Vice President Kamala Harris demonstrated in Tuesday night’s presidential debate, in case any rational person had doubts, that she is the only decent, prepared and fit candidate in the presidential race. In both her answers and demeanor, she demonstrated the unmistakable contrast between a mature, responsible adult and someone who resembles the mean, crazy relative no one wants to sit next to at the holiday table.

An independent audit revealed what led to the school bus issues at the beginning of last school year in Howard County. Prismatic Services presented its findings to the school board on Thursday, stating that unfilled staff positions played a key role in some of the problems. The audit also showed the California-based company Zum, contracted to provide bus service, was overconfident in the job.

Nadia Hansel, M.D., has been named director of the Department of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and physician-in-chief of The Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is the first woman to lead the Department of Medicine in its 131-year history. A world-renowned expert in obstructive airway diseases, Hansel focuses her research on defining the effects of indoor air quality on asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and in understanding how the environment and neighborhoods contribute to health disparities in lung disease.

Boeing’s factory workers walked off the job after midnight on Friday, halting production of the company’s best-selling airplanes after staff overwhelmingly rejected a new labor contract. It’s a costly development for the manufacturer that has struggled to ramp up production and restore its reputation following safety crises.

A robot dog and the “soul” displayed by local voices helped woo a conference dubbed the “Super Bowl of meetings” to Baltimore. The American Society of Association Executives Annual Meeting & Exposition, a major conference for trade group and association executives, will come to the Baltimore Convention Center in 2033.

Vice President Kamala Harris is pitching herself as a forward-looking bridge to the future — but she’s doing so with a little help from the past. Since emerging as President Joe Biden’s replacement at the top of the ticket following his disastrous debate performance in late June, Harris has brought on several high-profile veterans of former president Barack Obama’s two campaigns, as well as a top adviser to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.

Baltimore’s $152.5 million settlement with Cardinal Health and $80 million settlement with Walgreens represent more than just a legal victory — it’s a chance to heal from an opioid crisis that devastated our city. As a nurse who has worked in every Trauma Level 1 hospital in Baltimore, I’ve witnessed firsthand the pain and loss this crisis has inflicted.

The Frederick County Board of Education is creating a systemwide student cellphone usage policy. Currently, cellphone usage for students is outlined in the Frederick County Public Schools Code of Conduct. However, the lack of an official consistent board policy for cellphone usage and discipline has left some teachers and students frustrated.

Engineers examining the Dali found a loose electric cable that could have triggered the blackout preceding the destruction of the Key Bridge. A report from the National Transportation Safety Board published Wednesday says engineers from Hyundai, the Korean manufacturer who built the ship as well as most of its electrical components, sent three separate envoys from South Korea to examine the vessel in April and May.

 

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen joined other lawmakers and environmental organizations Thursday to introduce legislation that would hold the nation’s largest polluters financially responsible for the costs of the climate crisis. “The reason we’re all gathered here together is because we all agree on a simple but powerful principle, which is that polluters should pay to clean up the mess they have caused, and those who polluted the most should pay the most,” Van Hollen, a Democrat, said during a Capitol Hill press conference Thursday.