SENATE BILL TARGETS AI DEEPFAKES: State Sen. Katie Fry Hester is leading the charge on artificial intelligence regulations with the 2026 election cycle fast-approaching. Her first bill, SB0141 — which passed with unanimous bipartisan support in the Senate on Thursday — specifically targets the use of AI-generated deepfakes to distribute election misinformation. Sarah Petrowich/WYPR-FM.
LAWMAKERS SEEK IMPROVEMENTS TO BLACK MATERNAL HEALTH OUTCOMES: Juggling diaper changes for her “deputy delegate” and her legislative duties is giving Del. Jennifer White Holland of Baltimore County firsthand working mom experience. But it was moving through the medical system as a Black pregnant woman that showed her how much still needs to be done to improve health care for mothers in Maryland — specifically Black mothers. Danielle Brown/Maryland Matters.
BILL AIMED AT UTILITIES’ EXEC SALARIES DOES LITTLE FOR CONSUMERS: Although utility costs are just one component of an increasingly unaffordable world, Annapolis lawmakers have promised to offer relief this legislative session. A score of energy-related bills have been filed, but lawmakers’ first bite at the apple, House Bill 1, is aimed at the people who run these utilities. However, the bill not do much to help consumers. Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Banner.
MD CONGRESS MEMBERS CRITICIZE B’MORE ICE FACILITY: Members of Maryland’s congressional delegation sent a letter Friday to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons in response to a viral video showing what some have called abusive treatment in an immigration holding facility in Baltimore. The letter was led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Kweisi Mfume and cosigned by Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and Reps. Steny Hoyer, Jamie Raskin, Glenn Ivey, Sarah Elfreth, April McClain Delaney and Johnny Olszewski Jr. John-John Williams IV/The Baltimore Banner.
BA CO EXEC SEEKS PROBE INTO POSSIBLE ICE OFFICE: Rumors of a potential ICE office in Hunt Valley have sparked an investigation by the Baltimore County Executive’s Office, officials said. County Executive Kathy Klausmeier said her office has learned the U.S. General Services Administration has leased an office space in the county. At this time, Klausmeier said they’re unsure of what business the Department of Homeland Security plans to conduct with the space. Hannah Hoffman and Tori Yorgey/WBAL-TV News.
- “At this time, we do not know what business will be conducted in this space,” Klausmeier wrote in a statement. “However, we recognize the very real concerns this news raises for many members of our community.” Julie Scharper and Sapna Bansil/The Baltimore Banner.
COMMENTARY: FEDERAL SUPREMACY VS STATE CONTROL OVER PRIVATE LAND: In recent weeks, residents across Maryland have filled county council chambers, organized protests, and raised alarms about the possible arrival of federal immigration detention facilities in their own backyards. A common, but very incomplete, reading of the Supremacy Clause treats federal authority as a trump card that ends the conversation. If Washington acts, states like Maryland must stand down. The Constitution does not make federal power boundless. Shanel Moya Aguero/Maryland Reporter.
REDISTRICTING UNDER SCRUTINY AFTER MOORE’s COMMENT ON JUDGES: As Gov. Wes Moore pushes lawmakers to redraw Maryland’s congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, a separate state decision is drawing scrutiny over timing and perception. New questions are emerging about the separation of powers and the optics of a $147 million state contract approved for the very court that could decide on the legality of those maps. Tessa Bentulan/The Baltimore Sun.
WITH REDISTRICTING PEÑA-MELNYK FLOATS LATER FILING DEADLINE: State House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk says there is still enough time to redraw congressional district lines — which Democrats believe could win them a new seat — but that the Feb. 24 candidate filing deadline may need to be delayed to accommodate a new map. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
MOORE SPOTLIGHTED IN CBS NEWS ‘TOWN HALL’ EVENT: Gov. Wes Moore sat confidently in the center of a restored seafood packing house in Cambridge, fielding questions during a “town hall” event that was nationally televised by CBS on Sunday night. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
- You can view the 46-minute video with Moore, a rising star in the Democratic Party, as he sits down in this “Things that Matter” event to discuss issues impacting the nation, including the critical 2026 midterm elections and his vision for the future of the Democratic Party. Norah O’Donnell/CBS-News.
DISTRICTS BLASTED FOR USING MUSLIM HOLIDAY AS MAKE UP FOR SNOW DAYS: After a harsh winter storm pummeled the D.C. region last month, Maryland’s two largest school districts are facing backlash for using a Muslim holiday to make up for lost class time. Kendall Staton/The Washington Post.
WITH A TOILET FLUSH, MO CO, PG RESIDENTS AID CLEAN AIR: Just by flushing their toilets, almost 2 million residents across Montgomery and Prince George’s counties may reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to cleaner air in the national capital region. The WSSCs Piscataway Bioenergy Project serves those counties. And its facility in Accokeek turns “poop to power” by converting the methane gas from biosolids — the byproduct of wastewater treatment — into renewable natural gas that helps power Montgomery County’s Ride On public bus system. Anastasia Merkulova of Capital News Service/Maryland Reporter.
CECIL SHERIFF’S STAFF STILL ON JOB AFTER SEXUAL COMMENTS ABOUT FORMER COUNTY EXEC: Cecil County Sheriff’s Office employees, allegedly caught on tape making sexually graphic and lewd comments about a former county official, are still on the job — and the official feels unsafe. Although Danielle Robinson, formerly Hornberger, has called for the men to be removed from duty during a state police investigation into the 2023 recording in which they discussed sexually “brutalizing her,” the sheriff’s office has so far declined to do so. Kate Cimini/The Baltimore Sun.
FORMER LAUREL POLICE CHIEF SENTENCED TO 55 YEARS IN THREE ARSONS: A former Laurel police chief on Friday was sentenced to 55 years in prison for setting three fires at two Clarksburg properties owned by his stepson and daughter-in-law between 2016 and 2020. David Michael Crawford, 74, of Ellicott City, is already serving two consecutive life sentences plus 75 years for similar crimes he committed in Howard County. He is also implicated in several other arsons across Anne Arundel, Charles, Frederick and Prince George’s counties between 2011 and 2020, according to prosecutors. Ceoli Jacoby/Bethesda Today.
HIGH SCHOOL PROTESTERS WHO LEFT SCHOOL GROUNDS FACE DISCIPLINE: Roughly 300 Arundel High students walked out of the building Friday to protest immigration enforcement, and dozens of them will face consequences for leaving school property following the walkout. Bridget Byrne/The Baltimore Sun.
GOUCHER ENROLLMENT BENEFITS FROM ‘CASCADE EFFECT’: For the first time in its 141-year history, Goucher College enrolls more Black and Hispanic students in its first-year classes than white students. The diverse first-year class and a new slate of transfer students mean Goucher is a majority-minority campus. On the surface, it’s an unexpected feat. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2023 banned race-conscious admissions, also known as affirmative action, and in the nearly three years since, many colleges have reported drastic declines in the diversity of their student bodies. Ellie Wolfe/The Baltimore Banner.
