Politics

As part of Maryland’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action last summer, the House of Delegates Thursday voted across party lines and in overwhelming support of prohibiting colleges and universities from considering legacy status in admissions. If the state Senate passes and Gov. Wes Moore signs the measure in the coming months, schools would also be barred from making admissions decisions based on a prospective student’s relationship to a donor.

Lawmakers again on Thursday pushed for the passage of a bill that would prohibit students from being charged for displaying some forms of disruptive behavior at school. “All this bill does is it prevents students from being charged with a crime for something that really shouldn’t be a crime,” Del. Sheila Ruth, a Baltimore County Democrat and the bill’s sponsor, said during Wednesday’s House Ways and Means Committee hearing.

Former Maryland governor Larry Hogan never gave much consideration to running for U.S. Congress — until a bipartisan immigration deal broke down last week on the Senate floor. “I made this decision a week ago,” Hogan, a Republican, told CNN’s Dana Bash on Wednesday in his first interview since announcing a surprise campaign for Maryland’s open Senate seat. U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, who has held the seat since 2007, is retiring.

Alarms blared on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier in the Red Sea at 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning, warning personnel to prepare for potential flight operations against a Houthi drone that was flying over nearby ships. That drone was ultimately deemed not to be a threat. But the incident demonstrated how the crew of the carrier are constantly on a heightened alert for incoming threats from the Iran-backed militants in Yemen, who have been routinely targeting commercial ships as well as US and coalition forces in the key waterway with missiles and drones.

After missing deadlines to get reimbursed for about $10 million spent on key housing services in Baltimore, city government officials received approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for a second chance at the money. Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services director Ernestina Simmons told City Councilmembers about the development last week at a grants management hearing.

The Moore administration announced over $15 million in grant awards and a budget proposal aimed to improve reproductive health care and abortion access across Maryland, according to a news release from the governor’s office Monday. The funding announcement comes during an election year when voters will have the opportunity, on the November ballot, to vote to amend the state’s Constitution to enshrine Marylanders’ right to terminate or continue a pregnancy.

Maryland lawmakers are considering legislation that would increase the penalty for crimes that occur at “sacred places.” A house committee heard testimony Tuesday on a proposed bill that would tack on as much as 10 years in prison to a felony conviction on a violent crime that happens at a school, hospital or place of worship.