Publishing giant Penguin Random House hired an “intern” last week to help out at one of its fulfillment centers in Westminster, Maryland.
The “intern,” an African penguin from The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, was able to learn the ropes of publishing, from quality assurance to shipping.
In an adorable video, animal ambassadors Lilly and Tetra tour the facility, try some desk work, inspect some books (some of which were not penguin proof), check out the computer operations, and tried their “flipper” at moving inventory with a forklift, which necessitated a lunch break.
Watch the video below:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/d1JmOEWzOHQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> 
The publishing company also announced in a Facebook post that it would be “making a charitable donation to the zoo’s conservation efforts to protect the habitats of African penguins.”
“The species is endangered, and their population has declined by 90% since the turn of the 20th century,” the company wrote. “The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore maintains the largest colony of African penguins in North America, and breeds them at the recommendation of the AZA Species Survival Plan for African penguins.”
The publishing company included <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marylandzoo.org%2Fdonate%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0nEHnQ87i8FAxFRNVxkAV5-j6NEHbDeyEFIXlLNJUrTpw5Xc8E6C0x_r4&amp;h=AT2kNYlvvLXD31AhBP9Sj_b7vLEv119RZ2loPMh406AxMXg2Xk_jBT6dOJt0Xd81mkrwSyy6zmvKFSsWx_5-VH_JJJW0AKu4Mt59UNDchPcCS4fvFCTuVGP6aJ0vU8VKSS_0FEGc0I31Jadv4JwJc53nUPOVZ-IIRw">a link</a> to donate to the Maryland Zoo.
At the end of the video, the company was sure to inform viewers that no penguin was harmed during the making of the video:
All activity was monitored and deemed safe for the animals by professional Animal Care staff from The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, which is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
So, no, the penguin did not actually drive the forklift or the semi-truck (in case you were concerned).
Penguin Random House was two separate publishers, Penguin Group and Random House, before the two merged in 2013. Penguin had been founded in 1935 by brothers Allen, Richard, and John Lane as well as V.K. Krishna Menon, an Indian diplomat and politician. Random House was founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer. According to its “about us” page, the publishing giant counts “more than 70 Nobel Prize laureates and hundreds of the world’s most widely read authors as part of the Penguin Random House family.”
In addition to the Maryland Zoo, the company has worked with and donated to numerous charitable organizations:
<blockquote>Penguin Random House actively supports many local and national organizations around the world that are aligned with its mission to foster a universal passion for reading. Whether it’s through supporting literacy- based organizations, providing volunteers, donating books or creating unique collaborations that benefit readers, we find ways to partner hand-in-hand with communities. For example, by working directly with literacy-focused organizations such as Read Ahead, Literacy Partners and Learning Leaders, we are able to help provide critical services to children and adults who struggle with basic literacy skills. We also support a variety of organizations and initiatives dedicated to promoting the importance of education and the benefits and joys of reading. Recently, Penguin Random House was integral in launching the first-ever National Readathon Day, when thousands of readers across America joined in a marathon reading session on January 24 to support the National Book Foundation. Our partnerships with First Book, Save the Children, and Worldreader and the millions of in-kind donations we make for children, adults and schools in our local business communities and in countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Philippines and Sub-Saharan Africa help get books into the hands of readers who otherwise may not be able to purchase or access them on their own.</blockquote>

Bruno Guerreiro via Getty Images

Check Out The Adorable ‘Intern’ Hired By Penguin Random House

Maryland

A 59-year-old man has died from injuries suffered during an attack by two teenage brothers prompted by the man&#8217;s refusal to give them a dollar.
John Weed was attending the Great Frederick Fair in Maryland on Friday with his family when he was approached by the teens, ages 15 and 16. According to the prosecution, the 15-year-old sucker-punched Weed after he refused to give them a dollar, knocking him unconscious. Video evidence of the attack shows chaos and laughter in moments after Weed hits the pavement; one of the boys even spits on his lifeless body.
Medics flew the victim to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, <a href="https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Teenage-Brothers-Fatally-Attacked-Man-Who-Refused-to-Give-Them-Money-Maryland-Authorities-Say-561154601.html">4 NBC Washington</a> reported on Monday. Weed succumbed to his injuries on Saturday, according to the local sheriff’s office.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s despicable, and it tells me a lot about how these young people view this person by the very fact after they had him on the ground they taunted and they spit on him,&#8221; Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said, according to 4 NBC Washington. &#8220;That to me shows hatred and disgust and despise.&#8221;
The 15-year-old teen who landed the sucker punch has been charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment. His 16-year-old brother landed a second-degree assault charge, according to authorities.
The attackers are being charged as juveniles, but prosecution might push for the teens to be tried as adults, the NBC affiliate reported.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve been doing this for close to thirty years,&#8221; said Frederick County State’s Attorney Charlie Smith. &#8220;There’s plenty of times where good people make bad decisions, but when they result in somebody’s death, you get punished.&#8221;
When Sheriff Jenkins was asked by a reporter what the &#8220;appropriate punishment&#8221; should be for the boys &#8220;given their age,&#8221; he sternly replied, &#8220;The maximum.&#8221;
&#8220;They made an adult decision by doing what they did and ended up with a man losing his life, the sister losing a brother, whatever,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They deserve the maximum penalty.&#8221;
The video of the vicious attack picked up traffic online on Sunday. However, the account that initially posted the video erroneously framed the attack as black teens defending themselves from a &#8220;white supremacist.&#8221; The video post has been viewed over 230,000 times and garnered nearly 2,000 likes.
&#8220;A white supremacist tried to racially antagonize a group of Black kids at the Frederick Fair in MD. He started calling them the N-word, and one of the kids, fearing for his life, punched the racist man. The white supremacist later died and two innocent Black victims were charged,&#8221; the caption reads.
However, as reported by <a href="https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/man-dies-after-frederick-fair-assault-two-juveniles-charged/article_61d7ea30-c7f9-57ff-a94d-cfc02e34bd4a.html">The Frederick News-Post</a>, a sheriff&#8217;s office release revealed that &#8220;investigators who responded to the scene interviewed witnesses who indicated that the attack on the man was unprovoked.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">A white supremacist tried to racially antagonize a group of Black kids at the Frederick Fair in MD. He started calling them the N-word, and one of the kids, fearing for his life, punched the racist man. The white supremacist later died and two innocent Black victims were charged <a href="https://t.co/uw56d6Cn0V">pic.twitter.com/uw56d6Cn0V</a>
— Church Of Ogun (@ChurchofOgun) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChurchofOgun/status/1175939278271963138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
The Great Frederick Fair released a <a href="https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/man-dies-after-frederick-fair-assault-two-juveniles-charged/article_61d7ea30-c7f9-57ff-a94d-cfc02e34bd4a.html">statement</a> following the brutal incident, emphasizing its commitment to safety and clarifying details of the fatal assault.
&#8220;The Great Frederick Fair’s number one priority is the safety and security of our guests,&#8221; the statement reads. &#8220;To dispel rumors of the events of last night, while there was an assault, there was NO shooting and NO stabbing. The team of security and law enforcement was able to respond rapidly to control and contain the incident. The investigation into this incident remains active and any further information regarding the assault will be released from the Sheriff’s Office.&#8221;
WATCH:
<div class="embed video fluid-video"></div>

State Fair in Maryland

Video: Teen Boys Sucker Punch Middle Aged Man At Fair, Spit On Lifeless Body

Crime

Murder

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed this week that six of the seven people arrested in Towson, Maryland, for murder earlier this month were members of the MS-13 gang.
WBAL <a href="https://www.wbal.com/article/408535/2/ice-6-of-7-arrested-in-towson-slaying-had-detainers?fbclid=IwAR0RUHYAXODqgY5VAUA-def92wrJBHNo3yOlgW8FAcw-y98RCk3cDkHfDDs">reported</a> that the six gang members were in the U.S. illegally; five were from El Salvador and one was from Mexico. From WBAL:
<blockquote>Baltimore County police arrested Jonathan Escobar-Hernandez, Marlon Fabian-Flores, Edwin Garcia-Martir, Hugo Portillo-Chavez, Odaliz Rosas-Yanez and Leonal Velasquez-Hernandez in connection with the July 31 stabbing death of Daniel Cuellar.
Velasquez-Hernandez is 16, but is being charged as an adult in the case. He waived his rights and spoke to county police detectives at an ICE office in New Orleans, according to charging documents. He said he participated in surveillance that led to Cuellar&#8217;s murder, police said in charging documents. Police said he pointed himself out in video surveillance footage.
All remain held without bail. Police believe Cuellar was the intended target of a planned murder, but the motive remains under investigation.</blockquote>
The Balitmore Sun <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-co-cr-cuellar-murder-charges-20190904-lovdc3cpp5asri5yyoltxurkla-story.html">reported</a> that Cueller was targeted because he flashed “a hand sign of the 18th Street gang.” The 18th Street gang are the rivals of MS-13.
“The victim had been seen making a hand gesture that was believed to be indicative of an affiliation with the 18th Street,” detectives wrote in documents reviewed by the Sun.
The MS-13 members then stalked Cueller, 21, after he left a laundromat in July and stabbed him to death in front of his apartment building. The Sun reported one of the killers allegedly used a “machete-style knife.”
“Detectives traced Cuellar back to the laundromat and recovered surveillance footage that showed him being watched and followed. They said those stalking Cuellar traveled in a white 2008 Dodge Caliber. Nearly two weeks later, police stopped the car in Mississippi and arrested the occupants. Detectives wrote that they matched the occupants to those seen on the video cameras,” the Sun reported.
Initially, all seven arrested in connection to the crime were announced as members from MS-13, but thus far only six are confirmed to be actual members. It is unclear at this time what, if any, connection the seventh person had to the gang.
Maryland has been struggling with gang violence for some time. In July, four teenagers were arrested for beating 14-year-old Ariana Funes-Diaz to death. Two of the four were members of MS-13, who feared Funes-Diaz would tell police about a gang-related kidnapping two months earlier in Washington, D.C., WBAL reported.
At the end of August, an MS-13 gang member from Maryland was sentenced to 30 years in prison for racketeering and stabbing a rival gang member to death four years earlier, the Sun reported.
In April 2018, another MS-13 gang member from Gaithersburg, MD, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the stabbing of a rival gang member three years earlier.
<a href="https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/09/ice-confirms-6-of-7-arrested-in-maryland-slaying-belong-to-ms-13/">H/t Mary Chastain</a>

MS-13 Gang Members Arrested For Murder In Maryland

MS-13 Gang

The government is notorious for failing to rollout new programs. One need not look further than the debacle of the healthcare.gov website for Obamacare back in 2013.
State&#8217;s also fail quite spectacularly in their own rollouts &#8212; and the people hurt the most are always the taxpayers who had nothing to do with the program.
In 2016, Maryland revealed new driver&#8217;s licenses that featured the state&#8217;s flag and enhanced security features. The new licenses cost the state $3.5 million. The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA, Maryland&#8217;s version of the DMV) mailed more than 1.6 million new licenses and ID cards to residents, <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/bs-md-mva-real-id-foia-20190620-story,amp.html">according to The Baltimore Sun</a>.
Five months later, they realized they had a major problem on their hands. The Sun obtained emails through a public records request and highlighted the issue:
<blockquote>
The MVA had been collecting documentation of age, identity, Social Security and state residency from new Maryland drivers and those moving from other states since 2009. It was information the state needed to have on file by October 2020 for state IDs to comply with federal REAL ID requirements meant to make sure states uniformly authenticated identities.
But MVA had not been collecting that same paperwork from drivers renewing their licenses &#8212; more than half of those who received the REAL IDs.
</blockquote>
This meant that 844,840 residents needed to provide that documentation to the state, according to an email sent from MVA Administrator Christine Nizer to the person in charge of the Department of Homeland Security&#8217;s REAL ID program.
Nearly 10% of those people would return within the 2020 deadline to renew their licenses anyway, but that still left 761,235 people forced to make an unscheduled trip to the MVA.
Besides the issue of requiring hundreds of thousands of Marylanders to go to the MVA because of a government error, Nizer told DHS the state needed five additional months to upgrade its Driver&#8217;s Licensing System &#8220;to allow these customers to present and have their documents reviewed and scanned, without obtaining a new product.&#8221;
To handle the flood of additional customers (as if the MVA wasn&#8217;t slow and crowded already), the agency &#8220;expanded hours at many of its locations, hired more staff and opened temporary offices in Parkville and Columbia for REAL ID appointments,&#8221; the Sun reported.
The process for bringing in the additional documents started in January 2018, meaning Marylanders now have 16 months left to provide the additional documents before the state&#8217;s deadline in October 2020. Residents will need to bring proof of age and identity, such as an original birth certificate or current passport; proof of a social security number, such as an original card or a tax document; and two proofs of Maryland residency, such as a utility bill or vehicle registration.
Have fun, Marylanders.

Maryland Bungles New Driver’s License Rollout. Hundreds Of Thousands Were Forced To Go To The DMV.

A self-proclaimed white nationalist was arrested in Maryland after police seized firearms and evidence that he was planning to commit domestic terrorism.
Christopher Paul Hasson, a former U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant had amassed a stockpile of firearms, was reading a manifesto from far-right terrorist Anders Behring Breivik (who murdered 77 people in Norway in July 2011), and created a spreadsheet of people he planned to target, according to court documents. The list included House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), &#8220;Sen blumen jew&#8221; &#8211; believed to be Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/self-proclaimed-white-nationalist-planned-mass-terror-attack-government-says-i-am-dreaming-of-a-way-to-kill-almost-every-last-person-on-earth/2019/02/20/61daf6b8-3544-11e9-af5b-b51b7ff322e9_story.html">according to The Washington Post</a>. Scarborough was allegedly added to the list after he called President Donald Trump &#8220;the worst ever,&#8221; according to court documents.
The Post reported that Hasson called for &#8220;focused violence&#8221; in order to &#8220;establish a white homeland.&#8221; He also wrote, &#8220;I am dreaming of a way to kill almost every last person on earth.&#8221;
He also searched for &#8220;best place in dc to see congress people,&#8221; &#8220;are supreme court justices protected,&#8221; and &#8220;where is morning joe filmed.&#8221; Scarborough is the host of &#8220;Morning Joe.&#8221;
Hasson was arrested last Friday by the Baltimore FBI field office and the Coast Guard Investigative Service. The arrest was first reported by Seamus Hughes, a former senior counterterrorism advisor to the Senate Homeland Security Committee and U.S. government intelligence policy officer who now works for the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.
Hughes reported that Hasson was initially arrested &#8220;for drug and gun charges,&#8221; but the case quickly turned.
&#8220;It looked like a run of the mill case until the detention memo filed yesterday. He had a hit list, contacts with white supremacists, guns, and, again, was an Coastie assigned to HQ,&#8221; Hughes tweeted.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
A <a href="https://twitter.com/gwupoe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@gwupoe</a> scoop: A LT in the US Coast Guard was arrested this week for drug and gun charges. It looked like a run of the mill case until the detention memo filed yesterday. He had a hit list, contacts with white supremacists, guns, and, again, was an Coastie assigned to HQ.
&#8212; Seamus Hughes (@SeamusHughes) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeamusHughes/status/1098326520425336832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
Hughes also provided screenshots of the court documents relating to Hasson&#8217;s arrest, including the first page, which says in the first paragraph that Hasson &#8220;is a domestic terrorist bent on committing acts dangerous to human life.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Hint about the importance of the case was in the opening paragraph. &#8220;The defendant is a domestic terrorist bent on committing acts dangerous to human life&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/QUZk2j92u2">pic.twitter.com/QUZk2j92u2</a>
&#8212; Seamus Hughes (@SeamusHughes) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeamusHughes/status/1098326788634300417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
Hasson, according to the affidavit, drafted a letter &#8220;to a known American neo-Nazi leader,&#8221; in which he described himself &#8220;as a White Nationalist for over 30 years.&#8221; He sent himself the letter seven weeks after the Charlottesville alt-right rally (which left one counter protester dead).
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
LT. Christopher Hasson wrote a draft letter to a well known American neo nazi advocating for a white state. <a href="https://t.co/WhUlcnBFJQ">pic.twitter.com/WhUlcnBFJQ</a>
&#8212; Seamus Hughes (@SeamusHughes) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeamusHughes/status/1098327042767179777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
At the time of Hasson&#8217;s arrest, police seized 15 firearms and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, according to the Post.
Hasson was living in &#8220;a cramped basement apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland,&#8221; according to court documents. Authorities also discovered a cache of various steroids and narcotics. Breivik, the Norwegian terrorist, took such items to enhance his ability to commit his attacks.
&#8220;When law enforcement raided Hasson&#8217;s apartment, they said they found a locked container loaded with more than 30 vials of what appeared to be human growth hormones. He has also ordered more than 4,200 pills of the narcotic Tramadol since 2016, along with synthetic urine to allegedly bypass possible random drug screenings at work,&#8221; the Post reported.
Yashar Ali, reporter for New York Magazine and the Huffington Post, tweeted out a list of the people named as Hasson&#8217;s targets, which included most of the announced Democrat 2020 presidential candidates and numerous MSNBC and CNN personalities.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Media people on his target list: <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JoeNBC</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/chrislhayes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@chrislhayes</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/donlemon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@donlemon</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/VanJones68?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VanJones68</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisCuomo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChrisCuomo</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/AriMelber?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AriMelber</a>
Politicians include: <a href="https://twitter.com/AOC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AOC</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ewarren?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ewarren</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/IlhanMN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IlhanMN</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KamalaHarris</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/SenGillibrand?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenGillibrand</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSchumer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenSchumer</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/BetoORourke?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BetoORourke</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/CoryBooker?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CoryBooker</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpeakerPelosi</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/timkaine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@timkaine</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenBlumenthal</a> <a href="https://t.co/q4QjhJedpw">https://t.co/q4QjhJedpw</a>
&#8212; Yashar Ali (@yashar) <a href="https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1098355510548385793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
Hasson had allegedly been planning some kind of attack for years, writing in a draft email in June 2017 that he was considering a &#8220;bombing/sniper campaign.&#8221;

Former Coast Guard Lieutenant, Self-Proclaimed White Nationalist, Had Hit List That Included Top Democrats And Members Of Media, Government Says

Democratic Party

Nazis

Terrorism

White Supremacy

UPDATE 10:20 p.m.
The liberal northeastern states of Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware brought few surprises in the early hours of Election Night on Tuesday.
With just 1% of the vote in, Fox News called Pennsylvania for incumbent Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, won re-election in his gubernatorial race in New York. Even the victory by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan in Maryland, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1, wasn&#8217;t a surprise &#8212; Fox called the race for him with just 10% of the vote in.
Meanwhile, incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey crushed Republican Lou Barletta &#8203;in Pennsylvania, NBC News reported. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez defeated Republican Bob Hugin in New Jersey. In Delaware, incumbent Democratic Sen. Tom Carper defeated Republican Robert Arlett. And In Maryland, incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin defeated Republican Tony Campbell. And Democrat Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand wins re-lection in New York, defeating Republican Chele Farley, NBC said.
The House was different story.
NEW YORK
Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler won re-election, and he&#8217;s poised to become <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38045/here-come-crazies-nancy-pelosi-speaker-maxine-joseph-curl">a party leader</a>.
And Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez handily defeated Republican Anthony Pappas. Watch for the 28-year-old bartender to take a leading role in the new Congress.
Too close to call:
The race for New York&#8217;s 19th Congressional District was a bruising battle, with incumbent Republican John Faso facing Antonio Delgado. Faso bashed Delgado over his past as a rapper, calling his lyrics &#8220;offensive.&#8221; 
In the 22nd District, incumbent Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney faced off against Democratic Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi. President Trump visited the district to headline one of her campaign events in August.
NEW JERSEY
The New York Post had a great lead on the Menendez race. &#8220;New Jersey voters held their noses Tuesday and re-elected corruption-plagued Democratic US Sen. Bob Menendez.&#8221;
Menendez was charged with accepting bribes from an eye doctor and party donor in exchange for his political influence. The jury could not agree on a verdict, so he walked. Still, in April 2018, Menendez was &#8220;severely admonished&#8221; by the United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics, but that didn&#8217;t keep him from being re-elected.
But the House went strongly for Democrats. All but two seats were called early for Democrats.
MARYLAND
Democrats crushed statewide, as expected.
PENNSYLVANIA
The cities went blue, but the rural congressional districts, as expected, stayed red. 
DELAWARE
The one House seat went to Democrat Lisa Rochester, who defeated Republican Scott Walker.

ELECTION NIGHT: Northern Atlantic States, All The Latest Results

2018 Election

New Jersey

New York

Pennsylvania

Maryland police are not looking into a second allegation regarding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh while he was in high school and have received no such complaint, despite a local news report Monday claiming &#8220;investigators&#8221; were looking into it.
&#8220;I have spoken with my chief of detectives, and neither of us have any knowledge of anyone coming forward to us to report any allegations involving Judge Kavanaugh,&#8221; police Chief J. Thomas Manger <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/maryland-police-arent-reviewing-second-brett-kavanaugh-high-school-allegation-chief-says">told the Washington Examiner</a>.
The Montgomery County Sentinel <a href="https://mont.thesentinel.com/2018/09/24/supreme-court-nominee-kavanaugh-faces-more-allegations">had reported</a> earlier in the day that &#8220;investigators&#8221; who spoke on background said they were &#8220;aware of a potential second sexual assault complaint in the county against&#8221; Kavanaugh and claimed an &#8220;anonymous witness came forward this weekend.&#8221;
As the Examiner notes, the Sentinel didn&#8217;t say the &#8220;investigators&#8221; were police, but the implication was there.
The Sentinel also said this would bring the number of accusations against Kavanaugh to four, including the dubious allegations brought by Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez (whose own named witnesses deny the events ever occurred). Porn actress Stormy Daniels&#8217; attorney Michael Avenatti also claims he has a client alleging sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh.
So far, the only alleged corroboration of any complaint are therapist notes that don&#8217;t match Ford&#8217;s story, a single anonymous source saying he heard about the Ramirez incident, and the accusations themselves. Everyone else alleged to have been involved in either incident has denied them ever occurring.
UPDATE: The Montgomery County police department <a href="http://www.mymcpnews.com/2018/09/24/statement-from-the-montgomery-county-police-department-regarding-victim-accusations-of-supreme-court-nominee-brett-kavanaugh/">released an official statement</a> on the matter:
<blockquote>
At this time, the Montgomery County Police Department has not received a request by any alleged victim nor a victim&#8217;s attorney to initiate a police report or a criminal investigation regarding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
The Department recognizes that victims of sexual assault may not want to involve law enforcement and/or initiate a criminal investigation, and we respect that position. The Department, however, stands prepared to assist anyone who reports being the victim of a sexual assault.
Typically, in a sexual assault case, the cooperation of the victim or witnesses is necessary. As with any criminal investigation, a determination must be made as to the jurisdiction where the alleged offense occurred and the specific details of the event to establish a potential criminal charge.
Our Department is ready to investigate any claim of sexual assault that is alleged to have occurred within our County.
</blockquote>

Maryland Police Are NOT Reviewing A Second Allegation Against Kavanaugh, Contrary To Local Report

Brett Kavanaugh

Sexual Assault

On Thursday morning, a woman who was reportedly a disgruntled employee at the Rite Aid support facility in Aberdeen, Maryland, roughly 30 miles northeast of Baltimore, shot and killed three people and wounded others before turning the gun on herself and shooting herself to death.
<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/20/us/maryland-shooting/index.html%20'">According to CNN</a>, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said the woman, who died later of her wounds, was a temporary employee; <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/aberdeen-maryland-shooting-multiple-victims-police-respond-scene-n911386">NBC News</a> reported she was 26 years old. One law enforcement official stated that she had served as a security guard.
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center spokeswoman Kristin Mears said four patients with &#8220;priority one gunshot wounds&#8221; arrived at the hospital; Ray Fang, the hospital&#8217;s trauma medical director, said two were doing well but two were seriously injured.
Around 1,000 employees work at the the distribution center, stated Rite Aid spokeswoman Susan Henderson, adding, &#8220;The shooting happened adjacent to the primary building. What I understand is the location is secure.&#8221;
CNN noted, &#8220;This marks the third shooting with multiple victims in the country in the span of a day. A shooting at <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/19/us/wisconsin-active-shooter-report/index.html">an office complex in Middleton, Wisconsin</a>, left three people hurt Wednesday, and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/19/us/pennsylvania-shooting/index.html">a gunman wounded four people</a> at the Masontown Borough Municipal Center in Pennsylvania later in the day.&#8221; Both the shooters in the latter two incidents were killed by police.
Maryland&#8217;s governor tweeted:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
We are closely monitoring the horrific shooting in Aberdeen. Our prayers are with all those impacted, including our first responders. The State stands ready to offer any support. <a href="https://t.co/fzugpo8C1Z">https://t.co/fzugpo8C1Z</a>
&#8212; Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLarryHogan/status/1042779107891798021?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>

BREAKING: Female Shooter Kills 3 At Rite Aid Facility In Maryland

Shooting

A new study by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at the request of Maryland police provides more evidence that disrupts a common claim among gun control advocates: that guns in states with strict gun control laws are frequently purchased in states with more lax laws.
As the <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-sun-investigates-gun-traces-20180816-story.html#nws=true">The Baltimore Sun</a> reports, at Maryland&#8217;s request, the ATF successfully traced more than 5,900 firearms recovered last year to see where they were obtained.
The largest portion of them were purchased in Maryland, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country, receiving an &#8220;A-&#8221; from the pro-gun control <a href="http://lawcenter.giffords.org/scorecard/">Giffords Center</a> (only California receives an &#8220;A&#8221;).
The ATF found that 47% of the guns were purchased locally; 15% were purchased in Virginia (which receives a &#8220;D&#8221; rating), and 7% were purchased in &#8220;C&#8221;-rated Pennsylvania.
While a majority of the guns were purchased in Maryland or in surrounding states, some came from far off, including 46 which came from California, the strictest gun control state in the country, while 101 came from Texas, which gets the Giffords Center&#8217;s worst &#8220;F&#8221; rating.
While that data certainly frustrates the common gun control claim, The Baltimore Sun points out that recent gun traces by the ATF point to a trend of more guns coming from out of state over the last few years:
<blockquote>
In 2014, more than 7,700 guns were recovered in Maryland, and among those that could be traced, 56 percent were purchased in Maryland. That percentage has steadily declined. In 2015, more than 8,100 guns were recovered in the state, and 52 percent were purchased here. In 2016, more than 8,660 were recovered in Maryland, and 49 percent were bought here.
</blockquote>
H/T <a href="https://hotair.com/archives/2018/08/19/atf-study-reveals-criminals-baltimore-getting-guns/">Jazz Shaw</a>

ATF Complicates Common Pro-Gun Control Claim With Baltimore Gun Study

Baltimore

Gun Control

Guns

Second Amendment

New Orleans tight end Benjamin Watson is a true sports hero for using his celebrated position to push for righteous causes, which include helping out pregnancy clinics to save babies from abortion mills.
According to <a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2018/08/07/nfl-football-star-ben-watson-helps-pregnancy-center-save-babies-from-abortion/">LifeNews</a>, the former Baltimore Ravens player enabled the Severna Park <a href="http://www.pregnancyclinic.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pregnancy Clinic</a> to continue its mission of helping babies by replacing their malfunctioning ultra-sound machine with a brand-new &#8220;state-of-the-art 3D/4D ultrasound machine.&#8221;
&#8220;To celebrate this gift&#8212;which he made through the Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission and Focus on the Family&#8217;s Option Ultrasound Program&#8212;the staff, board, and two client families granted their benefactors&#8217; wish to tour a pregnancy clinic serving primarily women at risk for abortion from the Baltimore area,&#8221; reports LifeNews. &#8220;Pregnancy Clinic Ministries&#8217; CEO Pamela Palumbo led the tour, explaining how her three clinics, including one in Bowie and another in Annapolis, defend life against Maryland&#8217;s completely unrestricted abortion industry.&#8221;
Mr. Watson has been an out and proud Christian and pro-life advocate for a while now. In 2016, he castigated Planned Parenthood for its mission to &#8220;<a href="http://www.lifenews.com/2016/08/05/nfl-star-ben-watson-planned-parenthood-was-created-to-exterminate-blacks-and-its-working/">exterminate blacks</a>&#8221; and characterized abortion as the greatest driver of racial divide in the United States.
&#8220;Abortion saddens me period, but it seems to be something that is really pushed on minorities and provided to minorities especially as something that they should do,&#8221; Watson said at the time.
&#8220;We sit here and talk about advancing the black agenda, whatever that means, we talk about our interests, and what&#8217;s important to us &#8211; like having political power and advancement and all those things &#8211; and then we are turning around and we are killing our children,&#8221; Watson continued. &#8220;And we are buying the lie that it&#8217;s our personal decision to make.&#8221;
While visiting the pregnancy clinic, Watson discussed with the staff how to empower fathers. He also spent time with a 10-year-old boy named Julius to talk about what being a Christian man means. Many visitors to the clinic also told Watson about how the ultrasound machine&#8217;s results changed their life by convincing them to have their baby.

NFL Star Ben Watson Helps Pregnancy Center Save Babies From Abortion

Abortion

In yet another example of green energy looking a little less attractive in reality than in theory, a resort town in the blue state of Maryland has refused the remarkable offer by U.S. Wind for free electricity for the life of the wind farm because the offshore turbines might ruin the picturesque view from the beaches.
While the decision ultimately falls to state and federal authorities, Ocean City officials are attempting to block creation of the wind farm despite U.S. Wind&#8217;s increasingly generous offer, which now includes hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in community investments and free electricity for the life of the wind farm. That source of free energy, city officials worry, may turn away potential tourists and thus revenues.
&#8220;The 32-turbine project could be the nation&#8217;s second and largest offshore wind farm, and is part of a nearly decade-long effort to boost Maryland&#8217;s supply of renewable energy,&#8221; <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/environment/bs-md-ocean-city-wind-20180611-story.html#nws=true">The Baltimore Sun</a> reports. The city, Mayor Rick Meehan said, would continue its lobbying of the Maryland Public Service Commission to repeal its decision to move forward on the project, demanding that the turbines be moved more than twice the currently agreed upon distance from shore.
The Baltimore Sun notes that the leadership of U.S. Wind has been both &#8220;surprised and frustrated&#8221; by the strong response of the city, particularly in light of the rather lavish offers by the company. Such offers of community investment, they say, have been generally welcomed in other shore cities.
U.S. Wind&#8217;s general counsel Salvo Vitale described the town&#8217;s demand that the turbines be built at least 30 miles away as not just unreasonable but infeasible, as it requires starting over in the offshore leasing process, which has already taken some eight years.
Last year, the state approved U.S. Wind building 62 turbines at least 14 miles from shore and Skipjack Offshore Wind LLC installing 15 turbines north of that project. Ocean City responded by aggressively lobbying against the project as &#8220;a clearer and more ominous picture of the project&#8217;s appearance took shape,&#8221; The Baltimore Sun notes.
U.S. Wind is certainly not the only renewable energy company to experience &#8220;frustrating&#8221; pushback. As Hot Air&#8217;s <a href="https://hotair.com/archives/2018/06/12/blue-state-rejects-free-electricity-avoid-seeing-wind-farm/">Jazz Shaw</a> points out, the wind industry has found that the liberal state of Vermont is not so liberal about what and where and how green energy companies build, bringing some in the industry to the brink of giving up on the state. <a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2017/07/16/vermont-currently-enacting-restrictive-rules-wind-energy-us/">Clean Technica</a> reports:
<blockquote>
Vermont is considering some of the most restrictive rules on wind power in the country, even as it pushes for some of the biggest cuts to carbon emissions. In May, Vermont&#8217;s Public Service Board proposed a new <a data-href="http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/vpr/files/201705/final_proposed_psb_rule_5.700.pdf" href="http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/vpr/files/201705/final_proposed_psb_rule_5.700.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rule</a> for wind projects that includes strict setback requirements and noise limits. &#8230; &#8220;None of the projects that have been built in Vermont to date could meet this standard,&#8221; said Olivia Campbell Andersen, executive director of <a data-href="http://www.revermont.org/" href="http://www.revermont.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Renewable Energy Vermont</a>.
The updated rule will make it much harder for the state to hit its renewable energy targets. Vermont aims to build up to <a data-href="https://outside.vermont.gov/sov/webservices/Shared%20Documents/2016CEP_Final.pdf#page=265" href="https://outside.vermont.gov/sov/webservices/Shared%20Documents/2016CEP_Final.pdf#page=265" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">750 megawatts</a> of wind power as part of a plan to source 100 percent of the state&#8217;s electricity from renewables by 2050. There are <a data-href="http://awea.files.cms-plus.com/FileDownloads/pdfs/Vermont.pdf" href="http://awea.files.cms-plus.com/FileDownloads/pdfs/Vermont.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">120 megawatts</a> of wind power currently installed&#8202;&#8212;&#8202;and that was under the old rule.
</blockquote>

Maryland Town Turns Down Free Energy For Life From Wind Farm

Environmentalism

CNN anchor Jake Tapper brings us his debut political thriller, &#8220;The Hellfire Club,&#8221; a fictional story that takes us through the halls of the Capitol Building, the most elite clubs in Washington, D.C., and to the White House itself. 
Taking place in the mid-1950s, it tells the story of Charles Marder, a freshman GOP congressman who is appointed to a New York seat after the mysterious death of his predecessor. At first, things are going well for Marder and his zoologist wife Margaret, who is studying the ponies of Nanticoke Island in Maryland. 
Almost immediately, the seemingly seedy world of Washington, D.C. gets its grip on Marder, who begins by doing favors, telling lies, trading support for power, and with each compromise, he falls deeper into a world he slowly begins to realize is more about bargaining morality than maintaining it. Soon, he finds himself in the clutches of a greedy lobbyist who wants to use the congressman at the height of McCarthyism. 
I honestly did not know what to expect from Tapper in this political thriller. He had previously published two nonfiction books, &#8220;Down &amp; Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency&#8221; and &#8220;The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor.&#8221;
That being said, I did enjoy this book a great deal. I felt genuine chills as I followed a world built on secret societies, the Red Scare, and what has become known as The Swamp. He draws interesting parallels to the current political climate. It does bend slightly to the Left, but it is fair in its criticism of both Republicans and Democrats.
The book has stories from several different eras and at times the jumping from year to year was a bit confusing, but these instances were rare and the pace of the novel kept you going. 
&#8220;The Hellfire Club&#8221; is an exciting thriller that will keep you at the edge of your seat as it mixes history with fiction to tell its story.

Book Review: &#8216;The Hellfire Club&#8217; by Jake Tapper

Congress

Conservatism

House Republicans

Jake Tapper

Journalism

New York City

It is quite possible that the greatest legacy of President Trump may be his <a href="http://time.com/5066679/donald-trump-federal-judges-record/">tremendous success</a> in changing the face of the American judiciary, as his record-setting performance in getting conservative jurists into the judiciary has been nothing less than stellar.
To understand how vital Trump&#8217;s actions have been, consider this: the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently refused to reconsider a 2-1 ruling of a 4th Circuit panel last fall that ruled the World War I memorial Peace Cross in Bladensburg, Maryland, was &#8220;unconstitutional.&#8221;
Never mind, as <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/03/26/obama-judges-rule-cross-monument-must-go-showing-elections-consequences/">The Daily Signal</a> pointed out, that the 40-foot cross had stood there since 1925, funded by the American Legion and local families in 1925; never mind that the cross features a plaque listing the names of 49 Prince George&#8217;s County men who were killed in World War I; the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the cross.
And here&#8217;s the key point: six of the eight judges that ruled against the cross were appointed by Barack Obama. The ruling was ultimately 8 to 6 against reconsidering the original court&#8217;s ruling. In addition, the two judges, Stephanie D. Thacker and James A. Wynn, who comprised the 2-1 majority in the October ruling, were put on the bench by Obama.
Now you can see the ripple effect of the judiciary, and the importance of President Trump&#8217;s determination to see conservatives on the court.
The court ruling against the cross found that because the upkeep and repairs of the monument are the responsibility of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, that &#8220;has the primary effect of endorsing religion and excessively entangles the government in religion.&#8221;
The Daily Signal adds, &#8220;That plaque at the base of the memorial also includes the words &#8216;valor, endurance, courage, devotion.&#8217; But the only thing the secularists at the American Humanist Association (which filed the suit) is &#8216;devoted&#8217; to is anti-Christian intolerance.&#8221;
Hiram Sasser, deputy chief counsel for First Liberty Institute, was determined the fight is not over yet, asserting, &#8220;We cannot allow it to be the final word. If this decision stands, other memorials&#8212;including those in nearby Arlington Cemetery&#8212;will be targeted as well.&#8221;

Obama Judges Rule That 40-Foot Cross Monument Honoring Soldiers Killed In World War I Is ‘Unconstitutional’

Barack Obama

Christianity

Donald Trump

Judicial Branch

On Tuesday, CNN rushed to sensationalize a school shooting in Maryland by interviewing a student inside the school while the school was on lockdown.
CNN host John Berman interrupted a segment to bring the student, who was on the phone while locked inside a classroom, onto the broadcast. Berman started by botching the kid&#8217;s name, calling him Matthew Taggert.
&#8220;That&#8217;s my teacher&#8217;s name. My name is Jonathan,&#8221; the student responded.
Jonathan said he was in his math class when the shooting happened and that they had been on lockdown for approximately 30 minutes. Jonathan added that he heard that &#8220;about seven&#8221; people had been shot and that there was at least one fatality.
As <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2018/03/20/cnn-interview-student-lockdown-fake-news-maryland-school-shooting/">The Daily Caller</a> noted, CNN rushed to sensationalize the shooting &#8220;without confirming his statements with local police, the FBI or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.&#8221;
Only two students, not including the shooter, were shot, while the only <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/03/20/shooting-at-great-mills-high-school-in-maryland-school-confirms.html">confirmed</a> death was the death of the shooter who died after a school resource officer shot him.
WATCH:
<div class="embed video fluid-video">
<blockquote data-lang="en">
CNN interviews an alleged student from Great Mills High School while he&#8217;s inside the school on lockdown because of the shooting. <a href="https://t.co/GXQXXL4ZRZ">pic.twitter.com/GXQXXL4ZRZ</a>
&#8212; Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/976157745383587840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>

WATCH: CNN Interviews Student Locked In School During Shooting

I think we need to stop and reflect on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/28446/breaking-school-shooting-maryland-high-school-amanda-prestigiacomo">this story</a> before the media buries it. A shooter opened fire at Great Mills High School in Maryland but he was cut short by an armed security officer. He managed to injure two people before he was &#8220;engaged,&#8221; according to the sheriff, and quickly neutralized. Of course, two injuries is a terrible thing. But two injuries could have been 17 dead if Great Mills High School was a soft target. And that&#8217;s why it&#8217;s so infuriating that gun control radicals want every school to be a soft target and every student to be a sitting duck.
What lesson do we learn here? We learn that up is up and down is down. We learn that rectangles are rectangular. In other words, we learn that self-evident truths are true. It is easier for a gunman to kill a lot of innocent people if nobody is able to return fire. Kids are safer when they are protected. Hiding under a desk is not protection. A security officer armed with a gun (and the willingness and ability to use it) is protection.
The disgusting thing is that some people really do put their political ideology ahead of children&#8217;s lives. That&#8217;s not just a reckless accusation. There is no other way to explain a person who wants our kids be defenseless. There is no other way to explain a person who looks at Great Mills High School and still insists that there&#8217;s no place for guns in schools. A certain segment of our population has so bought into the &#8220;all guns are evil&#8221; doctrine that they would prefer if guns are only ever used for evil. A gun used to save lives is politically inconvenient, and the politics is all that really matters to them.
I do not feel good leveling such charges. I do not like to think that anyone could be so morally debased as to feel, in some sense, disappointed that lives were saved today. But what other conclusion can we draw? &#8220;Let&#8217;s leave our children vulnerable so that a madman with a gun can easily slaughter them with no interference&#8221; is an actual stance that some people have taken. Are we supposed to believe that they care primarily about stopping school shootings when they oppose the one single measure that could most directly prevent, or mitigate, school shootings?
We should force those people to look at this story today and tell us how the situation would have been improved by removing the good guy&#8217;s gun. Tell us how the kids were more at risk. Tell us how they would have been safer if the shooter had been able to continue firing unimpeded for another seven or eight minutes. Clearly, that&#8217;s a deranged position. Clearly, there is only one morally defensible position: we should defend our children. With guns. Period.
This is not a political issue. Actual human lives hang in the balance. And many human lives were likely saved today, thanks to a good guy and his gun.

WALSH: This Story Proves Beyond A Shadow Of A Doubt Why Every School Needs Armed Security

High School

UPDATE 11:40 a.m. EST:
Sheriff Tim Cameron has confirmed that the student shooter was fatally shot by the trained school resource officer, according to The Associated Press. 
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
BREAKING: Sheriff: Resource officer fired at Maryland high school shooter who was fatally shot.
&#8212; The Associated Press (@AP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AP/status/976120220585791489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Original story:
On Tuesday morning, authorities responded to a school shooting at Great Mills High School in Maryland.
The Associated Press has confirmed that three individuals, including the shooter, have been shot.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
BREAKING: Sheriff&#8217;s spokeswoman says 3 hurt, including shooter, at Maryland high school shooting.
&#8212; The Associated Press (@AP) <a href="https://twitter.com/AP/status/976099800675479553?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
According to local reporter Peggy Fox, Sheriff Tim Cameron has confirmed that a shooting occurred this morning in a hallway by a Great Mills student, who was eventually engaged by an armed resource officer.
The shooter reportedly fired at a female student and another student was hit, reports Fox. An armed school resource officer then engaged the shooter with a firearm. The female student and the shooter remain in critical condition.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
St. Mary Co. Sheriff Tim Cameron on shooting at Great Mills HS: shooting happened in hallway; shooter, a student, fired at a female student, another was student hit. Armed school resource ofc, a deputy, exchanged shots w/ shooter; shooter &amp; female student in critical condition
&#8212; Peggy Fox (@PeggyTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeggyTV/status/976099389595889668?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
The St. Mary&#8217;s County Public Schools, via Twitter, announced that the incident has been &#8220;contained.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
There has been a Shooting at Great Mills High School. The school is on lock down the event is contained, the Sheriff&#8217;s office is on the scene additional information to follow. 
Parents/Guardians should go to Leonardtown HS for reunification with GMHS students
&#8212; SMCPS_MD (@SMCPS_MD) <a href="https://twitter.com/SMCPS_MD/status/976077397182369792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Great Mills student Jonathan Freese told CNN on air that he was in lockdown in a classroom and that officers were in the school.
&#8220;I&#8217;m still a little shaken up,&#8221; he told CNN via cellphone.
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t really expect for this to happen. I do always feel safe, though, because they always have police at the school,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;Our prayers are with students, school personnel, and first responders,&#8221; wrote Maryland Governor Larry Hogan via Twitter.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
We are closely monitoring the situation at Great Mills High School. <a href="https://twitter.com/MDSP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MDSP</a> is in touch with local law enforcement and ready to provide support. Our prayers are with students, school personnel, and first responders.
&#8212; Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLarryHogan/status/976081870030032897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Updates to follow.

[UPDATED] School Shooting At Maryland High School; Shooter Fatally Shot By Armed School Resource Officer

On Monday, the Supreme Court, again eschewing the chance to issue a major ruling on gun rights, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-27/assault-rifle-open-carry-appeals-rejected-by-u-s-supreme-court">turned down a challenge</a> to Maryland&#8217;s state ban on assault weapons brought by various groups, including the National Rifle Association.
In the case the Court declined to hear, Kolbe v. Hogan, a federal appeals court ruled that assault weapons, including the AR-15, were not protected by the Second Amendment. The appeals court used the Supreme Court&#8217;s 2008 Heller decision to buttress its own; the Heller decision included a line suggesting the M-16 rifle, a military version of the AR-15, could be banned by states and cities. The appeals court voted 10-4 for the ban; Judge Robert King wrote, &#8220;We have no power to extend Second Amendment protection to the weapons of war that the Heller decision explicitly excluded from such coverage.&#8221;
The ban in Maryland was a response to the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut shooting that left 20 children and six educators dead at an elementary school.
The Cato Institute, the National Sheriff&#8217;s Association, the Second Amendment Foundation, and the Independence Institute, supporting the petitioners in Kolbe, <a href="http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/17-127-cert-tsac-cato.pdf">noted</a>:
<blockquote>
Maryland&#8217;s firearm and ammunition restrictions stem from a misunderstanding of firearms that are in common use by citizens and law enforcement agencies.
Most sheriffs and deputies carry semi-automatic handguns with magazines larger than 10 rounds that are banned in Maryland; many patrol vehicles carry a rifle that is banned in Maryland. Classifying typical sheriffs&#8217; arms as &#8220;weapons of war&#8221; alienates the public from law enforcement. Among the many harmful consequences: when a deputy uses deadly force, people will say that he or she used a military weapon. This is inflammatory, and false.
Law-abiding Americans have always looked to law enforcement for guidance in defensive firearms selection, as they should. Law enforcement firearms are chosen because they are the most suitable arms for the defense of innocents. Citizens should be encouraged to choose the same reliable, accurate, life-saving arms that law enforcement chooses after extensive testing and consideration.
</blockquote>
In 2016, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-top-court-rejects-challenge-maryland-assault-weapons-145015614.html">would not challenge</a> assault weapon bans in New York and Connecticut.

SCOTUS Won&#8217;t Listen To Challenge Of Assault Weapons Ban

Supreme Court

According to police, an abusive HIV-positive middle school teacher&#8217;s aide in Maryland allegedly sexually assaulted upward of 40 students and tried to infect at least five of his victims with the HIV virus.
Carlos Deangelo Bell, 30, who also coached one of the school&#8217;s track teams, was arrested in July over alleged abuse of 24 children; that number has since risen to 42.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Charles Co. State&#8217;s Atty: 100+ counts against Carlos Deangelo Bell covering May 2016-June 2017. 24 victims, 13 ID&#8217;d, 11 have not <a href="https://twitter.com/WTOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WTOP</a> <a href="https://t.co/565NVel6N6">pic.twitter.com/565NVel6N6</a>
&#8212; Michelle Basch (@mbaschWTOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/mbaschWTOP/status/892071138372792320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
As reported by <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/24/hiv-positive-school-aide-tried-to-infect-children-police-say/">The Daily Caller</a>, Deangelo Bell is now facing 206 counts on various sex abuse charges against children ranging in age from 11 to 17.
The alleged incidents <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/24/maryland-school-aide-with-hiv-accused-sexually-victimizing-42-children.html">reportedly</a> started in May of 2015 and took place at the 30-year-old&#8217;s home, Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, and other possible locations. The latest incident is believed to have taken place in June of 2017.
Deangelo Bell, aware that he is HIV-positive, used no protection when assaulting children, reports <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-school-aide-tried-to-give-students-hiv-sexually-assaulted-more-than-40/">CBS News</a>. The perp has been charged with five counts of attempting to knowingly transfer HIV.
Thus far, no victims have tested positive of the virus.
Below is the statement on the charges against Bell released by the <a href="http://ccsao.us/carlos-bell-indicted-additional-charges/">Charles County State&#8217;s Attorney&#8217;s Office</a>:
<blockquote>
La Plata, MD &#8211; Tony Covington, State&#8217;s Attorney for Charles County, Maryland, in conjunction with Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry and Superintendent of Charles County Public Schools Dr. Kimberly Hill, advises that on Friday, October 20, 2017, the Grand Jury for Charles County returned a 206 count indictment for Carlos Deangelo Bell of Waldorf. This third indictment against Bell includes the previous allegations found in two prior indictments filed on June 30, 2017 and July 28, 2017, as well as charges for additional victims uncovered during the ongoing investigation.
The 206 count indictment covers 28 identified alleged victims and 14 unidentified alleged victims. The time frame of the alleged conduct spans approximately 2 years from May of 2015 through June of 2017. The ages of the alleged victims at the time the offenses were committed range from 11 years old to 17 years old.
In open Court today, Bell was served with this latest indictment and served with the State&#8217;s notice that, if he is convicted of certain crimes alleged in the indictment, the State will be seeking a life sentence. Bell is still being held without bond. Trial on these charges is scheduled for January 8, 2018.
At this time, the State is not aware of any alleged victim having tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus. Previous reporting to the contrary made by certain media outlets was inaccurate.
The investigation into Carlos Bell&#8217;s activities is still ongoing. The Sheriff&#8217;s Office continues the effort to identify any and all alleged victims in this matter. The State&#8217;s Attorney&#8217;s Office strongly encourages parents/guardians to speak with any child that may have had contact with Carlos Bell and immediately report any relevant information to the Sheriff&#8217;s Office.
</blockquote>
<a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/24/hiv-positive-school-aide-tried-to-infect-children-police-say/">H/T</a> The Daily Caller

Police: Sexually Abusive HIV-Positive Middle School Aide Tried To Infect Children

Children

Education

The Fourth Circuit Court of appeals has ruled that a towering World War I memorial &#8212; the Maryland &#8220;Peace Cross&#8221; &#8212; represents an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
In a 2-1 decision, the Fourth Circuit said that the 40-foot cross, which has been in place more than 90 years, has the primary effect of endorsing religion and &#8220;excessively entangles&#8221; the government in religion because the local government must expend funds to maintain the site and because it is the only sectarian monument in view.
&#8220;The cross is by far the most prominent monument in the area, conspicuously displayed at a busy intersection,&#8221; wrote Judge Stephanie Thacker, in the opinion issued Wednesday. She was joined by one other judge on the panel.
Chief Judge, Roger L. Gregory, dissented, saying that the monument easily passes Supreme Court tests for &#8220;establishment of religion,&#8221; and that the government does not have the responsibility to &#8220;purge from the public sphere any reference to religion,&#8221; quoting directly from seminal Supreme Court cases on the subject.
The cross, located in Bladensburg, Maryland, was built in 1918 but officially dedicated by the American Legion in 1925. In addition to the main memorial, which honors Maryland dead in World War I, the cross sits atop a collection of smaller monuments to locals who died in conflicts dating back all the way to the Battle of Blandensberg in the Revolutionary War. Its base features a quote from Woodrow Wilson: &#8220;Memorial Cross is dedicated to the heroes of Prince George&#8217;s County Maryland who lost their lives in the Great War for the liberty of the world.&#8221;
But members of the American Humanist Association found a handful of locals who claimed to be &#8220;triggered&#8221; by the cross&#8217;s mere presence on local property, and who became &#8220;offended&#8221; when they had to drive past the cross regularly as they did errands around town. <a href="http://dailysignal.com/2015/12/01/judge-throws-out-lawsuit-filed-by-those-who-found-a-wwi-memorial-cross-offensive/">At one point, the Plaintiffs even, erroneously, claimed</a> the Ku Klux Klan was involved in erecting the cross, in a bid to get town residents behind its removal. That effort ultimately failed, so AHA took the case to court.
A District Court Judge initially tossed the lawsuit, but Plaintiffs appealed.
The American Legion says it will appeal further to the Supreme Court, who ruled just a few short years ago that Ten Commandments monuments, which stood on Federal land for more than half a century, could remain up despite being symbols of religion. This was becasue their historical value outweighed their religious symbolism. That historic value is a key component of the Supreme Court&#8217;s test for whether a monument violates the Establishment Clauses, and constitutes an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.
This is the first &#8220;Establishment Clause&#8221; case in nearly a decade. Atheists filed lawsuits like this one routinely in the early 2000s, as part of a de facto national campaign to rid public spaces of any and all religious symbolism. Once the Supreme Court spoke on the matter in 2007, the lawsuits mostly stopped &#8212; but the Maryland atheists apparently wanted to keep the ball rolling.
The Peace Cross can stay up, for now, until litigation concludes, but town officials say they are making a plan to handle removal if need be.

Federal Court Rules Towering WWI Memorial Cross Unconstitutional

College Park, Maryland, home of the University of Maryland, voted this week to extend the vote to &#8220;non-citizens,&#8221; thus allowing illegal immigrants who live in College Park to cast a ballot in local elections.
The measure also applies to green card holders, students at the University on student visas, and other non-citizens. It&#8217;s the sixth measure of its kind to pass in the U.S.
The city council reached a decision on the measure this week, but the vote was originally planned for last month. After a brief public comment period &#8212; in which nearly every speaker opposed the measure &#8212; the council voted 4-3 to expand voting privileges.
As might be expected, the measure was rather contentious, particularly among College Park residents who aren&#8217;t affiliated with the University. Several arguments broke out in the comment period, and at least one resident was called a &#8220;Nazi&#8221; for opposing the measure.<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/college-park-decides-tuesday-whether-to-allow-noncitizens-to-vote/2017/09/11/1d3c804c-971d-11e7-82e4-f1076f6d6152_story.html?nid&amp;utm_term=.5157e5490b1f"> University of Maryland students, of course, spoke out in favor</a> of expansion, telling the Council that they supported the measure because it would allow more University students and faculty, who have a &#8220;variety of immigration statues,&#8221; to be a &#8220;voice in the community.&#8221;
The mayor and council may not necessarily have the support of College Park going forward. Mayor Patrick Wojahn told The Washington Post that at the August council meeting, most residents submitted commentary in opposition to expanding voting rights, but in the month between meetings, the response shifted in favor.
He neglected to mention that in the month between meetings, several organizations mobilized within College Park and at the University to sway city council members, and students returning to college were aggressive in pressuring local politicians to support the bill.
Residents in opposition say they&#8217;ll work to put a referendum on the ballot in November, allowing the more permanent denizens of College Park to decide, rather than the city council, whether non-citizens should get a vote in community elections. Obviously, this is unacceptable to local activists, who say, somewhat confusingly, that people who can&#8217;t vote should have a say in whether they should be able to vote.
Better to have the policy dictated from on high, apparently.

Menu