The U.S. House took a broadly bipartisan vote Wednesday night on the debt limit package, sending it to the U.S. Senate where lawmakers are expected to vote quickly to clear the measure. The bill would extend the nation’s borrowing limit through Jan. 1, 2025 and set caps on discretionary spending for two years. It would also make changes to work requirements on some federal safety net programs and overhaul aspects of the energy permitting process.

After a two-year pause when the original contractor backed out, work is resuming on building the 16.2 mile long Purple Line light-rail project. With a new contractor in place, Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld said his agency is putting the pressure on new builders, Maryland Transit Solutions, to complete the line. However, he said he doesn’t “have a lot of faith” that an October 2026 completion is possible.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine launched a new institute on Wednesday to research new ways to treat addiction as Maryland grapples with a worsening opioid crisis and the upcoming legalization of recreational cannabis.The Kahlert Institute for Addiction Medicine will bring together neuroscientists, clinical researchers and substance use disorder specialists to develop new treatments for addiction as part of a statewide push toward better forms of drug treatment.