comfortable amount saved, it's time to get serious. Sure, you've got expenses. But your own retirement is on the horizon. The good news? You've still got about 20 years to make it happen. The way to get there is investing. 'I never knew money could grow like that' Eric Bowie, 48, a government employee in Kansas City, Missouri, had a lightbulb moment in his 20s when he was a teacher. A financial salesman came to the school to offer services to the staff. He showed Bowie a chart illustrating the impact of compound interest on investments, and Bowie was blown away. "When I first learned about compound interest, I felt like I had learned a secret no one else knew," Bowie said. "Not my friends, my family. "It was almost like a miracle," he added. "Money could grow like that?" At that time, he was contributing to a mandatory teacher's pension but no other retirement plan. The force of compound interest lit a fire under him. Bowie spent a lot of time studying the tables and scouting how his money would do. When he stopped teaching, he had around $30,000 accumulated. He saw that if he simply kept contributing steadily over the next 30 years, he'd have about $700,000 or $800,000   an idea he found very appealing. When he started his job as a federal employee, he transferred the balance into the government Thrift Savings Plan. Over the next 17 years, he contributed up to the match almost every year. The account now is in the six figures. He credits constant, steady contributions   always enough to get the match   alongside careful spending and, of course, the power of compound interest. Bowie and his wife always buy cars using cash. They have very little debt. To save on interest, they switched to a 15-year mortgage. In addition to his government job, Bowie owns rental real estate properties, runs an eBay store and does some voice-over work. He also credits the simple magic of spending less as a powerful tool, which he compares to getting a raise. He has a personal finance blog where he writes about side hustling and money motivation. "I think I'm a very regular guy, but I look at money very differently than most people," Bowie said. You don't have to be a genius The real key to successful investing is not making brilliant investing decisions, says David Schneider, a certified financial planner and founder of Schneider Wealth Strategies in New York. In fact, it's about avoiding mistakes such as failing to diversify your investments or being seduced by fads. "If it's hot, and everyone is talking about it, there's a good chance it won't look so good in a few years," Schneider said. "For every Apple , Amazon and Google , there are a million small, speculative companies that ended up going nowhere." Rob Grass, 43, says you can win in the stock market if you do the opposite of what he's done. He is partly joking, but he did make a few mistakes when he started investing about a year ago. "I just went into everything blind," said Grass, who lives in Windsor, Ontario, and makes structural steel tubing. Grass invested in cannabis stocks just after legalization in Canada, but says he was late to the party on the marijuana sector. Then, he was interested in investing in BlackBerry, so he went to his bank, which handles investments, rather than a brokerage house, to ask them to purchase the stock for him. When he wanted to buy, the price was $9.18 per share, but the bank didn't move on it right away. By the time they made the trade, the stock had risen to around $15. A good starting point for beginning investors is a total stock market index fund, or even a global stock market index fund that will capture the returns of the whole world. "They are usually available in a 401(k), or you can buy them on your own through any brokerage firm," Schneider said. The investing mindset Attitude is key, says Jordan Sowhangar, a CFP and wealth advisor at Girard, an investment manager in Souderton, Pennsylvania. "It should be the exact opposite of what it might have been in your 20s and 30s," Sowhangar said. Think of your 40s as halftime. "You need to evaluate the first half, see what worked and what to tweak to win this game," Sowhangar said. "Have a game plan   a true financial plan   in place." It's time to set goals. You might like to have your mortgage paid off by age 50. This could allow you to save more aggressively and retire by 60 instead of 65. The financial plan holds you accountable, Sowhangar says. You might also consider working with a financial advisor. It's a good time to start scouting how your retirement finances might look: Tax-free withdrawals in retirement are always welcome. Saving in a Roth individual retirement account makes sense for people in their 20s and 30s, Sowhangar says, but that doesn't mean post-tax retirement savings is off the table when you're in your 40s. If income limits mean you can't contribute to a Roth IRA, consider the Roth 401(k) option if available. You've still got about 20 years for that money to grow tax-free . Another item for your financial laundry list: Shine a light on your 401(k) assets. You may have 401(k) plans sitting with a former employer. Bring these old plans under one roof, whether you roll them into an IRA or into a current 401(k). Finally, check your progress. A good rule of thumb is that when you're in your 40s, you should have between two and three times your current salary saved up. "Someone at 40, I like to see them have at least two times their salary," Sowhangar said. "Through their 40s, closer to the other end, three times." As long as you are aiming to hit the goal, you're more on track than someone who's on auto-pilot, contributing a defaulted 3% to 5% of your salary without thinking about it. "If people stick to that auto plan [set by the retirement plan] they are at risk of not getting to that target," Sowhangar said. Risky business Daryn Duliba, 47, says he started out a naive investor but quickly learned how important it is to do your due diligence. His first misstep was not investing when he was younger. Duliba, who is in software sales in Edmonton, Alberta, was always interested but never felt he had the money. "I spent everything I had, trying to pay the bills," he said. "In my mid-40s, I realized I want to retire someday. "I made a conscious effort to dig in and learn, and see how I could accelerate my returns to make up for those lost years." He put some money into cannabis stocks recommended by a co-worker as a great investment. "It's a hot sector," Duliba said. "Through dumb luck, it grew quickly. "I saw this thing skyrocketing." But the money didn't last. "When you have 100% or 200% returns, you should sell," Duliba said. Instead, he continued investing in companies he learned about on Twitter. "Everything I gained through dumb luck, I wound up losing, because I didn't know what I was doing," he said. "It brought me back down to my starting point." Next, he followed people on Twitter and invested according to their recommendations for hot stocks and penny stocks. "I didn't do so well," Duliba said. Duliba's top advice: always be learning. "Even though I'm two or three years in, I'm still a beginner," he said. He'd like others to learn from his pitfalls. More from CNBC You didn't score so well on that financial literacy quiz. Now what? Here's what it takes to become a 401(k) millionaire at any age These people in their 30s are doing a simple thing to get rich "Read books, listen to podcasts," he said. "The more you know, the better a job you'll do." Another thing he'd like would-be investors to know: You need to keep your emotions in check. "It's very easy to panic and sell, and I've done that several times," Duliba said. He'd like other investors to realize that over the decades of the stock market, you'll see ups and downs. "But ultimately it's going to continue to go up." Making up for lost time Chances are you're in your peak earning years. That means you can afford to funnel more cash into investing. It may mean resisting temptations like new cars, says Sowhangar. Ignore the Joneses and keep your eye on your own financial future. "People don't generally max out their 401(k) contributions," Sowhangar said. "To get to that two to three times your salary, increase your auto[matic] contribution even by 1% a year. "You can turn it down if it becomes detrimental to your cash flow." At this time, you should have more stock than bond exposure. "You still have time on your side   at least 20 years to retirement," said Sowhangar. "That's plenty of time to have equities perform for you, even with a couple of recessions and some volatility." Check out: Don't Fall For These 5 Myths About Money via Grow with Acorns+CNBC


LANSING (WWJ) - The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is coordinating with local health departments across the state to investigate an increase in cases of legionellosis this summer. To date in 2019, there have been 140 confirmed cases of legionellosis reported in 38 counties, compared to 135 confirmed cases during the same timeframe in 2018. Confirmed cases include 19 in Oakland County, 16 in Wayne County, 13 in Macomb County, 11 in Genesee County and 10 cases each in the City of Detroit and Kent County. Health officials say the increase corresponds with national increases in legionellosis -- a respiratory infection caused by Legionella bacteria. The infection is most common in the summer and early fall when warming, stagnant waters present the best environment for bacterial growth in water systems. Legionellosis occurs in two forms: Legionnaires' disease -- an infection with symptoms that include fever, cough and pneumonia Pontiac fever -- a milder form of legionellosis; an influenza-like illness without pneumonia that resolves on its own Health departments are working to inform healthcare providers of the increase in cases and share information regarding testing and treatment. Legionella bacteria are found naturally in fresh water lakes and streams but can also be found in man-made water systems. Potable water systems, cooling towers, whirlpool spas and decorative fountains offer common environments for bacterial growth and transmission if they are not cleaned and maintained properly. Warm water, stagnation and low disinfectant levels are conditions that support growth in these water systems. Transmission to people occurs when mist or vapor containing the bacteria is inhaled. Legionellosis does not spread person to person. Risk factors for exposure to Legionella bacteria include: Recent travel with an overnight stay Recent stay in a healthcare facility Exposure to hot tubs Exposure to settings where the plumbing has had recent repairs or maintenance work Most healthy individuals do not become infected after exposure to Legionella. Individuals at a higher risk of getting sick include the following: People over age 50 Current or former smokers People with chronic lung disease People with weakened immune systems from diseases, such as cancer, diabetes or liver or kidney failure People who take immunosuppressant drugs Individuals with any concerns about Legionnaires' disease or exposure to the Legionella bacteria should talk to their healthcare provider. More information can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website .


Looking to try the best gay bars in town? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top gay bars in Phoenix, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to venture when cravings strike. 1. Nu Towne Saloon Topping the list is Nu Towne Saloon . Located at 5002 E. Van Buren St., it's the highest-rated gay bar in Phoenix, boasting 4.5 stars out of 27 reviews on Yelp. 2. Kobalt Next up is Encanto's Kobalt , situated at 3110 N. Central Ave., Suite 175. With four stars out of 99 reviews on Yelp, the gay bar, lounge and karaoke spot has proven to be a local favorite. 3. Los Diablos Los Diablos , a gay bar in Encanto, is another go-to, with four stars out of 77 Yelp reviews. Head over to 1028 E. Indian School Road to see for yourself. This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


A NASCAR senior executive suggested Monday that series officials could have delayed opening pit road by a lap in Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway to avoid the incident Dillon Bassett had with a sweeper . Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's chief racing development officer, made the comments Monday on "The Morning Drive" on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Bassett's race ended when he ran into the back of a sweeper truck while trying to enter pit road with 28 laps left in the race. Bassett's vision was obscured by the cloud kicked up by the sweeper. Bassett finished 26th. Extremely disappointed with the ended today. Had a good car and was able to run inside the top 15. Let's be clear, wasn't the spotters fault. If you see the video, 08 about drove right into the back of us.   Dillon Bassett (@Dillon_Wayne44) July 28, 2019 Well, they decided to open pit road as the leaders hit turn 3. Spotter said safety truck on the bottom, I passed a clean up truck and the first sweeper and then committed to pit road at the same point I had all day. The truck was 200ft off of pit road while throwing dust up   Dillon Bassett (@Dillon_Wayne44) July 28, 2019 There were two trucks in the apron near the entrance to pit road as the field passed. Some cars cut down to enter pit road under caution. Tyler Reddick , Justin Allgaier , Riley Herbst , Justin Haley and Zane Smith passed the sweeper truck, which appeared to stop as the cars came by. Bassett was a little further back and hit the back of the truck. Gray Gaulding , who was behind Bassett, had to dart to the right to avoid hitting Bassett's car after it slammed into the back of the sweeper truck. O'Donnell was asked on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio about what happened and what could be done to avoid that situation from repeating in future races. "You look at the circumstance on our end of what happened," O'Donnell said. "You saw a number of cars able to pass the sweeper. We had a conversation with the driver (Bassett). There was some lack of communication, I would say, with the spotter on the team side. We'll correct that. The team will correct that. "But then on our end, you look at the circumstances there. It's one thing to be parked, which we've had many times and it's worked successfully. It's another when you look at kind of the smoke or fog, I guess, that was created. "I think in that instance, you learn from it, you maybe keep pit road closed one more lap and don't try to get back to green as fast. Always a challenge for us because we want to make the fans happy and get back racing as quickly as possible but in that case you could probably wait one more lap. We'll go back and continue to look at the film and make adjustments."


The number of crime reports in the West Denver area saw an overall decline last month, after a previous increase, according to data from CrimeoMeter , which collects data from police agencies and validated sources. Incidents fell by about 13%, from 393 in March to 338 in April. Last month's decrease puts crime levels in the neighborhood even further below where they were a year ago. Crime levels tend to follow seasonal patterns, making a year-over-year comparison most relevant. Meanwhile, citywide crime levels in Denver increased last month, by 2.1 percent from the month before. Among the 79 neighborhoods in the city covered by our data, West Denver ranked 22nd in crime incidents per square mile, dropping from 20th place the month before. The neighborhood with the highest crime density last month was the Central Business District. The offenses most on the decline last month were auto burglary and vandalism. Auto burglary in West Denver fell from 49 reported incidents in March to 22 in April, and has fallen by 32 incidents since April of last year. Vandalism incidents went from 44 to 18 for the month, or about a 59% decrease. Vandalism reports are also slightly down from a year ago. While somewhat smaller categories, there was also a considerable percentage decrease last month in weapons offenses, from 10 incidents per month to six, and in auto theft, from 21 to 16. Both weapons offenses and auto theft have decreased since the same month last year. Among the few types of offenses that saw an uptick last month, theft reports went from 21 to 28. Burglary incidents rose from 18 to 23, and fraud or financial crimes went up from one to three. Theft incidents have seen an overall upward trend since the same time last year, while burglary reports have gone down. Regarding when local crimes tend to occur, Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays continued to see the most crime incidents last month. The largest decrease from the previous month occurred on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, while incidents on Tuesdays and Thursdays went up. When it comes to time of day, early afternoon through evening saw the most crime last month on average each day. To report a crime in progress or life-threatening emergency, call 911. To report a non-urgent crime or complaint, contact your local police department. Head to CrimeoMeter to get free local crime alerts in your area. This story was created automatically using local crime data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about our data sources and local crime methodology. Got thoughts about what we're doing? Go here to share your feedback.


Former Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov is the latest candidate to interview for the head coaching vacancy in Memphis, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Kokoskov was fired last month after just one season with Phoenix, leading the Suns to a 19-63 record, which tied for the second-worst mark in the league. He reportedly had two years remaining on the contract he signed last summer. Jazz assistant Alex Jensen and Warriors assistant Jarron Collins are the only other known candidates to interview with the Grizzlies. Memphis is also believed to have interest in Lithuania's Sarunas Jasikevicius. The Grizzlies and Timberwolves are the only teams currently conducting coaching searches. The Kings, Suns, Lakers and Cavaliers have already filled their vacancies.


Brett Favre likes what he sees from a couple of the NFL's bright young quarterback stars. Favre says Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes are the two quarterbacks in the NFL today whose playing styles most remind him of himself. "There's no question that the sky is the limit for Baker," Favre told Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon-Journal . "And, yeah, I think his style of play, and I've heard the same thing about Mahomes, and I agree with both, that their styles of play   if you had to pick a former player   would certainly match up to my style ." Favre says he sees Mayfield and Mahomes going beyond how the play was drawn up when the circumstances call for it, and he likes to see that. "It's a play-action fake that you've never seen before or a flip, underhand pass or diving over three defenders or ducking your head and getting the extra yard," Favre said. "Those are the type of things that are the unexpected that will become, at some point, maybe expected with a guy like Baker or Mahomes. Playing [quarterback] the way I played and the way Baker and Mahomes play is they just kind of have that added little sixth sense." That is high praise from a Hall of Famer, but based on the early returns from Mahomes and Mayfield, that praise is justified.


As the first Lancia destined to crack the U.S market, history books rarely mention the decadent Dilamdba V8. Here's why you're missing out Everyone knows the Americans prefer things large , so when Lancia tried to crack the US market during the 1920s, they offered up a generously proportioned saloon; the Dilambda . Previewed in New York, the monumental Dilambda was more than five metres in length and roughly the same width as most shacks. The chassis alone weighed an almighty 1710 kg. More Lancias! This 1985 Lancia Delta S4 Stradale Sold For Over $1 Million The Family Car That Preceded Lancia's Rally Domination Designed to provide elegant and comfortable transport for even the most fastidious and well-heeled of customers, the Dilambda possessed the best of what motoring engineering had to offer, alongside the finest materials throughout. Two years later, Lancia 's campaign trail for the Dilambda reached the Paris Motor Show. Many eminent coachbuilders, including Pininfarina, Castagna, Stabilimenti Farina and Cesare Sala, waited to fulfil every whim that Lancia's European clientele could come up with. As would be expected for such indulgent luxury and capacity for individual tailoring, the Dilambda was a somewhat expensive motorcar and total manufacture therefore only equalled around 1700 vehicles. Some nine decades later, it's entirely understandable that, even amongst keen Lancia fans, the Dilambda rarely gets a mention. They're too busy with enthusiastic chatter over other iconic models such as the Fulvia , 037, Integrale , Thema and so on. You'd be very lucky to hear the Dilambda spoken about with such gusto! However, don't let that, nor the low count of the model, fool you into thinking this pre-war Lancia isn't worth considering. After all, the Dilambda happily served as the Lancia flagship until the succeeding Astura was introduced in 1931. Combined with a glowing review in the December 1930 issue of Motorsport Magazine , something makes us think that there was more to the Dilambda than its striking presence. It's entirely plausible those in the know may have been keeping the Dilambda's secrets a little hush-hush. One of the more obvious giveaways is how silently this imposing motorcar can creep by. The sound of falling autumn leaves may well be louder. The Dilambda has the 24-degree angling at which its 3960cc V8 engine is banked at to thank for this. This allowed the use of a much shorter crankshaft, which in turn significantly reduced vibration. Not only was the 100bhp engine credited for its extremely smooth operation, but a top speed of 85mph in a vehicle weighing more than two tonnes was also incredibly impressive at the time. Lancia himself would likely have not given the go-ahead for anything less given his own passion for speed. The stunning acceleration comes mated to a transmission that possesses ratios perfectly matched to the engine's capabilities. Generous torque allows the Dilambda to start comfortably in second and then snappy changes are delivered all through the gears, rivalling most sports cars of the same era. Most would assume these features, although appealing to a keen driver, would surely be a waste in such a large car   but the Dilambda even excels in handling, too. A separate chassis combined with independent front suspension gives the Dilambda exceptional torsional rigidity. It is a vehicle that lends its driver a surprising amount of confidence, via the feedback through the steering and an exceptional ability to remain steady and hold its own through even demanding corners. Who knows who was having more fun aboard a Lancia Dilambda   the passengers cocooned in lavish comfort or the driver up front benefitting directly from Lancia's time as a racing driver. Either way, it seems the Dilambda was   and remains   a pre-war vehicle capable of delivering performance as noteworthy as its appearance. This particular example heralds from 1931 and is one of approximately 1104 Dilambdas remaining in existence. Having spent some forty-five years within the service of ecclesiastical associate Don Emilio Borne Greber of northern Spain, this Dilambda was acquired in the mid-1970s by enthusiastic classic collector Snr Miguel Burgos. Afterwards, the Dilambda resided within the collections of the Navarre Motor Museum between 1995-2014, before gaining another new owner. With a partitioned interior that comes complete with beige buttoned velour seats, this Dilambda is still as luxurious as when she was new. The engine comes complete but has not run for twenty years due to one original carburettor proving unserviceable. However, after a lengthy search, a replacement carburettor has been found and comes included in the sale, ready to bring this now rare Dilambda back to running order. Price? These beasts aren't cheap, and this one will set you back $120. Get a closer look at the 1931 Lancia here .


After a two-year contract extension for left tackle Joe Staley was announced this week , 49ers General Manager John Lynch said that maintaining continuity with a 12-year starter "made too much sense" for the team to consider moving on without him. Staley isn't the only member of the line locked up for a while. Left guard Laken Tomlinson and right guard Mike Person are also signed through 2021 while center Weston Richburg is under contract until 2022. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey 's rookie deal comes with an option for the 2022 season, so a group that came together last year is set to remain in place for a while. "It's going to be really cool because it is rare to have an offensive line, potentially, be able to stay together for a really long time, especially in this day and age," Staley said, via NBCSportsBayArea.com. "Going into this second year, we feel so much more connection with each other." Stability on the offensive line won't lift the 49ers back into contention by itself, but matching it with better health at key positions would push the offense in the right direction this year.


CHULA VISTA   A bad breakup may have fueled a shooting in a Chula Vista Costco parking lot that left two new parents critically injured and the gunman dead, police said Tuesday. Sean Illian, 48, was identified as the man who ambushed his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend as the two were unloading groceries at the busy shopping center off Broadway about 1 p.m. Monday. The couple's infant was at their side when the shooting started, but was not injured, police said. Illian then turned the gun on himself, and died at a hospital. His victims   Angelina Perez, 32, and Samuel Valdez, 31   were rushed into surgery with multiple gunshot wounds. They both remained hospitalized with critical injuries, police said Tuesday. Chula Vista police Lt. Dan Peak said Perez broke up with Illian in 2018, and started dating Valdez soon after. Witnesses said the relationship between Perez and Illian had "ended badly," leading investigators to suspect the breakup and Perez's new love interest as motives for the shooting. Illian and Perez had no documented history of domestic violence, Peak said. He added that Perez does not live in San Diego County, and had been visiting family at the time of the shooting. The attack sent other shoppers diving for cover, and left bystanders shaken, but no one else was injured. The shooting was the third deadly incident to happen at a California Costco over the last week. On Friday, an off-duty Los Angeles police officer fatally shot a man and injured two of the man's family members during a confrontation in a Corona Costco. The officer was waiting in a line to get a food sample for his 1-year-old son when he was attacked and briefly fell unconscious, the officer's attorney said. Authorities said the assault was unprovoked and prompted the officer to fire his weapon, killing Kenneth French. Family members of 32-year-old French said he had an intellectual disability and identified the two other victims as French's parents. Two days later, a gravely injured woman was found in a Costco parking lot in Bakersfield. Police suspect the victim, who later died, was mauled by dogs.     ©2019 The San Diego Union-Tribune Visit The San Diego Union-Tribune at www.sandiegouniontribune.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


O.J. Simpson now has his own official Twitter account, @TheRealOJ32. And according to his first post   a 22-second video that has been viewed almost 2 million times in eight hours   Simpson declares with a smile that "I've got a little getting even to do." The video accompanied a tweet that said only "Coming soon!!!" "Hey Twitter world, this is yours truly," a smiling Simpson says in the video, which appears to have been taken from a golf course. "Now, coming soon to Twitter, you'll get to read all my thoughts and opinions on just about everything. Now, there's a lot of fake OJ accounts out there. So this one, @TheRealOJ32 is the only official one. So, this should be a lot of fun. I've got a little getting even to do. So God bless. Take care." The snippet has already drawn an avalanche of responses, with over 6,500 replies, 9,000 retweets and 25,000 likes in the first 10 hours since posting. That's a sizable wave of responses for an account that had gained roughly 97,000 followers in its first few hours. While the account does not yet have Twitter's blue checkmark of authenticity, it does appear to be legitimate and will almost certainly be one of the most controversial on the social media platform. As of Saturday morning, the account only followed four others Twitter profiles: @USC_FB (the official USC football account), @HeismanTrophy (the official Heisman Trophy Trust account), @JSimpsonSells (an account that appears to belong to Simpson's son, Justin), and @SinCityAttorney (an account that appears to belong to Simpson's Las Vegas-based lawyer, Malcolm LaVergne). Simpson was controversially acquitted of the double-murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1995, but later found responsible for the murders in a civil lawsuit in 1997   the latter of which included a $33.5 million judgement against Simpson and in favor of Brown and Goldman's families. The families have repeatedly skewered Simpson for failing allegedly attempting to evade the financial liability in the judgment, accusing him of relocating to Florida and then Nevada to avoid paying the tens of millions still owed. Simpson was later served nearly nine years in a Nevada prison for his role in a Las Vegas robbery involving pieces of memorabilia that previously belonged to him. Based on the first video post, the account may end up being one of the most challenging for Twitter to monitor when it comes to the site's recent clamp-down on abusive behavior and language, which has included brief suspensions of some high-profile accounts. As might be expected, Simpson's first post has already drawn a cacophony of jokes about his double-murder acquittal and other less-than-tasteful responses. More from Yahoo Sports: Durant talked to Thompson about 'unfinished business' USWNT staying off social media amid celebrations controversy Haynes sources: Butler intends to decline option with Sixers Warriors aren't favorites to win 2020 NBA title Related slideshow: 2019 NFL draft: The top picks (Provided by imagn)


The Blue Jays have selected the contract of righty Edwin Jackson , per a club announcement. Lefty Thomas Pannone was optioned out to create active roster space, with righty Matt Shoemaker moved to the 60-day injured list for a 40-man spot. Jackson's addition to the MLB roster was a foregone conclusion when he was acquired recently from the A's . The veteran hurler had joined the Oakland organization on a minors pact that included an opt-out chance later this month. He was shipped to Toronto to help fill a need for innings on the Jays' roster and will take the ball this evening. By making it official, the Blue Jays have now become the 14th MLB team Jackson has appeared with in 16 seasons in the majors. He's closing in on 2,000 career innings with a cumulative 4.60 ERA. Last year, the 35-year-old pitched to a 3.33 ERA in 92 frames for the A's, though metrics suggested those results were based in no small part upon some batted ball fortune. Jackson ran up 19 strikeouts but also surrendered four home runs in his 14 2/3 minor-league frames to open the present campaign.


By most accounts, the Cincinnati Bengals have a nice crop of young talent to build around for the future. But over at Pro Football Focus , the Bengals don't make an appearance at all in a top 25 players under 25 list, which is obviously championed by players such as Patrick Mahomes and Saquon Barkley. The list says a player's resume, consistency and grades in the PFF systems played a part. But it is interesting to think about some of the Bengals who didn't make the list. Joe Mixon is only 22 years old and ran for 1,168 yards and eight scores last year, catching another 43 passes. Then there is Tyler Boyd, who put up 1,028 yards and seven scores in his breakout season. And on the other side of the ball, an injury that ruined last season must have hurt Carl Lawson's chances despite his 8.5 sacks as a rookie. Jessie Bates presumably doesn't have enough NFL experience to make such a list yet. At the least, it is a fun exercise to see where these players stand from a national perspective. And given the trajectories of some of these guys, they could end up making such a list in the near future. MORE: Jimmy Butler's vague Instagram post had Sixers fans freaking out Five potential Jimmy Butler landing spots in free agency Why rookie Devin Bush is the cure for what ails the Steelers defense Roundup: RIP Grumpy Cat; Ruby Rose as Batwoman; Mets to Have Seinfeld Night Redskins' Josh Norman rips Giants GM Dave Gettleman yet again


Bruce Arena has accepted the challenge of rebuilding the New England Revolution, though the legendary American coach is still being quizzed about his last gig. Speaking Thursday after his appointment as Revs boss, Arena was asked about rebounding from the United States men's national team's terrible failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. [ MORE: Jovic to Real Madrid ] It was always going to happen, and his quotes were always going to grab headlines. Arena, for his part, did not disappoint. "I was actually proud of the job I did in 2017," Arena said. "We had a great group of players and they worked real hard and we fell short. That's life, unfortunately. Sometimes people don't understand that. We played 18 games and lost two of them in 2017. Overall, I think it was a positive experience." The Yanks lost two of their final four games in the Hex, gaining just four points. The first loss was at home to Costa Rica and the second was to already-eliminated Trinidad and Tobago's B Team. "Certainly, I'm as disappointed as anybody in that failure. I don't define that as my legacy, personally. I know others do. I'm working and trying to be as good as I can be. I'm 67 years old in a country where the president is in his 70s. His likely competition in the next election is 70-something, so I'm the young kid on the block. Did I have to do this? No. But I love coaching, I love the sport, I love the challenge in building the game in this country; it's something I've done for 40 years and it's not easy to walk away from. It's something that's very important for me and that's why I'm here today." So anyway… New England fired Brad Friedel last week with the club five points outside the playoff picture, and Arena says the team's goal is to get back into the postseason discussion. The Revs have allowed the most goals in Major League Soccer this season, and missed the playoffs by nine points last season. Arena will bring league nous to New England, and he does have weapons in the form of Carles Gil and Juan Agudelo, but success will take time and added talent. Follow @NicholasMendola


It's no secret NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin is good at golf. But is he good enough to play with the pros? Maybe. But not yet. When asked if he'd like to play in a future PGA Tour event like former quarterback Tony Romo has done on sponsor exemptions , Hamlin said it's something he'd love to experience, but he wants to do it when he's truly able to compete at the level of Tour players. Hamlin, who drives the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, said his handicap is 3.5. "I'd definitely love to do that on one of those many tours, but I wouldn't do it until I got better," Hamlin said. "I still think I need to get three or four strokes better at least be at scratch should I go out there and embarrass myself." Until then, he said, he'll settle for being "the best driver in NASCAR." In the 13th year of his professional racing career, Hamlin is seeing success. He won the 2019 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 in March and the Daytona 500 in February, which snapped a 47-race winless streak. He's competing Saturday in the Digital Ally 400 at the Kansas Speedway, one week after experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning at the end of the NASCAR race at Dover International Speedway. However, no matter how stressful or busy racing season becomes, he still finds time to hit a golf course. The most recent event he participated in was the Wells Fargo Championship Pro-Am on May 1. Hamlin and fellow NASCAR drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Larson were matched with PGA pro Harold Varner III. The most memorable part of playing the difficult greens of Quail Hollow for Hamlin was getting to know Varner who not only helped the group navigate the difficult greens of Quail Hollow, he cut loose with the racing crew. "He definitely has got a lot of energy. He's really outgoing," Hamlin said of Varner. "He's probably the most outgoing pro I've played with in any kind of golf tournament … He chats up everybody and has a good time. He cracks up with us. We kind of got a little game going between me and my friends and he's trash talking in between." Hamlin, Larson and Stenhouse are friends and avid golfers, but they were thankful for Varner's advice during the event. Varner helped lead the group of avid golfers to finish in second place with a score of 56 behind the group led by Webb Simpson. "That place is pretty hard to prepare for because the greens are really fast," Hamlin said. "(Larson, Stenhouse and I) play golf probably once a week, I'd say last year I posted somewhere in the 85-90 rounds a year and those guys were pretty close … We prepare by just playing a lot." Hamlin said he schedules two or three Pro-Ams at Tour events every season. The specific Pro-Ams and events in which he will participate this year are still up in the air, but Hamlin said he was "certain" he'd have a few more on his schedule this summer. Outside of Pro-Ams, Hamlin and fellow drivers will frequently schedule a few informal rounds on Saturdays after they're finished racing for the day. They find a local golf club, get a group together and compete away from the speed and adrenaline of the racetrack. The friends play in a more organized format too. It's called "Golf Guys Tour." The brainchild of Hamlin and Stenhouse, the "Tour" is in its fourth year. Comprised of 21 players, the field includes mostly NASCAR drivers like Stenhouse and Larson with a few club members at Hamlin's home course, The Peninsula Club in Cornelius, North Carolina, mixed in. The group averages one tournament per month from March through October. This month's "Golf Guys" tournament began Wednesday, Hamlin said. MORE: Chris Paul's dirty dealings before Game 6 yield epic comeuppance Adrian Wojnarowski on how the Lakers' chaos could actually help LeBron NBA Free Agency 2019: The top players Daniel Jones has been accepted, embraced inside of Giants' locker room DirecTV's hold on Sunday Ticket becomes more tenuous as a competitor enters Related slideshow: Tiger Woods in pictures (provided by photo services)


Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders didn't do quite as much as running back Phillip Lindsay in the Broncos' first training camp practice of the year, but it was still a productive day for the wideout. Sanders knew going in that he wouldn't be full go as he works his way back from last year's torn Achilles and he sat out the 11-on-11 work that Lindsay and others did on Thursday. He did other drills, though, and he came through the workout feeling pleased about his status. "It felt good. It felt really good ," Sanders said, via Nicki Jhabvala of TheAthletic.com. "Happy to be back out here. I tore my Achilles seven months ago, so to be back out here and running routes with no pain and feeling good and cutting and feeling like myself, a lot of people didn't expect that. It's a testament to all the hard work I put in and all the pain I went through to be standing here." Quarterback Joe Flacco said that Sanders has "looked incredible" throughout the offseason and the wideout's continued progress in his recovery should allow the duo time to work on their chemistry ahead of their first season as teammates.


ROYAL OAK, MI   Don't count this chick out before it's hatched. An endangered Great Lakes piping plover surprised Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) staff recently when the resilient little chick broke out of its shell. Four piping plover eggs were found last month abandoned, wet and sunken in the sand on the shores of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan after heavy rain and high water levels washed out the nest. The eggs were taken to the University of Michigan's Biological Station in Pellston, where the DZS leads an award-winning program to salvage eggs like these to bolster the population of Great Lakes piping plovers. Upon the eggs' arrival, DZS staff were dismayed that they appeared to be unviable, as no movement was observed. After three days, staff spotted motion in one of the eggs, which continued to develop, but the chick struggled to hatch. A DZS bird keeper assisted with the hatching, and the chick is now almost three weeks old and doing well. "We are completely surprised and delighted that this chick hatched and is now thriving," said Bonnie Van Dam, DZS associate curator of birds, who supervises the field conservation program for the tiny shorebirds. "We are hopeful it will be able to join wild plovers once it's fully fledged." In 1986, only 17 nesting pairs of piping plovers remained in the Great Lakes region, and a federal recovery program was established by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Scientists found that, due to human disturbance and other factors, some of the plovers were abandoning their eggs, and they realized salvaging these eggs could contribute significantly to the species' recovery. Because of its expertise in bird care and incubation, the DZS developed a salvage-rearing program to hatch out abandoned eggs and rear the tiny chicks until they can be released to join wild plovers. More than two decades later, 238 birds have been reared and released by the DZS-led team. A total of 19 chicks have hatched this spring and are currently being reared, with the first release expected this week in northern Michigan. In 2018, the USFWS honored DZS Curator of Birds Tom Schneider with the Recovery Champion Award, recognizing his leadership and the significant contributions made by the DZS in the recovery of Great Lakes piping plovers. The DZS recently announced the launch of Piping Plover Pilsner, a craft beer created in partnership with Griffin Claw Brewing Company to recognize and support its conservation work for the endangered bird. The limited-edition brew is the first in a series of four special beers Griffin Claw will introduce under the Survival Series label. Due to early and enthusiastic support, Griffin Claw is brewing another small batch of the crisp, refreshing pilsner. The beer is available while supplies last at the brewery in Birmingham as well as select grocery stores and specialty markets throughout Metro Detroit. For hours, prices, directions and other information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit detroitzoo.org .


While it's well known that fashion designers tend to push the envelope in the name of creative design   they often miss the mark and instead spark outrage. Case in point: World-renowned Italian fashion house Gucci is under fire   again. This time over a namesake turban resembling the traditional Sikh headwear that was modeled by a caucasian male at the luxury brand's Milan Fashion Week show last winter. After the show, outrage ensued. One Twitter user asked Gucci why it couldn't have found a "brown model" to showcase the look. Another, who identified as Sikh, called the fashion statement "a huge sign of disrespect and disregard towards Sikhism." But Gucci failed to respond in a way that was satisfactory to those it offended, and the controversy bubbled up again this week when social media users identified the "Indy Full Head Wrap" for sale on Nordstrom's website. "I'm surprised that Gucci produced the turban for retail sale after the response to its appearance on the runway," said Susan Scafidi, founder of the Fashion Law Institute and author of Who Owns Culture? Appropriation and Authenticity in American Law. The extravagant accessory, described as a "gorgeously crafted turban" that's "ready to turn heads while keeping you in comfort as well as trademark style" was sold out at Nordstrom Thursday, but screenshots taken earlier show it retailed for $790. Traditional turbans, which can be purchased at South Asian fabric shops, online retailers and Sikh festivals typically cost about $20. Critics of the edgy garment are up in arms over Gucci's alleged cultural insensitivity of late . The luxury designer in February pulled a wool balaclava sweater from its collection and apologized to the public after people said the design reminded them of "blackface." The $890 item featured an oversized neck with a cutout for the mouth outlined in red, imitating a pair of lips. In March, Gucci was again criticized for mocking financial hardship by selling a pair of $870 distressed sneakers that one social media user said looked like something shoppers might find at a thrift store. In Sikhism, wearing a turban "asserts a public commitment to maintaining the values and ethics of the tradition, including service, compassion, and honesty," according to the Sikh Coalition. "It seems inappropriate that a corporation would try and commodify and capitalize on a sacred article for millions of Sikhs," said Simran Jeet Fingh, senior fellow a the Sikh Coalition. "At the same time, though, I recognize that our community is facing much more urgent challenges that are matters of life and death like racist bullying, and to me those are more pressing problems." More reactions to Gucci's latest misstep poured in over Twitter. One user highlighted the violence that turbans have incited against those who wear them for religious reasons. "Did someone at @gucci even bother to figure out what a dastaar (turban) means to Sikhs? Did it cross your minds to consider the history behind our identity? My people are discriminated against, even killed, for wearing a turban," Aasees Kaur wrote Tuesday. Seriously @Nordstrom @gucci ? The turban is one of the most important and symbolic articles of faith for Sikhs, and you're selling it as a fashion accessory to make money? This isn't the first time you've come under fire for cultural appropriation. Do better. pic.twitter.com/3KHtHSKEqm   Taran Parmar (@Tarankparmar) May 14, 2019 Fingh said the episode highlighted the need for more cultural diversity within the ranks of Gucci and other organizations. "If these companies actually had diverse communities represented within their corporate structures, there is no way that something as insensitive as this would pass through and make it to the market," he said. "So this is another example of why representation matters and why diversity matters, and that's a change that really needs to be made on an institutional level." Twitter user Taran Parmar called attention to Gucci's previous faux-pas. "Seriously @Nordstrom @gucci ? The turban is one of the most important and symbolic articles of faith for Sikhs, and you're selling it as a fashion accessory to make money? This isn't the first time you've come under fire for cultural appropriation. Do better," she wrote. Not all members of the faith were offended, however, and some even chastised those who spoke out against Gucci. "Turbans are not only a Sikh article faith they are a general clothing article we're stepping out of our range here," said Ricky Saini . Indeed turbans   or versions of the headwear   have been worn in many different contexts throughout history, including by Hollywood actresses Greta Garbo and Gloria Swanson . But what's offensive about Gucci's design, Fingh said, is that while "it seems very much modeled after a distinctly Sikh style," it's designed to be worn and removed like a cap, rather than wrapped like a turban and reveals a deep cultural insensitivity. Scafidi said Gucci now has an opportunity to connect with the Sikh community "and provide a platform for sharing cultural knowledge about the meaning and history of their turbans, as well as the discrimination that members of the community face while wearing them." "Copying a beautiful design without sharing or addressing the social burdens it may impose on those who traditionally wear it can indeed be characterized as cultural misappropriation -- but hopefully this time it will become a teachable moment," she said.


Xherdan Shaqiri has highlighted Liverpool's 'togetherness' as their greatest strength heading into the all-English Champions League final against Tottenham. The Reds reached their second European Cup final in two years in remarkable circumstances,Overturning a three-goal deficit in the second leg of their semi-final against Barcelona. Shaqiri himself played a significant part in that memorable night at Anfield - providing the assist for Georgino Wijnaldum's second goal, with a beautifully executed cross from the left. Divock Origi would eventually grab Liverpool's fourth of the night to send the Catalans crashing out, and send the Reds marching through to the final in Madrid. Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com , the former Champions League winner with Bayern Munich discussed how the environment of the Liverpool squad could help them in the upcoming final: "This is the most important thing for a big group, to have togetherness; altogether, we can achieve a lot - and we saw that in the games, especially against Barcelona . Winning Team!酪 #marbella #YNWA @LFC pic.twitter.com/npGuW8zyCb   Xherdan Shaqiri (@XS_11official) May 22, 2019 "We had a few players who didn't play, so we showed our togetherness is very strong. That's very important to have always, especially for this game coming up too. "It's always good to go to a training camp altogether, to stay all day together, to enjoy the sun, to train hard and for the group, it's always important to stay together. "It gives you strength for the coming days and hopefully for the game." Whilst Liverpool's incredible comeback victory certainly highlighted their togetherness, they will be coming up against a Tottenham side that have shown equal levels of resilience and squad unity throughout their Champions League campaign. Spurs overcame a much-fancied Manchester City in the quarter-finals before pulling off their own heroics in their semi-final clash against Ajax, with a last minute winner from Lucas Moura that broke Dutch hearts.