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Denver, CO

Gilgeous-Alexander scores 34 points, Thunder beat short-handed Nuggets 105-100

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Gilgeous-Alexander scores 34 points, Thunder beat short-handed Nuggets 105-100


OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 34 points to help the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the short-handed Denver Nuggets 105-100 on Wednesday night in a matchup of teams near the top of the Western Conference standings.

Denver star Nikola Jokic sat out because of pain in his lower back. Oklahoma City took advantage of the two-time league MVP’s absence by holding the defending champion Nuggets to 39.8% shooting.

Oklahoma City’s MVP contender wasn’t sure he’d play, either. Gilgeous-Alexander was questionable but ended up with his 14th game in January with at least 30 points.

“Dealing with a little bit of illness, but I (felt) good enough to play, obviously,” he said. “I wasn’t sure when I got listed. I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to go tonight before the game, before a couple naps, couple sleeps. I had enough in me to go.”

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Chet Holmgren had 18 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks and reserves Aaron Wiggins and Vasilije Micic each added 12 points for the Thunder.

Oklahoma City guard Jalen Williams, the team’s No. 2 scorer this season, was out with a sprained right ankle and reserve guard Isaiah Joe sat out with a bruised sternum.

“I just thought the team, like, solved problems together,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “It was a great team win. We got contributions from everybody. In a game that was obviously a grind, I was just really, really impressed with the energy that we were able to tap into tonight.”

The Thunder won the season series 3-1 and avoided their first three-game skid of the season. Oklahoma City outrebounded Denver 53-47 and outscored the Nuggets 20-11 at the free throw line.

Aaron Gordon had 16 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for the Nuggets.

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“I thought he was just phenomenal in terms of the effort and the aggression, the playmaking, the shot blocking, the defense,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “I mean, we asked a lot of him tonight. … I thought Aaron was just, phenomenal across the board tonight. And, it’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to get the win.”

Michael Porter Jr. added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Nuggets.

Oklahoma City led 73-72 heading into the fourth and opened the period on a 10-0 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Lu Dort. Holmgren’s one-handed putback of a missed 3-pointer by Cason Wallace put the Thunder ahead 87-74.

Denver cut its deficit to four before Gilgeous-Alexander scored on a 3-point play, then a 3-pointer, to put Oklahoma City up 10 with about four minutes remaining.

Denver stayed focused. Gordon’s one-handed dunk in traffic cut Oklahoma City’s lead to 98-95, and a pair of free throws by Jamal Murray made it a one-point game.

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Holmgren’s 3-pointer gave Oklahoma City a four-point lead with 22 seconds left. The Thunder then harassed Denver into a five-second call and hung on from there.

“We have guys on our team want to win, and will do whatever it takes,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And no matter what’s going on, in the past and future, all you can do is control the present. And I think we did that tonight. We took it possession by possession. We gave it everything we had those possessions, and it was enough to win, and we were rewarded because of it.”

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Nuggets: Host Portland on Friday night.

Thunder: Host Charlotte on Friday night.

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Denver, CO

Suspects sought in Denver shooting that killed teen, wounded 3 others

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Suspects sought in Denver shooting that killed teen, wounded 3 others


Denver police are searching for suspects in a Saturday night parking lot shooting that killed a 16-year-old and wounded three men, at least one of whom is not expected to survive, according to the agency.

Officers responded to the shooting in the 10100 block of East Hampden Avenue about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, near where East Hampden intersects South Galena Street, according to an alert from the Denver Police Department.

Police said a group of people had gathered in a parking lot on the edge of the city’s Kennedy neighborhood to celebrate the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro when the shooting happened.

Paramedics took one victim to a hospital, and two others were taken to the hospital in private vehicles, police said. A fourth victim, identified by police as 16-year-old William Rodriguez Salas, was dropped off near Iliff Avenue and South Havana Street, where he died from his wounds.

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At least one of the three victims taken to hospitals — a 26-year-old man, a 29-year-old man and a 33-year-old man — is not expected to survive, police said Tuesday. One man was in critical condition Sunday night, one was in serious condition and one was treated for a graze wound and released.



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Denver’s flavored vape ban sends customers across city lines

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Denver’s flavored vape ban sends customers across city lines


The new year in Colorado brought new restrictions for people who vape in Denver. As of January 1, a voter-approved ban on flavored nicotine products is now in effect in Denver, prohibiting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and vaping products within city limits.

Just outside the Denver border, vape shops say they’re already feeling the ripple effects.

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At Tokerz Head Shop in Aurora, located about a block and a half from the Denver city line, owner Gordon McMillon says customers are beginning to trickle in from Denver.

“I was in shock it passed, to be honest,” McMillon said. “Just because of how many people vape in Denver. But we’re hoping to take care of everybody that doesn’t get their needs met over there anymore.”

One of those customers is Justin Morrison, who lives in the Denver area and vapes daily. He stopped by the Aurora shop a day after the ban went into place.

Morrison says the ban won’t stop him from vaping. It will just change where he buys his products.

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“I’m going to have to come all the way to Aurora to get them,” he said. “It’s pretty inconvenient. I smoke flavored vapes every day.”

The goal of the ban, according to public health advocates, is to reduce youth vaping.

Morrison said flavored vapes helped him quit smoking cigarettes, an argument frequently raised by adult users and vape retailers who oppose flavor bans.

“It helped tremendously,” he said. “I stopped liking the flavor of cigarettes. The taste was nasty, the smell was nasty. I switched all the way over to vapes, and it helped me stop smoking cigarettes completely.”

McMillon worries bans like Denver’s could push some former smokers back to cigarettes.

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“If they can’t get their vapes, some will go back to cigarettes, for sure,” he said. “I’ve asked people myself, and it’s about 50-50.”

While McMillon acknowledges it will bring more business to shops outside Denver, he says the ban wasn’t something he wanted.

“Even if it helps me over here in Aurora, I’m against it,” he said. “I feel like adults should have the rights if they want to vape or not.”

More than 500 retailers in Denver removed their flavored products. For many, they accounted for the majority of their sales. Denver’s Department of Public Health and Environment says it will begin issuing fines and suspensions to retailers found selling flavored tobacco products.

Both McMillan and Morrison say they’re concerned the ban could spread to other cities. For now, Aurora vape shops remain legal alternatives for Denver customers.

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Despite the added drive, Morrison says quitting isn’t on the table.

“It’s an addiction. You’re going to find a way to get it. That’s why I don’t see the point of banning it here,” Morrison said.

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Planning to begin in Denver for American Indian Cultural Embassy

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Planning to begin in Denver for American Indian Cultural Embassy


Denver will be the site of the United States’ first-ever American Indian Cultural Embassy.

Funding for the project was approved by Denver voters in the Vibrant Denver Bond measure.

The vision is for the embassy to welcome Native people back home to Colorado.

On the snowy day of CBS News Colorado’s visit, Rick Williams observed the buffalo herd at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

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“These animals are sacred to us,” said Williams, who is Oglala Lakota and Cheyenne. “This was our economy. They provided everything we needed to live a wonderful lifestyle.”

Rick Williams, president of People of the Sacred Land and a leader in the effort to build an American Indian Cultural Embassy, looks at buffalo at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

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Williams is president of People of the Sacred Land and a leader in the effort to build an American Indian Cultural Embassy.

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“‘Homeland’ is a special term for everybody, right?” Williams asked. “But for people who were alienated, for American Indians who were alienated from Colorado, they don’t have a home, they don’t have a home community that you can go to, this is it. And I think that’s sad.”

The First Creek Open Space — near 56th and Peña, near the southeast corner of the Arsenal — is owned by the City and County of Denver and is being considered for development of the embassy.

“To have a space that’s an embassy that would be government-to-government relations on neutral space,” said Denver City Councilmember Stacie Gilmore, who represents northeast Denver District 11. “But then also supporting the community’s economic development and their cultural preservation.”

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Denver City Councilmember Stacie Gilmore speaks from the First Creek Open Space in northeast Denver about the possibility of building the United States’ first-ever American Indian Cultural Embassy at the site.

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Gilmore said $20 million from the Vibrant Denver Bond will support the design and construction of the center to support Indigenous trade, arts, and education.

“That sense of connection and that sense of place and having a site is so important if you’re going to welcome people back home,” added Gilmore.

“What a great treasure for people in Colorado,” Williams said as he read the interpretive sign at the wildlife refuge.

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Rick Williams, president of People of the Sacred Land and a leader in the effort to build an American Indian Cultural Embassy, reads a sign at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

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He said the proposed location makes perfect sense: “Near the metropolitan area, but not necessarily in the metropolitan area, we would love to be near buffalo. We would love to be in an area where there’s opportunities for access to the airport.”

The Denver March Powwow could one day be held at the embassy.

Williams dreams of expanding the buffalo herd nearby and having the embassy teach future generations Indigenous skills and culture.

The concept for the embassy is one of the recommendations emerging from the Truth, Restoration, and Education Commission, a group of American Indian leaders in Colorado who began to organize four years ago to study the history of Native Americans in our state.

And the work is just beginning.

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“We have to think about, ‘how do we maintain sustainability and perpetuity of a facility like this?’” Williams said. “So there’s lots of issues that are going to be worked on over the next year or so.”

Williams added, “One day our dreams are going to come true, and those tribes are going to come, and we’re going to have a big celebration out here. We’re going to have a drum, and we’re going to sing honor songs, and we’re going to have just the best time ever welcoming these people back to their homeland.”

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s staff sent the following statement:

“We are excited about the passing of the Vibrant Denver Bond and the opportunity it creates to invest in our city’s first American Indian Cultural Embassy. We are committed to working hand-in-hand with the Indigenous community to plan and develop the future embassy, and city staff have already been invited to listen and engage with some of our local American Indian groups, like the People of the Sacred Land. We are not yet at the stage of formal plans, but we are excited to see the momentum of this project continue.”

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