GOP ATTEMPT TO DERAIL ABORTION-FUNDING BILL FALL SHORT: The House of Delegates ultimately voted 98-37 along party lines Thursday night to approve House Bill 930, but not before 40 minutes of debate during a House session earlier in the day when Republicans tried to put up a variety of amendments. Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters.
IS GOV. MOORE BRACING FOR A RECESSION?: Gov. Wes Moore said “real danger” is imminent for Marylanders amid federal actions and cuts, but he stopped short of answering whether he’s bracing for a potential Maryland-based recession. Kate Amara/WBAL-TV.
HOUSE APPROVES PAROLE REFORM: The House voted 101-38 for final approval Thursday night on a parole reform measure that advocates have said will not only allow more people to be released from state prison and other correctional facilities, but will also diversify the state’s Parole Commission. Danielle J. Brown and William J. Ford/Maryland Matters.
HOPKINS’ AID GROUPS TO LAY OFF 2000: Two Baltimore-based global aid groups affiliated with Johns Hopkins University began to lay off staff Thursday as officials grappled with massive federal funding cuts. Meredith Cohn, Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner.
DEMS UNITE OVER GOP BUDGET OFFER AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS: With just over 24 hours until the federal government was set to shut down, Maryland Democrats in Congress all said by late Thursday that they were joining nearly every other member of their party in rejecting Republicans’ latest budget plan. (Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would vote for the bill which he called a “terrible option.”) Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun.
‘DEVASTATING’ CUTS TO COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS: The scholarships of thousands of current and future college students are in the hands of state legislators, who are now weighing whether to cut funding for the Sellinger program by 50% for the second year in a row. Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner.
ICE DETAINEES BEING HELD IN BEDLESS B’MORE CELLS: ICE brings those they arrest in Maryland to its Hopkins Plaza field office downtown — a block away from CFG Arena — for processing before transferring them to a detention facility with an available bed. John-John Williams IV and Daniel Zawodny/The Baltimore Banner.
18 RECOMMENDATIONS TO END RACIAL DISPARITY IN PRISONS: The Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative in December released a list of 18 recommendations aimed at ending racial disparities in the criminal justice system, several of which were taken up by lawmakers during this legislative session. William J. Ford/Maryland Matters.
CASSILLLY’S APPROACH TO GOV’T CONTROVERSIAL: More than two years into his term as county executive, and with a plan to run for re-election in 2026, Cassilly is proud of the progress he has made, but others say he has gone too far and is actually doing more harm than good in Harford. Matt Hubbard/The Aegis.
CLEAN WATER ADVOCATES HOPE TO THAW FREEZE ON FUNDING: Projects designed to help restore the Chesapeake Bay watershed are being affected by the termination of federal grants, and the Choose Clean Water Coalition warns that could have detrimental effects. Kate Ryan/WTOP-NEWS.
TARIFFS COULD MAKE CAR INSURANCE COSTLIER: Proposed tariffs threaten to upend current auto supply chains, boosting prices, particularly on cars and parts from Canada, Mexico and China. Those costs likely would trickle down and affect insurance claims and future rates, experts agree. Daniel Zawodny/The Baltimore Banner.
ANOTHER 1,000 NOAA LAID OFF IN SILVER SPRING: NOAA reportedly laid off more than 1,000 more workers Wednesday. Combined with the original round of cuts, the total number of NOAA employees out of work totals about 20% of its original workforce of 12,000. Jack Bowman/ Maryland Matters.
CONSTITUENTS AIR WORRIES ABOUT GOV’T CUTS: Hundreds of Maryland constituents turned out at a town hall Tuesday night hosted by Maryland congressional Democrats to voice their concerns over the Trump administration’s efforts to break up federal agencies and cut government programs and jobs. Colin McNamara of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter
DAN RUPLI, LAWYER, CANDIDATE, PROGRESSIVE ACTIVIST, DIES: Dan Rupli, lawyer, congressional candidate, civil rights enforcer and progressive activist, died Thursday at 82 from a fall and complications of dementia. Len Lazarick/Maryland Reporter.
TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP REACHES SUPREME COURT: Three federal courts, in Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington State, had issued directives temporarily pausing the order, declaring that citizenship would be denied to babies who do not have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident. Abbie VanSickle/The New York Times.
LEAVING THE POST: Richard Vatz analyzes the departure of veteran Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus over her objection to the new libertarian editorial slant advocated by Post owner Jeff Bezos. Vatz admires Marcus’s writing, though he doesn’t agree with much of it, but thinks she should have stayed. Rick Vatz/Baltimore Post-Examiner.
PUBLIC ACCESS TO MOSBY’S PROBATIONARY REQUESTS RESTRICTED: The judge in the Marilyn Mosby case has blocked from public view recent court actions regarding the former Baltimore state’s attorney’s probationary requests, including for out-of-town travel and changes in her home detention. Mark Reutter/Baltimore Brew.
