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Caroll Spriggs II Makes History As Maryland's First African American State Fire Marshal Caroll Spriggs II Makes History As Maryland's First African American State Fire Marshal Caroll Spriggs II Makes History As Maryland's First African American State Fire Marshal
Caroll Spriggs II Makes History As Maryland's First African American State Fire Marshal Maryland has its first African American State Fire Marshal in the department's 132-year history. Caroll H. Spriggs II, 53, was appointed to a six-year term leading the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Maryland State Police announced on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Spriggs takes over the nation's oldest state fire marshal's office after a career that has included leadership roles in Prince George's County and Annapolis, along with work involving federal explosives investigations. Before his appointment, Spriggs served as a deputy fire chief with the Prince George's County Fire and Emergency Medica…

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by Zak Failla
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One Year Out Of High School, Maryland Teen Becomes Millionaire With Massive Lottery Win One Year Out Of High School, Maryland Teen Becomes Millionaire With Massive Lottery Win One Year Out Of High School, Maryland Teen Becomes Millionaire With Massive Lottery Win
One Year Out Of High School, Maryland Teen Becomes Millionaire With Massive Lottery Win At 19 years old, one Maryland teen already has made his first million. And then some. Just a year removed from high school, the Riverdale resident was learning the ropes as an electrician's apprentice when an occasional lottery ticket turned into a life-changing $4.2 million Multi-Match jackpot. Before the win, there wasn't much of a lottery routine. "I just buy them sometimes," he said. A few tickets every other week was about it, usually from Town Center Market on Queensbury Road in Riverdale. Then came a clue he couldn't ignore. The teen was browsing the Maryland Lottery website when…

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by Zak Failla
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Search For Missing DC Mom Antoinette Forbes Spreads As Family Refuses To Give Up Search For Missing DC Mom Antoinette Forbes Spreads As Family Refuses To Give Up Search For Missing DC Mom Antoinette Forbes Spreads As Family Refuses To Give Up
Search For Missing DC Mom Antoinette Forbes Spreads As Family Refuses To Give Up Antoinette Forbes seemingly vanished without a trace. The 53-year-old mother was last seen at around 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, in the 3200 block of Nebraska Avenue NW in Washington, DC, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. More than a week later, her disappearance has sparked a widening search, national attention and an outpouring from friends and family who say they won't stop until Forbes comes home. Now they're raising money to keep that search going. A GoFundMe launched on behalf of Forbes' family has raised thousands of dollars to help cover legal counsel, search efforts…

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by Zak Failla
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Germantown Grandmother Wins $50K For Second Time After Good Deed: 'It Was Karma' Germantown Grandmother Wins $50K For Second Time After Good Deed: 'It Was Karma' Germantown Grandmother Wins $50K For Second Time After Good Deed: 'It Was Karma'
Germantown Grandmother Wins $50K For Second Time After Good Deed: 'It Was Karma' Good karma apparently pays pretty well in Maryland. A Germantown grandmother is celebrating her second $50,000 Pick 5 win this year, and this one came just hours after she refused to take advantage of an honor-system farm stand while others apparently did. The retired postal worker, whose name was not released, regularly plays Pick 3, Pick 4, and Pick 5, giving her grandson money every Tuesday to buy her tickets for the week. Among them was a $14 Pick 5 ticket covering the midday and evening drawings from Aug. 18 through Aug. 25 using her special numbers: 1-2-9-1-2. On Aug. 23, they hit s…

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by Zak Failla
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MD Ranked Among 5 Happiest States In US, New Study Finds: Here's Why MD Ranked Among 5 Happiest States In US, New Study Finds: Here's Why MD Ranked Among 5 Happiest States In US, New Study Finds: Here's Why
MD Ranked Among 5 Happiest States In US, New Study Finds: Here's Why The Northeast is home to some of the happiest people in the country, according to a new study. WalletHub released its 2026 Happiest States in America ranking on Tuesday, Sept. 8. The study compared all 50 states across 30 measures of happiness, including depression and suicide rates, work hours, unemployment, income growth, family stability, volunteer rates, and safety. The personal finance website also looked at how many adults feel active and productive, along with factors like sleep, leisure time, job security, and community support. "The happiest states are those that provide above-ave…

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by Chris Spiker
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Virginia Teacher Spends Last Day Stepping Up For Students Before Immigration Delay Forces Exit Virginia Teacher Spends Last Day Stepping Up For Students Before Immigration Delay Forces Exit Virginia Teacher Spends Last Day Stepping Up For Students Before Immigration Delay Forces Exit
Virginia Teacher Spends Last Day Stepping Up For Students Before Immigration Delay Forces Exit Darwin De La Cruz spent one of his last days as a Virginia teacher making sure his students would have instruments after he was gone. On Thursday, Sept. 3, the Herndon orchestra teacher drove to a warehouse in Springfield, loaded up 100 instruments for young musicians at Dranesville and Herndon elementary schools, hauled them back and prepared them for students, according to colleague Allison Devereux. Then he went to Back to School Night. By the next day, De La Cruz could no longer work for Fairfax County Public Schools. "He could have said I’m done, but he went. He always goes abov…

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by Zak Failla
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Maryland Sets Its Own Vaccine Guidelines As Federal Guidance Shifts Maryland Sets Its Own Vaccine Guidelines As Federal Guidance Shifts Maryland Sets Its Own Vaccine Guidelines As Federal Guidance Shifts
Maryland Sets Its Own Vaccine Guidelines As Federal Guidance Shifts Maryland is going its own way on vaccines. The Maryland Department of Health released new statewide vaccine recommendations on Thursday, Sept. 10, setting guidance for children and adults as families head into another respiratory virus season. The 2026-27 recommendations cover COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccines, along with routine immunizations including MMR and hepatitis B. But the new guidelines don't come with any new mandates. School vaccination requirements remain unchanged, state health officials said. Instead, Maryland is using new authority granted under the Vax Act, which was signed…

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by Zak Failla
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21-Gun Salute Scrapped Ahead Of Planned 25th Anniversary 9/11 Remembrance In Maryland 21-Gun Salute Scrapped Ahead Of Planned 25th Anniversary 9/11 Remembrance In Maryland 21-Gun Salute Scrapped Ahead Of Planned 25th Anniversary 9/11 Remembrance In Maryland
21-Gun Salute Scrapped Ahead Of Planned 25th Anniversary 9/11 Remembrance In Maryland A planned 21-gun salute won't be part of one Maryland community's remembrance of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks after all. Baltimore County Police announced on Thursday, Sept. 10, that the salute scheduled for Friday evening in Parkville has been canceled, though the rest of the community's events marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11 will continue as planned. No reason for the cancellation was provided. The Presidential Salute Battery from the 3rd US Infantry Regiment, known as The Old Guard, had been scheduled to perform the salute following the 16th Annual 9/11 Candlelight Vigil at McAvo…

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by Zak Failla
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Virginia Family Loses Home To Falling Tree As Little League Community Steps Up Virginia Family Loses Home To Falling Tree As Little League Community Steps Up Virginia Family Loses Home To Falling Tree As Little League Community Steps Up
Virginia Family Loses Home To Falling Tree As Little League Community Steps Up One Virginia family came out of the latest round of storms without a home. A massive tree came crashing down on the Clark family's house in the Riverheads area, destroying the home and forcing the family to find somewhere else to stay. The damage left them facing the loss of their house and many of their belongings, according to Megan Jeffers, who has since organized a fundraiser to help them get back on their feet. But the Clarks aren't facing it alone. Their son plays flag football, and their daughter plays softball for Riverheads Little League, where the family has become part of a you…

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by Zak Failla
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Gaithersburg Grandmother Steps In To Raise 11-Year-Old After Mother's Sudden Death At 31 Gaithersburg Grandmother Steps In To Raise 11-Year-Old After Mother's Sudden Death At 31 Gaithersburg Grandmother Steps In To Raise 11-Year-Old After Mother's Sudden Death At 31
Gaithersburg Grandmother Steps In To Raise 11-Year-Old After Mother's Sudden Death At 31 Everything changed for a Maryland family in an instant. Ashley Marie Lewis died unexpectedly on Monday, Aug. 3, leaving behind her 11-year-old son, Karter, who is now being cared for by his grandmother, Angela Fernandez. Lewis was 31. Fernandez says she lost her only daughter that day. At the same time, she suddenly became responsible for raising her grandson. “Since losing his mom, Karter has come to live with me, and I have taken on the responsibility of providing him with the stable, loving home he needs as we both navigate this unimaginable loss,” Fernandez wrote in a GoFundMe launche…

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by Zak Failla
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'That's Right, I Saw You': Virginia Mom Says Rock Hurled From Overpass Nearly Killed Family 'That's Right, I Saw You': Virginia Mom Says Rock Hurled From Overpass Nearly Killed Family 'That's Right, I Saw You': Virginia Mom Says Rock Hurled From Overpass Nearly Killed Family
'That's Right, I Saw You': Virginia Mom Says Rock Hurled From Overpass Nearly Killed Family A few inches may have been all that separated a late-night drive through Virginia from a family tragedy. A massive rock came crashing down onto an SUV traveling along the Dulles Greenway at around 12:40 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 7, near the Sycolin Road overpass in Loudoun County, according to Christina Martinez, who was inside with her husband, two children, and two friends. The rock first slammed into the hood before smashing into the windshield, leaving behind a deep dent and a sprawling web of shattered glass directly in front of the driver's seat. Martinez says that first bounce may ha…

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by Zak Failla
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Where Is Empress King? Search Intensifies For Missing, Endangered 12-Year-Old Girl In Virginia Where Is Empress King? Search Intensifies For Missing, Endangered 12-Year-Old Girl In Virginia Where Is Empress King? Search Intensifies For Missing, Endangered 12-Year-Old Girl In Virginia
Where Is Empress King? Search Intensifies For Missing, Endangered 12-Year-Old Girl In Virginia Seen her? Police in Virginia are asking for the public's help finding Empress Imani King, a 12-year-old girl who has been reported missing and endangered. Fairfax County police issued an alert for King on Tuesday, Sept. 8, one day after she was last seen at the L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station in DC. King was last spotted at approximately 4:55 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 7, according to investigators. By Tuesday morning, police had turned to the public in an effort to track her down. King is 5-foot-2, weighs approximately 130 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes, police said. She was wearing…

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by Zak Failla