After the General Assembly session came to a raucus-caucus close (was it just a few weeks ago?), we see that lots of Assembly members (25 at this count) are seeking other positions or just some personal peace. Not all Marylanders, though, among those who were victimized by the DOGE frenzy are finding new positions themselves, roughing up the state's employment/unemployment status. Energy and its costs continues to be a major concern to Marylanders, and not only at the pump. We have news and explainers on the way the state is trying to bring those giant multistate energy corporations to heel, here at least. Other states are trying to clamp down on the uses of Artificial Intelligence and its potential harm to the (mental and physical) health of kids (let alone adults!) The total lack of national or state regulation of social media -- a decades-old failure -- has left us all in a defensive crouch and will require more backbone than most officials can muster to put the clamps on these purposely addictive and highly monetized "free" offerings.

In other words, it's an ordinary day in the USA, where making change has to start from the community level up. Look around, make your plans and find your allies. News You Can Use aims to be one of them, and Progressive Maryland is where you will find them.

HERE IN MARYLAND

Summaries from Maryland Reporter

2027 Legislature Will Have At Least 25 New Faces: When the legislature returns next year, 25 familiar faces will have moved on. Some are looking forward to life after politics, after decades at it or after just one term. Others wish to focus on their personal lives. Several are looking to not just stay in politics, but advance. And for three lawmakers, that means going head-to-head in this June’s primary election. Maryland Matters.

Months After Federal Layoffs, Marylanders Still Struggle To Land Jobs: Jennifer Erie had planned to spend 20 years working in foreign public service. Instead, her 17-year career ended abruptly when the overseas public health office she led was dismantled. Seven months later, back home in Prince George’s County, she has submitted more than 250 job applications — and landed just two interviews. Her experience reflects a broader strain across Maryland, where a wave of federal layoffs, layered onto an already cooling job market, has left thousands struggling to find stable, comparable work.  Baltimore Sun.

Lawmakers Face Harassment Over Disabilities Services Cuts: In another round of tense budget discussions and steep cuts to disability services, budget leaders and advocates anticipated impassioned and challenging dialogue as families across the state pleaded with lawmakers to fund those services. What they didn’t anticipate was verbal and online harassment of lawmakers and their staff over those cuts that reached a new intensity this year. That prompted some groups to call on advocates to tone down the rhetoric and remain respectful. Maryland Matters.

Maryland Joins 13 Others In Suing EPA Over Failure To Comply: Maryland joined 13 other jurisdictions that sued the EPA Friday for its failure to meet a February deadline to determine which parts of the country are in compliance with a 2024 standard for “fine particulate matter.” That lack of federal guidance affects the states’ ability to set local plans that would address unhealthy air in “nonattainment” areas, or those not meeting the air quality standards, the lawsuit says. Maryland Matters.

Pepco Cuts Rate Increase Request: Pepco, one of Maryland’s primary utility companies, has scaled back its rate increase request due to new provisions under Maryland’s mega energy policy overhaul, the Utility RELIEF Act. Gov. Wes Moore has all but promised to sign the legislation into law within the coming weeks, and with his signature will come a one-year ban on what's known as forecast test years. WYPR-FM.

 Two More Measles Cases Confirmed: Maryland health officials confirmed two more cases of measles in the state, bringing the total infections this year to three. The cases among Baltimore-area residents were linked to travel to other states with active transmission of measles. Baltimore Banner.

Arundel Council Kills Bill To Bar Developers' Campaign Donations: Anne Arundel County Council members voted last Monday to kill a bill that would have barred developers with pending projects from contributing to their campaigns — after already accepting more than half a million dollars from developers since 2019, according to campaign finance records. Capital Gazette.

State Supremes Overturn Major B'more Opioid Win: The Maryland Supreme Court tossed Baltimore’s $152 million victory in its opioid lawsuit against a pair of drug companies in a brief order issued Friday. The decision is a major loss for the city, which adopted a go-it-alone strategy for opioid litigation that appeared to be paying off. Baltimore still won hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements from drug companies that decided to pay out and avoid trial, but Friday’s Supreme Court decision vacates a significant jury verdict that found opioid distributors liable for their role in the city’s overdose crisis. Baltimore Banner.

Still Summarizing: here’s another assessment of the legislative session by Maryland Legislative Coalition, a Progressive Maryland ally. Also see Progressive Maryland’s win-loss assessment here.

Energy and its costs were major concerns in the 2026 Assembly session, and the acute and data-driven student journalists at Capital News Service have assembled some recent investigations into the question, inside and outside laws the state can make for massive national energy corporations with a footprint in Maryland.

THE REGION AND THE OTHER 49

REDISTRICTING: The Virginia Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a Republican challenge to new congressional district lines approved by voters last week. Republicans allege the Democratic-led General Assembly violated procedural requirements in getting the referendum on the ballot. (Associated Press)

 States strip power from cities, counties
“Republican-controlled states have been the most energetic in preempting local energy and environmental policies. Almost every GOP-governed state has banned local governments from restricting natural gas in buildings. Others have blocked outdoor heat protections for workers and even climate goals themselves. Democratic-controlled states have become increasingly comfortable with the practice, too, overruling local control over wind and solar energy projects as well as restrictions that slow housing development.” POLITICO

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The Trump administration on Friday joined a lawsuit seeking to overturn Colorado’s first-in-the-nation law aimed at ensuring high-risk artificial intelligence systems do not discriminate. The filing is the administration’s first formal challenge to a state AI law after President Trump issued an executive order in December aimed at thwarting state-level regulation. (Pluribus News) (paywalled; see more in this Axios report)

MORE: The Florida Senate is expected to approve Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) AI bill of rights measure this week. The Senate approved the measure during regular session in a bipartisan vote, but the state House didn’t take up its version, and it’s unclear whether the House has the votes to advance it. (State Affairs) The measure would establish rights of parents to control AI use by children and require AI chatbots to tell users they are not speaking to a human.

HAPPY HOUR: Anita LeBrun, 82, is celebrating after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed legislation allowing nursing homes to serve alcohol to residents. LeBrun, a resident of an assisted living facility in Champlin, Minn., had advocated for the “Grandparents’ Happy Hour” legislation. (Minnesota Star Tribune) -- You’re never too old to lobby. Via Pluribus

GLOBAL, NATIONAL AND THE FEDS

Bernie Sanders Presses Democrats to Swear Off Super PACs in Primaries

The independent senator from Vermont says top Democrats should tell candidates they will otherwise lose access to party resources. NYT

A Trump overhaul of immigration courts relies on new judges with little experience

The hiring spree aims to clear a backlog of asylum cases and accelerate deportations. Most of the 140 judges appointed since the president took office have no stated experience practicing immigration law. WaPo

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Here is the weekly update on shenanigans in the withering national branches of government, from Megan E, federal affairs director for People’s Action, Progressive Maryland’s national affiliate:

Hello People's Action!

ICYMI, Loretta Ross’s inspiring and incredible book talk on Friday at our inaugural book talk series; I think we’ll have a recording to share or you can sign up for her class on Calling-in for only $5. The rest of our book talk series is available at the registration link. 

Over the weekend, a gunman appeared to be trying to get into the White House Correspondents dinner where Trump and other senior officials were attending. He (the alleged assailant) was arrested. The incident increased pressure on Republicans to reopen the Department of Homeland Security which houses many intelligence and security agencies. The House has also been having a hard time passing the FISA reauthorization (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) which allows warrantless surveillance of persons abroad. FISA poses civil liberties problems as it ultimately involves surveilling U.S. citizens who are communicating with the intelligence agency targets. 

The House is trying to pass the budget resolution to begin the process to fund ICE and border patrol through budget reconciliation. He’s going to release a list of policies that he wants to pass in budget reconciliation 3.0 in order to calm the Republicans who want to add things to this budget reconciliation bill. 

The “Department of War” released details last week on its fascist Department of War record-breaking $1.5 trillion FY2027 budget request, which is 44% over current funding levels. This is just another reminder that cutting health care funds was never about spending less. The White House seeks to pass $350 billion additional spending in another budget reconciliation this year (not the one they are moving now). 

DEADLINE MAY 15th Please Consider Signing this Open Letter to those seeking to reform our health care system: Dream Bigger in support of Medicare for All.   Sign on here. 

Thank you to the following organizations that have already signed on!  VOCAL-US, VOCAL-NY, VOCAL-KY, WVCAG, RAD NH, Progressive Maryland, Down Home NC & Center for Health Progress!

In solidarity,

Megan