Free Republic

BETHESDA, Md. (WBFF) — A $2.3 million home in one of Maryland’s wealthiest neighborhoods has become the latest test of the state’s ability to respond to squatting, exposing how legal gaps, slow court processes, and limited enforcement can leave communities waiting for action – even when ownership is clear and criminal complaints are filed. The Bethesda case, now winding through Montgomery County courts, mirrors a pattern Spotlight on Maryland has documented statewide: Vacant homes, disputed occupancy, and neighbors caught between civil law and public safety concerns. Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy’s office said it cannot comment on this matter...

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland will create a commission to study potential reparations for slavery after lawmakers voted Tuesday to override a veto by Gov. Wes Moore — currently the nation’s only Black governor — that disappointed many fellow Democrats. Moore said in his veto letter in May that it was a difficult decision to veto the bill, which was a priority of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. But he wrote there has been enough study of the legacy of slavery, and it was now time to “focus on the work itself” to address it. “Now is the time...

Maryland will launch a study to analyze the economic impacts of climate change to determine the costs associated with storm damage and health outcomes. The move is part of the Moore-Miller administration's strategic approach to investing in a clean energy economy and modernizing the state's energy infrastructure. "While the federal government has spent the past year rolling back climate protections and driving up energy costs, Maryland is taking a responsible step toward understanding the true price tag of climate change," Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement. "This study will give us a clear, data-driven look at the real burden...

Maryland governor Wes Moore, now considered a serious prospect for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, got his big break in 2006. Fresh off a one-year deployment to Afghanistan, President George W. Bush awarded Moore, then 27, a White House fellowship, a prestigious, year-long internship during which he served as a special assistant to then-secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. It put Moore on the path to ultimately becoming Maryland's governor, and he won the fellowship—in the turbulent years after 9/11—claiming to be a "foremost expert" on radical Islam thanks to his academic work at Oxford University. "As a Rhodes Scholar, I...

A federal judge in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Thursday ordered Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia released from ICE custody, capping — for now – an extraordinary, 10-month legal fight that has spanned two continents, multiple federal courts, and prompted dozens of hearings in the aftermath of his removal. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered Abrego Garcia released from the ICE Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pa., ruling that the Trump administration had not obtained the final notice of removal order needed to remove him to a third country. "Since Abrego Garcia’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has...

Where moonbats have been allowed to dominate it, education is not about education; it is about moonbattery. This includes introducing prepubescent children to sexual depravity: A Maryland middle school presented a slideshow to 6th graders celebrating “Transgender Awareness Week” where the children were given a lesson that included “advice for coming out” and “8 tips for being nonbinary.” This time it isn’t Baltimore but Bethesda. Westland Middle School is a public school financed by taxpayers. Indoctrination included “a video that was produced by the LGBT educational resource provider Pop’n’Olly.” In no sane world would an “LGBT educational resource provider” be...

President Donald Trump's administration called on a federal judge to approve the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia on Friday, arguing all legal hurdles had been cleared. The Friday filing is the latest in the administration's efforts to deport Abrego Garcia a second time following his return from El Salvador earlier this year. The Justice Department called on U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis to clear the deportation, saying Abrego Garcia had failed to establish that he would face persecution in Liberia. "Petitioner's claims are procedurally barred multiple times over and fail on the merits in any event," the...

A Democratic state senator from Maryland is accused of orchestrating a scheme to secretly record two critics — including a former campaign consultant — in bed together and then using the footage to threaten and silence them, according to a newly unsealed federal indictment. Federal prosecutors say Maryland State Senator Dalya Attar, her brother Joseph "Yossi" Attar, and Baltimore Police Officer Kalman Finkelstein secretly filmed the pair during an intimate encounter, then used the recording to intimidate them into silence. The 20-page indictment, unsealed Thursday, charges the trio with conspiracy, extortion, illegal wiretapping and violations of the Travel Act. Prosecutors...

BALTIMORE, Md. (WBFF) — Baltimore City State Senator Dalya Attar has been arrested and indicted on federal extortion and conspiracy charges, according to court documents. Attar, a Democrat from Baltimore City representing District 41, made history by becoming the first Orthodox Jewish woman to hold a seat in the Maryland Senate, which she assumed in January following a vacancy. She was indicted on eight charges on October 23. The indictment alleges that Attar, 35, planted tracking and recording devices on two of her rivals, including recording them in bed together in an attempt to silence them. Then, Attar threatened to...

A Maryland mayor’s decision to eliminate the city’s only rainbow crosswalks has become the latest flash point in a nationwide campaign to strip LGBTQ+ symbols from public spaces. The Salisbury crosswalks, installed in 2018 and repainted each year by volunteers, were removed on November 11 after Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor ordered crews to mill away the paint at dawn, The Washington Post reports. Taylor, who narrowly won office in 2023, said the city must ensure “neutrality” on government property.

The plight of Afghan allies desperately trying to flee the Taliban is exposing divisions among Republicans, with some pressing the Biden administration to help resettle those people who helped the U.S. military and others stoking nativist fears about an influx of refugees. The rift comes as Republicans have tried to remain unified in their criticism of President Biden’s handling of the messy U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The GOP divide is taking place at both the state and national level. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) was one of the first GOP governors to say his state is “ready and willing”...

Concerns are mounting in Maryland after a male teacher was found posting TikTok videos flaunting what he describes as his pregnancy and breast-implant fetish. Although the teacher has since locked down his social media accounts, the child-safeguarding organization Gays Against Groomers saved one of the clips and reposted it on X, where it has already racked up more than 30,000 views at the time of writing. Reduxx has identified the teacher in the controversial video as James Roman Stilipec, who instructs Grade 9 English at REACH! Partnership School 341 in Baltimore. In the clip shared by Gays Against Groomers, Stilipec...

Kevin Spacey has revealed that he is currently homeless and 'living in hotels' as he admits his financial situation is 'not great'. Just two years ago, the actor was cleared of sexual assault allegations against four men during a UK trial in 2023. He has since struggled to get work and has passionately spoken out about his 'cancellation' in Hollywood. At the time of the allegations he was living in Baltimore, Maryland, where he had been based for 12 years. But in a new interview he has told The Telegraph that he lost his house and is now 'living in...

The rebuilding cost of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge has more than doubled, and has a new expected opening of late 2030. The Key Bridge, which collapsed in March 2024 after being hit by a cargo ship, is now projected to cost $4.3 billion to $5.2 billion to rebuild, up from the previous cost estimate of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion, CNN reported. The bridge was also originally expected to be completed by 2028. “Preliminary cost and project time estimates were made less than two weeks after the initial crash and before any engineering or design studies were conducted,” Maryland...

The state argues the reversal was unlawful and requests an injunction to block fund diversion and enforce plans approved by Congress. AG Anthony Brown accused the Trump administration of “attempting to unlawfully reprogram and transfer over $1 billion in funds that Congress designated specifically for the Greenbelt project.” The federal lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, requests the court to “stop the unlawful selection of the Reagan Building, prevent the diversion of congressionally appropriated funds and ensure the Trump administration follows the law,” according to Brown. The FBI and General Services Administration released a...

Texas voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment on Tuesday that adds noncitizens to the list of individuals prohibited from voting in state elections, reinforcing that only US citizens are eligible to cast ballots. Proposition 16 passed with over 71 percent support as of Wednesday afternoon. The measure amends the Texas Constitution to explicitly include “persons who are not citizens of the United States” among those barred from voting. The list already includes convicted felons who have not met certain conditions for reinstatement and individuals deemed mentally incompetent by a court. By placing the citizenship requirement directly into the state constitution, the...

Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday launched a redistricting commission to consider whether to redraw the state's congressional lines ahead of next year's midterms, as other states redo their districts. The launch comes the same day that California voters are casting their ballots on whether the Golden State should participate in the redistricting movement. The resolution would redraw House districts to secure a greater Democratic advantage as retaliation for similar Republican efforts in states like Texas. The commission will be led by Maryland Democratic Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and will hold public hearings, solicit feedback and make recommendations to the...

Maryland State Senator Dalya Attar has been indicted after allegedly filming two of her rivals in bed together in an attempt to silence them. The bombshell indictment, filed on October 23, alleged that Attar, 35, planted tracking and recording devices to catch her two critics in the act. Attar then threatened to release the footage of the two 'in bed' unless they met her demands not to speak out against her publicly, prosecutors said. She is facing eight federal charges of extortion and conspiracy related to the alleged plot, which prosecutors said occurred in the run-up to the 2020 and...

State Senate president rejects midcycle changes to congressional map as ‘too risky’Gov. Wes Moore (D) hinted that he may move ahead with plans to redraw the state’s eight congressional districts, and to call a possible special session, despite opposition from a key lawmaker. Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City), in a letter to Senate Democrats Tuesday, said he opposed mid-cycle redistricting, which he called “too risky” for Democrats who could end up losing a seat in their efforts to redraw congressional districts to gain one. Ferguson said that redistricting in the middle of a decade “twists rules for potential short-term...

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has been pressuring states to redistrict their maps to give the Democrats more seats. Maryland and Illinois won’t comply. Illinois Out of all the states, Jeffries targeted Illinois? Really? The Democrats outnumber the Republicans 14 to 3. The new map would make it 15-2. I guess one is better than nothing for these people. Also, Illinois is beyond corrupt, so it’s probably the party’s best bet. Jeffries met with the representatives “whose districts could be redrawn.” Blacks hold those four districts. Yes, it’s all about race. God forbid we make it about population size. Oh,...