Politics

With President Joe Biden signing the Inflation Reduction Act into law on Tuesday, advocates of the law are touting the benefits that Marylanders will eventually see from cheaper prescription drugs, home energy assistance and policies to combat climate change.= The bill commits the government to spending hundreds of billions of dollars on programs related to health care and clean energy, but it also would raise money by setting a minimum corporate tax and other changes. All told, officials estimate the bill to have a net reduction on the federal deficit of at least $300 billion.

After months of campaigning, and then breaking barriers as the state’s first openly nonbinary candidates elected to the Democratic Central Committee, Tia Hopkins and Antonio Bowens both know that now the real work begins. Hopkins, 34, reported being inundated with calls and messages from local well-wishers in light of the win. Votes will be certified this week, according to Hopkins.

The drive to get the questions on the ballot was undertaken by a group called the People for Elected Accountability & Civic Engagement. The organization was created in February and funded almost entirely by David Smith, executive chairman of Sinclair, a Hunt Valley-based television broadcasting company, according to a July 25 campaign finance report. Sinclair operates 185 television stations in 86 markets, including WBFF-TV, known as Fox 45, in Baltimore.

Two ballot questions supported with an infusion of cash from the chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group may be put to voters this fall in Baltimore. City election officials are reviewing petition signatures for two potential questions for voters: Do they want to establish recall elections for city politicians who fail to live up to standards? And would they impose a limit of two terms on the city’s mayor, City Council and comptroller? The drive to get the questions on the ballot was undertaken by a group called the People for Elected Accountability & Civic Engagement. The organization was created in February and funded almost entirely by David Smith, executive chairman of Sinclair, a Hunt Valley-based television broadcasting company, according to a July 25 campaign finance report.

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a brief in federal court on Tuesday, challenging Texas’ assertion that states shouldn’t have to comply with a federal law that protects doctors who end a pregnancy to save the patient’s life. Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing a brief in federal court on Tuesday, challenging Texas’ assertion that states shouldn’t have to comply with a federal law that protects doctors who end a pregnancy to save the patient’s life.

Nothing has been able to kill scam robocalls — not federal regulation, not individual state lawsuits, not private software. Each effort has made a dent, but the unwanted calls keep on coming, much to the consternation of Americans on the receiving end. Now, all 50 state attorneys general, Republicans and Democrats, have come together through a newly formed task force to go after U.S. telecommunications companies that allow robocalls originating overseas to reach their customers. “Robocalls are more than an annoyance, they are often schemes by fraudsters and scammers with the purpose of stealing billions of dollars from unsuspecting Americans,” Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) said earlier this month.