national government

Gov. Martin O'Malley raised questions Tuesday about a controversial immigration program called Secure Communities and demanded the U.S. Department of Homeland Security explain why officials are deporting a higher share of non-criminals from Maryland than most other states.

Maryland's poorly performing health exchange will cost taxpayers $33 million more than expected this year, bringing the state's total annual expense to $138 million, officials said Monday.

More than 40 percent of immigrants deported from Maryland under a federal program called Secure Communities have no prior criminal record — a share that puts the state among the top five in the nation for such deportations, an analysis by The Baltimore Sun shows. By contrast, just 12 percent of immigrants deported from Texas under the program have no record.

Sticker shock over price hikes is causing review of a law passed two years ago to shore up the finances of the National Flood Insurance Program.

Snow and freezing rain fell across Harford County late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, causing more hazardous driving conditions, closing schools and leaving many homes and businesses without electricity.

Woodrow Wilson's promise captured hearts in Baltimore.

CVS/Caremark's decision not to sell tobacco helps send the message that smoking is not an accepted social norm.

Six Harford County high school are serving as student pages during the 2014 Maryland General Assembly session in Annapolis.

We know that we can no longer do business as usual if Maryland is to be competitive in our global economy. The world is an open market, and those regions that can attract talented people and foster a successful business climate will be sustainable for the long haul. It does not matter what we did or had in the past, as legacy is not a part of the current economic formula for success. The 2014 Joint Legislative Business and Economic Development Agenda is the first step toward a vision for a

Instead of moving civilians out of harm's way prior to a battle, the Taliban prefer they remain close to the fighting. In many cases, U.S. and coalition forces may not realize civilians are even present until it is too late.

If this country were experiencing a cholera or typhus epidemic, various communities would band together immediately to staunch the havoc it was wreaking. In comparison, the epidemic of gun deaths has been met with a lot of hand-wringing and public condemnation by political leaders but not much else. That's not leadership, that's capitulation.

Patients hoping to legally use medical marijuana in Maryland appeared to be closer than ever last year, when legislators approved its distribution through medical centers conducting research on the drug. But to date, no hospitals have come forth to participate in the program.

A team of civilian specialists from Aberdeen Proving Ground is heading this week to the Mediterranean Sea for what officials and others say is a historic mission to destroy Syria's chemical warfare stockpile – and one that could serve as a model in the drive to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction.

Business e-end in Frederick carves niche with federal government and contractors

President Obama proposed new safeguards for the government's vast surveillance of communications in the U.S. and abroad, adding additional judicial review and disclosure requirements, but largely leaving in place programs that he said were needed to "remain vigilant in the face of threats."

Based on original survey data from rebel-controlled territory in Syria, we find that civilians are war-weary and looking for a settlement to end the war, but rebel fighters appear entrenched in the belief that Syrian President Bashar al Assad must be defeated, no matter the costs. A major challenge for Geneva will be to convince rebel forces to forgo the pursuit of victory and vengeance against Mr. Assad's regime. Though rebels may balk at a peace deal, there is growing distance between those

Sharon's passing coincides with Secretary of State John Kerry's intensive efforts to secure an Israeli-Palestinian deal. It is impossible to know whether Sharon would have been able to reach an agreement with the Palestinians had he not had a massive coma that left him incapacitated. What is certain is that if Mr. Netanyahu does not adopt Sharon's determination, another opportunity for peace will be lost.

A former Army intelligence specialist pleaded guilty Monday to destroying his computer in an attempt to cover his tracks before flying to Africa in a bid to join the Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab.

Ariel Sharon, the daring Israeli general who as a field commander and prime minister became one of the most influential and controversial leaders in the Middle East, died Saturday. He was 85.

Maryland legislators will consider a package of laws to curb electronic surveillance by police, requiring a search warrant to use drones, email, cell phone towers or license plate readers to track people.

Md. leads the region in reducing stormwater runoff

But as far as name recognition goes today, if Marylanders know the name of John Hanson at all, it is not for his Revolutionary War accomplishments and call for independence, but rather for the stretch of U.S. 50 that wanders through Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties.

In a well run government, decisions would be made based on sound policy and considerations about what's in the best interest of the taxpayers, not personal relationships and campaign contributions. But one-party Maryland gives us constant reason to suspect it's the latter.

Committee Appointed by President Warfield To Discuss Program of Work Will Meet in All Day Session: The Howard County Farm Bureau Local, according to the officers, is planning a big year's work for 1924.

Frederick Douglass High School will host U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday, where the officials will make and announcement and discuss school discipline.

The the first snowstorm of 2014 dumped six to eight inches of the white stuff accross Harford County from Thursday afternoon into early Friday morning, forcing the closure of schools and government offices

Nearly two of every three people signing up for health care coverage on Maryland's troubled insurance exchange have qualified for Medicaid, the state and federal program for the poor. Enrolling even more of the state's low-income residents in the program has been embraced by state leaders as a success.

We shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the dangers of marijuana.

The images showing Syria's chemical weapons casualties were significant both for what they did and did not show.

A Roman Catholic order of nuns who care for the elderly poor was hopeful Wednesday after the Supreme Court temporarily blocked an Obamacare provision that would have required it to cover contraception for employees starting with the new year.

Howard County has entered an unusual agreement to supply treated waste water to cool a massive new computer center being built by the National Security Agency at Fort Meade. But NSA critics see an opportunity to disrupt the agency's increasingly controversial surveillance activities.

One of the shortest and most meaningless suspensions in TV history ended Friday with A&E announcing that it was back in business with "Duck Dynasty" and its 67-year-old, bearded patriarch Phil Robertson.

Dr. Timothy D. Baker, a professor of international health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, died Dec. 17 of a stroke at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 88.

Discussion of the Iran nuclear deal, framed in black and white, neglects to recognize that there are two different concepts of leverage that are relevant. And while it is true that we have given some ground with one type of leverage, we have gained in another -- a far more productive kind of leverage -- through the bargain.

Legalizing marijuana would be far more sensible policy than failed war on drugs

With concerns rising that a county gaming bill may again be in trouble due to a statewide gaming bill, Carroll County delegates assured the Board of County Commissioners Tuesday that this piece of legislation is a priority in the upcoming legislative session.

A federal judge was right to take issue with the idea that the government can respect citizens' privacy rights at the same time it is busy violating them

Most of what can be counted on from state and local government in the year ahead is a lot of talk and not much action.

Feminists are wrong to say that Michelle Obama has not been active in policy. Just because her policy activism has more to do with children — and less to do with abortion rights and birth control access and paycheck fairness — does not mean she has been a retro throwback to the Mamie Eisenhower era

Across federal agencies, 59 percent of workers said they feel satisfied with their job, according to the annual Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. That indicator dropped four points, from 63 percent, last year and is down seven points from 2011. This year's results showed that nearly all respondents indicated that they were willing to put in extra effort at their jobs and that they feel their work is important — but year-to-year comparisons show a significant decline in satisfaction.

With the deadline for reaching a bilateral security agreement with the Afghan government weeks away and Karzai refusing to relax his recalcitrant stance, the United States must find another way of getting approval to ensure a continued foreign troop presence after most forces pull out in 2014.

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings is in South Africa for Nelson Mandela's memorial, but that doesn't mean he's abandoned domestic policy debates. In fact, Cummings said he and other Democrats in the official delegation have used the trip to engage with Sen. Ted Cruz on Obamacare.

Wireless health-care technologies are ripe with potential for minority entrepreneurs

Howard County and a Baltimore-based environmental group are offering financial help to churches and other nonprofits facing stiff fees for the polluted runoff their properties generate. In doing so, they're addressing one of the thornier issues in the controversy over Maryland's new storm-water management fees.

Alexander R. "Ruffie" Holmes, a certified public accountant who later became the treasurer of the old Church Home and Hospital in East Baltimore, died Sunday of complications of dementia at Fairhaven Retirement Community in Sykesville. He was 90.

It is a pleasure for me to join the citizens of Delaware and Maryland in opening this new highway. This highway has been built by the dedicated effort of the citizens of these two States, and it joins a great interstate highway which represents a cooperative effort between the United States Government and the people of the various States, through which this long ribbon will pass.

Financial planner are fielding anxious questions from federal employees in the wake of the partial government shutdown. The appeal of federal work, besides good benefits, has long been stability — but not so much in the last few years, and the last few months in particular.

The lingering issue of the millions of tons of sediment trapped behind Conowingo Dam – and what should be done about it – was a major point of discussions Wednesday during a public information session at Harford Community College on the re-licensing process for the hydroelectric dam on the Susquehanna River.

A group of Annapolis residents is launching an effort to recall one of the city's aldermen after he floated the idea of stripping the mayor of some of his powers.