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McGhee: Tobacco ban hurts law enforcement, tax collection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:02:58 GMT

In June 2020, Massachusetts became the first state to implement a ban on menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco products.  Although supporters of this proposal believed that the ban would curb usage of these products, that’s not what has happened.  Massachusetts has not realized any public health benefits as sales simply dispersed across borders, leaving the state with less revenue and a significant growing illicit market.As a former Massachusetts State Trooper who served 24 years protecting citizens in the Commonwealth, I can tell you that prohibition doesn’t work.  The Massachusetts flavor ban on tobacco products is yet another illustration that policies aimed at banning products do more harm than good. The 2020 flavor ban only increased illicit markets and related criminal activities and now the state’s cigarette smuggling rate ranks in the top 10.Instead of relying on punitive measures that target consumers and underserved communities, the state should focus on harm reduction p...

Chris Perkins: Top 20 players available for the Dolphins in the NFL Draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:02:58 GMT

The Dolphins will make their first picks of the draft – selection No. 51 in the second round, and selection No. 84 in the third round – Friday night. Numerous quality players are available at a number of positions. Here are the top 20 players, some in the second round, some in the third round, the Dolphins could choose among based on talent, projected availability, and need.Steve Avila, G-C, TCUAvila (6-3, 332), who would be a second-round pick, could challenge Liam Eichenberg, Robert Jones and perhaps Dan Feeney to start at left guard. Avila is skilled, physical and feisty.Dawand Jones, OT, Ohio StateJones, a right tackle who’d be a second-round pick, would challenge starting right tackle Austin Jackson. Jones (6-8, 374) is fairly athletic but it’s not known if he’s versatile enough to serve as a backup to left tackle Terron Armstead.Sam LaPorta, TE, IowaLaPorta (6-3, 245), who figures to go in the second round, offers receiving and in-line blocking, a...

Here’s what Dolphins could do on Day 2 of draft, what they missed in Thursday’s first round

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:02:58 GMT

The NFL draft’s first round came and went Thursday night, and the Miami Dolphins decided to stand pat.They didn’t make a move back up into the first round and watched 31 selections go by without a first-round pick of their own.Essentially, the Dolphins’ draft outlook entering Friday’s second and third rounds stands largely as it was ahead of Thursday. Miami has pick No. 51 in the second round and No. 84 in the third round before sixth- and seventh-round selections Saturday.They still could lean toward any one of a number of talented tight ends or offensive linemen remaining if they emphasize positions of need the way the roster is currently constructed.At tight end, only one was taken in the first round, Utah’s Dalton Kincaid. That means Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, Georgia’s Darnell Washington, Iowa’s Sam LaPorta and Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave are among the top prospects available at the position.The Dolphins have already deeme...

Mike Preston: Zay Flowers is a catch, but Ravens can’t let a cornerback slip through their fingers | COMMENTARY

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:02:58 GMT

I will feel better about the Ravens’ selection of Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers if Baltimore can find a potential starting cornerback.It’s clear the Ravens have figured out that their ground-and-pound offense won’t work, especially in the postseason. Unfortunately, it took them years to move in another direction.I like Flowers’ speed, something that has been lacking in the Ravens’ offense. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.42 seconds and tied for fifth in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 12 touchdown catches in 12 starts last season. The team needed someone who could stretch defenses and allow wide receivers Rashod Bateman and Odell Beckham Jr. and tight end Mark Andrews to work underneath.I have more faith in new offensive coordinator Todd Monken being able to work Flowers into the offense than former coordinator Greg Roman. The 5-foot-9, 182-pound wideout’s size is a concern, though. The Ravens had a similar receiver that size in Marquis...

Chicago White Sox fall to 7-19 — their worst start since 1950 — after the Tampa Bay Rays rough up Dylan Cease in a 14-5 rout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:02:58 GMT

The Chicago White Sox’s free-fall has reached 1950.The Sox suffered their eighth consecutive loss Thursday, getting crushed by the Tampa Bay Rays 14-5 in front of 11,060 at Guaranteed Rate Field.The Sox are 7-19, their worst start since 1950 (6-20). It’s the team’s longest losing streak since dropping eight in a row Sept. 20-28 last season.“Obviously you don’t want to get punched in the face three games in a row like we have,” third baseman Jake Burger said, referring to the 7-0 loss Tuesday and the 8-0 defeat Wednesday in Toronto. “Even getting walked off twice in Tampa Bay (Friday and Saturday). It is what it is.“Every team goes through stints like this, and I think there’s a lot of love in this clubhouse. There’s an emphasis on everybody taking care of their business every single day and that’s what we are doing. I think the morale is still good. Obviously it sucks getting punched in the face, but we’ll start...

‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ a long-awaited delight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:02:58 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret”Rated PG-13. At suburban theatersGrade: AThere’s no reason why Judy Blume’s game-changing 1970 Young Adult debut novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” has taken this long to be adapted on the big screen.But it’s finally here, and they did it right.Faithfully adapted and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, with Blume herself and James L. Brooks among the producers, “Margaret” continues to resonate because of its honestly realistic approach to its characters, both kids and adults, and its concerns which while set in the early 1970s remain timeless.Margaret Simon (a winning Abby Ryder Fortson) is 11, a sixth grader suddenly transplanted from growing up in Queens, NY, to facing adolescence in the suburbs of New Jersey where she must make new friends, converse directly with God, get crushes and, most importantly, experience puberty.Blume was a trailblazer in her realistic depiction of a middle school kid’s obsessions, whether it’...

Finn-tastic ‘Sisu’ a never-say-die WWII action winner

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:02:58 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“Sisu”Rated R. In Norwegian and German with subtitles. At the AMC Boston Common and suburban theaters.Grade: B+ A Tarantino-esque World War II entry set in Finnish Lapland near the end of the war, Jalmari Helander’s exciting “Sisu” tells the story of soldier and gold miner Aatami Korpi (Helander regular Jorma Tommila, “Rare Exports”), a man whose name strikes fear on the heart of a Nazi general. The film’s plot is disarmingly simple. Korpi, who has apparently retired as a soldier, strikes it rich after digging beside a river in the vast tundra. He loads his horse and dog up for travel, and they encounter a small convoy of Nazi troops, two trucks, a motorcycle and a tank.The commander of all of the convoy is a sadistic SS officer named Bruno Helldorf (Aksel Hennie, “Headhunters”). His right hand man is a bloodthirsty sniper aptly named Wolf (Jack Doolan, “The Boys”). The Nazis have several kidnapped and obviously sexually attacked Finnish women in one of ...

NFL Draft 2023 Live | Young goes first, all 1st round picks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:02:58 GMT

By The Associated PressKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The NFL draft has begun! The Carolina Panthers kicked off Thursday night’s proceedings by taking quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 1 pick. The draft can be viewed on NFL Network, ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Follow for live updates from Associated Press reporters across the country (all times EST).What to know:— Panthers make Bryce Young top pick in the NFL draft— Eagles select Georgia’s Jalen Carter, who had role in fatal crashBRYCE YOUNG IS YOUR NO. 1, WHO’S ON DECK FRIDAY?The first round of the NFL draft is in the books. And what a thriller it was!Three quarterbacks in the top four picks, starting with Bryce Young to the Panthers. Two Texans selections in the top three. Two running backs in the top dozen picks.The Super Bowl champion Chiefs capped the rousing Round 1 by selecting Kansas State edge rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah in Kansas City, which is hosting the draft for the first time.In all th...

Cornerback Christian Gonzalez reacts to joining the Patriots

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:02:58 GMT

Christian Gonzalez, considered one of the top two cornerbacks in the draft by many outlets, figured he would be a top ten pick.But that’s not exactly how it played out. He dropped down the board a bit before the Patriots gobbled him up at No. 17.Was he surprised to wait so long before hearing his name?“I mean a little bit. But it all happens for a reason,” Gonzalez said during a video call. “God has a plan. So I am trusting his plan.”Gonzalez, ultimately the third corner chosen after Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon, and Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes, did have a pre-draft visit in Foxboro, and expressed his gratitude to be headed to New England, playing for Bill Belichick.“I’m very excited to play under him,” he said. “You can’t really get a better coach than that. So I’m just excited to learn, go in there and just compete.”Gonzalez played two seasons at Colorado before heading to Oregon, where he flourished his one season there.He had 50 tackles...

Editorial: Border crisis in crosshairs of Title 42 end date

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:02:58 GMT

When President Biden visited El Paso in January, his first tour of the border since taking office, it was a  tightly controlled stopover that was oddly devoid of migrant interaction.The reality is far different.Border Patrol agents struggle to stay on top of a daily influx of immigrants, both legal and illegal, and border state communities are burdened with the fallout. Shelters are overwhelmed.What better time for the Biden administration to open the floodgates?Title 42,  the COVID-era border restriction, is set to expire on May 11. That means border authorities will no longer be able to quickly expel certain migrants. Instead, as CNN reported, authorities will have to return to decades-old protocols at a time of unprecedented mass migration in the Western hemisphere.Officials are ready – for others to be stretched to their limits.“We do expect that encounters at our southern border will increase as smugglers are seeking to take advantage of this change and already are hard a...