All posts tagged: Maryland

Former Trump advisor John Bolton agrees to plead guilty to retaining classified information, MS NOW reports

Former Trump advisor John Bolton agrees to plead guilty to retaining classified information, MS NOW reports

Published by Sam Flores

Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton leaves federal court after pleading not guilty to charges of mishandling classified material on Oct. 17, 2025 in Greenbelt, Maryland. Bolton was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday. Alex Kent | Getty Images John Bolton, who previously served as national security advisor to President Donald Trump, has agreed to plead guilty to retaining classified information in a private diary, MS NOW reported Thursday. Bolton, who is a strong critic of Trump, faces a sentence of up to 60 months in jail and a fine of $2.25 million as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors on the single count, according to MS NOW. The only people who were exposed to the secret information were his wife and daughter, according to a source cited by the outlet. Read more CNBC politics coverage Bolton was indicted in October by a federal grand jury in Maryland on eight counts of transmission of national defense information and 10 counts of retention of national defense information. FBI agents had raided …

New Virginia Law Banning `Assault Firearms’ Prompts Quick Lawsuits From Gun-Rights Groups

New Virginia Law Banning `Assault Firearms’ Prompts Quick Lawsuits From Gun-Rights Groups

Published by Sam Flores

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed legislation banning the sale and manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms, prompting immediate lawsuits from gun-rights groups. The limits on “ assault firearms,” as they are described by the legislation, are among two dozen new restrictions and regulations on guns enacted by the Democratic governor in her first few months in office. That marks a sharp policy reversal from her Republican predecessor, who had vetoed many similar measures. “Firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets,” Spanberger said in a statement Friday. “We are taking this step to protect families and support the law enforcement officers who work every day to keep our communities safe.” The new gun restrictions move Virginia closer to the likes of California, Illinois and New York, which similarly have full Democratic control of their legislatures and governors’ offices. They also highlight a continued national divide on gun policy, as various Republican-led states have taken steps to relax firearm restrictions that they describe as an infringement on Second Amendment rights. A dozen …

Takeaways From AP’s Profile of a Christian IVF Doctor

Takeaways From AP’s Profile of a Christian IVF Doctor

Published by Sam Flores

Dr. John Gordon, a Christian IVF doctor, was co-director of a large fertility clinic when he started to have doubts about his profession. He was troubled over helping create surplus embryos, which would often languish in storage or be discarded. With the expansion of genetic testing, couples could choose the sex of their baby. They could screen out painful or fatal diseases, but also milder impairments like hearing loss. “What are children?” he asked recently. “I mean, are they a gift from the Lord or are they just a product where you’re trying to manufacture the best product you can?” Used to treat infertility, in vitro fertilization is an assisted reproductive technology that combines sperm and egg in a lab to create an embryo. The embryo can be frozen and later transferred to a patient’s uterus in hopes of achieving a pregnancy. More than 100,000 U.S. babies were born through IVF in 2024, the most recorded in a single year, according to a recent announcement from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Medical experts estimate …

Dems urge CFTC to rein in prediction markets sports betting, insider trading

Dems urge CFTC to rein in prediction markets sports betting, insider trading

Published by Sam Flores

Michael Selig, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as Commodity Futures Trading Commission chairman, testifies in a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on his nomination on Capitol Hill, Nov. 19, 2025. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters A group of Democratic lawmakers is urging the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to issue a rule that would aim to rein-in prediction markets, curb insider trading and prohibit certain types of event contracts. In a letter first shared with CNBC and sent to the CFTC on Thursday, a group of congressional Democrats led by Jeff Merkley of Oregon., called on the federal agency to address “the rapid erosion of integrity” within prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket. “We strongly encourage you to use your authority to preserve the intent of prediction markets, and congressional intent behind the Commodity Exchange Act, by issuing a rule that prevents insider trading and corruption in the market and prohibits event contracts on the outcome of elections, war and military actions in the U.S. or abroad, sports, and government actions without a valid economic hedging …

‘Glock Switch’ Bill Is Driving up Gun Sales in CT, Dealers Say

‘Glock Switch’ Bill Is Driving up Gun Sales in CT, Dealers Say

Published by Sam Flores

Connecticut’s proposed sale ban on “convertible pistols,” prompted by an increase in seized machine guns and devices that can turn ordinary pistols into machine guns, is driving up gun sales, gun dealers say. HB 5043, which aims to ban handguns that can be easily converted into machine guns using thumb-sized device, was introduced by Gov. Ned Lamont in February and passed the House this week. Connecticut is the smallest state considering the legislation and among the first to tackle this issue, along with California, Maryland, Illinois and New York. The bill would primarily affect the sale of Glock handguns, which use a cruciform trigger mechanism that can be depressed by a switch to allow it to fire rapid rounds. Gun dealers and industry advocates say the bill targets consumers, not criminals, and is unconstitutional — although they say it has led to a recent increase in handgun sales. “We figured it’s about 30% of our sales,” said Richard Sprandel, the owner of Blue Line Firearms and Tactical in Monroe, referring to Glocks. “There are other …

Maryland session ends leaving sweepstakes gaming bills stalled once again as SGLA celebrates

Maryland session ends leaving sweepstakes gaming bills stalled once again as SGLA celebrates

Published by skeptic

Maryland wrapped up its 2026 legislative session without approving two bills targeting sweepstakes-style gaming, keeping a familiar fight unresolved for at least another year. The measures, HB 295 and HB 1226, both cleared the House of Delegates. Neither one made it through the Senate before lawmakers adjourned on April 13, which ended their chances this session. The split mirrors what happened in 2025, when a Senate-backed ban proposal stalled once it reached the House. The result was quickly celebrated by the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance, which represents companies in the sector and argues its members operate legally while providing consumer safeguards. In a statement sent to ReadWrite after the session ended, Managing Director Sean Ostrow said the group spent months pressing that case with lawmakers. “We are pleased with this result in Maryland and want to thank the Maryland lawmakers who took the time to thoroughly consider this issue.  “Over multiple hearings and dozens of meetings, SGLA addressed false allegations by casino interests by demonstrating that the Social Plus industry already offers strong consumer protections …

Nature Puts Heat on Blast as Scorching Temperatures in Eastern US Could Smash Records

Nature Puts Heat on Blast as Scorching Temperatures in Eastern US Could Smash Records

Published by Sam Flores

ATLANTA (AP) — A long-lasting weather pattern is poised to blast hot air like a furnace across the eastern United States, with the unusual heat wave threatening to shatter record high temperatures on Wednesday in big cities including New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The heat is unusual for April, not only because it’s scorching much of the nation so early in the year but also for its duration. The near-record temperatures are expected to last into this weekend, forecasters say. The potentially dangerous heat comes after severe storms tore through Kansas, Minnesota and Wisconsin on Monday and Tuesday. There’s a possibility of more storms on Wednesday. While it’s not unprecedented to see high temperatures climb toward 90 degrees (32 Celsius) on an April day, the length of such an April heat wave is rarely seen, experts say. “That’s borderline unprecedented as far as the duration of it this time of year,” said John Feerick, senior meteorologist at the forecasting firm AccuWeather.com. Feerick said that starting Wednesday “we’re going to have records challenged from basically …

Trump Again Rejects Colorado Amid Accusations of Playing Politics With Disaster Aid

Trump Again Rejects Colorado Amid Accusations of Playing Politics With Disaster Aid

Published by Sam Flores

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — President Donald Trump has again denied a request from Colorado’s governor to help people affected by wildfires and flooding, consistent with his approval of major disaster aid to Republican-leaning states at about twice the rate he approves aid requests from Democratic ones. Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, sought major disaster declarations for wildfires that scorched 240 square miles (615 square kilometers) in the western part of the state and for floods that inundated mountain communities in southern Colorado last year. Polis requested FEMA public assistance, which enables communities to get reimbursed for debris cleanup and infrastructure rebuilding, as well as hazard-mitigation funding, which helps states build back with more resilience. Trump first denied Colorado’s requests late last year. On Monday, Trump upheld that decision on appeal after a “thorough review,” FEMA acting administrator Karen S. Evans told Polis in a pair of letters. The letters didn’t explain the denials in detail. Polis in a statement called it “incredibly disappointing” after Colorado communities responded quickly to the disasters, documented the damage …

Democrats Embrace DEI as ‘American Values’ at National Action Network

Democrats Embrace DEI as ‘American Values’ at National Action Network

Published by Sam Flores

NEW YORK (AP) — Ever since President Donald Trump started purging diversity initiatives last year, the letters “DEI” have faded from corporate boardrooms and Democratic stump speeches. But that wasn’t the case for the past few days at the annual National Action Network conference in New York, where Democratic politicians and potential presidential candidates repeatedly made the case for diversity, equity and inclusion policies that seemed to have fallen out of favor. “We have the high ground on this issue,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declared to a packed audience of Black activists. He criticized Republicans as “extremists” who “are trying to do an all-out assault on civil rights, on voting rights, certainly on diversity, equity and inclusion.” “They’re not trying to celebrate merit, they’re trying to elevate mediocrity,” Jeffries contended. “They want to suggest that diversity, equity and inclusion are foreign values. They’re not foreign values, they’re American values.” DEI initiatives became widespread in workplaces, colleges and government agencies after Black Lives Matter protests over the murder of George Floyd in 2020. But Republican …

Maryland Settles With Owner and Operator of Ship That Crashed Into Baltimore’s Key Bridge

Maryland Settles With Owner and Operator of Ship That Crashed Into Baltimore’s Key Bridge

Published by Sam Flores

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland has reached a settlement with the owner and operator of the massive cargo ship that crashed into a Baltimore bridge two years ago, causing its deadly collapse, state officials announced Thursday. The settlement in principle was reached with Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, owner and operator of the M/V Dali, Attorney General Anthony Brown said. The settlement resolves a portion of the state’s claims arising from the ship’s March 26, 2024, crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge. “For two years, Maryland workers, families, and communities have carried the weight of a disaster that should never have happened,” Brown said in a news release. It did not give details of the settlement. The attorney general noted that the Dali’s crash into the bridge “disrupted the Port of Baltimore, devastated livelihoods, and sent economic shockwaves across our State that are still being felt today.” “Our work is not finished, but this settlement is an important step toward making Maryland whole,” Brown said. The companies confirmed in a …