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Minnesota to announce details of settlement with e-cigarette maker Juul

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:03 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s attorney general and governor planned to announce details Wednesday of the settlement that the state reached just ahead of closing arguments last month in its lawsuit against Juul Labs and tobacco giant Altria.The state’s lawsuit was the first of thousands of cases against the e-cigarette maker to reach trial but the terms had to be kept confidential for 30 days until the formal papers were filed publicly with the court.Juul has faced thousands of lawsuits nationwide but most have settled, including dozens with other states and U.S. territories. The largest settlement came last month when it was announced that Juul Labs will pay $462 million to six states and the District of Columbia to settle lawsuits related to its marketing tactics. As part of that deal, Juul pledged not to market its products to anyone under the age of 35 and to limit the amount customers can purchase in retail stores and online.Minnesota Attorney General Keith Elli...

How the opening of the Potomac Yard Metro station could impact your commute

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:03 GMT

Metro’s Potomac Yard station on the Blue and Yellow lines is set to open on Friday, May 19. (Courtesy City of Alexandria)When the Potomac Yard Metro station finally opens Friday, it will benefit more than those seeking a ride to the fast-growing area between the Braddock Road and Ronald Reagan National Airport stations.The Potomac Yard station is expected to reduce the number of daily single-occupancy vehicle trips in the area by about 6,000, according to Monica Backmon, CEO of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.“When you get people out of their cars, that not only impacts the direct area, it really impacts the air quality and helps us all,” Backmon said. NVTA is a regional governmental entity established to plan, prioritize and fund regional transportation programs.The Blue and Yellow line station — Metro’s 98th station overall — is intended to reduce car traffic in the Route 1 corridor, and it will be integral in the ongoing development of Natio...

Record number of abortions in Colorado last year due to out-of-state visitors

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:03 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The number of abortions performed in Colorado reached a 15-year record in 2022, specifically because of the number of Texas residents who came into the state for the procedure. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a so-called "heartbeat bill" in 2021 that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected between six and 12 weeks into a pregnancy. Colorado abortion providers began noticing an uptick in the number of Texas residents traveling north in 2022. Public pushes back on SROs in Denver schools The trend continued throughout the year, according to provisional data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. There were 13,771 abortions performed in Colorado in 2022, the most in any year going back to 2004 and a 20% rise from 2021.The record is mostly due to the number of Texas visitors seeking abortions, though the number of Coloradans seeking abortions has been rising as well.There were 2,345 abortions performed in Colorado for Texas residents l...

'Large amount' of stolen mail found in stolen car out of Windsor

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:03 GMT

AULT, Colo. (KDVR) — A Greeley man was arrested after nearly hitting an officer with a stolen car that contained a large amount of stolen mail from around Colorado.The Ault Police Department responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle on May 13 at 10:27 p.m. in an alley near the 200 block of East 3rd Street. Initially, police were called about a man who had passed out and was sleeping inside the vehicle.The plates on the vehicle were confirmed as stolen, according to APD. Child sex assault suspect may have additional victims in DougCo Once an APD officer arrived on scene, the man inside the vehicle allegedly accelerated and nearly hit the officer while attempting to flee. The officer, however, was able to jump out of the way, and instead, the suspect struck the officer's patrol vehicle.The suspect, identified as 41-year-old Brian Grant, was taken into custody.APD determined that Grant was driving an unreported stolen 2020 Kia Sportage out of Windsor. Police do not know what Gra...

EU lawmakers say Hungary is not ready for frozen EU funds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:03 GMT

A group of EU lawmakers on a visit to Budapest raised doubts on whether they think Hungary is ready to receive frozen EU cash.Members of the European Parliament weighed in on the ongoing row between the European Commission and Viktor Orbán’s right-wing government following Brussels’ concerns about judicial independence and corruption in Hungary.Four MEPs from across the spectrum criticized Hungary’s audit body as unfit for purpose and accused the government of using public tenders to “enrich the family and friends of Viktor Orbán.”“Our questions to the state audit authority concerning misuse, manipulation of tenders, reliability of budget accounts, reporting of fraud cases to prosecution remained unanswered,” Monika Hohlmeier, the chair of the Parliament’s budgetary control committee, told reporters in Budapest.At the end of a three-day visit with Hungarian public officials, NGOs and journalists, European lawmakers praised Hungary’s progress on some rule-of-law issues but poin...

Lawmakers Weigh Bills To Decriminalize Prostitution

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:03 GMT

Prostitution would be decriminalized in Massachusetts under bills discussed before the Judiciary Committee this week, though there is a deep divide among sex workers and activists about how far that decriminalization should go.Two bills filed this session would decriminalize prostitution. One, however, would only repeal criminal penalties that apply to prostitutes themselves, leaving those who sell and purchase sex (“pimps” and “johns”) open to arrest and prosecution. Another bill filed by Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa seeks to entirely legalize the sex trade.Dozens of people testified Tuesday afternoon — into Tuesday evening — at a Joint Committee on the Judiciary hearing in favor of a Rep. Mary Keefe and Sen. Cindy Friedman bill (H 1597 / S 983) to decriminalize prostitution while maintaining legal consequences for people who buy sex and those who exploit sex workers.“The sex trade is rooted in United States history of exploitation of buying and s...

Suspect in University of Idaho quadruple killings, Bryan Kohberger, indicted by grand jury on murder and burglary charges

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:03 GMT

(CNN) — The suspect in the fatal stabbing last year of four University of Idaho students has been indicted by a grand jury on murder and burglary charges, a court official told CNN.Bryan Kohberger was indicted on all five original charges – four counts of murder and one count of burglary – Latah County Deputy Court Clerk Tamzen Reeves said Wednesday. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty.A hearing is set for Monday.Kohberger was arrested in December for allegedly carrying out the November 13 killings of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, at a home just outside the University of Idaho’s main campus in Moscow, not far from the border with Washington state.CNN has reached out to Kohberger’s attorney for comment.The slayings prompted a weekslong search for a suspect, leaving the campus and surrounding community wracked with uncertainty and fear until Kohberger’s arrest December 30 at his pa...

Patriots reportedly hire first woman scouting assistant from college ranks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:03 GMT

The Patriots have reportedly hired former Princeton director of football operations Maya Ana Callender, making her the second female employee in their scouting department and the first female scouting assistant.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots CB Jonathan Jones offers surprising take on Christian Gonzalez draft pick New England Patriots | Patriots OT Riley Reiff has one goal in debut season with New England New England Patriots | Patriots-Titans preseason game date and time announced New England Patriots | Guregian: Emptying the notebook after a 38-year run at the Herald New England Patriots | Guregian: Patriots schedule is a doozy no matter which way you slice it Callender spent four years at Princeton, where she worked with NFL scouts as a liaison. According to the school, she was also involved in team travel, communication, player engagement and alumni relations. Callender follows direc...

NBA Coaching Carousel: Matchmaking for the league’s five coaching vacancies

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:03 GMT

Who’s up next?It’s the question at least five NBA teams are going to have to answer in the coming weeks as the league’s championship hunt nears its end.The Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons each went in a different direction with their head coaches this offseason, with several of those teams pivoting despite recent success from the sidelines.What they do next could make or break their odds at success this upcoming season. Here’s a peek into each team’s coaching hunt ahead of the reshuffle this summer.<u>PISTONS</u>Former coach: Dwane Casey (promoted to front office)Goal: Develop young playersThe Pistons are one of the youngest teams in the NBA, and owning both the fifth and 31st picks in the June 22 NBA Draft, they project to get younger.That makes former UConn head coach Kevin Ollie a perfect prospect for the job — and Ollie has reportedly advanced to the second round of interviews ...

Rachael Rollins committed ‘an extraordinary abuse of her power,’ US Office of Special Counsel wrote to Biden

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:03 GMT

U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins “committed an extraordinary abuse of her power” when she violated the Hatch Act, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel wrote to President Biden on Wednesday, as the agency called the violations “among the most egregious transgressions of the Act that OSC has ever investigated.”OSC, an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency, ruled that Rollins should be disciplined for her repeated abuse of her official authority as U.S. Attorney for political purposes in violation of the Hatch Act.However, because Rollins announced that she will be resigning later this week, she will get off scot-free without any discipline from the feds.The OSC on Wednesday sent a report to Biden, detailing how Rollins willfully violated the Hatch Act on multiple occasions.“The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has found that U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Rachael Rollins, violated the Hatch Act and, in doing so, committed a...