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Most civilian federal employees face a pay freeze next year, but the Trump administration is expanding the number of law enforcement personnel who will receive at least a 3.8% raise in 2027, with some seeing up to 6.7%, under an OPM memo released Friday.
Thousands of Marylanders face another round of sticker shock while shopping for healthcare, after state officials approved a second year of steep premium increases in response to the expiration of federal tax credits that made those plans more affordable.
Overall U.S. healthcare costs rose from $3 trillion in 2014 to $5.3 trillion in 2024, forcing people to forgo health insurance, ration medications, cut back on doctor visits and put off health procedures. It's not just the poor or uninsured, but "an all-of-us issue” now.
Voters may have given Democrats control of Congress, but Republicans will remain in charge of both chambers for the next two months, and they have a lot to deal with in the roughly five-week session that begins Monday, including another stopgap budget.
A big fight over a little fish that no one eats comes to a head this week after decades of debate, with East Coast fishery managers set to decide whether to slash industrial-scale harvests of Atlantic menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay and along the East Coast as well.
State and local government employees report high levels of job satisfaction across the country, but face significant rates of burnout and on-the-job harassment, according to a national survey of nearly 5,000 public servants across all 50 states.
For the second time in eight years, Republicans were facing a blue wave. And Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st) once again proved he could swim. But the only GOP member of the state's congressional delegation faces the prospect of partisan redistricting in his next term.
Along with a dramatic change in congressional majorities, Election Day resulted in large shifts in legislative majorities around the country, flipping from a majority of Republican legislatures to majority Democratic. Democrats now hold 22 "trifectas," to 17 for the GOP.
The Office of Personnel Management is finalizing plans to abandon the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey after 20 years, instead telling agencies to issue their own versions of the workforce survey by the end of the calendar year.
Developers presented new images to show the proposed Sphere entertainment venue in context with the surroundings at National Harbor as they sought, and won, preliminary design approval from the Prince George's County Planning Board this week.
The choice Montgomery County faces, between shipping its trash to a landfill or burning it, is not an easy one, writes Jerry Kickenson, but shuttering the incinerator in favor of hauling trash at least provides incentives for a better future in the long run.
The blue wave had maybe slowed to a trickle by Friday, but the tide was still moving toward Democrats, who appeared to have ousted a GOP senator and picked up two more seats in the House of Delegates as mail-in ballots were counted in Frederick County.
Gov. Wes Moore announced the departures Friday of the secretary of state and the heads of the departments of Public Safety and Correctional Services, and Veterans and Military Affairs as his administration shuffles leadership in advance of his second term.
Closing Montgomery County's resource recovery facility and sending county trash to an out-of-state landfill may seem attractive, write Kit Gage, Virginia Thomson and Dani Wilches Venegasclos, but it has higher costs, health and environmental justice impacts.
The Maryland Transportation Authority received final environmental approval from the federal government for a new Bay Bridge, settling on two new four-lane bridges with full shoulders that would follow the path of current bridge as the preferred route.
The GOP project to gerrymander congressional districts across the country, pushed by President Donald Trump, failed to deliver significant wins for the party — and, in North Carolina at least, worked against it — amid a national blue tsunami and voter backlash.
Pennsylvania recorded its sixth measles death of the year this week, as the number of confirmed infections this year approached 1,500 people, all but five of whom were unvaccinated, state health officials said.
A group of Maryland landowners aggrieved by land surveys for a proposed 67-mile electricity transmission line across northern Maryland are petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to take up their case.
The Office of the State Prosecutor on Thursday charged Melissa Ann Smith, a former campaign treasurer for Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), with stealing more than $87,000 from his campaign account. Clippinger serves as the House speaker pro tem..
Fresh off his reelection victory Tuesday, Gov. Wes Moore on Thursday announced the departure of chief of staff Lester Davis and named Emmanuel "Manny" Welsh to replace him, a possible start to staff shuffling ahead of Moore's second term.
Aaron Penman's days as Harford County councilman are numbered, but that isn't stopping the county from trying to get the Supreme Court of Maryland to reverse the ruling that restored the Republican lawmaker to the council this year.
Montgomery County Executive-elect Will Jawando unveils a talent-heavy transition team, the Legislative Black Caucus convenes, the same week it gets a new executive director, and advocates line up support for the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, in political notes.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, poised to become chair of the Judiciary Committee, says it will investigate President Donald Trump and his administration, just one of ways Democrats will be flexing their newfound muscle after winning control of Congress Tuesday.
In elections across the country on Election Day, voters overwhelmingly called for limits on data centers in their communities, with 33 ballot measures to restrict data centers either passed or leading in ongoing vote counts Tuesday night.
An Oklahoma City man has been arrested on charges that he sent more than 700 threatening letters containing a white powder to election officials, members of Congress, pollsters, media organizations around the country, and the FBI, in 2024 and 2026.
Gov. Wes Moore (D) said Wednesday that he wants to see new congressional maps for Maryland after the General Assembly convenes in January and that he is "ready to engage" with lawmakers on the subject of redistricting.
Republican Rep. Andy Harris held off a surprisingly tough challenge from Democrat Dan Scwhartz in the 1st District Tuesday, the closest House race in Maryland where the other seven incumbents in the state's delegation all cruised to reelection wins.
Sen. Shaneka Henson (D-Anne Arundel) survived a bitter campaign that split the party, to become the first elected Black senator from Anne Arundel County and Democrats appear to have picked up two seats in the House of Delegates in legislative races Tuesday.
Question 3, the proposed constitutional amendment that would change the way Maryland congressional districts, appeared headed to passage Tuesday, with 60% of voters supporting it in early returns, capping months of fighting on the issue.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) was headed toward an easy reelection Tuesday, again beating Republican challenger Dan Cox in a rematch of their 2022 race. Comptroller Brooke Lierman and Attorney General Anthony Brown were also headed to reelection.
A Prince George's County circuit judge rejected an emergency request Tuesday to extend voting in a Laurel precinct until midnight, after hours of voting delays caused some voters to turn away. It was the biggest issue on a generally trouble-free day of voting.
The thousands of poll workers at polling sites across Maryland spend long hours training, helping voters navigate elections and responding to unexpected challenges to ensure elections run smoothly. One worker said, simply, “it's my civic responsibility."
Forever chemicals are polluting a substantial majority of tested Chesapeake Bay region watersheds, according to a new report, which detected .PFAS in 100% of waterways tested in the District, 95% in Pennsylvania, 70% in Virginia and 67% in Maryland.
The IRS is facing a new legal challenge from the National Treasury Employees Union, which charges that the agency declined to restore telework for federal employees despite an arbitrator's ruling ordering it to do so this summer.
As concerns rise about the potential for federal influence over the results of the midterm elections, many voting experts and advocates remain confident that the nation’s highly localized systems of administering and counting votes will persevere.
Health leaders warned that the social isolation and loneliness of the COVID-19 era could take a physical and emotional toll. The social distancing may be gone, but the loneliness remains, which is why health groups are running programs to reduce that loneliness.
After making history as Howard County’s first Black county executive, Calvin Ball announced Monday he will step down this month to become interim president at Baltimore City Community College.
Maryland’s top election official said voters across the state can trust the electoral process on Election Day, despite claims by some of potential voter fraud and rigged elections nationally, and news of federal monitors at some polls.
When the polls close Tuesday night, the 2026 U.S. election will go down as one of history’s most expensive and extraordinarily ugly midterms — galvanizing record-breaking early voter turnout among a deeply divided electorate.
Medicaid recipients who are disabled or have a chronic illness will not have to prove they are unable to work to be exempted from new work requirements that take effect next year, a federal judge ruled. But the ruling upheld other restrictions on coverage.
For Maryland wineries, climate change is a paradox. It helped the industry diversify and expand, as average temperatures rose, but vineyards have yet to recover from an extreme temperature swing last spring, another global warming trait, that devastated vineyards.
A nearly forgotten part of Maryland's Revolutionary War history is now enshrined on the grounds of the Maryland State House, with the unveiling of a monument to the roughly 150 Black Marylanders — some free, some enslaved— who fought against the British.
As of early Friday, more than 46 million Americans had cast ballots ahead of Election Day, eclipsing the early voting turnout of the 2022 midterms, when 45.9 million Americans voted early, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab.
Record numbers of voters in a gubernatorial election year turned out for early voting over the last week, with early voting and mail-in ballots likely to top 1 million before Election Day, according to the latest data from the Maryland State Board of Elections.
Frederick County Republicans are asking for an investigation of a high-profile Maryland political fundraiser who they say violated state laws barring coordination between a super PAC and a candidate, in this case County Executive Jessica Fitzwater.
At early voting centers this week, several voters acknowledged that they were having trouble understanding the language of ballot Question 3, a constitutional amendment on congressional redistricting. Opponents say the confusing language may be by design.
Most of the nation returns to standard time Sunday morning. The House overwhelmingly passed a bill to change that by extending daylight saving time year-round, but the measure faces strong opposition in the Senate, which has little time to consider it.
Rep. Jamie Raskin is campaigning a lot. In Texas. Ohio, Michigan and other battleground states. With a relatively safe seat, Raskin has been on the road to get other Democrats elected, drawing barbs from his GOP challenger but praise from some constituents.
Maryland election officials were among those who got another Justice Department letter warning they could face criminal prosecution for violating federal election laws by failing to preserve ballots, voter-registration records and other election materials for 22 months.
Republican comptroller nominee Sonya Dunn acknowledges she's got her work cut out for her in her bid to unseat Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman (D), but both women have ideas for how to improve the office over the next four years.
Sen. Antonio Hayes, a two-term Democrat from Baltimore City, will become the first Black lawmaker to chair the Senate Finance Committee, one of a series of changes that will make Senate leadership younger and less Montgomery County-centric.
The Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to combat noncitizen voting and assert authority over elections came under intense scrutiny in courtrooms across the country on Thursday, as Democrats and voting rights groups alleged federal election interference.
After Howard County officials lost the first round of a court fight to block a proposed immigration facility in Elkridge, state lawmakers Thursday unveiled legislation that would let the county instead set special, higher property taxes on any such property.
Half of the slightly more than 1,300 public schools in Maryland earned four or five stars out of five on the state's annual report card of individual school performance, an increase from last year's total, according to data released Thursday.
Costs are soaring for people who care for their older parents and other family members, according to a new study, with families paying an average of $11,508 a year out of pocket. Costs are higher, at $13,634, in the South Atlantic, which includes Maryland.
Paying federal employees not to work after they agree to leave their jobs in a workforce reduction, as the Trump administration did in 2025 to eliminate thousands of federal jobs, is now an officially acceptable use of paid administrative leave, under new OPM rules.
With just days left in the campaign, Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater finds herself in an unlikely dogfight with an underfunded GOP challenger in her reelection bid. Voter anger over data centers may, at least in part, be responsible.
Two months after Anne Arundel County schools amended a gender policy after a threat from the federal government, the Justice Department filed suit anyway, claiming schools facilitated the "secret transitioning" of children without telling parents.
President Donald Trump’s immigration policies are troubling some of Maryland’s Latino Republican voters, who think he is taking things too far, and worry other Latinos who helped Trump to victory two years ago will vote Democratic or stay home.
Sen. Shaneka Henson is looking to make history this fall by becoming the first Black senator elected to represent Anne Arundel County. And state Democrats are spending heavily to make sure that happens, in the face of a surprising Republican challenge.
Early voting is surging in Maryland, with turnout 67% higher through the first five days of in-person voting than it at the same time four years ago, state data shows, with increases in every county and both parties -- although Democratic voting is particularly strong.
Tens of millions of Americans have already made their way to the ballot box as early voting is underway in a midterm election that will determine control of the House and the Senate, possibly flipping one or both from Republicans to Democrats.
The Justice Department plans to send election monitors to every state ahead of Election Day, expanding a long-standing practice. But it's being met this year with concern from local officials because of Trump administration attempts to exert control over elections.
The Prince George’s County Council gave final approval Tuesday to a deal committing the county to financing up to $215 million to help bring the proposed $1.4 billion Sphere entertainment venue to National Harbor.
It's a long way from Albuquerque to Easton, but Josh Kurtz finds a connection in Talbot County Council hopeful Brian Naranjo, the grandson of a legendary New Mexico political patrón Emilio Naranjo, whom Kurtz covered as a young reporter.
While most top Democrats rallied again Monday for Question 3, the proposed constitutional amendment on congressional redistricting, one was notably absent, LCV's Kristen Harbeson moves on; and voting deadlines loom, in political notes.
Fewer than 5% of U.S. House races are seen by a top political analysis as truly competitive heading into November’s midterm elections, giving relatively few voters the ability to determine which party controls the chamber for the next two years.
Ugly and frightening as election season can get – or is that Halloween? – there are some reassuring bits. First, that the voters get their say. Second, that Maryland Matters readers can enter our election contest and show off how smart they are. Enter now.
Populations of a small darter species found only in the lower Susquehanna River have rebounded enough not to warrant protections under the Endangered Species Act, according to a review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Maryland is beginning to accept applications for a program to bolster solar, wind and battery storage projects with state grant funding under a $200 million program, called Megawatts for Maryland, established this year by the General Assembly.
With most in-state contests a foregone conclusion this fall, attention turns to the legislative subdistricts in Maryland with fewer voters, making them more volatile. And the Lower Shore District 38B is getting much of the attention -- and money.
Americans’ growing frustration over high prices has defined many political campaigns this fall, as rising costs of healthcare, gas and groceries during President Donald Trump’s second term have put Republicans on defense, in Washington and in states nationwide.
More than 135 candidates are running in Maryland’s school board elections, and those who win will face a significant challenge: overseeing the implementation — and regulation — of artificial intelligence in the state’s 24 school districts.
When most Marylanders go to the polls this fall, they are not likely to be casting their ballots in State House races considered competitive — and experts say that has long been the case in the largely Democratic state.
The Office of Personnel Management unlawfully granted the Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive federal personnel data last year on millions of past, current and aspiring federal employees, a federal judge has found.
This year’s statewide ballot measures are written, on average, at a graduate-school reading level, a new report says, with readability varying by state. The report comes as critics of Question 3, a Maryland proposal on redistricting, say its wording is too complex.
Almost every member of Congress from Maryland, as well as the state's elections office, have received ominous letters filled with what turned out to be a nontoxic powder in the last week, making them the latest in a string of such attacks nationwide.
Maryland public schools’ chronic absenteeism rate has dropped for four straight years, but it's still above prepandemic levels. School board candidates across the state cited a number of reasons for absenteeism, and a number of possible solutions.
Lawmakers and educators Friday hailed a Harford County Circuit Court judge's ruling reversing the county school board's decision to pull a graphic novel from school system library shelves, after an independent panel of teachers and students had voted to keep it.
Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance plans rose again this year, as did the deductible people must pay before benefits kick in. A survey by KFF shows employees will pay about $1,672 for individual coverage, while employers contributed $8,132.
Millions in grant funds have been returned to Prince George's County by a group led by the best friend of the county council chair, amid ongoing calls for an investigation into how the grants were funneled to the group in the first place.
Candidates for school boards around the state generally agreed with a new law that will require the hiring of more mental health counselors, but those responding to a survey said more resources will be needed, while some called for more parental involvement.
A record 3,824 women are running for state legislative seats this November in the 46 states with legislative elections this fall, up from 2022’s previous record of 3,621 women candidates, according to Rutgers' Center for American Women and Politics.
The Trump administration claims to have expelled nearly a million people through July of this year, but those include voluntary returns and people turned around at the border, according to a new analysis by Homeland Security's former chief statistician.
With few major contests on the ballot, and few seats in doubt, Question 3 is expected to grab most of the attention over the next few weeks. That was the case Thursday, the first day of early voting, when lawmakers turned out to rally for, and against, the measure.
Virginia Sen. Louise Lucas, one of the state's most powerful Democrats, was indicted on federal racketeering, marijuana distribution and money laundering conspiracy charges for allegedly using her influence to protect and enrich a cannabis business she co-owns.
When she was first elected, former Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez carried voter registration forms to pass out to Latinos she met. It must have worked. Today, Latinos hold state and local office, work at all levels of government and are running for jobs up and down the ballot.
An ad opposing a constitutional amendment that would loosen congressional redistricting standards has drawn the attention of -- and a cease and desist demand from -- Gov. Wes Moore, who says it tries to trick voters by mimicking his campaign materials.
School board candidates who answered a survey on the biggest issues in this elections said they believed in the sweeping education reform goals of the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, but most also conceded they worry about its financial and administrative burdens.
A federal judge on Wednesday night blocked election-related field operations by the Department of Homeland Security in nine states, saying such operations "intimidates citizens from urging or aiding others in exercising their right to vote."
The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday denied an emergency request Trump administration request allow it to terminate gender-affirming care for transgender prison inmates. The court let stand, for now, a lower court order that blocked that policy from taking effect.
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science will award $1.2 million to 11 projects on the East and West coasts to clean up derelict fishing traps, including crab pots, that can damage habitat, create navigational hazards and harm marine life. Two projects are in Maryland.
A daylong public health forum in Baltimore on Tuesday touched on health challenges that likely aren't found in any medical textbook: gun violence, artificial intelligence, social media and "the ravages of Washington" under the Trump administration.
Maryland will start accepting online reservations Nov. 6 for a new park overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, the sixth site opened by the Maryland Park Service this year, less than 10 miles from downtown Annapolis and a stone's throw from Sandy Point State Park.
State auditors are calling for tighter controls and monitoring of outside law firms hired by state agencies, after finding a lack of procedures in the attorney general's office makes it difficult to track millions paid to nearly 100 firms.
School transportation troubles, academic proficiency and financial worries ranked among the main concerns Maryland's school board candidates raised when asked in a survey to name the top issues in this year's elections.
Maryland was one of nine states and the District of Columbia that lost jobs in the year ending in September, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Federal job cuts appeared to hit Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., hard.
Party control is up for grabs in 15 state legislative chambers as Republicans are increasingly on the defensive this midterm election cycle, according to a new analysis that says Democrats could chip away at or even break GOP supermajorities in some states.
The Office of Personnel Management finalized regulations Monday that will eliminate a longstanding “time-in-grade” restriction, clearing the way for Agencies to promote federal employees without having to wait a year first.
A report on women in the Maryland workforce found that they continue to trail men in labor force participation and that they face several hurdles to greater participation. It also said that recent federal job cuts likely had a disproportionate effect on Black women.