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New Maryland laws go into effect Oct. 1: Spousal defense, hate crimes, firearms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

A Maryland law that prohibited prosecution of a person for rape or other sexual crimes against their legal spouse will be repealed next week — one of hundreds of new Maryland laws set to take effect on Oct. 1.Known for years as spousal defense, the new law eliminates the defense, and allows prosecution if “the person in committing the crime uses force or threat of force and the act is without the consent of the spouse.”Other new laws will allow victims of hate crimes — and other protected classes — to sue the person or group who committed the offense against them, for hate crimes committed after Oct. 1.As of Oct. 1, people with concealed-carry permits in Maryland will be banned from bringing firearms to a number of public places, including schools, health care facilities, polling places, stadiums, museums, venues that serve alcohol or cannabis for on-site consumption. The restriction also applies to private property, unless the owner has granted permission.Exemptions wil...

Pitt left tackle Goncalves out for the season, QB Jurkovec’s status uncertain for Virginia Tech

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh will have to find a way to recover from its worst start since 2017 without left tackle Matt Goncalves.Coach Pat Narduzzi announced Monday that Goncalves is done for the season after sustaining a lower-body injury in a loss to West Virginia on Sept. 16.Goncalves, a third-team All-ACC selection as a junior in 2022, is the third starting offensive lineman to deal with a serious setback this season. Ryan Jacoby tore his ACL during training camp and is done for the year and Jake Kradel is out indefinitely.Branson Taylor will move from right tackle to left tackle to replace Goncalves.The Panthers (1-3, 0-1 ACC) play at Virginia Tech (1-3) on Saturday night with uncertainty at quarterback.Senior Phil Jurkovec left Saturday night’s loss to No. 15 North Carolina late in the first half with an undisclosed injury. Narduzzi said Monday he’s unsure if Jurkovec will be available against the Hokies. Jurkovec was injured when he was hit high by North Carolin...

Tornado-damaged Pfizer plant in North Carolina restarts production

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (AP) — A major Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina that makes critical supplies for U.S. hospitals has restarted production about 10 weeks after it was heavily damaged by a tornado, the company announced Monday.Getting a majority of manufacturing lines at the Rocky Mount facility back up and running is a “proud achievement,” Pfizer said in a statement. Full production across the facility’s three manufacturing sites is expected by the end of the year.Parts of the massive plant’s roofs were ripped open and pallets of medicine tossed around when the tornado touched down on July 19. But most of the damage was to a storage facility for raw materials, packaging supplies and finished medicines, rather than its medicine production areas, Pfizer said. No employees were hurt.The plant produces anesthesia and other drugs as well as nearly one-fourth of the sterile injectable medications Pfizer supplies to U.S. hospitals, the company said.Thirteen medicin...

EU member states weaken proposal setting new emission standards for cars and vans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union member countries have watered down a proposal by the bloc’s executive arm aimed at lowering vehicle emissions.The European Commission had proposed last year updated pollution standards for new combustion engine vehicles that are expected to remain on European roads well after the 27-nation bloc bans their sale in 2035, with the aim of lowering emissions from tailpipes, brakes and tires.The Commission hoped that new guidelines would help lower nitrogen oxide emissions from cars and vans by 35% compared to existing exhaust emission regulations for pollutants other than carbon dioxide, and by 56% from buses and trucks. But several member states and automakers pushed for a weaker legislation and agreed Monday on a diluted compromise put forward by the rotating presidency of the EU currently held by Spain.Member states instead decided to keep existing emissions limits and test conditions for cars and vans, and to lower them only for buses and heavy co...

Ex-NASCAR driver Austin Theriault running to unseat Democratic Rep. Jared Golden in Maine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

FORT KENT, Maine (AP) — NASCAR driver-turned-politician Austin Theriault announced Monday that he’s entering the Republican primary seeking an opportunity to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden in what’s expected to be one of the country’s most competitive 2024 House races.Theriault, who made his announcement on radio shows, said he’ll “come in with fire” to confront issues like inflation, illegal border crossings and dying small towns. “Regular hardworking folks are getting held down by out-of-touch, out-of-state elites who are clueless about how hard it is to make a living in Maine,” he said.The 29-year-old freshman state lawmaker from Fort Kent formally filed his paperwork Monday, joining mortgage broker Robert Cross, of Dedham and another first-term lawmaker, Michael Soboleski, of Phillips, in the primary contest.The rural, sprawling 2nd Congressional District has become a hotly contested seat as the region has become a conservative bastion in lib...

2023 is officially the worst season in Rockies history

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- It's official: The 2023 season is the worst in Colorado Rockies franchise history, with 56 wins and 99 losses.The new, perhaps a little dubious, record came Sunday after a 3-4 loss against the Chicago Cubs.The previous worst-ever season happened in 2012 when the team had 64 wins and 98 losses.In addition to being the worst in franchise history, 2023 also marks the team's 30th season in the MLB, having first started in 1993. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get Broncos, Nuggets, Rockies and more sports news Not the worst in the leagueWhile it is the worst season in Rockies history, and there's potential for it to get worse, the team only boasts the third-worst record in the league this year. The Oakland Athletics have a record of 48-108, a number the Rockies cannot reach with the remaining games, and the Kansas City Royals have a record of 54-102.However, the team does have the worst record in the National League. The second-worst record in the division belongs to the...

How will the Broncos move forward after historical loss to Dolphins?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Mondays can be unpleasant. Just ask Sean Payton and his Denver Broncos who gave up 70 points to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.“We played a good offense,” Payton said on his Monday morning Zoom call. “But we certainly didn't help ourselves in any way, shape or form.”The Broncos had no answers for the Dolphins. In one of the most lopsided games in NFL history, the Broncos gave up 726 yards and averaged 10.6 yards per play. The Dolphins were the first team in NFL history to record five passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns in a game. “You take a butt-whooping like that, you find out a lot about everyone,” Payton said. So where to go from here? Broncos fans disappointed after 50-point loss in Miami Payton said there wouldn’t be any coaching or player changes after this game. He added, “That wouldn’t be something I would share on this call if it were the case. So, to answer your question - no.”Payton debated going over the game film with his team this morning at...

Costco members now have access to $29 online healthcare visits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

New York (CNN) — Costco is now offering members online health checkups for as low as $29.The retailer is offering the new service in partnership with Sesame, a direct-to-consumer healthcare marketplace that connects medical providers nationwide with consumers.Sesame, in a release, said Costco members beginning Monday can book healthcare visits directly through their memberships in all 50 states.The New York-based company said its platform doesn’t accept health insurance because it primarily caters to uninsured Americans and those with high-deductible plans who prefer to pay cash for their health care. It said its model helps keep prices of services low for its users.The services listed on Costco Pharmacy’s homepage, include virtual primary care visits for $29, health checkups (a standard lab panel and a virtual follow-up consultation with a provider) for just $72 and online mental health visits for $79.“Quality, great value, and low price are what the Costco brand is ...

Queen’s Brian May helped NASA return its first asteroid sample

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

(CNN) — Brian May has once again proven why he is rock royalty. Not only is he the Queen guitarist, but he is also an astrophysicist who recently helped NASA return its first ever asteroid sample to Earth.May said he was “immensely proud” to be part of the team that collected the sample from the asteroid Bennu.“Hello NASA folks, space fans, asteroid aficionados. This is Brian May of Queen as you know probably, but also immensely proud to be a team member of OSIRIS-REx,” the 76-year-old musician said in a clip aired on NASA TV Sunday.The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft flew by Earth on Sunday, seven years after it was launched to space to collect samples from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. It collected the sample from the more than 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid in 2020 before setting off on its return journey to Earth, specifically Utah, in 2021.May played a crucial role in the mission, creating stereoscopic images from the spacecraft’s data that al...

Red Sox notebook: Triston Casas reflects on successful rookie season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:02 GMT

It seemed like every year something always came up and disrupted Triston Casas’ season.In 2020 it was the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 it was the Tokyo Olympics. Last year Casas got hurt, missing nearly two months with a badly sprained ankle.This year, heading into his first full season in the big leagues, Casas set a specific goal. Not to win Rookie of the Year or hit a certain number of home runs, but to play 150 games. He would post every day, remain available and be someone the club could count on from start to finish.He didn’t quite reach 150 — after being shut down with shoulder inflammation he’ll wrap up the season having played 132 games — but overall Casas feels he accomplished what he set out to do.“That was the whole mindset behind the 150 games, not having any interruptions and up until the shoulder I really didn’t,” Casas said. “Overall I learned a lot throughout this year, first big league season was everything I thought it would...