With Luís Garcia Jr. and Curtis Mead gone, and James Wood on the 10-day injured list (oblique strain), the hitters responsible for 70 of the team’s 184 home runs this season are gone. The only team to have more homers in the first half of the season was the Yankees.

Without that power in the lineup, manager Blake Butera acknowledged during the team’s weekend series against the Marlins that the offense was going to have to look different. For four innings, the offense looked listless against a downtrodden Rockies team. The Nationals weren’t putting together poor at-bats and going up to the plate hacking, but the results weren’t there and they were being no-hit through four innings.

But the dam broke after Jacob Young’s fifth-inning leadoff single. Jorbit Vivas followed suit with a first-pitch single to give Washington a great scoring opportunity. Then, Nasim Nuñez executed a well-placed bunt toward third baseman Willi Castro. Nuñez’s blazing speed caused Castro to rush the throw and it missed the glove of Connor Norby, who was covering first base, and trickled into foul territory to score two runs and tie the game for the Nationals.

All-Star CJ Abrams continued the scoring binge with an RBI double and subsequent steal of third base. He then scored on an RBI groundout by Abimelec Ortiz.

They landed another blow when Daylen Lile recorded a two-out double and elected to steal third. Rockies catcher Brett Sullivan tried to gun him down, but Sullivan’s throwing error allowed Lile to score the fifth run of the frame.

The Nationals’ version of small ball in the fifth inning — two stolen bases and just one ball hit with an exit velocity above 100 mph — propelled the team to a 13-3 win over the Rockies, snapping a four-game losing streak. Staff ace Cade Cavalli delivered another brilliant start, throwing six innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts and a walk.

“One small mistake on their end ended up being huge,” Butera said. “We were able to take advantage of that and capitalize, and I think that’s what good teams do. I was happy we could continue to roll with that momentum.”

Energy was a big word in the Nationals’ clubhouse after Monday’s win. The team had been lacking it after posting a 1-8 record on their nine-game road trip. Abrams returning from an ankle sprain boosted the morale, as did Cavalli being on the mound and Lile going 3-for-5 with five RBIs.

Abrams said that it’s fun being in the game with Cavalli on the mound because the right-hander has electric stuff and intense competitiveness. Feeding off Cavalli’s energy led to the five-run fifth inning.

Sensing the team’s verve was low to begin the game, Cavalli walked around the dugout to just be around the guys and lift their spirits around the third and fourth inning.

“Sure enough, in the fifth, it just all happened,” Cavalli said. “We popped off.”

The Nationals’ lineup resembled its first-half ways for the first time in a long time, drawing eight walks and recording 13 hits. They were patient, opportunistic and did damage when they received a pitch they could drive. It was a much-needed response from the team after the lackluster road trip.

“We’ve been struggling to score runs, right?” Butera said. “Once we cracked it open a little bit, and some runs started across the plate, you could sense some energy, almost like a weight off the shoulders.

“You’re gonna go through these these struggles throughout the course of the season. And like I said, you want to make sure the the times you’re not going well are shorter.”

Twenty-nine games remain in the Nationals’ season, a campaign that has been filled with electric highs and crushing lows. But this isn’t a team riding out the end of its contention window; most of the roster is younger than 30, and all of the key cornerstones going forward are in their mid-20s.

So Lile finishing a triple shy of the cycle and flashing glimpses of the electric hitter he was to end 2025 is important for the Nationals as they continue to identify pieces for the future.

“This is around the time like last year where everything started to click,” Lile said. “I feel like today was one of those days.”

Finishing the season on a high note is not only important in building momentum for next season, but also showing the fan base what the organization is building for the future.

“We’re here, so let’s go compete at our best, and our hardest,” Cavalli said. “It’s a special opportunity to be in the big leagues, and I think that every guy realizes it here. We’re still extremely young. We’re having fun together, and we’re just trying to win ball games.”

The Anacostia Watershed Society’s annual State of the River Report Card, to be released Tuesday, awarded the Anacostia River a C-, marking the highest grade the waterway has ever received. The grade reflects nearly 40 years of restoration efforts to clean up what was once one of America’s most polluted rivers.

It has been illegal to swim in the Anacostia since the early 1970s, due in part to pollution from human waste.

“Thanks to the tireless efforts of local governments, non-profits, academic institutions, and a legion of volunteers from DC and Maryland, a thriving, fishable, swimmable Anacostia River is coming into view,” the watershed society’s CEO Chris Williams said in a statement.

The society’s grading system is based on eight categories, including water clarity, chlorophyll a (a measure of algae growth), submerged aquatic vegetation, stormwater runoff volume, dissolved oxygen, fecal bacteria, toxics remediation and trash reduction.

The river has shown steady, gradual improvements in most of the categories since the watershed society first released the report in 2014. But the average score for fecal bacteria declined this past year from 67% to 58%, earning the river an F in that category.

So what’s with all the poop?

Heavy rains have overwhelmed D.C.’s century-old combined sewer system, sending waste water into creeks and rivers, including the Anacostia.

Although the Anacostia River Tunnel System has helped cut sewage spills into the river, stormwater runoff carrying pollutants, including wildlife waste, remains an issue.

“One of the problems is that the natural environment is so changed along the river that wildlife is actually a significant source of fecal coliform and E. coli in the river,” Williams said. “When there was woods and wetlands and forests, wildlife would just do their thing, and it would decompose and disappear long before it ever got to the river. But now you have wildlife in such constricted habitat areas that a lot of their waste flows into the river and aggravates this problem.”

Addressing the issue will require robust stormwater management alongside strict control of human and pet waste, Williams said.

The watershed society’s report also noted that managing runoff will grow increasingly difficult as climate change brings more frequent and intense storms to the region. The report urges local jurisdictions across D.C., Montgomery County and Prince George’s County to restore wetlands, conserve forests and reconnect floodplains.

Is the river swimmable yet?

No, the river is not swimmable, and it’s still illegal to do so.

Williams emphasized that achieving a “swimmable” status will be incremental. Some stretches of the river may be safe on certain days while others remain too polluted.

The Anacostia Riverkeeper has tried for years to host swim events, where the ban is temporarily lifted for a day. But the event has been canceled for several years due to heavy rainfalls that send high levels of E. coli into the river.

What’s next?

To maintain positive momentum, Williams highlighted two critical efforts for improving the water quality.

The long-awaited Anacostia River Sediment Project aims to remove industrial pollutants embedded in the riverbed.

“It’s those chemicals and the fact that they get stirred up in the water column and get into the tissues of fish that makes the river not fishable,” Williams said. “We’ve been waiting for that thing to get started for many years.”

The project is scheduled to begin next year.

Second, Williams said that upcoming bottle bills that impose a small refundable fee on single-use beverage containers could cut the trash in the river by half or more. D.C. and Maryland are considering such measures.

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Police officers and firefighters responded to an apartment in the 1000 block of Bristol Place in Brooklyn around 10:14 a.m. on Monday.

There, they found a deceased 30-year-old woman with signs of trauma on her body, police said in an emailed statement. Her body was transported to the medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.

Just before 2:15 p.m., police responded to reports of a shooting in the 500 block of East North Avenue in North Baltimore.

Officers found a man with a gunshot wound and transported him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He has not been identified.

The new cases in St. Mary’s, Carroll and Cecil counties represent a stunning increase for a state that has had relatively high vaccination rates. There were three cases in all of last year — and just 10 cases total in the prior decade.

Officials said, however, there were no public exposures among the new cases, which were among several households, and all those infected were unvaccinated. Health department officials did not release any specific information about those infected, such as the ages of those involved.

The health officials still are urging people to check their vaccination status and get a shot for measles. It remains a highly contagious and potentially dangerous infection that can lead to serious complications and long-term impacts to the immune system.

“The overall risk remains low if you are fully vaccinated,” Dr. Meena Seshamani, Maryland’s health secretary, said in a statement. “We ask that Marylanders join us in our effort to help keep our youngest safe and protect those who are most at risk. Checking your vaccination status and getting vaccinated if you are not up-to-date is the simplest and most effective way to do that.”

Symptoms include a red rash, fever, cough and runny nose.

The risk for unvaccinated people is high. Some 90% of these people who are exposed to the virus are likely to become infected, according to health department officials. The virus can hang in the air for up to two hours after an infected person sneezes or coughs and leaves the area.

While the cases are unusually high for Maryland, many other states are experiencing far higher measles infection numbers. Confidence in vaccines has waned amid a misinformation campaign about the vaccine’s safety. Public officials have pointed to the U.S. health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine critic, for stoking some confusion and anti-vaccination fervor.

For more than 25 years, measles had been effectively eliminated from the country. But that status is now in jeopardy. Johns Hopkins University’s measles tracker reports there have been 2,813 cases so far this year, with the biggest outbreaks in Texas, Utah, South Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania. Those states also have vaccination rates below the 95% threshold considered essential to protect the wider community.

Maryland kindergarteners have a vaccination rate of about 96%, according to Johns Hopkins University research.

Maryland health officials no longer follow federal vaccine guidance, and instead tie recommendations to those offered by leading national medical associations including the American Academy of Pediatrics on administering the combination measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The group says it should be given at about a year for the first dose, and between the ages 4 and 6 for the second. The MMR vaccine is required for school in the state.

Public health officials recommend adults have at least one dose of MMR or two doses if they are a reduced level of immunity. Most insurance covers the vaccinations, and the state and federal governments have programs through local health departments for the uninsured and under insured

Public health officials also largely rejected an order signed recently by President Donald Trump that called for three spaced visits for measles, mumps and rubella vaccines, instead of one visit for the combination vaccine.

Maryland’s health department does not provide details on those infected in the state, but reports this breakdown of cases by county.

Since July 15:

• St. Mary’s had 13 cases
• Carroll had eight cases
• Cecil had five cases
• Charles had one case

Before July 15:

• Anne Arundel had two cases
• Baltimore City had one case
• Prince George’s had one case

Benjamin Dresbach, 23, of Kensington, was found guilty on Thursday of second-degree depraved-heart murder — the killing of another person while acting with an extreme disregard for human life.

He was also found guilty of the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence and possession of a short-barreled rifle in the Jan. 13, 2025, death of Trevor Van Devander, 29.

Dresbach faces a maximum of 65 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 18.

Montgomery County Police responded to the 3900 block of Franklin Street in Kensington after Dresbach called 911 to report that he had shot his friend.

Officers searched the house and located Van Devander in the basement. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dresbach told investigators that an altercation between him and Van Devander led to the shooting.

Dresbach’s lawyer could not be immediately reached on Monday afternoon.

The report provides more detail about the allegations against Bateman, 26, that led to a misdemeanor charge of family violence as well as charges of reckless conduct and property damage. Bateman was released on bond and records online did not list a court date.

An attorney for Bateman did not immediately respond Monday to the police report. Attorney Jordan Siev, Bateman’s lawyer, previously issued a statement calling the incident “a personal family situation that has been taken completely out of context for sensational reasons.”

“We will let the court process play out, and the facts will come out at that time,”Siev said.

The woman told police that she was hesitant to discuss the incident because she did not want Bateman to get in trouble. The Banner generally does not identify victims of violence without their consent.

The alleged fight started around 3:30 a.m. on June 3. Afterward, Bateman told her to leave and went to sleep, so she packed suitcases, took their 3-month-old daughter, and drove off, she told officers.

“Mr. Bateman began repeatedly calling and texting her. He threatened to put her dog out on the street, prompting her to answer,” officers wrote in the report. “He expressed frustration that he did not get to say goodbye to his daughter, and the two agreed to meet.”

They met outside of a pizza shop in downtown Monroe, Georgia. Bateman was driven there by their driver, according to the police report.

“She advised that he had a screwdriver and began trying to pop her driver’s side rear tire with it,” police wrote. “He then, likely using the same screwdriver, repeatedly struck her windshield.”

Officers wrote that he shattered the driver’s side window and busted a hole in the windshield before heading off. Later, the woman flagged down officers. Police wrote that she had multiple cuts and bruises on her face.

“Several of these lacerations still had shards of glass in them,” officers wrote.

They wrote that the baby was not injured, but they found glass in her hair.

The incident is also under review by the NFL. Under the league’s personal conduct policy, a family violence violation could result in a baseline unpaid suspension of six games.

Reporter Jonas Shaffer contributed to this article.

Montgomery County students who are moving up a level — kindergartners, sixth graders and ninth graders — have their first day, too, along with a handful of Baltimore-area colleges.

Swimming at Hunting Creek Lake, a popular day-use area of the park, had been closed since a beaver bit a 13-year-old swimmer on July 26. More areas were closed 10 days later, following an Aug. 5 attack on a 19-year-old fisherman.

As the lake in Frederick County sat barricaded, Department of Natural Resources staff searched the area for signs of additional beavers. They canvassed the land for freshly gnawed branches and repeatedly took a boat around the 45-acre lake at dusk, scouring for beavers using a thermal imaging camera. They set traps, used trail cameras, and consulted with a veterinarian.

“Extensive monitoring found no evidence of rabid beavers,” a press release stated.

The two beavers that attacked people at Cunningham Falls, likely a mated pair, were both captured, euthanized and then tested positive for rabies.

About a week after the second attack, a 10-year-old girl swimming at Seneca Creek State Park in Montgomery County felt a tug and saw a “furry object,” which turned out to be a beaver that had bitten her three times.

A dead beaver was subsequently found nearby and tested positive for rabies. Portions of Seneca Creek park remain closed.

“Officials continue to investigate the incident, and are still monitoring the area for any signs of beavers,” the release stated.

Seneca Creek is about 35 miles from Cunningham Falls, and state officials called the attack “unrelated” to the prior two.

Rabies is not unheard of in the eastern United States, but it typically infects other animals, such as raccoons. It is seldom found in beavers. And beavers rarely attack.

Before this year’s three incidents, the most recent beaver attack in Maryland was in 2021.

Rabies is almost always fatal at the onset of symptoms, but few Americans die annually from the disease because treatment is effective. Those exposed to rabies generally receive a series of vaccine shots.

The Baltimore City Circuit Court clerk’s office posted images on Facebook on Aug. 19 of Christine Goo being sworn in as a new assistant state’s attorney, something it does regularly, and commended her for “this incredible career achievement.”

But Goo is not a routine new hire. Sources say she has been brought on as a special assistant state’s attorney to investigate how sensitive evidence in a murder-for-hire trial ended up on the internet. She previously worked for the office for 11 years and then served as a federal prosecutor for six years. The Banner is not naming the sources because they were not authorized to discuss the appointment publicly.

The Baltimore state’s attorney’s office declined to comment, as did Goo. The post from the court clerk’s office has since been taken down.

Last month, prosecutors were alarmed after confidential documents in a contract killing case were displayed in a YouTube video. The documents, under a court order to be kept secret, identified once-rising local rapper Keith Ambush, also known as YNE Sosa, as a government witness in the case against Keith Brian Russell and Cornell Moore. The video chided him for cooperating with authorities.

Prosecutors sought an emergency hearing to question defense attorneys Natalie Finegar and Brandon Taylor about whether they had violated the court order. Both denied producing or sharing printed copies of the confidential material.

Goo worked for the state’s attorney’s office from 2008 until 2019, when she joined the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office, where she eventually prosecuted public corruption before leaving in 2025.

Since then, she has been working as a partner with Nathan & Kamionski, a firm that Baltimore City pays to defend police officers in wrongful conviction lawsuits. Goo was part of a team of lawyers who won a not guilty verdict for officers at a federal trial this summer in a lawsuit brought by Clarence Shipley, who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he said he did not commit and was exonerated in 2018.

Moore and Russell are scheduled to go on trial this fall, accused by federal agents of a murder-for-hire plot connected to as many as 19 shootings and homicides between 2020 and 2022. Russell has already been convicted of a related homicide at trial in Baltimore County.

The case was supposed to go to trial earlier this year. Prosecutors wrote in court documents that “disclosure of the witnesses’ identity will create a substantial risk of harm to them.”

As the original trial date approached, prosecutors disclosed the identities, as required, to the defense attorneys so they could prepare. The documents were subject to a protective order that barred their disclosure outside the defense team.

The case was investigated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Baltimore Police Department. It was the first major case brought by the Major Investigations Unit of the Baltimore state’s attorney’s office.

Banner reporter Dylan Segelbaum contributed to this story.

Oriadha has distributed a digital survey that, according to her office, is “designed to gather insight from residents on what investments, programs, or initiatives would have the greatest impact on overall quality of life.”

The fee is the subject of a lawsuit filed by a group of 50 local businesses that has claimed the council is attempting to “impose unlawful and punitive taxes” on them. The fees are due Jan. 1 of each year, beginning in 2027, but the coalition has asked a judge to block the new law.

Proponents of the fee have claimed that liquor, tobacco, gun and storage businesses are harming local residents and hindering the county’s economic development.

Local lawmakers are hoping to use revenue from the fee to pay for programs supporting childcare, senior wellness, pedestrian safety and economic assistance, among others.

Oriadha said her constituents have consistently advocated for these services.

“I’m committed to finding resources that go to where the community wants them to go, no matter what,” she said in a recent interview.

Attorney Timothy Maloney, who is representing the group of businesses, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Monday.

Oriadha described the survey as part of a “participatory budgeting” process.

She is also hosting a “Countywide Summer Listening Tour” this week to provide residents with a chance to speak with her and other council leaders about their priorities.

The tour will travel to the Kenhill Center in Bowie on Tuesday, the Rollingcrest-Chillum Community Center on Wednesday and the Suitland Community Center in Forestville on Thursday. Each meeting will run from 6 to 8 p.m.

The survey asks respondents to answer questions about services for young people, seniors, public safety and economic assistance, including by rating those programs currently available in their community.

It also prompts people to weigh in on the debate over the county’s concentration of liquor stores, tobacco shops and storage facilities.

One question asks respondents whether they believe that the county is oversaturated with these businesses.

Others ask whether elected officials should do more “to address the oversaturation” and whether the concentration of these businesses hinders the county’s economic development.

Prince George’s has 17.8 liquor stores per 100,000 residents, which, according to 2023 data from the county’s health department, is lower than most Maryland counties.

Lawmakers in Prince George’s and elsewhere have in recent years passed laws restricting smoke shops, including by placing limits on their hours of operation, locations and signage.

But the new law in Prince George’s, which subjects liquor, tobacco, gun and storage businesses to a $5,000 annual use and occupancy permit fee, is broader and more punitive.

The suing businesses have argued that the law effectively creates a new tax, not a fee, which they contend would violate state law.

County governments cannot impose new taxes without authorization from the General Assembly, the lawsuit states.

Separately, Prince George’s officials are seeking the authority to impose taxes and fees on liquor and tobacco retailers and storage facilities without needing approval from voters.

The County Council voted in June to put a question on ballots in November that will ask voters to allow lawmakers to levy taxes and fees on liquor stores, tobacco stores, storage facilities and more without the requirement for future ballot initiatives.

Under the county charter, local lawmakers cannot raise certain taxes and fees unless voters approve them on the ballot.

The ballot question is expected to state that voting against the measure “will prevent the County from imposing taxes and fees on businesses that negatively impact the quality-of-life of County residents or economic development.”

The homeowner, Stan Synowczynski, was working on the home’s HVAC system with a grinder when he “inadvertently cut” the propane line, the department said. Family members told fire officials that he has a diminished sense of smell, which could have contributed to his inability to detect a leak as gas accumulated inside the home.

Sparks from the grinder likely ignited the gas, causing the explosion that killed Synowczynski’s wife, Linda, the department said.

Emergency crews responded around midday Wednesday to calls about the explosion in the 1100 block of Green Holly Drive. First responders discovered a collapsed house and a woman, later identified as Linda Synowczynski, who was suffering from cardiac arrest. She was declared dead at the scene.

Neighbors described the Synowczynskis as valued and generous neighbors. Multiple people, including Joseph Toms, 40, who was visiting the area for his brother’s wedding, assisted medical personnel in recovering the Synowczynskis after their house collapsed.

Toms told The Banner that the roof fell on Linda Synowczynski, who suffered injuries after being pinned to the ground. Her husband, burned and in tattered clothes, walked out of the debris, Toms said.

Stan Synowczynski was taken to the burn unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where he was in critical condition. As of Monday, the fire department said he remained in serious condition.

The department’s preliminary investigation determined that the explosion was accidental and not caused by a propane delivery to the home about an hour earlier.

Family members of the Synowczynskis did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

On Aug. 4, the Nationals had just placed All-Star James Wood on the 10-day injured list and needed a replacement, necessitating Pinckney’s call-up to the majors.

That day, Pinckney was in Scranton, Pennsylvania, at around 2:30 p.m. for a Triple-A Rochester Red Wings game. As Pinckney entered the hitters’ meeting, manager Matthew LeCroy informed him of his major league call-up. After telling his loved ones, Pinckney sprinted to his hotel, gathered his belongings and got into the car the team arranged to take him to Philadelphia.

Traffic delayed his arrival, but once he reached Citizens Bank Park and took swings in the batting cages, he relaxed a bit. When he joined the dugout in the third inning, one glance at the team’s scouting report put him at ease because it was like the ones he had already seen in Triple-A.

“The scouting reports were all the same, and the iPad videos were all the same,” Pinckney said. “So I kind of knew my way around in that sense, even if I don’t know my way around Philadelphia or D.C. quite yet.”

That comfort is one of the goals that president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and assistant general manager of player development Devin Pearson had when they took over after the 2025 season. Building synergy between Triple-A and the majors was important as they sought to overhaul the Nationals’ player development system, which had stagnated over the past decade because of a lack of specialized game plans and insufficient staffing in the minors.

“We want Triple-A to be as close to [the] big leagues as possible,” Pearson said. “Like their day-to-day schedule, the way they communicate, what the training looks like, so that, when they come up [to the majors], they’re ready to rock. Even down to the Dominican Summer League, we want each level to have some similarities. It’s impossible to make them completely the same, but definitely intentional.”

That’s helped the team’s high-powered lineup cover for the losses of linchpins Curtis Mead and Luis García Jr., who were dealt way ahead of the trade deadline for pitching, and Wood, who injured his oblique. The Nationals have called up several hitters from Triple-A who have found early success making the transition to the majors.

In 10 games, Pinckney has an .879 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

Rookie first baseman Abimelec Ortiz — five homers in 20 MLB games — hasn’t seemed overwhelmed since being recalled Aug. 3.

“Everything’s familiar,” Pinckney said. “I’m not reading a different language here. It’s all the same stuff.”

Even the player’s schedule is consistent between the highest level of the minors and the majors — from the time he gets to the ballpark and his early-work routine to the verbiage coaches use and their goals for the lineup. Maintaining that consistency was an emphasis for Toboni and Pearson as they transitioned to D.C. from Boston.

“We were really intentional with our hiring of having the big league staff and the minor league staff be in agreement on building those things out so that they both felt like they owned it, rather than telling one side what we’re doing,” Pearson said.​

Under Toboni, the Nationals have also emphasized certain traits they like to see in hitters — smart swing decisions, good bat-to-ball skills and pulling the ball in the air — and have developed individualized plans for players to achieve them.

The alignment between coaching staffs has also helped players who struggled in the majors when they were demoted to Triple-A. When third baseman Brady House was sent down in May, the Triple-A coaching staff — LeCroy and hitting coach Brian Daubach — were given the information about what House needed to work on to improve against right-handed pitchers.

When Dylan Crews was sent down during spring training, there was a plan to adjust his lower-body mechanics to hit the ball in the air.

Some of the Nationals’ coaches, such as hitting coach Matt Borgschulte, are in regular communication with the Triple-A staff. Those dialogues ensure that when a player is recalled to the majors, the major league staff members are familiar with how a player has implemented changes to enhance their game.

Crews said the fact that Triple-A hitters have matriculated to the majors and played significant roles is a testament to the Nationals investments in the minor league system.

“The Nationals are staying on top of it, not taking away what’s best for the player and really just homing in on his strengths and polishing them as much as you can,” Crews said. “Then, when their name’s called to come up here, you just do the same thing that you’ve always been doing.”

Since being recalled May 18, Crews hasn’t had the consistent success or explosive offensive numbers befitting a No. 2 overall pick — and the rates at which he is chasing pitches outside the zone and swinging and missing are concerning. But the underlying numbers show he is making more consistent hard contact.

Manager Blake Butera’s background is in player development with the Tampa Bay Rays, so he has an affinity for prospects. He knows the farm system is the lifeblood of the organization. When Butera was asked how much he pays attention to the minors, he said it’s “ingrained in me.” That level of attention is important to the process.

“I think our Triple-A staff, led by Matt LeCroy, have done an outstanding job of communicating with our coaching staff up here to know what they need to be able to do to have success,” Butera said. “Then nothing’s a surprise to [the players] when they get up here, and just marrying those two [levels] together has been awesome.”

Tinkering with and fine-tuning the strategy will be important as more players — such as Eli Willits, the team’s No. 1 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, as well as Devin Fitz-Gerald (No. 5) and Chris Hacopian (No. 6) — advance through the system and debut in the majors. If they struggle and need to be sent back down, the organization wants to ensure that the players have full trust in their development plans at Triple-A.

“We feel like we can send guys down there and they get better. Then they come back up and they’ve been better,” Pearson said. “I think that’s easier said than done. We’ve seen it happen with a few examples.”

That means school officials are gearing up for the return of 108,000 students on Aug. 31. They seem to be in pretty good shape, according to Bill Heiser, the district’s new superintendent. He gave news media and county officials a rundown of teacher vacancies, completed school construction projects, school bus driver shortages and more on Monday morning.

Here’s a look at where the district stands a week before school starts:

34.6

That’s the number of unfilled teacher jobs around the school district as of Friday, the superintendent said. It’s a huge improvement from four years ago, when teacher vacancies were in the triple digits around this time of year. However, hundreds of positions have been cut since then.

Heiser said that out of the districts’ 174 schools, 143 have no vacancies, and nine schools have two or fewer.

54

That’s the number of schools that maintenance staff worked on over the summer, which means that HVAC systems, parking lots, roofs and boilers got repairs. Three school construction projects took place, Heiser said.

40,843

That’s the number of citations police issued to drivers who passed Baltimore County school buses that had their stop signs extended and lights flashing last school year. Cameras were installed on all school buses two years ago to catch drivers who broke the law.

When a bus has its lights flashing and stop sign extended cars on both sides of the street must stop for students who are getting off and on. That doesn’t always happen. Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough called the number of last year’s citations “startling.”

“And it underscores why we need every driver to slow down, stay alert and understand when they are required to stop,” he said.

50

Speaking of buses, Heiser said the system is 50 school bus drivers short on Monday.

“Even though you may have vacancies, they have very creative ways to make sure those routes are covered,” he said.

103

That’s he number of schools that saw improvement on the English standardized test compared to last year. State test scores were released late last month, and while Baltimore County’s English and math scores were below the state average, it’s the third consecutive year in which students improved on the test.

148

That’s how many schools reduced chronic absenteeism. The term refers to students who missed 18 or more days of class in a school year. A couple of years ago, Maryland struggled with attendance. A little more than a third of Baltimore County students missed too much school in 2022-23.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.

Everything looked the same, except last year he drove fastballs all over the field in Triple-A, earning a major league call-up in August. He held his own in the big leagues by doing the same thing. This year, it looked like he was attacking heaters by “taking a two-strike swing when you’re beat on a breaking ball,” stuck and lunging out front.

On the homestand that just ended, something clicked for the Orioles’ rookie outfielder, who homered on fastballs in three straight games after entering the week with three home runs total. Almost instantly, his underwhelming return from an oblique injury was washed away. Beavers feels that he’s set up to be the kind of hitter who earned his way here a year ago in the season’s remaining month.

“I feel like I’m in a spot where I can get in the box and compete, trust the swing,” he told me. “I think part of why I was struggling was definitely physical, but when you go in there with a swing that you don’t believe in, or you don’t believe in your ability — if you have any doubt in your ability to get to a certain pitch, it derails your whole at-bat and makes it really hard to compete in the box, to be honest.”

Beavers spent the first two years of his minor league career trying to solve velocity, and his long-awaited breakout came last year at Triple-A Norfolk when he eliminated a slight move backward as he began his swing.

He started slowly, but once the adjustment took hold, he broke out, hitting .304 with a .935 OPS, driven primarily by a .325 average and .497 slugging percentage on fastballs (four-seam, two-seam and cutters).

That continued after his debut last August, when he had a .775 OPS that was boosted by a .297 average and .531 slugging percentage on fastballs.

He began his first full big league season covering fastballs well, with a .236 average and .400 slugging percentage (with a .471 expected slugging percentage) before he landed on the injured list with an oblique strain May 13. Overall, he was hitting .243 with a .699 OPS.

Beavers was activated off the injured list June 28, and fastballs caused him problems almost immediately. Until the beginning of this homestand, his .164 average and .213 slugging percentage were a large reason he was hitting .233 with a .612 OPS and an uncharacteristic 29.2% strikeout rate from his return through last Monday’s series finale at Tampa Bay.

“I really felt like after I came off the injury was when I felt like I wasn’t getting to the fastballs that I should have been,” he said. “Even on the machine, in the cage, I felt like I was clipping balls, and I was just under everything. I couldn’t really figure out why.”

He thought it was timing, so he started making swing decisions earlier and ended up swinging over a large number of breaking balls below the strike zone and chasing a lot — something he’d never done at any level. Then he started waiting and letting it travel deeper but couldn’t catch up to the pitch.

The breakthrough came after he talked to Matt Holliday, Jackson’s father and a seven-time All-Star, who helped explain what was holding him back — literally. Beavers was so focused on getting his weight into his back hip early that he was unintentionally leaning that way before his swing. Then he was moving backward as his first move because he was afraid he wasn’t getting into the right position to swing.

“Basically, all I did between a couple weeks ago, and even last weekend honestly, is try to start more neutral and find some more rhythm,” he said.

His home run Wednesday was on a sinker down in the zone that he drove to left-center field. A night later, he turned on an up-and-in four-seamer from Gerrit Cole and hit it to the flag court in right field. On Friday, he homered on a first-pitch fastball on the outer half, hitting it to center field.

Given his natural ability to make contact and lay off pitches outside the strike zone, the ability to drive fastballs is key to Beavers’ success in the big leagues. When he’s at his best pitchers know they often will have to beat Beavers in the zone, and when he can punish them for trying, there’s the potential for his quality at-bats to yield quality contact.

Manager Craig Albernaz said after Friday’s game that he has noticed Beavers is standing more upright in the batter’s box.

“Now he’s just in a better spot and you can just tell, especially getting to that high fastball,” he said. “It’s a great tell of if he’s in the right spot, and like we talk about with all of our guys, the ability to go the other way. When he hit the home run to left-center field three nights ago, it was kind of like, ‘OK, he’s starting to find something. He’s starting to feel it.’”

“For us to get where we need to go, we need Gunnar Henderson to be Gunnar Henderson,” he said.

Henderson has not looked like himself in 2026. Can the Orioles get back to being a competitive team in 2027 if their shortstop continues to struggle?

“Banner Baseball Show” co-hosts Paul Mancano and Jon Meoli discuss Henderson’s cofounding season.

After the scraggly orange and white cat showed up in their yard one day about two decades ago, they started feeding him. One cat became two and then became more — a lot more.

Soon, the Burnhams turned their good deed into something bigger. In 2014 they established Sunshine’s Friends Cat & Dog Rescue, a nonprofit that spays and neuters feral cats, rehabilitates them and finds them forever homes. They named it after that first cat who inspired it all and have given most of the house over to the cats.

The rescue also helps dogs through foster programs.

The nonprofit, which primarily serves Northern Anne Arundel County and Eastern Howard County, recently became a licensed rescue facility thanks to a law passed last fall by the Anne Arundel County Council.

It allows for animal rescues as a conditional use in select zoning districts, including residential, industrial parks and rural agricultural districts. The bill was introduced in part because the Anne Arundel Department of Animal Services felt the county needed rescue services.

Now the Burnhams’ unassuming colonial on a cul-de-sac serves as a shelter for as many as 50 felines. Although many are adopted, some stay on the property, living out their days as sanctuary cats.

The Burnhams renovated their home of now 28 years into an operational animal rescue center by reconfiguring walls and rooms to add more adoption space, installing tile flooring throughout the house and on a portion of the walls. They left the front rooms to be used as intake and exam rooms for a veterinarian.

They already had installed indoor cat doors and a catio — a dedicated outdoor enclosure — and used the garage as an adoption room.

They now live in the home’s basement apartment, while two employees use second-floor bedrooms.

The rest of the house is for the cats.

Walking through Sunshine’s headquarters recently, cats were everywhere. Cats sunbathed on the stone patio, ran across tree trunks and snoozed in the sunroom. Kittens were curled up in the adoption rooms with their mamas and siblings.

The very first cat that showed up to the Burnhams’ house was under their grill licking leftover grease.

Beverly Burnham started to call the cat Sunshine because, as the sun rose each day, there he was.

“Even in the rain, I had that bright orange fluff out there,” she said.

Slowly, Sunshine brought along friends, first his “girlfriend,” who delivered a litter of kittens under the Burnhams’ deck steps. The Burnhams started to feed the whole family and got the mom spayed. More cats followed.

The main mission of the nonprofit is to rehome cats, whether through adoptions or barn placements — for feral cats who prefer life outdoors.

“We’d rather relocate them because there’s no good option to put them back where they were,” Keith Burnham said.

Anne Arundel County Animal Services licenses and oversees the rescue’s operations.

Claudia Roll, the agency’s director, said Beverly Burnham called right after the legislation passed, interested in Sunshine’s becoming a licensed rescue.

Beverly Burnham said they are sensitive to the fact that they’re in a residential neighborhood.

“We don’t want anyone to smell cat poop,” she said.

Kristin Grogan adopted two kittens from Sunshine’s in July, named Edgrr and LeNoir, nodding to writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe.

Inspired by the Burnhams’ “passion and love” for cats, Grogan and her partner, John Lee, now volunteer at Sunshine’s.

Sunshine’s is always looking for more volunteers, fosters and funding to support the nonprofit. On average, bills run an estimated $25,000 a month, Beverly Burnham said. It operates through a mix of donor funding, Maryland Department of Agriculture grants and donations. Sunshine’s charges adoption fees of up to $150, but that primarily covers microchipping and spaying or neutering costs.

As a licensed rescue, the Burnhams can offer spay and neuter services on-site. They hope to partner with H.E.A.R.T. Inc., short for Helping Every Animal Receive Treatment, which provides mobile veterinary care.

Its mission includes reducing the need for so-called financial euthanasia, said Robin Catlett, H.E.A.R.T. co-founder, practice manager and the nonprofit’s board president.

“That’s one of the most common things that we see, is just people that love their pets very much but can’t afford the care,” Catlett said.

The Burnhams are also thinking into the future. They want to turn over their home to a trust for the nonprofit so that, when they’re gone, Sunshine’s lives on.

Until then, the work never stops, as Beverly Burnham fields calls each day with requests to save more cats.

It was then that Prince Slugg became more than a username on a mobile phone video game.

In the “Clash of Clans” group message, Prince Slugg wrote, “Hey, my bad, our game got canceled.”

This was several years ago. Prince Slugg was really Brock Moore, a pitcher at Menlo College and later at Oregon. The ballplayer explained the situation to clan members he had never met beyond the confines of the popular game, and a handful of them, such as Matt Lowe and Brady Wilburn, soon confirmed his identity: a 6-foot-6 hurler who hits 100 mph and was soon drafted in the seventh round by the Seattle Mariners in 2024.

It is not unusual for random accounts to join the 50-person clan Wilburn set up while he and Lowe were in college at Maryland. The Kent Island natives said they know about 20 of the people in their group. The rest come and go, helping to build virtual villages and conducting medieval-esque clan warfare before heading their own way.

Except for Moore, a random addition who joined the group along with his roommates a few years ago. Even as his friends dropped off over the years, Moore — or Prince Slugg — remained.

“Other people have come and gone at the same time, but certainly no other professional athletes have joined the clan,” Lowe said.

At least, none that they know of.

All of this was well and good. Lowe, Wilburn and others kept tabs on Moore. They kept raiding opposing villages. They talked about baseball and their Orioles fandom, and they took an interest in this 26-year-old’s rise through college and, later, the minor leagues.

“I would check in on his stats every few months or so,” Wilburn said.

Until one day these Orioles fans’ phones lit up with trade news. The Orioles were dealing outfielder Taylor Ward to the Mariners. Among the players returning to Baltimore was Brock Moore.

You mean Prince Slugg?!

“Right away, I messaged him on Instagram to say, ‘Welcome to Baltimore. This is crazy. Glad you’re on our team now,’” Lowe said.

Even before he sent that message, Moore alerted his “Clash of Clans” friends in their group chat.

“In less than two or three minutes of him being traded and the notification coming across my phone, he sent in the clan chat, ‘Hey, guys, just got traded to Baltimore.’ Within the first two or three minutes of being traded, one of the first things he did was put in the chat he was getting traded there. That was definitely fun.”

Matt Lowe, Orioles fan and “Clash of Clans” player

“When it happened, I messaged them and said, ‘If anyone still lives in the area, I’ll be moving out there,’” said Moore, who is now pitching for Double-A Chesapeake.

It was one of the first messages Moore sent after being told of the trade. His agent? His parents? Yep, sure. But that “Clash of Clans” group had to know, too.

“I don’t always go to ‘Clash of Clans’ for my news,” Lowe deadpanned. “But, in less than two or three minutes of him being traded and the notification coming across my phone, he sent in the clan chat, ‘Hey, guys, just got traded to Baltimore.’ Within the first two or three minutes of being traded, one of the first things he did was put in the chat he was getting traded there. That was definitely fun.”

Added Wilburn: “I was in shock. … Out of the millions of players that have played ‘Clash of Clans’ in their lives, Brock Moore randomly joined ours from an automated suggestion that the game provides. The fact that he never left the clan and stuck with a bunch of people he’s never met before for years until he became an Oriole goes to show how special things can come with patience — much like in the game of baseball.”

Wilburn, who is named after former Oriole Brady Anderson, now lives in Chester. Lowe and his wife live in Wisconsin, but they are soon moving back to Maryland. In early September, Lowe said, he plans to head to Bowie to meet Moore in person and watch him pitch, putting a face to Prince Slugg’s name.

Over the years, as Moore realized professional baseball could be a path for him, his time on “Clash of Clans” dwindled. He said he’s grateful his clan mates understand his schedule and don’t seem to mind when he doesn’t answer the call of an attack.

“I think I’m the only person they haven’t kicked for being inactive, so I’m very appreciative of that,” Moore said. “I definitely log in when I’m in the clubhouse, when we have four hours before the game and I have nothing to do. I log on and do some stuff. But definitely I’m not as active as I was in college.”

Wilburn and Lowe can forgive him. After all, especially now that he’s pitching in the Orioles organization, they understand his baseball focus. But this all still seems wild to the group, as well as to Moore.

He was a college kid joining a random video game group to unwind and have fun.

“Lo and behold, we just had a stranger who will hopefully be on the Orioles one day join the clan,” Lowe said.

They knew him as a strong “Clash of Clans” player — fairly high ranking, fairly active and always pleasant to chat with in the group messenger. Now they know him as a major league hopeful on their favorite team.

“It’s honestly kind of crazy,” Moore said. “I didn’t expect any of this to come out of ‘Clash of Clans.’ Never thought I’d still be playing it at 26 years old, either, but here we are. It’s just kind of funny how it all came back in a full circle.”

She had a hunch that other Montgomery County residents might feel the same, so she nailed a baby pink toy house to her fence and put up a sign that reads “Trinket Trade.”

It’s like a free little library, but instead of taking or leaving a book, visitors can take home — or rehome — a trinket.

Craven posted about the trinket trade box on Instagram and TikTok in July. Just one day later, the videos had thousands of views and the trinket library was stuffed to the brim. Now Craven has installed a second toy house to accommodate all the trinkets. She’s overwhelmed by the response.

“I could not believe it,” she said. “It’s been overflowing ever since the second day.”

On Wednesday, the trinket trade boxes were filled with an eclectic variety of items, from stickers and zines to Happy Meal toys and mini Barbie dolls to dog bandannas and jewelry. A creepy doll head with yarn hair topped Craven’s list of strangest trinkets.

Craven moved to the area from Georgia in 2025 with her partner and her dog, Halo, her brand’s unofficial mascot. At Shop JOJO Fashion, she designs and handcrafts unique, colorful clothing out of repurposed fabric. Her recent upcycled designs include a tank top inspired by pop singer Zara Larsson and a pair of casino-themed boots adorned with real poker chips and playing cards.

Her online store started as a pandemic hobby. But her designs sold so well at local vendors’ markets and on social media that this month she quit her job as a Salesforce consultant to focus full time on her business and teaching art and music lessons.

As a newcomer to the area, Craven wanted to do more than sell her designs. She wanted to build community and bring color and glitter to her suburban street. And that started with the trinket library.

But what exactly is a trinket?

The question has stirred playful arguments among Craven’s social media followers, some of whom gave her a hard time for putting buttons in the trinket library.

“There has been a little debate on what crosses the trinket line,” Craven said, laughing. “But some of my followers backed me up and said they would love a button.”

For Craven, it’s simple: anything someone considers a trinket and wants to contribute to the collection.

“There are no rules here,” she said.

Unique libraries

Craven’s trinket library may be unique to the area, but she’s not the first to create one. She got the idea after seeing others on social media post about their trinket trade boxes. Unorthodox free little libraries have exploded in popularity, thanks in part to a website called Worldwide Sidewalk Joy. A Portland, Oregon, artist created the website in 2023. It uses a digital map to track specialized sidewalk libraries.

The map lists more than a dozen specialized libraries across Maryland. There’s a free Blockbuster library in Baltimore, a dog treat library called Dogs’ Pub in Annapolis across from Davis’ Pub, a sidewalk art gallery in Bethesda and a felt rat exchange in Baltimore, just to name a few.

“I think the trinket trade is something people have been wanting in the community for a while,” Craven said. “I’ve had so many people commenting, ‘Thank you for doing this; we’ve been wanting this for so long.’”

There have been hiccups, though. A thunderstorm toppled the library and scattered the trinkets across Craven’s lawn this summer, leading her to come up with weatherproofing solutions. But Craven said she’s been lucky to receive an overwhelmingly positive response from her community and credits friendly neighbors and a laid-back landlord for making the free library possible.

Craven sees the success of the trinket trade as evidence of a need for more third spaces for people with similar interests to connect. So she has started hosting free events. On Saturday, she held her second monthly porch fest, an event at which art vendors could sell their wares and local performers could get stage time. The porch fests have been so popular that Craven has had to put interested vendors and musicians on a waitlist.

Craven has also started hosting crafting days at her house, where crafters can bring projects they are working on and socialize. She said it’s been humbling and fulfilling to see people make friends through crafts, all inspired by the trinket library.

“I have people now that recognize me at markets and say, ‘Oh, you’re the girl from the trinket trade!’” Craven said. “I’ve been finding really cool people through it. I love that we’re building creative communities.”

The Trinket Trade Library is at 1015 Veirs Mill Road, Rockville.

Since 2012, when Maryland schools started teaching to the Common Core standards, parents have found their third grader’s math lesson as painful as putting together Ikea furniture. It’s not enough to get the answer right; a student has to explain how they got the answer — and there can be lots of variations of how.

That isn’t changing. But Maryland parents will be happy to know they shouldn’t have to rearrange their evenings to help their children with math homework. State officials said new math standards — a list of what must be taught in each grade — simplify lessons and narrow the scope of what students must learn. The goal is to give students a better understanding of how math works and more time to practice, hopefully raising abysmal test scores.

“Our updated standards aren’t a major overhaul, but they do provide a little more clarity and coherence from grade level to grade level,” said Elise Brown, assistant state superintendent for instructional programs.

Maryland’s eighth graders once outperformed the nation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a gold-standard test, but in 2012 those scores began a gradual decline — apparent across the country but particularly dramatic in Maryland. By 2024, those eighth-grade scores showed one of the largest drops of any state. Only a quarter of Maryland eighth-grade students are now proficient in math, according to the national test.

Students also aren’t doing well on the state’s own annual assessment. Last spring only 27% of students at all levels passed their math tests, although Maryland’s test is considered particularly difficult.

The decline was puzzling because the Common Core standards — adopted by 40 states in the 2010s — were designed to raise the bar for students across the nation.

Theories abound, but today educators believe the way teachers translated the standards into the classroom didn’t help. Students were expected to perform at higher levels than ever before, and often there was no plan to help students who were already behind. In addition, many of the concepts were taught once, rather than being reinforced in the next year or two. That meant struggling students fell further behind.

Maryland has been working to correct some of those issues while keeping the standards high. The changes will take effect in elementary and middle grades this year, but high school students won’t see any changes yet.

Some school systems will work to ensure every student learns their math facts — called fluency and automaticity by math teachers. Some educators believe students are less likely to be successful in higher-level math if they haven’t memorized addition, subtraction, multiplication and division tables.

“Fluency is a critical skill for student comprehension in math, and so fluency will show up strongly in those early grades, early elementary and upper elementary,” Brown said.

Karen McKiernan, a Montgomery County fifth-grade math teacher who will start her 31st year of teaching this week, said students today have a harder time.

Students were once willing to focus and work at learning math facts, but cellphones, laptops and gaming now compete for their attention. Often her students have parents who are working long hours and can’t provide as much support at home.

Even so, teachers and administrators said, students will still have to understand and not just memorize. “We are not focused on the memorization but understanding the strategy of how to answer the question,” McKiernan said. Much of her focus will be spent on training students how to look at a problem, how to read it and how to solve it, she said.

Howard County administrators in charge of math instruction have been making adjustments since last winter.

To some degree, math is math, said John SanGiovanni, Howard County’s curriculum coordinator for math who also served on the committee that developed the new state standards. Students will always have to learn how to add and subtract. Four plus four is eight. “How we teach it has evolved,” he said.

Math educators are hoping not only to teach students various ways to solve a problem but also what the most efficient way to do it is.

Kerry Steinbrenner, Baltimore City Public Schools director of mathematics, said the city began working with all of the other school districts that use the same textbooks to understand how the state’s new standards would change their lessons.

The city purchased Reveal Math by McGraw Hill textbooks, the same program used in Anne Arundel, Frederick, Talbot and Somerset counties, last year. The city worked particularly closely with Anne Arundel educators to sift through what about each lesson would need to change. Some concepts would need to be taught in a different grade under the new state standards. Steinbrenner hopes McGraw Hill will put out a new, updated version for Maryland.

State and local educators are focused on making math more appealing and understandable for parents and families. They are hoping to avoid putting out directives that aren’t well understood by parents and teachers.

Baltimore City, for instance, created guides that walk parents through what their children will be learning in each grade. The state has also published guidance that suggests activities they can use to reinforce the lessons.

The state held meetings for families to learn about the math changes this summer. About 1,000 families attended.

With additional state funding, the education department has hired coaches this year to provide math teachers in 14 schools across four districts hands-on help. State education leaders hope to bring on more next year.

“We want to make sure that we’re providing our teachers the professional learning that they need in order to make their craft even better, build their capacity as teachers,” said Carey Wright, the state superintendent of schools.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.

They’re sick of all the headlines about people like them being bad, and giddy when they are not. I felt similarly last week when I saw not one, but two national news stories published about our city. I instinctively braced myself, “Oh, no, what now?”

Fortunately, those pieces in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal are actually positive about improvements in Baltimore’s crime and vacant home situations, respectively.

It took a few moments to exhale, because when you’re used to getting beat up, positive portrayals seem … weird. But it’s about time we are given some credit for what we are becoming and not this endless gloom loop we’ve been trapped in.

The Journal’s story follows the city’s long-standing crisis of vacant homes, and explains how a holistic approach has cut the number of crumbling eyesores down and encouraged both local people and newcomers to join programs enabling them to buy them.

And the Times piece interviews various witnesses to Baltimore’s declining crime rates, including law enforcement, activists and funeral home owners. It’s a stunningly honest narrative of a community that is trying to claw back from oblivion, and winning.

The images in these articles are so moving, especially one in the Times piece featuring a Black father lovingly playing with his kids on a city splash pad. They give Baltimore the benefit of such a gentle tableau: We are humans who adore our children, community and neighbors, even without a picket fence in sight.

The rest of the country — heck, even people who just live outside city limits — has been slow to come around to the progress that the city has made. And that has a lot to do with its image as a very Black place with a lot of crime, partly based in truth because our crime rates were alarming and undeniable. We’ve been referred to as “Bodymore, Murderland.”

It’s hard to separate fact from fiction when that image is so deeply ingrained. But it’s the absolute truth that the city’s homicide rate was lower in the first half of this year than at any time since 1970, before I was born.

“Baltimore occupies a place in the collective American imagination that is a repository of all of the notions that people have about Black people,” said Dayvon Love, director of public policy for Baltimore think tank Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, which advances the public policy interest of Black residents.

So when national readers see the beautiful photos and videos of a city full of Black people who had been discounted, in part, because of that, “it makes those images of that narrative even more powerful. There is a genuine rupture in that narrative,” he said.

You will be stunned that I think it has a lot to do with racism. I’m joking. No, you won’t. Love said it’s been harder for would-be haters to accept the city’s upward trajectory because so many of us have been fed the idea that nothing happens without white saviors. For Baltimore to have improved, the impetus must have been the kind benevolence of some outside force, not the multicultural effort led by Black activists like Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle and Safe Streets.

“People have a hard time with seeing Black people as drivers of our circumstances,” Love said.

He’s not wrong. Remember how many movies from the 1960s to the 2000s depict Black and Brown schools, for instance, as cesspools that can’t be saved until a kindly white teacher introduces Shakespeare, which they have never heard of, or a stern Black man with a bat? Baltimore is that high school.

Imagine if instead of relying completely on a Michelle Pfeiffer-type sitting backwards on a chair to drop some knowledge on the hooligans, the community figured it out from their own investment in the city they live in. It’s OK if people come in to help. But they shouldn’t get all the credit.

We’re a Black majority but this city will only survive if everyone who lives here takes ownership. The issue is how we stop it from going the route of a complete gentrification that displaces the organic things that make Baltimore, Baltimore. The city doesn’t need to be less Black or less weird or less scruffy to become safer or more prosperous. There’s a trend on social media where someone will praise the area and paranoid city dwellers post “Thank you, but we’re closed.”

Well, not really. Nobody is as protective of its turf than Baltimoreans. I am so grateful that, for all of our problems, people are starting to get us. And we want you to check us out, as long as you don’t try to change us into something we are not.

Most of the 8.3-acre waterfront park has been closed for more than a year as crews transform it. The second phase of the $35 million Rash Field Park project has faced weather and funding delays — and may just barely hit its target of a summer opening.

On a recent Thursday, construction workers spread sand and unpacked recliners, chairs and hammocks for the new beach area.

The project arose from a survey of city residents in 2013, the 40th anniversary of the Inner Harbor redevelopment. Asked what they would change about the Inner Harbor, Charm City residents said they wanted more green space, shade, trees and parks along the waterfront.

Rash Field is across the Inner Harbor from Harborplace, the one-time jewel of the waterfront that now sits nearly empty and awaits its own redevelopment.

The nonprofit Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore secured funding for the park project under an agreement with the city, which owns the park. The nonprofit and the city both program events and help maintain the property.

The project’s first phase, completed in November 2021, includes a pavilion sponsored by BGE, play areas and a skatepark.

The second phase includes a fitness zone with outdoor exercise equipment, volleyball and pickleball courts, a beach, a plaza for outdoor concerts, a nature walk and an open field. It includes seating and 230 trees, just as Baltimoreans asked for back in 2013.

Most of the work is done, said Dan Taylor, president of the Waterfront Partnership. He said the group is planning to have a grand opening event early next month.

Mak Davis, 30, skates at the park on his off days during the week. It’s relaxed, but there are enough people for an audience.

“You’ll have joggers. People be around. It’s like a functioning atmosphere,” Davis said.

On a recent weekday, a Taharka Brothers truck pulled up to offer free ice cream and juice while it played popular R&B tunes. The sounds of kids playing and skateboards rolling filled the park.

The Waterfront Partnership’s programs aim to draw people to the park — even if they have to listen to beeping and drilling from the nearby work site while they’re there.

About 22,000 people use the first phase of the park in a given month, Taylor said, citing cellphone data.

“We kind of needed to prove to everyone — and by that, I mean like the people of Baltimore — that there was a fun, active reason to come down to the waterfront,” Taylor said.

Joseph H. Rash Memorial Field opened in 1976, named for a former food company executive and Baltimore park board president who died two years earlier. It was initially a recreational space for local sports teams, including teams from the old Southern High School and, later, Digital Harbor High School, then evolved into a staging area for big events and a home to beach volleyball leagues.

“A lot of people have very fond memories and thoughts having all those beach volleyball courts on the Inner Harbor like that,” said City Council member Zac Blanchard, who once played in the league and now represents the 11th District, which includes the park.

Many of Blanchard’s constituents have asked if the volleyball courts will return. They will. Others have expressed concern that dirt bike riders who often race along Light Street and Key Highway will venture onto the park’s new trails. He doesn’t see that happening.

“The south side of the Inner Harbor has always been the most boring part,” Blanchard said. “The whole south side of the Inner Harbor is now going to be nice, and people will want to use it.”

When 28-year-old Josh Hall has time, he likes to bring his three kids to the playground.

“I get to give the little ones something to do,” Hall said as his baby girl asked for another go on the metal slide. “You can see the view, sit by the water.”

A large blue-and-green banner along the work site has said for months that the second phase would open this summer, but Taylor said the crew has lost 33 workdays due to weather since starting Phase II in April 2025, including 21 during this year’s winter storm.

Team members have tried to make up for the lost time by working Saturdays, Taylor said.

Gaps in funding also delayed the project, Taylor said. In all, the state has contributed $18 million, the city $15 million, and private donors — such as BGE, Brown Advisory, T. Rowe Price, and the Abell Foundation — $2 million to complete the park.

Adam Boarman, the chief of capital development for the city’s recreation and parks department, said design, development, permitting and regulatory reviews can take two years. In this case, he said contractors also had to work with the Maryland Department of the Environment, since they’re building near the water.

Then construction often takes another few years, Boarman said.

“This has been a long time coming,” Boarman said, adding that the city should be proud of the result.

The park could open just in time for more change: This fall, MCB Real Estate is expected to start demolishing the Harborplace pavilions.

The Ravens are 2-0 in coach Jesse Minter’s first preseason after a smothering 13-3 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Here are five things we learned from a game that featured few starters and even fewer offensive fireworks.

Jesse Minter’s defensive renaissance is looking more real by the week

For all the talk of Lamar Jackson’s injury-marred performance, it was the Ravens’ defense that wasn’t up to snuff against top opponents in 2025. Their pass rush frightened no one, and they could not protect a lead.

Whatever esprit de corps Minter might bring to the team overall, his defensive imagination was the primary reason the Ravens hired him to succeed John Harbaugh. Already, he has given fans genuine hope that the Ravens can get back to their 2023 form under Mike Macdonald, when they kept opponents unsettled with endless rush and coverage tricks.

It won’t hurt that Minter is working with better ammunition — Trey Hendrickson torching tackles off the edge, the monster squad of Travis Jones, Calais Campbell and (everyone hopes) Nnamdi Madubuike crushing pockets from the inside.

We’ve seen glimpses, against the Ravens’ own offense in camp and against the Vikings’ starters in a pair of joint practices, of how potent that blend of talent and design could be.

We did not see the real thing in Saturday’s game, with nary a starting defender on the field. But we did see the Ravens repeatedly invade the Minnesota backfield. Minter set an aggressive tone, rushing safety K’Von Wallace on the first play from scrimmage. From there, he watched his defensive front win again and again. He didn’t like the contested catches his secondary allowed downfield, and the Ravens got lucky when Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy failed to punish a blown coverage in the end zone.

But, if we want to believe this is a Baltimore defense reborn, the first two preseason games support that narrative.

Jovaughn Gwyn and Ethan Pocic did enough to keep us in the dark about who will start at center

Who will snap the ball to Jackson when the Ravens line up to face the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 13?

Just when we were getting comfortable with the idea that it would be Danny Pinter, he tore his patellar tendon last week.

Gwyn started against the Vikings, with a chance to build on his standout performance against the Philadelphia Eagles. He stayed in for all 19 snaps Tyler Huntley played at quarterback and was … just OK?

When Joe Fagnano subbed in for Huntley, Pocic came with him, playing his most extended run since he signed with the Ravens shortly before the start of training camp. Did Pocic look physically sound enough for us to say this battle has been joined? He did.

Which means we have absolutely no clarity regarding the position Tyler Linderbaum vacated after last season.

It’s strange for the loss of a center with 10 career starts to feel like a gut shot. But, in lieu of signing or drafting a clear replacement for Linderbaum, the Ravens planned to throw multiple bodies at the problem. Based on training camp and the preseason opener, Pinter seemed likely to get first shot at starting. Without him, they face a choice between uncertain prospects: Pocic, the longtime NFL starter who might not be fully healthy, and Gwyn, the tantalizing physical package who has never started a professional game.

Gwyn is the wild card, largely untested since the Atlanta Falcons drafted him in the seventh round in 2023. He was the Ravens’ best lineman in their preseason opener, and his agility might make him the best theoretical fit for Declan Doyle’s offense. Can he hold up against elite interior defenders in games that matter? We just don’t know.

Pocic, if he’s sufficiently recovered from the torn Achilles that ended his 2025 season, has the track record Gwyn does not. But that’s a big if. He has yet to practice regularly with the starting offense.

Minter said last week the time had come to see what Pocic could do with a bigger workload. So he had to like seeing the veteran play 30 snaps against the Vikings and hold up well as a pass blocker, albeit against third-stringers.

It’s easy to forget that we all assumed Pocic would be the starter, over Pinter, when the Ravens added him in mid-July. The guess here is that’s where we end up, despite Gwyn’s greater athletic upside. For all the ebbs and flows of camp, the guy who has done the job before is usually the one who wins out.

The kicking corps put a bad week behind it

Tyler Loop lined up from 49 yards, the exact distance from which he’d missed against the Eagles. If he faltered again, his doubters, still fixated on the field goal he did not make at the end of last season, would rev into overdrive.

This time, however, his kick was perfectly straight, sailing over the crossbar with many yards to spare.

“That’s what you want to see,” Minter said.

Loop has maintained he has no trouble putting failures behind him, that faith in his god and his routines will keep him on course despite the slings and arrows aimed his way. The 42-yard field goal he made in the second half against the Eagles and the 49-yarder he hit Saturday lent credence to his resilient talk.

That won’t stop fans from howling the next time he misses, but we can’t say Loop is crumbling in the face of scrutiny.

Given our focus on the placekicker, rookie punter Ryan Eckley’s shaky debut against the Eagles largely escaped note. But Eckley’s performance, as he tries to fill All-Pro Jordan Stout’s shoes, will also be an important story this season.

Eckley does not lack outward confidence, and he bounced back in a big way in Minnesota, averaging 55.3 yards on six punts and keeping the Ravens on the right side of the field-position battle.

As we saw with Stout and Sam Koch before him, even the best punters take a few years to master the spins and distance control required to excel in the NFL. But Eckley has the talent to become a worthy successor.

Joe Fagnano will make a fine third quarterback

Nobody paid him much mind during organized team activities and minicamp, given that he was fighting with a far more famous rookie, Diego Pavia, for fourth-team reps.

But, with Pavia long gone and would-be third-stringer Skylar Thompson hurt, Fagnano has seized his chance to play behind Jackson and Huntley. After his second straight effective preseason outing, he rates as one of the Ravens’ most pleasant summer surprises.

You want a third-string quarterback to keep the offense in rhythm, throw accurately and avoid foolishness. Aside from one ill-advised throw across his body against the Eagles, Fagnano has checked those boxes, completing 37 of 48 passes over two games and leading multiple touchdown drives.

“I thought Joe came in again — second week in a row — and just kind of managed the offense really well,” Minter said. “[He] got us down there a few times, made some really key plays throwing the ball [and] guys made some nice catches for him.”

The Ravens have a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player as their starter and an established No. 2 who has led them to crucial wins. There’s not a lot of work to be found in their quarterback room.

Every year, they bring a young quarterback or two to camp, hoping one might stick as a practice squad body with the upside of a future backup. Fagnano, who went undrafted because he was perceived to have pedestrian arm talent after seven years in college, has done more than enough to stick around.

The Ravens could have a heck of a practice squad defensive line

We haven’t seen the real defensive front in action, but the reserves made loud cases for their relevance against the Vikings.

Undersize defensive tackle Aeneas Peebles, perhaps on the roster bubble in his second season, piled up at least five pressures on Minnesota quarterbacks. Peebles is never going to be a premium space eater, so he has to explode into the backfield to maintain his place in the league. It was a bad sign that he could not force his way into playing time despite the team’s depleted pass rush last season. But playmaking interior linemen are rare enough that he’ll earn more chances.

Mammoth defensive tackle C.J. Okoye isn’t as springy as Peebles but outplayed him last year. He assisted on a pair of tackles and produced a pressure against the Vikings, reminding us that, even though he doesn’t have an obvious path to playing time, he’s an intriguing enough developmental prospect (as a product of the NFL’s scouting efforts in Africa) for the Ravens to keep him around.

Seventh-round pick Rayshaun Benny got in on a sack. So did surprise training camp standout David Olajiga. Every Baltimore defensive lineman who entered the game seemed to make his mark.

Again, all of this production came against reserves and it doesn’t mean any of these guys will make a significant impact on the 2026 season, but the Ravens’ front-seven depth was the deciding factor in this preseason win.

He enjoyed the challenge. What meals could he make to satisfy picky children with little appreciation for fine cuisine? When the grandkids gave rave reviews, it was as good as Michelin-level praise.

But Paul Torres’ attention to detail and intense focus weren’t limited to his cooking. The Baltimore resident approached almost all of life that way, loved ones said, and that is the example he left them to follow after his unexpected death last month.

“You’re not going to be successful every time, but being persistent, being detailed-oriented and really trying to execute to the best of your ability — that’s really what you need to do,” said his son, Nestor Torres. “That’s something I learned from my dad.”

Paul Torres, a Navy veteran and native of the Philippines, died July 19 of complications after gallbladder surgery. He was 84.

He was born Aug. 2, 1941, the eldest of seven children. He spent his early years on a rice farm in the eastern province of La Union before the family moved to the suburbs of Manila when he was about 10, said his sister, Carie Torres Dupre. There was a military base there, and a few of their uncles had enlisted.

Torres worked as a caddy at the base golf course during his teenage years, inspiring a lifelong love of the sport. After graduating high school and spending a couple of years in college, Torres joined the Navy in 1965. His first stop was San Francisco, then the Naval Academy in Annapolis. He rented an apartment in Baltimore.

He sent money home to his parents and siblings when he was deployed, including eight months in Vietnam during the war. When the Navy asked him to pick a specialization, he chose cooking, his sister said.

“I always remember how supportive he was when he was young,” Dupre said. “He’s supposed to be with friends and doing some things for himself, but he thinks of the family.”

After about a decade in the U.S., Torres had saved enough money to start bringing his family over from the Philippines. At the same time, he was starting a family of his own. He met the future Normina Torres at a birthday party in Baltimore in the early 1970s, and they were married months later. They had two children, Nestor and Ann.

By this time, Torres was assigned to the White House as a traveling chef. He cooked for presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan and followed them on trips to Camp David. He flew with them for foreign summits and cooked for the queen of England.

“He was a pioneer,” family friend Amanda Bantug said. “Right now, there probably aren’t a lot of Filipinos in the White House, but back then, for sure, there weren’t.”

His path from a poor upbringing in the Philippines to the highest echelons of American government was inspiring, Bantug said. If he could do it, so could she.

Though he was often away from home, Torres made sure his family knew how much he loved them, Normina Torres said. He shipped back dresses for his wife and toys for the kids. He sent them cards for Valentine’s Day and other holidays when he couldn’t be with them.

“He served well. He was very loyal,” Normina Torres said. “He was a loyal individual to anybody, to the country, to the president that he served, to his friends, to his family.”

He also brought home fun stories of meeting politicians and world leaders, said his daughter, Ann Torres. He talked often about the Secret Service’s unusual security protocol. They would shop for ingredients and throw them in the fridge, then padlock the doors and give him a key.

He also traded pleasantries many times with members of the royal family.

“It’s just kind of his spirit, right?” his daughter said. “I mean, he could be very serious and very focused and intense about his work or intense about his expectations, but he had just these moments of … being light and funny and kindhearted.”

When he was home, Paul Torres loved to garden and fish. He enjoyed going to parties with friends and family, where his his roaring laugh would replace his sometimes shy demeanor.

He especially enjoyed New Year’s Eve and other gatherings with Filipino friends and family, where there’d often be a potluck happening upstairs and gambling downstairs, Ann Torres said. He’d play blackjack, poker and mahjong, and as kids, she and her brother would run down to check on him. If he was winning, he’d crumple up a $5 bill and hand it to them.

After retiring from the Navy, Torres closed out his career as chef for the CEO of CSX Corp. As he got older, he traveled extensively with his wife, sometimes visiting family in the Philippines and other times touring Europe or Asia. They went sightseeing and hiking, tasted wine at vineyards and, of course, indulged in the local cuisine.

It always came back to food. Torres made incredible traditional Filipino dishes, his family said — especially barbecue pork skewers and chicken adobo. He also knew his way around steak and seafood. His family would always try to sneak a bite as he cooked.

“He created community through the passion that he had for his food,” Ann Torres said. “Throughout his life, these gatherings and making food and sharing his craft in different ways is part of the thing that I want people to remember.”

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Baltimore County Police were called to the 800 block of Woodrow Avenue just before 2 a.m.

Police said Lanier Harmon, 39, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 800 block of Woodrow Avenue is lined with multistory waterfront homes and modest mobile homes, and it is anchored by Brewers Landing Bar and Grill. Neighbors said they heard six to 10 shots just before 2 a.m.

The shooting drew attention from neighbors to the area around the bar, which has been part of the Essex waterfront community for years. The restaurant was the site of a fatal stabbing following a dispute six years ago, though neighbors said Sunday’s shooting should not be attributed to the business.

“You can’t put the blame on the bar. You have to put blame on people. We live in a society where people don’t know how to communicate,” a neighbor said.

She said her son has played in a band that’s performed at the restaurant and she’s personally patronized the place with her grandchildren. At night, though, it tends to attract a rowdier crowd, she said.

Brewers Landing Bar and Grill sits by the water and is set up in the style of a tiki bar. Its outdoor area is furnished with its own bar; beach chairs; sand; purple, blue, orange, yellow, red and green wooden tables; and a main stage where a five-piece band played tunes, including Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville.”

The incident didn’t stop at least 40 people from visiting the restaurant Sunday, and even more were coming in as the parking lot filled. One neighbor deemed it disrespectful to have a band playing hours after a fatal shooting. The Brewers Landing bar manager said she couldn’t comment and the owner was unavailable for comment.

This comes just weeks after three people were killed in two shootings a mile apart in Essex. Roman Wright, 17, was found shot inside a vehicle on Bladen Road on Aug. 10. Not far away and not long after, Donielle Mack and Izick Aminartey, both 19, were found shot in a car near Banyan Wood Court.

Wright was taken to a hospital, where police said he was pronounced dead. Two teenagers were arrested in his killing.

Aminartey was pronounced dead at the scene while Mack died at a hospital, police said. Baltimore County Police arrested Deandre Neal, 22, of Rosedale in their deaths. He faces two counts of first-degree murder, online court records show.

There have been at least 16 homicides in Baltimore County this year, according to crime data.

They might succeed. They might not.

But Dewey’s involvement and that of his organization, the Oversight Project, are as significant as the lawsuit itself — maybe more.

Dewey is head litigator for the investigative provocateur group, created four years ago by the Heritage Foundation to root out supposed fraud in President Joe Biden’s administration.

“The Oversight Project’s legal team is prestigious and patriotic,” said Hannah Fry, a spokesperson for the Oversight Project. “We are thrilled that we can give the good people of Maryland what they deserve: a world-class legal team fighting for their voting rights.”

Some of its results include questioning Prince Harry’s visa and audio recordings of conversations between Biden and a ghostwriter.

With the election of President Donald Trump, the project’s mission changed. Founder Mike Howell split with the foundation — The New York Times called it part of a wider fracture among conservative activists positioning themselves for power in post-Trump America.

His new targets, wrapped in red-state rhetoric, are blue-state elections. In a funhouse mirror retelling of the last five years, these activists claim it’s Democrats like Gov. Wes Moore who are trying to rig elections.

“The Governor and his radicals want to impose insane policies on the good people of the Eastern Shore through extinguishing their congressional representation,” Howell said in announcing the lawsuit. “There’s a reason why the Eastern Shore is more beautiful and happy than the crime dens around other parts of Maryland.”

The outcome of the lawsuit filed by Howell, who lives in Maryland, and Republican state lawmakers isn’t just whether the General Assembly correctly changed the rules for drawing congressional boundaries and sent them to voters for approval.

The Annapolis courthouse is a testing ground for the ambitions of a network of election deniers, partisan integrity champions and thinly coded white nationalists.

“If we get the districts right, mass deport millions of illegal aliens, make sure the 2030 Census is not a joke, and fight like our lives depend on it for election integrity, then we can really see some great structural pro-America changes to save the country,” Howell said.

Accusing Democrats of trying to cheat has long been a Republican gimmick in Maryland, where Democrats have controlled the General Assembly since before the Civil War. Nobody paid much attention, and smart Republicans looked sheepish when asked for proof.

It metastasized on Jan. 2, 2021, when Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and asked him to find 11,000 votes. That was the margin of Biden’s November victory in that state and key to his national victory.

Raffensperger refused. Trump has been obsessed since, setting a radical election agenda for his party.

The insurrection at the Capitol followed four days later. Challenges to mail-in ballots, Republican gerrymandering to cook the midterms, Justice Department bullying and stalled SAVE America Act voting restrictions came next, all to sow ​doubt in democracy’s single most important verb: vote.

The Oversight Project carries that baggage into Circuit Court Judge Robert Thompson’s courtroom Tuesday morning.

Dewey is leading this lawsuit and strategizing with lawyers who filed a second on the Eastern Shore.

He’s a Washington lawyer who worked as a Republican congressional aide. While a political appointee in the first Trump term, he tried to discredit Voice of America ​journalists, NPR reported.

Dewey was central to the Oversight Project’s Freedom of Information Act carpet-bombing campaign, hitting the Biden administration with more than 100,000 requests and 100 lawsuits.

Wins, summarized in all caps on the project’s website, include exposing “radical” educational resources, gender diversity programs and a former NIH official’s emails about the origin of the pandemic.

In the Maryland lawsuit, Dewey leads a team of lawyers with their own history of election denialism and voter suppression efforts.

Jeffrey Clark was an assistant attorney general in the first Trump administration. When Trump refused to concede in 2020, Clark drafted an infamous letter threatening Georgia officials with false claims about voter fraud.

Acting AG Jeffrey Rosen refused to send it, and only the prospect of mass resignations stopped the president from replacing him with Clark. Clark was indicted along with the president and others on racketeering charges in Georgia — charges later dropped because of the prosecutor’s personal misconduct.

Clark still faces possible disbarment in D.C. In May, then-acting Attorney General Todd Blanche asked the courts to drop the proceedings, Politico reported, but the matter awaits a final decision.

Marshall Yates also worked as a Republican congressional staffer focused on finding election fraud. He briefly headed the Election Integrity Network.

The group, founded by Cleta Mitchell, a Republican attorney who advised Trump during the Raffensperger call, worked to overturn the 2020 election. Two of its affiliates unsuccessfully sued Maryland to gain access to voter rolls.

After Trump returned to office, Yates joined the FBI. Director Kash Patel appointed him to the Interagency Weaponization Working Group, linked by Reuters to prosecution of Trump’s political enemies.

In November, ProPublica reported that Yates was one of three top Patel aides unable to pass a polygraph test. The FBI denied the reporting, but Yates has not commented publicly.

He resigned in February, and Howell picked him to head his state-focused integrity initiative the following month.

Welcome to the bottom of the election conspiracy rabbit hole.

That’s where you’ll find Steve Hershey, Justin Ready, Mary Beth Carozza, J.B. Mautz, Chris West, Christopher Adams, Matt Morgan, Kathy Szeliga, Lauren Arikan, Brian Chisholm, Mark Fisher, Robin Grammer Jr. and Ryan Nawrocki.

The Republican lawmakers signed on as plaintiffs in this lawsuit, joining what Howell calls “maximum warfare.”

Maryland has lawyers, too, and they’ve been preparing for the fight. Thompson could rule that the legislature and Moore acted legally and validate the referendum.

Or not.

Expect quick appeals. No matter who wins, a deadline to finalize the ballot looms in September.

When oral ​arguments begin, one thing will be ​clear — the stakes are bigger than Maryland.

The rotation, in particular, is in flux after Cade Cavalli and Connelly Early. Promising lefty Jackson Kent could fill one spot. Kent opened eyes this season with a velocity uptick that translated into higher strikeout totals. With pinpoint command and an impressive pitch arsenal, he succeeded in the minors, posting a 3.72 ERA across Double- and Triple-A.

After a mixed performance over his first two starts, all eyes were on Kent against the Marlins on Sunday. Well, the 23-year-old resembled the strike-throwing, aggressive pitcher he was in the minors. Kent threw 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks, in the Nationals’ 6-2 loss.

The Nationals wanted Kent to get through the fifth inning, but they saw him faltering a bit after allowing a two-out walk followed by a single to Agustín Ramirez.

“It was definitely better than the the first two,” Kent said. “I would think, yeah, it was just competing more and getting in the zone better.”

Kent threw strikes and got ahead of hitters — 70% of his first pitches were strikes, and he had a 66% strike rate. He also induced more swing and miss than he did in his prior start, putting the team in a position to win. The young lefty also got some help from his defense. Sunday’s loss also showed how thin the margins are for the Nationals at the moment.

Washington loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, but a slumping Abimelec Ortiz struck out to end the inning with the score tied 1-1. In the fifth, All-Star Xavier Edwards put the Marlins up with a two-run, two-out single. It was a missed opportunity followed by an inability to shut the door for the Nationals.

“We didn’t get the big hit,” manager Blake Butera said. “I don’t want to say it was a lack of effort or anything like that. We just couldn’t get the big hit. But credit to the rest of the group for getting in scoring position and giving us opportunities to hit in those spots.”

The Nationals’ next scoring chance came in the eighth inning. With runners on first and second, José Tena got called out on strikes and Jorbit Vivas grounded out to end the inning.

But Kent showed signs of progression. He limited hard contact and didn’t have much traffic on the bases.

But he also impressed with his ability to navigate traffic. In the first, he walked Ramirez, who later scored on a double by Heriberto Hernández after Kent threw him an 0-2 fastball near the heart of the strike zone.

Kent righted the ship. He induced a groundout by Edwards and got Esteury Ruiz on a called third strike to end the inning. After allowing a one-out single to Deyvison De Los Santos in the second, Kent recorded back-to-back strikeouts.

The defense was strong behind him, especially center fielder Jacob Young, who robbed Hernández of a home run and turned it into a double play after Otto Lopez was ruled out at first base.

“It was unbelievable,” Kent said of Young’s grab. “He can make every catch. I’m not worried whenever a ball goes over there. I’m like, ‘He’s gonna make it.’”

Young was similarly impressed with Kent’s outing, calling it his best start. He was struck by Kent’s command and proud of the way he competed.

“He has really good stuff, and I think it’s only up from here,” Young said.

But the outcome was familiar for the Nationals as they were swept in Miami. Without All-Stars James Wood and CJ Abrams, the offense has sputtered. The Nationals (61-71) scored just 18 runs during their nine-game road trip, in which they finished with a 1-8 record.

Washington has lost 15 of 17.

In a bit of a role reversal, the Nationals’ pitching unit performed better than the lineup on the road trip after the offense has shouldered the load for much of the season.

“We’ve been a great road team a lot of the year, and we just didn’t get the hits when we needed them,” Young said. “I thought the pitching actually pitched really well this whole road trip. As an offense, we just weren’t able to score as many runs as we needed to.”

Butera said he wants the group to let the losing feeling sink in as the Nationals deal with another test. Flushing a nine-game road trip wouldn’t be an option. But change needs to happen quickly ahead of a 10-game homestand.

“I know it’s hurting right now with how quiet it is,” Butera said. “I told them we got to turn the page starting tomorrow.”

Resilience has been a trademark of this team all season. Whether it was giving up an eight-run lead and losing on a walk-off grand slam against the Giants or the ninth-inning debacles in their June series against the Phillies, the Nationals have responded to adversity.

Young said that putting this disastrous road trip behind them is “the only option.” The explosive offense led the charge in the first half, allowing the Nationals to play meaningful games deep into the summer for the first time since 2019. But the season is quickly slipping away.

“We’ve had some tough stretches before, and we bounced right back,” Young said. “We got 30-something games left, and we got to finish strong. We can’t start accepting [losing] as this is how it’s going to be.”

This article has been updated.

It is, of course, not possible to saddle the subsequent three runs on Holliday. Baz could’ve shut the door before he allowed two more singles and a walk. But, had Holliday made a full-extension play, Díaz is a slow enough runner that he likely would’ve been the third out.

Instead, the ball sneaked under Holliday’s glove.

“We’ve seen Jackie make that play,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “It’s also not a routine play, by any stretch.”

The Rays capitalized on that two-out single to break open what had been a pitcher’s duel. Tampa Bay tacked two runs on Baz before he departed, and a third scored when left-hander Grant Wolfram allowed a single to Chandler Simpson.

The flurry of offense, all coming with two outs, led Tampa Bay to a series-ending 3-1 victory that prevented Baltimore (63-68) from sweeping its American League East foe. Granted, it wasn’t as though the Orioles managed much offense at all.

They finished with a season-low two hits, both courtesy of Colton Cowser. In the ninth inning against right-hander Bryan Baker, Cowser’s solo homer broke the shutout. But the error that allowed Leody Taveras to reach second didn’t turn into a larger rally.

“I’m always confident in this team that maybe they’ll be able to make a rally, and Leo sparking something there,” Cowser said. “And then, obviously, three really hard-hit balls [that were outs], so came up a little short, but this team never quits.”

Baz has fallen victim to too many of this kind of start this season. His ERA rose to 4.04 with those three runs charged to him, but he has generally pitched well, just as he did Sunday, when he allowed two hits prior to the sixth inning.

But Baz entered the game receiving from his offense the fourth-fewest runs per nine innings among pitchers with 100 or more innings this season, according to FanGraphs. Baz received even fewer than the 3.27 average per nine innings with which he entered.

Baz’s record this season falls to 4-14. A pitcher’s win-loss record hardly matters for this exact reason — he may pitch well and just not receive offensive support — but it’s notable that Baz has been this good and yet leads MLB in losses.

“He’s been great all year. That’s something that doesn’t reflect how good he’s been,” Cowser said. “Feels like, whatever reason, we just need to put up more runs whenever he’s pitching.”

Rays right-hander Nick Martinez carved through the Orioles. He allowed one hit — a double from Cowser — in six innings, and he walked off the mound with a 2.93 ERA.

The bullpen behind him mowed down Baltimore, as well. With no walks, the Orioles snapped a streak of at least one walk in 121 games.

For the most part, Baz matched Martinez. It changed in the sixth, once Díaz hit a hard ground ball to Holliday’s left. The second baseman lunged at it but didn’t dive; rather than the possible third out, the inning kept going.

“We’ve seen Jackie go to a knee and make that play; we’ve seen him stand up,” Albernaz said. “It’s one of those things where he had a great bead on it, it just got underneath his glove.”

Jonathan Aranda struck a single to right field, and a wild pitch from Baz scored Díaz. Junior Caminero chopped a single through the middle for a second run and, after Baz walked Liam Hicks, that was the end of his day.

But there was one more run to score, because Simpson grounded another single through the infield to plate Caminero.

“Just a really bad last inning,” Baz said. “Just a couple of ground balls, a few ground balls kind of getting through, and just not really putting guys away like I should.”

All of that combined to leave the Orioles a win shy of a sweep before they take off to St. Louis for the first leg of a three-city road trip against the Cardinals, Athletics and Rockies.

By the time the Orioles return to Baltimore next month, they could find themselves in a much-improved position. Those are not three juggernauts of the major leagues. But the Orioles haven’t made any such run in a surprisingly tight wild-card race among a score of sub.-500 clubs.

If they’re going to do it, they must do it soon.

“A lot of faith in this group, a lot of faith in this team, and have an off day tomorrow,” Cowser said. “So rest up and then be ready to roll.”

This article has been updated.

Washington was hosting an IndyCar race through its streets Sunday, with President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump kicking off the Freedom 250 Grand Prix by leading a slow lap in the presidential limousine through the course. Soon after, the president waved the green flag to start the race and drivers began whipping through downtown, including a stretch along Pennsylvania Avenue not too far from the White House.

“I’m going to make a little circle in a nice, secure car, slightly slower than the ones we’re going to witness, but we’re going to have fun,” Trump said in an interview on Fox shortly before the ride.

The open-wheel race, with cars whizzing past Washington’s monuments at speeds approaching 200 mph, is the latest of Trump’s celebrations this year to mark America’s 250th birthday.

AND THEY’RE OFF 🇺🇸@POTUS waves the green flag to get the race started … see you at the checkered flag 🏁

Tune into @FOXSports to watch pic.twitter.com/LJpJj1a5tH

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) August 23, 2026

Trump’s other events to mark the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence’s signing have included a UFC fight on the White House lawn, military aircraft flyovers, a massive July Fourth fireworks show on the National Mall and a Great American State Fair that the president headlined after scores of ’90s-era musical acts dropped out. The events have all had a Trumpian flair, featuring appearances from his friends and the aim of showcasing spectacle, Americana and power.

In this latest case, it was horsepower.

Racing day brings out some of Trump’s favorites

Sunday included some of Trump’s favorite flourishes. One of his favorite singers, tenor Christopher Macchio, performed, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” A trained bald eagle was dramatically released near the start line, and it swooped and flew overhead before returning to its handler.

There were flyovers of military aircraft, which have boomed over the city during the July Fourth celebrations, among other events. One flyover Sunday involved a formation featuring a B-2 stealth bomber, which Trump frequently boasts about for its role in dropping massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities last year.

Air Force One, escorted by four fighter jets, flew overhead as Trump did his lap. The jet was the Qatar-gifted aircraft that the president has been using as Air Force One, which has attracted scrutiny not only for Trump’s acceptance of the luxury gift but because it is not equipped with some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems found on older presidential jets.

The IndyCar race took place Trump has struggled to resolve the war he started nearly six months ago with Iran, a conflict that has driven up gasoline prices and exacerbated worries from officials in his Republican Party that voters in this November’s midterm elections see the president as distracted and not focused enough on cost-of-living concerns.

Trump in his second term has increasingly seemed to focus on relishing the presidency’s ceremonial aspects. That’s included a healthy dose of visits to sporting events — including an appearance last month at the World Cup final, where he presented the trophy to winner Spain and lingered onstage with the team as its members jumped in a hail of confetti.

Bringing Indy to DC was a longtime quest for racing series owner

From his viewing box, Trump had the honor of waving the green flag to kick off the race.

Before the race, Trump and his wife met and chatted with some of the race drivers. They then took a slow drive through the course in a small motorcade and could be seen waving at the crowd as a Marine Corps band played “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

IndyCar series owner Roger Penske, a longtime friend of Trump’s who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from him in 2019, helped lead the effort to bring the race to Washington.

Trump told Fox on Sunday that Penske told him that he had been trying to bring the race to Washington for 20 years.

“When he came to see Trump it got done in about 15 minutes and it’s turned out to be much bigger than we ever even thought possible,” the president said, referring to himself in the third person.

Penske met Trump when he arrived at the course and later joined him in his viewing box, as did the president’s friend and UFC CEO Dana White, who helped put on the fight at the White House in June.

An executive order Trump signed earlier this year calling for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix declared that the “cars and drivers inspire awe and respect in all who watch this quintessentially American sport,” and the event will “showcase the majesty of our great city as drivers navigate a track around our iconic national monuments in celebration of America’s 250th birthday.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News Channel that he wants to push to bring the event back next year and make it an annual event.

Trump wanted to hear ‘freedom roar’ from the powerful racing machines

“Their beautiful cars are going to make freedom roar. This will be a freedom that’s roaring like never before,” Trump said at the White House earlier this month as he promoted the event.

Bud Denker, president of Penske Corporation and the race’s chair, said that Penske is paying for the “vast majority” of the race, including building the track and road improvements, while the District of Columbia handled some repaving.

Among the changes needed on the city’s streets for the IndyCar race was the welding of more than 200 maintenance hole covers to ensure the race cars don’t suck them up off the road.

Sunday’s festivities were also the latest opportunity for Trump to revel in the way he’s putting his mark on the nation’s capital, including large banners showing his face on government buildings, the construction of a massive White House ballroom, a gold-adorned Oval Office and botched repairs at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

After being shut out of this month’s total solar eclipse, the Americas will have the best seats in the celestial house when Earth’s shadow briefly envelops the moon. Almost the entire lunar surface will be masked Thursday night into Friday — a whopping 96% — making this an especially deep partial eclipse.

The moon is already in the spotlight. NASA sent the Artemis II astronauts on a record-breaking lunar flyby in April, the prelude to eventually landing on the surface and building a base swarming with people and robots over the next several years.

“This is a great time to be part of the space program, right? We’re not slowing down,” NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway told The Associated Press from the International Space Station last week.

It’s the second act of the greatest show in the solar system, coming two weeks after a total solar eclipse paraded through Greenland, Iceland and Spain.

Eclipses always travel in pairs as the sun, moon and Earth align so precisely that one obscures the other. That’s because the moon is 400 times smaller than the sun, which is 400 times farther away, making them appear the same size — a cosmic coincidence and gift from the universe.

Unfolding at a more leisurely pace, the upcoming lunar eclipse will have a much bigger audience than Europe’s solar show. The eclipsed moon will be visible to billions across North and South America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, provided the skies are clear.

The lunar eclipse may also be visible to Hathaway and the nine other people living off the planet — seven astronauts at the International Space Station and three aboard China’s orbiting outpost.

Space provides a “unique perspective” for viewing cosmic wonders like eclipses and auroras, said the space station’s commander, Jessica Meir.

In this case, Earth will pass between the moon and the sun, casting a reddish-orange shadow onto our closest neighbor. Because this is a partial eclipse, the lineup won’t be perfect and it won’t be a true blood moon. The partial phase of the eclipse will last more than three hours. But the entire eclipse, from the time the full moon enters the faintest, outermost edge of Earth’s shadow until it leaves, will stretch 5 ½ hours.

The eclipse will peak just after midnight EDT.

Nearly 1 billion people in the U.S., Canada, and Central and South America will have front-row views for the entire eclipse. More than 3 billion people — 44% of the world’s population — will be in position to catch at least part of it.

The eclipsed moon will be setting in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, cutting the show short. It will be rising in Hawaii, getting the eastern Pacific off to a late start along with northwestern sections of the U.S. and Canada.

This is the year’s second lunar eclipse and the fourth eclipse overall. A total lunar eclipse graced the skies over the Americas, Australia and eastern Asia in March.

The next complete lunar blackout won’t be until New Year’s Eve 2028, with Asia and Australia at center stage. And it will be 2029 before stargazers across North and South America are treated to another full eclipse of the moon.

The officer was issuing a traffic citation around 9:30 p.m. Saturday in the 300 block of North Eutaw Street and waiting on a tow truck to move a car that had expired and suspended tags, Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said in a news conference. The vehicle owner, a 29-year-old man who has also not been identified, approached the officer, officials said.

The officer told the man he’d be able to get his belongings out of the vehicle before it was towed, which was something he didn’t have to do, Worley said.

“He could’ve just towed it, but he allowed him to get in the car,” Worley said.

That’s when things took a left turn. The officer stood in front of the car while the man got into the driver’s seat, Worley said.

The man then put the car into motion and drove into the officer, officials said, briefly dragging him. The officer responded by firing his weapon at least three times toward the man’s vehicle and striking him, Worley said.

Some officers rendered aid to the man while others managed a crowd, Worley said.

“The crowd was a little rowdy afterwards because of what happened,” Worley said. “The numerous officers who got to the scene to assist had to direct all of their attention to hold the crowd back from getting to the vehicle, getting to the individual who was laying on the ground.”

The man was transported to a hospital in critical condition, police said. The officer was also hospitalized with neck and back injuries, officials said. Baltimore Police officials did not share updates on their conditions Sunday.

This year, Baltimore Police officers have fatally shot Louis Jackson, Jonathan Ingram, Dwight Hawkins and Jamarl Muse. They also shot Tavon Newton, 35, after struggling to detain him during an incident around Wilson Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in the Upton neighborhood in April.

Following Saturday’s police shooting, Worley said the officer did as expected.

“Your license is revoked; you shouldn’t even be driving. Your car shouldn’t even be on the street because it doesn’t have valid tags. The whole incident could’ve been deescalated by not getting in the car and following the officer’s directions,” he said.

Weekend shootings

Police responded to at least three other nonfatal shootings Saturday night and early Sunday.

A 24-year-old man was shot in the 2100 block of McHenry Street around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, officials said in a news release. The man was treated for his injuries, police said.

A 32-year-old man was shot in the 500 block of Sanford Place around 2 a.m. Sunday, police said. He was transported to a hospital and is expected to survive.

Around 3:30 a.m., police were called to a hospital for a walk-in shooting victim. A 17-year-old boy was shot in the 5300 block of York Road, officials said.

Awestruck, he took in the maritime views and the sea of other rooftop decks. And he was flummoxed: Why am I, at 35, just getting this feeling?

That was almost 20 years ago. Thomas, now 53, added a three-tiered rooftop deck four years ago to the headquarters of his nonprofit youth program in Pen Lucy. It’s a rarity in that part of North Baltimore.

“I just thought about the next generation and what I wanted them to see,” Thomas said.

Rooftop decks — as synonymous with Baltimore as crabs and a cold Natty Boh — are concentrated in waterfront neighborhoods, but they also pop up on homes across the city, permitting data shows. The outdoor perches offer respite from the noise and activity below and “flex” space that makes a traditional rowhouse feel roomier.

The city has issued 2,607 permits mentioning rooftop decks since 2015, a Banner analysis of public permit data found. Eight hundred were issued to properties in Canton, nearly as many as in every other neighborhood west of downtown combined.

Baltimore’s rooftop deck obsession began in the early 1990s, as city shipyards shut down and gave way to views of marinas, docks and luxury yachts. In South Baltimore in particular, young urban professionals (yes, the “yuppies”) moved in and leveled up, covering their flat roofs with ornate pergolas, decorative lighting and weatherproof furniture.

Today, it’s not uncommon for a new rowhome to include a bird’s-eye view. Mark Sapperstein, the developer behind the new Locke Landing residential community in Baltimore Peninsula, said every house includes a rooftop deck.

“It’s another option for outdoor space,” said Sapperstein, who noted that residents of Baltimore County, where he also develops, have easier access to backyards. “When you can do it, you should do it.”

Many Baltimore homes are historic and must follow guidelines set by city preservationists. For rooftop decks, simple designs are recommended. Balusters and rails should complement the style of the building, city guidelines state. Decks aren’t supposed to be visible from street level.

James Kowalewski, a professional engineer and contractor, remembers building for himself what he thinks was one of Baltimore’s first rooftop decks in the late 1980s.

Living in Canton, Kowalewski sought vistas of downtown and Fort McHenry. The deck stayed in place for almost 40 years.

Homeowners are as interested as ever in the addition, he said. But many change their tune after learning about the price tag.

Builds can range from $20,000-$45,000, he said. And that doesn’t include maintenance a house might need to support a deck addition.

Decks might be more trouble than they’re worth in some neighborhoods, Kowalewski said, especially those with height or zoning restrictions that require special approval from the city.

As more neighborhoods undergo revitalization, rooftop decks are sprouting in even more communities.

Bree Jones’ development company, Parity Homes, rehabs and rebuilds homes in West Baltimore’s Harlem Park and helps would-be homebuyers become mortgage ready. When they secure a loan commitment from a bank, they can begin to request certain customizations to their new homes, including electric fireplaces, kitchen islands and rooftop decks. The base price for these homes without customizations is on average $340,000 in the Harlem Park area, according to Jones.

A rooftop deck could run someone an extra $15,000. Half of Parity’s past 10 homebuyers have requested one.

Jones herself lives in a Parity home with a rooftop deck. Each Fourth of July, she heads up for a 360-degree view of fireworks lighting the skies.

She points to socioeconomic differences as one of the reasons rooftop decks are not as widespread in West Baltimore. But there are other considerations, including the neighborhood’s population of older adults and limitations on who’s willing and looking to do that kind of contract work.

“As more capital begins to move in West Baltimore and more vacants are renovated, we’ll start to build the infrastructure of contractors who can do the work,” Jones said. “It’s a social network effect, essentially.”

To Mark Moyer, a real estate agent who specializes in Southwest Baltimore, rooftop decks are like pools: It’s nice to know someone who has one.

Moyer, who has lived in Baltimore for more than 20 years, has shied away from owning one himself, saying they require too much maintenance. And in much of the city, including his focus area, the value of the house might not justify the expense.

Thomas and his daughter Aiyana made their way to the rooftop deck on a recent Friday afternoon. They draped themselves across sun-kissed pink cushions as clusters of puffy clouds rolled across the blue sky.

Thomas, whose family lived in the home before he started his nonprofit, My Fathers Plan, said he wants neighborhood kids to experience the high of a “mansion in the hood.”

It’s not the only amenity he’s added to the house. But for him it’s the one that rises to the top.

Banner data editor Greg Morton contributed to this article.

Four decades later, she’s made hundreds of quilts.

“Anyone thinking of starting quilting, beware,” Carr said. “It’s an addiction.”

That obsession has landed Carr a business — Sugarloaf Quilting in Poolesville — along with a home full of dozens of quilts and a slew of ribbons from the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair’s arts and crafts contest over the years. She won Best of Show in 2022 and eight prizes this year: five first-place, one second-place and two third-place ribbons.

But, for quilters in the area, county fair ribbons are a small prize compared to the pride of creating beautiful and useful gifts for their community and loved ones.

“I like work that keeps my family warm,” said Kathy Pangaro of Bethesda Quilters. The oldest of 11 children, she has an abundance of loved ones to quilt for.

The Chilly Mall at the annual Montgomery County Fair hosts a wide variety of arts, crafts and food contest entries. Fairgoers can escape the August heat inside the building while perusing elaborately decorated cakes, detailed needlepoint scenes and colorful quilts hanging from the rafters, many adorned with blue, red, yellow, green or white ribbons.

Pangaro was one of several women from the quilt guild who contributed to a quilt on display at the fair. It placed second in its division. In the past, she’s entered several of her own creations. But, as a member of a local quilting guild, Pangaro loves creating and connecting with other textile art enthusiasts.

“It’s just a supportive group of women and just a great way for women to be together,” Pangaro said, noting the group previously included one male member. “This is a very supportive group that enjoys each other. Sometimes they talk too much, but what are you going to do?”

In an era when it’s easy to search the internet for quilt-making tutorials, local quilt artists urge beginners to seek in-person connection and education — the way they learned the craft decades ago.

“We’re welcoming and inclusive — I’m not talking about race and religion; those things are a given,” Pangaro said. “But people that can barely put two stitches together will join and they’ll learn something and have a good time. And we do have people who are doing things that could be hung in the National Gallery [of Art], people that have had things in very big and important exhibits.”

Some quilts are created with the intention of displaying them as works of art and others for donations or personal use. Bethesda Quilters members often make baby quilts to take to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Community of Hope D.C. or the Greater DC Diaper Bank.

“These are people that don’t have the money to go out and buy it. They’re not going to have the baby shower, getting things that are fancy, because life is tough,” Pangaro said. “To give them a baby quilt handmade for them, it gives you a good feeling.”

Carr’s three children own multiple quilts, gifts from their mother for weddings and other life milestones.

Her 10th grandchild is due in a week or two. Their newest family addition will have a quilt waiting upon arrival.

Legacy is a common thread — pun intended — among quilters. They’re carrying on an art passed down from matriarchal figures in their life and using it to create something beautiful that their loved ones can use for decades.

“I want to make sure that, before I shuffle off this mortal coil, everybody will have a quilt with my name on the back saying, ‘I made this for you,’” Pangaro said.

Before the Orioles could walk this game off in the bottom of the 10th, Garcia had to scamper off the mound to field Walls’ squeeze bunt attempt to score ghost runner Richie Palacios from third in the 10th inning. Garcia barehanded the ball and flipped it to Narváez, who applied the tag to cut down the Tampa Bay Rays’ attempt to go ahead in extra innings.

That’s what enabled Dylan Beavers’ moment of heroics in the bottom half. With his drive over the right fielder’s head against right-hander Bryan Baker, Leody Taveras scored from second base and Baltimore’s dugout spilled out in celebration.

The combination of plays enabled the Orioles to beat the Rays, 3-2, to seal a series win before Sunday’s matinee.

This hasn’t been a smooth ride of a season, but the energy in the clubhouse after this one was loose. The Orioles were having fun. Taveras and Colton Cowser tried to make their teammates laugh during media interviews. The players chattered about their matching stirrup socks, which they all wore in a “spur of the moment” decision, Gunnar Henderson said, after watching Tyler O’Neill put them on shortly before pregame.

All Orioles fielders are wearing stirrup socks tonight. It's a good look pic.twitter.com/0UiMPKfH5O

— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) August 22, 2026

“You guys might’ve noticed, the pants were a little tight on me,” Samuel Basallo said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. He borrowed socks from Kyle Bradish when he noticed everyone else putting them on. The pants were borrowed, too, but from whom he doesn’t know.

“If the team wants to do it again tomorrow, we’ll do it,” Basallo said.

And, long after the final out and Gatorade bath for Beavers, a gaggle of guys, including Pete Alonso, Brandon Young and Garcia, sat together in the dugout, looking out on a quiet Camden Yards, just enjoying each other’s company.

“It’s definitely really meaningful this year with this group of guys,” Beavers said of his fourth-career walk-off hit, “because we’ve faced a good bit of adversity and I think we all have belief that we can have success. So just trying to build momentum and go on a run here.”

Manager Craig Albernaz turned to Beavers, fresh off three straight games with a home run, as a pinch hitter to start the 10th. His subsequent hit almost left the ballpark. He’ll settle for what counts as a walk-off double, however. And, for the Orioles, their late-starting offense has two pinch hitters to thank.

As Basallo walked to the plate to pinch hit in the eighth inning, Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder called time, then ran to the mound to talk over strategy with right-hander Kevin Kelly.

It’s fair to assume the plan was not to fall behind, two balls to no strikes, which then forced Kelly to come into the strike zone with a low-and-inside sinker.

“With Sammy, anything that’s remotely close to the plate is a hot spot,” Albernaz said. “I would say, yeah, down and in to a lefty is usually their honey hole and bright red.”

Basallo clubbed that pitch high and long, way out to center field, for a game-tying, two-run home run — the first pinch-hit homer of Basallo’s career.

It couldn’t have come at a better time, sending the game to extras. And, with another pinch-hit decision working in Baltimore’s favor, the Orioles have now won eight of their last nine games against Tampa Bay.

“It felt really good being able to come back from the injury and being able to help the team right there — being able to help the team get that win right there made it feel even better,” Basallo said.

It wasn’t just Garcia with a key defensive play. O’Neill made two of his own. Young and right-hander Andrew Kittredge benefited from the highlight-reel efforts.

In the sixth, when Young later allowed Junior Caminero’s RBI single that created a 2-0 lead for the Rays, O’Neill showed off his arm by firing a strike to third base. Walls attempted to run from first to third on Yandy Díaz’s single, but O’Neill’s throw ensured the sixth inning didn’t get out of hand for the Orioles.

And in the ninth, with the go-ahead run on second base, O’Neill did it again. Palacios lifted a shallow fly ball into right field. With a full dive, O’Neill stole a bloop hit for the third out, which prevented that critical run from scoring.

“T.O. had a great game in the outfield,” Albernaz said.

Young almost completed six innings despite struggling with his command, but Caminero drove a two-out RBI single that chased the right-hander from the game. And, while this wasn’t the crispest Young has looked this year, given his three walks and 37% in-zone pitch rate, he did enough. He simply didn’t have run support while he was on the mound.

In a season full of these up-and-down performances, the difference between Friday’s offense and Saturday’s fit the mold. In the series opener, Alonso drove in three runs, including a two-run homer, and Baltimore continued a strong stretch against the Rays. But on Saturday the Orioles were missing the breakthrough knock until late, when Basallo homered.

They threatened. In the first inning against left-hander Shane McClanahan, Alonso extended his career-long hitting streak to 14 games and Coby Mayo doubled. But O’Neill flied out too shallowly in left for Alonso to score on a sacrifice fly, and Henderson struck out to strand the pair in scoring position.

In the third, Alonso and Mayo combined again with hits to put two runners in scoring position for O’Neill, who wound up flying out to end the threat.

By that point, Young had found his footing. Following Liam Hicks’ solo homer and Jonny DeLuca’s single in the second, he retired 10 batters in a row before issuing a walk to Cedric Mullins — and Narváez wiped out Mullins by throwing a dart to second on his steal attempt.

“Thought I made pitches later on in the game and started getting ahead,” said Young, who also faced Tampa Bay last week. “I wasn’t really getting ahead with first-pitch strikes early on but made pitches when I needed to. I thought it was definitely better than last. This is a great lineup and facing them back-to-back isn’t easy, but I thought I did a good job.”

It was enough to keep the game close, which allowed Basallo and Beavers to come through. And with three key defensive gems — two from O’Neill and one from Garcia — the Orioles walked off as winners.

This article has been updated.

No deficit seemed insurmountable because of how potent the offense was. But that is a relic of the first half of the season, when Luis García Jr. and Curtis Mead manned the corners of the infield and All-Stars CJ Abrams and James Wood were incendiary at the plate.

Now? Three runs seem like a gargantuan task for this lineup. Particularly against Marlins ace Eury Perez, one of the preeminent young pitchers in the game, the Nationals were fighting uphill Saturday.

“At the end of the day, we need our pitchers to pitch well, and there’s been a large part of this season where it’s been the reverse, right?” manager Blake Butera said pregame. “Where our hitters maybe need to feel like they need to score 10, 12, 14 runs a game to win. Now it’s on the pitchers to keep them off the board as much as possible and our hitters to find a way to score enough runs to win.”

Jake Irvin didn’t have his best outing, but he gave the Nationals length (six innings). His four runs allowed were too much for the Nationals to overcome in Saturday’s 4-2 loss. Irvin allowed a walk, a double and a single in the first inning to put the Nationals (61-70) behind 2-0. But he closed the door with an inning-ending double play.

In the second, Irvin left a fastball near the heart of the strike zone for a solo shot by Heriberto Hernández but rebounded to induce two groundouts before allowing Esteury Ruiz to reach base on a hit by pitch. Xavier Edwards flied out to end the inning. Irvin allowed his fourth run in the fourth on Jakob Marsee’s homer.

Butera let Irvin empty the tank, and the pitcher rewarded the faith by going six innings, allowing six hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

“Feel like I’ve given us a chance to win but haven’t put us in the driver’s seat,” Irvin said of his recent starts. “So definitely frustrating.”

Irvin said he battled Saturday and, as a starter, “it’s your job if you get punched early to just stay on your feet and keep going.”

Given the depleted state of the Nationals’ offense, the pitching staff has little room for error. The three early runs put the Nationals in a hole. Although Irvin’s giving the team length, they need him to minimize the damage.

“He’s almost always able to get us through five or six innings, just need to make those four runs one or two runs,” Butera said.

Against the Mets, Irvin allowed three runs in the fourth inning to flip the game in New York’s favor. Against the Cubs on Aug. 11, he allowed five runs over 3 1/3 innings.

Two-strike execution evaded Irvin — and has been an issue for him since returning from the injured list. In his Aug. 11 start against the Cubs, he allowed a .925 OPS when he got into two-strike counts. The first-inning double and walk came on two-strike counts against the Marlins.

As the offense goes through a lull, the Nationals’ pitching staff has to lift up the team. Irvin’s performance in a vacuum wasn’t poor, but it’s indicative of the precarious position the team finds itself in with most of the lineup either scuffling or being asked to step into larger roles.

“As a staff, we want to pick those guys up because of what they they’ve done for us all year,” Irvin said. “So as a group, as a collective, we’ve really been taking pride on picking them up, keeping us in games. I wouldn’t say there’s an added pressure, but the love that everybody has for each other in this locker room, I think there’s just a will to want to go out there and give us as much of a chance as we can.”

José Tena, Dylan Crews and Andrew Pinckney were the only Nationals to record base hits. Brady House and Abimelec Ortiz drew walks, and the team had only two opportunities with runners in scoring position (1-for-2).

The Nationals surprised the league with their explosive offense. But there’s no compensating for the absence of Wood and Abrams, who have 59 of the team’s 183 homers. Without their power, the Nationals will have to assume a different offensive identity.

“It’s a different-looking lineup right now. It’s a different type of offense,” Butera said. “We’re gonna have to walk. We have to get on base. We have to steal bases. We’re going to have to be able to go first to third. We have to score on balls in the gap.”

This article has been updated.

MINNEAPOLIS — Ravens head coach Jesse Minter and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores continued to share the spotlight as their defenses dominated Saturday in Baltimore’s 13-3 preseason victory.

The Ravens and Vikings had two joint practices ahead of the game in which the Ravens’ offense went against the Vikings’ defense on one field and the Vikings’ offense took on the Ravens’ defense on the other. Both defenses won both days, whether it was the starters or backups playing on offense.

That carried over into the preseason game.

The Vikings were the first to find their stride, but quarterback J.J. McCarthy missed two open receivers in the end zone. That allowed the Ravens to score the first points, a 49-yard field goal by Tyler Loop.

Veteran Vikings quarterback Carson Wentz led his team down the field to tie it at 3 just before the half. From there, more backups filtered in and out. Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Fagnano hit wide receiver Lajohntay Wester for the only touchdown, and Loop made another field goal to help the Ravens finish on top.

“I just liked the resolve, especially on defense,” Minter said. “I thought we finished the game a little bit better than last week, which was a goal.”

Here’s who made an impression, for better or worse, in the defensive showdown.

Risers

OLB Ethan Burke: An undrafted rookie, Burke started camp at the bottom of the depth chart. He played hard where he was at, terrorizing the Ravens’ depth quarterbacks. And, every time he was given a chance for more, he took it. He has continued to make the most of his reps. He finished with two quarterback hits, including a sack, two pass defenses and a forced fumble.

LB Dominic DeLuca: The undrafted rookie out of Penn State has had a solid performance through camp, and he made a quick impression Saturday when he sent running back Demond Claiborne stumbling back 3 yards on the second carry of the game. He then read a screen perfectly, although he missed the tackle, and stuffed another run on the 3-yard line to prevent the Vikings from scoring.

P Ryan Eckley: Last week’s punt could be chalked up to nerves. It was Eckley’s first game rep against NFL opponents. It went 27 yards and out of bounds, but he came back with a 40-yard punt in that game. With the Ravens’ impressive offensive performance against the Eagles, he didn’t get much work in. Against the Vikings, Eckley was given many more opportunities. He started with a respectable 40-yard punt before kicking two 59-yarders in a row while backed up deep in his own territory.

TE Josh Cuevas: Last game, fellow rookie tight end Matt Hibner stepped into the conversation. Cuevas had a nice 11-yard catch and said he didn’t begrudge Hibner the spotlight. But Cuevas’ time to shine came in the second preseason game. With the Ravens struggling on offense, Cuevas’ 23-yard catch earned them their first first down. Four plays later, he caught a 19-yard pass, helping the Ravens move into field goal territory for the first score.

“It’s a friendly competition, but we always pull for each other,” Cuevas said of himself and Hibner. “... It was good kind of bouncing off one another and me kind of picking him up today and him picking me up that first preseason game.”

S Keondre Jackson: Jackson’s roster spot seemed secure because of his special teams contributions. But his consistent performances through joint practices and preseason games are making him a legitimate option as a backup safety. On one series alone, he had four tackles, including stopping the Vikings’ returner, sacking Wentz and dropping a running back for a loss.

Jackson said things are slowing down for him and he’s getting better at reading the offense’s formations and communicating with his teammates. He’s also finding a balance to the amount of energy he brings.

“I had a few penalties in games when I first came up, so just going from that and learning I could play fast, play aggressive and take it to the edge but just keep it close right there,” Jackson said.

Interior defensive line: This was formerly a position of concern due to the number of injuries. The performance from the Ravens’ depth pieces quells some of that. After whiffing on a sack, Aeneas Peebles rebounded well to affect the quarterback. Rookie Rayshaun Benny recorded a sack, and international players C.J. Okoye and David Olajiga flashed. Veteran Broderick Washington was also disruptive, and the room now seems to be crowded with players vying for the final spots.

“I would say that that’s as tight as any position,” Minter said. “There’s a lot of guys there that made plays, that made impact plays ... so it’s a really deep room, really crowded in that room.”

Fallers

Offensive line: A potential starter made the first big mistake of the game. First-round pick guard Vega Ioane was called for holding, something that hasn’t happened in over two years. He had a decent performance after that, but his teammates along the line also struggled. The quarterbacks were scrambling, and the run game was close to nonexistent. Carson Vinson allowed a sack and almost another, and Emery Jones Jr. was called for a false start. This was consistent with the struggles the line faced through joint practices, and even the starting linemen were not immune.

LB Jamon Johnson: A late free-agent signing, Johnson has had a quiet camp. He had one tackle before he was injured just before halftime. He limped off the field and was later carted to the locker room. He was ruled out with a thumb injury. With depth players DeLuca and Jay Higgins having solid performances and starting linebacker Teddye Buchanan making his return from an ACL injury, Johnson’s chances of making the roster are dropping.

Running back depth: Unlike last week, when the run game picked up speed as play continued, the Ravens struggled on the ground all game. Part of that was on the offensive line, but Elijah Tau-Tolliver had two carries for 5 yards and Dontae McMillan had three for a loss of 1. Fifth-round pick Adam Randall, who started last week, did not play because of a minor injury. And Rasheen Ali is injured. That leaves just two healthy running backs, Derrick Henry and Justice Hill, with secure roster spots.

This article has been updated.

After all, the last time he was here, Daniels went from an ascending NFL quarterback to a bona fide star. With an NFC championship game berth on the line, Daniels threw all over the top-seeded Lions in 2024: 299 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions.

The double-digit-underdog Commanders left Motor City as the toast of the league, and their quarterback the undoubted NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year.

So, after an injury-riddled 2025 season, maybe Washington just wanted Daniels to remember what it was like the last time he was fully healthy. Clean out the scar tissue.

But a staged appearance is all it was.

Daniels took three snaps in his preseason debut against the Lions on Saturday. He took a sack, was pressured and handed the ball off on third-and-long.

That was about his only contribution to Washington’s 17-13 loss to the Lions.

But maybe it was enough for Daniels to turn the page from the last time he was on a football field — a hit in Minnesota that knocked him out for the year. It was only his third game since October.

“It was good just to go out there and get the operation. Live bullets,” Daniels said. “Joint practice, practice, they are great. But there is a different type of urgency live. ... You can’t play all 60 plays in the preseason. The main goal is Week 1.”

Here’s more on Daniels’ debut and other risers and fallers from Washington’s second preseason game.

Risers

Athan Kaliakmanis

There might not be another player on Washington’s roster who has helped himself more over the last two weeks than Kaliakmanis.

The seventh-round rookie out of Rutgers was buried on the depth chart to start camp behind Daniels, Marcus Mariota and Sam Hartman. But, in two preseason games, he has been Washington’s most impressive quarterback.

He gets the ball out to avoid pressure, pushes the ball downfield and is mobile enough to avoid sacks. He hit Jayden Bradley on a 30-yard seam route Saturday and connected with Antionio Williams on the run. His arm strength is evident on throws to the far side and off play action. He nailed Nick Nash down the sideline for 55 yards.

Nick Nash making plays ‼️

📺 #WASvsDET @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/Vz5jtyKZis

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) August 22, 2026

But, most importantly, the offense moved with Kaliakmanis in the game. He led an 11-play, 78-yard scoring drive to open the second half. He followed that with a six-play, 61-yard drive later.

Kaliakmanis finished the game 11-of-14 passing for 162 yards. That’s after he went 6-of-10 for 87 yards against Miami last week.

“He’s spinning it, man,” wide receiver Jaylin Lane said. “I think his arm strength surpised me. He had one that he threw to [Williams on the move] today, just launched it. He’s been looking good.”

It is still a question of whether Washington will take two or three quarterbacks on the opening 53-man roster. Traditionally, the Commanders take three. But, with a roster crunch at other positions, it might make more sense to take two this year.

Still, Kaliakmanis is cobbling together a compelling case to warrant a roster spot. Mariota is hurt. Does that make Washington want a little extra depth behind Daniels?

If he keeps playing like this, maybe Kaliakmanis will answer that himself.

Joshua Josephs

Washington has been waiting for its fifth-round pick to make an impact. Josephs, a pass rusher, has been flying under the radar. He hasn’t played poorly but hasn’t had a moment.

That changed in Detroit when Josephs lined up with the first-team defense. He blew up his block and forced Lions quarterback Josh Dobbs to scramble into Amik Robertson. Robertson quickly lowered his shoulder to pop the ball loose, and Josephs recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown.

A big hit leads to a fumble and a @Commanders TD!

Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/yBLQW1s6n6

— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2026

The edge rusher out of Tennessee was known for his massive wingspan in college. Scouts liked how he could get pressure and bounce runs outside. This wasn’t a run, but it works for quarterback scrambles too.

It wasn’t all good for Josephs. He got caught biting on a read option from Dobbs, letting him spring loose on a 50-yard rushing touchdown. Josephs didn’t need to overpursue. Linebacker Sonny Styles was waiting to stop the run if Dobbs handed it off.

But it was an overall positive for the rookie.

Tyler Owens and the special teams safeties

Take a look at this play by Owens. He won’t get credit for a sack, but it is exactly the type of pass rush head coach Dan Quinn has been wanting to see out of his new defense.

Tyler Owens blows it up 💥

Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/mroSBCRtHK

— NFL (@NFL) August 22, 2026

Owens wasn’t the only safety to have a good day. Quan Martin came up with his second interception in as many weeks. Martin has three interceptions in his entire career. Now he has two in the preseason alone.

Martin was a second-round pick because of his ball skills. They’re starting to show up.

“I think [this new defensive scheme] gives us a lot of opportunity to read the quarterback. Just play the quarterback,” Martin said. “I’ve been a ball hawk my whole life.”

Quinn echoed that.

“He’s always been somebody who has good ball skills and has the speed to get to the locations for that,” he said. “He’s off to a great start.”

Fellow safety Percy Butler also made plays on special teams.

Washington has six safeties trying to make this team. It could take all six but more than likely will take five. Nick Cross is a lock to start. After that, Jeremy Reaves and Martin are fighting at free safety. The last three are Will Harris, Owens and Butler.

At first, it seemed Harris had the edge as an eight-year vet. But Owens and Butler are strong special teams players. If Owens is also making plays on defense, Harris’ position gets a little less secure.

Fallers

Pass protection

Quinn said the determining factor of whether Daniels would play in the preseason was the health of the players around him. Namely, Quinn wanted to make sure most of the starting offensive line was available.

Well, he played. The result was Daniels getting pressured once and sacked for a loss of 10 yards on the next play.

“There’s a lot to be desired,” Quinn said.

You could make the argument that Daniels was missing his starting center, Nick Allegretti. But the reality is, Allegretti has already missed most of training camp with a calf strain. By and large, the line that rolled out there in Detroit will be the one that goes against the Eagles on Sept. 13.

At the moment, that should give the Commanders serious concern about whether they can keep Daniels healthy for 17 weeks.

GO DJ ‼️ pic.twitter.com/yVDlNUGgGO

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) August 22, 2026

What is more worrying was some of the protection lapses came from players who are theoretically plus blockers. John Bates, a tight end Washington specifically brings in for added blocking help, missed an assignment that led to Daniels getting hit.

Quinn said he saw lapses in every part of the line.

“On the first play pass, it looked like there was pressure inside. On the second, it looked like it was pressure outside,” he said.

It’s not just the first-team offensive line, either. Hartman and Kaliakmanis were under pressure. Detroit had two sacks for 21 yards.

Quinn started to acknowledge he was concerned about the center depth this week. But, after the Laremy Tunsil injury at left tackle, Washington’s issues go beyond just that position.

“It is a work in progress. It is only preseason. We still got practice and everything. By the time we get to Game 1, we will get it set in stone,” Daniels said about his offensive line. “But for me it’s just trusting those guys up front. Trusting the play calling, reads, getting the ball out.”

Rushing attack

The offensive line didn’t fare much better in the running game.

After last week, when Kaytron Allen and Robert Henry Jr. had solid nights on the ground, that promptly stopped this week. Washington had 17 carries for 35 yards. It was a tough day for the line.

“I think we could do a better job in protection. I think we got to run the ball better,” rookie center Matt Gulbin said, putting it bluntly. “They gave us some tough looks to run the football. But that is part of our identity, moving people and running the ball.”

Run defense

It didn’t seem to matter who the Lions handed the ball off to; they were going to have success.

Detroit rushed for 157 yards and averaged 6.8 yards per carry in the first three quarters. Granted, most of this wasn’t against the first-team defense. But it is still something to monitor as the team ends training camp over the next week.

This article has been updated.

In Saturday’s win over the Vikings, they did just that.

“Banner Ravens Podcast” co-hosts Paul Mancano and Jonas Shaffer break down standout performances by Baltimore’s edge rushers Saturday. Then they talk about strong showings from Ryan Eckley, Joe Fagnano and more.

In February, Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman became a father for the first time. He recently called his daughter, Nova, “the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I would definitely say she changed my life for the better,” he said this month.

Now Bateman’s daughter could become a key consideration as police and the NFL look into an early-morning June 3 incident that led to his arrest on a family violence charge. Even if Bateman’s alleged conduct does not result in a criminal conviction, family violence is considered a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy and could result in a multigame suspension.

Coach Jesse Minter, asked about that possibility after Saturday’s preseason win over the Minnesota Vikings, declined to comment.

Bateman allegedly smashed the windshield of a car while his daughter, then only 3 months old, and the mother of his child were inside, according to police in Walton County, Georgia. Police said Bateman used an object to break the windshield of the accuser’s car, along with the driver’s-side window, and appeared to use a screwdriver to attempt to puncture a tire on the car.

Police said the glass shattering caused multiple small lacerations to the accuser’s face, which officers noted had multiple bruises. The accuser said they were caused during an initial dispute at their shared residence. Police also said the incident left glass in the hair of their daughter, who was sitting in the back of the car.

According to court records, Bateman faces charges of family violence battery — a misdemeanor for first-time offenses — along with reckless conduct, another misdemeanor. Bateman is also charged with criminal damage to property in the first degree, a felony, and could face more than a year of jail time if convicted.

An NFL spokesperson said the Ravens have been in contact with the league regarding the matter, which is under review. Under the NFL’s personal conduct policy, a family violence violation could result in a baseline unpaid suspension of six games.

Bateman could face greater scrutiny in the incident because of his daughter’s presence.

Under the policy, “aggravating factors” may result in a longer suspension. That includes circumstances in which an “act is committed against a particularly vulnerable person” or when it’s committed in the presence of a child.

Possible mitigating factors include prompt acceptance of responsibility and cooperation with any league investigation, voluntary engagement with appropriate clinical resources, demonstrated compliance with any recommended counseling or therapeutic program, and voluntary restitution with the accuser.

In July, a Georgia court ordered Bateman to complete a family violence intervention program. Records also show the accuser requested that the conditions of Bateman’s bond change from “no contact” with her to “no violent contact.”

Noah Pines, Bateman’s attorney, declined to comment, but he provided The Banner with a statement on behalf of Jordan Siev, Bateman’s personal lawyer: “It is unfortunate that a personal family situation has been taken completely out of context for sensational reasons. We will let the court process play out, and the facts will come out at that time.”

With the Ravens’ season opener three weeks away, it’s unclear how the NFL’s investigation could impact the availability of Bateman, a projected starter in 2026 and former first-round pick. In recent years, the league’s investigations into potential policy violations have taken months, and sometimes longer, to complete.

The NFL’s 10-game suspension of Justin Tucker in June 2025 came five months after The Banner published its first investigation into allegations that the then-Ravens kicker had engaged in inappropriate behavior with massage therapists in the Baltimore area.

Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker James Pearce Jr.’s eight-game suspension, announced last week, came six months after he was arrested on domestic violence charges in February. In August 2025, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice accepted a six-game ban for his role in a March 2024 multicar crash in Dallas that left multiple people injured.

And former Buffalo Bills defensive end Von Miller’s four-game suspension, announced in October 2024, came 11 months after allegations that he assaulted his pregnant girlfriend.

The shooting unfolded on the 4500 block of Reamy Drive shortly after 11:30 p.m., according to a news release from the Maryland Office of the Attorney General.

The Prince George’s Police Department said in a post that its officers observed two vehicles in the area and followed them in a marked police cruiser down Reamy Drive, which is a dead-end road. One of the vehicles drove off the road and through a yard toward the officers, according to police.

An officer fired their weapon and struck the driver, an adult male, police said. Officers rendered medical aid to the driver, who later died at a hospital, according to police.

The shooting took place in a suburban neighborhood off Suitland Road. The area is mostly lined with homes, with few businesses.

“We get to race at a lot of cool cities, but this one is by far the best that we’ve ever had, and I can say that very truthfully,” Kyle Kirkwood said Friday. ”Going by the Capitol building, the views here, all the architecture of all the buildings around here, all the museums, it’s stuff that you dream of.

“It’s a serious honor and privilege.”

This weekend’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix is the second big sporting event staged by President Donald Trump in Washington as part of the nation’s 250th birthday celebration. The first was a UFC fight card on the White House’s South Lawn in June.

IndyCar racing — an open-wheel counterpart to NASCAR — doesn’t have quite the same association with the right-wing “manosphere” or the MAGA movement, but series owner Roger Penske received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump in 2019 and led the effort to put together this race in the District of Columbia.

For the drivers, it’s a welcome moment in the spotlight.

“What’s been the coolest part of this week? Honestly, the media covering us,” Kirkwood said. “It’s cool to see IndyCar in this light. We don’t get these opportunities very often outside of the Indy 500, and to have an event that is sought after as much as the 500 is something that’s special.”

Washington has little history with high-level motorsports. In 2002, the parking lot at RFK Stadium on the city’s east side was transformed into a course for an American Le Mans Series event.

The Freedom 250 is downtown in one of D.C.’s prime tourist areas. If you’re not in a race car, it’s not the greatest weekend to be driving around the area given all the road closures, but if the weather holds up, the setting has the potential to be spectacular.

“As a boy from the Netherlands that just got his green card, it is really cool,” said Rinus VeeKay, who has six top-10 finishes this season. “We didn’t get too much U.S. history in school ... but learning so much about it here, seeing all the monuments and museums and just how every building kind of has a special purpose here around the city, is very cool. Getting to see the White House, this is stuff you see in movies.”

The White House is not part of the D.C. course, although after Turn 1, the track does include a lengthy straightaway along Pennsylvania Avenue, heading northwest away from the Capitol. Then there’s a sharp left turn between the National Archives and the main Justice Department building, followed by a couple quick 90-degree turns as the track navigates the city’s grid system.

After a straightaway takes drivers across the National Mall, they turn left onto Independence Avenue, passing the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum. and the Eisenhower Memorial before heading north on 3rd Street to the finish line, which is just west of the Capitol.

“I think it’s more exciting when you actually get on the grounds and see what you’re about to do. I mean, when is this ever going to happen again?” said Josef Newgarden, a driver for Team Penske. “I hope it’s great visibility. That’s probably the biggest thing that it could bring to us — is visibility to people that aren’t maybe as familiar with IndyCar racing.”

IndyCar practice and qualifying are scheduled for Saturday, along with an IROC race. The IndyCar race is Sunday and set for 250 miles (147 laps) — the second-longest street circuit race in IndyCar history.

The 1.7-mile track includes seven turns in all. The Air & Space Museum and National Gallery of Art are both inside the course’s perimeter, with a fan zone between them. The track is shorter and has fewer turns than several others on the IndyCar schedule, but it’s not much different from the 1.6-mile, nine-turn circuit used in downtown Detroit.

“It’s short and snappy, but you know what? We don’t know. We haven’t driven on it yet,” driver Marcus Armstrong said. “We’ll find out tomorrow. It might even be wet tomorrow. There’s a lot of crosswalks, a lot of paint on the track, so that could be super slippery.”

Rain showers and potential thunderstorms could disrupt any plans outdoors on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Luis Rosa, a meteorologist with the weather service, said Marylanders can expect a “gray day” ahead, though no severe storms.

Showers will be on and off throughout the morning, said Rosa, with a small break in the late morning and early afternoon. Starting in the mid-afternoon, some thunderstorms could roll in, potentially delaying the Baltimore Orioles game.

Showers and storms expected this morning as an area of low pressure tracks to our south along a stalled front to our south. Additional showers & thunderstorms are expected this evening into tonight along a cold front. Conditions become drier by Sunday and Monday. pic.twitter.com/xp9dpUpDxS

— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) August 22, 2026

Another weather front of storms could roll over the Appalachian Mountains around 10 p.m., bringing some heavy rain through midnight, said Rosa. Showers could pour about a quarter of an inch of rain overnight, according to the weather service.

Sunday should be drier and warmer with a high of 85 degrees. The sun should peek out throughout the day as well.

How is the forecast for Ocean City?

Ocean City forecast for Saturday

• 🌤️ Best beach time: Rainy and stormy most of the day
• ⛈️ Storm timing: Afternoon into the evening
• ⚡ Biggest hazard: Heavy rain and thunderstorms
• 🌊 Surf/rip current risk: Low
• 🚗 Travel impacts: Half an inch of rain at night

Beachgoers may want to hunker down on Saturday as storms and rain are expected to come down most of the day. There will be better luck on Sunday, which will start off cloudy but get sunnier throughout the day, according to the weather service.

A calm weekend in a storm-packed summer

The summer in Maryland has been filled with severe storms, flooding and at least 11 tornadoes, higher than the average number of eight.

It’s not just Maryland — this summer has been more active for tornadoes nationwide, according to Storm Prediction Center data.

Storms in the state alone have toppled trees and power lines, cutting power to tens of thousands of Marylanders for hours and shutting down roads.

But as temperatures drop and the air gets drier this month, the severe weather threat should start to weaken.

Banner reporter Clara Longo de Freitas contributed to this article.

“Local leaders and providers are deeply concerned that the proposed changes will reduce access to high-quality programs and pose operational challenges for Head Start providers,” Council President Natali Fani-González said in a statement.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a proposed new rule this month. It would eliminate classroom ratios and reduce requirements for disability services and bilingual education, among other major changes. The program would focus more on nutrition and physical education, under a directive from the department’s secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Federal officials say they are reducing bureaucratic red tape and turning over control to local agencies, creating cost savings that will allow Head Start centers to serve more children.

But critics say the federal government is imposing new rules, including one likely to squeeze Maryland centers financially and force some to close. The new rules would reduce the amount of federal money that could go toward Head Start centers’ administrative costs from 15% of their funding to 5%.

In Montgomery County, a tough budget season this spring led officials to make difficult decisions about how much funding could go to community programming, particularly as federal funding dries up under Trump administration changes.

If the proposed Head Start changes are approved, they could create additional financial strain on the county as officials weigh whether they can increase funding for early-childhood programs.

Before HHS announced the proposal, some longtime grantees were facing challenges as the federal government held up the grant competition process, Education Week reported Tuesday.

“Head Start has been changing lives in Montgomery County for more than 60 years, giving kids a real shot at showing up to kindergarten ready to learn,” County Executive Marc Elrich said in a statement. “These proposed changes don’t cut red tape, they cut into what makes the program work: qualified teachers, high-quality early learning, and a voice for parents.”

Head Start programs serve 7,000 children across the state. The programs are run by nonprofits that received more than $135 million in federal funds in 2025.

Fani-González called the department’s proposal “a direct attack on multilingual programs.”

“Requiring English-only instruction contradicts decades of research showing that students learn best by building on their home language first,” she said. “We can’t allow this latest proposed federal action to remove core safeguards for our children and destabilize families.”

Luedtke and Katz to host town hall on trash incinerator

County Council members Dawn Luedtke (District 7) and Sidney Katz (District 3) will host a town hall at 7 p.m. Sept. 2 in Rockville to hear community feedback on alternative waste processing proposals that would replace the county’s incinerator.

The County Council plans to decide the future of the Dickerson trash incinerator by Thanksgiving, Fani-González announced last month.

Elrich, whose tenure as county executive will conclude at the end of the year, campaigned in 2016 on closing the incinerator. As part of his fiscal year 2027 budget, Elrich wanted to divert trash to local landfills. But Fani-González said in March that she didn’t want to “rush a decision” as part of the budget process. The county’s contract with Reworld, the company that operates the incinerator, ends in 2031.

“This truly is a once-in-a-lifetime decision here,” Luedtke said during a July 28 council briefing on the issue.

The town hall, which will be hosted at the Montgomery County Department of Transportation’s Highway Services Depot, will give residents a chance to weigh in on solid waste options and ask questions of county officials.

“It is critical to assess potential impacts and concerns of all communities that would be affected by a change in how Montgomery County collects and handles trash,” Luedtke said in a Monday news release announcing the event.

Advisory Commission on Policing seeks feedback at upcoming forum

The county’s Advisory Commission on Policing will host a public forum at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 14 in Rockville to give community members a chance to weigh in on public safety concerns.

The forum, which will be held in the County Council office building, will include a presentation on the commission’s current and future work, along with the Montgomery County Police Department’s Strategic Plan for 2026-30. The event will include a listening session so that attendees can share feedback with the commission.

The commission was established in 2019 and includes 13 voting members and two ex officio members. The group advises the County Council on issues relating to policing and public safety.

Liz Bowie and Maya Lora contributed reporting to this article.

A family living near the memorial alleged that Hopkins trespassed on their property, which butts up against the highway. The Zou family filed four peace orders, one per family member.

Judge Donald Walter said the Zou family had the burden of proving the two private property signs Hopkins admitted to removing from the memorial site were on the Zous’ property, and there wasn’t enough evidence.

“It’s just not clear,” he said Friday before denying all four petitions.

Gavin Hopkins was heading north “at a high rate of speed” on Fallston Road in Harford County just after 3:30 p.m. March 21, according to Maryland State Police. He lost control of his motorcycle and veered off the roadway. He struck a mailbox, then a guardrail. As his motorcycle skidded across one property, he hit a tree and came to a stop on the property next door. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Court records show the family, Zong Ming Zou, Xiu Zhen Zhu and their two children, felt intimidated by the memorial cross Gavin Hopkins’ family and friends put up, as well as the many people who came to pay their respects at the site of his crash.

Gavin Hopkins’ youngest sister, Laela Hopkins, said the site will always hold a special place for her family, especially because her brother was cremated and there isn’t a burial site to visit.

“That’s where he took his last breath,” she said previously.

On July 31 — the same day the Zou family filed their petitions — the Maryland State Highway Administration removed the cross.

Roadside memorials aren’t allowed on state highways for safety reasons, a highway administration spokesperson previously told The Banner.

Hopkins said a highway maintenance engineer initially gave him permission to put up the cross and, now that the court case is over, he will be renewing his fight to place a permanent memorial at the site.

“[The Zou family] never could understand why we put a cross there. I don’t know how somebody could not understand that,” Hopkins said. “You know, to me, it was heartless what they did.”

The grieving father added that several nonprofit organizations, along with parents and family members, have contacted him about petitioning legislators in Annapolis to amend state law to allow roadside memorials.

The Zous’ attorney, T. Wray McCurdy, said his clients were being bullied by the elder Hopkins and that the language barrier — the parents speak only Mandarin — has forced their 13-year-old to act as a translator for them during interactions with Hopkins.

McCurdy repeatedly argued that Hopkins terrified the 13-year-old by screaming obscenities at her parents in front of her during an earlier confrontation.

“I’m very sorry for this man’s loss, but nowhere in grief does a 13-year-old get assaulted,” he said after the hearing ended.

The eighth grader testified that, a day after her family filed the peace order, she saw Hopkins and her parents get into an argument on the border of the highway guardrail and their property.

“I was really scared because I don’t know why he said that towards me because I’m still like a kid; I’m a teenager,” she said.

The argument she referred to didn’t happen within 30 days before the family filed the peace order, so under Maryland law Walter could not consider that evidence when deciding whether to grant the order.

The Zou family can appeal the judge’s decision, but McCurdy did not indicate whether it will.

“I still don’t think, even with me being found not guilty, I still don’t think they’re going to accept this,” Hopkins said. “My son didn’t have a choice where to die.”

Over time, the tradition has expanded to include friends, extended family and pretty much anyone who wants to come along. We still follow roughly the same route, stopping for apples, pumpkins, gourds, baked goods and, for me, an apple cider doughnut milkshake to start the day. These are the places that have become part of my annual fall ritual.

Hollabaugh Bros. Inc.

• 545 Carlisle Road, Biglerville, Pennsylvania

Hollabaugh Bros. Inc. has been part of the Biglerville landscape since twin brothers Donald and Harold Hollabaugh founded the farm in 1955. Today, the family-run operation spans nearly 500 acres, growing apples, peaches, berries, stone fruit, sweet corn and other seasonal produce.

This is where I pick my apples each year, heading into the orchard to fill a bag with several varieties before making my way back to the market. I always grab a photo in the larger-than-life Adirondack chair out front, then head inside for the apple cider doughnut milkshake, made by blending vanilla ice cream and apple cider with pieces of apple cider doughnut. It’s topped with whipped cream and a whole doughnut.

I usually make it even more indulgent by adding a second doughnut on top.

If apples are your vice, too, check out the National Apple Harvest Festival, a Biglerville tradition that dates back decades. At the annual event — held this year on Oct. 3-4 and Oct. 10-11 at 615 Narrows Road — apple butter cooks over an open fire while apple pancakes, fritters, dumplings and cider cover nearly every version of the fruit you could want.

Sandoe’s Fruit Market

• 304 Carlisle Road, Biglerville, Pennsylvania

Pumpkins and gourds are the reason Sandoe’s Fruit Market stays on my route each year. I usually spend most of my time outside sorting through the different shapes, sizes and colors for Halloween and fall decorating before heading into the market for baked and jarred goods. And because I somehow haven’t had my fill of apples yet, I usually grab a jug of apple cider, too. The family-owned business works with more than 200 growers throughout the region, offering the market a broad selection of seasonal produce, local honey, jams and other Pennsylvania-made products.

The Historic Round Barn & Farm Market

• 298 Cashtown Road, Biglerville, Pennsylvania

The Historic Round Barn is one of the most recognizable stops on the route. The circular barn, built in 1914, measures about 90 feet across and still stands out against the surrounding farmland more than a century later. Today the lower level operates as a seasonal market with local produce, Pennsylvania Dutch baked goods, crafts and plants, including plenty of mums in the fall, while the upper level is used for weddings and private events. I mostly stop for the photo opportunity, browse for a few more snacks and seasonal plants, then continue toward Adams County Winery.

Adams County Winery

• 251 Peach Tree Road, Orrtanna, Pennsylvania

After a morning of orchards and farm markets, Adams County Winery is where we slow things down. Established in 1975, it is Pennsylvania’s fifth-oldest operating winery and the oldest in the Gettysburg region, with a historic 1860s bank barn serving as the main tasting room. The property includes vineyards, gardens and plenty of outdoor space, with yard games and live music on select weekends. Even if you do not drink, the setting alone makes it worth the stop, especially when the seasonal Terrace Bistro is open with wood-fired pizza and a garlic-Parmesan Bavarian pretzel worth ordering, too.

A family of New Jersey tourists sits beneath the side-by-side sunshades at the water’s edge.

Miller greets Justin Moyer and tells him, kindly but directly: Separate those, please — it’s the law.

After some banter about buying the Salt Life-branded canopies at Costco, Moyer politely inquires: “So, you want us to move it now, or just, like, when we set up tomorrow?”

“No, no,” Miller replies, “needs to be moved now. Right now, it’s not with code. But good question.”

This is how Tim Miller, 64, is spending his summer: working for the town of Ocean City as a code enforcement employee, checking on canopies to see if anyone’s under them, and enforcing other rules. Riding a cherry-red quad bike up and down the beach, he covers the stretch from 60th Street to 100th Street, rain or shine.

It’s part of Ocean City’s response to the summer of 2025, when visitors pushed the limits of seaside etiquette: setting up canopies on the beach at daybreak but leaving them empty for hours, claiming the highly sought-after front row.

The longer it went on, the more elaborate the tent cities became, with grouped-together canopies blocking parts of the beach for lifeguards, first responders and other beachgoers. Resort leaders decided to act.

Butch Arbin, captain of the Ocean City Beach Patrol, pushed for the initiative to prevent his lifeguards from needing to police canopies and other nagging code violations. The town gave Arbin a budget, and Miller and five others got hired before Memorial Day to serve in a brand-new role for the town: beach code enforcement.

Miller primarily enforces a resort law that says canopies can’t be left unattended before 10 a.m. Violating canopies get marked with an orange tag. The idea is for Miller to circle back to tagged canopies, try to connect with the owners, and explain how the law works.

Sometimes, as he’s tagging, people run up to him from a great distance, like panicked drivers spotting their car being towed. He explains that, under the law, someone has to stay with the canopy until 10.

“After 10 o’clock, you can do whatever the heck you want,” he said, a phrase he repeated several times that Sunday.

He’s also authorized to write municipal citations of up to $5,000. So far this year, he hasn’t written any. He calls it a hands-off approach, one backed by town officials for the summer of 2026.

“Ninety-nine percent of the people are very nice. They understand that I’m here to do a job,” Miller said. “They’ve been affected by people setting up these canopies and sometimes they don’t come back until 12, 1, 2 — especially where all these high-rises are, where real estate’s kind of tight.

“That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing, because people don’t believe it’s fair.”

A federal retiree from Hyattsville, Miller has been an Ocean City tourist for decades; this summer he and his wife are staying at their beach house. He described the gig as less stressful than his job as an auditor with the U.S. Treasury Department, where he worked for 21 years.

“I like the sun, I like the water, I like the sand,” said Miller, his face slathered with sunblock. “I like talking to people like me. I guess I’m an extrovert to a certain degree. It fits my thing. I wanted something fun to do, and also make a little difference.”

Working from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., the code enforcers are also watchful for other violations across Ocean City’s 10 miles of beach, like drinking, smoking, playing music too loud, digging deep holes, or having a dog on the beach. They also police enclosed tents, which are allowed but can’t exceed a height of 3 feet.

Every encounter gets documented. Through Aug. 15, Arbin said, the code team had written 2,810 canopy tags and explained the rules to 5,191 people. They had also come across 542 dogs and addressed 1,574 other violations.

Four citations had been issued, Arbin said: three for improper canopies and one for a dog on the beach.

Since code enforcement efforts have picked up steam, Miller said he’s been seeing fewer canopies, but he’s also noticed tourists are now using beach chairs or umbrellas to claim their front-row spots and “avoid a talking-to.”

At 87th Street, Miller introduces himself to a man with a bulldog on a leash. Dogs are allowed on the beach only between September and May.

“If you could take him off the beach, that’d be awesome,” he says.

Casey Musick, from Catonsville, replies that he only came out onto the sand to greet his son, who was fishing, and decided to bring along his dog, Ronin.

“Tell ’em I was breaking the law,” Musick says cheekily.

Ronin lets out a snarly bark as Tim fires up his ATV and wheels away.

Miller recalled seeing a woman with a dog on the beach who broke into a sprint to escape his oncoming ATV. He caught up to her at the dune line at 90th Street.

“I was shocked. She was a grown woman. I said, ‘Next time, it’s gonna be a fine.’ Usually when I cut people a break, they don’t know it. But the people that are locals, they know,” he said. “She basically got her hand caught in the cookie jar.”

Riding north on the beach, Miller zigzags his noisy ATV to avoid seagulls, beach blankets and charred bonfire remains. The faces of small children light up when the ATV approaches; sometimes he’ll let kids sit in the driver’s seat as their parents watch.

“It’s good PR,” he said, “especially after I talk to someone about a canopy.”

At 78th Street, there’s a red-and-blue canopy, half-raised, with nobody inside. This one is Buffalo Bills-themed — so it sticks out like a sore thumb to Miller, considering most he sees are the same cheap blue-and-white-striped model from Amazon.

This canopy is not unattended. Walking from the water to greet Miller is its owner, Vince Springer, from Vestal, New York. Miller jokes that he’s used to seeing mid-Atlantic football teams represented. The two share a moment of repartee at the expense of Pennsylvania NFL fans.

“I play by the rules and I think it’s a great idea,” Springer said. “Get your canopy up, but don’t abandon it for 10 hours, you know? I’m all about that. I’m cool with that.”

That Springer knew the canopy rules, Miller said, is “music to my ears.”

In the weeks after the trades of stalwarts Curtis Mead and Luis García Jr., the Nationals continued to put up high run totals. Even in a series loss against the Cubs, Washington scored at least six runs in all three games — without All-Star James Wood, who’s recovering from a mild oblique strain.

Add in the recent loss of All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams to a sprained left ankle, and the attrition is becoming too much for Washington. Friday had the making of another squandered opportunity, not because the pitching was inadequate but because the offense didn’t score enough.

But with the Nationals trailing by a run and Jacob Young on second base after drawing a two-out walk and recording his 14th stolen base, they needed Daylen Lile to deliver in the ninth inning with Washington down to its final strike.

It was a big spot for a hitter who has scuffled in an up-and-down sophomore campaign. Lile quickly fell behind 0-2 but battled to stay alive, fouling off three pitches and taking two balls. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat against Pete Fairbanks, Lile delivered a game-tying single.

Lile’s ninth-inning hit was the big knock that has eluded him much of this season, but he briefly kept the Nationals alive — and paced the offense with his three-hit performance. But the team couldn’t sustain the momentum as Clayton Beeter allowed a walk-off single to Javier Sanoja in a 3-2 loss to Miami.

“I was just trying to go up there, have a lot of confidence,” Lile said. “Try to help the team out as much as possible, whether it’s hitting the ball hard, seeing where it goes, or just draw on the walk.”

Lile hasn’t built on a stellar season that culminated in his finishing fifth in rookie-of-the-year voting. He entered Friday with a .696 OPS. His season has been defined by starts and stops. Just when you think he’s about to embark on a torrid stretch — think about his exploits in Cincinnati — his bat goes silent and the results aren’t there.

Particularly in August, Lile hasn’t been performing. He had a .535 OPS this month with 19 strikeouts and two walks before Friday’s game. When asked what he was most pleased about in his at-bats Friday night, Lile brought up his swing decisions.

“When I got to two strikes, I really wasn’t pressing,” said Lile, who went 3-for-5. “At the end of the day, [the pitchers] still had to throw a pitch in the zone, and I’m really proud of myself for doing that because I feel like I’ve been chasing a lot lately. For me to battle with two strikes, it’s just part of my game. I just got to keep it going.”

Lile’s chase rate has risen each month since June, spiking with an alarming 47% in August — last season, his highest chase rate was 32% in May, his first month in the majors. With two strikes, Lile’s chase rate rises to 58.9%.

Pitch selection is essential. Forcing pitchers to throw strikes will give Lile more opportunities to do damage.

“I thought he had a great game all the way around,” manager Blake Butera said. “Huge hit for us there in the ninth to tie it.”

Lile was quick to say it’s just one game, which he’s right to acknowledge. He’s had tremendous stand-alone games that resulted in disappointing follow-ups. But, given that the team doesn’t have the services of Wood and Abrams, and dealt Mead and García Jr, the Nationals will need the best version of him.

With the lack of offensive punch, the margins are thin for the Nationals. So, when Nasim Nuñez gets caught stealing third base in the sixth inning with Lile at the plate, that hurts. Or when the bullpen can’t hold a late lead when runs are tough to come by.

“You’re seeing the last week or so, it’s been tighter games,” Beeter said. “But our job is to put up zeros.”

They’ll need multiple players to step up, including Lile, until the lineup receives reinforcements. Abrams is getting closer — Butera said he felt better Friday but isn’t ready to return. He remains day to day, but the outlook on Wood looks murkier by the week.

To stay afloat and continue playing competitive baseball, the Nationals need Friday’s performance from Lile to kick-start a strong finish.

“Keep fighting, together,” catcher Keibert Ruiz said. “Keep competing every at-bat like Daylen [did in the] last at-bat that last inning.”

This article has been updated.

The first was the sort of swing that was promised to be seen at Camden Yards for years when the Orioles signed Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract over the winter. He belted a go-ahead two-run home run in the fifth inning off Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Freddy Peralta.

And in the top of the sixth inning, with speedster Chandler Simpson at the plate, Alonso showed a characteristic that has enabled him to become a star. He’s not worried about how something looks, so long as he makes the play. So he ranged to his right, then chugged toward first base and dove to tag the bag with his glove for the out right before Simpson arrived.

Glamorous or not — a casual home run trot or a dirt-covered dive — Alonso does it all for Baltimore.

“I really think it’s an honor and a blessing to put on a big league uniform every single day and go out there. So, for me, what other option? There is no other option,” Alonso said. “I just want to play hard, play winning baseball, and for me, I don’t care how it looks. I just want to get it done.”

He was the centerpiece of the Orioles’ 5-3 victory over the Rays on Friday, which snapped a four-game losing streak and began another American League East matchup with a better taste than this week’s sweep delivered by the New York Yankees.

The Orioles leaned on a quality start from left-hander Trevor Rogers, received a bit of good fortune on a check-swing call that went in Jackson Holliday’s favor and prompted Rays manager Kevin Cash’s ejection, and they continued a strong run against the Rays. Baltimore (62-67) has beaten Tampa Bay (76-52) in seven of the last eight games between the clubs.

It was Alonso, though, who captured the essence once again of why this free-agent signing has so quickly become revered in Baltimore. Of course, it has much to do with his offensive firepower, which includes a career-long 13-game hitting streak.

But it also has as much to do with Alonso’s willingness — scratch that, eagerness — to get his uniform dirty.

“At the end of the day, I just want to win games,” Alonso said. “Obviously, that can happen via the homer, but for me, whatever I can help produce and help put runs on the board and prevent them in the field, I don’t care, I just want to win. Whatever I can do offensively, defensively, running the bags, doing the little things right, I just want to win ballgames. That’s all it is.”

The Orioles haven’t won enough games this year, but it’s not because Alonso hasn’t carried his weight. After a slow start (he had a .668 on-base-plus-slugging percentage at the end of April), he has been a force. In August alone, he has a .380 average and 1.147 OPS.

“It takes a long time to have a good season. Sometimes you don’t see the fruits of your labor right away, and that’s where patience comes in. That’s where stubbornness comes in, when you have something you know that’s good for you, you just have to keep doing it and believing and knowing it’s going to work out,” Alonso said. “The best way I can describe it is eating protein and vegetables and doing all the right things for your health, and if you do that over a long period of time, you’ll see results.”

Within the first two pitches from Peralta, the Orioles took the lead. Holliday doubled to begin the game, and Alonso drove an RBI single on the next pitch.

Rogers, who otherwise was stoic through seven innings, ran into his only real trouble in the second inning.

The Rays scored three runs off him, with the first coming when Junior Caminero doubled and Simpson singled. Then Kenny Piper, a 28-year-old playing his second major league game, demolished a middle-middle fastball from Rogers for a two-run homer.

Apart from that, Rogers cruised. And he soon had a lead once more.

“They just did a really good job of getting solid wood on really good pitches, and I wasn’t going to change my approach,” Rogers said. “I was going to keep attacking the zone and mix it up as best I could.”

Dylan Beavers cut into the deficit by hitting his third home run in three games, and Peralta conceded three runs in the fifth. Alonso’s two-run homer was the largest blow, but Cash had reason to complain — and earned his ejection for it.

Holliday tried to stop his swing on an outside changeup. Had he gone, it would’ve been strike three. Holliday, in fact, thought he went around. He turned around and began walking to the dugout before he turned back because third-base umpire Dillon Wilson said he hadn’t offered.

Cash disagreed with that assessment and gave Wilson an earful. It proved costly. Holliday lifted the next pitch for a sacrifice fly, and then Alonso delivered the decisive blow.

“It’s so much fun, to be honest with you,” manager Craig Albernaz said of watching Alonso. “Obviously, that big blow was impressive, especially how hard he hit it, where he hit it and the pitch location.”

There is no knowing how the rest of Alonso’s contract will play out. But in his seven full seasons, excluding the shortened 2020 season, he has powered at least 30 homers. He has been a consistent, steady force in the majors. He became one of five players in MLB history to hit 30 or more in seven of his first eight seasons, joining Mark Teixeira, Eddie Mathews, Ralph Kiner and Albert Pujols (who did so in all eight), according to MLB.com.

And, while this Orioles season may not lead into October, Alonso, at least, is a reason to watch.

“He’s a top-notch individual, leader of men,” Rogers said. “But I think the best thing about him is you can go and talk to him about anything. All I can say is, I’m glad it’s not me pitching against him anymore and I can sit in the dugout and actually enjoy homers when he hits them. He’s a special player, a special human. I’m glad that he’s in this clubhouse, and he’s been playing some unbelievable baseball for us.”

This article has been updated.

Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman was arrested in June for allegedly smashing the windshield of a car while his 3-month-old child and the mother of his child were inside, according to Georgia court records.

The woman told police the incident happened around 6 a.m. June 3 in Walton County, Georgia. Police said Bateman, a Georgia native, used an object to break the windshield of the car, along with the driver’s-side window.

Police said the glass shattering caused multiple small lacerations to the woman’s face and left glass in the hair of their daughter, who was sitting in a back seat of the car. Police said multiple contusions were observed on the woman’s face as well, which she said were caused during an initial dispute at their shared residence.

Police said there was evidence Bateman also used a screwdriver to attempt to puncture a tire on the car.

According to court records, Bateman faces charges of family violence battery — a misdemeanor for first-time offenses — along with reckless conduct, another misdemeanor. Bateman is also charged with criminal damage to property in the first degree, a felony, and could face more than a year of jail time if convicted.

Bateman could also face discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Family violence is considered a violation of the policy and could lead to a baseline unpaid suspension of at least six games, even if the conduct does not result in a criminal conviction. Committing an offense in the presence of a child is considered an aggravating factor that could warrant a longer suspension, according to the policy.

In July, a court removed a no-contact order against Bateman, upon the requests of Bateman and the mother of his child, modifying the conditions from “no contact” to “no violent contact” once Bateman completes a family violence intervention program.

“We are aware of the situation involving Rashod and have been in direct communication with him,” a Ravens spokesperson said. “We notified the league office and have been cooperating throughout the process. As this is a pending legal matter, we will not have further comment.”

An NFL spokesperson said the Ravens have been in contact with the league regarding the matter, which is under review.

Noah Pines, Bateman’s attorney, declined to comment, but he provided The Banner with a statement on behalf of Jordan Siev, Bateman’s personal lawyer: “It is unfortunate that a personal family situation has been taken completely out of context for sensational reasons. We will let the court process play out, and the facts will come out at that time.”

A 2021 first-round pick, Bateman has been searching for consistency in the NFL. He had a promising rookie season before injuries hampered him over the next two seasons. In 2024, Bateman had a career-best 756 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.

The Ravens signed Bateman to a three-year contract extension in the lead-up to the 2025 season. However, his production dipped to career lows as he struggled with injuries and inconsistency. Heading into this season, Bateman has expressed excitement about his role in new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle’s offense.

Bateman told The Banner in January that he witnessed domestic violence as a child and chose to start a foundation, Without You, for struggling women.

In November, Bateman and his mother held an event at Marian House, a nonprofit organization that provides transitional housing and other support services for women. His mother spoke about the lack of resources she had when she wanted to leave her abusive husband, Bateman’s stepfather.

Bateman has been working to build a brand, Without Lords, that focuses on fashion, music and events. He added Without You as a charitable branch and included a number of tenets, including female empowerment. He said the organization was meant to honor the strong women who helped raise him, as well as his daughter.

TMZ Sports first reported the news of Bateman’s arrest.

Ravens reporter Giana Han contributed to this article.

Baltimore Circuit Judge Dana Middleton on Thursday found Officer Robert Parks guilty of second-degree assault, misconduct in office and reckless driving after a two-day bench trial.

Though Middleton acquitted Parks of the most serious charges of attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault, she determined he violated departmental policies and used excessive, retaliatory force. He had been suspended without pay since the incident in October.

A video posted to TikTok shows Parks turning down an alley in his police cruiser and driving straight at Antrell Smith, striking him.

“From the moment we became aware of this incident, I made it clear that what we saw was disturbing, and the conduct was not consistent with our standards or the expectations we have for our officers,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said in a statement Friday. “Today’s termination reflects our commitment to accountability and to ensuring that the men and women who serve this city uphold the law, our policies, and the trust placed in them by the community.”

Baltimore Police Department Terminates Officer Robert Parks pic.twitter.com/tzK5WUlTWT

— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) August 21, 2026

Testimony at the trial revealed that Parks initially drove up to Wylie Liquors Bar in Northwest Baltimore on Oct. 28 and directed people sitting on the sidewalk to move.

Parks then told Smith, 46, of Northwest Baltimore, to come to the patrol vehicle because he had an open warrant for failing to appear in court.

When Smith refused and walked away, Parks responded by chasing him in his vehicle. Smith testified he was scared for his life.

Meanwhile, Parks testified he believed Smith also had a gun and posed a danger to the community.

Parks denied that he tried to harm Smith or hit him.

“BPD officers take an oath to protect the residents of our city, and this individual clearly failed to live up to that oath,” Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement. “As always, we will not hesitate to hold anyone accountable who endangers the safety of our communities, especially those sworn to protect them.”

Mike Mancuso, the president of the Baltimore City Lodge No. 3 Fraternal Order of Police, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Parks’ attorney, Chaz Ball, declined to comment.

Deputy Commissioner Brian Nadeau sat in the courtroom and observed parts of the trial, including the announcement of the verdict.

Parks, 32, a six-year veteran of the force, remains free on home detention as he awaits sentencing on Jan. 12.

This article has been updated.

Earlier this week, federal immigration authorities sought an arrest warrant under seal for 18-year-old Jimy Samuel Godoy Alfaro for a charge of assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding or interfering with a federal officer. The charge stems from an Aug. 11 encounter with Godoy Alfaro, whose name appears as Alfaro-Godoy in county court records, in the parking lot of Eataliano Market & Deli at 5325 Phelps Luck Drive in Columbia.

According to court records filed by a Department of Homeland Security agent, an ICE team from Boston was conducting a targeted enforcement operation in Columbia involving an unnamed person for whom they believed had a final deportation order. Agents saw the person get into a lime green Ford Mustang with a black racing stripe and Maryland tags and followed the vehicle to the Eataliano parking lot. The vehicle was registered to another individual whom agents believed to be related to Godory Alfaro.

ICE agents approached the Mustang wearing full tactical gear and identified themselves as “policia” and immigration officers. They asked Godoy Alfaro, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, for identification, but said in the court documents that he refused.

He asked officers if they had a warrant and told them he was not required to provide identification. Godoy Alfaro told police he “was born here,” agents wrote in an affidavit with the arrest warrant.

Officers ordered him to exit the vehicle, but he refused. As an officer attempted to break the driver’s side window with a baton, Godoy Alfaro raised his window and drove off, striking an ICE agent who arrived on the scene and was approaching the vehicle.

Court records state that the agent’s left leg was briefly dragged by the Mustang and his right leg was then pinned between the Mustang and a parked Cadillac sedan.

The agent ended up on the ground but was able to get up and walk shortly after.

Immigration agents called 911. The agent was taken to a local urgent care and later to an area hospital for evaluation and observation. He was diagnosed with trauma and abrasions due to the impact, court records state.

After Howard County Police responded to the scene, they launched their own investigation into the incident.

County police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn confirmed that Godoy Alfaro turned himself in to police Friday on six traffic charges related to the hit-and-run incident. He is being held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center, she said. Court records do not list an attorney representing him.

“This is a standard hit-and-run investigation for HCPD, regardless of any affiliation of the parties involved,” Llewellyn said of the incident.

After Godoy Alfaro turned himself in on Friday, federal authorities filed a motion to unseal their arrest warrant filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

According to those records, Godoy Alfaro came to the United States as an unaccompanied minor in 2021 near Laredo, Texas. He was traveling with his two sisters when law enforcement encountered them. They said they were looking to join their father. The siblings were taken to a juvenile housing facility and later released to an unnamed sponsor, court records state.

Godoy Alfaro has an application pending with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The detainer request could draw more federal scrutiny to Howard County, which stands out in Maryland for having a sanctuary law on the books. In 2020, the County Council voted 4-1 to approve the Liberty Act, which bars the county from committing any resources to immigration enforcement unless required by federal or state law. Voters upheld the law in a 2022 referendum.

ICE has long asked local authorities across the country to detain incarcerated people who are suspected of entering the country illegally for up to 48 hours past their scheduled release so that immigration agents can pick them up.

Around the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, ICE officials pressured Howard County’s elected leaders to detain people in the county jail who are suspected of entering the country illegally.

ICE is also preparing to open a new Baltimore-area field office in Elkridge following a months-long court battle with Howard County leaders, who sought to block the project.

Baltimore Banner reporters Darreonna Davis, Daniel Zawodny and Justin Fenton contributed to this story.

Baltimore City and Baltimore County police heard a single gunshot at a home in Woodlawn where they were executing a search-and-seizure warrant around 8:30 p.m., city police officials said.

In the basement, officers found Christian Hursey, who was being sought by Baltimore Police in connection with Jada Sellers’ death, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Baltimore Police said.

Sellers, 17, was shot in the early hours of July 31 in the 700 block of Lyndhurst Street. She died of her injuries on Aug. 12. She was a student at Milford Mill Academy, where she was a cheerleader, and worked at soul food restaurant Georgia Peach.

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“Last night’s events mark a tragic ending to an already tragic case, in which two young people lost their lives to senseless gun violence,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said in a news release. “While the circumstances surrounding their deaths are very different, both families are now left to grieve the devastating loss of two young people. Our thoughts remain with them during this incredibly difficult time.”

Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement that Sellers’ loved ones, families and others involved have been closely following what he called a devastating situation.

“Any life lost in our city is one too many, but it is especially heartbreaking to see young lives cut short by violence,” Scott said. “A tragedy like this again drives home the need for us to deeply address the issues that lead to interpersonal violence as a community.”

Sellers’ cousin Heber Brown III told WJZ, The Banner’s media partner, that Sellers and Hursey used to be in a relationship.

“Jada’s mom and dad opened their doors to him, allowed him to come in and really embraced him as family,” Brown said. Sellers’ family shared meals with Hursey’s, he added.

In a statement shared with The Banner on Friday, Sellers’ family thanked the Baltimore Police Department, Mayor Brandon Scott and other agencies and community members who aided the investigation. They said they don’t take comfort in Hursey’s death.

“While we are thankful that he is no longer able to hurt anyone else, we recognize that the factors of his life that led him to commit such a heinous act are still present in our society,” the statement read. “We won’t find full solace until all girls and women are safe from the sin and crime of interpersonal violence.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or behavior, call or text 988 to contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

This story has been updated.

Officers are still investigating the cause of the incident, which shocked the Cape St. Claire neighborhood on Wednesday, the department said in a statement on its website. The explosion blew debris across the yard of the home.

Linda Synowczynski, 76, who owned the home with her husband Stanley, died on the scene as a result of the explosion. He remains in critical condition in the burn unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Several other people, including neighbors and a police officer, suffered minor injuries in the response.

Despite the concerns of neighbors who witnessed a gas company making a propane delivery to the Synowczynski’s residence shortly before the incident, investigators determined Thursday that the business was not responsible for the blast, the department statement said. Officials declined to name the company, saying that it’s no longer involved in the investigation.

This story may be updated.

The Orioles reliever, who has missed much of the last three years due to injuries, will begin a rehab assignment Sunday for Double-A Bowie before linking up with Triple-A Norfolk next week.

Bautista missed all of 2024 due to Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery. Then, after 34 2/3 innings in 2025, he suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff.

The road back has been long, and the Orioles and Bautista are equally tempering expectations at this point, even as excitement builds around an impending return.

“I’m not really focused on the velocity right now,” Bautista said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “My focus is on doing whatever I can to stay healthy, be healthy so that, when I return, I can stay healthy and being able to do what I can to contribute. … I know that, in due time, the velocity will come back, and it’s going to take time.”

On Thursday, manager Craig Albernaz emphasized the need for time and patience.

“Just like we talk about with all our rehab players coming off injury, the biggest thing is their health and make sure we’re not pushing him too hard, and Félix is checking all the boxes,” Albernaz said. “And also, what he does being a back-end leverage reliever and sitting on your butt for seven, eight innings, and then getting ramped up to go into the game — there’s a lot that goes into it, and that’s why he’s here [in Baltimore]. We want to make sure he’s in a good spot, we’re supporting him, and make sure he has everything he needs.”

Even if Bautista isn’t throwing with his triple-digit velocity, the prospect of having him return is enticing. The 31-year-old was one of the best closers in baseball in 2022 and 2023. In 2023, when Bautista became an All-Star, he saved 33 games before an elbow injury ruled him out for the postseason and shelved him for 2024. When he returned in 2025, Bautista posted a 2.60 ERA in 35 games.

The recovery timelines for both his elbow and shoulder injuries set up for extended periods away from the team. Bautista went about his rehab process in Sarasota, Florida, which can feel redundant.

A few weeks ago, though, he stepped onto the mound for his first live bullpen session — facing a batter in what is a pleasant return to normalcy.

“That’s when it first really hit me that, ‘OK, we’re getting close,’” Bautista said. “I started to feel really excited and happy that I would be able to return soon.”

Bautista isn’t the only injured player approaching a return. Infielder Blaze Alexander is also expected to begin a rehab assignment next week, possibly Tuesday in Durham, North Carolina, for Triple-A Norfolk.

This article has been updated.

The National Weather Service is investigating whether a low-grade tornado touched down in Queen Anne’s County on the Eastern Shore on Thursday evening. If confirmed, this season will be the most active since 2020, according to Storm Prediction Center data, when 20 tornadoes swept through the region. Maryland averages around 8 tornadoes a year.

Many of this year’s tornadoes toppled trees and caused other damage in the Baltimore region, including in Howard, Anne Arundel and Carroll counties. Tornadoes were also reported in Caroline, Talbot, Dorchester and Calvert counties.

It’s not completely out of the ordinary, said Kevin Rodriguez, a meteorologist for the weather service’s Baltimore/Washington office. The region saw 11 tornadoes last year, he said. But this summer has been more active nationwide, with the number of tornadoes well above the average, according to Storm Prediction Center data.

While the Baltimore region was largely spared on Thursday, heavy rain caused flash flooding in some areas and tornadoes touched down in Delaware and New York.

Photos and video on social media show the roof of a motel being blown off in Dover, Delaware. National Weather Service crews were in Dover Friday to determine the strength and path of the tornado.

The threat of severe weather diminishes significantly in Maryland past mid-August, as temperatures drop and the air tends to get drier.

What to do when officials send out tornado alerts

The National Weather Service issues both tornado watches and warnings.

A tornado watch indicates that weather conditions are right for a possible tornado. People should stay alert and keep an eye on weather updates.

A warning is issued when a tornado is occurring and has been sighted. This is the time to take shelter, usually in the lowest level of a building and away from windows.

🦀Let’s talk weather, Maryland style... using CRAB CAKES!🦀

👀 WATCH: The ingredients are all on the counter. You’ve got the crabs and your favorite seasonings ready to go. Everything is there to make a masterpiece, but nothing has been formed yet.

Stay safe and #MDReady 🌩️🦀 pic.twitter.com/vcTYepdflR

— Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) (@MDMEMA) August 20, 2026

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Christopher M. Carroll, 36, agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors that could result in a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, followed by five years’ probation.

Baltimore County Circuit Judge Dennis M. Robinson Jr. is scheduled to hear victim impact statements and decide Carroll’s sentence on Oct. 13.

Carroll attended Friday morning’s hearing dressed in an orange jumpsuit, his hands cuffed in front of him. As sheriff’s deputies escorted him into the courtroom, he avoided eye contact with a handful of uniformed fire employees observing from the gallery.

Carroll spoke only when answering questions from Robinson, affirming to the judge that he understood the plea agreement and agreed to waive his right to a trial.

Seth Okin, Carroll’s defense attorney, and Austen E. Cohen, a lawyer representing Carroll’s victims, declined to comment after the hearing.

Carroll, who previously lived in Harford County and most recently had an address in Pennsylvania, was arrested in February and charged with 20 bodily-fluid counts and three counts of property destruction stemming from alleged lewd acts at public safety headquarters in Towson and a fire station in Pikesville.

Assistant State’s Attorney Logan Frye said in court Friday that Carroll filmed himself performing the acts and posted videos to his social media pages and subscribers-only pornography websites, such as JustForFans. Investigators determined three of the videos took place late last year in Baltimore County.

One shows Carroll, dressed in his paramedic uniform and with distinctive tattoos visible, urinating into an ice machine, wiping his penis on the scoop and mixing his urine with the ice before flashing a thumbs-up to the camera. It was captioned: “They always say, don’t drink the yellow snow ....But I’m just trying to make a slushy!!...”

At least 16 employees used the ice machine before discovering it was contaminated, Frye said.

Another video showed showed Carroll in his female supervisor’s office, nude and masturbating into a coffee creamer bottle that he then returned to a shared refrigerator. A third showed him ejaculating onto the supervisor’s keyboard, near where she typically eats breakfast and lunch.

Investigators tested items seen in the videos and found they contained Carroll’s bodily fluids and DNA, authorities said. The videos also were found on electronic devices investigators seized from Carroll in December.

Carroll sat motionless with his head lowered as Frye described the videos. He previously acknowledged making and posting sexually explicit content but claimed he was being artistic and engaging in “role play.” He denied the items in the videos belonged to his colleagues, even though the captions suggested otherwise.

His estranged wife, who has filed for divorce, was awarded a protective order in December after alleging Carroll contaminated a toothbrush, a mouthwash bottle and a marinade at their Harford County home. Carroll claimed the marinade was never served to his family.

Amid an investigation into Carroll, the fire department initiated a “hazmat cleaning” of all stations and offices; replaced ice machines; and offered counseling, crisis resources and health testing to employees. Some vehicles were also sanitized.

Carroll has been held without bond at the Baltimore County Detention Center since February.

Had the case gone to trial, he faced up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500 for each bodily-fluid count. Penalties were less severe for the property-destruction charges.

Carroll, who has no prior criminal history, works on the fire department’s quick response team, assisting people in mental health crises and suffering from addiction.

Spokesperson Travis Francis said in an email Thursday that Carroll remains employed by the department. Francis declined to answer additional questions, citing the ongoing legal proceedings.

Co-owners Cheolsoo “Charles” Lee and Min Kim and their new partner, Byung Kang, will open Little Ian’s Bagels at 3101 E. Baltimore St. in the fall.

“We’re not going to rush into opening,” Kim said. “It could be in September. It could be in October. It could be in November.”

What’s clear is Kim is focused on perfecting a bagel recipe before debuting the eatery in the former Pie Time space. He is aware everyone has an opinion when it comes to the holey bread.

“Everyone is making a lot of assumptions,” Kim said. “I think everyone’s very excited.”

The bagels at the Patterson Park spot will be different from the crab dip bagel at Café Dear Leon and its sister concept La Maison, which is made with a softer, sweeter bread.

“We already have that recipe, so we don’t need to be testing,” Kim said.

Kim said the bagels at Little Ian’s will be closer to a “really well-made country loaf,” though the final product and recipe are still in the works.

“Don’t come with expectations,” he said. “Try it first.”

The team will continue to work with Ceremony Coffee Roasters to provide drip coffee — a shift from the espresso offerings at Café Dear Leon. Little Ian’s will also offer freshly squeezed orange juice and matcha drinks.

The bagel shop is the latest eatery for Lee and Kim, who also co-own La Maison and Italian restaurant Love, Pomelo.

And they’re keeping busy as they focus on the soft opening this weekend of yet another venture: their new pizza concept Flour and Wood at La Maison. After the Remington café closes at 3 p.m., the seating area is reset for dinner with different furniture, and a wood-fired oven is lit to cook handmade 12-inch pizzas. The opening menu includes a Sicilian-inspired eggplant pie, a pepperoni pie, one topped with stracciatella (a soft Italian cheese) and a white pie.

The family lives across the street from Burtonsville Elementary, and when Nicholas saw the construction, the first grader turned to his mom and said: “They’re building it just for me.”

That’s the feeling Montgomery County Public Schools leaders hope to instill in the students who will, starting next week, be learning inside of this brand-new campus.

“We’re so invested in you,” Superintendent Thomas Taylor told the crowd shortly before the ribbon cutting.

Lately, much of the facilities news coming out of Maryland’s largest school district has been negative. A $3 billion deferred maintenance backlog. Hundreds of work orders for mold remediation. A capital budget from the county that won’t make a big enough dent.

But on Friday morning, there were balloon towers, cheerleaders and oversized scissors to celebrate 99,499 square feet worth of good news.

The $59 million Burtonsville Elementary campus was years in the making. The former building, constructed in 1952, sat in an industrial area. Families dealt with overcrowding, HVAC problems and bus loop issues.

This building is designed to feel open, bright and full of nature. Posters on the walls tell students: “The Sun Powers Your School!”

It will feature roughly 1,300 solar panels intended to make the campus a “net zero energy school” that could produce as much clean energy as it uses.

After cutting the ceremonial ribbon, Taylor and other district officials let students snip off pieces of it. Melvina Shaw, 8, snagged a small white square with a yellow star.

“It’s special because I got it from my new school,” she said.

Melvina plans to keep it safe, tucked away in her backpack.

Inside the building, Melvina gasped at how pretty everything looked. Shiny green tiles dotted the floor. The gymnasium felt gigantic. “Look, there’s a locker!” Melvina said. She was used to her classroom cubby.

Her mom snapped photos of Melvina smiling with the school mascot, posing on the staircase and standing in front of a mural that welcomed students in a dozen different languages.

Melvina seemed most excited to see all the teachers. She told them all about how she’d spent the summer reading “Cinderella” and “Peter Pan.”

Teacher Bela Desai worked with Melvina on her reading skills when she was a second-grader. Now that she’s starting third grade, Desai made sure Melvina learned her new classroom number and location so the little girl would know where to find her for any help.

“Don’t forget to come and visit me,” Desai told Melvina. “You’re going to have such a good year.”

Roberts signed a temporary order on Friday allowing work to continue while the court considers an emergency appeal from the Trump administration.

Lower courts had ordered a halt to the project, finding that it must have congressional approval. That ruling was set to take effect on Friday. Roberts signed the order because he oversees appeals of Washington-based cases.

The case comes before the nation’s highest court as Trump, a Republican, exercises unparalleled assertions of presidential power and increasingly seeks to mold the capital in his own image.

The Trump administration has scored a series of victories on the high court’s emergency docket, though the justices have ruled against some of the president’s signature policies after fuller review.

The administration has argued that the president has total authority to renovate the White House and other federal buildings as he sees fit and that the ballroom project must be completed due to national security concerns.

When Trump first announced the plans for a new ballroom, he did not emphasize national security. He said the project would be funded by private donations, including from himself.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation argues that Trump has no unilateral authority to undertake the work, which has included demolishing the East Wing. Lawyers for the preservation group accused the White House of trying to “outrun the courts” by accelerating construction.

The Trump administration says 65% of work has already been completed on the planned 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom, where the East Wing stood before the president ordered its demolition. Crews are working 20 hours a day, seven days a week on the project, where about $200 million in private donations has been spent or committed, Justice Department attorneys said in court documents.

A district court judge ordered a stop to aboveground construction of the planned ballroom in April in a ruling that was suspended before being upheld by an appeals court panel. The order from U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington allows belowground work on bunkers and military installations to continue. Leon was nominated by President George W. Bush, a Republican.

Two appeals-court judges appointed by Democratic presidents found the project was for Congress to decide and “not a matter for Executive self-help.” A third judge, appointed by Trump, found that the preservationist group that challenged the project had no legal right to sue.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer picked up on that argument, calling the decision halting the work “extraordinary and unlawful.” He said the completion of the project was “vitally required by national security.”

EAGAN, Minn. — For two days, the Ravens starters have run against the Minnesota Vikings’ starters.

Now, it’s time for them to sit.

When the Ravens take the field in U.S. Bank Stadium at 1 p.m. EDT Saturday, their depth players and rookies will get their chance to shine. That’s how it goes with preseason NFL games.

They’ve already put on a show by picking apart the Philadelphia Eagles’ reserves and hopefuls in a 24-7 win, and they got some more work in the joint practices versus the Vikings. Head coach Jesse Minter said that means you may see a little less of the young players slated to be starters.

Otherwise, the plan is much the same when it comes to snaps. Despite that, here are three things to watch on Saturday.

Center battle

Danny Pinter looked like he might be pulling ahead in the competition to be the next starting center after Pro Bowler Tyler Linderbaum’s departure. Added early in free agency, Pinter earned praise from his coaches and the front office and was getting in reps with star quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Then he got rolled up on by a Vikings defensive lineman in team drills and had to be carted off. He reportedly tore his patellar tendon. If that is the case, he could be out for the season.

Either way, the Ravens are in need of a starting center to begin the season. The hierarchy behind Pinter isn’t cut and dried, either.

Veteran center Ethan Pocic is still ramping up after the Achilles injury he suffered last season. Pinter’s injury makes his return more important, but it can’t speed up his recovery. Pocic played just 14 snaps in the first preseason game and needs to keep working his way up through practice.

If he does return in full form, Pocic could have the advantage because he’s the only option who has starting experience.

But Jovaughn Gwyn is suddenly a name people are talking about. He played the most snaps in the first preseason game — and he graded the best out of all Ravens offensive linemen. He’s had strong practices, and he could add to his case with a second strong performance.

“I thought both of those guys acquitted themselves fairly well — just kind of hanging in there and doing some of the things, getting thrown in there a little bit more,” Minter said. “So again, [the center position] is probably still a competition, and we will see how it shakes out over these next couple weeks.”

Corey Bullock also won the backup job last season over more veteran players, but he’s been hampered by a non-football issue and is taking snaps at guard.

Whoever wins the spot won’t necessarily keep it in the long run, though, so this will be an ongoing battle.

Declan Doyle on the ground

Rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle was in the booth at M&T Bank Stadium against the Eagles. Now, in a hostile environment against an elite defensive coordinator, he will call plays from the field.

As a first-time play caller, he said previously that he’ll decide whether to call plays from the booth or the field based on his experience with these preseason games.

Through this week, his offense has struggled against Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ constant pressure. There are certainly things to clean up, Minter said, but the offense also faced a defense that does things their future opponents likely won’t.

When Doyle gets the chance to go against Flores in game time, he’ll be doing so without most of his starters. But can his backups defeat Flores’ backups? And can they do it without showing the best of Doyle’s system (since NFL teams generally conceal much of what they plan to run when the games matter)?

In addition to the flow of the game, it will be interesting to watch what Doyle does on the field. How is he interacting with players on the sideline? What does he say to them when they come off the field? How does he react to different situations?

Tyler Loop’s rebound

Kicker Tyler Loop ended his rookie season with a missed field goal that knocked the Ravens out of playoff contention. He started his second season with a missed field goal in the preseason game against the Eagles.

Since then, Loop has looked good in practice.

During a session against the Vikins, Loop made all six field goals, including two from 33 yards, one from 38, two from 43 and one from 53.

But practice pressure can’t compare to the pressure of a game. The Ravens have not indicated a desire to bring in competition for Loop, but that could change if he falters again.

Franklin isn’t an everyday player for Baltimore. The right-handed batter has appeared mainly against left-handed pitchers. But since making his major league debut this month, his ability to get on base — and make things interesting once he does — has translated immediately from the minors.

Being an on-base-oriented player was not Franklin’s goal. Don’t get him wrong: He wants to reach base at a high clip. But Franklin said he mostly hears about that aspect of his game from observers.

“That’s never been something I felt like would be the thing I’m going to be really good at,” he said. “It’s just like, I like to swing at strikes and take balls. And I guess that’s something I’m just good at.”

He’s right. Franklin’s good at that. According to Prospect Savant, Franklin swung at pitches outside the zone at a 19.8% rate in Triple-A this year, which ranked in the 90th percentile. That turned into a strong walk rate.

And it has carried over into his limited time in the majors with Baltimore. Franklin has only had 28 plate appearances, but his 18.4% chase rate so far would be among the best in baseball. His 17.9% walk rate is also near the highest in the league. His .357 on-base percentage helps make up for an early .182 batting average.

Franklin can also hit for power; his first major league knock was a double to right field. In the minors this year, he notched six homers, two triples and 17 doubles. That could be a bonus on top of his on-base skills.

How he reaches base is a layered phenomenon — a combination of his good eye, efficient movement and swing path, and unique approach.

Franklin targets pitches that are up and in. That’s not because he necessarily wants to hit all up-and-in pitches, but because those require the fastest reaction time. From there, he is confident in his ability to adjust to other pitches and locations.

“I’m going to tell you my whole approach,” Franklin said, realizing that opposing pitchers may read this and learn his approach, too. “But it doesn’t really matter, honestly.”

What Franklin gathers from looking up and inside trickles down to what pitches he actually hits. Let’s hear it in his own words.

“The lefty, I’m good at seeing a fastball in that lane, or a changeup, if it starts in that lane, it’s going to go back over the plate,” he said. “And if there’s a breaking ball pop out over that, I can adjust to that.”

OK, that’s lefties. How about his matchups against righties?

“Everything is moving away from you, for the most part, unless they have a sinker,” he explained. “But I trust my eyes enough to be able to lay off a sinker if I see it moving in, and if they hang a changeup, I feel like that’s just a slower fastball and I can adjust to that. That’s just what works for me.”

How it works for Franklin is different than how it works for many hitters.

Generally, professional pitching at any level — but especially in the majors — is so difficult to hit that with fewer than two strikes, batters predict (a nicer way to write guess) which pitch may come and where it may be located. When they’re right, batters have a higher chance of doing damage.

Franklin said he used to look for the pitch out over the plate. When he got it, he could drive it. But “then I would swing at a bunch of breaking balls that start in the same lane,” he said. Soon enough, when pitchers realized he was susceptible to breaking balls, that’s all he’d see.

Franklin, whom the Chicago Cubs selected in the fourth round of the 2021 draft out of Arkansas, is still young but has had an interesting journey to the Orioles. The Nationals acquired him last year when they traded right-hander Michael Soroka to the Cubs at the trade deadline. Then the Orioles shipped minor league pitcher Joe Glassey to Washington this deadline to add a right-handed-hitting outfield option.

In flashes, Franklin has shown what his game is all about. In his debut early this month, he walked and stole a base. And on Monday, in a loss to Tampa Bay, Franklin recorded two singles in two plate appearances and swiped another bag.

“You can see what he can do, just causing chaos on the bases,” manager Craig Albernaz said Monday. “The stolen base, the two-infield hits, that’s a skill set that we value, too.”

This first month of major league life has been “a lot,” although Franklin said he has tried to shut out any distractions so he can focus on playing the same game he always has. Still, he has time to be grateful each time he arrives at the field.

And while the last year has been equally disorienting — featuring three organizations and two trades — Franklin is eager for the simplicity of a game.

“Any way that I can help the team,” he said, “whether it’s hitting lefties, whether it’s stealing a base, getting on base, playing good defense, I’m going to go out there and play as hard as I possibly can for this team.”

The three-day event will take place at New Carrollton’s Metro Points Hotel and include runway shows, cultural showcases, and talent and model discovery, according to a press release from the office of County Executive Aisha Braveboy.

“[Prince George’s County Fashion Week] serves as a premier celebration of style, culture, creativity, commerce, and community in one of the most vibrant counties in America,” her office said.

Details about the events were not immediately made available.

County officials sent a callout to designers and sponsors for the festivities. A flyer advertising the effort referred to Uche O’Mak as a point of contact. The Maryland-based fashion designer used to have a shop at the Savage Mill complex.

This is not the first time Braveboy has made fashion a pillar of her economic development plan. In November, she held a news conference to announce the development of a fashion district within the county.

It’s unclear whether further details have emerged, and a spokesperson from Braveboy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the fashion week and district.

A Facebook post announcing the fashion district prompted commenters to ask for more details on the initiative, including where it would be located.

“I’m a fashion designer who lives and operates in PG County and have for over ten years and I heard absolutely nothing about this,” Aleka Wade wrote.

Have a tip for our Prince George’s County reporters? Tell us here.

Alexander Stephenson is charged with killing Amethyst Stephenson. She was 47. Police and prosecutors say he stabbed her on a Sunday morning in February.

Four hours earlier, he had been in custody in Westminster on a charge of violating a protective order, but he was released on his personal recognizance.

Circuit Judge Lara Weathersbee found that Alexander Stephenson, 53, is competent to stand trial. A 10-day trial is tentatively set for mid-March.

Weathersbee, who reviewed Stephenson’s competency evaluation, said in court Friday: “I was impressed by his understanding of the proceedings ... I do make a finding that he does have the ability to assist in his defense.”

In March, Stephenson pleaded not criminally responsible to several charges, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder and violating a protective order related to the stabbing death.

The competency finding was supported by Joseph Murtha, the attorney representing Stephenson in the case, at Friday’s hearing.

“What we are saying is although we believe he suffers from a mental disorder or mental disorders, he is in a position to understand what’s going on and can help in his defense,” Murtha said after the hearing.

Whether Alexander Stephenson continues with his not criminally responsible plea will be determined by forensic psychiatrists, Murtha said.

Alexander Stephenson appeared in court on Friday wearing a gray jumpsuit. He is being held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center.

At around 8:13 a.m. on Feb. 8, county police were called to a home on Huntsmans Run in a small wooded neighborhood off Triadelphia Road in Ellicott City.

“Caller’s advising their dad just stabbed their mom with a small black knife,” a 911 dispatcher said on police radio. “Unknown where the suspect has gone.”

A month prior, Amethyst Stephenson sought a protective order in Howard County Circuit Court against her husband, alleging that he had made “threats of violence” and caused “mental injury of a child.”

“He has threatened to kill us,” she wrote in her petition.

A temporary protective order was granted that day and was extended several times. On Feb. 2, Alexander Stephenson agreed to a final protective order, which was effective for two years.

Five days later, on Feb. 7, he was arrested for violating the final protective order after he reportedly called his wife.

Around 8 p.m., Maryland State Police were called to a High’s convenience store and gas station on Sykesville Road in Carroll County for a fight taking place in a vehicle. Police spoke to an employee who said they saw two people fighting inside an SUV in the parking lot.

Troopers talked to Alexander Stephenson, who they allege smelled like alcohol and admitted to drinking. He told police the situation was overblown.

They then spoke with his 17-year-old son, who reported that he had been driving when it became apparent that his father was drunk. The son tried to call his stepmother, Amethyst Stephenson, from his cellphone.

According to the son, Alexander Stephenson grabbed the cellphone and threw it out of the moving SUV. The son pulled into the parking lot, where a scuffle ensued as he tried to stop his father from grabbing the vehicle’s keys, police allege.

Alexander Stephenson’s 14-year-old daughter, who was also in the SUV, told troopers that her father scratched her right eye.

Amethyst Stephenson showed up at the High’s to pick up her stepchildren and reported that her husband tried to call her twice, at 7:43 and 7:44 p.m.

She was dead the next day.

Amethyst Stephenson’s biological children, Bennet Chapple and Colin Chapple, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Alexander Stephenson in July. The sons are seeking a jury trial in Howard County Circuit Court.

An attorney for the Chapples did not respond to a request for comment.

Banner reporter Dylan Segelbaum contributed to this story.

And, for Washington’s second preseason game at Detroit, head coach Dan Quinn plans on cashing in on the last opportunity to see his starters.

Well, most of them.

“A good amount of starters will get some playing time,” he said. “A lot of the guys who sat out for [the first preseason game against] Miami will get an opportunity to get some work in for this week, all obviously different amounts.”

The question is, does that include quarterback Jayden Daniels?

Daniels has played just two games since October. Washington doesn’t want to get him hurt, but he’s also in a new system and playing with a new set of pass catchers.

Quinn said the jury is out on whether Daniels will give it a go. Daniels will almost certainly sit out Washington’s final preseason game against Baltimore next week.

“Once I know the health of everybody else around, then I’ll have a better sense for it,” Quinn said.

With that in mind, here are three other storylines to watch when the Commanders play the Lions at noon on Saturday.

Alternating safeties

Last week, it was Quan Martin’s time to make an impression. He broke on a ball from Miami quarterback Quinn Ewers for an early interception. It was the type of play that reminded everyone why he was a second-round pick just a few years ago.

But this week it might be another safety’s turn to put something on tape. Quinn said he wants to rotate the safeties so players get a longer evaluation.

It was Martin last week, but it could be Jeremy Reaves this week.

“We wanted to give them some extended time. It may switch a little bit in the next game,” Quinn said. “We’re fortunate at that position that we’re deep. So it may not be the same next week in terms of how we’d go. We held [Reaves] and Nick [Cross], and then next week they’ll be playing. How does that change? What does that look like? So it’s by design. But it’s a good problem.”

Martin is fighting for his spot in a safety room with guys like Will Harris and Reaves. How they play in the preseason could carry weight in the final evaluation.

A third quarterback

Before the injury to Marcus Mariota, it was almost a lock that Washington would carry just two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. But, with Daniels’ backup now looking shaky, would it be prudent to carry three, just in case?

That isn’t clear. But seventh-round pick Athan Kaliakmanis is trying to make his case to be on the team. He had a strong first outing in the second half against Miami, moving the ball and throwing for 87 yards. Another good showing might make the third quarterback conversation a bit louder in D.C.

An extended time or a drive?

How much time the starters play is also up in the air. If Daniels suits up, for example, is it worth it if he plays only a series? Or will he need 20 snaps to let him get in a rhythm?

Quinn said he isn’t concerned with the amount of snaps when playing starters. He wants them to feel the routine of preparing for a game.

“It’s very difficult to weigh the plus and minuses on this amount of reps or that amount of reps. There’s not a zero-sum part of what we do,” he said. “I think that you try to customize it as much as you can. From a new system, new team to go against calls, the routine of the game, of getting ready, of all that tackling, breaking tackles, all of those.”

He added that the formula looks different for each position and each player. Daniels may not be asked to play as much as another starter, if that is the decision.

“You try to customize it as much as you can to make sure, ‘Hey, this is going to be beneficial to help this player play their very best moving forward,’” he said. “And you try to just do that as often as you can with good sound decisions.”

WMAR-2, an ABC affiliate owned by E.W. Scripps, laid off more than a dozen producers, anchors and photographers at the Baltimore station this month in favor of streaming prerecorded news segments devoid of anchors.

Scripps recently began rolling out the change in Baltimore and some other local stations, with plans to adopt it at the company’s dozens of local stations in the coming weeks and months.

In a brief message broadcast on Tuesday, the station’s morning anchors — Randall Newsome and Megan Knight — said their own goodbye to viewers, letting the audience know that they would be going off the air as the station heads in its new direction.

“We just wanted to say thank you for making us part of your morning show,” Knight said as her voice cracked and she fought back tears.

Kelly Swoope, who has for years anchored evening broadcasts on WMAR, took some time this week with Knight and Newsome to say goodbye to her viewers.

After the station’s new format debuted, former WMAR anchor Megan Pringle expressed sympathy for the anchors and staff and questioned the ramifications of the change when big news breaks and anchors aren’t around to report it.

“It means people will lose their jobs, not just the anchors, but the producers, photographers, editors, directors who make local journalism possible,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “You cannot replace people with a format and call it an investment in local news. It kills connection to the community it is supposed to serve.”

Becca McCarter, a spokeswoman for Scripps, acknowledged that the changes are a departure from what viewers are accustomed to and said that their feedback was important.

McCarter said that Scripps is using AI to make its TV news model more sustainable and that those tools “do not replace editorial judgment, reporting or the human connection at the heart of local journalism.”

She said journalists remain responsible for the decisions and standards in Scripps newsrooms, while AI is meant to help teams be more efficient.

“Local television is facing significant changes in how audiences consume news and in the economics of producing it,” McCarter said. “Our goal is to preserve strong local journalism for the long term while evolving how we produce and deliver it.”

The local TV news industry has traditionally fared better than print newspapers, but has experienced its own financial challenges in recent years. The rise of streaming platforms has diverted attention from local broadcasts, pressuring stations to control costs, the Los Angeles Times reported. In 2025, Nexstar Media Group, the country’s biggest TV station owner, took a $170 million loss in the last quarter and responded by merging with another company.

E.W. Scripps expects that cost-cutting and technology-driven growth measures will generate millions in revenue, CNBC reported. Achieving that, though, means that hundreds of journalists will lose their jobs in the process.

“At a time when many communities are losing local coverage, the depth we are bringing is our competitive advantage,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said in a memo sent to employees on Aug. 4. “New AI systems and other technology designed and developed by Scripps employees is making this possible.”

The company announced its plan in an earnings call in early August. By the end of that day, company shares had risen some 20%.

Some local viewers have felt differently.

In response to Pringle’s post, a couple of people said the change was inevitable and needed. But the overwhelming majority of those who commented pushed back against the choice, seeing it as a mechanical maneuver that values dollars and cents over personal connection.

The anchors’ absence was felt deeply across Baltimore communities, but hit the hardest within the walls of WMAR’s studio.

“You guys are like family,” Swoope said in her goodbye message. “And it has been such an honor for all of us to come into your homes.”

The waters were strangely calm this year, said the 49-year-old Baltimorean, who has been spending weekends in the beach town every month since May.

It was the calm before the storm, she said — before the ”storm of jellyfish.”

An unprecedented surge of jellyfish has disrupted vacations along Maryland’s coast over the past several weeks, with thousands of people reaching out to the Ocean City Beach Patrol for answers. The beach patrol is providing daily updates on jellyfish and other conditions amid the final weeks of summer. But many vacationers are choosing to stay out of the water, following warnings on social media. Experts say the jellyfish surge is likely due to a mix of factors, including drought and warm water temperatures.

Jellyfish are a common nuisance for swimmers and fishers during this time of the year. While there are several types of jellyfish in Maryland waters, the most prevalent in Ocean City is the stinging sea nettle. Many beachgoers consider August the jellyfish month, as water temperatures rise during the summer.

Walker said she could see the jellyfish in the water as she walked toward the ocean, dozens and dozens swimming about a foot away from each other. She got stung almost immediately the day it became too hot to avoid the ocean. Her husband got stung every time he went in, too, she said, to the point that he got used to it.

The number of jellyfish this year has been unprecedented, according to experts and city authorities. The city’s Surf Rescue team saw a large increase in the number of people reporting stings, said Butch Arbin, captain of the Ocean City Beach Patrol.

Months of drought, followed by a rainy spring and exceptionally warm summer, likely triggered the jellyfish bloom.

Nettles usually attach themselves to oyster beds, dock pilings and the bottom of boats in the beginning of their life cycle, said Megan Dunnock with the National Aquarium. Warming temperatures and rising salinity levels push them into adulthood, known as their medusa phase, when they go from larva to the familiar tentacled jellies.

Coastal waters reached 77 degrees in August, which makes this summer exceptionally warm, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The drought also led to low freshwater inputs, said Monty Graham, the director of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater. Higher salinity and warmer temperatures yielded more food resources for jellyfish, he said.

It’s not surprising, he added, that the jellies that bloomed in the bays and estuaries would eventually be pushed out onto the open coast, especially with the recent heavy rainstorms and strong winds.

“This was a pretty banner year,” Graham said.

What to do if stung by a jellyfish

Jellyfish sting because they mistake people for food. The nematocysts — egg-shaped pill capsules on their tentacles — release barbs with toxins when they come into contact with another surface.

The toxins are injected through the top layers of the skin into the bloodstream. Most sea nettle stings are not considered “medically dangerous,” according to the Ocean City Beach Patrol, and stings can range from mildly to extremely painful.

Some people can experience an allergic reaction and should seek medical attention if they experience difficulty breathing, chest tightness, dizziness or swelling of the lips, tongue or throat.

The best thing to do when stung is wait it out, as the sting goes away on its own and relatively rapidly, Graham said. Pick off any piece of the tentacle that gets left behind and rub the skin with sand, he said.

The beach patrol also recommends rinsing the skin with seawater.

“I am very, very calculated, and I do my research,” he said. “We’re going to have the necessary conversation with them. But then also working through, talking to residents, and people and how they feel, obviously looking into the operation and the things that need to happen.”

It’s a strategy that seems to have worked. All six Scott-backed candidates won their June primaries.

The mayor bucked much of the state’s political establishment, including Gov. Wes Moore and U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, in supporting Sabrina Tapp-Harper, who defeated city Sheriff Sam Cogen. And he endorsed state Senate President Bill Ferguson even as Moore refused to do so amid a flap over redistricting.

Scott, who said he has known Tapp-Harper since his first day as a staffer in City Hall in 2007, said he backed her because of her strong relationship with the community and law enforcement. He said he also wanted the opportunity to make history: She is the city’s first Black woman sheriff.

T.J. Smith, radio host on WBAL 1090, said Scott’s endorsement sweep “speaks to his political strength.”

The first Baltimore mayor in two decades elected to a second term, Scott has presided over a largely drama-free administration. Many candidates want his endorsement, which is good for them — and good for Scott, political analysts say.

The 42-year-old said last summer that he would seek a third term in 2028. He has also been discussed as a potential future candidate for Congress or Maryland governor.

Scott, in Martha’s Vineyard this week for fundraisers and a fireside chat about fatherhood, is also riding a wave of good publicity for Baltimore. The New York Times published a story this week about the city’s plunging homicide rate; The Wall Street Journal ran a headline about bidding wars on the city’s abandoned homes.

He plugged both stories on social media. “For years, the naysayers have counted Baltimore out,” he wrote on Instagram. “But the numbers across the board are telling a different story.”

Scott is showing that Baltimore is a “mayor’s-run city,” said Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, a professor of communication and African and African American studies at Loyola University Maryland.

She said he has a different style of engagement and brings a freshness to the role, making him popular among older and younger Baltimoreans.

“He has very large coattails, to his credit at this moment,” Whitehead said.

Scott said he was mindful of the city’s progress as he contemplated whom to endorse.

“In this particular cycle that we’re in, I really wanted to focus on people who were in the best position to help keep us building this historic progress that we’re making in the city on public safety, on vacancy, on investment into youth, education,” he said.

Ryan Turner sought out Scott’s endorsement for the House of Delegates seat in District 41.

Turner said he was drawn to Scott because of his “commitment to public safety, youth opportunity, and neighborhood investment.”

“I wanted my supporters to see that alignment and understand the kind of leadership I hope to bring to Annapolis,” Turner said.

“It also created opportunities to talk about the progress Baltimore is making and the importance of strong partnerships between City Hall and the state,” he said. “Voters want leaders who can work together to deliver results, and his support reinforced that message.”

Del. Malcolm Ruff said Scott’s endorsement was “critical to the success” of his campaign. The District 41 representative convincingly defeated state Sen. Dalya Attar after a contentious Democratic state Senate primary that included federal extortion charges. Most of those charges have since been dismissed.

“I truly respect that he didn’t play it safe, but instead he did what was best for the city despite what some might believe was in his best political interest,” Ruff said. “We grew up in the same neighborhood and believe in the same values.”

Ruff said he “absolutely saw an increase in support” after Scott’s endorsement a month before the election.

Scott has avoided the scandals that plagued his predecessors while steering the city at a time of key wins, such as a reduced homicide rate, said Mileah Kromer, director of UMBC’s Institute of Politics.

“He has created a model in a major American city that has been plagued by crime,” Kromer said. “It’s nothing short of impressive. It’s going to get a lot of attention on him.”

Turner said he sought Scott’s endorsement after being inspired by Baltimore mayors who reflect the communities they serve.

“Mayor Kurt Schmoke was my first real mayoral inspiration, and over the years I’ve continued to appreciate leaders who demonstrate what’s possible for Baltimore,” Turner said.

Current City Council member Paris Gray said Scott’s endorsement in 2024 mattered because the mayor was intentional about aligning with people committed to better outcomes for all of Baltimore.

“In a very close race, his support helped bring additional volunteers and reach more voters, but it was one part of a much broader coalition that helped us win,” Gray said.

Since taking office, Scott has been “a valuable sounding board,” Gray added.

“We were both figuring out what it means to serve the public while raising young kids,” Gray said. “Having someone who gets that balance, who understands the late nights and early mornings that come with both jobs, has made a real difference.”

Scott said he lends his advice to elected officials in Baltimore and throughout the country to “help people grow into the best version of themselves.”

“I had people do that for me, and I also had people who did the opposite as well,” he said.

When asked if Scott was worried that any of his endorsed candidates would lose this cycle, he immediately responded with a cool “No.”

His confidence, he said, comes from confidence in Baltimore.

“I knew we had the best people,” he said. “Despite what people think, Baltimoreans know what and who is best for them.”

The county school system, they said, is operating with an estimated $3 billion deferred maintenance backlog.

“And growing every day,” said Andrea Swiatocha, MCPS’ deputy chief of facilities management.

For students and teachers of Maryland’s largest school system, that can mean moldy ceilings, cracked surfaces in parking lots and HVAC systems that can’t be counted on to keep them cool.

“We have a lot of challenges, but we’re ready to hit them face-on,” Superintendent Thomas Taylor said.

Officials assured the school board Thursday night that facilities workers have been busy tackling hundreds of projects. They replaced the roof at DuFief Elementary, gave Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School a fresh paint job and ensured Newport Mill Middle School had disabled-access ramps.

“They have been working around the clock,” Swiatocha said.

Still, major issues remain — with limited funding and not enough staff to address them all.

“Even if we did win a $1 billion Powerball, that would cover one-third of where we are,” Taylor said. “We really do need to have incremental planning over more than a decade to get us dug out of this hole that we’re in right now.”

Teachers at Charles R. Drew Elementary School don’t want to wait. They showed up at Thursday’s meeting with signs asking the school board, “Would you go to work [without] bathrooms in full working order?”

Teachers say their campus is an active construction zone, with water leaking from the ceiling and other long-standing problems.

“We were always without AC,” Jess Bain, a fifth-grade teacher, said. “No learning happens when kids are drooping.”

After the meeting, Taylor approached Drew Elementary teachers and pledged more district support.

Bain replied: “We need more than words.”

The challenges

Montgomery County’s infrastructure footprint spans more than 26 million square feet, and the average age of an MCPS campus is 30.

That translates into an onslaught of maintenance requests. In fiscal year 2026, MCPS fielded about 700 emergency work orders, which cover issues as serious as a campus losing power or flooding.

Swiatocha said the district is struggling to fill maintenance staff vacancies, despite intensive recruitment efforts. Wages lag those in the private sector, officials said.

“Our biggest competitor for trades right now is data centers,” said James Duffy, director of the facility maintenance department. “That is pulling the labor industry down. ... They are paying way, way over scale.”

District officials emphasized they haven’t received nearly enough funding from the county’s capital budget to keep up with facility needs across more than 200 school buildings.

This has real consequences for students’ learning. MCPS had to close buildings 11 times in fiscal 2026 because of infrastructure problems.

“MCPS schools experience MANY more isolated incidents that disrupt teaching and learning without requiring full facility closures,” district documents read.

It wasn’t all bad news Thursday night. Swiatocha told board members about a ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for two elementary school buildings Friday morning.

“We all wish,” she said, “we had more money to do more capital projects.”

So, this had to happen eventually.

Food trucks are now going where few have dared before — out on the Chesapeake Bay.

“It’s like the whole aesthetic of the thing, right?” said Toby Denues, owner of Soggy Bunz. “Like they come up, they get our food, and then they’re blown away because our food is top quality.”

Denues and his wife, Ola, run the brightly colored pontoon boat, selling burgers, barbecue, chips and cold drinks in its maiden season.

“Food boats are huge on the Gulf Shore,” Denues said. “We loved the concept, and that’s how we came up with it.”

Why in boat-loving Maryland, where it can seem like all 160,000 licensed boats are out on the water any summer weekend, has no one tried this before?

They have. It just didn’t last.

Thirty-some years ago, Joe Lacher ran a pit beef stand from his 30-foot pontoon boat Beef Wave out of Bowleys Quarters. He served thousands every summer at Hart-Miller Island until shutting down.

Nauti Foods launched in 2014, selling hot dogs, drinks and treats for about five years on the Potomac River.

Mission BBQ, the region’s biggest purveyor of smoked meats, launched Sea Brisket in 2016. A refurbished Coast Guard RIB boat with a smoker on deck, it was more of a promotional effort.

So while there are cruise ships with kitchens, floating tiki bars and excursion boats that take you to waterfront restaurants, Soggy Bunz appears to be the only boat cooking food for sale in Maryland.

“We do between 70 and 100 burgers a day,” Denues said.

The Denueses have floated to popular raft-up spots like the Magothy River around Dobbins Island, and gone to Hart-Miller State Park. They’ve motored to floating concerts in Annapolis, and soon will cross the bay to a Kent Island vineyard.

“I only buy my meats from a high-quality butcher shop. I make my own seasonings. We make our own barbecue sauce,” Denues said. “So everything’s in-house.”

The bay’s weekend boating culture helps explain why floating food trucks aren’t everywhere. Boaters pack food and share it. Some can grill. And a business on a boat makes everything harder.

Brian Troupe learned that when he opened Troupe’s Treats last summer on the upper bay’s Bohemia River. Cecil County determined his ice cream boat needed a license once he expanded from a dockside cooler to an 11-foot jon boat with a trolling motor.

This summer he borrowed more than $25,000 from his guardian to buy a 13-foot Sea-Doo pontoon with 13.5 cubic feet of freezer space. That led him to the nearby Elk and Sassafras rivers.

Then Troupe grounded with the motor still running. Damage to his impeller cost $1,300. That was followed by a beach campground manager who was so angry about customers wading out to buy ice cream that the dispute landed in court.

“Once you hit the water, are on a boat, it is a way different type of business experience than anything else,” said Troupe, now 16. “You can be impacted by weather. You can be impacted by equipment.

“There’s all types of new factors that come into play.”

When Denues asked the Anne Arundel County Health Department about licensing a food boat, it was a new idea to them. There’s a snowball boat floating around Annapolis, but the county gave its owner a waiver from getting a license.

Officials steered the couple toward getting a trailer.

An Army veteran, Denues was working as a maintenance director for a regional bus company. What he really wanted was a job out on the water.

He and Ola, a nurse, saw food boats around his family’s home in Florida. But Maryland law doesn’t mention food boats, only regulations for “mobile food units.”

“All mobile units, whether a trailer, truck or boat, have to meet state law,” said Don Curtian, Anne Arundel environmental health director.

The Denueses quit their jobs and opened Soggy Bunz as a trailer last summer. They learned to cook, clean and operate on dry land.

When cold weather arrived, the couple discovered the major drawback of a seasonal business — no offseason income. They retreated to his family’s home. Converting a new boat was going to be hard — a $75,000 to $80,000 investment.

When Florida friends going through a divorce put their 25-foot food boat up for sale, the Denueses jumped. It was outfitted with a gas-fired cooktop, coolers and storage units.

Denues added a $10,000 fire-suppression system, operating lights, a vinyl wrap with Soggy Bunz graphics and a 150-horsepower outboard. After a rickety drive to Maryland, he invested in a new trailer.

“I’m surprised it even made it up here from Florida because it was falling apart,” Denues said.

With no extra safety requirements from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources or the Coast Guard, the couple set sail from their Pasadena driveway.

The job is a grind. The Denueses start early and finish late. They juggle the trailer — where Toby smokes brisket, pork and chicken while Ola prepares mashed potatoes and mac and cheese — and the boat.

Denues launches from his neighborhood boat ramp into the Magothy River, or trailers to a convenient ramp for events farther away. The couple ends the day cleaning and restocking.

The key to the boating food culture may be events where boaters learn to expect food boats. Or maybe the secret is a routine, patrolling the Sassafras or beaching at Hart-Miller.

In Cecil, Troupe sells 500 treats a weekend, generating about $2,000. He’s thinking about buying a second Sea-Doo.

“I can’t be at three places at once,” he said.

The Denueses are thinking about next steps, too. No bleak winter for them this year.

“We’re gonna winterize the trailer, shutting that down and locking it up,” Denues said aboard the Soggy Bunz. “Then we’re taking this down to Florida.”

At Eleanor Roosevelt High School, the Bowie native said he struggled academically but was a “tremendous soccer player,” sought after by several colleges, even after injuring his ankle.

His priorities changed when his mother died the day before he turned 18.

Suddenly, college was more than what team he might play for. His school counselor, Judy Frank, helped Heiser through his grief and find a college where he could focus on academics and stay close to loved ones.

“The role she played never left me,” he said.

After a successful college soccer career, Heiser turned down an offer to play for the indoor soccer team now known as the Baltimore Blast. Instead, he earned a master’s degree in school counseling from Loyola University Maryland and went on to lead schools across the region.

“Education has — I don’t know if it saved my life, but it certainly was pivotal in giving me a career and also a lifeline to help other people,” said Heiser, now 53.

This summer, Heiser took the helm of Baltimore County Public Schools, whose headquarters are just down the street from Loyola. As a first-time public school system superintendent, Heiser has promised to raise graduation rates and test scores. And, he said, he’s committed to rebuilding trust in Baltimore County schools, where repeated budget cuts have taken a toll on morale.

“There’s a saying that culture eats strategy for breakfast,” he said. “We need to really think about the culture in our school system and take care of all those who work for the school system.”

The path to superintendent

It was 2013 when Heiser’s application for principal of Catonsville High School landed on Mark Bedell’s desk.

Bedell, now the superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools, was an assistant superintendent in Baltimore County at the time. Heiser was in his first principal job at North County High School in Anne Arundel County, where he earned the state principal of the year award. News outlets at the time reported that during Heiser’s tenure, North County saw a rise in college scholarship money, SAT participation and Advanced Placement exams administered.

So Bedell visited North County unannounced to check him out.

He was impressed. No kids were in the hallways, and students looked engaged inside the classroom, Bedell said.

“Man, this guy is the real deal,” he recalled thinking at the time. “We went on and interviewed him, and he ended up being our top choice for Catonsville High School.”

Even after they left the school system, the two kept in touch.

When Heiser became the president of Baltimore’s Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, a Catholic college-preparatory school, in 2015, Bedell gave him a pep talk.

“Hey man, you’re going to be basically a mini superintendent,” Bedell remembered telling him. Cristo Rey is an independent school, not part of a school system. “You’re going to be responsible for understanding operations, understanding finances, making sure that the system as a whole is running at a high level.”

Walter Reap, who worked under Heiser as Cristo Rey’s principal and then vice president of academic affairs, described his former boss as a supportive leader who empowered him to lead others. Heiser’s a former athlete, “so he understands the vision, goals, strategy,” Reap said.

He also called Heiser student-centered. When a Cristo Rey student was robbed at gunpoint, a regular occurrence for students who relied on public transportation, Heiser kept asking for details, Reap said.

“The reason I’m asking these questions is because I don’t want us ever to become desensitized to what happens to our students,” he recalled Heiser saying.

When Bedell became Anne Arundel’s superintendent in 2022, he floated a proposition to Heiser over a meal.

“What are your thoughts about coming to Anne Arundel County to help me move this school [system] forward?” Bedell said he asked Heiser. “I’ll do everything in my power to get you ready to be a superintendent.”

The idea hadn’t occurred to Heiser until then, but it was a job he could see himself doing. Heiser accepted the offer and became the district’s chief operating officer, overseeing the capital budget and a contentious redistricting process last year.

“Redistricting is a really difficult process for students and parents and community members,” he said. “It’s never easy.”

Anne Arundel students and parents accused Heiser of misunderstanding the link between school enrollment and state funding for school construction, and later sued to block implementation of the plan. Heiser said the way he handled the tense situation shows he understands how to build relationships.

“The art of the process is the ability to listen to people, to understand where they’re coming from, to not take things personally, even when sometimes they are personal attacks,” he said.

With Bedell’s encouragement, Heiser trained to become a superintendent through a national association and sat in for his boss during school board meetings. After three years, he was chosen to lead Baltimore County schools, beating out three other finalists.

“We believe he brings not only the professional qualities required for this role but also a deep commitment and a collaborative spirit needed for the critical work,” school board Chair Jane Lichter said after Heiser’s selection.

“It was just a matter of time,” Bedell said.

Building back morale

After starting the job July 1, Heiser set out on a listening tour, meeting with families at schools around the region and fielding their concerns.

Antoinette Barber, Owings Mills High School PTSA president, told Heiser during a July 16 meet-and-greet that staff positions at her school were cut by double digits over the last three years.

“Can we give our school a break?” she asked.

Heiser didn’t make promises but listened to the community’s feedback and told them it reflected their dedication to the school system.

Hundreds of positions were cut under former Superintendent Myriam Rogers as the district navigated rising expenses, declines in state funding and a promise to raise salaries over three years. Heiser will contend with many of the same challenges.

Trust among educators has eroded, said Kelly Olds, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County. When she spoke with Heiser about rebuilding the relationship earlier this month, he seemed genuine, she said.

Olds asked Heiser to fix ongoing payroll issues she said were caused by a rocky transition to software. He didn’t make any promises to get rid of the system, she said.

“To his credit, he’s only a month in,” Olds said. “He has to find out what’s really going on and what the whole picture is.”

During his first school board meeting in July, educators caught Heiser up on other issues, including that school librarians were pulling double duty as classroom teachers. The board asked Heiser to revisit the issue.

Last week, he advised against changing course, saying it would increase class sizes and make it difficult to find part-time staff to take over the classes they were supposed to teach. He promised to look for a solution.

“I think it’s going to be another tough budget year, but this is a priority,” he said.

Board members didn’t push back; they decided to trust him.

About the Education Hub

This reporting is part of The Banner’s Education Hub, community-funded journalism that provides parents with resources they need to make decisions about how their children learn. Read more.

Brendon Rubin-Oster, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said radar indicated that a tornado touched down in Queen Anne’s County shortly between 5:46 and 5:53 p.m.

He said the tornado cannot be confirmed until crews do a survey and assess any damage Friday.

A tornado also hit Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Rubin-Oster said.

The storms’ impact was also felt further up the East Coast.

Heavy rain and winds pounded the Northeast on Thursday as storms tore through a beach on Long Island, flooded a major New York freeway and knocked out power in parts of Delaware’s capital city.

A likely tornado touched down in Dover, Delaware, and caused significant damage across the city, the police department reported.

“Dover — please take this seriously. Stay home. Stay safe,” the department said on Facebook.

Photos and video online show fallen trees, downed power lines and flooded roads.

The Delaware Electric Cooperative said more than 1,000 people didn’t have power in the northern part of its service area.

There were flash flood warnings in parts of eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the weather service said.

Thunderstorms passed through the Baltimore area on Thursday afternoon, but by early evening the sun was out at the Inner Harbor and the Orioles’ home game against the New York Yankees was underway after a brief delay.

The National Weather Service initially placed much of Maryland under a severe thunderstorm watch and tornado watch until 10 p.m. Thursday.

But weather service officials canceled the watches for the Baltimore and Capital regions around 5:50 p.m. Thursday. Tornado watches continued into Thursday night on the Eastern Shore.

Showers were still likely throughout the evening, but nothing threatening, said Erik Taylor, an NWS meteorologist.

Threatening weather still affected parts of the region. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport until 7 p.m. due to thunderstorms.

First pitch is scheduled for approximately 6:55 p.m. https://t.co/cjJSYYY7S6

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 20, 2026

Baltimore region

• Friday: Mostly sunny with highs around 90. A chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening, with lows in the lower 70s. The chance of precipitation is 50%.

Source: National Weather Service

Capital region

• Friday: Mostly sunny with highs around 80 and lows in the upper 60s. A 30% chance of showers in the afternoon and a 70% chance of rain in the evening.

Source: National Weather Service

Ahead of an approaching cold front, there will be an increase in shower & t'storm chances this afternoon. Some of these storms may be severe, with isolated flooding across the urban areas. After a brief lull, more unsettled weather looms for late Friday into Saturday. pic.twitter.com/UdrEEZQ4sd

— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) August 20, 2026

The weekend could be just as rainy on Saturday, with a chance of thunderstorms in the evening, said Luis Rosa, a meteorologist for the weather service’s Baltimore/Washington office. Conditions will dry up starting on Sunday, he said.

Banner staff writer Norman Gomlak and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Last weekend, after three straight wins against the American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays, the Orioles held sole possession of a wild-card spot that no one seems to want enough to play well consistently.

“It was kind of opposite of the Tampa series we just played,” manager Craig Albernaz said.

On Thursday night, the Orioles are losers of four straight, including this three-game sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees. High to low, low to high, on and on it will go until the games end — the regular-season finale is Sept. 27, for those hoping to skip ahead.

This 6-1 series-ending loss featured an all-too familiar issue early on, as well. The Orioles lead the majors in unearned runs allowed. That count is up to 75 after Gunnar Henderson’s error in the third inning helped elongate right-hander Kyle Bradish’s inning.

When asked why there was such a gap between the level of play in the Tampa Bay series and this New York series, Albernaz said it comes down to a lack of consistency.

“That’s what’s been eluding us all year, just playing consistent baseball,” Albernaz said. “Like, we keep on showing flashes and stretches, and then flashes and stretches the other way. So, for us, it’s just, go out there and play consistent baseball.”

Why is that the case?

“It’s a great question. It’s something that, myself, I’ve been actively trying to problem-solve and put a finger on,” Albernaz said. “Understand, I’m the manager of the team and the guy in charge, and it’s my job to figure that out and I haven’t yet. And that’s on me. That’s the biggest thing. We have to figure out how to keep our guys playing that consistent brand of baseball, and actively trying to figure that out.”

There aren’t many games remaining to figure it out, and the error in the third compounded an inning that was already arduous for Bradish.

Bradish, who wound up requiring 38 pitches to get through the frame, allowed two singles to begin the inning. But then José Caballero hit a ground ball to Jackson Holliday’s left, and the second baseman made a nice stretching play before turning and firing to second.

Instead of a potential double play — even one out would’ve helped — Henderson missed the catch.

“That error hurt a lot,” Albernaz said. “[Bradish] threw a lot more pitches than he should have, and that cascading effect was real.”

The same middle-infield duo turned a double play on Trent Grisham’s subsequent ground ball, but the Yankees added two unearned runs when Ben Rice singled and Heliot Ramos doubled.

That three-run inning gave New York the start of its healthy lead. The Yankees added off Bradish in the sixth with solo home runs from Luis García Jr. and Spencer Jones. The latter of those spelled the end of Bradish’s night.

“I think everybody’s aware that every game matters at this point, so can’t really think about it too much,” Bradish said. “Got to show up tomorrow and win a game, and win a few games. But, yeah, we’ve just got to flush this one. Just a bad series overall. Felt like I let the team down in a big spot today.”

This was only the second time since July 11 that Bradish allowed three earned runs or more. New York added one more run in the eighth off right-hander Albert Suárez when Jazz Chisholm Jr. tripled home García.

Baltimore, meanwhile, was thoroughly outmatched by right-hander Gerrit Cole, who began 22 of his 23 plate appearances with a strike. That’s the highest first-pitch strike rate of Cole’s storied career, according to MLB.com, and he allowed only four hits and one walk while striking out eight batters in six innings.

“We knew it was going to be a low-scoring game,” Albernaz said. “You have to go out there and compete and battle. We just couldn’t get it done, couldn’t get guys on base, and when we did we just couldn’t get the big hit.”

For the second straight night, Dylan Beavers provided offense for the Orioles. He pulled a solo homer off Cole — hitting a homer for the second consecutive game — but there was little else going for the Orioles beyond Pete Alonso setting a career-high 12-game hitting streak.

One aspect of Baltimore’s offensive strategy that was problematic in this series was the inability to reach base safely to begin an inning. Beavers did so with his homer. The Orioles managed that thrice in three games. Along with Beavers’ home run, Jackson Holliday walked to lead off the first inning Wednesday and Leody Taveras hit a single to start the seventh Tuesday.

“We needed to get runners on base,” Albernaz said. “We had a tough time doing that to kind of get the inning going. That was the biggest thing.”

With this loss, Baltimore (61-67) falls to two games back of the final wild-card place. There is time for a run — but if the majority of the season is any indication, the Orioles are more likely to run in place.

This article has been updated.

Needing two strikeouts to reach the milestone, deGrom (9-8) fanned Washington’s first two batters — Daylen Lile and Abimelec Ortiz. The 10 strikeouts matched his season high.

Corey Seager hit an opposite-field homer in the third inning as four Texas pitchers combined for a one-hitter. Ezequiel Duran tripled in the eighth and scored on Nicky Lopez’s sacrifice fly.

Jacob Latz completed the Rangers’ 12th shutout of the year with his 25th save in 28 opportunities.

DeGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, has 2,008 strikeouts in 1,666 1/3 innings over 272 starts since his big league debut in 2014. Hall of Famer Randy Johnson got his 2,000th strikeout in his 262nd appearance for the fewest games. Chris Sale holds the record for fewest innings at 1,626.

Texas, tied for the final AL wild card, went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Washington’s only hit was a second-inning single by Brady House.

Andrew Alvarez (2-5) gave up Seager’s homer among four hits and three walks in five innings.

Washington, the majors’ highest-scoring team, was shut out for the fifth time this season and the second time in the three-game series.

The Nationals played without All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams, who sprained his left ankle on Wednesday and is day to day.

Up next

Nationals RHP Brad Lord (5-2, 4.04 ERA) will face Marlins RHP Ryan Gusto (0-3, 4.70) on Friday at Miami. Rangers LHP MacKenzie Gore (7-9, 4.45) goes against Los Angeles Angels LHP Reid Detmers (4-8, 3.78) at home on Friday.

Representing public service employees, AFSCME International has more than 1.4 million members across 46 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Moran had served as a vice president of the national union since 2023. He’s been a labor organizer for more than 30 years.

In a statement, Moran said he was honored to win the union presidency.

“For 90 years, AFSCME members have been shaping and making history. Every generation of our union has faced its defining moment,” Moran said. “Now it’s our turn. We will fight and build power like our future depends on it because it does. We will protect our neighbors and strengthen our communities. This is our fight, and together, we’ve got the power to make change.”

It was not immediately clear who will take over for Moran in Maryland. The state union is in the midst of a contract dispute with Gov. Wes Moore’s administration. AFSCME Maryland and the Maryland State and D.C. AFL-CIO, another large union, declined to endorse Moore ahead of this year’s gubernatorial primary.

As head of AFSCME Maryland since 2012, Moran has become one of the most powerful figures in Annapolis. During that time, the AFSCME Maryland has added thousands of members and expanded collective bargaining rights to 15,000 workers, according to the union.

In a statement, the state union said its members “will miss his daily presence, but we are excited to see the decades of union experience and organizing spirit that President Moran will bring to our national union.”

The state union has done battle with governors of both parties, and its endorsement is coveted by Democrats. The state union also regularly lobbies during the legislative session, with Moran a constant presence in the capitol.

Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, praised Moran on social media Thursday evening.

“Maryland should be proud to see one of our own chosen to lead AFSCME at this important moment for working people across the country,” Ferguson wrote on X.

With his ascendence to the head of the national union, Moran’s relationship with Maryland politicians may play a significant role in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen has said he’s kicking the tires on a White House run, and Moore, despite saying he doesn’t plan to run, has built a national profile and is seen as an emerging leader.

But Baltimore Circuit Judge Dana Middleton found Officer Robert Parks not guilty of the most serious charges against him: attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault.

Middleton said she relied most on the videos introduced during the two-day bench trial in reaching her verdict.

“Do I believe that Mr. Parks was trying to kill him?” Middleton asked. “No. I do not.”

But Middleton said the evidence showed that Parks made contact with the man with his patrol vehicle and violated departmental policies related to use of force, deescalation and operation of emergency vehicles.

“The degree of force used is a vehicle against a person on foot,” she said. “The degree of force is not reasonable. It’s excessive.”

His actions, she said, were retaliatory.

The case marked the most serious prosecution of a police officer in Baltimore in several years. When prosecutors do charge officers, it’s frequently for less serious offenses such as time sheet padding.

Before testimony began, Parks rejected a proposal that called for him to plead guilty to first-degree assault and misconduct in office in exchange for a maximum of one year of home detention.

After Thursday’s verdict, Parks, who’s been with the department for six years, remains free on home detention while he awaits sentencing scheduled for January. He has been suspended without pay.

In a statement, Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said he respects the court’s decision, but added that Parks’ actions “seriously threatened the life of the victim and the general public.”

Prosecutors will “now prepare to advocate for an appropriate sentence that reflects the Defendant’s serious actions,” he said.

“Police officers are entrusted with tremendous authority and an obligation to protect the public by making decisions on the job that prioritize safety,” Bates said. “When an officer instead engages in reckless conduct that threatens the lives of our residents, it undermines the critical trust between law enforcement and the community.”

Testimony and evidence presented at trial revealed that on Oct. 28, 2025, Parks drove up to Wylie Liquors Bar in Northwest Baltimore and told people who were sitting on the sidewalk to move.

They obeyed his commands. But Parks followed Antrell Smith and summoned him to his patrol vehicle because he had an open warrant for failing to appear in court.

Smith refused and walked away. That’s when Parks turned down an alley, accelerated and drove directly at Smith, hitting him with the patrol vehicle in a field.

A video posted to TikTok shows Parks continuing to pursue Smith before crashing into the fence of a nearby home.

Smith, 46, of Northwest Baltimore, testified that he did not know why Parks was chasing him. He said he was unaware he had a bench warrant.

“I was scared for my life,” Smith said.

In his closing argument, Assistant State’s Attorney Steven Trostle, chief of the Public Trust and Police Integrity Unit, said Parks acted in a way that “put everyone in peril” and was “patently unreasonable.”

“He got ticked off that this man had the audacity to walk away from him,” Trostle said.

Parks, he said, then concocted a story to “explain himself out of his absurd behavior.”

“Your honor,” Trostle said, “these videos speak for themselves.”

But Chaz Ball, Parks’ attorney, said his client was trying to bring Smith into custody.

“Officer Parks had no intent to kill him,” Ball said. “It was a calculated decision to corral a criminal.”

Ball argued that Parks turned on his body camera because he did not believe he was doing anything wrong.

Parks, 32, testified that he believed Smith was armed and posed a danger to the city based on his movements. He repeatedly called Smith a “fleeing felon with a potential firearm.”

But on cross-examination, Parks conceded that he never saw a gun.

Parks denied that he struck Smith or even came close to hitting him with his patrol vehicle. At one point in his testimony, he said, “I will acknowledge he ran in front of my vehicle.”

Parks said he used tactics that he learned in the police academy, including deescalation. He said he “still wouldn’t change it.”

“I have no vendetta against Mr. Smith,” Parks testified. “I’m not angry at him now.”

Did a tree hit the house? He wondered as he looked around the living room of his father’s Cape St. Claire home, where he planned to stay the week.

“It reminded me of when I was in Afghanistan and our MRAP was hit,” he said, referring to a mine-resistant Army vehicle.

Then he walked out onto his father’s terrace. The two-story home with an immaculate garden that neighbor Stanley Synowczynski tended to only minutes earlier, was gone, replaced by smoke and rubble.

His Navy corpsman’s instincts kicked in and he ran toward the wreckage.

Anne Arundel County emergency crews responded to calls of the explosion at 1198 Green Holly Drive around 12:15 p.m. Wednesday.

They discovered a collapsed home, where a woman, Linda Synowczynski, 76, was later declared dead and a man, Stanley Synowczynski, suffered critical injuries, the department said in a statement Thursday. A police officer also sustained minor injuries from the incident.

Larry Schultz, an assistant fire chief, said the couple received a propane delivery an hour before the explosion. Officers reached out to the gas company and an investigation into the incident is ongoing, the local Fire Marshal’s Office said in a news release.

The aftermath left neighbors shocked and fearful.

“I just hope that he survives,” said Jim Marino, 73, a neighbor of Stanley and Linda Synowczynski.

He described Stanley as a helpful neighbor, who always made time to check on the woman next door to Marino who suffered from dementia.

“To not have his wife when this is supposed to be their golden years — it’s all really shocking,” he said.

Another neighbor, Deborah Banks, said Synowczynski would give others “the shirt off his back” if they asked. His wife, Linda, enjoyed making beaded jewelry and was rarely seen outside without Stanley.

Banks admired his commitment to his red Plymouth Barracuda, which he often tinkered with in the front yard and occasionally took for a spin around the neighborhood. But even more than the classic car, Banks said, the Synowczynskis’ yard stood out on Green Holly Drive. She recalled the outdoorsy 75-year-old Stanley winning “garden of the month” with the Cape St. Clair garden club for his flowers and pink flamingo ornaments.

“It was one of his babies,” she said of the yard, which bloomed every spring and summer.

“It’s devastating. They demolished parts of it to get to where the propane tank was delivered,” said Banks, adding that the hood of his cherished car also was smashed by debris.

The explosion shook Banks’ home, a few doors away from the Synowczynskis’. Her photographs fell. Steel pots clattered. She raced outside dialing 911, but struggled to get through. Standing at the intersection of Windgate and Green Holly Drive, Banks froze — overwhelmed by the screams, police sirens and her stubborn fear that another explosion could come at any minute.

After seeing the destruction, Toms, a Navy chief petty officer and chief hospital corpsman in Corpus Christi, Texas, ran with his younger brother Ben — only a few day short of getting married — to the Synowczynskis’ crumbled home. They began digging through the rubble searching for the Synowczynskis, despite the pleas of neighbors to “get back” for their safety.

By the time Toms located Linda Synowczynski’s feet, poking from beneath the roof in the back of the house, his shoes had caught on several nails and he’d suffered lacerations on his hands and arms. He checked her pulse and called for his brother Ben to help lift the debris from her body.

“If that was my family,” he said, “I’d want someone to do the same.”

The brothers and another neighbor lifted the roof, he said, as Linda Synowczynski’s pulse faded. He recalls seeing her eyes move and mouth gasp before she died.

After emergency personnel arrived and started tending to her, Toms climbed back into the rubble to find Stanley Synowczynski. Minutes passed as they screamed for him, sifting through large pieces of broken wood.

As Toms lungs began to burn, he recalled shouting at his brother Ben to leave: “You have to get out of here, in case something happens to you.”

Then Toms heard Stanley. He spotted the top of his head moving behind a bunch of rubble.

Stanley was able to walk out of the debris on his own, Toms said, though his pants and body appeared burned and tattered. As first responders led him away, Toms said he heard him call for his wife.

A helicopter carried Stanley to the burn center at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition.

Toms, still in a T-shirt and shorts from helping his father on the terrace earlier in the day, also sought medical help for his injuries — mostly cuts and heat exhaustion.

“I’ve had to deal with trauma that’s a lot worse than what I saw” Wednesday, he said.

On Thursday, he said the entire incident remained a blur, though his lungs still burn when he thinks of the Synowczynskis’ home.

In a phone call with the Banner he said the afternoon prompted him to revisit his brother’s best man speech.

“I thought I had it all tied up,” he said. “But life threw me another story last minute.”

Ravens center Danny Pinter, the front-runner in a closely watched preseason positional battle, will miss “extended” time after suffering a knee injury in Wednesday’s joint practice with the Minnesota Vikings, coach Jesse Minter said Thursday.

Pinter was carted off the field Wednesday after he was hurt during an 11-on-11 period at the Vikings’ facility in Eagan, Minnesota. He was later seen wearing a full-leg brace on his right leg. NFL Network reported Thursday that testing revealed Pinter had torn his patellar tendon, typically a season-ending injury. Minter declined to offer a timetable for his recovery.

“It is really hard,” left tackle Ronnie Stanley said of Pinter’s injury after the teams’ second joint practice. “We have grown really close over this offseason. He has been a centerpiece of the offense, filling in for Tyler [Linderbaum] and being a vocal leader for us, so it was hard to see him go down like that.”

With Pinter sidelined, the scrutiny on centers Jovaughn Gwyn and Ethan Pocic will intensify. Pinter, 30, had taken most of the first-team snaps in training camp, and he started Saturday’s preseason win over the Philadelphia Eagles. A longtime reserve for the Indianapolis Colts with just 10 career starts, Pinter signed a one-year, $2.8 million contract with the Ravens in late March, the team’s first move to address the position after losing the All-Pro Linderbaum in free agency.

Gwyn, 27, has played just 11 career offensive snaps, but he has experience under first-year offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford, overlapping with him in his three seasons on the Atlanta Falcons. Minter called Gwyn “really powerful and athletic” and commended his play in 51 snaps against the Eagles.

“I would say that he has been really well trained, because our offensive line coach has coached him for the last few years,” Minter said Wednesday. “So he really understands how we want to play, which is great. He has been in a similar system, some of the wide-zone stuff that the Falcons ran, and a lot of familiarity with Coach Ledford and how he operates. So he is definitely great to have.”

Pocic, 31, a longtime Cleveland Browns starter who signed a one-year, $3.3 million deal in late July, is ramping up his workload as he looks for a potential Week 1 role. After tearing his Achilles tendon in December, Pocic has been eased back into practice, lining up almost exclusively with the Ravens’ reserves. He didn’t play Saturday against Philadelphia until the fourth quarter, finishing with just 14 snaps.

“I felt like we kind of targeted this second week of the preseason of [Pocic] kind of ramping up into more of the action anyway,” Minter said. “It is why you sign guys like that — is to, one, put them in the competition [and], two, to make sure you have enough in that situation.”

The Ravens will play the Vikings on Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium before wrapping up their preseason schedule with another joint practice and an Aug. 28 game against the Washington Commanders. Their 53-man roster will be finalized on Aug. 30.

“It’s probably still a competition,” said Minter, who indicated the Ravens would not look to acquire another potential starting center. “We’ll see how it shakes out over these next couple of weeks.”

The Germantown cultural arts center announced its 2026-27 season lineup Thursday, showcasing a series of performances, film screenings, special events and art exhibits featuring American art and culture as the U.S. celebrates its 250th anniversary.

“This year, as we reflect on what it means to be inhabitants of this contested land, we amplify the voices of local artists, researchers and storytellers who can help us see our relationships to the land more clearly,” BlackRock Gallery Director Joshua Gamma said.

Here’s the full lineup of BlackRock productions slated for the coming season.

Concerts, performances and special events

In addition to its regular programming, BlackRock will host the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra for a series of children’s performances. And ReelTalk, a free film screening and discussion series, will showcase movies made primarily in Montgomery County.

• Candlelight concert: Coldplay and Imagine Dragons (Oct. 2)
• Candlelight concert: The Best of Hans Zimmer (Oct. 2)
• ReelTalk: “The Blair Witch Project” (Oct. 14)
• BSO Music Box: The Four Seasons (Oct. 17)
• Local Spirits: Cultivating Community: Local restaurant and craft beverage tasting (Oct. 29)
• George Michael tribute concert (Nov. 6)
• ReelTalk: “Lilith” (Nov. 11)
• BSO Music Box: Jazz It Up (Nov. 14)
• Ray Charles tribute concert (Nov. 21)
• RUNA: Hark an Irish Christmas (Dec. 4)
• Candlelight concert: Tribute to Fleetwood Mac (Dec. 5.)
• Candlelight concert: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (Dec. 5)
• Rare Essence (Dec. 6)
• ReelTalk: “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” (Dec. 9)
• Tula and Regina’s Holiday Drag Pageant (Dec. 11)
• Celebrates The Season featuring The MoCo Women’s Chorus (Dec. 12)
• ReelTalk: “A Year and Change” (Jan. 13)
• SAY IT LOUD! MLK Event (Jan. 16)
• Trouble Man: A Tribute to Marvin Gaye (Jan. 16)
• BSO Music Box: Off to the Moon (Jan. 23)
• Luther ReLives: A Tribute to Luther Vandross (Jan. 23)
• ReelTalk: “Chances Are” (Feb. 10)
• MacMillan Pipe Band (Feb. 27)
• ReelTalk: “Philomena” (March 10)
• BSO Music Box: Mother Goose Music Party (March 20)
• Nirvana tribute concert (March 27)
• ReelTalk: “Body of Lies” (April 14)
• The Cab Calloway Orchestra (April 24)
• BSO Music Box: Grow Play Earth Day (May 8)
• ReelTalk: “The Pelican Brief” (May 12)
• Songbird: The Singular Tribute to Barbara Streisand (May 29)

Gallery exhibitions

• “Women Artists of the DMV: The Thank You Show” (Now-Oct. 19, artist talk and reception Sept. 26)
• “Colores,” featuring artwork by Maria Brito, Mayah Monet Lovell, Francisca Oviedo, Ale Rodriguez-Gitler, Valeria Sofia Auza Suca and Puntadas que Transforman (Sept. 15-Oct. 15, reception Sept. 15)
• “Dean Kessmann: if not obviously, then potentially” (Oct. 27-Dec. 20, artist’s reception Dec. 5)
• “IT HAPPENED HERE: REMEMBERING THREE LYNCHINGS” with the MoCo Lynching Memorial Project (Nov. 3-30)
• “Andrey Skripchenko: World of Colors” (Dec. 12-Feb. 7, artist reception on Dec. 12)
• “Cultivate” (Jan. 16-April 18, reception March 20)
• Youth Art Month (March 2-31, reception March 27)
• Art League of Germantown’s “Inspired! ’27” art show and sale (May 1-30, reception May 30)

EAGAN, Minn. — The word “details” has been used over and over throughout Jesse Minter’s tenure in Baltimore.

It’s a word the NFL loves, one that’s overused to describe the characteristics of every good player and coach. But in this case it’s true.

Wide receiver Rashod Bateman said the No. 1 differentiator with this coaching staff is its attention to detail.

“From head coach to OC [offensive coordinator] to the receivers coach, everybody really just harps on the small things, and that’s just not what we were in our past,” Bateman said.

Veteran left tackle Ronnie Stanley, when asked what’s different, also said Minter values the finer details.

On offense, that’s evident in the way the coaches have changed quarterback Lamar Jackson’s footwork. Bateman said he didn’t want to go into the other details that have changed because that would be giving away the offense.

The new approach hasn’t resulted in great offensive showings through the first two joint practices against the Minnesota Vikings. But Bateman and Stanley said the focus is on doing things right before playing fast, which means there will be hiccups. Minter added that the offense is going against a great defense with unique looks it won’t often face.

“[Minter] realizes we’re chasing perfection, but that’s something that is going to come with a lot of bad plays, bad days, and he’s aware of that,” Stanley said.

But it has resulted in great performances for the defense.

Veteran cornerback Marlon Humphrey said, in his nine previous seasons, he can’t remember as good or as “electric” a practice as the defense had against the Vikings on Wednesday. The Ravens followed with another one to be proud of Thursday.

The teams focused on the red zone Thursday, so the Vikings were bound to find the end zone at some point. But the defense won the day with pass breakups, run stuffs and sacks.

Humphrey has been one of the standouts, and Minter said he’s a guy who’s taken to the emphasis on the details.

“He’s always been a really, really physical, high-energy, competitive corner that can do a lot of different things,” Minter said. “And I think the focus with Marlon is just playing with really good technique, playing with really good leverage, understanding what we’re trying to do, understanding where his help is. And I’m really, really pleased with the way he’s progressed and taken to some of the things that we’re trying to do.”

Humphrey feels his teammates have also bought in, and that’s why the defense is getting its swagger back.

“If we continue to buy in like that and we just work together the way we’re working right now, I think that standard that we’ve kind of been chasing, that we’ve just really lacked, that we’ve let go — I’ve spoken to that in the past — I think it can definitely be back and we can be rolling,” Humphrey said.

End zone

• Outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson got into the backfield three times for potential sacks. He was flagged on one for lowering his head, Minter said, but otherwise he likes where Hendrickson’s at. Hendrickson was competing against left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who is very talented.
• In red-zone one-on-one reps between Ravens defensive backs and Vikings receivers, Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton batted down a pass to Jauan Jennings. Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie won his rep against Jordan Addison, and safeties Malaki Starks and Keondre Jackson had pass breakups against depth tight ends.
• Cheering erupted from the Ravens pass rushers after outside linebacker David Olajiga dominated on his two one-on-one reps.
• During team reps, defensive lineman Calais Campbell and linebacker Trenton Simpson had great performances against the run. Hamilton also made a goal-line stand, stopping starting running back Jordan Mason in his tracks.
• The first- and second-team Ravens offenses failed to move into field goal position in the two-minute drills. The Ravens brought out kicker Tyler Loop anyway, and he made all six of his attempts. The field goals were from 33 (midfield), 38 (right hash), 43 (left hash), 33 (midfield), 43 (left hash) and 53 (left hash).
• Lamar Jackson was sacked multiple times throughout practice. At least three came from outside linebacker Dallas Turner beating Stanley. Jackson also threw an interception to his cousin, James Pierre, at the end of practice.
• Wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane, who was quiet Wednesday, scored a touchdown during red-zone drills.

That fur turned out to be a beaver, which bit her three times, improbably marking the third beaver attack at a Maryland state park this summer.

In the week since the Aug. 13 attack in Montgomery County, Department of Natural Resources staffers found a dead beaver that later tested positive for rabies. Although it’s possible, or even likely, that the dead beaver was the same one that attacked the girl, that remains unclear.

Seneca Creek has been partially closed as staffers search for other signs of sick animals.

Two people were attacked by separate rabid beavers — probably a mated pair — in Cunningham Falls State Park in July and August. Portions of that park in Frederick County, including the area around Hunting Creek Lake, the site of the attacks, have remained closed.

Staffers have been canvassing the area and using thermal imaging to scan for beavers.

The Seneca Creek attack occurred more than 30 miles away and is unrelated to the Cunningham Falls incidents, state officials have said.

The 10-year-old girl was swimming at a bend in Seneca Creek near Berryville Road as part of a summer camp outing. “Camp staff pulled the beaver off” the girl, according to a police report obtained by The Banner on Thursday.

The report stated that representatives of Calleva Summer Camp, an outdoor adventure summer camp based in Poolesville, contacted the natural resources department about the incident.

“Child is calm at this time,” read one entry in the report, about an hour after the attack.

The girl’s mother took her to a hospital. In cases where a human is bitten by a potentially rabid animal, the victim typically undergoes a series of vaccine shots. That treatment is highly effective; if untreated, rabies is almost certainly fatal.

The natural resources department initially said that the girl had been canoeing. However, the department clarified that the girl was actually swimming and wading — but a separate group in a canoe later reported that a beaver had charged their boat that same day.

After biting the girl, the beaver “escaped,” according to a news release. Minutes after learning of the attack, staffers with the state’s Wildlife and Heritage Service were en route to “dispatch the beaver,” according to the police report.

The incident happened before 3 p.m. that day, and staffers believed they had located the beaver’s lodge — its dome-shaped wooden home — by 10 p.m. that evening. However, they were unable to find the animal.

It mirrored the July 26 attack at Cunningham Falls, where a 13-year-old boy heard a splash while swimming and then felt a bite. He had to be airlifted to a hospital.

Then, in early August, a fisherman at Cunningham Falls who’d been shooting video of the beaver was bitten and drove himself to receive treatment. In those cases, the beaver was found, killed and later tested positive for rabies.

Rabies is exceptionally rare in rodents such as beavers. From 2022 to 2025, about 900 animals, mostly raccoons, tested positive for rabies in Maryland. None of them were beavers. Three within one month is baffling.

Then again, Charles Rupprecht, who served as the CDC’s rabies program chief for 20 years, has learned not to be shocked by rabies, one of the oldest known infectious diseases.

“Just when we think we know something about it,” he said last week, “Boom. It surprises us.”

U.S. District Judge John deGravelles awarded modest compensatory damages in addition to attorneys’ fees to Ibrahim Mohammed, an Ethiopian man who has spent the last 13 months in and out of ICE custody. DeGravelles, who is based in Louisiana where Mohammed had been held, said harsher sanctions would be warranted if his orders continued to go ignored.

Vernon Liggins, who served at the time as the deputy director of ICE’s Baltimore field office, committed a “clear violation” of two previous court orders when he directed agents to rearrest Mohammed at his home July 28, deGravelles ruled Wednesday.

The finding is the latest clash between the judicial branch and President Donald Trump’s administration over its deportation campaign, and it is a strong rebuke of the federal agency’s aggressive approach to deporting immigrants who cannot be sent to their home countries.

After publication of this story, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement on Thursday referring to deGravelles as an activist judge, but did not comment on the contempt finding.

“Today’s decision makes it clear that ICE, like all law enforcement agencies, must follow the law,” Mohammed’s attorney Bridget Pranzatelli wrote in a text message Wednesday evening.

“Though Mr. Mohammed will never get back the time he lost to repeated, unlawful detentions, the compensation the court ordered today is important recognition of the very real harm he suffered.”

The legal saga began last year after ICE arrested Mohammed and held him in custody for months in a maximum-security prison in Louisiana that reached a detention agreement with ICE last year. He and three other men held in that facility together filed a writ of habeas corpus arguing their detention was unlawful.

DeGravelles, who was appointed to the bench in 2014 by then-President Barack Obama, ordered their release Feb. 6, finding that ICE violated their constitutional rights by detaining them without a clear plan to deport them.

At the time, DHS officials blasted the ruling as reckless because each of the men, including Mohammed, had prior criminal convictions.

DeGravelles’ February ruling, however, found whether the men were criminals or not, ICE needed to follow its own rules to deport them.

In 2017, Mohammed was convicted in Prince George’s County of sexually abusing a child living in his home. He served a jail sentence and went into deportation proceedings upon his release. An immigration judge ruled Mohammed would likely face torture or persecution in Ethiopia and therefore could not be sent there.

After ICE made unsuccessful attempts to find a third country willing to take him, agency officials released him on a supervision order, meaning it determined he was not a public safety threat.

DeGravelles’ February order found ICE did not properly advise Mohammed his supervision order was being revoked when it arrested him last year. He ordered ICE to release him and follow the typical process: reopening his case before an immigration judge before trying to send him to a third county.

On Aug. 5, Liggins, who was recently promoted from ICE’s Baltimore office to oversee multiple East Coast field offices, testified he directed agents to arrest Mohammed on July 28 because they were going to reopen his case.

When asked whether it was necessary to detain someone to reopen a case, Liggins conceded it was not. But he argued cases move faster when someone is detained and that Mohammed should have been detained because of his criminal history.

It’s not the first time that federal judges have held ICE or its umbrella agency, the Department of Homeland Security, in contempt of their orders, though it may be the first time an individual field office director faces such a ruling.

This month, a California judge held DHS in contempt over a failure to produce evidence in a lawsuit regarding Los Angeles immigration raids that occurred in 2025, according to CalMatters. So did a Maryland judge over the deportation of more than 50 children who had pending applications for asylum. In Minnesota, a judge threatened ICE with contempt for violating an order to promptly return personal property to people released from custody.

Delaney Nolan, a New Orleans-based journalist for the nonprofit news site The Lens, contributed reporting to this article.

Christian Hursey is wanted in the killing of Jada Sellers, Baltimore Police announced Thursday. Officials would not share the relationship between Hursey and Jada.

Jada was shot around 12:15 a.m. on July 31 in the 700 block of Lyndhurst Street, police said. She died from her injuries on Aug. 12, officials said.

Gboyinde Onijala, a spokesperson for Baltimore County Public Schools, would not share a name, but said the Milford Mill Academy principal sent a letter to families about a student who died. Further, the school’s athletic department posted a picture on Instagram mourning the former cheerleader.

“To our students, please know that it is okay to feel sadness, confusion, anger, numbness, or a range of other emotions in response to this loss. Everyone grieves differently and on their own timeline,” Trylah Shipmann, the principal of the high school, said in the letter. “We encourage you to lean on the people who care about you and to seek support if you are struggling.”

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Staffers at Georgia Peach Soul Food, the restaurant Jada worked at, too, mourned her passing in an Instagram post. Working at the restaurant after her older sister, Jasmine Sellers, staffers said Jada had become more than an employee, but family. They described her as “sweet, funny, charismatic, full of life, and impossible not to love.”

“Whether she was working the register, serving food, helping customers at Woodlawn or Newtown, dancing around the store, or making one of her TikToks, Jada was always being Jada,” the post read. “Seeing just how many lives Jada touched has reminded us how special she truly was.”

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Funeral services for Jada are scheduled for Aug. 29 at the New Antioch Baptist Church in Windsor Mill.

When Henderson’s round finished, Alonso circled over to give his feedback in what’s been a growing dialogue that Henderson has credited as part of his recent renaissance. The two hunched together to watch the swings, and then Alonso started demonstrating the lower-half posture he’s been trying to help Henderson with.

As Henderson replicated it, Alonso was literally hands-on, holding Henderson’s hip to force him to keep it in place. Eventually, he stepped back and Henderson did a series of strides forward from that position.

As Henderson heats up this month in an effort to salvage both his and the Orioles’ season, these conversations with Alonso have been a recent catalyst.

“There’s a lot of similar movements between him and I, so I’m helping and providing advice based on things that I’ve had to figure out, navigate through and, ultimately, we’re not changing anything,” Alonso told me. “I would just say retooling, or finding and reconfirming what’s good for him. It’s not anything out of the box. A lot of it is just tiny little sequences. We’re not changing moves. It’s just, we’re building it and understanding why.”

Henderson, who with a double and a walk Wednesday pulled his OPS in the last 10 games up to .939 and his season OPS up to .703, preceded this stretch with the most frustrating season of his career. He started hot, homering six times in the Orioles’ first 14 games, but in the next 102 games — almost four months of baseball — he had a .643 OPS.

He’s been hitting the ball hard consistently but not being rewarded for it, and his frustration has been plain to see. Henderson seemed primed to regain the form that made him the American League Rookie of the Year in 2023 and an All-Star in 2024. Four-plus months in, those efforts continue, albeit through a lot of dissatisfaction.

“That’s a superpower, his competitiveness,” Alonso said. “That’s why he’s had a lot of success in this league. All the success he’s had, it’s not by accident. You have to have that. But also, as well, there needs to be some sort of, ‘How can we refine something and unlock a little something to help performance?’”

Alonso said he and Henderson have always had a good relationship; he said they hit together postgame in Miami in early May as Henderson was in the early stages of trying to bust out of his skid. Judging by manager Craig Albernaz’s faith in him at the top of the lineup and the overall track record he has, there’s clearly been an effort to let Henderson figure things out his own way.

Alonso has met Henderson on his terms.

“From a mechanical slash intent thing, there’s different languages,” he said. “I feel like, as the year has gone on, I feel like I can kind of speak his language, what he prioritizes and what he needs to feel to be great.”

In this case, it’s about Henderson involving his lower half more in his swing and moving more efficiently from a solid base. A hitter struggling to do damage on fastballs can sometimes be starting his swing in a way that makes it hard to catch up to heaters. Alonso’s instruction Wednesday appeared to center on keeping Henderson’s back hip stable and making his first move forward, which would allow him to be more on time for fastballs.

After hitting .277 on four-seamers with a .497 slugging percentage entering this season, Henderson is batting .156 with a .279 slugging percentage on them in 2026.

“That’s my bread and butter,” Henderson said. “If I can get back to that, that puts me on all the off-speed [pitches] and being able to adjust to that. I feel like that’s been a big key, but also just having confidence in myself and my approach.”

Alonso has enjoyed how their work together of late has been “symbiotic.” He’s offering advice and allowing Henderson to still be himself. He knows that can be where the worst damage is done.

But he also understands what it’s like to have a season when things aren’t as they should be. Henderson said Alonso told him about his 2024 — the only year Alonso’s OPS dipped under .800 in his career — and how he worked through it.

The difference is that Alonso was 29 that year, well into his career. Henderson is far along too, but he began this season at age 24 — the same age Alonso was when he made his major league debut in 2019. What Alonso can offer with all that perspective is how he’s been able to sustain it and, in some ways, improve, by giving Henderson “the control system” to his swing.

“He knows which buttons and levers to press at certain times and knows when to back off certain things,” Alonso said.

The early returns are strong, based on Henderson’s recent heater. Albernaz said he’s seen Henderson be more selective, even on some pitches in the strike zone because he might not be able to do damage on them. But he noted that the hard contact that persists is a good sign. Entering Wednesday, Henderson’s hard-hit rate in August was 48.9%, his highest of any month this season. He believes the rewards will come.

“It’s very frustrating, and sometimes you’ve just got to laugh at it,” he said. “I mean, you do everything right and still don’t get the result. But it’s a good and bad thing. Obviously want to get the job done, but I know that it’s going right whenever I’m hitting the ball hard. And just not finding the gap or finding some grass. It’s only a matter of time before they start really falling, and I feel like I’m in the right spot right now.”

Marcus Mariota, Laremy Tunsil, Odafe Oweh, Nick Allegretti, Trey Amos, Rachaad White. All key players who have been hurt in training camp.

Oh, and there’s more if you count the depth pieces. Johnny Newton, Jeremy McNichols, Jerome Ford, John Bates, Tim Settle, Deatrich Wise.

All in, there are 15 Washington Commanders players who are nursing some sort of injury in Ashburn.

It’s not quite San Francisco levels — where the 49ers seemingly have a monopoly on a long injury report — but it’s getting up there.

Head coach Dan Quinn specifically structured training camp to avoid injuries. But even he knows: There isn’t much more to be done.

“It sucks. It is part of it,” Quinn said. “Just the nature of how we play, the stopping and starting, changing speeds. There isn’t any foolproof way to [avoid injuries]. Getting guys ready, the hydrations, I feel like they are hitting all the marks to get the guys prepared. But it is still, obviously, part of it.”

Quinn worked with the medical staff to lay out practice to stop soft tissue injuries in particular. Right now, six players are dealing with hamstring or calf injuries.

“The ramp up [in camp] over the last four or five years, we’ve done better job of as a league,” Quinn said. “Starting with smaller amounts, red zone, not the longer drives. And the return to play portion of that, making sure they are fully ready to come back. This is not the time or space to say, ‘Hey, push them back quickly.’”

Washington is approaching the injury list with caution for now. Quinn said he doesn’t want anyone to come back right away. But with the season opener now under a month away, there is added pressure to get starters reps.

Allegretti, for example, has only completed two full practices. If he is going to be Washington’s starting center, he needs time snapping the ball to quarterback Jayden Daniels.

“Any time you aren’t getting any reps for a whole training camp, that is a big deal,” Quinn said. “Even for a player as experienced as Nick is, you want time on task.”

So now, these injury decisions are becoming more complicated than they were early in camp.

Amos, Washington’s starting corner, is another player who will eventually need to complete a full practice. He lasted less than two days before spraining an ankle.

Quinn might have one silver lining. After last year, when Washington was ravaged by injuries, Quinn said he wanted to prepare better for guys missing time. So in minicamp, he played his second team more than the first.

“I wanted the players who had played the least to play the most [during minicamp],” Quinn said. “I wanted to put them into that test. So when a person is out of practice, it is almost like, ‘OK, this is the next opportunity.’ My mind shifts to, ‘Where is this next player? Have their standards changed, how do they do, any mental errors?’ I just tend to shift to, ‘Where is my roster, who is the next backup?’ It does provide you some outlook into that.”

Starters a go

This weekend in Detroit will likely be the last chance for starters to play in the preseason. And Quinn said he intends to play many of them.

Daniels’ status is a different question. He still could sit, even if most of the starters play. Final decisions on personnel will be made tonight before the team leaves to play the Lions on Saturday.

“A good amount of starters will get some playing time. I’ll finalize that list tonight,” Quinn said. “Once I know the health of everybody else around [Daniels], then I’ll have a better sense [for whether Daniels plays].”

A long-term issue

One player on the injury list who will not come back any time soon is Jer’Zhan Newton. The 2024 second-round pick tore his pectoral muscle and underwent surgery in New York yesterday.

“He’ll miss a significant amount of time. How much that is, I don’t know yet,” Quinn said. “It’s a tough blow for a guy who really put in a good offseason to get there.”

Newton was competing to make the 53-man roster with Ricky Barber and Byron Cowart. It opens up a spot for one of those two to potentially sneak onto the team.

After confusion about the number required and an 11th-hour sprint to collect 215 additional signatures, Sweat, a consultant and community advocate, announced earlier this month that she believed she had compiled the necessary number.

But after reviewing the signatures and documents Sweat submitted on Aug. 3, the elections board determined Tuesday that she hadn’t met the required threshold.

Sweat sued the next day, calling for the circuit court to determine whether the elections board complied with state law in its decision and, if not, to require that the board place her on November ballots.

She also asked the court to order the board to refund her $28.95 filing fee.

“This campaign is not suspended. It’s not ended. It’s not over,” Sweat said in an interview on Thursday.

When reached for comment, county elections administrator Wendy Honesty-Bey said she wasn’t aware of the suit and declined to comment.

Sweat said she decided to file suit after learning from a Tuesday update on the State Board of Elections website — rather than a written notice from the board — that she hadn’t submitted enough eligible signatures. Sweat said she received a FedEx package Wednesday afternoon with the required notice.

“I had already filed my lawsuit, so whoop-de-do,” she said.

Local candidates not affiliated with a political party must submit a petition with signatures from at least 1% of eligible voters in the district they are seeking to represent.

Sweat said the board invalidated 1,300 of the 6,505 signatures she submitted.

Her team was analyzing the signatures again on Thursday to see whether the board is correct.

“Some of what was placed in their notice to me, I understand and I can acknowledge,” she said. “But most of the signatures that were invalidated, I have concerns with.”

She said she’s also preparing to proceed with the lawsuit. Regardless of the outcome, “this campaign is still on,” she said.

If the court rules against Sweat, she said she would consider appealing to the Supreme Court of Maryland.

She may also decide to run as a write-in candidate. She would need to file a certificate of candidacy and other documents by Oct. 15.

Sweat’s uphill climb to defeat Braveboy in November would be even more challenging as a write-in candidate.

“There are a number of examples where it has been done successfully,” she said. “So, I don’t even have to re-create a playbook.”

She mentioned how former Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams won one of his reelection bids as a write-in candidate in 2002 after a challenge to the signatures his team collected.

“The biggest thing I want the people of Prince George’s County to know is, there’s still hope,” Sweat said.

The fair-or-foul debate regarding Pete Alonso’s would-be go-ahead home run late in what turned into a loss to the New York Yankees caused vexation. For the most part, that frustration was along party lines — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said postgame that their internal replay coordinator thinks it was a foul ball.

To the Orioles, that looks like a fair ball.

“It’s 2026. I think technology has advanced pretty good,” Albernaz said. “There were teams using AI on the iPads, and other sports use ball-tracking data for challengeable calls. Don’t understand why we don’t do it.”

Added right-hander Chris Bassitt: “Because it would cost money. That’s it. I mean, that’s literally it. You ask every fan of this game, that’s a true fan, every single fan would want those cameras. If you ask every single player, they would want those cameras. If you ask every coach, they want the cameras. It costs money. That’s it. That’s literally it.”

Naturally, it’s more complicated than that.

According to a person familiar with the league’s attempts to resolve a foul pole issue that comes into play only a handful of times per year, this sort of technology doesn’t exist.

Major League Baseball would have to develop, test and install technology for this sole purpose, which takes time — following a similar process as the league’s endeavor to see if checked-swing measurement technology is feasible, the source said.

Alonso called it a “simple fix.”

“We have Hawk-Eye,” Alonso said, referring to the technology used to determine the strike zone and other measures. “Like, football, you have the pylon camera with the plane where it shoots right across the goal line. And I feel like, for us, we could easily have a laser or a camera that shoots straight up. … The reason why I’ve been told we can’t do it is because every ballpark is different and that every ballpark is unique, it’s not the same dimensions everywhere.”

Albernaz said the information the Orioles saw on the team’s iPads in the dugout — which have access to real-time Statcast data — indicates that the ball flight of Alonso’s blast was fair.

However, that ball-flight tracking data is unlikely to be accurate that far away from the plate, a source said.

While there is a graphic that shows the ball flight, Mike Petriello of MLB.com wrote on X that the graphic is “an internal estimating, not evidence of the full trajectory of where the ball went.”

Pete Alonso on his would-be go-ahead home run being ruled foul:

"Looking at the video, the view from where the camera was pointing straight down the line, from it what it looked like, I mean, it was to the right of the yellow and the pole so I thought it was fair." pic.twitter.com/AeZQVjmXUB

— Baltimore Banner Sports (@AllBannerSports) August 20, 2026

To confirm that point, on MLB’s internal research tool there is also a moving illustrator that displays ball-tracking data for a play. The moving illustrator, a source with knowledge of that page said, loses track of the fly ball just after it passes third base — showing that the flight data is an estimation.

The farther the ball flies from the Hawk-Eye trackers near home plate, the harder it becomes to track.

And, finally, there is the issue of a camera angle.

The one that was initially shown on Mid-Atlantic Sports Network — which appeared to show the ball curling around the pole on the fair side — is from the first base dugout well camera, which is about 90 feet from the third-base line.

However, MLB’s replay center used one specific angle — closer to home plate and pointed down the third-base line — to determine the on-field call of a foul ball stood. It could not be determined whether the ball definitely passed the foul pole fairly, so MLB stuck with the on-field decision.

Because of the angle from the first-base dugout well camera, it appeared as if the ball was clearly fair. But that camera doesn’t show the ball down the line, which creates issues in accuracy.

Either way, fair or foul, the Orioles lost, 5-3.

“It’s not why we lost the game,” Albernaz said. “But I think that moment was a big moment, especially [as] it takes a home run from us and Pete, as well.”

In a case that has drawn national attention, associate Circuit Judge Maurice Frazier ruled that there was enough evidence that Adjepong had abused the 7-year-old. The judge granted a petition for a protection order on July 10 after Adjepong roughly scrubbed her during a bath, causing her to bleed, and called her the “worst daughter ever,” according to a description of the incident in the ruling.

For the next year, Adjepong, who shares custody with his ex-wife, is limited to supervised visits with his daughter. The judge also ordered him to complete parenting classes and reunification therapy. Adjepong has submitted documentation since to the court showing that he completed a 9-hour co-parenting seminar.

The son of Ghanaian immigrants, Adjepong rose to fame as a finalist on season 16 of the reality competition television series “Top Chef,” using flavors and ingredients that he said told the story of the transatlantic slave trade. His cuisine draws influences from West Africa, the Caribbean and American South. He has appeared since on multiple culinary reality shows and hosts the Food Network show “Alex versus America.”

After the case drew headlines, the nonprofit Save the Children, for which Adjepong served as an ambassador, said it was “deeply concerned” and paused its work with him.

The ruling follows investigations by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Child and Family Services Agency in Washington, D.C.

A Howard County nurse who treated the 7-year-old in April contacted Child and Family Services with concerns, according to court records. According to the nurse, the girl said her father had been bathing her with excessive force using a loofa even after she told him it was uncomfortable.

The agency notified the police department’s Youth Investigation Branch of an abuse allegation on May 1, but detectives found no probable cause that a crime had occurred and referred the case back to Child and Family Services. A spokesperson for the agency declined to comment on the matter, citing federal and local confidentiality laws.

In a statement provided by his attorney, Barry Coburn, Adjepong said he loves his daughter deeply. He cited concern for her privacy and declined to discuss the matter publicly “other than to say that these allegations arose in the context of a long running divorce and custody proceeding.”

“It is my fervent hope that in the future my ex-wife and I can resolve these matters privately and through the proper legal channels, rather than in the press, if only for the well-being of our daughter,” he said in the statement.

Adjepong and his daughter’s mother, Janell Davis-Mack, separated in October 2021 after four years of marriage and divorced the following year. The chef now lives in Washington, where he operates the contemporary Ghanaian restaurant Elmina, while Davis-Mack lives in Columbia.

Adjepong told a Howard County court that their shared custody agreement fell apart after he received a traffic citation in November 2024.

In January 2025, Adjepong asked the court to intervene, claiming that Davis-Mack had refused to let him see or FaceTime with his daughter because he faced charges of speeding, reckless driving and driving while impaired. Adjepong said his daughter was not in his care when he received the citation and voluntarily agreed not to drive her.

Several days later, Davis-Mack asked the court for sole custody of their daughter, citing that Adjepong drove at a speed of 116 mph while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance. She said he was getting ready to open his Washington restaurant, which would significantly reduce his free time, and already had volunteered to cut his visitation back to one week a month.

While the court was sorting through the dispute, Adjepong was served with a protective order barring him from contacting his ex-wife by any means. Police charged him in late January 2025 for violating the order when he sent Davis-Mack a message via a mobile app that is used by families to manage child custody agreements.

Davis-Mack later dismissed her petition for the protective order, and Adjepong agreed to not contact his ex-wife except as specified in their custody agreement.

Neither Davis-Mack nor her attorney responded to a request for comment.

Earlier this year, Adjepong again asked a Howard court to intervene, claiming that Davis-Mack was not complying with their custody agreement. The judge ruled in his favor and also ordered Davis-Mack to pay $1,351 by April 3 to Adjepong’s counsel for fees to resolve the matter.

On June 2, just weeks before the judge ruled on the bathing incident, the former couple struck a new agreement with extensive terms to maintain joint legal and shared physical custody of their daughter.

“Banner Ravens Podcast” co-hosts Paul Mancano and Jonas Shaffer are joined by beat reporter Giana Han to break down the happenings in Minnesota.

As a younger man growing up in Arkansas, he used to go hog hunting on the weekends. It was a family activity, passed down through generations. They’d sit in the dense forests near the town of Warren, nestled in the southern corner of the state, and send a bulldog out to circle the hogs. Then, just as they were all penned in, Burks would swoop in and finish the job.

But there were a few times, Burks said, when the hogs would win. The 200-pound boars broke containment and charged his way.

“I’ve had to run up trees a couple of times,” he said. “I usually stay pretty careful when I do it, because they are dangerous.”

These days, his own health is paramount. Accordingly, he’s traded in hogs for less hazardous game like turkey and fish.

Burks is on a different kind of hunt now — one to revive his career as a former first-round pick who lost his way in the league. Any good hunter knows you can’t be on the defensive, can’t be running up trees, in the pursuit of prey. And too often in the NFL, Burks has just been fighting to stay afloat.

He’s dealt with injuries nearly every year since he was drafted in 2022. He’s been buried on the depth chart behind stars. Tennessee, which once picked him 18th overall, didn’t even let him finish his rookie contract before waiving him last season.

But the Washington Commanders extended him a lifeline. A clean slate. A top-flight quarterback. A wide open receiver room. Finally, Burks is on the offensive again.

“Honestly, I feel like this was the first offseason where I haven’t had to battle back from an injury,” he said. “I’ve never lost confidence in myself. I just want to keep getting better.”

The last time Burks had this clear of a runway was back in Arkansas. He was the top recruit who chose to stay home. In high school he played receiver, running back and a little quarterback. He dabbled on defense. In the offseason, he picked up basketball and baseball.

By the time he set foot in Fayetteville, Arkansas immediately started him at wide receiver and he recorded over 500 all-purpose yards as a freshman. By his third year, he hauled in 66 passes for 1,104 yards and 11 touchdowns.

NFL scouts fell in love with Burks’ size. At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, he could body up corners and be a red zone threat. Draft analysts compared him to Pro Bowler A.J. Brown, and hinted they might be underselling it.

“He’s such a natural athlete for being so big, but that’s what we usually see from guys who play three sports in high school,” an anonymous executive told NFL.com. “They learn to move differently than football-only guys.”

But those lofty prognostications didn’t pan out. Burks left Arkansas after his junior year to declare for the draft, knowing a big payday awaited. The Titans moved up to get him, trading Brown to the Eagles in exchange for their first-round pick.

Brown went on to win a Super Bowl in Philadelphia. And Tennessee was left with an oft-injured player on a mediocre team.

Burks sprained his LCL in Year 2, derailing a promising start. Tennessee brought in DeAndre Hopkins the next year, only for Burks to tear his ACL and wipe away half his season. Before he played in another game, he fractured his collarbone in a joint practice the next summer.

Tennessee’s fan base soured on him, wondering if they should’ve kept Brown, and the front office waived him before he even got to a fourth year.

But Washington was in need of more talent around quarterback Jayden Daniels. Even with the injuries, the upside was worth it if Burks could get healthy. Besides, the Commanders already had Terry McLaurin as the top option.

“I think he has another level to go to,” general manager Adam Peters said in March. “He showed us a lot in practice and in the games when he was able to make some plays there.”

And for now, it is working as planned. Burks played eight games for Washington last season, completing an Odell Beckham Jr.-style one-handed catch for a touchdown on “Sunday Night Football” against the Broncos. The size and the athleticism, which once made him the jewel of the draft, were on full display.

Peters re-signed him to a one-year, $4 million deal in the offseason. The calculation was simple. The Commanders would give him every chance to find a spot on the depth chart. With a healthy winter, and few proven pass catchers in Washington, this was his chance to solidify himself as an NFL mainstay. If not, the team could move on with little cost.

Burks responded by dropping 10 pounds and is now one of Washington’s fastest players. For a while, it looked like he could rise to as high as the No. 2 spot until the team signed Stefon Diggs. But he remains a key part of the rotation. The first day of camp, he announced his presence on a jump ball in the end zone. Daniels lofted it up, and Burks rose above veteran corner Amik Roberson for a toe-tapping score.

5 ➡️ 13 pic.twitter.com/aZEZ84isD3

— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) July 29, 2026

“Last year brought the fun back of playing football, for me,” Burks said when he re-signed. “Adam and [head coach] Dan Quinn made it feel like home.”

Of course, home would include hog hunting. He offered to take it up his old hobby again if his teammates came down to Arkansas in the offseason. There were no takers.

“Not yet,” Burks joked.

Instead, they settled for fishing and golf in the D.C. area.

But until then, he’s fine with just having a football home again.

When Quinn was going through practice tape the other day, he stopped on a rep Burks had against cornerback Fabian Moreau. The veteran was draped all over the receiver, but it didn’t matter.

“He’s got a long catch radius, and so that’s the thing that you feel on a regular basis,” Quinn said. “Fabian had good coverage for him, but the quarterback had put it in just such a spot that Trey, with his length there, Fabian couldn’t get around.”

He finished, “He’s an excellent competitor, and so we’re very pleased with where he’s at.”

“I normally budget about $500 a year to different school supply lists for teachers,” said Carlson, who grew up in an economically depressed small town in Iowa but now lives in Kensington in Montgomery County.

She has been using the comfortable income from her writing career and her husband’s federal job to help friends and family who teach back home. But this fall, as her own kids head back to school, things are not so comfortable.

“My grocery bill has increased over 30%,” Carlson said. Her husband, like other Maryland federal employees, worries about possible layoffs. “The job stability isn’t there anymore. We really have to focus on saving money in case something happens.”

So for the first time in a long time, there will be no donation to Iowa. “I can’t afford to do it this year,” she said.

I know how she feels. I always buy from the donation lists for my son’s classrooms, but like so many others, I feel stretched this fall. I resent that the economy, spurred by the choices of the federal government, is forcing me and others to be less charitable to those who need it. It’s a crappy place to be, and for a nation as rich as ours, it’s unconscionable.

My son goes to a Title I school in Baltimore, which gets extra federal funds because a high percentage of its students are from low-income families. As a parent with a stable income, I’ve enjoyed being able to provide in a way that maybe other families can’t. But it’s harder this year. The conundrum is that if we stop giving, it falls on the teachers, who are also humans with their own expenses and who no doubt also feel the strain. If we are pushed to the limit, who will help?

Baltimore City Public Schools did not respond to requests for comment.

“We’re parsing who is allowed to blow their nose,” said Tiffany Holmes, a Baltimore parent who has contributed to wider classroom and school donation lists for years. “It’s absolutely ridiculous for teachers to have to post their wish lists,” she said, because in theory, schools should provide such necessities. “But I consider it a mutual aid thing.”

Even if we feel a shared social responsibility to each other, “there are some people in a tighter squeeze now,” Holmes said. “Everyone has their own breaking point.”

Nakeisha Turner of Pikesville, a former substitute teacher for Baltimore County Public Schools for two years, said her time in the classroom taught her things the public needs to know when considering curtailing those parent donations.

“There are a lot of times where there is a difference in how the teacher will teach something,” depending on whether they have certain supplies, she said. “They ask for dry erase boards, but they get stained, because the kids color on them with permanent marker. And the lifespan of a crayon is about 15 minutes. ... If we don’t [donate], does the teacher not do what they need to because the lesson doesn’t have what they need?”

Turner is concerned about the day supplies run out for kids who don’t have a backup. She said she’s talked to parents who label the supplies for their own children and don’t want other students to use them. “But when a child doesn’t have stuff, or she lost it, what is she supposed to do?”

Exactly. We are the richest country in the world, but we’re feeling the heat at the gas pump, on the job market and at the grocery store. At the same time, the federal government is attempting to shrink its role in the public education system, all while parents are standing in line deciding whether they can afford that second set of markers for someone else’s child. It’s shameful to squeeze people so that those with the least now have to make do with even less, and everyone who used to help has less to give, too.

“The thing that’s especially hard now is seeing your taxes going up, seeing costs rising and schools being underfunded,” Holmes said. “We are disproportionately not funding basic needs that kids have for school.”

Turner said she has seen teachers form their own mutual aid societies, loaning supplies to each other “so that the schools are self-sufficient. They know how to run their classrooms.”

But they shouldn’t have to do all that. “We need to give teachers what they need to do their jobs,” she said.

I got my kid’s basic list, just for him, the weekend before last, taking advantage of the Tax-Free Week promotion in Maryland. But I’m going to do my best to hit the donation list, too. I’m willing to forgo pad thai delivery this week if it provides a pencil for a kid who doesn’t have one.

But it should not be so hard to do.

Thursday, Aug. 20

Free outdoor movies

If you haven’t seen an outdoor movie yet this summer, this is the weekend. On Thursday, have a drink on the water, 5-7 p.m., and watch the rom-com “The Materialists” starting at sunset, around 8 p.m. (Seagarten at Port Covington Marina, 321 E. Cromwell St., Baltimore) or hit the burbs for “Inside Out”, also kicking off at sunset (Hunt Valley Towne Centre, 118 Shawan Road, Cockeysville). On Friday, a showing of “Freakier Friday” starts at sunset in downtown Columbia (10275 Wincopin Circle) and “GOAT” airs at 6 p.m. at Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum (300 Oella Ave., Catonsville). On Saturday, recite along with the “The Princess Bride” at 8:30 p.m. (The Wine Bin, 8390 Main St., Ellicott City).

If you’re willing to splurge a little, rent headphones for a so-called silent movie, “Wicked: For Good,” starting at 8 p.m. on Saturday ($10; Canton Waterfront Park, 3001 Boston St., Baltimore). And, of course, most nights of the week, there’s the king of outdoor movies: Bengies, Maryland’s only drive-in (3417 Eastern Blvd., Middle River).

Time: Various

Price: Various

Location: Various

Family friendly? Yes, all but the Seagarten event (and certain movies at Bengies).

Amped in the Park: Ladama

Ladama is a Latin alternative band made up of three women — one from Brazil, one from Colombia and one from Venezuela — along with a male American bassist. Their sound is joyful, highly danceable and informed by all the countries from which the members hail. You’ll hear instruments like the Venezuelan bandola llanera and the Brazilian pandeiro. For more Latin rhythms, check out Noche de Travesura on Saturday at 8 p.m (Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore).

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Price: Free

Location: 6221 Mango Tree Road, Columbia

Family friendly? Yes.

Agalisiga Mackey

This 22-year-old singer/songwriter has carved himself a brand-new niche and it’s awfully cool: He sings country music in his native Cherokee. Originally from Kenwood, Oklahoma, Mackey grew up singing ceremonial music and now teaches the language and culture at a Cherokee immersion charter school in his home state. His voice is deep and captivating, and it’s intriguing to listen to new music in a language that’s so rarely heard. A free two-step lesson is included — no partner or experience necessary.

Time: 6:30-10 p.m.

Price: $20

Location: Waverly Brewing Company (1625-C Union Ave., Baltimore)

Family friendly? Yes.

Friday, Aug. 21

I Love the 90s Show at Oriole Park

Dust off the scrunchies and break out the bucket hats for a live appearance by some icons of the ’90s. Vanilla Ice, Tone Loc and Treach, the front man for Naughty by Nature, will perform at a post-game show after the Orioles take on the Tampa Bay Rays. Also on the bill: one-hit wonder Tag Team, who will no doubt perform “Whoomp! (There It Is).” The show is included in your ticket if you go to the game, but true fans can pay extra for a field pass.

If you’re not into baseball but still feeling nostalgic, catch ’90s death metal sensation Six Feet Under on Thursday at 6 p.m. (Metro Baltimore, 1700 N. Charles St., Baltimore); The Powell-Younger Project playing oldies as part of the Liberty Live Summer Concerts series on Friday at 6 p.m. (8212 Liberty Road, Windsor Mill); Y2K Night on Saturday at 6 p.m. (Columbia Lakefront Stage, 10275 Wincopin Circle, Columbia); or beloved ’60s cult rock band NRBQ on Saturday at 7 p.m. (Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St., Baltimore).

Time: Game starts at 7:15 p.m.; show immediately after

Price: $27-$255 for a game ticket plus the show; $50 extra to watch the show from the field

Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards (333 W. Camden St., Baltimore)

Family friendly? Yes, but good luck explaining “O.P.P.”.

Moth Night

Butterflies get a transnational organization dedicated to their conservation. Moths? One crummy week. But several truly gorgeous moths live in Maryland — including Luna moths, Polyphemous moths and Cecropia moths — and Friday is your chance to give them their due. Moth expert Eric Warner will be using a mercury vapor light to lure them in. Bring a flashlight, a lawn chair and your stamina: Many of the bigger species don’t come out till after midnight.

Time: 8:30 pm.

Price: $10

Location: Serviceberry Farm (1994 Cromwell Bridge Road, Baltimore)

Family friendly? Yes.

Back-to-school teen block party

It may be painful to contemplate, but the school year is fast approaching. Give your teen one last hurrah at a block party designed just for them. A live DJ will be on site, along with caricature and henna artists. Participants can test their skills on the obstacle course, do chalk art, use the photo booth, make friendship bracelets and play carnival and lawn games like giant Jenga. Plus, there will be food trucks. Fingers crossed they have bubble tea.

Time: 3-8 p.m.

Price: Free, but registration is required.

Location: Merriweather Post Pavilion (10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia)

Family friendly? Ages 13-19 only.

Saturday, Aug. 22

National Dog Day

Apparently, every dog does have its day, and it’s Aug. 26: National Dog Day. But The Rotunda is celebrating this weekend with an all-day festival instead. The event will feature activities including hot dog bobbing, paw painting and making your own dog toy. Pet photos, live pet portraits, a flea-less yard sale and food and drink round out the celebrations. Adoptable dogs and — the nerve! — cats will be on site.

Time: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Price: Free; a bundle of activities require a $10 “PAWS-port,” with proceeds benefitting the Maryland SPCA

Location: The Rotunda (711 W. 40th Street, Baltimore)

Family friendly? Yes.

Pickle Party

The incredible edible pickle is having a party. Sample a variety of vinegar and fermented pickles from around the world or enter the contest yourself and compete in one or more of the following categories: Best Quick Pickle, Best Fermented Pickle and Most Original Pickle Dish. The event features door prizes every 30 minutes, pickle merch and a pickle selfie station. All proceeds go to GroGive, a local organization that helps people with food insecurity by teaching them how to garden. Afterward, check out another brewery fundraiser, 3-6 p.m., with an equally suggestive name, Schwingo Bingo (Checkerspot Brewing, 1421 Ridgely St., Baltimore). Proceeds for this one go to Make Studio, an organization supporting Baltimore artists with disabilities.

Time: 2-4 p.m.

Price: $18 in advance, $22 at the door; $10 per category for entering pickle contest; children under age 8 are free

Location: Peabody Heights Brewery (401 E. 30th Street, Baltimore)

Family friendly? Yes.

Adult proms

Inexplicably, Baltimoreans will have three adult proms to choose from Saturday night. Layer on the eyeliner and join the other mopes, 5-10 p.m., for Emo Prom, with live covers by Guyliner, a DJ set by Marie Ann Hedonia and a costume contest ($10; Peabody Heights Brewery, 401 E. 30th St., Baltimore). The theme is flamboyance at Queer Prom, 8 p.m.-midnight, with DJs and a drag show hosted by Kenny Rooster ($10-$15; Le Mondo, 406 N. Howard St., Baltimore). Or go dark with Goth Prom, 8 p.m.-midnight, featuring live music, dancing, DJs, a costume contest, drag, burlesque and aerial performances, and tarot and star chart readings ($25; Mobtown Ballroom, 30 W. North Ave., Baltimore).

Time: Various

Price: Various

Location: Various

Family friendly? Nope

‘Experimental Theater, Music, Cabbage’

Now that I have your attention, let’s discuss what may be the strangest offering this weekend. A succession of performers will wow you with their weirdness, beginning with local musician Albert Bagman, who performs spooky music wearing a paper, burlap or popcorn bag over his head. Al & Dog — no relation to Mr. Bagman — has been known to toss heads of cabbage at the audience. Also on tap: the local DIY theater group Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking? Collective and a new music and performance art project by poet/musician/writer Aris who will perform as a masked alter ego of themselves.

Should you choose to go avant-garde all weekend, check out the “carefully controlled chaos” of renowned experimental modular synth composer/performer Mark Cetilia on Thursday at 8 p.m. ($10-$20 or pay what you can; The Red Room at Normals Books and Records, 425 E. 31st St., Baltimore).

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Price: $15-$25

Location: Black Cherry Puppet Theater (1115 Hollins St., Baltimore)

Family friendly? Unclear. But there will be a dude with a bag on his head singing about the occult.

Living history events

Can you imagine wearing a corset and petticoat in this weather? The women at the Hogshead Trades Museum can. This museum devoted to the working people of colonial Annapolis is devoting Saturday to the female variety. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., drop by to meet the wives of signers, female spies and soldiers, Abigail Adams, Mary Hays and others as they discuss women’s roles during the American Revolution. (free; 43 Pinkney St., Annapolis).

Drop by the Fire Museum of Maryland from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday to meet fire heroes of yore and chat with Benjamin Franklin, who formed the first formal volunteer fire department (adults are $15, children 2-18 are $7; 1301 York Road, Lutherville).

Or on Sunday, 1-4 p.m., check out War of 1812: Remember the Lion, a free commemorative display honoring the “Lion of Baltimore,” an American schooner privateer that was burned by a British raiding party. The Aisquith Sharpshooters will do a demo, and there will be guided tours of a historic farm dating to the 17th century (Historic Hancock’s Resolution, 2795 Bayside Beach Road, Pasadena).

Time: Various

Price: Various

Location: Various

Family friendly? Yes

Union Collective Coffee Festival

A draw for those who love the bean with caffeine, this festival includes a cold brew coffee competition, roasting demos, a nonalcoholic coffee cocktail competition and a latte art throwdown. Sample coffee ice cream, coffee liqueur, coffee beer and coffee cocktails and join a raffle to win a coffee tattoo.

Time: Noon-5 p.m.

Price: Free; $7 for a tasting ticket

Location: Union Collective (1700 W. 41st St., Baltimore)

Family friendly? Technically, but the ice cream may be the only draw.

Sunday, Aug. 23

Nitro Circus

Led by stunt athlete Travis Pastrana, Nitro Circus is … an event? A brand? A reality show? Whatever the case, it’s apparently brought to you by “the world’s most passionate individuals.” The live event features loud music, flashing lights and feats of daring involving freestyle motocross, BMX, scooters and more. Buy a ticket for the adrenaline junkie in your life.

Time: 6-8 p.m.

Price: $79-$182

Location: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (550 Taylor Ave., Annapolis)

Family friendly? Yes

“It’s a gap in the generations where it’s no go-go bands at all, they’re either 40 years old or 50 years old,” said Kani Shorter, a resident of Southeast D.C. “Go-go is the only genre of music where the young people aren’t running the music.”

Shorter, 49, has tried to instill his city’s musical heritage in young people. Last year, he got several students of D.C. Public Schools to formally start playing as the Next Generation Krank Band.

The ensemble, which fluctuates between nine and 10 performers who are 14 to 18 years old, has performed across the capital region and beyond to spread the sound pioneered by the likes of the late Chuck Brown.

Next Generation Krank Band will perform Thursday, Aug. 20, at Concord Historic Site in Capitol Heights at 5 p.m. DJ Baconbear and go-go mainstays, New Impressionz, will join them.

The genre, which was birthed in D.C. by Black musicians, is defined by its live shows carried by percussion-driven funk rhythms.

Shorter, who manages the band, said part of his inspiration for assembling these talented young musicians was also to combat the rise of the latest wave of DMV street music, popularly known as free car rap.

He’s thrilled about having the opportunity to bring go-go performances to Prince George’s County, where he knows many fans and residents who may have once lived in the District now reside.

Venues that host go-go concerts have dwindled over the years within city limits. Veterans like Backyard Band celebrated their 35th anniversary with a performance at MGM National Harbor.

“It’s everything,” Shorter said. “Not just the culture and the go-go, it’s the gentrification of everything.”

But he’s embracing the opportunity to expand go-go’s reach and the kids that are carrying on the legacy.

“I think we need to stop gatekeeping the music and just let the world hear it,” Shorter said. “We’ve been trying to push the narrative of the culture, push the narrative of the music and push the joy that the music brings.”

Here are other events happening around the capital region to check out.

Early Rockville

Friday, 10 a.m.

The nonprofit Peerless Rockville will celebrate the 250th anniversary of America and Montgomery County with a walking tour of the city’s downtown. Guests will set off from Rockville City Hall and catch glimpses of what once existed in the colonial era.

Tickets are $10-$17.85.

Park Shredders Skate Jam

Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Have a child — or maybe you are one, young reader — who has been wanting to learn to skateboard? Walker Mill Regional Park in District Heights will welcome newcomers and seasoned skaters alike to show off their tricks and learn from professional skaters and instructors.

Admission is free, and lunch will be provided.

Cut your own sunflowers

Saturday through Sept. 6, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Clarksburg’s Whitetails Farm will open its doors one last time this season for you to take pictures and snip your own sunflowers. The farm has no limits on how much you can cut but asks you to consider what you can reasonably carry in one trip.

Tickets are $17 for guests 13 and older.

Great American Camp Out

Begins Saturday at noon and ends Sunday at 2 p.m.

It’s maybe not a question you consider until you’re confronted with it: How do you camp? Workers at Patuxent River Park in Upper Marlboro will welcome first-timers who want to know the ins and outs of camping so they can plan their next outdoor excursion.

Admission is free.

Demolition derby

Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Maybe one day you’ll read something smart from me or a Banner colleague about the hidden poetry in the demolition derby at the Montgomery County Fair. Until then, let’s just stick with what we know. It’s cars getting all smashed up and people getting to hoot and holler at the wreckage. We could all use some simple fun.

Tickets are $18-$20.74 and do not include admission to the fair.

Washington Folk Festival

Sunday, noon-6 p.m.

Glen Echo Park will host the annual showcase of folk musicians performing styles of the tradition from around the world. Across six stages, you’ll hear bluegrass, Celtic and Middle Eastern folk songs. They’ll be accompanied by food trucks and a children’s play area.

Admission is free.

A man on the move, Moore has visited at least 27 states, often for political business in addition to travel directly related to his duties as governor. He has rubbed elbows with executives at “billionare summer camp” in Idaho, wooed Democrats in the early primary state of South Carolina and raised money in the wealthy Massachusetts enclaves of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.

Since January 2025, he has been in other states at a rate of about one in four days, or 25% of his time. The rate doesn’t include his regular travel to Washington or the roughly four weeks when Moore traveled internationally, whether for state business, such as a trade mission in Asia, or for personal travel, such as a brief vacation in Italy.

The Banner’s analysis is based on a review of calendars obtained through public records requests and publicly available details about Moore’s travels. All told, the governor has spent at least 270 full or partial days in other states since taking office.

Moore’s office objected to the inclusion of partial days, of which there are more than 110 in The Banner’s analysis. Partial days include a range of travel. For example, a day on which the governor took an early flight from California and was back in Annapolis before lunch, and a day on which he woke up in New York, came to Maryland for an event and then returned to New York that evening, are both counted as partial days.

Ammar Moussa, a spokesperson for Moore, called The Banner’s analysis “incorrect and incomplete.”

“It treats any day the governor has spent away from Maryland as a ‘day out of state,’ including countless days when he also worked in Maryland,” Moussa said. “Your methodology treats partial travel days as full days away and, in doing so, is sloppy and inaccurate.”

The frequent jet-setting comes as Moore is rising in national Democratic circles. Though he has said he doesn’t plan to run for president in 2028, he has made trips to key primary states such as Georgia, Nevada and Michigan and is a fixture in national media, often working media appearances into his New York trips.

Some critics wonder if Moore, who is widely expected to coast to a second term in November, is preoccupied with lining up his next job. Labor leaders and a few fellow state Democrats have questioned whether he is paying enough attention to Maryland’s needs.

“I hope that the administration sees the need to focus on the here and now and what’s happening in Maryland, as opposed to what’s happening on the national stage,” Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Maryland, which represents state workers, said at a news conference in early August.

Governors on the rise have long faced the question of how to balance their time. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, often discussed as a 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, has been out of state about 20% of his second term, a Bay Area News Group analysis found, a pace comparable to Moore’s. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, spent about 72% of 2015 out of state while he was running for president, according to his administration’s figures.

Moore insists he takes no days off and is always working for the people of Maryland, whether he’s in the Free State or elsewhere. He said his out-of-state travel has been “in no way a distraction” when it comes to performing his duties.

“I’m the governor of Maryland no matter where I am,” he said. “Even when you take a day to go and support democracy or support a candidate who you believe in, you know, we’re still constantly on the phone with our cabinet secretaries and our agency heads and still doing the work of the people’s business.”

Some union leaders — typically allies of Maryland Democrats — have a different assessment. Both AFSCME and Maryland State and D.C. AFL-CIO, a subset of the largest federation of labor unions in the country, declined to endorse Moore this year in the Democratic primary, despite endorsing virtually every other key Democrat in the state and having endorsed Moore in 2022.

Another union representing airport workers, Maryland Unite Here Local 7, started a “Poor Because of Moore” campaign over what its members say has been inaction from the administration to force higher wages from concessionaires at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Local 7 President Tracy Lingo, also a vice president of the state AFL-CIO, said in an interview she can’t tell if Moore doesn’t care about working Marylanders’ needs or if he’s too preoccupied in his pursuit for national office.

“In the absence of them telling me which of those two things it is, I think assuming he’s too busy running for president is the nicer of the two,” Lingo said.

Senate President Bill Ferguson, who has sparred with Moore repeatedly this year, told Fox45 in June that he thought “the governor’s focused on a lot of things outside of Maryland at times.”

“That’s something we’re gonna have to navigate moving forward,” Ferguson said.

Polls show Moore has robust voter support in Maryland as he seeks a second term in November.

An independent poll released last week found Moore’s in-state approval rating was 56%, up from this time last year. It also found voters think more favorably of the governor than the Democratic Party as an institution, a testament to his likability, said Adam Carlson, founding partner of Zenith Research, which conducted the poll on behalf of Blended Public Affairs and the Perry Jacobson lobbying firm.

“If nothing is on fire and nothing is really a major issue for [voters] right now at a state level, I think they’re going to give him the benefit of the doubt,” Carlson said of voters’ perceptions of Moore’s travel.

Moore’s Republican opponent in his reelection campaign, Dan Cox, is the same person he drubbed in 2022.

Given that, Moore has been crisscrossing the country to help elect more Democratic governors.

This summer, he stumped for Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina and Michigan.

Last year, Moore was warmly received when he campaigned to elect New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger. He also attended Spanberger’s January inauguration. In 2024, Moore was in demand to campaign for then-President Joe Biden and later for Kamala Harris after Biden dropped out.

Moore has also traveled in his roles with the National Governors Association. He recently became the nonpartisan group’s chair, after a stint as its vice chair.

Other trips have combined political events with official tasks. In South Carolina last summer, he toured local businesses in hopes of luring investment to Maryland after speaking at a state Democratic Party fundraiser to great applause and appearing at a fish fry with influential U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn.

Regardless of whether Moore is traveling on state business or political business, he’s accompanied by Maryland State Police troopers who provide security. The cost to send troopers on Moore’s trips to D.C., other states and other countries topped $1.1 million for his first three years in office, according to records from the state police.

Moore isn’t the only Maryland governor to have traveled extensively. Former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, was a frequent flyer during his last year in office in 2022, when he was feeling out a potential presidential run. Security for Hogan’s travels during the first nine months of 2022 cost about $266,000, adjusted for inflation.

And former Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat who ran for president in 2016, drew criticism for traveling out of state frequently during his second term.

There isn’t a way to directly compare Moore’s schedule to the previous governors because their calendars aren’t readily available.

Some of the governor’s in-state allies see Moore’s political travel as an attempt to boost Maryland.

State Sen. Antonio Hayes, a Baltimore Democrat, pointed out that the Republican-controlled Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration have had significant negative impact on Maryland’s economy and workforce. By boosting Democrats around the country, Moore is trying to help elect people who can undo some of that pain.

“There’s too much on the line nationally for any Democrat, and especially a Democrat that’s had the type of appeal that our governor’s had, to just sit back and say, OK, I’m just going to deal with the issues in my state,” Hayes said.

David Lublin, chair of American University’s government department, said Moore would reasonably be in demand around the country because of his talent as a speaker and his charisma.

Although Moore denies he is running for president, traveling to other states and testing his message with other audiences can’t hurt and may be seen as a sort of exploratory effort if he later decides to run. It’s a bonus if the candidates he supports win their elections, because they will likely show favor to the people who helped them get into office, Lublin said.

But, Lublin cautioned, Moore will likely need to produce more results for Maryland if he runs for higher office.

“He obviously has some things to say,” Lublin said. “The question is whether he has accomplishments to back them up.”

Since he took over as the Orioles’ controlling owner in March 2024, it has become explicitly clear how little the 77-year-old Rubenstein cared for sports until he suddenly owned a team. In the last 2 1/2 years, Rubenstein has regarded sports fandom with the same scientific curiosity as an anthropologist would a newly discovered remote tribal society.

Sometimes it feels as if Orioles fans have that much in common with the team owner, too.

Hours after the Orioles traded Adley Rutschman, a catcher so beloved to Baltimore that people named their kids and pets after him, Rubenstein seemed positively flummoxed by the wave of sentiment around that and other deals.

“I’m getting emails from people all over the country talking about trades we made, as if you think they have nothing else to think about,” he said. “But people are obsessed with the trades we’ve made and trades other teams have made.”

The Baltimore-born billionaire and philanthropist has been so consistently surprised by the intense passions around sports — shared by millions of people in this country and billions around the world — I’ve sort of shrugged off these kinds of comments from him, even though they smack of naiveté for someone so academically inclined.

I would probably have left it there, too — except Rubenstein’s compatriots have been behaving so grotesquely, with such casual contempt for their sports and the people who love them (and who help drive their team valuations to unforeseen heights) that those words have curdled in my brain:

As if you think they have nothing else to think about.

Ugh.

Although Rubenstein may have been speaking off the cuff, you can’t miss the whiff of disdain.

The mindset displays, at minimum, a profound disconnect between the well-heeled elites who own teams today and the fans who buy tickets, jerseys and an ever-growing list of streaming subscriptions just to watch one professional league — not to mention three or four. And, if you really watch how owners are behaving across the country, it becomes clear how problematic this widening gulf is.

In years past, owners were local car dealers, lawyers or real estate barons who were rich but more accessible. Rubenstein even outlined how much ownership has changed: “If you go back 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, 50 years ago, you found, businesspeople were buying them that nobody ever heard of.”

For all his foibles, Peter Angelos bought an Orioles team in distress in part because he was a fan, in part for civic-minded reasons. Compared to today’s owners, the Angelos of the 1990s would be considered a pauper. This didn’t necessarily mean that owners made great choices for their franchises, but their ownership was more likely to be born of passion than profit.

What forced me to reconsider Rubenstein’s attitude was a shocking event on the West Coast. Mark Walter, the megawealthy owner of the Dodgers, sold his controlling share of the Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for a record $12.5 billion — turning a 25% profit after roughly 10 months of ownership. With two of Walter’s companies under government investigation, the sale raises some concerning questions over why Walter is seemingly cashing out on a number of his assets.

I immediately thought about dozens of people who were laid off by the team in May, amid a “reorganization,” presumably into the Walter way of doing business.

Friends of mine who had been team photographers for years — including one who had lived in the NBA pandemic bubble in Orlando, Florida, for 100 days — were unceremoniously dismissed as relics of the previous era. It’s worth noting the Lakers were notorious for years for underpaying employees (relative to other NBA franchises). Management instead counted on the franchise’s prestige to draw people who wanted to be around the purple and gold for love of the game.

Then, after all those years, a pink slip was the thanks they got from the new owner.

It made me upset, but that’s an even more bitter pill now, because Walter — who was already one of the world’s richest men — stands to make a $2.5 billion profit for his brief stewardship, which will be best remembered for losing LeBron James in free agency.

It’s contemptible from every angle, and I wish nothing but the worst for Walter and his portfolio as he faces government scrutiny to come.

By the way, new owner layoffs now seem like a formality in sports. Alex Rodriguez, Rubenstein’s fellow panelist in the American University forum, did it when he acquired the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hard to say whether A-Rod is more unlikable as a Yankee or an owner.

That’s far from the only ugliness around sports ownership today:

• In Portland, new Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon is clashing with the city over funding for a new arena. Like Walters, Dundon (who also owns the NHL champion Carolina Hurricanes) has laid off staff and set a new low bar in the NBA by signing a head coach to a one-year contract.
• Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia, a former Michigan State Spartan, leveraged his company United Wholesale Mortgage to purchase the franchise in 2023. The company’s stock has greatly diminished in value, forcing Ishbia to sign a rescue deal. Reporting from Hunterbrook Media suggests Ishbia has stripped his company of cash for years with a board that is composed of family members and close associates. While UWM called Hunterbrook’s reporting not “a credible or objective source for determining the facts,” the allegations have raised eyebrows across the NBA that another owner’s financial turbulence could affect his team ownership.
• In Sacramento, California, the corpse of the Athletics continues to play in a converted Triple-A ballpark that features a “walk of shame” across the field to the clubhouse, which is not connected to the dugout. The move from Oakland was so well thought out by owner John Fisher that, as of January, the team can’t claim the trademark “Las Vegas Athletics.”

This is but a small sample of the ways owners have futzed around in sports and are causing ripple effects. Meanwhile, most are benefiting from public money, all while watching franchise valuations soar.

There is no true punishment for an owner who does a bad job — at best, they are forced to sell and live off the billions they get in return. It says something about sports ownership in America that Dan Snyder managed the Washington football franchise into the ground yet lives abroad with a multibillion-dollar fortune to show for his scandal-ridden stewardship.

We can point to philanthropic efforts by many owners, too, including Rubenstein’s dedication to national monuments and museums and the Ravens’ Steve Bisciotti’s support of local youth centers and medical development. As frustrated as owners make us, it’s not usually a completely one-sided picture.

Still, it’s clear that sports ownership is vastly different than it used to be and teams are acquired by much more fiscally savvy investment groups for much different reasons — namely to exploit fan loyalty for money.

Meanwhile, sports are increasingly unaffordable for fans. Season ticket packages, concessions and streaming platforms cost a substantial sum as folks who made their money in private equity (like Rubenstein) approve costs that are passed on to their loyal flocks.

Deals with questionable partners, such as sports gambling companies, private equity firms and Saudi sportswashing interests, are increasingly welcome because they raise the bottom line. Meanwhile, it’s clear some owners aren’t interested in winning as much as saving, which was highlighted by leaked text messages in the NFL’s collusion case against Lamar Jackson.

If Rubenstein thinks the social concerns of sports fans are strange, well, there are times that I think the behavior of ultra-wealthy people is just as odd. For example, I can’t figure out why Rubenstein — who has a deep and abiding interest in the legacies of U.S. presidents — struggles to say one negative thing in public about the president who kicked him out of his Kennedy Center chairmanship. But I guess all of us have social standards that seem peculiar to someone else.

I hear from fans often who feel their loyalty and passion are being monetized to make rich people richer.

They don’t understand why people love shucking peanuts in the cheap seats. They don’t understand shivering through freezing weather for a primetime kickoff. They don’t understand how much high-fiving Lamar Jackson or Pete Alonso can mean. They’re too high above it.

I don’t even think Rubenstein is a “bad” owner in the grand scheme of things. But I’m also not sure how good that makes him.

It’s fitting to me that Rubenstein’s particular curiosity in sports led him down a path to writing a book about sports owners and the lessons they have to offer. I’ve not yet read the book, but I’m skeptical of how much insight is to be gained from other rich folks who are most concerned with squeezing out every dollar.

It seems to me that the worldview that would teach Rubenstein more about sports could be found in the emails in his inbox from fans waiting to be taken seriously.

Instead of writing another book, try reading. Some of this might eventually sink in.

That’s the conclusion of research by a local advocacy group, which sent canvassers to knock on 12,000 doors this year and interview Howard renters about their living arrangements and expenses. The public health nonprofit Horizon Foundation and its partners are still analyzing the data but preliminarily found many renters were routinely charged excessive junk fees on top of their base rent.

Horizon officials want the Howard County Council to adopt a legislative fix they say would make it easier for tenants to file complaints and strengthen protections against bad actor landlords. The organization, which also has provided financial support to The Banner, is calling for the county to establish a single office to handle issues related to rental properties and tenant-landlord disputes over issues like junk fees.

“We hear of these very questionable charges that renters were not told about up front that are materializing out of nowhere,” said Kristina Gray-Akpa, a senior program officer for the Horizon Foundation. “It’s hard not to think this is another way for landlords to get money out of tenants.”

Junk fees — which are often obligatory, undisclosed or arbitrary — have proliferated in the private rental market across the country in recent years and disproportionately impact renters of color and those with low incomes, according to the National Consumer Law Center.

Laws limiting some fees have passed in 25 states, including Maryland. However, the strongest protections for Marylanders exist, for now, at the local level, Gray-Akpa said.

Howard County code states that tenants are required to pay only rent, security deposits, application fees and utility services that are explicitly listed in their leases.

Canvassers spoke with residents of Laurel who were unable to opt out of a “trash valet” fee for staff to move their garbage to the curb. An Ellicott City resident was charged fees for paying rent online and for a parking permit even though they did not own a car. A Columbia resident described paying a dumpster fee even though they were hauling their own trash.

Some landlords don’t know the law, Gray-Akpa said, and many tenants don’t know their rights.

That was the case for Columbia resident Regina Lee, who rented happily in the Avalon at Fairway Hills community for about 10 years. In 2023, Lee noticed a new fee in her lease renewal: $64 for Verizon Fios service.

“It was an expense that I didn’t need for something I’m already receiving,” Lee said. “It made no sense to me.”

Lee, who’s retired and receives federal assistance, paid for Wi-Fi through Comcast at a discounted rate of about $30. She asked the rental staff whether she could opt out of the fee but said she was told it was mandatory.

“If I didn’t pay it, it was just like not paying my rent,” Lee said. “I would have been evicted. But to me that was not my rent.”

The following year, Avalon reversed course and allowed residents to opt out of the Verizon service. However, it installed new, keyless locks on each apartment’s front door. Every resident was assigned a random eight- or nine-digit code, which was difficult to remember and led to residents getting locked out, Lee said.

The 70-year-old, who uses a wheelchair, contacted management several times for help getting back into her unit and was charged $100 each time, she said.

A representative for the Avalon at Fairway Hills community and its parent company, AvalonBay Communities, did not respond to messages requesting comment.

“We don’t know how to fight for what we need,” Lee said. “Some people know they have an issue, but they don’t have a voice to express what’s going on.”

Some renters have successfully challenged junk fees in the courts. This year, a Baltimore judge awarded $250,000 in damages to a tenant in a junk fees case, ruling that his corporate landlord had taken advantage of him.

Howard renters who wish to file complaints against their landlords face challenges in figuring out which department, office or agency handles their specific complaint, Gray-Akpa said. For example, junk fees complaints likely would fall to the county’s Office of Consumer Protection, while discrimination cases are handled by the Office of Human Rights & Equity, she said.

“It’s really complex,” Gray-Akpa said. “The average renter does not know how to dig into state or countywide legislation to know what their rights are.”

At a recent renter town hall hosted by the Horizon Foundation, nonprofit officials discussed establishing a unified office of landlord-tenant affairs similar to one in neighboring Montgomery County. It would serve as a one-stop shop for all issues related to rental properties.

Aaron Greenfield, director of government affairs for the Maryland Multi-Housing Association, which represents landlords statewide, called the idea of creating another office a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Howard County’s consumer protections office is one of the most aggressive in the state when it comes to enforcement, Greenfield said.

He suggested Horizon’s efforts would be better directed toward educating renters to understand their rights and the process for challenging needless fees.

These days, Lee, who attended the foundation’s town hall, is shopping for a new apartment in Columbia that better suits her needs as she ages, but she’s found others also charge mandatory fees for Wi-Fi as part of the rent.

She asked Avalon staff what prompted them to allow residents to opt out in hopes she could convince a future landlord to do the same. No one would give her an answer, she said.

Last Saturday night, the Charles Theatre played its usual introduction video to welcome patrons: a cute clip of a determined pup’s quest to reach the Station North cineplex.

Then came the addendum that shocked the crowd: A photo of the black dog standing in a kayak appeared above the text “HUMBLE 2016-2026.”

On Aug. 3, Humble, the American bully who became an unofficial mascot for the independent Baltimore theater, died at age 10, said her owner, Bri Giarratano. Giarratano and her husband made the difficult decision to put Humble down after years of health issues, including severe degenerative joint disease and pancreatitis.

“Humble was my soul dog, so I always knew this would be awful,” said Giarratano, a former Charles Theatre general manager. “It’s just an indescribable, unique type of pain.”

When theater owners Kathleen and Chris Lyon heard the news, the couple knew Humble deserved a tribute. “HUMBLE RIP” went up on the marquee above the entrance, and they added the “in memoriam” slide to the video that made Humble locally famous among movie fans.

In the clip, directed by Giarratano’s then-colleague Alec Richker, Humble hops off a streetcar, walks through Charm City and arrives at the theater, where she’s welcomed back like a regular.

Made in 2018, the video now plays before every screening at the Charles.

“I was basically just bribing her with treats,” Giarratano said of the filming. “She enjoyed it. She was a great actress, as you know.”

Richker said the most difficult shot was getting Humble to walk toward the screen and turn into the correct aisle. “That took a few dozen takes,” he said.

Kathleen Lyon said Humble, who often accompanied Giarratano to work, was a “sweetheart,” just as the clip shows.

“They were very close,” Lyon said.

Giarratano adopted Humble at 3 months old to save her from being bred, she said. The name was a natural fit.

“From the beginning, she was incredibly gentle and emotionally intelligent,” Giarratano said, noting a disposition that made the pup a natural star on camera.

Lyon said the video will continue to play before movies. For some, it’s hard to imagine the Charles experience without it. “It’s really become a thing,” she said.

In fact, a few years ago, one fan made it their mission before moving out of Baltimore to have a poster custom-made of Humble from the video.

“That was so sweet,” Giarratano said.

Giarratano made sure Humble, a nature lover, had plenty of adventures before she died.

Last summer, Giarratano, her husband and their beloved companion took a nearly two-month cross-country road trip. Humble kayaked at Oregon’s Mount Hood National Forest, posed for photos in Marfa, Texas, and ran on the beach on the Redwood Coast.

“We wanted to make sure that she still had the energy to enjoy it,” said Giarratano, 35. “The trip was pretty much all about her, and it was magical.”

In more recent months, Humble’s health worsened. The goal became to spend as much time together as possible, which meant “lots of movies together on the couch and lots of snuggles,” said Giarratano, who lives in Silver Spring.

She also made sure Humble got to savor one of her favorite snacks, which traces back to her days at the Charles.

“She loved popcorn, and we gave her popcorn in her final hours,” Giarratano said. “It was just kind of a full-circle moment.”

For Giarratano, the acute pain of saying goodbye to a life-changing pet is still fresh. But the love and support she’s received from the Charles community has provided a needed balm.

“It just means so much,” she said. “Seeing how many people loved her — loved watching that trailer of her — it’s just beautiful to see her impact.”

Banner reporter Sahana Jayaraman contributed to this story.

Alonso’s theatrics were matched by those of third-base umpire Will Little, who demonstratively waved what would have been a go-ahead blast foul.

After a two-minute review, the call stood. Alonso struck out to end the seventh inning. He walked back to the dugout shaking his head.

The next half-inning, the Yankees took a 5-3 lead. That was the final score Wednesday night as Orioles fans filtered out of Camden Yards, still in disbelief over a call that could have changed the game.

Alonso was shocked.

“Looking at the video, the view from where the camera was pointing straight down the line, from what it looked like, I mean it was to the right of the yellow and the pole, so I thought it was fair,” he said.

The skipper was stunned.

“I was really surprised that it came back stands,” manager Craig Albernaz said.

MLB was unmoved.

“After viewing all relevant angles, the Replay Official could not definitively determine that the ball left the playing field in fair territory. The call stands, and it is a foul ball,” the MLB Replay Center said in a statement.

Alonso was quick to note that his home run wouldn’t have made the difference in a two-run loss. But there was no doubt the call had a deflating effect on the dugout.

Alonso, the highest-paid player on the team and Most Valuable Oriole front-runner, has taken command of a clubhouse plundered by trades and injuries. He delivered an impassioned plea to fans to keep the faith after a painful trade deadline. He’s fought through calf cramps to keep his streak of consecutive games played alive.

But not even Alonso, who hit a solo home run in the third inning, can seem to keep the Orioles (61-66) from perpetually sliding back into mediocrity. After winning three key games against the Rays in St. Petersburg, Baltimore has lost three straight, halting its momentum.

In June, umpires failed to rule Ernie Clement of the Blue Jays out of the basepath in a 6-4 loss. MLB later said that was the wrong call.

Wednesday night, another controversial decision played a part in another loss to a division rival. But the Orioles were left frustrated that MLB lacks the technology to resolve calls like this one.

“I think a simple fix is, like football, you have the pylon camera with the plane, where it shoots right across the goal line,” Alonso said. “And I feel like, for us, we could easily have a laser or a camera that shoots straight up. For me, I’m not the only one. It happens all the time to a bunch of guys throughout the course of the year. It happens a lot during the season. Obviously, this is a big game in division, so obviously this one’s going to be a little bit more amplified.

“But this happens quite a few times throughout the season, more than you would think. I think having a camera or laser shooting straight up, we have all the technology, analytics and whatever and funds. I don’t see why we can’t do it. The reason why I’ve been told we can’t do it is because every ballpark is different and that every ballpark is unique, it’s not the same dimensions everywhere. So that’s my understanding of it.”

“It’s just crazy that we still have this issue,” said pitcher Chris Bassitt, a member of the MLB Players Association subcommittee. “I think we might be the only major sport with an issue like this. It’s been years that we have technology that [we] can easily use to say this is exactly the right thing or wrong thing, and the fact that we don’t have it in 2026 is crazy.”

Why hasn’t MLB added the tech everyone has been clamoring for?

“Because it would cost money,” Bassitt said bluntly. “That’s it. I mean, that’s literally it. You ask every fan of this game, that’s a true fan, every single fan would want those cameras. If you ask every single player, they would want those cameras. If you ask every coach, they want the cameras. It costs money. That’s it. That’s literally it.”

Baltimore’s frustrations were compounded by the fact that it received another solid start from Bassitt while knocking Yankees starter Will Warren out after just four innings.

Neither starter was particularly sharp early.

The Orioles scratched a run across in the first inning without the benefit of a hit. Warren walked leadoff hitter Jackson Holliday, then Gunnar Henderson two batters later. With two outs, the pair executed a double steal, with Henderson swiping second and Holliday scoring from third.

Baltimore’s 1-0 lead was short-lived. Bassitt, making his second start since returning from the injured list, surrendered two runs in the next frame.

Then Ben Rice smacked his 34th long ball of the season, a majestic 431-foot blast that landed on the PureWager Pavilion underneath the scoreboard in center to make it 3-1 Yankees.

Alonso, who served as the designated hitter for the fourth straight game, returned fire in the bottom half of the inning. His full-count homer to the seats in right field was punctuated by a high-arcing bat flip.

It was Alonso’s 14th opposite-field homer, the most in baseball.

The managers in both dugouts were faced with the same conundrum: when to pull their struggling starters. Yankees skipper Aaron Boone opted for the quick hook.

Albernaz stuck with his veteran. Bassitt rewarded the decision by finishing with 2 2/3 scoreless frames.

The Yankees bullpen was almost perfect, with the only blemish coming on a Dylan Beavers opposite-field solo shot in the sixth inning. That tied the game at 3.

Baltimore’s bullpen faltered in the eighth, when Cam Sanders loaded the bases with two outs. New York took a 4-3 lead on an infield single by George Lombard Jr., then a wild pitch from Yennier Canó made it 5-3.

This story has been updated.

Cavalli (11-5) limited the Rangers to three singles and walked one while throwing 58 of 84 pitches for strikes. He was pitching six days after striking out 10 while throwing one-hit ball over eight scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs. The right-hander is 7-1 his last 10 starts.

José Tena put the Nationals (61-67) ahead to stay with a solo homer in the third, and Andrés Chaparro’s third hit in the game was a towering 415-foot drive for a three-run homer in the seventh that made it 6-0. Washington has an MLB-high 182 homers.

The Nationals had lost four in a row and six of seven, a stretch in which the only other win was Cavalli’s against the Cubs when he didn’t allow a hit until the seventh.

Will Dion, Max Kranick and Jake Bird each pitched an inning to wrap up Washington’s fifth shutout victory. Texas (62-65) dropped out of the American League’s third wild-card spot.

The first eight outs for the Rangers came on strikeouts before Brandon Nimmo’s groundout ended the third. Cavalli got his 10th K in the fourth.

Kumar Rocker (4-10) struck out three while allowing two runs and six hits over five innings. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 6.87 ERA in four games since ending July by winning consecutive starts.

Up next

Rangers RHP Jacob deGrom (8-8, 3.95 ERA), with an extra day of rest after leaving his previous start a week ago because of triceps fatigue, goes into Thursday’s series finale with 1,998 career strikeouts. Lefty Andrew Alvarez (2-4, 3.72) is set to start for Washington.

First responders were called to the 1100 block of Green Holly Drive, a residential neighborhood in the Cape St. Claire area, at 12:17 p.m. Wednesday, Anne Arundel County Fire Department spokesperson Jennifer Macallair told The Banner.

Larry Schultz, an assistant fire chief, told reporters that crews arrived three minutes later to find the home blown to pieces and debris strewn throughout the street.

“You just heard this loud boom, not like a transformer. It was something I hadn’t heard before,” neighbor Cathy Meyer told WJZ, a media partner of The Baltimore Banner. “I’m outside watching my house shake.”

Authorities said a man and a woman were at the home when the explosion happened.

Neighbors saw a woman outside the home near the driveway and leapt into action, pulling her farther away from the home as she was in cardiac arrest. Responding medics administered aid until she died.

The man was located inside the home. Schultz said he “suffered some significant burns and was lifted by air” to the John Hopkins Burn Center at Bayview.

Neighbors had observed him working outside prior to the blast.

The names of the victims were not immediately released. Officials believe they lived in the house.

According to Schultz, the homeowner had received a propane delivery just one hour before the explosion. He couldn’t definitively say the propane caused the explosion, but fire officials were investigating it.

Erick Jones, a spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, said Wednesday evening that firefighters located an exterior, above-ground propane tank on the back right side of the home. Officials contacted a representative of the gas company and confirmed it was at the home filling the propane tank roughly an hour before the explosion, Jones said.

When propane explodes, it doesn’t necessarily cause visible flames but produces high heat that can burn someone exposed to it.

Neighbors living next to the home and across the street were evacuated. Their homes sustained minimal damage, but shards of glass and pieces of wood littered their front yards and the street.

Authorities had sent for a search-and-rescue dog from the District of Columbia fire department to help determine whether anyone else was inside the structure. Jones confirmed late Wednesday that no one else was found in the rubble.

Schultz had asked nearby residents to avoid the scene.

“We are still having readings of propane in that structure, so we don’t want anybody down there in that area,” he said Wednesday afternoon.

Crews visited other homes to make sure there wasn’t a larger issue, and all were free of propane gas and other issues, Schultz said.

He said many homes in the county are supplied by natural gas but some rely on propane or a combination of both.

Crews also treated a police officer with a leg injury and a neighbor suffering from exhaustion.

“Kudos to the neighbors that were outside and came to help, to assist the first person,” Schultz said. He also praised firefighters for aiding the second victim out of an unstable structure amid uncontrolled gas issues.

About 55 emergency personnel responded to the incident, including crews from the city of Annapolis and the Naval Academy.

Aerial footage showed a giant pile of wood, clothes and chairs at the explosion site.

Anne Arundel Police temporarily closed Green Holly Drive.

Active Incident: 1100 block of Green Holly Dr. Annapolis: Possible residential explosion. Fire crews on scene and responding. Avoid the area. Updates will be posted as we get more information.

— Anne Arundel County Fire Department (@AACoFD) August 19, 2026

This is at least the second explosion at an Annapolis-area home this summer.

In June, a 77-year-old man was injured in a shed explosion in the 3000 block of Friends Road. Fire officials said the man had been mixing chemicals.

The couple’s children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, have already enrolled at British schools and will start classes in September, according to the Daily Telegraph, which broke the story. The family plans to live at a private, non-royal residence outside of London, the newspaper said.

Harry and Meghan gave up their royal duties and moved to California more than six years ago to earn their living through lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify. Although relations with the rest of the royal family have soured since then, Harry has recently expressed an interest in reconciliation so he could spend more time with his father, King Charles III, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer.

Charles was informed of the couple’s plans on Sunday and wasn’t told about them during Harry and Meghan’s visit to the U.K. last month.

Buckingham Palace has a policy of not commenting on speculation about non-working members of the royal family. A representative for Harry and Meghan declined to comment.

Harry and Meghan have had a stormy relationship with the royal family ever since they decamped to a mansion in the exclusive Southern California enclave of Montecito.

In a series of interviews and Harry’s memoir “Spare,” the couple said they left Britain to escape the restrictions of royal life and criticized palace officials for being insensitive to Meghan’s mental health while alleging that at least one member of the royal family had expressed racist views when she was pregnant with their first child. Meghan describes herself as biracial.

Those tensions were exacerbated by Harry’s long-running legal battle with Britain’s tabloid newspapers, which he alleges illegally hacked his phones and invaded his privacy when he was younger. The prince has lost a series of lawsuits against the media, including one against the publisher of the Daily Mail, which concluded last month.

The latest trial has left Harry facing a potential bill for millions of pounds after the court ruled he and other plaintiffs in the case were liable for the publisher’s legal fees. Associated Newspapers has filed documents showing that its legal costs amounted to 34.5 million pounds ($47 million).

Harry has also been embroiled in a legal wrangle with the British government after a government committee refused to authorize police protection for the prince and his family when they are in the U.K. The prince says he and his family need armed police protection because they are at risk simply because they are members of the royal family, regardless of whether or not they are working royals.

After losing a court battle over the security issue last year, Harry said he hoped to rebuild relations with his family.

“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” Harry told the BBC. “I don’t know how much longer my father has.”

A tentative step toward that reconciliation came last month when Harry returned to the U.K. for a series of charity engagements. Meghan and the children joined Harry for part of the visit and they spent time with the king at his Highgrove estate in western England. It was the first time Archie and Lilibet had seen their grandfather since the late Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee in 2022.

While Harry has recently met with his father, there are no signs of a warming of relations with his brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne.

Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent, said the surprise announcement would make William “apoplectic.”

“In the short term, Harry will be able to deepen his rapprochement with his father,” Hunt told Britain’s Press Association. “And his presence back home will make it harder for his brother to duck a reconciliation.”

The illicit initiation was revealed Monday as Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday charged 14 people — including 13 current or former Penn State students — in connection with the alleged drug ring.

The man accused of leading the operation, 24-year-old Agostino Abbatiello, surrendered on Tuesday after failing to appear for a scheduled arraignment on Monday on charges including possession with intent to deliver and conspiracy. He was ordered jailed without bail.

A message seeking comment was left for Abbatiello’s lawyer.

According to court documents, the drug ring operated in 2023 and 2024, fueled by bulk quantities of cocaine that two of the charged men obtained from contacts in Philadelphia and New York.

They cut and bagged the drugs mainly at the Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon fraternity houses, using frat brothers and pledges as labor, then distributed it through Penn State students, court documents said.

One of the men said a co-defendant was the “largest distributor of cocaine” at Penn State and would “boast about how much money he was making from selling cocaine.” At least four of the defendants are current students, Sunday’s office said.

“This is very serious criminal conduct. There was nothing junior or childlike about this type of conduct,” Sunday said at a news conference on Monday. “This was an upper-level trafficking organization for this region in Pennsylvania.”

Four people are charged with conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, felony corrupt organizations and other offenses. Another defendant is charged with felony conspiracy and criminal use of a communication facility.

Eight defendants are charged with misdemeanor drug possession, including Michael Brogno Jr., 20, of Ellicott City, and Charles Weisman, of Mount Airy.

A criminal complaint filed by police Tuesday alleges that Brogno “did possess cocaine and delivered cocaine in plastic bags to customers of Thomas Robinson at the direction of Thomas Robinson,” another defendant.

Police allege that between September-October 2024, Weisman “did possess cocalne and packaged cocaine in plastic bags using a digital scale at the direction of Thomas Robinson.”

Paul Robinson, the father of a student who was accused with Abbatiello of being one of the ring’s two main suppliers, is charged with felony tampering, hindering apprehension and obstructing the investigation. Authorities say he took steps to conceal evidence, including a safe containing drugs and cash.

Court documents did not list a lawyer who could speak on Robinson’s behalf.

Penn State said it placed Delta Upsilon on interim suspension, noting Sigma Chi is not recognized by the university and is not subject to its oversight.

Delta Upsilon Executive Director Justin Kirk said anyone involved in the drug ring who had ties to Delta Upsilon was expelled or suspended from the fraternity if they did not resign.

Sigma Chi’s executive director, Michael Church, said the three Sigma Chi members who were charged have been suspended pending the outcome of the judicial process. He said the fraternity has suspended all operations at its Penn State chapter on an interim basis “while we determine whether these allegations reflect individual conduct or organized chapter activity.”

“This conduct is an egregious violation of our values and has no place in our fraternity, community, or society,” Church said, adding that any members involved “will be held fully accountable to the extent available to our fraternity.”

Banner staff contributed to this report.