SINCLAIR’s SMITH THREATENS TO SUE GOV OVER EPSTEIN-MONEY COMMENTS: David Smith, the owner of The Baltimore Sun and executive chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group, has threatened to sue Maryland Gov. Wes Moore over comments he made in a television interview last month, escalating a feud between the two camps. In the June 16 MS NOW interview, Moore, a Democrat, said Smith “was invested in by Jeffrey Epstein,” the New York financier whom federal prosecutors charged in 2019 with sex trafficking of minors. Lee O. Sanderlin/The Baltimore Banner.
COMMENTARY: THE DEEPER STORY BEHIND SMITH-EPSTEIN LINK: This fight was never about one interview. When Gov. Wes Moore sat for an MS NOW interview in mid June, he answered a question the way elected officials are supposed to: directly and honestly. Asked about the Baltimore Sun’s increasingly hostile coverage of his administration — especially its investigation into his military record — Moore pointed to a documented fact: Epstein linked investment funds once held several hundred thousand dollars’ worth of Sinclair Broadcast Group stock while David Smith was CEO. But the truth of the financial link is only the surface. Barry O’Connell/The Maryland Wire.
PRIMARY RESULTS CERTIFIED; TURNOUT LOWER THAN NORMAL: The results for the Maryland 2026 primary have been certified, with Maryland reporting lower-than-usual voting turnout, with a turnout of about 17%, compared to the 27% turnout in 2024. In Prince George’s County, the decline was less significant, with 24.53% turnout, compared to 25.23% during the 2024 presidential primary. Richard Elliot/The Washington Informer.
WARDEN OUT; 19 PRISON OFFICERS ADMINISTRATIVELY CHARGED AFTER INMATE FOUND DEAD: Nineteen correctional officers at Roxbury Correctional Institution south of Hagerstown have been administratively charged in the wake of an inmate being found dead at the prison on May 20, according to the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Julie E. Greene/The Hagerstown Herald Mail.
- The case is focused on the May 20 discovery of the body of Colin Wolf, 32, inside his cell in the Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, officials said. Corrections officers are required to conduct prisoner counts three times a day and perform rounds every 30 minutes. Yet Wolf’s father said in an interview that he has been told by investigators that his son may have been dead in his cell for hours and possibly days, as decomposition had begun to set in. Justin Fenton/The Baltimore Banner.
HEAT-RELATED DEATHS HIT 19 THIS SUMMER: Heat-related deaths jumped to 19 in the first half of the summer, with eight of those coming during the brutal heat wave around the Fourth of July, putting the state on track to record the second-most heat deaths in 15 years, new data shows. Mayah Nachman/Maryland Matters.
- Health officials said eight deaths occurred between July 1 and 5, across seven counties. Temperatures during the July 4th weekend topped 100 degrees. The state’s weather-related illness dashboard, updated Wednesday, shows there was one heat death in May and four in June. There have been 14 heat deaths reported so far this month, two more than the 12 recorded last July. Overall, the health department reported 36 heat-related deaths in 2025. Shayla Colon and Courtney Knight/The Baltimore Banner.
- A heat wave is pressing in on Maryland starting Wednesday and continuing today. It’s not the first this summer and probably won’t be the last. Temperatures will be over 100 degrees and the heat indices will hit sweltering levels making it dangerous for people to be outside for long periods of time. Baltimore already declared a code red heat alert, opening cooling centers and extending pool hours. Scott Maucione/WYPR-FM.
OP-ED: TO ACCELERATE GROWTH, MARYLAND NEEDS DATA CENTERS: Maryland has never lacked for talent.Across our state, 220,000 technology workers are forging careers in cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing and other fields. We boast a Top 5 STEM workforce and the No. 3 biopharma cluster in America. Despite these strengths, we face economic headwinds. We need to diversify our economy away from overreliance on federal spending, generate reliable tax revenue to prevent future tax hikes and create Maryland jobs for Maryland families. Data centers can help. Kelly Schulz/The Baltimore Business Journal.
ADVOCATE: UTILITY REGULATORS NOT ENFORCING PIPELINE REPLACEMENT LAW: Maryland’s utility regulators are failing to enforce a 2025 state law that set new restrictions on gas pipeline replacement, according to a court appeal filed last week by the Maryland Office of People’s Counsel. The law came amid concerns from consumer advocacy groups that gas utilities have been overspending on pipeline replacements because they recoup the cost from customers — along with a guaranteed profit. Christine Condon/Maryland Matters.
MO CO CONSIDERS BILLS TO BAN ICE EMPLOYEES FROM COUNTY GOV’T JOBS: The Montgomery County Council is considering two bills that would deny county employment to individuals who have recently worked for federal government agencies tasked with enforcing immigration law, with a public hearing for one of the two held Tuesday. Ceoli Jacoby/Bethesda Today.
COLUMN: GROWING IGNORANCE: SOMERSET SEEKS TO BAN BOOKS: You know the axiom that you are what you eat? As an avid enthusiast of words, I believe you’re also what you read. As a Gen Xer, I can tell you my cohort would be far less smart, interesting, worldly and informed had our access to literature been banned by our schools. Weirdly, that’s the future some on Somerset County’s MAGA-aligned school board want as they consider barring students under 18 years old from reading young adult books in school libraries. Leslie Gray Streeter/The Baltimore Banner.
PLANS TO REPLACE B’MORE COLUMBUS STATUE HITS A SNAG: Plans to erect a memorial to replace the toppled Christopher Columbus statue in Little Italy hit a snag on Wednesday, when a city review panel raised questions about the project’s ownership and plans for maintenance. Ed Gunts/Baltimore Fishbowl.
