Free Republic

Martin O’Malley, the former Democratic governor of Maryland and 2016 presidential candidate, says he will not run for president in 2020 and is backing Beto O’Rourke. O’Malley’s endorsement of O’Rourke, who catapulted to the national spotlight in his close Texas Senate race against Sen. Ted Cruz, comes in a column published in the Des Moines Register. […] O’Malley says that O’Rourke has “the wisdom to listen, the courage to lead, and a rock-solid faith in the powerful goodness of our nation.” …

The fire destroyed a three-story garden apartment building.(Courtesy Prince George's County Fire and EMS) WASHINGTON — A woman apparently upset with her ex-boyfriend now faces arson charges in connection with a $2.2 million fire that destroyed a New Carrollton, Maryland apartment building, leaving 130 people without a place to live last month. Natasha Ciara Joyner, 32, of New Carrollton is charged with first-degree arson, second-degree arson, first-degree malicious burning, malicious destruction of property worth more than $1,000 and reckless endangerment, according to a news release from the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department. While the fire department is not releasing details...

In Maryland, 11 state lawmakers have asked Montgomery County law enforcement officials to investigate the 36-year-old sexual assault allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh that have gripped the nation. Eleven state delegates from Montgomery County are calling on local police and prosecutors to investigate allegations that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh committed one or more sexual assaults while a high school student at Georgetown Prep in the 1980s. In a letter addressed Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger, State's Attorney John McCarthy and lawyers Debra Katz and Michael Avenatti, who represent women accusing Kavanaugh of crimes, the lawmakers asked local...

HEADLINES ..A local man shot and killed his neighbor over a 30$ debt- Reads the local head line. The local fish wrap reported Mr. A went to Mr. B's house to confront him over 30$ Mr.B owned Mr.A... Mr.B answers the door and Mr A confronted him about money owed, an arguement ensued and Mr. A shot Mr. B in the chest and fled. Several witnesses identified Mr A as the shooter, most notable was his wife and kids who were standing in the house when Mr B was shot and saw the whole thing! The police were called and...

Former NAACP president and current Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous is demanding that television stations stop airing a commercial from his political opponent. “Evidence to the controversy” An attorney representing the Ben Jealous campaign sent a letter to four television stations telling them to pull down a political ad from incumbent Governor Larry Hogan. “The Republican Governor’s Association in this advertisement uses selective editing techniques to make the false claim that Mr. Jealous is a socialist, despite clear and repeated evidence to the controversy,” wrote James Temple Jr., which likely meant to say “evidence to the contrary.” Former NAACP president...

The Frederick Police Department told the paper Rosenberg and another unidentified man had been approached by a detective after they were spotted peeking into parked cars on the street late at night. The authorities believed the men intended to break into the cars and steal from them. It was only after Rosenberg was arrested (and found to have a small bag of marijuana and an air pistol on him) that he began offering the police donuts. Rosenberg reportedly made the same offer repeatedly, leading officers to, at first, believe he was poking fun at them. When he kept repeating himself,...

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump “seeks to establish a more authoritarian regime.” Houer was responding to a question about whether former CIA Director John Brennan should be allowed to keep his security clearance after calling a sitting president’s actions “treasonous.” At his regular pen-and-pad briefing with reporters, CNSNews.com asked Hoyer: “Former CIA Director John Brennan has publicly declared the sitting president ‘treasonous.’ Should he be permitted to keep his security clearance?” Hoyer responded: “I’m very, very concerned. This is one instance—but there are so many others—where this president opts to promote totalitarian responses...

By David FutrelleSeveral hours after the news broke that a gunman had shot five people dead at the Capital Gazette newspaper offices in Annapolis, Maryland, but before we knew much of anything about the shooter himself, I took a look at the forums on Incels.me to see if anyone on the site was saying anything about this latest mass killing.Incels, after all, have an almost reflexive tendency to praise or excuse anyone who kills a high enough number of the “normies” incels consider their sworn enemies, and many of them worship incel mass killer Elliot Rodger as a virtual saint.But...

A 25-year-old Baltimore man who goes by the name of "Butt Juice" was convicted Tuesday of conspiracy to take part in racketeering as part of his gang activities in the Cherry Hill area. Lamont Jones, a.ka. "Butt Juice," faces a maximum sentence of life in prison; his sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 5, according to a news release Tuesday. Jones is a member of the Up Da Hill (UDG) gang and was also convicted of conspiracy to distribute drugs and having drugs with intent to distribute, according to the news release.

The best way to move Baltimore forward from its blight, unemployment and horrific three-year cycle of violent crime and record homicide rates is to stand up to it with gusto. "Stop whining and start winning," retired U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski told a group of about 75 business leaders at an informal panel Wednesday afternoon downtown. The event was sponsored by the Baltimore Efficiency and Economy Foundation, a nonprofit centered on civic advocacy, and held at 750 E. Pratt St. Mikulski took the microphone after nearly an hour and a half discussion about how the city could turn itself around and...

<p>A US millionaire is to appear in court on Friday charged in the murder of a man recruited to build tunnels at his home near the US capital for protection against North Korea, reports say.</p> <p>Daniel Beckwitt, a conspiracy theorist and millionaire stock trader, has posted a $100,000 bond and will be released from detention on Monday morning, WRC-TV said.</p>

PERRY HALL, Md. (AP) — A 16-year-old boy has been charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of a Baltimore County, Maryland, police officer, and three other suspects were taken into custody, authorities said Tuesday. A statement of probable cause dated Tuesday identified the suspect as Dawnta Anthony Harris of Baltimore and the officer as Amy Caprio. Police have not confirmed how Caprio was fatally injured in a suburban neighborhood Monday, but witnesses reported hearing a pop before seeing a Jeep run her over. Meanwhile, officials said Tuesday that three additional teenagers had been taken into custody. Baltimore County’s public...

Maryland’s Obamacare insurers are asking for a 30 percent average rate increase for 2019, with some plans seeking hikes as high as 91 percent. The proposals Monday come a few days after Virginia insurers also called for double-digit rate increases. Democrats have pounced on the rate hikes to say they are examples of how President Trump’s health policies are leading to high premiums. Maryland Obamacare insurers CareFirst, BlueCross, and BlueShield plan to raise rates for an HMO plan on the law’s exchanges by 18 percent, and 91 percent for an extended network, or PPO, plan. Kaiser Permanente, the state’s other...

California’s “jungle” primary system has Democrats worried that Republicans could win some of the Golden State’s congressional seats in midterm elections, a top House Democrat said Friday. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., speaking to USA Today, said Democrats have a shot at winning in more than 50 congressional districts nationwide — enough to take control of the House from the GOP. Democrats need to win 24 seats to flip the House, according to the New York Times, while maintaining the 194 seats they currently hold. But California’s primary system, in which the top two vote-getters face off in the...

Yesterday we had students walking out of school all over the country to protest gun violence. Now, in Baltimore and some other cities, there may be a different type of walkout. Teachers are objecting to the idea of any of them being trained and armed, so much so that if there are any armed teachers in the school they will walk out as well. (CBS Baltimore)

As a female and a Republican – yes, shock and awe, there are women Republicans in Montgomery County – I cannot stop laughing at the recent decision by the Maryland Democrat Party to adopt separate but equal elections for their central committee members. Half of their central committee members must be female and the other half male, but that is not new. What is new is that during this year’s June 26 primary for 17 counties, each voter will HAVE to Vote for one or more MALES on the Male ballot and one or more FEMALES on the Female part...

Court records say the man who fatally shot a Maryland police officer earlier this week had been court-ordered to surrender his guns at least three times in the last five years. The Washington Post reports three different judges ordered Glenn Tyndell to "immediately surrender all firearms" after they found his wife, ex-wife and child needed protection. Prince George's County Sheriff's Col. Darrin C. Palmer says Tyndell had told deputies he'd turn himself in Tuesday. He didn't show.

SILVER SPRING, Md. (ABC7) — On Monday night, eight survivors of the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting walked into Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring for a closed-door meeting with select Montgomery County students who walked out inspired. “I’ve honestly never seen high school students so united before, united for one cause," student Melody Zhang said.

The Maryland Attorney General’s Office has called into question the state’s authority to grant permission to Tesla founder Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, The Boring Co., to build several miles of tunnels for his high-speed Hyperloop transportation system below the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. The State Highway Administration granted a conditional utility permit on Oct. 16 to allow The Boring Co. to begin building the tunnels, if the company supplies additional information about the project and it meets all necessary requirements. But the Hyperloop system “is not a utility under federal standards or SHA’s federally-approved utility accommodation policies,” Assistant Attorney General David Stamper...

Maryland lawmakers want to create an individual health care mandate at the state level — in response to Washington gutting it at the federal level — and turn it into a down payment for people to pay for health insurance. Supporters outlined the proposal Tuesday, a day before the Maryland legislative session begins, adding it could also work in other states to help keep insurance premiums from skyrocketing. The Maryland General Assembly is controlled by Democrats. The federal tax overhaul approved last month removed the federal penalty that was charged to people without health insurance. Under Maryland legislation, the state...