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Business
Party City Going Out Of Business, Closing All 800 Stores, Including 19 In MD Party City Going Out Of Business, Closing All 800 Stores, Including 19 In MD
Party City Going Out Of Business, Closing All 800 Stores, Including 19 In MD The party is over for a popular chain store that's been in business for decades. Party City is “winding down” operations immediately at its approximately 800 locations, CEO Barry Litwin told corporate employees  in a video call on Friday, Dec. 20, CNN reports. Workers were told they will not receive severance pay, and that their benefits would end as the company goes out of business, CNN says. The company, headquartered in in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, is running low on cash and unable to pay rent in some locations, according to an earlier Bloomberg report. Party City was foun…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
New Charges For Alleged Stalker From Brandywine Who Shared Revenge Porn Of Ex: Feds New Charges For Alleged Stalker From Brandywine Who Shared Revenge Porn Of Ex: Feds
New Charges For Alleged Stalker From Brandywine Who Shared Revenge Porn Of Ex: Feds A Maryland man is facing years behind bars after being found guilty of stalking, threatening, and targeting his ex-girlfriends in a campaign of harassment that included shooting at one of their homes. Nahvarj Mills, 31, of Brandywine, was convicted this week in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on 24 counts, including: Cyberstalking; Unlawful publication of sexually explicit images; Assault with a dangerous weapon; Possession of a firearm during a crime of violence; Unlawful possession of a firearm. Prosecutors said Mills targeted two women between November 2023 and Januar…

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by Zak Failla
Business
Grease Grab Gone Wrong: Duo Busted Stealing Used Cooking Oil In Maryland: Police Grease Grab Gone Wrong: Duo Busted Stealing Used Cooking Oil In Maryland: Police
Grease Grab Gone Wrong: Duo Busted Stealing Used Cooking Oil In Maryland: Police A late-night crime turned greasy when two men were caught red-handed siphoning used cooking oil from downtown Silver Spring restaurants, police said. Michael Cordones-Lopez, 24, and Patricio Cardones-Molina, 61, were arrested this week after officers spotted them breaking into grease dumpsters behind local eateries, including the Filmore Silver Spring and Amina Thai, according to the Montgomery County Police Department. The investigation determined that at around 2:20 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 17, officers were conducting an overnight criminal enforcement detail in downtown Silver Spring w…

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by Zak Failla
Business
Drugstore Deserts On Rise Amid Nationwide Pharmacy Closures Drugstore Deserts On Rise Amid Nationwide Pharmacy Closures
Drugstore Deserts On Rise Amid Nationwide Pharmacy Closures Nearly 30 percent of US pharmacies closed between 2010 and 2021, according to a new study in the health-policy publication Health Affairs. The research, led by University of California Berkeley assistant professor Jenny S. Guadamuz and colleagues, analyzed data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs, county health statistics, and ZIP Code demographic surveys.  Of the 88,930 retail pharmacies operating in 2010, almost one-third shuttered by 2021, with those in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods disproportionately affected, Independent pharmacies were hit ha…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
Homicide Mystery: Maryland Man Found Dead In Field Near Home: Sheriff (DEVELOPING) Homicide Mystery: Maryland Man Found Dead In Field Near Home: Sheriff (DEVELOPING)
Homicide Mystery: Maryland Man Found Dead In Field Near Home: Sheriff (Developing) A quiet Hughesville neighborhood was shaken after a man was found dead in a field near his home, with investigators now ruling the case a homicide. Officers responded at 10:40 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18 to the 6800 block of Swann Gate Place after receiving a report of a body in a field, authorities said. The victim, identified as Paul Sherwood Swann, 60, lived in a nearby house, police said. Swann’s body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, where an autopsy determined the manner of death was homicide. No motive has been established, and the investigatio…

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by Zak Failla
News
'Real Housewives' Star Karen Huger Convicted Of Maryland DUI, May Seek Appeal: Reports 'Real Housewives' Star Karen Huger Convicted Of Maryland DUI, May Seek Appeal: Reports
'Real Housewives' Star Karen Huger Convicted Of Maryland DUI, May Seek Appeal: Reports Karen Huger, who made her name starring on Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Potomac" has reportedly been convicted of an alleged DUI crash in Maryland earlier this year, according to FOX and other national outlets. The 61-year-old was found guilty by a jury of driving under the influence, negligent driving, and other offenses following a March crash in Montgomery County. She has been on the show since it premiered in 2016. She is also a graduate of the University of Virginia, and is the "Grand Dame of Potomac," according to Bravo. Not Karen Huger telling the cop who arrested her after he…

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by Zak Failla
News
Bus Stop 'Axe Murderer' Who Killed Deaf Cellmate In Maryland Gets Life In Prison: Prosecutors Bus Stop 'Axe Murderer' Who Killed Deaf Cellmate In Maryland Gets Life In Prison: Prosecutors
Bus Stop 'Axe Murderer' Who Killed Deaf Cellmate In Maryland Gets Life In Prison: Prosecutors Gordon Staron is going to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Staron, formerly of Abingdon, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of an elderly man, and then later, his deaf cellmate while he was incarcerated, according to the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office on Thursday. Staron pleaded guilty of the first-degree murder of Javarick Gantt in the Baltimore City's Central Booking and Intake Facility after previously admitting to killing 66-year-old Keith Bell with an axe at a bus stop. The fatal stabbing was reported in the early hours of Sept. 6 , 202…

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by Zak Failla
News
COLD CASE: Serial Abuser Learns Fate In Court For 1981 Rapes In Maryland: State's Attorney COLD CASE: Serial Abuser Learns Fate In Court For 1981 Rapes In Maryland: State's Attorney
Cold CASE: Serial Abuser Learns Fate In Court For 1981 Rapes In Maryland: State's Attorney A 67-year-old man may spend the rest of his life in prison after admitting to rape and sexual assault stemming from a pair of attacks dating back to 1981 in Montgomery County, authorities announced on Thursday. Marion Pearson, now living in North Carolina, pleaded guilty in October to second-degree rape and sex assault for the attacks of two victims in separate attacks in April and June 1981.  On Thursday, Dec. 19, authorities announced that Pearson was sentenced by a judge in Montgomery County to 40 years in prison suspending all but 17 years to serve and two years of superv…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
Heroic Local Intervenes To Save Boy From Abduction Attempt Near Maryland Bus Stop: Sheriff Heroic Local Intervenes To Save Boy From Abduction Attempt Near Maryland Bus Stop: Sheriff
Heroic Local Intervenes To Save Boy From Abduction Attempt Near Maryland Bus Stop: Sheriff A concerned local is being hailed as a hero after saving an 8-year-old boy who was taken by a woman while waiting for his school bus in Charles County on Thursday morning, according to the sheriff's office. The J.C. Parks Elementary School student was near his bus stop in Bryans Road shortly after 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 19 when he was approached by local resident Krystal Ninette Clay, who asked him to get in her Chevy in the area of Hard Bargain Circle and Montrose Road. The boy initially declined but ultimately complied, investigators said. Clay then drove a short distance before stopping …

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by Zak Failla
Business
Jackpot To-Go: $50K Powerball Win Shakes Up Maryland Woman's Dinner Plans Jackpot To-Go: $50K Powerball Win Shakes Up Maryland Woman's Dinner Plans
Jackpot To-Go: $50K Powerball Win Shakes Up Maryland Woman's Dinner Plans A quiet dinner out turned into a $50,000 surprise for one lucky Charles County woman, leaving her appetite in the dust and a carryout bag in her hand. The bank employee, who decided to remain anonymous, was enjoying a meal at a restaurant last week when a routine ticket scan changed her evening—and her plans. For the better.  While waiting for her food, she decided to check a pile of Lottery tickets she’d been holding onto, explaining that while she only plays once in awhile, she tends to hang off on checking her tickets until there is "a solid handful."  While waiting for her m…

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by Zak Failla
Business
Big Lots To Begin 'Going Out Of Business' Sales At Nearly 1,000 Remaining Stores Big Lots To Begin 'Going Out Of Business' Sales At Nearly 1,000 Remaining Stores
Big Lots To Begin 'Going Out Of Business' Sales At Nearly 1,000 Remaining Stores Big Lots has announced plans to close all of its remaining 963 stores, initiating "going out of business" sales following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in September. The company says it's started the process of closing stores in 48 states and liquidating inventory under its court-supervised Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.  The decision comes as the retailer seeks to maximize value for stakeholders while exploring potential going-concern sale opportunities. "We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale," Big Lots' President and Chie…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Buzz Over Recent Drone Sightings Prompts Police Response In Maryland Buzz Over Recent Drone Sightings Prompts Police Response In Maryland
Buzz Over Recent Drone Sightings Prompts Police Response In Maryland The recent rash of drone sightings up and down the East Coast has not reached parts of Maryland, though concern is still on the rise for some, prompting some police agencies to proactively reach out to their communities. On Thursday, the Montgomery County Department of Police issued a fresh alert addressing the reports of suspicious unmanned aircraft sightings that have made national headlines. Although the department is not currently investigating any drone-related incidents in the county, authorities released a statement reminding residents about their active drone program and emphasizing…

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by Zak Failla