The number of Marylanders dying from overdoses fell over the past year, mirroring a national trend but lagging behind the nation on the pace of the decline, according to recent federal data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data estimates that 2,348 Marylanders died of an overdose from April 2023 to April 2024, down from 2,506 deaths the year before, a 6.16% drop. Overdose deaths in the U.S. during the same period fell 10%, according to current estimates.

Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz will meet Tuesday in the lone vice presidential debate of the 2024 election, bringing together undercards who have spent two months going after each other and the opposing nominees who top the major-party tickets. The matchup, hosted by CBS News in New York, might not carry the same stakes as the Sept. 10 debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

On the evening of Aug. 28, Gov. Wes Moore headlined a fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz – hardly an unusual event for a popular governor with a growing national profile. What was unusual, was that the group hosting the event, YIMBYs for Harris, was streaming the fundraiser live to an audience of 30,000 who raised over $130,000 for the ticket.

Maryland could lose up to $450 million in federal education funds meant to combat learning loss and other difficulties stemming from the coronavirus pandemic if the state fails to designate the funds for use by Monday’s deadline. State-level school officials said Friday that they and local school districts had committed $1.5 billion of the total $1.95 billion Maryland was set to receive from the third round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund allocations.

The orange glow that coats Baltimore’s rowhomes, skyscrapers and the harbor will look a little different Sunday evening. No, it’s not Halloween slowly creeping in. It’s the Orioles. Standing proudly at 70 feet by 120 feet in Locust Point is the iconic “Domino Sugars” sign, usually illuminated in full. But to show the refinery’s support for and celebrate the city’s beloved Orioles bringing postseason baseball to Baltimore for a second straight year, the sign will light only the border and each set of O and S. (Photo: Gail Burton/The Baltimore Banner)

Do you remember a cooler end to summer and September? Well, this year was still the second-hottest summer since 1995, according to a Banner analysis of temperatures at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport. The only hotter summer was 2010. This year, the Greater Baltimore area recorded the second-warmest July as the average temperature reached 82.2 and the heat index went over 100 several times.

For Bowie State University students interested in environmental conservation, a new doorway is opening. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has signed an agreement with the Maryland university to expand its recruiting efforts there as part of an effort aimed at historically Black colleges and universities. “We are a government agency. We work on behalf of all Americans. Our mission is to work with others to protect, enhance, conserve plants and animals for all Americans.

Baltimore stands at a pivotal crossroads, with opportunities abounding like never before. Statewide elected leaders are aligned with the vision that a strong Baltimore makes for a stronger Maryland. Citywide leaders, emboldened by recent primary elections, understand the art of the possible. And our business community is prepared to lead on affordable housing initiatives, technology investment and new infrastructure planning.

The city of Brunswick, in collaboration with the Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services, will install a vending machine that dispenses doses of naloxone for free. Naloxone is a medication that can reverse an opioid overdose caused by drugs like heroin, fentanyl and prescription opioid medication, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A common brand of the naloxone medication is Narcan.

A groundbreaking partnership at Mercy Medical Center is giving hope to women battling ovarian cancer. Dr. Armando Sardi, a surgical oncologist at The Institute for Cancer Care, and Dr. Teresa Diaz-Montes, a gynecologic oncologist at The Gynecologic Oncology Center, have teamed up to use an innovative technique called hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, or HIPEC, to treat advanced ovarian cancer. Their collaboration combines expertise from different surgical disciplines to address one of the most challenging cancers to diagnose and treat.