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Gas tax hike, police reform, relief for veterans: New laws in Md. take effect July 1

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:43 GMT

Hundreds of new laws will go into effect in Maryland on Saturday, including one that’s designed to give retired veterans a break.The Keep Our Heroes Home Act will boost the amount of tax-exempt income for retired veterans in Maryland from $15,000 to $20,000 — that applies to those 55 and older.For younger retired veterans, the amount that will be exempt from state taxes will rise from $5,000 to $12,500. The changes apply for the 2023 tax year.Members of the Maryland National Guard will also see a new benefit go into effect July 1. They’ll be eligible for reimbursements of up to $60 a month on their health and dental plans.Under police reform legislation, law enforcement agencies in Maryland will be required to make sure their on-duty officers are equipped with body-worn cameras. But for those smaller agencies that struggle with the expenses tied to file storage and camera cost, there’s a provision that requires the state to help negotiate affordable contracts.Protections for student...

Fate of record tech industry tie-up heads to judge as Microsoft defends $69B Activision deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:43 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The fate of what could be the priciest merger in tech industry history is now in the hands of a federal judge who must decide whether to stop Microsoft from closing its deal to buy video game company Activision Blizzard.Federal antitrust enforcers have sued to block the $69 billion acquisition that they say will harm competition between Microsoft and gaming industry competitors such as Sony and Nintendo. And much of the decision could rest on a single Activision blockbuster franchise, the military commando game Call of Duty, and whether Microsoft could harm competition by controlling how it is distributed to gamers.“All of this is for a shooter video game,” said U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, expressing a hint of exasperation about the nature of the dispute near the end of a 5-day San Francisco court hearing Thursday. “We’re concerned about the competition for this one shooter video game.”Microsoft has largely had the upper hand i...

Man wanted on Jan. 6 charges arrested with weapons near President Barack Obama’s Washington DC home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man armed with explosive materials and weapons, and wanted for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was arrested Thursday in the Washington neighborhood where former President Barack Obama lives, law enforcement officials said. Taylor Taranto, 37, was spotted by law enforcement a few blocks from the former president’s home and fled, though he was chased by U.S. Secret Service agents. Taranto has an open warrant on charges related to the insurrection, two law enforcement officials said. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing case and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. They said Taranto also had made social media threats against a public figure. He was found with weapons and had materials to create an explosive device though one had not been built, one of the officials said. No one was injured. It was not clear whether the Obamas were at their home at the time of his arrest. ...

Faux pas on purpose: Celebs show off intentional wardrobe malfunction fashion trend — and you can too

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:43 GMT

Accidents happen, but accidents involving clothing are on a whole other level.They can be really embarrassing, but they don’t have to be anymore. Deco’s checking out a fashion trend where mishap means style.Some wardrobe malfunctions are a total accident.John Michael Higgins (as John): “She has no underwear on. We have a commando situation. There is a commando situation on stage!”I mean, things happen, but these days, fashion faux pas are being done with intention.Celebrities are showing more than just skin on the red carpet, which is the whole point of the intentional wardrobe malfunction trend.Genavieve Villar, Private Label Styles: “The idea behind this trend is underwear poking out through your outfit, but done on purpose.”From Sydney Sweeney to Olivia Rodrigo, and even Charlize Theron, these looks are spicing things up.And, thanks to Private Label Styles…Genavieve Villar: “Private Label Styles is a lifestyle boutique in Miami, and we sp...

Lifeguard shortage impacts Worcester city beaches

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:43 GMT

A lifeguard shortage will mean summer will look different at some public beaches and pools in Worcester this year, as one swimming spot remains closed and other sites operate with reduced staffing, city officials announced. The Indian Lake Beach will not open, officials said. Elsewhere, officials said other beaches, pools and spray parks will open “with limited staffing and resources.”Bell Pond Beach and Coes Pond Beach will have no lifeguards, officials said. Crompton Park Pool will have limited capacity and lifeguard attendants.“There’s always been lifeguards out I will say that,” said beachgoer Tara King of the experience at Bell Pond Beach. “If the parents are watching the kids and the buoys are up, I don’t think it’s a big deal,” she continued, though. The city of Worcester announced its aquatic facilities schedule on Wednesday, with the first of the facilities set to open on Friday. In a statement, Worcester Assistant Commissioner of Parks and Recreation Rob Ant...

Rapper Travis Scott will not face criminal charges in deadly crowd surge at Texas festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:43 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas grand jury declined to indict rap superstar Travis Scott in a criminal investigation of a deadly crowd surge at the 2021 Astroworld festival, where some spectators were packed so tightly they could not move their arms or even breathe, his attorney and prosecutors said Thursday.Lawyer Kent Schaffer confirmed that the Harris County grand jury had met and decided not to indict his client on any criminal charges stemming from the concert.“He never encouraged people to do anything that resulted in other people being hurt,” Schaffer said, adding that the decision is “a great relief.”Circumstances of the deaths limited what charges prosecutors were able to present before the grand jury, eliminating potential counts such as murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, said Alycia Harvey, an assistant district attorney with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.That left prosecutors to focus on possible counts of endangering a child in conne...

Marlins sweep Red Sox as silent Boston lineup ruins Brayan Bello’s no-hit bid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:43 GMT

On a quick, quiet Thursday evening at Fenway Park, Brayan Bello carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning.Then, as has happened far too many times in winnable games this year, the Red Sox fell to their opponents.In front of a sellout crowd of 36,559, the visitors from Miami completed a series sweep with a 2-0 victory, and only needed two hours and 21 minutes to do so.Inning after inning, goose eggs went up on Fenway Park’s iconic Green Monster scoreboard as the pitchers dueled.First pitch was at 6:13 p.m., and by 7:20, they’d already played five frames.By the seventh-inning stretch, Bello was the first Red Sox pitcher to pitch at least seven innings without allowing a hit since Jon Lester’s no-hitter on May 19, 2008.An impressive achievement, especially for someone so young,Bello’s bid ended in the eighth inning with back-to-back infield singles to Jean Segura and Joey Wendle. Until that point, he’d been nearly perfect; Jazz Chisholm Jr. reached base o...

Big 6-run inning propels the Chicago White Sox to a 9-7 win over the Los Angeles Angels and a series split

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:43 GMT

The Chicago White Sox found themselves down three runs after two innings.Leading off the third, Zach Remillard had one thing on mind: “Get on base.”“We’ve got a lot of guys on this team that drive the baseball a long way and if we have guys on base we’ve got a chance to score and that’s the goal,” Remillard said.The second baseman singled, which began an inning of small ball that had big results. The Sox scored six runs in the third to rally for a 9-7 victory in front of 27,630 on Thursday at Angel Stadium.“If anyone questions if these guys want it, they play hard and to the end,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “That’s your answer right there.”The Sox earned a split in the four-game series, as pitcher Lance Lynn rebounded from a sluggish start and the offense kept the line moving in the third.“I hope we can keep pushing and keep the good energy going,” said shortstop Tim Anderson, who had two hits and sc...

Woman, suspect killed in North County shootings identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:43 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- Authorities on Thursday released the identities of the victim and suspect, both of whom police say were involved in a relationship, killed last week following two deadly shootings in Oceanside.Kimberly Foster, 34, was identified as the victim while the suspect as 28-year-old Dorian Larkin, Lt. Adam Sharki with the San Diego Police Department said in a news release.The shooting occurred June 22 around 11:56 p.m. in the 500 block of Fredricks Avenue, according to police. When officers arrived at the location, they found a woman inside the residence with gunshot wounds, authorities said. Detectives determined the victim, who died from her injuries, was killed by a man she was in a relationship with.The following day around 2:38 a.m., deputies with the Riverside County Sheriff's Office found the suspect in a vehicle near Interstate 15 and Winchester Road in Temecula, Sharki said. When law enforcement attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver drove away from deputies...

Biden talks Supreme Court and Russia but also media and McCain in rare network interview

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:18:43 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden rarely gives network interviews, and when he sat down in the MSNBC studio on Thursday, it came at an especially busy time, with the Supreme Court having just overturned the use of affirmative action in college admissions and in the aftermath of a revolt in Russia.The nearly 20-minute conversation addressed those matters. But it also veered heavily into topics like criticism of the media and light-hearted discussion of the late Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, who was a friend of Biden’s.When Donald Trump was president, he was criticized for giving interviews to sympathetic media outlets where the questions were often soft and even fawning. Biden, meanwhile, has done far fewer formal interviews than his immediate predecessors. His last network interview was in early May and also on MSNBC. This time, interviewer Nicolle Wallace, who was White House communications director under President George W. Bush and worked on McCain’s 2008 p...