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Maryland becomes newest state to legalize recreational marijuana

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

The state of Maryland has legalized the use of marijuana.People lined up outside Baltimore dispensaries on Saturday morning as they waited to be among the first to legally buy for personal use.There are restrictions to the new law, including a limit of 1.5 ounces of cannabis flower and up to 12 grams of concentrated cannabis that does not contain more than 750 milligrams of THC. It also states that only adults that are 21 and older can use and possess non-medical cannabis. Maryland voters initially approved the legalization in a constitutional amendment back in the 2022 Midterm elections, resulting in it going into effect on July 1, 2023.In the state, it is legal to consume or smoke marijuana at home or in a private setting, however, it remains illegal to use in public spaces. Maryland became the 23rd state to legalize the drug.

Wagner Group boss shutters media empire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

Patriot Media — the media company owned by Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin — will shutter after the collapse of his uprising in Russia last weekend.“I am announcing our decision to close down and to leave the country’s information space,” Yevgeny Zubarev, director of Patriot’s news site Ria Fan, said in a Saturday video posted to the outlet’s social media, Reuters reported. He didn’t give a reason for the closure. Russia on Friday blocked access to five outlets controlled by Patriot: Ria Fan, Politics Today, Economy Today, Neva News and People’s News online. Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) was not immediately available for comment.Patriot Media included the Internet Research Agency, the so-called troll farm linked to attempts by Moscow to interfere in U.S. elections. Prigozhin has been accused for years of meddling in foreign politics, including American ele...

Ed Sheeran surprises student musicians in Boston with play-along, free tickets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

Ed Sheeran played in front of the largest crowd in Gillette Stadium history Saturday night, but he also put on a special performance before the big concert.Kiss 108 shared a video with 7NEWS of Sheeran surprising young performers on Saturday. The Boston Music Project Youth Group was hosting their performance when Sheeran showed up to play along.He spent time with the young musicians as well before offering all of the children and their families tickets to his Saturday night show at Gillette.

Sunday’s Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field moved back to 4:05 p.m. due to rain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

The Chicago Cubs made an early decision to move back the start of Sunday’s series finale against the Cleveland Guardians due to the daylong storm.The game was shifted to 4:05 p.m. from its 1:20 scheduled time, coinciding with the start of the NASCAR Chicago Street Race, which moved up its start a half-hour.The Cubs lost 6-0 Saturday night following a rain delay of nearly three hours, and finished the first half of the 162-game season with a 38-43 record, five games behind the division-leading Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers.Jameson Taillon, who has struggled with a 2-6 and 6.90 ERA, makes the start against Aaron Civale (2-2, 3.18 ERA).The Cubs have lost five of their last six games since taking the first game of the London Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Sunday is the last time they face the Guardians, so the Cubs hope to play and avoid rescheduling on an off day.The Cubs travel to Milwaukee Monday to begin a four-game series against the Brewers. They’ll fi...

An ailing Thai elephant returns home for tender loving care after years of neglect in Sri Lanka

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — An ailing elephant that Thailand had presented to Sri Lanka more than two decades ago returned on Sunday to his native land to get medical treatment after animal lovers said the animal had been badly abused.The elephant, known in Sri Lanka as Muthu Raja, or Pearly King, was flown directly from the capital of the South Asian island nation to Chiang Mai province in the north of Thailand on a Russian Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane on a flight that took about six hours. He was accompanied by a team of six people, including two veterinarians and four mahouts, or professional elephant trainers, three of them Thai and one from Sri Lanka.A special container was built to hold the 275-centimeter- (9-foot-) tall, four-ton creature. Several mahouts had been sent beforehand to Sri Lanka to help the elephant feel at ease in a cage so he wouldn’t panic while being transported.Video footage of his arrival in Chiang Mai showed the elephant conscious and appearing calm. Thailand’s Environm...

New reality for summer day camps: possible disruptions due to air quality

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

The summertime goal at Nicolas Hurtado’s camp is to get kids playing as much soccer as possible.But in the wake of exceedingly poor outdoor air quality, last-minute prep for summer fun at his north Toronto soccerclub has focused on planning much more sedate, indoor activities: arts and crafts, playing with bubbles and as a last resort, movie screenings.They’ll need alternative pursuits that can occupy kids for a few hours if they are forced indoors by poor air quality, he says, noting that campers and counsellors must this year brace for the likelihood that drills and matches will be sidelined by more than just rain or excessive heat.“When these things happen, we’re going to have to adjust,” Hurtado, director of business operations for North Toronto Soccer, says of bad air days.“And that doesn’t mean sit down and do nothing. But it means be creative and that it’s a time for Duck, Duck, Goose, or those kinds of camp games that are much ...

‘Parental rights’ group Moms for Liberty plans nationwide strategy for school board races in 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Moms for Liberty, a “parental rights” group that has sought to take over school boards in multiple states, is looking to expand those efforts across the country and to other education posts in 2024 and beyond. The effort is setting up for a clash with teachers unions and others on the left who view the group as a toxic presence in public schools.The group’s co-founder, Tiffany Justice, said during its annual summit over the weekend in Philadelphia that Moms for Liberty will use its political action committee next year to engage in school board races nationwide. It also will “start endorsing at the state board level and elected superintendents.”Her comments confirm that Moms for Liberty, which has spent its first two years inflaming school board meetings with aggressive complaints about instruction on systemic racism and gender identity in the classroom, is developing a larger strategy to overhaul education infrastructure across the country.As the group has ...

Are you confronting a big medical bill? Attack it with a plan – and these tips

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

An enormous medical bill can trigger a wave of panic, but try to resist.That startling invoice that arrived in the mail may not be what you wind up paying. Errors or slow insurance payments may have inflated the total. Even if it’s accurate, financial aid or other assistance might help pare it.Sometimes a simple phone call clears up a problem. Other times, reinforcements are necessary. Debt experts say patients should attack medical bills with a plan. Here are key steps to take.CHECK THE NUMBERSDon’t stash the bill in a pile of mail and hope it goes away, but don’t rush to pay it without first understanding the amount.“Especially if it’s a really high bill, consider it like an opening offer,” says Caitlin Donovan, a spokesperson for the nonprofit Patient Advocate Foundation, which helps critically or chronically ill patients deal with debt and insurance problems.Medical bills can be rife with errors. They also may have been sent before insurance coverage was sorted out. Donovan reco...

2 dead and 28 injured, 3 critically, in Baltimore block party shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

Gunfire erupted at a block party in Baltimore on Sunday, killing two people, wounding 28 and leaving an extensive crime scene that marred the U.S. holiday weekend, police said. Three of the wounded were in critical condition.Baltimore Police Department Acting Commissioner Richard Worley told reporters there were a total of 30 victims during a press conference at the scene.The shooting took place just after 12:30 a.m. at a block party in the Brooklyn Homes area in the southern part of the city, Worley said.The shooting comes amid gatherings around the country leading up to the July Fourth holiday. Elsewhere, a shooting in Kansas left seven people with gunshot wounds and two more victims hospitalized after being trampled as people rushed out of a nightclub early Sunday morning, police there said.All of the Baltimore victims were adults. Nine victims were transported by ambulance and 20 victims walked into area hospitals with injuries from the shooting, Worley said.An 18-year-old woman...

Showers, storms for Sunday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:25 GMT

Heavy rains start out Sunday, with thunderstorm likely. Cooler but still muggy. Air quality: Moderate. High of 75. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Decreasing clouds Sunday night. Low 63Monday will be mostly sunny, warmer with a slight chance of afternoon showers and storms. High mid 80s inland, lower 80s lakesideExtended outlook calls for partly cloudy skies Monday night with lows near 70.Independence Day this year looks hot with highs near 90 and muggy. A slight chance-- around 20% of showers/storms in the afternoon/evening.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog Near 90 on Wednesday with a chance of showers/thunderstorms in the afternoon.More clouds and cooler on Thursday with highs in the upper 70s-- and some rain likely for the afternoon.Sunshine finishes out the week with highs near 80 for Friday and Saturday.