With vote-by-mail court fight settled, attention shifts to protections at the polls

Voting rights groups and Democratic officials are looking to defend against what they see as possible election interference from the Trump administration ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, now that they’ve won a major battle over mail ballots.

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Poll finds voters favor US Senate candidates with plan for averting Social Security cut

Voters are much more likely to support U.S. Senate candidates this fall who have a plan to avoid an automatic cut to Social Security benefits in 2032, according to a poll released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Peter G. Peterson Foundation

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Maryland officials grapple with ‘bizarre’ Trump executive order on Chesapeake Bay

Just months after federal officials joined Chesapeake Bay states to renew their pledge to restore the nation's largest estuary, President Donald Trump on Wednesday rescinded an Obama-era executive order that called for federal leadership in the effort.

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Maryland is right to shift focus of community school funding to academics

Changes proposed in the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, to shift Community Schools' emphasis to investments that support reading and math, is a crucial change, write Trish Brennan-Gac and Clarence Crawford, that needs support from parents and lawmakers.

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Black voters urged to cast a ballot in ‘most consequential election of our lifetime’

Congressional representatives implored Black citizens to vote this fall, saying during a two-hour- plus town hall at the Congressional Black Caucus’s annual legislative conference Thursday that the fate of "Black America" hangs in the balance.

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Maryland warns of possible measles exposure at three Ocean City locations

Maryland health officials are warning that people who visited several locations in Ocean City earlier this month may have been exposed to measles, after an out-of-state resident who was infected with the virus visited the resort town while still contagious.

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Voting rights advocates regroup as Callais decision threatens Black representation

With “the crown jewel” of civil rights legislation gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court, and possibly the seats of 20 Black members of Congress at stake in November, voting rights advocates on Wednesday called for a makeover of the nation’s highest court.

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Officials express confidence in state’s bet on horse racing industry

State officials put a best hoof forward on behalf of the horse racing industry Wednesday, telling a House committee they are confident that efforts to prop up and preserve the industry will not be in vain, despite ongoing questions and repeated state funding.

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Developers say housing regulations drive up costs that price Marylanders out of homeownership

Developers say that having to navigate the “complex web” of federal, state and local regulations contributes to the rising cost of housing and rent, which winds up pricing more and more Marylanders out of housing options. And state officials largely agree.

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Federal judge orders pause on Agriculture Department reorganization — for now

A federal district judge hit the brakes on sweeping Agriculture Department reorganization measures that would have moved half the department's Washington-area workers to sites around the county, issuing a temporary stay Monday amid ongoing litigation.

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Study warns of electricity shortages unless supply keeps pace with data center growth

Even if new power plants are built over the next 15 years, as data center projects come online, the regional electricity grid would fall short of demands six times per decade on average for Pennsylvania and the PJM regional grid, according to a new report.

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Constitution Day reminder: Our democracy is not for sale to the highest bidder

The best way to mark Constitution Day, this Thursday, is to fight the influence of money and foreign influence in our politics through active civic participation, writes Mike Pellittiere, who particularly calls on his fellow veterans to step up.

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Congressional Black Caucus conference begins amid concerns over Callais, Voting Rights Act

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation conference is typically “a big homecoming,” but this year's event could be the last for some caucus members, as changes to the Voting Rights Act have put Black representation on Capitol Hill under threat.

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Even with sweeping utility reform legislation in place, regulators fight rising rate requests

Savings from a sweeping utilities reform bill this year are on the way, but energy regulators told state lawmakers Tuesday that they have seen rising rate requests from power companies in the meantime, and expect to see more.

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State appeals tax court ruling that struck down digital ad tax

State officials are asking a circuit court to review a Maryland tax court ruling last month that struck down a first-of-its-kind digital ad tax that was challenged by three tech companies, Apple, Google and Peacock TV.

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Past secretaries, union leader call for probe into Education Department slashing

Maryland Democratic Sens. Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen joined three former education secretaries and the union representing agency workers to urge the Education Department's top watchdog to investigate the cost and impact of mass firings last year.

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Judge bars Trump administration’s ‘loyalty’ question on federal job applications

Federal agencies can no longer include an essay question on job applications that asks candidates which of President Donald Trump's executive orders are most “significant” to them, after a federal judge said that violated applicants' free speech rights.

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New commission works to untangle challenges at health licensing boards

After state audits reported inadequate response times by some health licensing boards to complaints about licensees, and other boards behind on healthcare facility inspections, lawmakers set up a new commission to address the issues causing those oversight issues.

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US Supreme Court blocks Trump rule limiting mail voting, sides with Dem states

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday kept in place a lower court’s order blocking President Donald Trump’s embattled plan to place new restrictions on mail ballots for this year’s midterm elections.

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Trump EPA to strip greenhouse gas limits for power plants, a key Biden climate policy

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will revoke Biden-era limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that run on coal and natural gas, according to regulatory documents Administrator Lee Zeldin signed Monday.

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States, cities sue Trump administration over new green card restrictions

Maryland signed on to one of two lawsuits filed Monday by states, cities and counties challenging new federal rules that will allow immigrants’ use of safety net resources to county against them for green cards and other applications to stay in or enter the U.S.

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Maryland leaders must fight to restore climate justice funding

The effects of climate change are being felt in Maryland, and the impact is even greater in Black and brown communities, writes Sacoby Wilson, which is why our lawmakers need to fight to restore the climate justice grants the Trump administration stripped away.

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Congress returns to session before midterms sprint, but no action expected on AI fears

Congress returns briefly to Capitol Hill this week then heads back to the campaign trail until mid-November, with the House in for a week and the Senate for three, giving the GOP little time to act before voters decide whether they get two more years in power.

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Mixed-status immigrant households expected to lose benefits under new public charge rule

New rules going into effect this week allow immigrants’ enrollment in safety net resources to be taken into account for lawful immigration status applications, the latest in the Trump administration’s immigration overhaul.

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Budget officials ask agencies to tighten belts, including a 10% cut scenario

State agencies are being asked to tighten their belts ahead of a coming difficult fiscal year. Administration emails told agency heads to include reductions of roughly 3% in their fiscal 2028 requests, with two dozen agencies told to outline reductions up to 10%.

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After years of trying, months of delays, Reparations Commission may start soon

To Del. Aletheia McCaskill “this moment still doesn't feel real.” The moment is the pending launch of a Reparations Commission, years after it was first proposed and 18 months after it was passed, vetoed by the governor and then overridden.

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How 9/11 changed the way America surveils its citizens

Twenty-five years after 9/11, the surveillance infrastructure built and expanded in its aftermath has become part of a far larger digital ecosystem — producing tools that can collect and analyze information on a scale unimaginable in 2001.

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HUD circulated plans for a major reorganization. Then it withdrew them.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed plans for a large-scale reorganization to accommodate a significantly downsized workforce, but then quickly withdrew those plans for unknown reasons, public records show.

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Measles outbreak has sickened 676 in Pa., including four fully vaccinated people

Pennsylvania has now recorded 676 cases of measles, 108 of them in the past week, with cases confirmed in 37 of the commonwealth's 67 counties, state health officials said. They included two measles-affiliated deaths and infections of four fully vaccinated people.

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Officials, advocates seek funds to soften blow of rising healthcare costs

State officials are scrambling to cushion the blow of skyrocketing healthcare costs and federal changes to the Medicaid program on Marylanders' pocketbooks, in hopes that people can still afford coverage.

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