ANNAPOLIS, Md. – At the stroke of midnight, new laws took effect in Maryland on Tuesday, October 1st. Those laws stretch from increasing safety for everyone on the roadways to making it safer for children online.  

One new law, in particular, ends the Noah’s Law loophole. The loophole essentially lets those caught driving drunk off the hook from being required to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicle if they received probation before judgment. 

That ends on Tuesday.  

Noah’s law first passed in 2016 in memory of Montgomery County Police Officer Noah Leotta, who was killed by a drunk driver the year before. Advocates, including Noah’s father, Rich Leotta, have been fighting to close the loophole for nearly a decade. 

“This is not just for Noah,” said Rich Leotta on Monday,” what always bothers me is … it took a public face to put in front to make smart decisions. I mean this tool basically just changes behavior and saves lives. It’s bene a long journey. Nine years for me, from first Noah’s Law to now. But we’re finally closing the loophole and making sure everyone that is arrested for impaired driving will get an interlock. 

The ignition interlock device works like a breathalyzer test in your car that has to be blown into before the driver is allowed to start their vehicle. Rich Leotta says he and advocates don’t know how many lives the device will save, but do know that about 70% of the time, when an ignition interlock device is required, those using the device do not repeat it. 

READ MORE: Driver who struck, killed Officer Noah Leotta sentenced to 10 years in prison

There’s another big change now in place that seeks to protect children while online. It’s referred to as the “Maryland Kids Code.” 

Part of the measure will now prohibit big tech companies like Amazon, Meta, and Google from collecting certain data on kids and teens under 18-years-old.

An advocate for the bill previously told FOX 5, in 2022, social media sold $11 billion-worth of ads targeted at children. 

“I think it’s much needed. There’s too much going on and kids don’t know what to do with that kind of information, that kind of access, it’s just too much,” said Alexandra Brown in Silver Spring on Tuesday morning. 

READ MORE: Maryland lawmakers pass bill aimed at protecting kids online

Debra Etsy both agreed and disagreed. “Parents deal with so much and [there’s] so many avenues where children can get involved in things that they shouldn’t. And a little control is a good thing. But then again, I see the other option that it could be a bad thing. So, I’m kind of mixed to be honest with you – I’m really mixed about it, but parents need to have a little bit more control of what their children watch,” Etsy told FOX 5. 

Here’s the full list of laws taking effect October 1st from the Maryland General Assembly. 

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Weeks after a horrific murder in Maryland where police say the killer shot off more than four dozen rounds, authorities have arrested the suspect in Miami Beach.

Investigators say an enraged ex drove over 1,000 miles to commit the crime. Police found evidence inside a Miami Beach apartment on Saturday, leading to an arrest.

Investigators say Crimea Baker and Sean Lange were shot multiple times by Baker’s ex-husband, 33-year-old David Turner on Aug. 27.

Police believe Turner broke into their New Market, Maryland, home and shot off at least 42 shots.

“We believe Turner entered the back door of the residence sometime after 1 a.m., before 1:25, and murdered her and Mr. Lange in the bed in the bedroom firing more than 42 rounds,” Frederick County, Maryland Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said.

Inside at the time were Baker’s children, who were not hurt during the shooting but hid for hours before calling police.

“I’ve never seen anything to this degree, really it was unbelievable,” Jenkins added.

Jenkins said Turner drove from Miami Beach to Maryland to kill the couple.

It would be weeks before the FBI and Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale police would cuff Turner following search warrants on his car and Miami Beach apartment and an alibi that didn’t match up.

Video shows a SWAT team going into the Miami Beach building off West Avenue. That is where police say they found evidence to get that arrest warrant. Investigators believe this may have been a crime of passion that was domestic-related.

“There is no explanation that I can think of that would have justified anything like this,” Jenkins said.

Turner will be extradited to Maryland soon to face two counts of first-degree murder and home invasion charges. He was being held in the Broward County jail.

Baker’s family has set up a GoFundMe page for those children who are now left without their mother.

0…

Represents the points off turnovers that Maryland had during Saturday’s game. Indiana turned the ball over four times. In most games, that leads to a loss, but Maryland could not capitalize whatsoever on Indiana’s miscues. This game had a lot of luck woven into it. One being this stat here, the other being the amount of tipped passes that Maryland had for big gains. Saturday was unique, that’s for sure, but props to the Indiana defense here for shutting down Maryland’s offense amidst significant adversity.

7.39…

Represents Indiana’s yards per play against Maryland (per gameonpaper.com), which ranks as an 85th percentile score for a single FBS vs. FBS game in the country when compared to 2023 full season data. Maryland generated 5.66 yards per play (45th percentile). These two metrics tell a firm story of how the game progressed, as Indiana was more efficient with the plays they had on offense compared to Maryland. Yards lead to points and points lead to wins. Despite turnovers, Indiana pulled out a win with efficiency on both sides of the ball.

1…

Represents the number of plays where Maryland had a higher win probability than Indiana during Saturday’s game. That play was with 6:33 left in the 3rd quarter when Maryland forced a punt at the score of 21-21. At that point in time, Maryland’s win percentage was 53%. Then, James Evans’ punt was downed at the 15 yard line and Maryland’s win percentage dropped back down to 41.9% (per gameonpaper.com). That swing really shows the importance of special teams in a given game, and boy did James Evans have a major impact here. To be clear here though, there were 167 plays on Saturday and Indiana had a higher win probability than Maryland on 166 of them. 

49%…

Represents the snap share that lead running back Ty Son Lawton received on Saturday (per Pro Football Focus). The game against Maryland was likely the first game of the season where we’d see what the true carry split was amongst Indiana’s many talented running backs. Behind Lawton, Justice Ellison received 39% of the snap share and Kaelon Black received 11% of the snap share (to avoid messy decimals, we rounded down, resulting in these %’s adding to 99%. Rest assured, these figures are accurate). Ty Son Lawton, on the season, has been very effective in his first year with the Hoosiers, putting up 277 rushing yards on 4.8 yards per attempt and 6 touchdowns. He has also posted 3 receptions for 22 yards in the 2024 campaign. Lawton has been a great addition to the Hoosiers this season and will no doubt be a huge factor to Indiana’s success moving forward.

19…

Represents Mikail Kamara’s rank on Pro Football Focus (PFF) when looking at overall defensive grades among nearly all edge defenders in the country (nearly 550 edge defenders graded in this dataset). Kamara had one of his best games of the season against Maryland, putting up 5 QB pressures in the form of 1 sack, 2 QB hits, and 2 QB hurries. On the season, Kamara has been an absolute force, putting up 20 QB pressures in the form of: 4 sacks, 5 QB hits, and 11 QB hurries. Entering a more difficult portion of Indiana’s schedule, Kamara will be an extremely important part of the Hoosiers’ pass rush.

Saturday, October 5th @ 3:30 PM EST…

Represents Indiana’s next game against the Northwestern Wildcats. Be on the lookout for another edition of “Numbers That Mattered” after that game as well.