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Baltimore Police Det. Momodu Gondo on Thursday became the fourth city officer to admit to robbing and extorting citizens, billing for overtime hours he didn’t work and falsifying reports to conceal his crimes — all part of a growing scandal that has ensnared eight officers and toppled the city’s elite gun unit. Unlike the three officers before him, Gondo, 34, also pleaded guilty to helping protect a North Baltimore heroin ring, one that police said was responsible for more than 60 fatal and nonfatal overdoses. With his guilty pleas to both racketeering and drug conspiracy, Gondo faces as much as...

Eight MS-13 gang members in the notorious crew's "Sailors Clique" faction participated in a violent racketeering conspiracy in and around Maryland, engaging in a terrifying campaign of murder, drug trafficking and extortion, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The men were named in a superseding indictment returned last month by a federal jury, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office. The indictment alleged the eight men were members or associates of the MS-13 gang with ties to El Salvador. Branches of the gang were known to exist and function throughout Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, Md., prosecutors said.

The arrival of record-shattering hurricanes, forest fires in the West the size of Maryland, and collapsing glaciers makes something clear to anyone not in a state of ideological denial: Humanity is in a fight for its survival, and if we have any hope of saving ourselves from endless climate disasters, we must radically change the political climate first. With no time left to debate the delusional dogmas of climate denialism, we must develop policies to break quickly and permanently from the carbon economy and invest in renewable energy and a far more resilient national infrastructure. It's not too late to...

Last Thursday, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan unveiled a $9 billion project to widen three of the state’s most heavily trafficked highways: I-270, I-495—also known as the Capital Beltway—and MD-295, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. What the governor’s office dubbed the Traffic Relief Plan involves constructing two express toll lanes each way—or four total toll lanes—to all three highways. Widening the Capital Beltway and the section of I-270 connecting the growing commuter-city of Frederick to Washington, D.C., would cost an estimated $7.6 billion, which the state expects to be financed via public-private partnerships: Private companies would build and maintain the new toll lanes,...

In the heart of South Beach’s entertainment district, a woman was shot dead by a police officer after causing at least one crash and then knocking a cop to the ground with her car Sunday evening. Police Chief Daniel Oates said the incident started at about 6:15 p.m., when a woman driving a black BMW westbound on 12th Street hit a Mercedes with two men inside at Collins Avenue after running a red light. An officer who was nearby on foot because he was part of additional patrols for the weekend tried to get her to stop, but she accelerated...

The Cristo Rey Jesuit High School at 420 S. Chester St in Baltimore was evacuated Thursday afternoon after a possible hazardous substance was found on the third floor. Students and staff were being evaluated outside. Two students and three adults were transported as a precaution, one of the adults were transported for an unrelated reason. UPDATE: A spokesman for the Baltimore City Fire Department has confirmed the source was a pumpkin spice scented air freshener. No further explanation has been provided yet.

The tree-trimming company Asplundh Tree Expert has been hit with a $95 million fine for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and for bringing on some under different names who used documents it knew were fraudulent. It is the largest fine ever in an immigration case in the U.S. Asplundh pleaded guilty to criminal charges in federal court in Pennsylvania, where it is headquartered, admitting that its managers restructured the company's hiring specifically to evade normal human resources processes and hire illegal aliens, many by word-of-mouth, while giving top-level managers deniability. The $95 million fine includes forfeiture of up to $80 million...

The Ravens faced a bit more scrutiny for their national anthem protest on Sunday in Baltimore. Last week, some Ravens took a knee and locked arms with while the anthem was played in London before a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Today, the team decided to go the Dallas Cowboys route a la "Monday Night Football." The team came out before the anthem and took a knee to a chorus of boos from fans at M&T Bank Stadium. Then the team stood for the playing of the "Star Spangled Banner."

ESPN will pass on showing live player protests during Week 4 of the NFL season. The Disney-owned network told Sporting News it won't air the playing of the national anthem before Redskins vs. Chiefs on "Monday Night Football." The NFL's TV partners normally do not show players before the unfurling of the American flag and singing/playing of the national anthem, except before the Super Bowl and other select games. But given viewer interest around players staging demonstrations last week, ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, NFL Network and DirecTV all provided live anthem coverage during Week 3. SNIP NBC...

Inside sources say that the Oakland Raiders offensive line threw the game against the Redskins after QB Derek Carr refused to kneel for the National Anthem.

The Maryland Stadium Authority has increased security around the Ray Lewis statue outside M&T Bank Stadium after the former All-Pro linebacker joined Ravens players in kneeling during the national anthem, which spurred an on-line petition to remove the 3-year-old landmark. The petition on change.org has received more than 50,000 signatures as of Thursday morning.

Extra security has been added near the statue of retired Ravens star Ray Lewis at M&T Bank Stadium after he joined current players Sunday in kneeling during the national anthem, provoking calls to remove the likeness. As of mid-afternoon Wednesday, more than 36,000 people had signed an online petition on change.org that advocates for the removal of the Lewis statue “because of his refusal to stand during the National Anthem.

Maryland is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to act on a petition requiring power plants in five upwind states to reduce pollution, the state’s attorney general and an official in Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration said Wednesday. The Hogan administration says 70 percent of Maryland’s ozone problem originates in upwind states. Maryland petitioned the EPA in November for a finding that 36 power plant units in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are emitting air pollution affecting Maryland in violation of the Clean Air Act’s “good neighbor provision.” In January, the EPA issued a six-month extension to...

Baltimore prosecutors say nearly 300 cases have been dropped due to four allegations of police misconduct, including three body camera videos appearing to show officers planting evidence or re-enacting searches, and a federal indictment of eight officers on racketeering and fraud charges. Deputy State’s Attorney Janice Bledsoe said Wednesday that a total of 278 cases have so far been dismissed, including 109 in response to the indictment, and another 169 related to officers involved in the three videos. The indictment accuses eight officers of racketeering in a scheme that included illegally detaining and robbing Baltimore residents and fraudulently filing for...

The national anthem singer for one NFL team is fed up with fan reactions to league protests. Ravens national anthem singer Joey Odoms announced on Facebook he was resigning as the Ravens official singer days after league wide protests following President Donald Trump's remarks last week.

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Ravens National Anthem singer Joey Odoms has announced his resignation on social media. This comes as the Ravens and many other NFL teams decided to protest the anthem during Sunday’s games. “The tone/actions of a large number of NFL fans in the midst of our country’s cultural crisis, have convinced me that I do not belong there,” writes Odoms, who is a member of the Maryland Army National Guard and a Baltimore native. President Donald Trump made comments over the weekend at a rally in Alabama, calling NFL players who kneel “sons of b******” and said those...

On a day full of criticisms from Donald Trump, political protests, linked arms, players taking a knee or not coming on the field during the National Anthem and renewed pleas for unity from the league NBC and the NFL took a hit last night on Sunday Night Football. In metered market numbers, the primetime match-up between the 27-10 winning Washington Redskins and the Oakland Raiders snared an 11.6/20. The worst SNF has performed this season so far, that’s an 8% dip from the early numbers of last week’s Atlanta Falcon’s 34-23 win over the Green Bay Packers. Gaining cheers and...

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Ravens fans recorded themselves burning their team gear Sunday after Baltimore players were among the first in the league to take a knee during the national anthem following President Donald Trump’s harsh criticism of the practice. At a Friday rally, the president said that NFL owners should, when dealing with a player kneeling during the anthem, “get that son of a b**** off the field.” The president doubled down on his initial remarks over the course of the weekend, calling on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to tell players to stand, and saying those who don’t should be...

27 players and staff took a knee this morning from the Jaguars and Ravens. Most ever in one game. Over 500 players have communicated to me that they intend on demonstrating today.

Cashless payment systems like E-ZPass have helped make highway driving a less irksome experience by speeding up lines. Rental car companies even offer this option so you don’t have to worry about an embarrassing last-minute scrounge for change at the tollbooth, but rental car customers are now realizing that this convenience can come at a huge price.We’ve previously told you about some of the steep fees involved in using a rental company’s toll-paying device, but those fees could be small change compared to penalties for drivers who use the car’s device without even realizing it.The Pew’s Stateline recently took a...