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General Assembly caps session that saw passage of top Democratic priorities, renewed partnership with governor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:21:02 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.An angry Republican walk-off in the House of Delegates and a photo finish in the Senate ended the 2023 session of the Maryland General Assembly on Monday night.As both chambers adjourned sine die, the legislature’s teenage pages dumped boxes of confetti and trash bags full of balloons from the galleries above onto the rostrums and floors of the Senate and House, sending flashes of color raining down on the president and speaker below, in the traditional celebratory close.When all was said and done, legislative leaders in the Democratically controlled houses, along with the state’s new governor, declared victory, taking bows for an exceptional session and ignoring their stumbles and defeats.“It’s not only the most successful first session for any new governor… [but] we’d argue that it’s the most successful … session for a governor, pe...

Free outdoor activities to do near Denver on a spring day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:21:02 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Spring has sprung this week in Denver, and with temperatures in the 80s for the first time since last September, it's a perfect time to get outside. Looking for an activity outside that is not only fun but free? The Mile High City and the surrounding metro have plenty of options. The Pinpoint Weather team has been forecasting record-high heat this week with Tuesday and Wednesday reaching 80 degrees. How to track your Colorado tax refund If you are ready to get outside and enjoy the long-awaited warmth, here are free things you can do around the Denver metro area. Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic BywayThis is the perfect activity for transportation enthusiasts. The Lariat Loop Byway is a 40-mile scenic circle located in the foothills just west of Denver. The byway retraces the motoring adventures taken during the early 1920s. While traveling through the scenic route, you will also go through several popular Colorado landmarks like Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave, the C...

Europe’s eastern half claps back at Macron: We need the US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:21:02 GMT

Stop driving Europe away from the United States, dismayed central and eastern European officials fumed on Tuesday as French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments continued to ripple across the Continent.Macron jolted allies in the EU’s eastern half after a visit to China last week when he cautioned the Continent against getting pulled into a U.S.-China dispute over Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own, imploring his neighbors to avoid becoming Washington and Beijing’s “vassals.”The comments rattled those near the EU’s eastern edge, who have historically favored closer ties with the Americans — especially on defense — and pushed for a hasher approach to Beijing.“Instead of building strategic autonomy from the United States, I propose a strategic partnership with the United States,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Tuesday before flying off to the U.S., of all places, for a three-day visit.Privately, diplomats were even franker.“We c...

Bruins notebook: David Krejci slowly working his way back to form

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:21:02 GMT

Coach Jim Montgomery said on Tuesday morning that David Krejci will not play in the final two games of the regular season, meaning the veteran centerman will miss the last six games of the season in all with the nagging lower body injury.The good news is that Krejci skated prior to the B’s morning skate and Montgomery is hopeful he’ll be ready for the start of the playoffs.“Today was his best day, so that has us optimistic about where he’s going to be Game One,” said Montgomery.It is not yet known whether the B’s will start on Monday or Tuesday against an opponent that’s still yet to be determined.The Krejci injury does deprive the B’s of giving the forward group one final test run with all the expected pieces in place. We’ve yet to see the presumed third line of Taylor Hall (who returned after a month-plus absence last Saturday), Charlie Coyle and Tyler Bertuzzi. With Krejci out, Pavel Zacha has been centering the second line with Bertuzzi ...

For Heat’s Herro, nothing has been the same about his four postseason trips

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:21:02 GMT

Don’t bother asking Tyler Herro to define a typical NBA postseason.He still doesn’t know.As a rookie in 2020, there was the quarantine bubble at Disney World amid the pandemic, and a trip to the NBA Finals played in the void of spectators. In his second year, there was nothing more than a first-round sweep in 2021 at the hands of his hometown Milwaukee Bucks. Then, last year, an injury-riddled close to a ride to the Eastern Conference finals, practically immobilized at the finish by a strained left groin.So now, even with the Heat back in the postseason, playing for the first time as a starter in the postseason, Herro appreciates what is old is very new again, this time starting with Tuesday night’s play-in tournament game against the Atlanta Hawks at the Kaseya Center, the new name for the team’s arena.“Every year’s a new year,” he said at Tuesday morning’s shootaround. “I think that’s one thing I’ve learned in my sh...

Atlanta Falcons get Lions CB Jeff Okudah for fifth-round pick at position of Giants need

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:21:02 GMT

The Giants need corners badly, but it was the Atlanta Falcons who landed a former top-3 pick on the cheap.The Falcons acquired Jeff Okudah from the Detroit Lions on Tuesday in exchange for a fifth-round pick in this month’s draft, according to reports.Okudah, 24, the third overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, hasn’t lived up to his billing in the pros yet.But he’s a 6-1, 202-pound corner with first-round talent, upside, and a pick-6 on his resume from a Week 10 NFC North win over the Chicago Bears last season.He played in only 10 total games in his first two NFL seasons due to injuries that included a hamstring, a core injury and a torn Achilles.Then Okudah started and played in 15 of the Lions’ 17 games last season with 73 tackles, seven passes defended, two tackles for loss, an interception returned for a touchdown and a forced fumble.The Lions made this decision with Okudah, a draft pick of previous GM Bob Quinn, entering the fourth-year o...

Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson goes on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left knee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:21:02 GMT

The Chicago White Sox will be without the spark at the top of their lineup for an estimated two to four weeks after placing Tim Anderson on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a sprained left knee.Anderson suffered the injury in the fourth inning of Monday’s 4-3 victory against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. He was near third base for a rundown play and attempted to catch a toss from Hanser Alberto when Twins base runner Matt Wallner collided with him while making a headfirst slide.Anderson remained in the game after the play, but exited in the sixth inning.The two-time All-Star is off to a hot start, hitting .298 with five doubles, four RBIs, five stolen bases, two walks and nine runs in 11 games.He ranks among American League leaders in several offensive categories, including steals (tied for second), doubles (tied for third), multi-hit games (tied for fourth with 5), runs (tied for sixth) and hits (tied for ninth with 14).The Sox will likely shift second baseman Elvi...

5 important tax tips for older adults

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:21:02 GMT

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.More than half of older taxpayers (57%) are worried they’ll have to pay more taxes this year because of the 5.9% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment in 2022, according to a January survey by The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan seniors group.Taxes for the over-65 set can feel more complicated for a variety of reasons: There are often multiple streams of income, some retirees still work part time, and people may be managing required minimum distributions from retirement accounts.“It can happen that people have more income in their later life than they did when they were working,” says Barbara O’Neill, a certified financial planner in Ocala, Florida, and the author of “Flipping a Switch: Your Guide to Happiness and Financial Secur...

5 Tax Tips for Older Adults

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:21:02 GMT

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.More than half of older taxpayers (57%) are worried they’ll have to pay more taxes this year because of the 5.9% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment in 2022, according to a January survey by The Senior Citizens League, a nonpartisan seniors group.Taxes for the over-65 set can feel more complicated for a variety of reasons: There are often multiple streams of income, some retirees still work part time, and people may be managing required minimum distributions from retirement accounts.“It can happen that people have more income in their later life than they did when they were working,” says Barbara O’Neill, a certified financial planner in Ocala, Florida, and the author of “Flipping a Switch: Your Gui...

Largest Source of Free Money for College Can’t Keep Up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:21:02 GMT

Many years ago, one federal grant could cover all tuition and fees for the most at-need college students. And though the rise in the cost of college has slowed considerably in the past decade, the Pell Grant’s impact has dwindled to a fraction of what it once was.My mother relied on the Pell Grant — the largest source of federal grant aid — in the 1980s, raising three kids alone and working full time. This was before online classes, and she commuted both to work and then to the next town over for school. Back then, the maximum Pell Grant would cover more than the average tuition and fees at public, four-year institutions. In the early 2000s, I did the same, chasing my undergraduate degree while working in retail and raising my daughter as a single mom. Then, the maximum Pell Grant covered 91% of those costs. Now, a couple of decades later, it covers only 68%. The Pell is not just for non-traditional students like my mom and me, but lower-income traditional students...