AIR QUALITY WORSENS AS WILDFIRE SMOKE DRIFTS IN: Maryland health experts are urging residents to stay indoors Friday as wildfire smoke pushes air quality to dangerous levels, warning that even healthy people could experience breathing problems and other effects.Sara Ruberg/The Baltimore Banner.
- Friday is a First Alert Weather Day due to thick wildfire smoke and poor air quality across much of Maryland. Cutter Martin/CBS News.
FED VOTER ROLLS ARE SECURE SAYS DeMARINIS, REMOVING VOTERS ‘MUST BE CERTAIN’: Maryland’s top election official said in a letter to federal officials that Maryland is following federal and state law as it maintains voter rolls, and stressed the importance of reining in comments that sow distrust in elections. Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters.
GOP CANDIDATE COX SEEKS TO DISTANCE HIMSELF FROM TRUMP’S ELECTION DENIAL: Maryland’s Republican candidate for governor said in a Thursday radio interview that Joe Biden “probably” won the 2020 election, as President Donald Trump and other Republicans continue to cast doubt on the result. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
HOUSE DIVIDED ON PERMANENT DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME VOTE: Maryland’s House of Representatives delegation was evenly split over this week’s vote to make Daylight Saving Time year-round. Four members voted for it, four against and the issue made for strange bedfellows with Republican Andy Harris joining three Democrats in voting no. John Lee/WYPR.
IT CAME FROM DIFFERENT PLACES, BUT MONEY TALKED IN HOUSE RACES: Tens of millions of dollars flowed into Maryland’s congressional primary races this year, from small grass-roots donors to political action committees to some well-heeled candidates themselves, and that money made the difference in the outcomes — with one notable exception. William Hammann/Maryland Matters.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SUES OVER COLLEGE TUITION FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS: The United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the state of Maryland over policies that offer undocumented students in-state tuition at public colleges. Ellie Wolfe/the Baltimore Banner.
‘FRAUD INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX:’ INSIDE MARYLAND’S HOMECARE MONEY TRAIL: Government agencies continued sending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars through Medicaid to Maryland-based companies that, in many cases, already carried warning signs, including massive tax debts, lawsuits, neglect findings and federal investigations. Patrick Hauf/The Baltimore Sun.
RETIRING DEL. PAMELA QUEEN HONORED FOR GENERAL ASSEMBLY SERVICE: Del. Pamela Queen (D-Dist. 14) has spent more than a decade representing much of the northern and eastern portions of Montgomery County in the Maryland General Assembly. Now, she says, it’s “time for the youth to step up.” Ceoli Jacoby/Bethesda Today.
CYCLOSPORIA: HEALTH OFFICIALS REPORT 69 CASES THROUGH JULY, MORE THAN DOUBLE FROM LAST WEEK: Cyclosporiasis cases in Maryland have more than doubled since last week, state health officials said. The Maryland Department of Health has confirmed 69 cases of cyclosporiasis reported in the state, 65 of which occurred since May 1 through July 14. Breana Ross/WBAL TV.
COMMENTARY: RATEPAYERS DESERVE AN ANSWER: WHICH IS THE REAL STORY FROM EXELON: Exelon has a story it tells ratepayers, and a story it tells Wall Street. The problem is the two stories don’t add up, and Maryland families are the ones footing the bill. Nicole Williams/Maryland Reporter
B’MORE DEMOCRATIC OFFICIAL REMOVED AFTER CONFRONTATION WITH CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER: The Maryland Democratic Party Credentials Committee has unanimously voted to remove an official after a confrontation with a campaign volunteer over a contentious West Baltimore state Senate race. John-John Williams IV/The Baltimore Banner.
