Officials with the Unified Command team working on the Francis Scott Key Bridge cleanup outside Baltimore have recovered and identified a fifth roadwork crew member who died in the bridge collapse in March. On Wednesday night, Unified Command announced 49-year-old Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, of Glen Burnie, was found in one of the missing constructions trucks recovered by salvage teams at the bridge. Maryland State Police, along with the Maryland Transportation Authority Police and the FBI, worked together to identify the recovered worker. Gonzalez, a native of El Salvador, is one of the ..read more

Last week, Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed a host of bills into law aiming to solve the ongoing affordable housing shortage across the state. Three of the measures were part of his own priority legislation to address the issue. “This was a year that we made the choice to put housing front and center, because we knew this was an issue that could not wait,” Moore said at an April 25 bill signing event in the State House. Due to the high-profile nature of the Governor’s housing package, other bills trying to create more housing opportunities often went under the radar. That might have happened with Hou ..read more

As Maryland public school leaders continue to work on the massive Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan, documents from local school systems that are being turned in this week must provide data to show how officials are putting it in place. That information is based on the Blueprint’s five priorities — early childhood education, hiring and retaining high-quality and diverse teachers, preparing students for college and technical careers, providing additional resources for students in need and governance and accountability. A few plans from the state’s 24 ..read more

State Sen. Sarah K. Elfreth (D-Anne Arundel) probably never imagined that she’d be referred to as a MAGA candidate. But that’s exactly what one of her opponents in the 3rd District Democratic congressional primary is doing. In his latest TV ad, which began airing this week, former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn in a quick 30 seconds tries to lay out the case that Elfreth, one of his 21 opponents in the Democratic primary, is aligned with conservative Republicans. The ad features arresting graphics and pictures of former President Donald Trump and U.S. Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st). “There’s ..read more

A 63-year old man will receive nearly $3.1 million from the state after he spent more than three decades in prison for a murder he did not commit. The Board of Public Works unanimously approved the payment for Gary Washington during a meeting Wednesday. Gov. Wes Moore (D) apologized to Washington and his wife before the vote. “And so Gary, as governor of this state, and more importantly as a father, as a husband and as a son and as a fellow Marylander there are no words that can convey how sorry I am to you today,” said Moore. “How sorry we are to the both of you for what you had to endure. An ..read more

A fast-emerging field of climate research is helping scientists pinpoint just how many dollars in damages from a natural disaster can be tied to the historic emissions of individual oil companies — analysis that is the centerpiece of new efforts in Maryland and other states to make fossil fuel companies pay billions for floods, wildfires and heat waves. When a flood or wildfire hits, researchers in “attribution science” run computer models to help determine whether the disaster was caused or intensified by climate change. As those models become more precise, other scientists are working t ..read more

Early voting in Maryland’s May 14 primary begins Thursday and will last a week. It’s one of three ways Maryland voters can cast ballots in this year’s primary. Marylanders will be voting in party primaries for president, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives and in an array of local elections, which include races for mayor of Baltimore and for Cecil County executive. Most of Maryland’s jurisdictions also have elections for judgeships and school board seats on the ballot. The U.S. Senate seat is open this year with the looming retirement of three-term Sen. Ben Cardin (D). Three of Maryl ..read more

Former President Donald Trump is planning to release more details in the weeks ahead about how his administration would regulate access to medication abortion, according to comments he made during a lengthy interview with Time magazine published Tuesday. Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president, said that he has “strong views” about access to mifepristone, though he declined to say exactly what those are. He did not rule out a nationwide ban, or imposing new restrictions. “Well, I have an opinion on that, but I’m not going to explain,” Trump said, according to the transc ..read more

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson argued Tuesday that protests on college campuses calling for a ceasefire in Gaza have crossed the line and represent a threat to Jewish students. His remarks came one day before lawmakers in that chamber are set to vote on a bipartisan bill that would define antisemitism for the Department of Education. Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, is leading efforts in the House to object to rising antisemitism throughout the country, as well as to punish colleges and universities that allow the student protests to continue. “The university is intended to be the free market ..read more

Before a state board can begin the process of determining if certain prescription drugs pose an affordability challenge to Marylanders, officials of the Prescription Drug Affordability Board are seeking feedback from patients, physicians and manufactures to provide additional context and first-hand experience about trying to afford medications treating HIV, eczema, and diabetes and other conditions. “We really do hope to get a lot more feedback from the public,” Andrew York, executive director for Prescription Drug Affordability Board, said Monday at a virtual meeting of the board’s stakeholde ..read more