Politics

Google said Wednesday that an alleged Iranian hacking operation aimed at US presidential campaigns is ongoing and more wide-ranging than previously known as the hackers continue to target the email accounts of current US officials and people associated with Vice President Kamala Harris, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Vice President Kamala Harris has a perceived advantage over former President Donald Trump on several leadership qualities such as honesty, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds, although Americans are slightly more likely to trust Trump on the economy and immigration. Nearly half of Americans say that “committed to democracy” and “disciplined” are attributes that better describe Harris. About 3 in 10 say these qualities better describe Trump.

U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, who represents Maryland’s 5th District, is recovering from a “mild ischemic stroke,” according to his spokesperson. The Democrat, who is 85, will likely return to his normal schedule next week and has responded well to treatment. He did not have any lingering symptoms from the stroke on Sunday night, according to Deputy Chief of Staff Margaret Mulkerrin.

The United Auto Workers union on Tuesday filed federal labor charges with the National Labor Relations Board against former President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk for publicly applauding the practice of firing employees who threaten to strike. “I look at what you do,” Trump said to Musk during a two-hour interview Monday night on X, the social media platform Musk owns.

Looming shortfalls to pay for transportation projects and education reforms will again be top of mind for state and local officials as they — along with much of the state’s government and politics ecosystem — descend on Ocean City for the annual Maryland Association of Counties summer conference. “A lot of people are scratching their heads wondering, ‘Is the state budget really in crisis or is this something we can wade through?’ ” Michael Sanderson, MACo’s executive director, said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Maryland officials are warning county agencies and employees to be wary when handling requests under the state’s Public Information Act, after malware attacks using a similar scheme reportedly hit some county attorneys in Virginia. Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) officials, who posted the warning last week, said they are not aware of any attempts against Maryland offices, but wanted to put local officials “on lookout mode.”

At a July meeting of Baltimore’s planning commission, officials were breezing through a seemingly boring list of approvals when a commissioner raised a question: Why did the cost of a water main replacement project in Upper Fells Point and Canton balloon from $15 million to $25 million? The answer, according to city staff, was largely due to a policy change made two years earlier by the Department of Transportation that requires entire blocks to be repaved if contractors or city workers dig up more than half of the roadway.

With less than three months to Election Day, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. is still poised to win the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger in November despite calls for him to step aside. Olszewski, 41, is the favorite to win Maryland’s 2nd Congressional District after winning his May 14 primary.