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"The boy was questioned by the principal and a sheriff's deputy, who also wanted to search the family home without a warrant, Henkelman said. "He started asking me questions about if I have firearms, and [the deputy said] he's going to have to search my house. Search my house? I just wanted to know what happened."

BALTIMORE - Gov. Martin O’Malley and Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine called on Congress Wednesday to pass legislation to control greenhouse gas emissions, arguing the health of the Chesapeake Bay is at stake. “We now know with certainty that human activities — including coastal development, the burning of fossil fuels and increasing greenhouse gas emissions — are contributing to both the causes and consequences of climate change,” O’Malley told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. But his testimony did not go over well with critics of the Intercounty Connector — an 18-mile toll road that would connect Montgomery and...

Governor favors linking rate to cost of road work Maryland's gasoline tax would go up in 18 months -- and possibly sooner -- if Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to add $400 million a year in transportation funding is approved by the General Assembly. Although an immediate increase in the gas tax is not part of the $2 billion revenue plan the Democratic governor has been rolling out over the past week, he said Monday that he will push to tie future increases to the rising cost of road and bridge construction materials. At present rates of inflation, that would average...

Congress set to impose ID card rules States would need to verify papers By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | May 5, 2005 WASHINGTON -- Congressional negotiators have agreed on a sweeping new system that would nationalize standards for driver's licenses and state identification cards, requiring states to verify the authenticity of every document that people use to prove their identity and show their legal residency. If the House and Senate both pass the bill next week as expected, by May 2008 every state will be required to contact the issuers of birth certificates, mortgage statements, utility bills, Social Security cards,...

It is against the law to deny an illegal alien a driver's license, says the executive director of an immigration-rights advocacy group in Maryland, presumably with a straight face and without the help of a laugh track. The advocacy group obviously picks which laws to embrace. An illegal alien is an illegal alien, after all. Given the potential usefulness of this upside-down appeal, an advocacy group for pickpockets is perhaps an idea whose time is nearing. If so, in these enlightened times, the group undoubtedly would seek assault charges against anyone who might clamp down on the wrist of the...