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Cash For Supplies That Never Arrived: Former DC School Official Admits Bribery Cash For Supplies That Never Arrived: Former DC School Official Admits Bribery
Cash For Supplies That Never Arrived: Former DC School Official Admits Bribery She was supposed to be buying supplies for students. Instead, federal prosecutors say a longtime DC school administrator was taking cash under the table while approving payments for orders that never showed up. District resident Tracy Hatton, 60, admitted to her role in the scheme after pleading guilty to bribery, according to the US Attorney's Office for DC.  The guilty plea, entered in November 2025, was unsealed Thursday, July 9. Hatton worked as the administrative officer at McKinley Technology High School, where she controlled the school's supply budget, selected vendors, approv…

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by Zak Failla
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DOJ Sues Maryland Over 'Sanctuary' Policies, Claims State Is Blocking Immigration Enforcement DOJ Sues Maryland Over 'Sanctuary' Policies, Claims State Is Blocking Immigration Enforcement
DOJ Sues Maryland Over 'Sanctuary' Policies, Claims State Is Blocking Immigration Enforcement Maryland is now in the Trump administration's legal crosshairs. The US Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday, July 9, accusing the state and Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown of adopting so-called sanctuary policies that federal officials say unlawfully interfere with immigration enforcement. The lawsuit claims Maryland's policies prevent state and local facilities from cooperating with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement by refusing to honor immigration detainers and transfer people in custody to federal agents. According to the Justice Department, those polic…

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by Zak Failla
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Maryland Teen Nearly Used State-Record Fish As Bait Before Realizing What He'd Caught Maryland Teen Nearly Used State-Record Fish As Bait Before Realizing What He'd Caught
Maryland Teen Nearly Used State-Record Fish As Bait Before Realizing What He'd Caught Cooper Clark almost threw away a record-setting catch. Instead, a Maryland teenager wound up in the state record books after a fish he and his crew planned to use as bait turned out to be the biggest false albacore ever officially landed in Maryland's Atlantic Division. The catch came on Friday, July 3, off Ocean City at an offshore fishing spot known as the Jackspot, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Clark, 19, and his fishing party were trolling for bluefin tuna with skirted ballyhoo when Clark hooked what everyone assumed was a small tuna. It wasn't. The fish …

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by Zak Failla
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Maryland Community Keeps 51-Year-Old Pool Afloat After 7-Day Fight To Stay Open Maryland Community Keeps 51-Year-Old Pool Afloat After 7-Day Fight To Stay Open
Maryland Community Keeps 51-Year-Old Pool Afloat After 7-Day Fight To Stay Open For seven days, the clock was ticking. A Maryland swim club that warned it could be forced to close within a week says it's staying open after an overwhelming wave of donations, new memberships, and community support helped meet its most urgent financial need. The Smallwood Village Swim Club in Waldorf announced on Tuesday, July 7, that it has met its immediate $25,000 financial need, allowing the 51-year-old pool to remain open while leaders continue working toward longer-term repairs and financial stability. "The immediate need means that the doors and schedule for Smallwood will remain …

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by Zak Failla
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Twice-Deported Man Charged In Virginia Rape Case Lands Back In ICE's Crosshairs Twice-Deported Man Charged In Virginia Rape Case Lands Back In ICE's Crosshairs
Twice-Deported Man Charged In Virginia Rape Case Lands Back In ICE's Crosshairs He was deported. Twice. Now, federal immigration officials say a man charged with rape and abduction in connection with an alleged sexual assault in Northern Virginia is once again facing removal after his latest arrest. Juan Arevalo Mendez, who DHS identifies as a citizen of El Salvador, was arrested on June 30 in Prince William County in connection with a September 2025 assault in Falls Church, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Mendez is charged in Fairfax County with rape by force and abducting an adult with the intent to sexually assault, officials said. The same day h…

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by Zak Failla
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Maryland Olympian Indicted After Allegedly Damaging Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool: DOJ Maryland Olympian Indicted After Allegedly Damaging Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool: DOJ
Maryland Olympian Indicted After Allegedly Damaging Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool: DOJ A Maryland Olympian's stop at one of the nation's most iconic landmarks has now turned into a felony case that has gone viral. David Hearn, 67, a Bethesda native, was indicted this week by a grand jury in DC on a charge of felony destruction of property after prosecutors alleged he vandalized the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool during an incident last month. According to the US Attorney's Office, Hearn allegedly ripped away part of the recently installed blue sealant lining the bottom of the Reflecting Pool on Thursday, June 19. The landmark had recently undergone renovations as part of a…

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by Zak Failla
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$65.7M Refinance Secured For Morgan Stanley-Anchored Baltimore Office Tower $65.7M Refinance Secured For Morgan Stanley-Anchored Baltimore Office Tower
$65.7M Refinance Secured For Morgan Stanley-Anchored Baltimore Office Tower A major Maryland waterfront office tower has landed a multimillion-dollar financial vote of confidence. In Baltimore's Harbor Point neighborhood, the eight-story Thames Street Wharf office building has secured a $65.7 million refinancing package, according to commercial real estate firm JLL, which arranged the transaction on behalf of owner AH Realty Trust. The five-year loan covers the 263,426-square-foot waterfront property overlooking the Inner Harbor, one of the first buildings developed as part of Harbor Point's transformation from a former industrial brownfield into one of Baltimore's…

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by Zak Failla
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'She Doesn't Realize She's Missing A Leg Yet': Virginia Family's Hero Dog Fights Back 'She Doesn't Realize She's Missing A Leg Yet': Virginia Family's Hero Dog Fights Back
'She Doesn't Realize She's Missing A Leg Yet': Virginia Family's Hero Dog Fights Back She still thinks she has four legs. A 9-year-old Virginia dog is learning to navigate a life she doesn't yet understand after being shot while protecting her family, according to her owner, leaving behind a recovery that has touched hearts far beyond her own home. Bella-Jean Newman was rushed to an animal hospital in Fredericksburg after she was shot on Monday, June 29, during what Kayla Baker described only as "an awful situation." "Bella is a protector, and when an awful situation occurred, Bella was unfortunately shot," Baker wrote. "Bella is a HERO!!!" The injuries were devastating. …

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by Zak Failla
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See The Rare Virginia Document Where King George III Was Literally Crossed Out: Here's When See The Rare Virginia Document Where King George III Was Literally Crossed Out: Here's When
See The Rare Virginia Document Where King George III Was Literally Crossed Out: Here's When History has a funny way of showing up right on time. Just days before the Fourth of July, Virginia residents will have a rare chance to see an original document created as the American Revolution was unfolding, one that captures a remarkable turning point in the fight for independence. In Leesburg, the Thomas Balch Library has acquired the original March 11, 1776, bond appointing Philip Noland as sheriff of Loudoun County, a document historians say offers an extraordinary glimpse into Virginia's break from British rule. The manuscript is more than 250 years old. It formally pledged Noland…

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by Zak Failla
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DOJ Sues Virginia To Block New AR-15 Ban, Calls Law Unconstitutional DOJ Sues Virginia To Block New AR-15 Ban, Calls Law Unconstitutional
DOJ Sues Virginia To Block New AR-15 Ban, Calls Law Unconstitutional Virginia's new assault weapons law is already headed to federal court. The US Department of Justice sued the Commonwealth on Wednesday, July 1, alleging the state's newly enacted ban on the commercial purchase and sale of many AR-15-style rifles violates the Second Amendment. They are also asking a federal judge to block enforcement of key portions of the law. The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Richmond, names both the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Virginia Department of State Police as defendants, arguing the law criminalizes the sale and purchase of rifles "owned by millions o…

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by Zak Failla
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Come On Down? Five Maryland Lottery Winners Head To 'Let's Make A Deal' In Wild Costumes Come On Down? Five Maryland Lottery Winners Head To 'Let's Make A Deal' In Wild Costumes
Come On Down? Five Maryland Lottery Winners Head To 'Let's Make A Deal' In Wild Costumes Forget scratching tickets. This prize came with costumes. Five Maryland Lottery players traded their lucky scratch-offs for a VIP Hollywood adventure, dressing up for a chance to win even more money on the set of Let's Make a Deal. The Maryland winners earned the once-in-a-lifetime trip through the Lottery's 2025 Let's Make a Deal scratch-off second-chance promotion. Each winner received a four-day VIP trip for two to Los Angeles that included airfare, hotel accommodations, $1,660 in spending money, a guided tour of Hollywood landmarks, and a live audience seat at a taping of the long-runn…

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by Zak Failla
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Clock Ticking On Public Comments For Controversial Maryland ICE Detention Center Clock Ticking On Public Comments For Controversial Maryland ICE Detention Center
Clock Ticking On Public Comments For Controversial Maryland ICE Detention Center Time is running out for Maryland residents hoping to weigh in on a proposed 1,500-bed ICE detention center that has sparked months of controversy in Washington County. The federal public comment period on the Department of Homeland Security's plan to convert an 825,000-square-foot warehouse near Williamsport into an immigration detention center closes at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30. Ahead of the deadline, Hagerstown Rapid Response and Washington County Indivisible say their campaign has generated more than 3,000 public comments opposing the project, which organizers believe represents on…

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by Zak Failla