Maryland students charged with hate crimes over alleged beating of gay man

Police say Salisbury University students set up fake profile to lure man to apartment, beat him and hold him prisoner

Officials in Maryland have charged 12 students with offenses including hate crimes for allegedly luring a gay man to an apartment off campus, holding him prisoner and breaking his rib while beating him.

A statement from the Salisbury police department said one of the accused, all students at Salisbury University who have since been suspended, set up a fake account on a dating app to entice the victim with a promise of sex with a 16-year-old.

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US election offices increase security measures amid ongoing threats

Arizona official notes that hardened tactics, including active shooter drills, offer ‘sad commentary’ on country

Elections offices in the US have hardened their security measures this year, anticipating potential violence based on experience since 2020 and during an ongoing rise in threats and harassment focused on election workers.

Many offices have now trained their workers on de-escalation tactics. They’ve run drills for active shooters or other disturbances. They have a process for flagging the threats that could be criminal and seeking law enforcement help when needed.

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Firefly species may blink out as US seeks to list it as endangered for first time

Bethany Beach firefly, found in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, faces dangers to habitat because of climate change

The US government is seeking to consider a firefly species as endangered for the first time, according to a proposal from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Bethany Beach firefly, found in coastal Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, is facing increasing dangers to its natural habitat because of climate change-related events. They include sea level rise, which is predicted to affect all sites within the known distribution by the end of the century, and the lowering of groundwater aquifers.

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Mr Greedy, the penguin progenitor of more than 200 chicks, dies aged 33

The virile bird was euthanized by Maryland zoo due to health problems, and is survived by Mrs Greedy

A zoo in Baltimore is mourning the death of an African penguin that helped save his kind from extinction by leaving behind more than 200 descendants while living far longer than expected.

The remarkable creature in question is Mr Greedy, who was euthanized because of health problems related to his age: 33, or well past African penguins’ 18-year median life expectancy, said an announcement from his home, the Maryland zoo.

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Baltimore police employees face punishment over 2023 mass shooting response

Report decries eight officers and four civilian employees for ignoring warnings resulting in fatal shooting

Two Baltimore police department employees could lose their jobs and another 10 could face lesser disciplinary actions for their responses to a July 2023 mass shooting at a neighborhood block party.

Two people died and 28 others were injured when gunshots tore through a large crowd in the courtyard of south Baltimore’s Brooklyn Homes public housing complex as the annual Brooklyn Day summertime celebration continued after nightfall. Most of the victims were teenagers and young adults.

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Tornado kills child and injures mother after tree slams into Michigan home

Storms in US midwest and on east coast cause chaos as workers respond to reports of people trapped in collapsed structures

Tornadoes in the US midwest and on the east coast were causing chaos on Wednesday, killing a two-year-old boy and injuring his mother outside Detroit when a tree fell on their suburban home.

Meanwhile, in Maryland, emergency workers were responding to reports of collapsed structures with people trapped inside after another tornado there.

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Ex-Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby spared prison for perjury and fraud

Mosby, who led prosecution of police over Freddie Gray death, sentenced to 12 months home confinement

A former Baltimore city prosecutor who achieved a national profile for charging police officers in a Black man’s death was spared prison time in her sentence on Thursday for perjury and mortgage fraud.

Former state’s attorney Marilyn Mosby’s sentence includes 12 months of home confinement, 100 hours of community service and three years of supervised release.

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Ex-Capitol officer Harry Dunn loses congressional primary in Maryland

First-time candidate, who lost after pro-Israel group spent millions supporting another Democrat, defeated by senator Sarah Elfreth

Former US Capitol police officer Harry Dunn has lost his congressional primary election in Maryland, after a pro-Israel group spent millions of dollars supporting another Democrat in the crowded race.

Dunn, a first-time candidate who gained national attention after publishing a book about his experiences protecting lawmakers during the January 6 insurrection, lost to state senator Sarah Elfreth in Maryland’s third congressional district.

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Democrat Angela Alsobrooks to face ex-governor Larry Hogan in Maryland Senate race

Alsobrooks beats Dave Trone and Hogan wins Republican primary, setting up November clash that could determine control of Senate

Democrat Angela Alsobrooks will face off against former Republican governor Larry Hogan in the Maryland Senate race this November, setting up an unexpectedly competitive election in the reliably Democratic state. Republicans have a rare opportunity to flip a Senate seat in Maryland, and the outcome of that race could determine control of the upper chamber in November.

Alsobrooks and Hogan won their parties’ Senate primaries on Tuesday, as Maryland voters cast ballots in the presidential race as well as congressional elections. Joe Biden and Donald Trump easily won the state’s primaries after already securing enough delegates to capture their parties’ nominations.

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Human remains found on Florida beach identified as woman last seen in 1968

Mystery of Mary Alice Pultz finally resolved when remains of Maryland woman dug up four decades ago identified

Human remains dug up four decades ago on a Florida beach have finally been identified as those of a Maryland woman who went missing in 1968, supposedly disappearing with her then-boyfriend.

The mystery of Mary Alice Pultz was finally resolved last week when a Florida sheriff’s office said that it had identified the remains found in a shallow grave on Crescent Beach, 50 miles south of Jacksonville, in April 1985.

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Pro-Israel Pac pours millions into surprise candidate in Maryland primary

United Democracy Project backing Sarah Elfreth, even with Harry Dunn, former US capitol officer, as fellow Democrat in House race

A pro-Israel lobby group has dropped millions into a Maryland congressional race as tensions remain high over the war in Gaza.

The primary race in the third congressional district, which will be held on Tuesday, has attracted national interest thanks to the candidacy of one Democrat in particular: Harry Dunn. A former US Capitol police officer, Dunn and his colleagues won praise for their actions defending lawmakers against a violent mob of Donald Trump’s supporters on January 6. In his New York Times bestselling memoir, Standing My Ground, Dunn recounted how the insurrectionists repeatedly used the N-word as they attacked him and other Black officers.

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Body of last missing worker killed in Baltimore bridge collapse recovered

Officials made announcement Tuesday, as demolition crews prepared to use explosives in continued cleanup effort

The body of the last missing construction worker killed in the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March has been recovered, officials announced Tuesday, as demolition crews prepared to use explosives in the ongoing cleanup effort.

Officials said the crew of the Dali will remain on board the grounded container ship while crews conduct a controlled demolition to break down the largest remaining span of the fallen bridge.

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Body recovered of fifth worker who died in Baltimore bridge collapse

Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez was one of six construction workers killed when a container ship collided with bridge in March

The body of a fifth victim in the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, has been recovered.

Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez was identified as the victim, per Unified Command salvage teams. The group, which is a joint effort by police, the coast guard and other government agencies, had reported one of their construction vehicles missing when the bridge collapsed in March and notified the Maryland department of state police, per ABC News.

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Baltimore bridge collapse: temporary channel planned for ‘essential vessels’

Alternate shipping channel will be created north-east of the main artery, near the bridge itself, according to city officials

Authorities are preparing to create a temporary alternate channel near Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge to allow “commercially essential vessels” to enter the city’s port.

The deadly crumpling of the bridge after it was struck by a giant container ship last week created wreckage that has been blocking a crucial shipping lane into the port. Concerns have loomed about the disaster’s widespread toll on the local and national economy.

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Engineers begin removing Baltimore Key Bridge’s mangled wreckage

Crew starts intricate removal work on Francis Scott Key Bridge as officials stress that health of US national economy depends on it

Crews of engineers have begun the dangerous and intricate job of removing the mangled wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge from the Patapsco River outside Baltimore, as top federal government and Maryland state officials stressed Sunday that the health of the US national economy depended on it.

Officials took to the political talkshows Sunday to praise the emergency teams that have now amassed in the Patapsco and have started the delicate process of cutting and lifting steel debris from the north side of the destroyed bridge. Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland, said the operation was extremely complex.

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Joe Biden to visit Baltimore after catastrophic collapse of bridge

US president to arrive next week, as crane moves in to begin weeks-long clearing of wreckage of Francis Scott Key Bridge

Joe Biden said on Friday he will go to Baltimore next week following the catastrophic collapse of the road bridge across the entrance to the Maryland city’s port after it was struck by a ship.

Four people were still missing, presumed dead and in the water on Friday afternoon, as the US president pledged to follow his transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, on a visit to the site after the tragedy in the early hours of Tuesday.

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Biden approves $60m in aid after deadly Baltimore bridge collapse

Maryland governor warns of ‘very long road ahead’ as cranes and barges start work to remove twisted metal and concrete from river

The Maryland governor Wes Moore has warned of a “very long road ahead” to recover from the loss of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge as the Biden administration approved $60m in immediate federal aid after the deadly collapse.

The funding does not cover the reconstruction of the crippled bridge itself, but to instead remove shattered parts of the structure and deal with traffic in order to reopen Baltimore’s shipping channels.

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Baltimore bridge collapse: two bodies recovered from water, officials say

Authorities say bodies of Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera found by divers in pickup truck

The bodies of two men trapped in their vehicle have been recovered from the waters beneath the Baltimore bridge that collapsed early on Tuesday when a container ship crashed into it, officials announced on Wednesday.

The authorities identified the men as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, a 35-year-old originally from Mexico who was living in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who was from Guatemala and was living in Dundalk, Maryland.

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Baltimore bridge collapse: what we know so far

Two bodies recovered from water beneath Francis Scott Key Bridge as authorities in Maryland continue their investigation

Authorities are continuing their investigation into the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore after the Singaporean-flagged container ship Dali crashed into it on early Tuesday morning.

Here’s where things stand:

Six members of a construction crew filling potholes on the bridge who were missing following the incident are now presumed dead.

The bodies of two men were recovered on Wednesday morning when their submerged pickup truck was found in the waters under the collapsed structure. Authorities identified the men as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, a 35-year-old originally from Mexico who was living in Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, who was from Guatemala and was living in Dundalk, Maryland.

Other named victims include 49-year-old Miguel Luna from El Salvador, a husband and father of three who lived in Maryland for over 19 years, and 38-year-old Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, originally from Azacualpa in Honduras, a married father of two who had lived in the US for 18 years and launched his own maintenance business.

The foreign affairs ministry of Guatemala confirmed that two of the workers were nationals, though it did not name them. The ministry said the two people were 26 and 35, originally from San Luis, Petén, and Camotán, Chiquimula, respectively.

Three Mexican nationals were working on the bridge when it collapsed, Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador said on Wednesday. One was rescued while two others remain missing, he said. The two Mexican nationals who remain missing were originally from the states of Veracruz and Michoacán, Mexico’s foreign affairs ministry has said. A third who was rescued on Tuesday is also originally from Michoacán.

Two construction workers were rescued on Tuesday. One was hospitalized at the Cowley Shock Trauma center in Baltimore before being later discharged.

Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board will examine whether “dirty fuel” played a role in the giant cargo vessel losing power and crashing into the span. The Dali had lost power and issued a distress call moments before the crash, just after it began heading out from Baltimore to its destination of Sri Lanka. One reason for the blackout is contaminated fuel that can create problems with the ship’s main power generators, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Maryland’s governor, Wes Moore, said it was “imperative” to get the port of Baltimore up and running as quickly as possible. Moore warned at a Wednesday briefing that the economic consequences of the bridge collapse “cannot be overstated and not just for the state of Maryland … we’re talking about what this means for the entire country”.

The transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, urged bipartisan support for federal funding to rebuild the bridge and reopen the port. At a news conference on Wednesday, Buttigieg said it was too soon to say how long it will take to reopen the Port of Baltimore or replace the destroyed bridge. Officials were focused on reopening the port, dealing with supply chain issues, rebuilding the bridge and addressing surface transportation, he said.

The Coast Guard vice-admiral, Peter Gautier, said there is no threat to the public from any materials on board the Dali ship. Gautier, at a White House briefing on Wednesday, said the vessel is holding over 1.5m gallons of fuel, and that more than 50 of the cargo containers on board contain hazardous material, but that the ship is stable and that authorities have determined there is no safety risk.

Lawmakers in Maryland drafted an emergency bill to cover the salaries of workers who have been affected by the shutdown of the port. Details about the bill have not been disclosed yet. Bill Ferguson, the state senate president, said more 15,000 people in the region rely on daily port operations “to put food on the table”.

Singaporean officials announced that they will lead their own investigation on the Key Bridge collapse. The Dali ship was a Singapore-flagged ship traveling to Sri Lanka.

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Details emerge on Baltimore bridge collapse victims: ‘They were wonderful family people’

Six men presumed dead reportedly were construction workers from Latin American countries, including a father of three

The six men presumed dead in the Baltimore bridge collapse on Tuesday all appeared to be construction workers originally from Latin American countries, according to reports, including a father of three, Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, as authorities said they had recovered the black box recorder from the ship.

Since the container ship Dali crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge after losing power early on Tuesday morning, six members of a construction crew filling potholes on the major bridge are now presumed to be dead, according to state officials.

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