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‘We’re doing it responsibly’: Gov. Moore on Maryland recreational weed legalization

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:55 GMT

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said weed legalization is what the people wanted on the DMV Download podcast. (WTOP/Luke Garrett) Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said weed legalization is what the people wanted on the DMV Download podcast. (WTOP/Luke Garrett) On July 1, Maryland will become the first jurisdiction in the D.C. region where adults 21 and older can buy weed for recreational use from a legal retail market.During a sit-down interview with WTOP’s DMV Download podcast, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said making recreational cannabis legal and creating a functioning market is what people wanted.“I’m just glad I didn’t have to run against cannabis because their margin was a lot bigger than ours,” Moo...

Vehicles searches, field sobriety tests: What marijuana legalization in Md. means for public safety

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:55 GMT

(new Image()).src = "https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384&cid=c2ffed0c-3624-46c0-b10f-97c976d290a3";cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384",mediaId: "159fa98a-4b9d-4563-8fba-fd5b43dfa671"}).render("e88a8f81080c4f51a4dbafae7c84e94c"); });The legalization of marijuana and marijuana-related products on July 1 will change a lot around the state of Maryland. But even as laws are changing, using marijuana the wrong way will still have consequences.Public safety leaders are warning people not to get the wrong impression about what is and isn’t allowed, even though one of the new laws taking effect limits what police can consider to search a vehicle for criminal conduct.Starting July 1, the odor of marijuana will no longer be enough of a reason for a police officer to stop a person or vehicle and conduct a search — a measure that got pushback from law enforcement agencies when lawmakers were debati...

EU leaders resume migration talks but Poland and Hungary’s governments slow progress

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:55 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders opened a second day of migration talks Friday as Poland and Hungary continued to block progress after they were outvoted earlier this month on a plan to share refugees arriving in Europe among the 27 member countries.Some leaders said that Poland and Hungary seemed to be fighting a battle started years ago, when well over 1 million migrants entered Europe, most of them refugees fleeing Syria, in 2015 and sparked one of the bloc’s biggest crises. Others said the two simply must not be permitted to break EU rules.“My feeling was there’s a lot of bitterness about the debates on migration from 2015,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told reporters at EU headquarters in Brussels. “If you just say no to everything and everybody else tries to compromise that doesn’t really work out.”Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said that “Hungary was totally adamant” about having the issue removed altogether from the leader’s final summit commu...

DC area’s poor air quality persists Friday, PM storms could help clear the haze

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:55 GMT

A smoky haze blanketed the D.C. area June 8, 2023. The smoke prompted air quality alerts. (WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez) A smoky haze blanketed the D.C. area June 8, 2023. The smoke prompted air quality alerts. (WTOP/Alejandro Alvarez) Listen to WTOP for weather updates on the 8s.A “Code Red” air quality alert persists in the D.C. area early Friday, meaning smoke from the Canadian wildfires is continuing to make the air unhealthy for everyone in the national capital region.Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow rating system, sensitive groups including children, older adults and anyone with heart or lung disease should avoid long or intense outdoor activities during a “Code Red”...

Fairfax Co. committee updates recommended changes for coed sex education lessons

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:55 GMT

Fairfax County Public Schools is expected to resume discussing possible changes to its sex education curriculum in the fall, after the Family Life Education Curriculum Advisory Committee revised its recommendations for coed instruction in the Virginia school system.In its latest report, the committee, made up of school board appointees, teachers, students and members from the health department, recommends gender combined instruction in fifth grade. In its recommendations from the 2021-22 school year, the committee recommended combined instruction in the Human Growth and Development unit in fourth through eighth grades.This year, the group is recommending classes separated by gender for the fourth grade lesson on puberty, which it says is the only lesson in fourth grade. In fifth grade, the committee recommends separate classes for lessons on puberty, the reproductive system and human reproduction, and gender-combined instruction for lessons on abstinence and sexually transmitted inf...

Incautan un semisumergible con más de 3,5 toneladas de “presunta cocaína” en el océano Pacífico en México

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:55 GMT

(CNN en Español) — La Marina de México aseguró un semisumergible que llevaba más de tres toneladas de “presunta cocaína” a bordo, informó este jueves la institución, que agregó que están detenidas cinco personas de distintas nacionalidades.Se trata de una embarcación de 26 metros de longitud, con dos motores internos, una velocidad promedio de ocho nudos y una autonomía de 20 días, según la Marina. La embarcación fue asegurada el 27 de junio.Narco-toallitas para bebés: incautan cargamento de cocaína por US$ 11,8 millones en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y MéxicoUn semisumergible fue incautado en el Pacífico de México con 3,5 toneladas de “presunta cocaína”, indicó la SEMAR. (Crédito: SEMAR)Según el comunicado, tanto los detenidos —cuyas nacionalidades ni  fueronDestacaron que es la primera embarcación de este tipo que se asegura en lo que va de 2023 y la de mayor dimensión y capacidad de carga que se ha asegurado en México en el gobierno actual.Según...

Move over ‘Hamilton,’ it’s time for a fresh take on ‘1776’ at DC’s Kennedy Center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:55 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews '1776' at the Kennedy Center $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); Are you hoping to make this a four-day weekend to celebrate the Fourth of July?Check out the musical revival of “1776” at the Kennedy Center now through July 16.“Getting to perform ‘1776,’ a musical about the writing of the Declaration of Independence and the forming of a nation, to perf...

In pictures: France burns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:55 GMT

OPTICSIN PICTURES: France burnsViolent unrest following the death of a teen killed by police has spread to Paris suburbs and elsewhere. A car burns as a slogan is seen on a wall which reads in French “Justice for Nahel” | Geoffrey Van Der Hasselt/AFP via Getty ImagesMore than 600 people were arrested in France on Thursday night as riots spread across the country. The violence erupted after a 17-year-old boy, named as Nahel M., was shot dead by police earlier this week during a traffic stop in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris. Despite the deployment of some 40,000 police officers, authorities struggled to control the clashes in major cities and smaller urban areas alike. Public buildings and transportation systems were the main targets, but some districts saw shops looted, too. A man walks by burning tyres blocking a street in Bordeaux | Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty ImagesPeople walk by burning tyres blocking a street in Bordeaux | Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty ImagesMen throw ...

Police investigating crash in Mattapan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:55 GMT

Boston police are investigating a crash late Thursday night in Mattapan that left a windshield shattered.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Carr: Supreme Court decision ends racism of affirmative action

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:55 GMT

Outlawing colleges’ overtly racist admissions policies was long overdue, and I’m glad the Supreme Court ruled the way it did yesterday.But is it going to have any impact in real life?Ask yourself why colleges like Harvard have already gone “test-optional,” meaning SAT’s and ACT’s and the rest of the standardized tests that can’t be gamed by academic Marxists are out the window.Harvard and UNC and all the rest of them are now going to rely a lot more on say, essays, in which otherwise unqualified high school students can make it very clear whether they’re members of protected classes, or not.In the 6-3 majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts warned against that obvious grift, saying that “universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today.”Oh yeah? Just watch them do it, Mr. Chief Justice. They may get sued, but that’s where that $50 billion Harvard endowment will come in handy.The pampered pukes pushing this newest ...