Events from Annapolis to Maryland's counties, to cop shops and medical examiners, to Trump's bizarre reset on Bay restoration, all jostle here with news from other states (yep, data center concerns are up front). And the related notion of artificial-intelligence safety seethes in pre-summit US-China backroom mutterings -- plus we have People's Action's weekly report on skulduggery in D.C., even when half the Congress has adjourned for desperate attempts to campaign at home in the face of really bad polls for the GOP. All this plus rabid raccoons and bats. We have all the News You Can Use, so dig in. 

HERE IN MARYLAND

Summaries from Maryland Reporter

Local Governments Seek More Taxing Power Despite Housing Crunch: Maryland’s housing market is already out of reach for more than half the state’s households. Now, local governments are considering whether they should have more power to raise property-related taxes and fees, a change that housing and construction groups say could make it even harder to afford a home. Baltimore Sun.

Seniors Could Get Walloped With Doubled Premiums For Long-Term Care: Thousands of Maryland seniors paying for long-term health care could see their annual premiums double, or triple, over the next several years if state officials approve the steep increases requested by four Maryland insurance companies last week. On Thursday, representatives from the insurance companies told state officials that premium rate increases were needed due to greater than anticipated utilization of benefits and lower mortality among participants. Maryland Matters.

Ed Blueprint Hits A Halfway Point As Leaders Consider Next Steps: Implementation of Maryland’s 10-year education overhaul plan known as The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future is at the halfway mark, and program leaders are eyeing legislative recommendations for next year. WYPR-FM.

Officials Grapple With ‘Bizarre’ Trump Executive Order On Chesapeake Bay: Just months after federal officials joined Chesapeake Bay states in December to renew their pledge to restore the nation’s largest estuary, President Donald Trump on Wednesday rescinded an Obama-era executive order that called for federal leadership in the effort. Maryland Matters. >> Impact Of Trump's EO on Bay Cleanup Unclear, Worrisome: It's unclear how much impact President Trump's repeal of a policy that has guided federal participation in Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts for nearly two decades will have on the cleanup. But its narrow focus has triggered fears that some priorities will be left behind. Bay Journal.

B'more Police Board Still Doesn't Have An Investigator – 4 Years Later: Four years after it was established, the Baltimore Police Accountability Board doesn’t have its own investigator and still has to rely on the Police Department’s internal investigations when it decides on discipline for officers in misconduct cases involving a member of the public. Baltimore Brew.

Luminis Health Sued Over Cybersecurity Incident: Patients are suing Maryland hospital system Luminis Health over a cybersecurity incident that has left crucial systems offline for over two weeks . Baltimore Sun. 

What’s Stopping Marylanders From Buying Or Selling Their Homes Right Now: Maryland residents are feeling squeezed by a market that’s straining them on all sides. Increased costs for home repairs, homeowners association fees, insurance and utility bills have made buyers and sellers warier — and buyers able to afford less. And the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike this week means it won’t be easier to afford a home anytime soon. Baltimore Banner.

Judge Weighs New Calls To Prevent Overcrowding At B’more ICE Facility: A federal judge in Baltimore is weighing whether to impose additional sanctions on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over allegations of overpacking its downtown holding cells in violation of a court order. Baltimore Banner. 

Possible Measles Exposure At Three OC Locations: Maryland health officials are warning that people who visited several locations in Ocean City earlier this month may have been exposed to measles.  WTOP News. 

International Graduate Students Face Challenges Under New Visa Restrictions In July, the Trump administration issued a new rule that international and exchange students can only be admitted to universities in the U.S. for the length of their program, which cannot exceed four years. Once they graduate, international students now only have 30 days — down from 60 — to leave the country, transfer schools or change their visa status, according to the new rule. The rule was billed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as strengthening “national security through regular vetting.” It was initially scheduled to take effect on Tuesday, but was postponed after a federal court in Massachusetts issued a nationwide preliminary injunction (last) Monday, temporarily blocking the rule’s activation pending further litigation.

THE REGION/THE OTHER 49

Virginia: The state faces a funding gap of at least $1.7 billion for highway maintenance work, with roads falling into disrepair creating an economic and safety liability, officials said. News from the States

ENERGY: Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) have issued executive orders placing conditions on data center development. Lombardo ordered claw backs for some of the tax abatements provided to data centers under a 2015 law. Spanberger’s order bans nondisclosure agreements between developers and local governments. (Pluribus News) [paywalled; details in Virginia Mercury]

Trump claims his Arc de Trump by national cemetery will be national-security boost; DC residents see permanent siege. Politico Playbook: Arch Support — President Donald Trump said today that his massive triumphal arch will also be a military complex with the ability to include many drones, snipers and ammunition storage.” NYT  “Nicolas Sansone, an attorney with the Public Citizen Litigation Group, which is representing a group of Vietnam War veterans who have sued to stop construction, said Mr. Trump was “trying to paper over a patently unlawful project by giving it a veneer of national security justification.”

New Jersey lawmakers have introduced legislation to require chatbots to disclose that they are not human when interacting with users. The bill targets companion chambers, rather than general-purpose AI systems like ChatGPT or Claude. (New Jersey Globe) News from the States

Nearly 3,000 acres of Ohio’s only national forest were leased this week for more than $11 million by the Bureau of Land Management to out-of-state companies for fracking, Ohio Capital Journal reports. The BLM auctioned off 40 parcels totaling 2,776 acres in Wayne National Forest for $11.09 million during a quarterly oil and gas lease sale.  News from the States

Feds drop appeal that sought to block funding for Gateway tunnel project

The federal government dropped an appeal that attempted to again block federal funding for the Gateway tunnel and other infrastructure projects in the region just weeks after asking a federal court to overturn a lower decision that found the funding freeze flagrantly violated law. Court clerk Catherine O’Hagan Wolfe said New York, New Jersey, and the federal government agreed to dismiss the appeal. The federal government said just last month that it was moving forward with an appeal. The $16 billion Gateway project will add new rail tunnels under the Hudson River, [critical        to upgrading Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor trains]  and is considered one of the most important infrastructure projects in the nation. After the Trump administration moved to cut funding, New Jersey and New York sued and have won. StateLine

Missouri: Missourians living overseas began receiving their ballots despite continuing uncertainty over which congressional candidates should be listed on them. Federal law directs election authorities to send the emails and post the envelopes by Friday, the last business day before the 45th day before the election. StateLine

Georgia: Democrats and Republicans running for higher office this year agree that it’s time to address the rise of corporate-owned housing. Experts say there are a variety of reasons that housing prices are rising, but the role that institutional investors [often, “private equity”] play in the state may also be a key factor. News from the States

GLOBAL, NATIONAL AND THE FEDS

Black voters urged to cast a ballot in ‘most consequential election of our lifetime’ Congressional representatives implored Black citizens to vote this fall during a two-hour-plus town hall at the Congressional Black Caucus’s annual legislative conference Thursday. “This is the most consequential election of our lifetime,” said U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat. “So the message is: If you’re concerned about the Supreme Court, get out and vote. If you’re concerned about making sure we’re taking care of the poor and the children, get out and vote.” Maryland Matters/Stateline DC Bureau

 Bloomberg reports : US and China officials hailed positive talks on AI, trade and investment ahead of this week’s summit between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two sides agreed on an AI dialogue, though they failed to extend their trade truce, the Financial Times reported. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the discussions “very successful.” The Economist adds ‘Bessent says America and China have discussed creating a new “notification mechanism” for AI incidents, especially those affecting national security.’

      In a world of wars and climate crisis, a new leader could save the UN. But would Trump allow it? As the organization meets this week, it remains the best hope for restoring order. But it relies on goodwill from the US president – and that is lacking
If all goes to plan, at some stage in the coming weeks 15 diplomats will emerge from a small sound-proofed room deep in the bowels of the United Nations headquarters in New York and announce the organization’s next secretary-general. The person they choose will face a combination of challenges unlike any that their predecessors have had to deal with. Wars of choice and war crimes/genocide accusations are on their plate, but the UN has effectively been reduced to the role of bystander by permanent members of the Security Council, emphatically including Donald Trump. The climate crisis is creating a cascade of new humanitarian disasters, while every day now seems to bring a new security threat caused by the unregulated rise of AI. All of this is happening in a world in which the very principles of the UN – multilateralism, a rules-based order and international law – are under threat. Secretary-general elections have rarely been this consequential… The Guardian opinion

Here’s the weekly dispatch on federal antics, congressional/agency/executheft, from Megan E, federal affairs director for Progressive Maryland’s national affiliate, People’s Action.

Hello People's Action!

Last week, the Crypto Industry was dealt a blow  with every Democratic Senator voting against the Clarity Act. Republican Senators Tillis, Collins, Hawley and Moran joined Democrats in opposing the bill. Democrats united against Trump’s profiteering of his crypto currency, demanding strong ethics protections against such profiteering. The language in the bill fell short. The overall loose regulatory framework in the bill that the industry supports (and is spending big in elections for) should be opposed by all Democrats but is not. That means the crypto industry will come back to pass this bill later. 

People’s Action Institute held a fly-in last week with Popular Democracy, Hands Off Our Elections! We trained folks in why our democracy is under attack and how folks can engage in election protection, held a rally with Rep. Analilia Mejia, who introduced a resolution to protect and enforce the 14th Amendment to the Constitution -- and then participants met with their Congressional representatives. The Next Moves memo is available here. 

MEDICARE FOR ALL 

The momentum for Medicare for All is growing! Two Congressional Black Caucus members, Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-OR) and Rep. Everton Blair, Jr. (D-GA) just cosponsored the bill, bringing the number of cosponsors in the House of Representatives to 116! Blair is a progressive and the second youngest member of Congress who won a special election in August. Rep. Bynum is a member of the New Dem caucus, the centrist caucus, who likely joined as Oregon’s health care system is close to collapsing from federal health care funding cuts and corporate greed. It’s important that we grow sponsorship from the New Dem caucus to show that Medicare for All is not just only a progressive issue. Join us in thanking them by boosting this post! 

Speaking of Medicare for All having mainstream support, the Medicare for All PAC released its most recent round of polling showing an overall 60% majority of voters’ support for the bill, 94% among Democrats, 60% among independents and 19% among Republicans (which is massive for a huge investment in public programs). The polling oversampled battleground voters. The polling memo is available here.  

ACTIONS TO TAKE: DATES to NOTE: What's on the Horizon to be Planning For

Join us for the People’s Tea every other Wednesday at 8pm ET, 7pm CT, 6pm MT, 5pm PT 

Join us for “The People’s Tea,” a biweekly power hour where we’ll discuss what’s going on, what it means, and what we can do. At the People’s Tea, we will slow down, process the news, and make sense of what’s happening. We’re building a space where we can stay informed without losing our humanity (and sanity), and move from feeling overwhelmed and isolated toward understanding, connection, and collective action. 

Thurs, 9/24 8pm ET/7pm CT/6pm MT/5pm PT May Day Strong is holding a mass call, Pulling Out the Pillar: Corporate Campaigns to Reject Trump’s Attack on the Elections. See Instagram post and bit.ly/pulloutthepillar.

In solidarity,

Megan