Category Archives: Baltimore

Biden decries gun violence as shootings across US mar Fourth of July festivities

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At least 15 people shot dead across the country in mass shootings so far on the holiday weekend celebrating the US’s independence

A long holiday weekend of bloodshed has intensified after a heavily armed gunman in a bulletproof vest opened fire on the streets of Philadelphia on the eve of Fourth of July celebrations, in yet another mass shooting in the US, killing five people and wounding two boys before surrendering to the police.

Across the country, Texas was entering the holiday to news that another shooting had killed three people, in Fort Worth, occurring just before midnight amid a gathering in a parking lot that also wounded eight.

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Baltimore shooting: two dead and dozens injured in US city

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Two adults killed and 28 wounded in incident, according to local police who are still searching for shooter

Two people have been killed and 28 wounded in a mass shooting in Baltimore, including three who are in critical condition, police have said.

The Baltimore Police Department acting commissioner, Richard Worley, confirmed there were a total of 30 victims during a press conference at the scene on Sunday. Police said they were still looking for the shooter.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed reporting

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At least 17 injured after bus in Baltimore crashes into building

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City bus collides with two cars and then a building in Seton Hill neighborhood, with at least two of 17 injuries believed to be serious

A Baltimore city bus collided into two cars as well as a building on Saturday morning, leaving at least 17 people injured as well as a chaotic scene.

The Maryland Transportation Authority bus at the center of the case struck a Lexus car about 10.20am, with the bus then crashing into a Nissan and then part of a building in the 500 block of West Franklin Street in Baltimore’s Seton Hill neighborhood west of downtown.

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Poor air quality returns to US north-east from Canada wildfires

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New York City, parts of Pennsylvania and Baltimore all issued warnings as 421 wildfires continue to burn up north

Poor air quality returned to the north-east US on Sunday, although it was nowhere near as bad as the heavy haze that recently shrouded the region and triggered global headlines as wind-borne smoke from raging Canadian wildfires caused orange skies, thick smog and record-setting pollutant levels.

On Sunday morning, a smoke plume moved across New York City, leaving the air quality index in the city at 103 and categorized as “unhealthy for sensitive groups”, particularly for those with heart or lung problems.

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US court reinstates Adnan Syed murder conviction in Serial podcast case

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Maryland court orders conviction reinstated and new hearing held but ruling suggests Syed, 41, will not remain convicted for long

A court in Maryland has reinstated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, the Baltimore man whose alleged involvement in the 1999 murder of 17-year-old Hae Min Lee was the subject of the hit podcast Serial.

Syed, 41, was convicted of murdering Lee in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison, though he always maintained his innocence. In September last year, state prosecutors revealed they had uncovered new evidence they said undermined Syed’s conviction and pointed to two alternative suspects.

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Justice department intervenes in suit alleging racial bias in mortgage lending

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Two Johns Hopkins professors say loanDepot lowballed them by nearly $300,000 on their Baltimore home due to their race

The Department of Justice on Monday intervened in a federal lawsuit alleging that an appraiser and a mortgage lender discriminated against a couple who are both Johns Hopkins University professors by significantly lowering the value of their Baltimore home and denying a loan because they are Black.

In response to a pending motion to dismiss the lawsuit by the mortgage lender, loanDepot, justice department civil rights attorneys filed a “statement of interest” in a federal district court in Maryland arguing that the case raised significant questions about appraisal racial bias, noting that President Joe Biden had identified the issue “as a priority for the federal government”.

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Baltimore man tried four times for same killing sees all charges dropped

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Keith Davis, 31, shot by police, was repeatedly charged over shooting at Pimlico race track in June 2015

A Baltimore man who stood trial four times for the same killing had all charges against him dropped on Friday.

In a statement, the Baltimore state attorney, Ivan J Bates, said his office had dismissed all charges against Keith Davis, 31, who was accused of the 2015 killing of Kevin Jones, a security guard at Pimlico Race Course, after police alleged Davis’s gun matched casings found at the scene of the shooting.

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Pregnant Baltimore firefighter goes into labor while rescuing crash victim

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After being involved in same wreck, Megan Warfield felt contractions start but stayed to help trapped woman

Megan Warfield, a firefighter in Baltimore county, Maryland, was nine months’ pregnant with her third child when the car she was riding in crashed and she began to experience contractions.

But she didn’t allow herself to go to the hospital and give birth until after helping free a woman trapped under another car in the wreck, actions that drew widespread praise.

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Judge orders release of Adnan Syed after more than two decades in prison

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Judge had overturned Syed’s conviction for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, a case that was chronicled in the hit podcast Serial

A Baltimore judge on Monday ordered the release of Adnan Syed after overturning Syed’s conviction for the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee – a case that was chronicled in the hit podcast Serial.

Circuit court judge Melissa Phinn ordered that Syed’s conviction be vacated and approved the release of the now 41-year-old who has spent more than two decades behind bars.

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Adnan Syed in court on Monday to vacate murder conviction in ‘Serial’ case

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Prosecutors in Baltimore say they lack confidence in ‘integrity of the conviction’ for strangling ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999

A court hearing has been set for Monday in Baltimore to consider a request from prosecutors to vacate the 2000 murder conviction of Adnan Syed, whose case was chronicled in the hit podcast Serial.

Baltimore circuit judge Melissa Phinn scheduled the hearing for 2pm ET, the Baltimore Sun reported.

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Prosecutors move to vacate murder conviction of Serial’s Adnan Syed

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Baltimore City state’s attorney requests a new trial for Adnan Syed after an investigation points to alternative suspects

Prosecutors have filed a motion to vacate the murder conviction of 42-year old Adnan Syed, a case that previously gained international attention after it was featured on the podcast Serial.

In a motion filed by Baltimore City state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby, a nearly year-long investigation with Syed’s defense team revealed new information that points to alternative suspects, according to a statement from her office.

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Baltimore residents urged to boil tap water after E coli detected

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City officials ‘taking this matter very seriously’ as detection comes amid water access problems in Jackson, Mississippi and New York

E coli has been detected in multiple locations across Baltimore in recent days, city officials have announced.

Residents have been urged to boil tap water for at least a minute after E coli samples were detected in West Baltimore over the weekend. Since then, over 1,500 people in the city of around 600,000 have been affected by the advisory, including multiple schools.

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Johns Hopkins was a slave owner, university reveals

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University, which has been at forefront of Covid-19 response, took pride in founder purportedly being an abolitionist

Johns Hopkins University, whose researchers have been at the forefront of the global response to Covid-19, announced on Wednesday that its founder owned slaves during the 19th century, a revelation for the Baltimore-based school that had taken pride in the man purportedly being a staunch abolitionist.

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Springing the ‘rat’ trap: how Baltimore fought back against Trump’s insults

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In July the president called the Maryland city a ‘rat and rodent-infested mess’ and moved on. But for residents striving to build a brighter future, the hard work continues

A visitor was heading to the exit of the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum. “Thank you for coming to Baltimore,” said Shauntee Daniels, a local heritage official, “with our rats and all.”

Turning in the doorway, the visitor, a middle-aged woman, replied: “I know better than that. I know too many good people here.”

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Elijah Cummings: Obama, Clinton and Pelosi remember the late congressman at funeral – video

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Congressman and civil rights leader Elijah Cummings was remembered on Friday as a 'fierce champion of truth, justice and kindness' at a funeral that brought Washington politicians and ordinary people alike to the Baltimore church where he worshipped for nearly four decades.

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Elijah Cummings: congressman remembered at Baltimore funeral – in pictures

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Congressman and civil rights leader Elijah Cummings was remembered at a funeral that brought Washington politicians and ordinary people alike to the Baltimore church where he worshipped for nearly four decades

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‘We can do better’: Elijah Cummings’ most memorable speeches – video

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The Democratic congressman Elijah Cummings died suddenly on Thursday at the age of 68, robbing Capitol Hill of a passionate lawmaker respected on both sides of the political aisle. A sharecropper’s son, Cummings became the powerful chairman of the House oversight committee, one of the three panels leading the investigation into Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. He died in the early hours due to complications from longstanding health problems, his congressional office said on Thursday

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Democrats and media condemn Trump’s racist Cummings attack

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In its response to Donald Trump’s racist attack on congressman Elijah Cummings, the editorial board of the Baltimore Sun said it “would not sink to name-calling in the Trumpian manner”.

Related: 'Own up to reality': 2020 Democrats urged to confront US racial divide

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‘All we know is MONEY!’: US cities struggle to fight hackers

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Baltimore this month joined Atlanta, San Diego and Newark in the list of US cities hit by ransomware attacks as the cyber intrusions are expected to continue

“We won’t talk more, all we know is MONEY! Hurry up!”

This was the ransom note that confronted Baltimore officials on 7 May when hackers crippled government computers with a virus, taking the systems hostage. The ongoing cyber-attack has halted real estate transactions and shut down websites for processing water bills and other services.

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