Tjortenzi
@tjortenzi.bsky.social
Baltimore is your friend. @thebaltimorebanner.com editor.
In an apparently coordinated effort to show Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is alive and on the mend, a handful of his allies made public statements today saying they have spoken to him on the phone this week and discussed a variety of issues. www.huffpost.com/entry/latest...
Mitch McConnell’s Colleagues Say He's Alive, Talking On The Phone
huffpost.com
It’s a stupidly high bar but I believe this to be Craig Brown’s finest work
Candidates for Anne Arundel County Executive were receptive to the idea of a tax on secondary luxury homes, sometimes called pieds-à-terre, in the county. And if that sounds familiar, it's b/c Zohran Mamdani and Kathy Hochul have proposed such a tax in New York. Read more @thebaltimorebanner.com:
Anne Arundel executive candidates considering secondary luxury home tax
Speaking at a forum hosted by the Anne Arundel Affordable Housing Coalition on May 7, Democratic county executive candidates Allison Pickard, James Kitchin and Pete Smith said a supplemental tax on se...
thebanner.com
Is it weird to add music to a simple drone video of Penn Station in the snow? Yes. Is it deeply pleasing to watch? Also yes.
Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026
The White House posted an edited photo of the activist involved in the Minneapolis church protest, made to look like she was crying.
"Karp described himself as a 'card-carrying progressive,' though he expressed views sympathetic to [Trump’s] agenda, and his data analytics company maintains close ties to the country’s immigration authorities and Defense Department." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Palantir CEO Says AI to Make Large-Scale Immigration Obsolete
Artificial intelligence will displace so many jobs that it will eliminate the need for mass immigration, according to Palantir Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Alex Karp.
bloomberg.com
After a contentious renewal process, Baltimore is shutting down its only all-boys charter school. Two small traditional schools were also up for closure, but the board chose to kick the can down the road - to when they'll have a new CEO in charge of recommendations. www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
After years of struggles, Baltimore’s only all-boys public school to close
The Baltimore City school board voted Wednesday to close its only all-boys public school, Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys, while putting off decisions on two other proposed school closures.
thebanner.com
For my first story of 2026, I dug into the numbers defining a trend that has exploded in Maryland since the pandemic: homeschooling. There's been a 50% uptick since the 2019-20 school year, holding steady as public school enrollment declines www.thebanner.com/education/k-...
Homeschooling has exploded in Maryland
A by-the-numbers look at the increase in Maryland homeschooling since COVID-19 that seems here to stay.
thebanner.com
Two prosecutors placed on leave after requesting stiff sentence for man granted clemency after participating in Jan. 6 attack who later turned up armed near Obamas’ house www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/u...
Prosecutors Who Called Jan. 6 Attackers a ‘Mob of Rioters’ Are Punished
nytimes.com
The print subscriber base for @motherjones.com is 2.5 times as high. 🙀
karl rove knausgård@uhactually.bsky.social · 10mo agoLmao WaPo has fewer than 100K circulation now. It turns out “alienate your liberal subscriber base” is not a good strategy when the Republicans also hate you. www.forbes.com/sites/andyme...
Comedians like Aziz Ansari and Jessica Kirson need to look elsewhere for organizations to donate their Riyadh Comedy Festival money. Human Rights Watch said they ‘cannot accept’ donations from them.
Human Rights Watch Doesn’t Want Any Riyadh Comedy Festival Money
Comedians like Aziz Ansari and Jessica Kirson need to look elsewhere for organizations to donate their Riyadh Comedy Festival money. Human Rights Watch said they ‘cannot accept’ donations from them.
vulture.com
NYT critic @jasonzinoman.bsky.social on the contradictions of the Riyadh Comedy Festival: “It’s hard to see [Dave] Chappelle signing a contract to perform at a university only if he agreed to state his pronouns at the start of the set.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/a...
Why Arguments About Free Speech Don’t Apply to the Riyadh Comedy Festival
nytimes.com
Just this morning in Baltimore County: 55 yr old man accused of fatally shooting his wife, 56, in Monkton www.thebanner.com/community/cr... 89 yr old man kills his 87 yr old wife & then himself in Timonium www.thebanner.com/community/cr... A “suspicious death” of woman found in home in Sparks area
Man charged with murder in Monkton woman’s death
Anthony Lechner, 55, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 56-year-old Kimberly Lechner, Baltimore County Police said.
thebanner.com
SCOOP / UPDATE — Disney saw more than 1.7 million total paid streaming cancelations during the period 9/17-9/23, a Disney source confirms to me. The total includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN.
Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social · 11mo agoNEW — I wrote about my confirmed scoop from last night that Disney hastened Kimmel's return because of a planned Disney+ streaming price increase announcement coming on Tuesday:
New w/ @elliew0lfe.bsky.social: : The Trump administration will begin to charge $100k each for visas that UMD and Hopkins use to hire researchers, scientists and professors. Among the affected? A Ukrainian researcher who may be forced to go home. “I am terrified" www.thebanner.com/education/hi...
Ukrainian researcher’s future in doubt as Trump’s H-1B visa costs hit Hopkins, UMD
Looking at Donald Trump’s new changes to H-1B visas, which now include a hefty $100,000 fee. Will Maryland colleges start hiring less foreign born faculty because of it?
thebanner.com
Worth remembering that a prominent Fox host encouraged the government to murder homeless people last week and is still employed.
The top Democratic leaders of the Maryland General Assembly – House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson – were both targeted by bomb threats at their homes today. www.thebanner.com/politics-pow...
Top Maryland General Assembly leaders targeted by bomb threats
The presiding officers of Maryland’s General Assembly were targeted by bomb threats on Thursday, amid rising concern about political violence in the nation.
thebanner.com
I think we got lucky with this storm tonight, all things considered. shout out Alex Mann and Aline Behar Kado on the story and updates and of course to @jphotoj.bsky.social for the great image.
Some flooding in Baltimore as storms roll through Maryland
The Baltimore region was under a flash flood warning Monday evening, and saw some limited inundations.
thebaltimorebanner.com
This woman asked Tiktok which city would be better for postgrad: Baltimore or Raleigh? Baltimore is winning (I think), with 429 comments and counting. www.tiktok.com/@khadija.has...
BREAKING: The Baltimore Sheriff's Office is probing a courthouse corrections dept. employee for allegedly inviting ICE agents in for a meeting, which led to someone being detained. Investigation is looking at potential crimes including misuse of state data. www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cr...
Baltimore sheriff probes courthouse employee for allegedly inviting ICE to detain someone
ICE agents detained a man at the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse last week, sparking an investigation of a corrections department employee.
thebaltimorebanner.com
Today’s Maryland traffic nightmare? A giant wind turbine blade
Today’s Maryland traffic nightmare? A giant wind turbine blade
The truck struck the guardrail, causing the blade to slip from the truck, cross the median and go into the eastbound lanes.
buff.ly
EXCLUSIVE: The University of Baltimore turned 100 years old this year. It is also facing a structural deficit, 50% less enrollment in 10 years, and is cutting positions. “Our ability to generate revenue is under duress," the CFO told me. Read: www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/un...
After a century, the University of Baltimore is struggling
Over the last 10 years, the University of Baltimore’s enrollment has dropped, its faculty has halved, leaving its deficit swollen amid state cuts.
thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/k-... Kudos to the @thebaltimorebanner.com for a balanced take here. Combating antisemitism is important, but you don't get there by stripping context out of history. Israel-Palestine is not a singular narrative, and the state shouldn't push that line.
Social studies curriculum update reflects concerns about antisemitism
Maryland's rewrite was criticized at points for some of the initial changes and for leaving social studies teachers out of the process.
thebaltimorebanner.com
The Reginald F. Lewis Museum celebrated #Juneteenth, #BlackMusicMonth & their 20th Anniversary during their “Day of Jubilee” Block Party. We talked with leaders, visitors & artists about the importance of Juneteenth and how they celebrate their Black Pride. For @thebaltimorebanner.com
The scene at today’s ICE out of Baltimore protest near CASA’s headquarters
