OFFICIALS WHO FOUGHT FOR PG SITE SAY FIGHT FOR FBI HQ TO CONTINUE: State, federal and local officials who fought for years to bring the new FBI headquarters to Prince George’s County said Tuesday the fight is not over, after the surprise Trump administration announcement that the agency will stay downtown. The FBI will move into existing space at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, just a few blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue from the current dilapidated headquarters. William Ford/Maryland Matters.
MOORE BLASTS TRUMP BILL AS ‘MOST HEARTLESS PIECE OF LEGISLATION:’ Hours after the U.S. Senate had narrowly passed President Donald Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” by a narrow margin, Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Tuesday evening blasted the measure as “the most heartless piece of legislation that I have seen in my lifetime.” Louis Peck/Bethesday Today.
TRUMP BILL HITS ROADBLOCK IN PART DUE TO ANDY HARRIS: U.S. House Republican efforts to pass the “big, beautiful bill” hit a roadblock Wednesday, when leaders left the chamber in a holding pattern for more than seven hours before calling a procedural vote that stalled amid opposition from hard-right members and others. Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris of Maryland was among the members withholding their votes in protest. Jennifer Shutt, Ariana Figueroa and Ashley Murray/Maryland Matters.
- Maryland’s House members slammed the Senate-passed budget bill Tuesday and predicted tough sledding for the measure when it comes back to the House — Democrats because it cuts too much and the state’s sole Republican because it doesn’t cut enough. “I’m heartbroken – not just because of what this bill does, but because of who it leaves behind,” Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-6th) said. Bryan P. Sears, Danielle J. Brown and Lauren Lifke /Maryland Matters.
‘PEOPLE WILL FEEL THE CRUELTY OF THIS BILL:’ The bill once it becomes law has the potential to unleash its impact on Medicaid, food stamps, taxes and the federal deficit. Maryland Democrats have spent months railing against the bill and its consequences, hoping to stall, change or even kill the legislation. What can they do about it once it passes? Rep. Johnny Olszewski said, “And then the American people will be left with the consequences of these heartless cuts. … People will feel the full cruelty of this bill.” Ben Mause/The Baltimore Sun.
TAX & FEE HIKES YOU MAY GET HIT WITH: Taxes and fees at the state and local level either increased or took effect at the start of July — meaning you may want to examine your monthly spending. This is in addition to utility fees that increased in June for Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers. This article offers a look at some of the changes and what could now cost you more. Cody Boteler/The Baltimore Banner.
MOORE NIXES ARMORY AS FIRST CANNABIS INCUBATOR IN STATE: Gov. Wes Moore has changed his mind. The governor on Wednesday said that the Catonsville armory will no longer be the site of the state’s first cannabis incubator after some complaints and confusion by community members. Céilí Doyle/The Baltimore Banner.
MAN WHO UNJUSTLY SPENT 27 YEARS IN PRISON SAYS STATE SHOULD DO MORE: After 9,870 days behind bars for a murder that he did not commit, James Langhorne received an apology and financial compensation from the state of Maryland on Wednesday. But the 51-year-old said he and other exonerees need more than money. They need support in making the difficult transition from prison to life on the outside. Pamela Wood and Dylan Segelbaum/The Baltimore Banner.
BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS BRINGS ON THE SECOND STRING: For the first time in at least three decades, Maryland’s top spending board – the Board of Public Works — approved scores of contracts and grants on Wednesday without any of the main members present. Gov. Wes Moore, Comptroller Brooke Lierman and Treasurer Dereck Davis, all Democrats, were attending a funeral on the Eastern Shore. The board’s business was instead handled by Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, Chief Deputy Comptroller Andrew Schaufele and Chief Deputy Treasurer Jon Martin. Pamela Wood/The Baltimore Banner.
ABREGO GARCIA SUES TRUMP OFFICIALS FOR ABUSE IN EL SALVADOR: Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March, was beaten, deprived of sleep and psychologically tortured during the nearly three months he spent in Salvadoran custody, according to court papers filed on Wednesday in Federal District Court in Maryland. Alan Feuer/The New York Times.
- Abrego Garcia said he was kicked and hit so often after arrival that by the following day, he had visible bruises and lumps all over his body. He said he and 20 others were forced to kneel all night long and guards hit anyone who fell. Lisa Baumann and Ben Finley,/The Associated Press.
- Wednesday’s court filing, in the civil case brought by Abrego and his family against Trump administration officials in Maryland’s U.S. District Court, for the first time contains his account of what happened in the hours and days that followed. Steve Thompson/The Washington Post.
EHRLICH: TRUMP’s MAGA MOVEMENT MAKES GOP PARTY OF WORKING CLASS: Former Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich said President Donald Trump’s election victories secured in part with the strong support of working-class voters suggest a political realignment in which Democrats are no longer the party of blue-collar America, in this interview about his new book. Bryan Renbaum/The Baltimore Examiner.
BLAIR ENDORSES FRIEDSON FOR MO CO EXEC; MOORE WON’T ENDORSE: Potomac businessman David Blair has endorsed Montgomery County Councilmember Andrew Friedson in his bid to become the next county executive, a post that Blair sought and narrowly lost twice. Gov. Wes Moore (D) told Bethesda Today that he is not planning to endorse a candidate in the race. “I think Montgomery County is fortunate that they have just a riches of really good and strong candidates in the race…” Courtney Cohn/Bethesda Today.
BA CO COUNCIL TO VOTE ON CONTROVERSIAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING PLAN: The Baltimore County Council is expected to decide Monday whether it will give a $2 million loan to the developer of Red Maple Place. The seven-year debate over the 56-unit development in Towson has pitted the county’s need for affordable housing against an historically Black neighborhood that doesn’t want it. It’s an issue that has scrambled the county’s political universe. John Lee/WYPR-FM.
BCPS: COST, DAMAGE, STRESS WENT INTO DECISION TO LIMIT LAPTOP USE: Saving money is part of the calculation in the Baltimore County Public Schools’ decision to limit the use of laptops by students. The school system is looking for cost savings after the Baltimore County executive refused to fully fund Superintendent Myriam Rogers’ budget request. The amount of damages caused to the take-home devices was another reason, and so was feedback from the community that included concerns over technology use. Kristin Griffith/The Baltimore Banner.
Gov Moore had no business nixing the Catonsville Cannabis facility. This is a continuation of Cannabis discrimination that perpetuates the community from the decades of propaganda and fear mongering of cannabis consumers and now bleeds into legal cannabis producers trying to do the right thing and operate a legal business that supports the community through new jobs and tax revenue. Gov Moore you continue to be no friend to Marylanders nor Cannabis consumers/producers. I’ve been consuming cannabis for 20+ years, worked in the industry since it’s inception and we are continued to be treated like second class citizens forced to the edges of society and all any of us want to do is mind our own business, smoke our cannabis and go about our lives like any normal citizen. You’re a joke Moore. Bring back Gov Hogan!