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On Thursday, the day the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare, a 47-year-old Baltimore woman went to the drugstore, and pulled out her debit card to pay for a prescription refill. But she didn't have enough money in the account to cover the $425 charge. So she asked the pharmacist and staff for a favor. "I asked them to break up the prescription to give me one-third," says the woman, who would not allow her name to be published because she didn't want to disclose her medical conditions.

Each week, The Baltimore Sun will publish a Q&A with a college lacrosse player or coach to get you better acquainted with the player and his/her team. Today's guest is Stevenson junior defenseman Kyle Holechek , a Reisterstown native and Loyola graduate who was named a Division III first-team All-American on Tuesday after a season in which he ranked second on the team in caused turnovers (32) and fourth in ground balls (71). The No. 4 Mustangs (21-2) will meet No. 3 Rochester Institute of Technology (19-2)

Targeting tea party groups is an ironic act on the part of the Internal Revenue Service ("Taxing the tea party," May 14). Examples of bullying tactics, corruption and neglect keeps cropping up all over the map of America. In the midst of this, why pour gasoline on emotions by labeling tea party members views as, "extremist, anti-civil rights, anti-immigration?" Snarky remarks in an editorial, however tempting, are not constructive. We need hard core unemotional and nonpartisan journalism now more than ever.

In an emotionally charged vote Thursday, the Boy Scouts of America lifted its ban on gay youth starting in January, the latest sign of a shift in American attitudes toward gays and lesbians. After months of debate in local districts, more than 61 percent of the Boy Scouts national council approved a resolution at its annual meeting, overturning the long-standing prohibition on openly gay youth, while retaining a ban on gay adult leaders. Of 1,232 votes, 757 were in favor. Gay advocates called the vote a step in the right direction for the 103-year-old group, among the nation's largest youth organizations, with more than 2.6 million youth members.

Without sounding morbid, I am almost envious of my dad's position in the twilight of his life. The country in which he was born and I was raised has ceased to exist. He faces the good fortune of not necessarily being around to witness the full results of its devolution, and the pestilence that will accompany it. Let me take this opportunity now to thank him for the correct upbringing, character, and ethics required to make my way in this world, even though now, as it is so constituted, those very values are an impediment as work and right are no longer valued.

Gen. William "Kip" Ward, a 1971 Morgan State graduate and the nation's only current African-American four-star Army general, will be honored today in Atlanta with the Trumpet Award. Ward, 60, who will be one of 10 recipients of the award this year, said he is humbled by the recognition. He said the award also honors Americans serving in the military today. "As one who wears our nation's cloth, I can represent so many women and men who also wear the nation's cloth," Ward said.

Where was the TSA when we needed them?  Nation Somehow Failed To Predict Attack By Michael Bay

Newsflash: Airfares are up. Ok, so you’re not surprised but you are feeling a hot flash of excitement. Know why? Because according to a Bureau of Transportation Statistics report released today, airfares at Baltimore Washington Thurgood International Airport are among the lowest in the nation. In the ranking of the Top 100 Airports , BWI came in at no. 83 with an average domestic airfare of $284, compared with the national average of $337 in the last quarter of 2010.

More than 38 million U.S. adults binge drink four times a month, more than previously thought, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The reports says that young adults up to age 34 binge drink the most, but of the seniors who binge drink, they do more often, an average of five to six times a month. (Binge drinking is 5 or more drinks for men and 4 or more for women in a short amount of time.) It's most common in people who household income is over $75,000 but those with incomes of less than $25,000 drink the most per occasion.

On that surreal morning in September when lawmakers milled aimlessly about the Capitol grounds in a kind of stupor - images of airline attacks on New York replaying in their brains and the stench of the burning Pentagon in their nostrils - Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel made an observation that would become an instant clich?. The nation, he said, "is forever changed." Five years later, the metamorphosis is still under way but so far not much seems to have changed for the better. Most damaged is the national psyche.

A. Blaine Hawley, principal of Red Pump Elementary School in Bel Air, was recently elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP). Gail Connelly, NAESP's executive director, announced the election results from the association's headquarters in Alexandria, Va. Hawley begins her three-year term as director of Zone 3 on July 1. She will represent principals in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.

Between 1983 and 2004, Syracuse advanced to the NCAA tournament semifinals every year, a remarkable accomplishment that may never be matched again. What makes Duke's seven consecutive appearances in the Final Four nearly as impressive is that the Blue Devils have achieved that in a four-round tournament, which was expanded from 12 to 16 teams for the 2003 season. But seventh-seeded Duke (14-5), which will tangle with Cornell (14-3) in the first of two national semifinals this Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, is just 2-4 in the Final Four, advancing to the title game in 2007 (losing to Johns Hopkins)

Firefighters rescued a person trapped in a car in Howard County after heavy rain Thursday night led to flash flooding, fire officials said. A fire department spokesman said one person was rescued from a car stuck in the flood waters near the intersection of McKendree Road and Rover Mill Road in West Friendship about 8:30 p.m. That person was not injured, nor were four members of the rescue team, he said. The National Weather Service called a flash-flood warning Thursday night for northwestern Howard County and north Montgomery County.

Varsity lacrosse McDonogh girls finish No. 1 in national poll Unbeaten McDonogh won its fifth straight Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland championship and extended its winning streak to 91 games to finish its season as the unanimous No. 1 team in the Nike/US Lacrosse High School Girls' Lacrosse National Top 25 poll, released Tuesday by US Lacrosse. The poll appears as part of Lacrosse Magazine's bi-weekly report on high school girls' lacrosse. The Eagles finish as the nation's top-ranked team for the fourth consecutive season after knocking off then-No.

Eric Schwaab, a native Baltimorean who's spent the last three years in the federal government overseeing fisheries and coastal conservation efforts, is returning home to take a new post at the National Aquarium . Schwaab, 52, currently an acting assistant secretary in the leadership at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , will join the aquarium July 1 as its first-ever senior vice president and chief conservation officer, the...

A bipartisan group of lawmakers pressed the Obama administration Wednesday to reduce the backlog of disability claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs by improving cooperation between the several agencies that have a role in the process. Senators emerged from a closed-door meeting with VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and said the agencies would work to improve communication, provide more regular updates to Congress and identify high-level staff who will ultimately be responsible for addressing the delays.

Maryland junior Katie O'Donnell won the 2010 Honda Sports Award, designating her as the nation's top female athlete in college field hockey. The honor was based on the results of national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards program, now in its 34th year. O'Donnell led the nation in points (87) and assists (31). She holds both the Atlantic Coast Conference and Maryland career assist records with 74. She is the fourth Terp to win the award.

100 Years Ago Spirit and kick "Misses Lillian Schultz and Mary Merceron attended one of the performances of "Ben Hur" at the New Academy of Music. Mr. and Mrs. Howard Rider and daughter of "Sherwood," have been visiting Mrs. H. Newton De Vries. Mrs. W.K. Marshall has been indisposed with a cold for several days. Mr. J. Brooke Mellow of Baltimore recently visited at his fathers' Mr. E.M. Mellor, Sr. Miss Clara Elizabeth Selby has been quite ill with appendictis in Baltimore.

Brendan Fowler won more than 55 percent of his faceoffs and scooped up at least 34 ground balls in each of his first two seasons at Duke, but still was not making much of a dent in terms of playing time. Then again, considering that C.J. Costabile - who won 53 percent of his draws and collected 376 ground balls en route to being named Division I's top midfielder - was atop the depth chart, Fowler was not fretting about his opportunities. “C.J. just brought a different dynamic as a faceoff guy,” Fowler recalled Wednesday afternoon.

Dominic Lamolinara's journey from Arnold to Philadelphia - the site of this weekend's Final Four at Lincoln Financial Field - has gone a circuitous route, graduating from St. Mary's to spending one year at Maryland to transferring to Syracuse to emerging as the Orange's starting goalkeeper. The path has been long and meandering, but the wait has been worth it for Lamolinara, who is part of a Syracuse program that is back in the NCAA tournament semifinals for the first time since 2009.