MOORE LAUNCHES REELECTION CAMPAIGN: Gov. Wes Moore, launching his reelection campaign, promised the crowd at the B&O Railroad Museum to continue a “public safety turnaround” in Maryland while growing the economy, improving public schools and rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Moore has several million dollars in the bank and scant Democratic opposition for the June 23 primary. And whoever emerges from the Republican field is unlikely to come close to matching Moore’s money and ability to grab national attention. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
- Later in the day, Moore addressed backers at Prince George’s Community College, where chants of “four more years” echoed through the crowd. Moore, a Democrat first elected in 2022, has made public safety, economic development and infrastructure central themes of his reelection bid as he seeks to extend his tenure in office. Ian Crawford/WTOP-FM.
QUESTIONS ARISE ABOUT MOORE’s MILITARY HISTORY: Questions about Gov. Wes Moore’s military record have centered largely on the Bronze Star Medal — first on his 18-year-long false claim that he had received it, and then on the controversial circumstances of the award’s presentation in 2024. But an investigation has uncovered unexplained gaps and delays in his training that also warrant explanation, according to military personnel. Drew Sullins/The Baltimore Sun.
WHAT CAN FIRE DEPARTMENTS DO WITH ALL THAT PFAS FOAM? In firehouses across Maryland sit gallons upon gallons of a toxic firefighting foam that firefighters can no longer use. In 2022, the legislature passed a law banning the use of firefighting foams laden with PFAS, a class of heat- and oil-resistant chemicals, many of which have been linked to cancer, reproductive harms and other ailments. But the state doesn’t have a plan to get rid of the foam, leaving fire departments around the state scratching their heads. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
MARYLAND COULD MATCH CHURCHILL DOWNS OFFER: Churchill Downs announced last month its intent to buy the Preakness Stakes’ intellectual property for $85 million, creating more intrigue about the race’s future as the state is set to take control in 2027. But left unsaid is that Maryland has an opportunity to match the offer. The government is on the clock to consider whether to reclaim ownership of the branding and trademarks associated with the famed race and the Black-Eyed Susan, a stakes race for fillies held the Friday before Preakness. Pamela Wood, Hayes Gardner and Childs Walker/The Baltimore Banner.
POWERLINE PROJECT FACES MORE DELAYS FOR COURT HEARING ON ACCESS: The proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project power line is facing new delays as a federal appeals hearing approaches on Tuesday and state officials seek to push back the project’s development schedule.Tuesday’s hearing will center on whether the project developer, Public Service Enterprise Group, can continue survey work on private land in Carroll County without full approval from the state. Marissa Yelenik/The Baltimore Sun.
VOTERS TO WEIGH IN ON STATE WAGE NEGOTIATION PROCESS: Both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly passed an identical version of the Arbitration Reform for State Employees Act of 2026 this legislative session, which union President Patrick Moran says has been 30 years in the making. The Arbitration Reform for State Employees Act would create the framework to call in a third-party arbitrator if the two parties cannot reach an agreement. Sarah Petrowich/WYPR-FM.
ANOTHER MEASLES CASE IN MARYLAND: A Washington resident who visited Maryland tested positive for measles, state health officials said, amplifying calls for testing and vaccinations after a recent uptick in cases. Maryland Department of Health officials urge anyone who visited New Hampshire Business Center in Hyattsville between noon and 6:30 p.m. April 24 to monitor for symptoms, which include a cough, fever, head-to-toe rash and runny nose. Darreonna Davis/The Baltimore Banner.
PENSION BOARD SEEKS PUBLIC TRUSTEES: The Board of Trustees for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) is seeking two trustees, one each from Montgomery County and Prince George’s County. Public Trustees serve a three-year term, from July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2029. The Board holds fiduciary oversight of the ERS for the sole benefit of members and beneficiaries. County residents interested in serving must submit a statement of qualifications and resume, by 5:00 p.m. on May 27, 2026 to [email protected]. For more information, contact [email protected] or (301) 454-1415 or
visit us at ers.mncppc.org.
McCLAIN DELANEY-TRONE PRIMARY: A BATTLE OF WEALTHY NEIGHBORS: Next month’s U.S. House primary between David Trone and U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney isn’t just an increasingly fierce primary contest between two Democrats with ample means to finance their own campaigns. It’s also a neighborhood entanglement originating in one of America’s wealthiest enclaves. Jeff Barker/The Baltimore Sun.
COMMENTARY: FERGUSON EXPLOITS CUMMING’s ERROR: No doubt about it, Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming made a mistake by posting that AI-generated image of a cigar-smoking, liquor-swilling Mayor Brandon Scott. But Senate President Bill Ferguson’s extraordinarily harsh rebuke of her was the sound of the city’s political establishment gleefully seizing on it and closing ranks. David Plymyer/Baltimore Brew.
THOUSANDS TAKE TO STREETS FOR MAY DAY RALLIES: Thousands of protesters across Maryland took to the streets for May Day, with rallies and marches from Baltimore to Annapolis calling for workers’ rights, lower costs and broader economic reforms. Across the region, protesters targeted issues including policing, energy prices and immigration enforcement, blending chants, costumes and personal activism into a day of demonstrations. Staff/The Baltimore Banner.
ABREGO GARCIA’s WIFE THANKS MAY DAY ATTENDEES TO HELPING TO FREE HIM: A year ago, Jennifer Vasquez Sura did not know where her husband had been taken or if he was even alive, only that he had been detained by federal immigration agents. Today, she said, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is safe and back with his family in part because of the work and support of labor and immigrant groups like those that turned out for a May Day rally in Washington, D.C. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
PUSH AGAINST REFUGEES DOESN’T DAMPEN STUDENT IMMIGRATION ATTORNEYS: In just about 15 months, administration officials have largely shut down efforts to welcome refugees and asylum seekers, paused visa and residency applications for people from dozens of countries, supercharged immigrant arrests and challenged the constitutional right to citizenship in court. But even as those seismic changes are pushing some attorneys to the brink of burnout, they’re also inspiring a new wave of bright-eyed law students to jump into the fray. Daniel Zawodny/The Baltimore Banner.
COMMENTARIES: TWO SIGNS OF OUR POLITICAL TIMES: Fresh off of hosting white supremacist and racist speaker Jared Taylor at Salisbury University, Colin McEvers is taking his white nationalism to the next level. The racist chairman of the Maryland College Republicans is now taking it upon himself to form a “White Republican Council.” And, the good news for Anne Arundel County judicial candidate Rowena Nelson is that she fixed her campaign signs. Brian Griffiths/The Duckpin.
MONTGOMERY SCHOOLS WON’T START SCHOOL EARLY: The Montgomery County school board voted on Thursday to add instructional days in November and December during the 2026-2027 academic year after a community survey indicated that the alternative—starting the calendar five days earlier—was a less popular choice. Ashlyn Campbell/Bethesda Today.
TWO MARYLAND MEN LOST YEARS IN PRISON OVER WITHHELD EVIDENCE: Two Maryland men spent years in prison as prosecutors withheld evidence that could have cleared them, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. In both cases, defense attorneys later uncovered violations of the Brady rule, which requires prosecutors to disclose exculpatory evidence — failures that upended lives, derailed careers and families, and, critics say, rarely led to accountability. The rule stems from the 1963 landmark decision Brady v. Maryland. Ruben Casteneda/The Baltimore Sun.
AMTRAK CONSIDERING EASING RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSPORTING GUNS: Amtrak is considering allowing people to store guns in lockboxes on most of its trains, which critics say would weaken security measures that instead should be strengthened in light of the shooting at last weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. The company has been considering the policy change since at least early this year, after being pressured by Trump administration officials to ease restrictions on transporting weapons, two people familiar with the proposed plan said. Josh Funk and Claudia Lauer/The Associated Press.
Ahh the Sun, new ownership will do anything they can to smear Moore. He’s got his faults, but their efforts are clear as day.
We like to think we are so liberal here but then we go and continue to break rules like the Brady rule. The very supreme court ruling against us, and we still continue to violate that? Also how do prosecutors sleep at night knowing they put innocent people behind bars? Knowing full well the evidence says otherwise? Seriously, you have to be some kind of abhorrent human being that you’d rather put someone behind bars rather than admit the evidence is contrary to what you believe or push in the court room. What is astonishing is that there is often little recourse to punish bad prosecutors. Certainly we could come up with a system where we do not just give blanket immunity to prosecutors where they could still do their jobs, but also when blatant violations such as this we hold them accountable. There needs to be a way to punish or hold accountable those prosecutors.