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Western Maryland

    Members of the national firefighting community walk the campus of the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg following the annual fallen firefighters memorial.
    Trump officials silent as firefighters lobby to reopen training academy in Maryland
    Firefighters, a widely-respected constituency that Trump has courted, say they are having a tough time lobbying against the administration’s cuts — or even getting administration officials to respond to them.
    Howard County Public School System Superintendent Michael Martirano takes questions at a press conference on Aug. 30 about issues with school buses during the first week of school.
    Retired Howard County schools chief tapped to lead Western Maryland school district
    Michael Martirano left the Howard County Public School System abruptly last year.
    Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen speaks to the press in La Libertad, El Salvador, where he arrived regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland and deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
    Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen stepped up to Trump — and into the national spotlight
    The Trump administration has so far denied a unanimous U.S Supreme Court order to facilitate Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return, and the president has called Chris Van Hollen a “fake” and a “grandstander” for confronting his administration’s sweeping deportation efforts with a congressional fact-finding mission.
    Lewis Bracy, a retired federal police officer from Severn, wears his handgun to a protest on Mary 20, 2023. Maryland's 3-year-old handgun license laws have resulted in a fourfold increase of people with carry permits.
    200,000 people can carry guns in Maryland. Here’s where they are.
    More than 200,000 people have a Maryland permit to carry a handgun — a jump from fewer than 50,000 in 2020.
    Sheriff Chuck Jenkins at the Utica Mills Covered Bridge in Thurmont. When he launched his first campaign announcement, he used a photograph of himself here.
    A red stalwart in blue Maryland: Are these the last days for Chuck Jenkins?
    As an elected Republican in a rapidly changing place that gets more liberal with each election, Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins is something of an endangered species.

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    FEMA’s National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg on March 10, 2025.
    Trump-voting town alarmed by FEMA cuts to National Fire Academy
    Emmitsburg, Maryland fears the Trump administration’s suspension of the National Fire Academy classes will harm the economy. And emergency workers say the public will be less safe without this training resource.
    Dan’s Mountain Wildlife Management Area
    Letter: Power line bill could open path for environmental exploitation
    A reader says a proposed power transmission line that crossed three protected Maryland wildlands will not benefit our state and would encourage future environmental exploitation.
    New cars at the Dundalk Marine Terminal. Maryland lawmakers are changing plans for a proposed vehicle sales tax increase.
    Maryland lawmakers adjust planned tax increase after Trump auto tariffs
    The swift pivot marks yet another Trump-induced change in course for lawmakers navigating a tough budget squeeze.
    Hundreds of people flocked to a town hall featuring Rep. Jamie Raskin at Mace's Lane Middle School in Dorchester County on Saturday, March 22, 2025.
    Raskin slams no-show Harris at packed town hall: ‘Your face should not be on the milk carton’
    Failing to attract the attention of Republican Congressman Andy Harris, hundreds of people flocked to a middle school gymnasium on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to hear from a willing Democratic stand-in — U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin.
    A person walks in Fells Point, Baltimore, on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. Below freezing conditions persisted in Maryland Wednesday morning, accompanied by wind gusts making it feel close to zero degrees in parts of the state. The extreme cold warning for western Maryland and the cold weather advisory for the rest of the state — including Baltimore City and Baltimore, Howard, Anne Arundel, Harford and Carroll counties — remain in effect until Thursday morning at 10 a.m.
    Bitter cold and high winds, but little snow expected Thursday
    Maryland continues battling brutal cold and high winds, but updated forecasts call for little to no snow in the Baltimore region Thursday.

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    From left, Michelle Zajko, Jack ‘Ziz’ LaSota, and Daniel Blank in booking photos provided by the Allegany County Sheriff's Office.
    Members of cult-like Zizian group to remain jailed in Maryland
    The Zizians are a dangerous, extremist group, Allegany County State’s Attorney James Elliott told the judge.
    Jack ‘Ziz’ LaSota, the apparent leader of the Zizians, a cult-like group tied to at least six deaths, was arrested Sunday evening in western Maryland. LaSota, who uses she/her pronouns, is being held in the Allegany County jail.
    3 members of violent, cultlike Zizian group arrested in Western Maryland
    Jack ‘Ziz’ LaSota, the apparent leader of the Zizians, a cult-like group tied to at least six deaths, was arrested Sunday evening in western Maryland.
    Rep. Beverly Byron.
    U.S. Rep. Beverly Byron remembered for adventurous, trailblazing spirit
    Byron represented Western Maryland in the House of Representatives for seven terms.
    Frostburg State University in July of 2019.
    Frostburg State is facing a multimillion-dollar deficit. Other colleges may follow.
    With more budget cuts looming, what’s happening on the Western Maryland campus could serve as a warning to other universities.
    Frostburg State University Ron Nowaczyk, shown here at Frostburg City Hall in 2022, will leave after nearly a decade at the Western Maryland institution.
    Frostburg State University president steps down amid deficit, citing health issues
    Ronald Nowaczyk, who has been at the helm the university since 2016, announced the decision in an email to community members on Wednesday morning.

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    Development Director at the Women's Health Center Ramsie Monk stands in a procedure room.
    Western Maryland has become an abortion care haven for red state residents
    In September 2023, exactly one year after West Virginia’s abortion ban took effect, the new clinic opened its doors in tiny Cresaptown in Allegany County
    Hagerstown Mayor Tekesha Martinez poses for a portrait inside of City Hall, in Hagerstown, November 19, 2024.
    Becoming Hagerstown’s first Black mayor made her a role model — and a target
    Hagerstown had never seen a mayor like Tekesha Martinez: a Black woman and poet who grew up in foster care. Ahead of the 2024 election, national politics seeped into her city.
    Ben Cardin talks with state Sen. Mike McKay, left, and David Jones, incoming president of Allegany College, during a farewell tour stop on Nov. 26, 2024 in Cumberland. Cardin was visiting supporters and elected officials across Maryland in anticipation of retiring from the Senate in January 2025.
    On farewell tour of Maryland, outgoing Sen. Ben Cardin reflects on six decades of public service
    U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin will leave office in January. It’s a moment of significant transition for Maryland, one with far-reaching consequences. You could see that as he traveled the state in the early days of his farewell tour.
    Wisp Ski Resort is opening its slopes in Western Maryland.
    Wisp Ski Resort in Western Maryland to open slopes this week with snowfall expected
    Wisp Ski Resort is opening its slopes in Western Maryland on Friday for skiers and snowboarders.
    The Maryland State Police logo.
    Prisoner’s death in Western Maryland investigated as homicide
    Maryland State Police are investigating the death of a person who was incarcerated at a state prison as a homicide, they announced Wednesday.
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