It’s among more than half of 305 bird species in North America that are spending the winter about 35 miles farther north than they did 40 years ago, according to an Audubon Society study to be released today.

Based on Audubon’s calculations, the Carolina wren is now commonly seen in the winter well into New England, as well as its namesake state of South Carolina.

“Twenty years ago, I remember people driving hours to see the one Carolina wren in the state,” said Jeff Wells, an ornithologist based in southern Maine. “Now, every year I get two or three just in my area. Obviously, things have changed.”

The Audubon study tracks changes in bird migration as winter temperatures have warmed. The purple finch seems to be the canary in the coal mine when it comes to global warming.

The law, passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Mark Sanford last year, creates a tiered system of punishments — the higher the person’s blood-alcohol level and more prior convictions, the stiffer the penalty.

Under the new law:

• Penalties will range from 48 hours in jail or a $400 fine for a first offense for a driver with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or 0.09 percent to seven years in prison for drivers convicted of a fourth or subsequent offense of driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.16 percent or more. The previous maximum prison time for a repeat offender was five years.

• Drivers who refuse to take a breath test will have their driver’s licenses suspended for six months — up from the previous three months.

Investigators say a 29-year-old man fatally stabbed his 25-year-old wife in the neck at a home on Clearwood Court near Irmo before stabbing himself multiple times in the neck with a buck-style knife, Lexington County Sheriff James Metts said. The man later died from the self-inflicted stab wounds, he said.

Michelle Rice was pronounced dead at the scene of the stabbing, which occurred at about 6:20 p.m. Sunday. James George Rice was pronounced dead at 10:45 p.m. after he underwent surgery at Lexington Medical Center.

The couple moved from Ohio to South Carolina about a year ago and lived in the bedroom over the garage at the home of Michelle Rice’s aunt, Metts said.

The aunt told deputies that she asked her son to call 911 at 6:58 p.m. on after she heard Michelle Rice screaming.

Remember, this used to be the most cherished record in sports. Babe Ruth, The Sultan of Swat. Hank Aaron, class and dignity.

Who knows if the career home run mark will ever have such meaning again.

Now that heir apparent Alex Rodriguez admitted Monday to using banned substances while playing for the Texas Rangers from 2001-03, generations of fans may never get a chance to cheer for a home run champ who earns the title fair and square.

"To hear all that information is just sad. Sad for me, sad for him, sad for the game," said Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda, who called A-Rod a friend. "I just don't understand it. I cannot understand it. Certainly it has helped him, taking this stuff. It's just bad for baseball, bad for the game."