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30 years to life for 'That '70s Show' star

Laura L. Davis   Paste BN

Actor Danny Masterson will spend 30 years to life in prison for the rapes of two women. The NFL season kicks off tonight. And what's up with the latest surge in COVID-19 cases?

👋 Hey! Laura Davis here. It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for Thursday’s news!

But first: A whale of a find! 🐋 An Alabama teen looking for fossils on her farm stumbled across a massive discovery: A 34-million-year-old whale skull.

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Actor Danny Masterson sentenced in rapes of 2 women

Two decades ago, "That '70s Show" star Danny Masterson raped two women. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for the crimes, the maximum allowed by law. A jury on May 31 found Masterson guilty of the attacks, which took place in Masterson's Hollywood-area home in 2003 when he was at the height of his sitcom fame. Prosecutors say he used his prominence in the Church of Scientology − where all three women were also members at the time − to avoid consequences for decades. 👉 Here's what we know.

Path of Hurricane Lee still unclear as storm grows stronger

Will Hurricane Lee make landfall or blow out to sea? As the storm churns far out in the Atlantic Ocean, it roared to Category 4 intensity on Thursday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said. Lee's winds of 130-mph blew right past Category 3, leaping from a 2 to a 4 in just six hours. But whether it will make landfall or blow out to sea remains a key question. Though still far out at sea, the hurricane center warned that "dangerous surf and rip currents are expected along most of the U.S. East Coast beginning Sunday." The outlook for the majority of the East Coast remains uncertain. 🌀 Here's the latest forecast.

What everyone's talking about

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NFL football is back

Make sure you've got your fantasy lineup set! The NFL returns Thursday night as the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Detroit Lions. Will K.C. become the first repeat champion in 19 years? Will Bryce Young and his fellow rookie quarterbacks have instant impacts? And will Aaron Rodgers deliver for the title-starved New York Jets? Rodgers makes his debut with the Jets on Monday against the Buffalo Bills in what could be Week 1's marquee matchup. Our panel of resident NFL experts will pick those contests – and all the rest – throughout the season, so let's get to it. 🏈 Our Week 1 NFL picks.

Worried about the new COVID variant? What the data shows.

Our old foe COVID-19 has been making its rounds again. And at first, the newest variant – BA.2.86, nicknamed Pirola – looked pretty scary, but data out this week is more encouraging. Experts were initially worried that shots and previous infections wouldn't be protective. But three studies released this week along with new vaccine trial data from Moderna suggest Pirola has "been downgraded from a hurricane to not even a tropical storm," said Dr. Eric Topol of Scripps Research. COVID-19 infections have been rising since early July, the CDC said, with hospitalizations up nearly 16% in the week ending Thursday compared with the week before. 🔎 Here's a look at the current state of the pandemic.

A break from the news

Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at Paste BN. Say hello:laura@usatoday.com.This is a compilation of stories from across the Paste BN Network. Support quality journalism like this?Subscribe to Paste BN here.

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