Free Fishing Days Announced in Maryland

No License or Trout Stamp Required on June 4, 11 and July 4

Get outside with your rod and reel, and take advantage of Maryland’s excellent angling opportunities during three, free fishing days (June 4 and 11, and July 4). No license or trout stamp is required to recreationally fish in state waters on these days.

”Maryland has a wealth of public fishing waters where anglers can enjoy catching anything from cold water trout to striped bass to tasty white perch and more than 60 other species,” Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service Director Dave Blazer said. “Check out the interactive online Angler Access Map to find your way to the best fishing spots.”

During the free fishing days, anglers must adhere to all state regulations and rules, including size and possession limits, which are outlined in the Maryland Fishing Guide.

New this year, Maryland is offering half-price fishing licenses for 16-year-old anglers purchasing a license for the first time. If you are 16 years old at the time of purchase in 2016, you will automatically receive a 50 percent discount on your 365-day resident, non-resident, nontidal or Chesapeake Bay and Coastal fishing license. Not included are recreational crabbing licenses, trout stamps, short-term licenses and sport boat licenses. (Anglers 15 years old and younger do not need a license to fish in Maryland.) Licenses can be purchased online, at regional service centers or at most bait and tackle shops and outdoor outfitters.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources encourages anglers of all ages and skill levels to share photos and details of their catches on the department’s Angler’s Log.

Record-Breaking Snakehead Caught In Potomac River

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — A man from Indian Head, Maryland, has caught a record-breaking snakehead fish in the Potomac River.

Emory Baldwin III and his regular bow-hunting partner Franklin Shotwell were wrapping up a night of stalking northern snakehead from Baldwin’s boat along the Maryland side of the Potomac River when they decided to check the flats near Marshall Hall to see if the blue catfish had moved up into the grass, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

According to Baldwin, it was Shotwell who saw the big snakehead, but it was on his side of the boat.

After quickly aiming his compound bow, he released an arrow and was engaged in a tug of war with an 18.42-pound Maryland record.

More

University Of Md. Campus Police Accused Of Racism

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WJZ) — There are accusations of racism at one of Maryland’s premiere public universities after campus police used pepper spray to break up a graduation party.

The University of Maryland’s president is promising swift action for students who believe they were racially profiled.

Ava-joye Burnett has more on this rapidly evolving story.

It’s the encounter with campus police at a graduation party that has everyone from the administration to students and even famous alumni demanding answers.

Cell phone video shows the chaos as University of Maryland police used pepper spray to break up a graduation party. Police say someone called and reported a fight at the off-campus complex but when they arrived, students denied that ever happened.

Most of the people at the party were black and, as the video made the rounds online, people started to question if race played a role.

More

OC: Assault Charge Filed After Man’s Hammer Threat

OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City man faces felony assault charges this week after allegedly threatening two other men with a hammer in a dispute over vehicles parked in the driveway at a midtown residence last Friday.

Shortly before 2 p.m. last Friday, Ocean City Police responded to a residence on 86th Street for an assault that had already occurred. Upon arrival, the officers met with a male and female victim who told police a man they knew who lived on the bottom level of the residence, later identified as Neil Curtis Staggers, 53, of Ocean City, had attempted to attack them both with a hammer.

The female victim lives on the second level of the split-level residence, while Staggers lives on the bottom level. The male victim was visiting the female victim at the second level residence when the alleged hammer assault occurred.

According to police reports, the male victim had parked in the shared single-lane driveway of the residence prior to his visit with the female victim. While inside the residence, the victims reportedly heard the continuous sound of a vehicle horn coming from the driveway. The victims looked out and observed Staggers in his own vehicle directly behind the victim’s truck while attempting to leave the driveway.

More

Sears May Sell Off Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard To Shore Up Losses

NEW YORK (AP) — Long-struggling retailer Sears says it plans to try to leverage its strongest brands like Kenmore and Craftsman to help sustain itself as it posted a larger first-quarter loss Thursday and said sales fell at its Kmart and namesake stores.

The chain said it’s looking at options for prized brands that also include DieHard and Sears Home Services, including possible partnerships or deals that could expand their distribution and service offerings. It gave no specifics, but said it believes the Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands can grow significantly with an expanded presence outside of Sears and Kmart.

Sears shares were flat at $12.52 each in late-morning trading Thursday.

Other major department stores such as Macy’s, Kohl’s and J.C. Penney saw sales decline in the latest quarter as they wrestle with changes in shopping preferences. Americans are making their purchases online and spending more on experiences like eating out rather than new clothes. And when shoppers do buy clothes, it’s at discounters like T.J. Maxx.

More

Tweet of the Day: Tito Ortiz attends Donald Trump rally, joins 'Build that wall!' chant

It's no secret that Donald Trump has whipped up some enthusiastic supporters in the MMA community. Dana White, made it clear to fans that Trump has his vote, as did Chris Weidman. But one of his most die hard supporters may be none other than former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz. Tito got a spot just behind the podium for one of Trump's recent rallies, which meant he got to spend a bunch of time on TV for the Fox broadcast.

Here you can see Tito briefly joining in with chants to "Build that wall!":

More

At Rikers Island, a Legacy of Medication-Assisted Opioid Treatment

NEW YORK — For Dr. Ross MacDonald, every person who enters New York City’s main jail with an opioid addiction represents an opportunity for treatment, and the possibility of saving a life.

As the medical director of the city’s correctional health program, he ensures that offenders who come in on methadone continue to receive it. And he and his staff try to persuade as many addicted inmates as possible to get started on methadone before they leave the jail.

Rikers Island Correctional Facility has run a model opioid treatment program since 1987, and it has assisted tens of thousands of inmates in maintaining treatment after they return to their communities. Medical researchers have repeatedly found that the jail’s methadone treatment program has resulted in overall health care cost savings, reduced crime and recidivism, reduced HIV and hepatitis C transmission, and better than average rates of recovery from drug use.

But despite Rikers’ well documented success, few U.S. jails and prisons have emulated the program.

More

Rosie O’Donnell Goes on Vile Rant Against Trump… Shock After She Says THIS

I understand not liking a candidate, and I further understand making fun of them. Everyone does it. What O’Donnell said, however, is just too far. She’s taking this election to a very personal place and it’s obvious she can’t handle it.

Aside from the rude comments, it’s very unlikely that her vulgar opinion is changing the mind of any thinking person, so maybe she should just keep it under her hat.

From The Daily Mail:

Rosie O’Donnell has made a new, foul-mouthed, attack on presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday, calling the Republican front-runner a ‘s*** stain’.

She launched the tirade while appearing on stage at a Boy George and Cyndi Lauper concert in New York.

The 54-year-old comedian opened her set at the Beacon Theatre by telling the audience that she was ‘depressed because I f*****g hate that orange piece of s***’.

O’Donnell, who has been at the receiving end of Trump’s insults herself, said in the almost two-minute rant that her therapist told her to not focus on the Republican front-runner.

‘Well I would rather give birth to a flaming iguana while taking a s***,’ she recalled saying. ‘I hate him. I hate him.’

The mother-of-five insisted she was not going to say his name before grabbing her crotch and saying, ‘Eat me, Donald’.

O’Donnell took the stage at a Boy George concert, where ’80s popstar Cydi Lauper also made an appearance.

The crowd mostly laughed as she delivered her caustic one-liners about Trump.

When mentioning someone who was an ‘enemy for years who’s now my friend’, she described his relationship with Trump.

‘He is friends with the s*** stain, which worries me,’ she says to the crowd, before calling Trump a ‘s*** stain with a tinge of orange’.

A man who was in the audience told Daily Mail Online that he quickly pulled out his camera to document the foul-mouthed rant.

More

Will DIY Air Conditioners Really Keep You Cool This Summer?

Don’t feel like plunking down upwards of a few hundred bucks for a window unit air conditioner? No, of course you don’t; that was a silly question. At the same time, you probably don’t want to spend the next few months baking in the summer heat. You could McGyver one using ice and some stuff that’s sitting in your garage gathering dust, but will it make your life any more tolerable?

It’s a good thing our pals at Consumer Reports have a room where they can put some of these DIY air conditioners to the test. So they tested out two low-cost homemade units to see if they could be used to affordably replicate the effect you’d expect from a decent window air conditioner.

For the first test, CR fashioned a unit out of a plastic bucket and PVC pipe (and some ice and a cruddy little office desk fan):
They drilled some holes in the side of the bucket…

More

Tyson Foods Investigating Poultry Farm Accused Of Mistreating Chickens

Nine months after Tyson Foods cut ties with a poultry farm in Tennessee that was accused by an animal rights group of mistreating and abusing chickens, the company is investigating another farm in the same state over similar abuse allegations.

Bloomberg reports that Tyson has opened an investigation into a contract farm in Lewisburg, TN, after Mercy for Animals published undercover video footage that reportedly showed birds are suffering in windowless sheds and enduring injuries.

The group — which filmed footage at other farms along with the one that Tyson cut ties with last year — also claims in the footage that birds are bred to grow too fast and are being weighed down by their own weight.

“It’s disturbing to us to see any sick or injured birds, which is why we have a track record of quickly addressing animal welfare concerns,” a Tyson spokesman told Bloomberg. “If our investigation into this farm uncovers anything wrong, we will immediately address it.”

More

Students Outraged Over School’s Position That Skinny Jeans Distract From Education

Depending on which fashion magazine you subscribe to, skinny jeans are either on their way out or they are here to stay. That distinction could soon be a bit less ambiguous for students in one North Carolina school district currently debating a ban on the tight jeans.

The New Hanover County School System in Wilmington is discussing a new dress code that would ban, among other things, skinny jeans, leggings, and “other excessively tight-fitting pants,” BuzzFeed News reports.

The update to policy 8520 wouldn’t exactly outlaw the bottoms. Instead, students would only be permitted to wear them if they also had on a long top or dress that covers “the posterior area in its entirety.”

A spokesperson for the school system says that the policy is being considered as a way to decrease distractions from learning.

“The intent of it is basically just to make sure the focus in the classroom is on teaching and learning and nothing is being worn that can distract from that,” the spokesperson said.

More

More Customers Say Kay Jewelers Swapped Out Their Diamonds For Fake Or Worse Ones

At Kay Jewelers, a popular mall chain and part of global mediocre jewelry corporate Voltron Signet Jewelers, owners of expensive diamond or gemstone jewelry can get a lifetime diamond or color gemstone guarantee, as long as they bring their jewelry for inspection every six months. Yet some brides who have tried to invoke the guarantee say that their stones were switched out during repairs, when they were in Kay’s possession. 

[More]

In Denial About America’s Opioid Painkiller Problem? This Map Might Change Your Mind

If you think the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is being alarmist byurging primary care physicians to stop prescribing so many opioid painkillers, or that the fact that 10% of doctors are writing more than 50% of the prescriptions for opioids is not a concrete indicator of a problem, then perhaps this map of overdose deaths in the U.S. will help to drive the point home.

Or rather, it’s two maps, put together by The Guardian using CDC data on overdose death rates in 1999 and 2014.

The fact is that drug overdoses now outnumber car crashes in terms of fatalities in the U.S., with 80 people dying every day just from opioid overdose. Yet two decades ago, drug deaths weren’t even on the radar for most Americans.

As you can see from the 1999 map, overdose deaths were rare in much of the country, with the exception of some high mortality rates in parts of Appalachia, the Southwest, and Northern California. Though even then, you could see the potential for explosion in OD deaths in the Pacific Northwest, New England, Florida, Oklahoma, and the Midwest.

More

Pet Wellness Plans Aren’t Insurance: You Still Have To Pay After They Die

It must feel awful to still be paying for your pet’s health plan after the pet has died. Yet there’s a difference between pet health insurance and the wellness plans that some vets market. While both are designed to help pet owners spread the cost of medical care throughout the year, wellness plans are for a fixed period of time, whether the pet is actually alive during that whole time or not.

A woman brought her complaint about still having to pay for a wellness plan after her 21-year-old cat died to the consumer team at CBS Sacramento. This is a common problem, and one that’s been around for a while: in fact, we wrote about the exact same problem eight years ago, also with a cat.

In this case, the plan was at a Banfield hospital, the chain of vet offices in Petsmart stores. Wellness plans include a set of services according to how much you want to pay per month and your pet’s age and health needs.

More

NOI 5/26/16 Somerset Dwelling Fire Tulls Corner Roa

NOTICE OF INVESTIGATION

Date:  May 26, 2016 

Time:  8:08 p.m.

Location / Address:  5340 Tulls Corner Road, Marion Station, Somerset Co.

Type of Incident:  Fire

Description of Structure / Property:   Two story wood frame single family dwelling

Owner / Occupants:  Etta Poindexter

Injuries or Deaths:  None

Estimated $ Loss: Structure:  $15,000.00                      Contents: $500.00

Smoke Alarm Status:  Unknown  

Fire Alarm / Sprinkler Status:  n/a

Arrests(s):   None

Primary Responding Fire Department:  Marion

# of Alarms:  1     # Of Firefighters:  25

Time to Control:   45 minutes

Discovered By:  Lawn care provider

Area of Origin:  Engine compartment of lawn mower

Preliminary Cause:  Accidental, engine compartment of lawn mower

Additional Information:  As a result of the fire extending from the lawn mower, a section of  the front porch and second floor interior and exterior sustained minor fire damage.

Here's how to know if you have Lyme disease

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that's spread primarily though the bite of an infected black-legged tick. These tiny insects, which can carry the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, typically live in wooded and grassy areas.

While lyme disease was once thought of as fairly rare, recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest it's actually 10 times more common than we'd assumed, infecting roughly 300,000 Americans each year.

Common symptoms of lyme disease (in blue) include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic bulls-eye skin rash. But if left untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart, and nervous system and cause more serious problems. Luckily, most cases can be treatedsuccessfully with antibiotics.

More

NOI 3/27/16 Wicomico Under Inv SF Dwelling Cedar Way Salisbury

 

NOTICE OF INVESTIGATION

Date: May 26, 2016

Time:  10:31 pm

Location / Address:  200 Cedar Way, Salisbury, Wicomico County

Type of Incident:  Fire

Description of Structure / Property: one story wood framed vacant single family dwelling, under renovation

Owner / Occupants: Freddie Pusey

Injuries or Deaths: none

Estimated $ Loss: Structure:  $ 30,000.00                    Contents: $ 1,000.00

Smoke Alarm Status: none present

Fire Alarm / Sprinkler Status: n/a

Arrests(s):  none

Primary Responding Fire Department: Salisbury Fire Department

# of Alarms:  1     # Of Firefighters: 20

Time to Control: 30 mins

Discovered By:  passerby

Area of Origin:  under investigation

Preliminary Cause: under investigation

Additional Information:  Anyone with additional information in reference to this fire is asked to contact the Lower Eastern Region Office of the State Fire Marshal @ 410-713-3780

7 undercover inmates spent 2 months in jail — here are the most outrageous things they witnessed

Drugs, violence, and prostitution: It's just another day at Clark County Jail in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Participants on the A&E documentary series "60 Days In" experienced these shocking realities firsthand.

The show follows seven undercover inmates who spent two months in the jail to expose problems within the system.

The participants — who were booked under false charges and assumed false identities throughout their stays — lived among the jail's 500-inmate population without corrections officers or other inmates discovering their secret.

At the end of their two months, the participants informed Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel of the inner workings of jail life, like how inmates were inventing drugs with household materials and where they were stashing homemade weapons. They also revealed the psychological toll the deplorable living conditions took on them.

More

MSNBC's Chuck Todd grills Hillary Clinton over brutal State Department report

MSNBC's Chuck Todd grilled Hillary Clinton over the scathing inspector general's report released on Wednesday that determined she "did not comply" with State Department rules in using a personal email address to conduct government business.

The report "seemed to contradict many of the things you've said about the emails," Todd said, before asking Clinton if she accepts everything the report said as fact.

Clinton argued that the report made clear that personal email use was allowed under State Department rules, though she acknowledged she realized people have "concerns." Indeed, the report acknowledges that Clinton did not do anything illegal, citing "longstanding, systemic weaknesses" related to communications that preceded Clinton's appointment as secretary of state.

More

DONALD TRUMP GOES AFTER BILL CLINTON

“IS HILLARY REALLY PROTECTING WOMEN?” GOP FRONTRUNNER ASKS

Presumptive “Republican” presidential nominee Donald Trump took direct aim at his general election rival Hillary Clinton this week – releasing a web video recalling alleged sexual assaults perpetrated by her husband, former president Bill Clinton.

“Is Hillary really protecting women?” Trump asked.

“No woman should be subjected to it,” Clinton accuser Kathleen Willey says in the spot. “It was an assault.”

Willey claimed Clinton sexually assaulted her in 1993 during a meeting in his private study adjacent to the Oval Office. The audio used in the Trump spot was taken from a 2007 Fox News interview.

After Willey, the audio then turns to a tearful Juanita Broaddrick, who claimed Clinton raped her in a hotel room in 1978.

More

Foxconn replaces 60,000 Humans w Robots in China

The first wave of robots taking over human jobs is upon us.

Apple Inc. AAPL, +0.09% supplier Foxconn Technology Co. 2354, -0.27% has replaced 60,000 human workers with robots in a single factory, according to a report in the South China Morning Post, initially published over the weekend.

This is part of a massive reduction in headcount across the entire Kunshan region in China’s Jiangsu province, in which many Taiwanese manufacturers base their Chinese operations.

In a statement to MarketWatch, Foxconn Technology Group confirmed that it has been automating its manufacturing facilities throughout China, including Kunshan, for “many years,” which it says has freed up its employees to focus on higher value-added elements of the manufacturing process, such as research and development, process control and quality control.

”Across all of our facilities today, we are applying robotics engineering and other innovative manufacturing technologies to replace repetitive tasks previously done by employees,” Foxconn said. “As our manufacturing processes and the products we produce become more technologically advanced, automation is playing an increasingly important role in our operations and we have plans to automate more of our manufacturing operations over the coming years.”

More

We Followed A Snowy Owl From Maryland To Ontario

At the end of 2013, snowy owls started showing up far south of their usual winter range. The big white birds were reported in South Carolina, Georgia, even Florida.

Dave Brinker, an ecologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, had never seen anything like it.

"Something huge is going on," Brinker told his colleagues. "We won't see something like this for a long time, probably for the rest of our lifetimes."

The invasion wasn't just a boon to birders; it was a scientific opportunity. The lives of snowy owls aren't well understood because they spend much of their lives in the Arctic, far from humans. But Brinker and fellow bird biologist Scott Weidensaul knew if they could follow the movements of these wide-ranging owls as the birds returned to the frozen north, the scientists could learn a lot about their hunting patterns, breeding behavior and migration routes.

So the two men launched Project Snowstorm. They trapped visiting owls and fitted them with solar-powered GPS transmitters.

More

Business Of Disaster: Insurance Firms Profited $400 Million After Sandy

This story is Part 1 of a two-part series. See our second piece about local recovery programs that are struggling to help homeowners here.

On a cold rainy day last fall, dozens of people gathered in a plaza across the street from New Jersey's state Capitol. They held press conferences and slept overnight in lawn chairs.

Everyone had come to make the same point: They'd made it through Superstorm Sandy, which hit the shores of New Jersey and New York in October 2012. But three years later, many hadn't made it home.

Doug Quinn, a 51-year-old from Toms River, N.J., had been in the plaza for two days.

"I should be at home in my house and part of my community and instead I'm here doing this," said Quinn. "I thought it'll be all right; my insurance will take care of what needs to be taken care of and I'll be back home in three to four months. It's [been] three years and I'm still not anywhere close. I look back now and think how naive I was."

More

6-Year-Old May Be Out Of Spelling Bee, But This Kid Is A Winner

Six-year-old Akash Vukoti has won our hearts — if not the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

He was the youngest of the 285 contenders in this year's competition, and even though he misspelled "bacteriolytic" in Round 3, he will not be forgotten.

Akash appeared in an official ad for the competition and has been on NBC's Little Big Shots. In this video from Vox, Akash shares his favorite word:

More

To Survive The Bust Cycle, Farmers Go Back To Business-School Basics

After several boom years while the rest of the economy struggled, farming is entering its third year on the bust side of the cycle. Major crop prices are low, while expenses like seed, fertilizer and land remain high. And that means farmers have to get creative to succeed.

Modern crop farms in the Corn Belt are sophisticated businesses. So put aside your notions of bucolic red barns surrounded by a few cows. And pull out your best business school vocabulary, because crops are commodities.

"Every individual acre is a unique production facility," says David Muth. He runs AgSolver, one of many data-driven startups promising to make farms more efficient. Muth compares each acre of a farm to a single store in a chain of coffee shops. Some locations are profitable, others not so much. "The question we like to ask is, would we be satisfied if any one of those individual production facilities is operating at a loss?"

Probably not, he says. So what do you do with the coffee shops that are losing money? Any MBA will tell you, you've got to do two things: Reduce expenses and stop wasting money.

More

Saturday Summer Lineup at Brew's Dock Bar!

In Louisiana, It's Now A Hate Crime To Target Police Officers

Louisiana's hate-crime protections now cover law enforcement and first responders. Gov. John Bel Edwards signed the legislation on Thursday after it had passed easily in the Republican-controlled Legislature, NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.

People convicted of intentionally targeting police officers, firefighters or emergency medical crews will now face stricter penalties — as one would for targeting someone for race or gender, The Two-Way has reported. Other protected classes in the state are age, color, creed, disability, sexual orientation, national origin and ancestry.

"Coming from a family of law enforcement officers, I have great respect for the work that they do and the risks they take to ensure our safety," the governor, a Democrat, said in a statement. "The men and women who put their lives on the line every day, often under very dangerous circumstances are true heroes and they deserve every protection that we can give them. They serve and protect our communities and our families. The overarching message is that hate crimes will not be tolerated in Louisiana."

More

STO Press Release-Credit Rating 6-8-16 Bond Sale

Report: U.S. Nuclear System Relies On Outdated Technology Such As Floppy Disks

The U.S. nuclear weapons system still runs on a 1970s-era computing system that uses 8-inch floppy disks, according to a newly released report from the Government Accountability Office.

That's right. It relies on memory storage that hasn't been commonly used since the 1980s and a computing system that looks like this:

Beyond the nuclear program, much of the technology used by the federal government is woefully outmoded, the report says. About 75 percent of the government's information technology budget goes toward operations and maintenance, rather than development, modernization and enhancement.

"Clearly, there are billions wasted," GAO information technology expert David Powner said at a congressional hearing Wednesday, The Associated Press reports.

More

Teens Recovering After Incident At School Parking Lot; Family Statement: ‘Thank You Sincerely’

BERLIN – Two local teenagers are recovering after being run over by a fellow student at Stephen Decatur High School on Monday.

A male and female student were airlifted to Shock Trauma in Baltimore after being struck by a van in the student parking lot just before 8 a.m. May 23. Daryl McCready, a SonRise Church pastor whose daughter was one of the students injured, says both are recovering.

“The outpouring of love and support from our SonRise Church family, other sister churches, school administrators and staff, as well as the community at large has been humbling and very overwhelming,” he said. “Thank you sincerely. We do ask that the same be extended to the driver and his family as well as this was an unfortunate accident and everyone was left wounded.”

A statement on the school system’s website Monday reported that at approximately 7:50 a.m. two Decatur students sustained injuries resulting from a motor vehicle accident that occurred in the school’s parking lot.

According to McCready, the students were backed over by a conversion van driven by another high school student. His daughter suffered multiple fractures, abrasions and a laceration to her liver. The male victim was reported to have suffered multiple injuries as well before being released mid-week.

McCready thanked local fire and EMS personnel for their quick response following the accident.

“We are a blessed community,” he said.

More

This State is Coming for Gun Owners

Hawaii is finding an innovative way to discourage law abiding citizens from purchasing guns: treating them like criminals. As Townhall's Matt Vespa reports:

It’s as if we’re getting a preview of what Second Amendment rights would look like in Hillary Clinton’s America. Recently, California all but banned rifles and imposed background checks for ammunition. Now, Hawaii may become the first state that enters its gun-owning residents into a federal database (via AP):

Hawaii could become the first state in the United States to enter gun owners into an FBI database that will automatically notify police if an island resident is arrested anywhere else in the country.

Most people entered in the "Rap Back" database elsewhere in the U.S. are those in "positions of trust," such as school teachers and bus drivers, said Stephen Fischer of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division. Hawaii could be the first state to add gun owners.

"I don't like the idea of us being entered into a database. It basically tells us that they know where the guns are, they can go grab them" said Jerry Ilo, a firearm and hunting instructor for the state. "We get the feeling that Big Brother is watching us."

Firearms registries are a way for state governments to keep track of who has guns and in what quantity. The only real value of information like that is that it expedites the confiscation of firearms under special emergency circumstances. Specifically, in the event that President Hillary Clinton, with two Supreme Court Justice appointments under her belt, declares a national state of emergency in the event of a mass shooting and calls for a "temporary" firearms ban.

We're that close to losing our right to bear arms, and states like Hawaii are part of the problem.

Source: AAN

College Professor: "Sharia is Here, and it's Spectacular"

The Nutty Professor isn't just a movie any more. To paraphrase Seinfeld, a Muslim professor this week admitted that "Sharia is here, and it's spectacular." As the Daily Caller notes:

At a panel discussion on Islam and terrorism at Florida Atlantic University, a professor on the taxpayer-funded school’s faculty praised the Sharia law practice of cutting off the hands of criminals who steal.

The words of wisdom concerning the notorious Islamic penal code came from Bassem Al Halabi, an electrical engineering and computer science professor at Florida Atlantic University.

In countries in the Middle East where Sharia law is not practiced, Al Halabi said, people “die in dozens and hundreds every day because of organized crime. People kill people — other people — for steal [sic] pizza for 10 dollars. So when Islamic Sharia is saying about capital punishment — so even though it sounds very severe, but if that is the solution to prevent any crimes, then it still has a lot of rules and regulations.”

Al Halabi then defended cutting off criminals’ hands

“I will just mention one and stop here, which is: let’s say cutting the hand off a person if they steal,” the Florida Atlantic professor continued. “It sounds very severe. It sounds very barbaric, I know. But if it takes one or two people to have their hands cut off and then there’s no more stealing in the whole nation, that’s a much better resolution than having hundreds of people die every day.”

Al Halabi also assured attendees at the event that “Sharia is being practiced in the United States.”

“We at the Islamic Center of Boca Raton, we practice Sharia — if someone doesn’t know,” he said.

The Eighth Amendment to the constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. It's been a part of the common law tradition for hundreds of years, and was adapted by our founders to bind the hands of an all powerful government that would use such displays to strike fear in the hearts of a dissenting public. It derives from the same tradition of skepticism about the nature of man that the Second Amendment does.

It's true that what Al Halabi describes is an effective deterrent. Sharia has many such effective deterrents. For instance, when a woman is raped, countries that practice Sharia make sure it never happens again by brutally whipping THE WOMAN hundreds of times and sending her to prison. Sharia ensures that anyone who publicly expresses doubts about their Islamic faith is summarily executed. To be sure, there's few more effective ways to deal with criminals.

Here's the thing: these punishments are prehistoric atrocities that only continue to thrive in barbaric, decaying societies. They have no place in the American legal or philosphical tradition. They're an affront to civilization. If Al Halabi and others think they're so great, there are plenty of other places they can go live.

Source: AAN

Wicomico County Health Officials Advise Residents to Stay Away from Wild Animals

“Love Your Own, Leave Others Alone”

(Salisbury, MD) – Health officials in Wicomico County are reminding residents to stay away from feral cats and other wild animals. These animals can pose a serious public health threat through the spread diseases such as Rabies, Cryptosporidiosis, Giardiasis, Toxoplasmosis, Bartonellosis (cat scratch fever) and Salmonellosis. These diseases are known to cause serious illness and in some cases, if left untreated, are fatal.

To reduce the risk of Rabies exposure:

Vaccinate pets. Maryland law requires all dogs and cats over four months of age to be vaccinated against Rabies. This is the most successful method of preventing the Rabies virus.
Refrain from feeding feral cats and remove all food sources in the area.

Only you can protect your family and pets from the deadly Rabies virus.

For more information, contact the Wicomico County Health Department, Environmental Health Division at 410 546-4446 or visitwww.wicomicohealth.org.

All animal bites or scratches should be reported to the Wicomico County Health Department at (410) 546-4446 during business hours and 410-543-6996 after hours.

MUST SEE TV: Conservative Host Has a Message for Obama's VA

Civilians Join Rescuers to Save Would-Be Jumper on Chesapeake Bay Bridge

A crowd of rescuers and a few very worried onlookers helped rescue a man who was trying to jump off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge early Thursday morning.

"It was very touch-and-go for a while there," said Jason Hayes, a civilian who saw the man on the bridge railing and talked to him to try to keep him from jumping. "Very scary this morning."

"There were many times when he was facing outward," Hayes said.

Hayes was joined by Lt. Kevin Brenner of Queen Anne's County Fire Rescue, who was on his way to work. Brenner had a portable radio with him, and told the dispatch center that they needed extra help to prevent a suicide.

More

Trump vs. Bernie: The Showdown

‘Who Loves You Baby?’ Long-Time Buckingham Elementary Fixture Terry Smith Reflects On Final Days At School

BERLIN – Terry Smith was hurrying into the gym at Stephen Decatur High School when, above the sounds of the crowd gathered for a basketball game, she heard a phrase that stopped her in her tracks.

“Who loves you baby?” called a voice from the top of the stands.

It’s a sentence Smith knows well, as it’s her self-proclaimed catch phrase. The assistant principal from Buckingham Elementary School utters it daily in her interactions with children.

“I looked up and it was one of my students I had in 1994,” Smith said with a laugh.

Of course, it’s not uncommon for Smith to get stopped by students during her everyday travels. Her smartphone is proof of it, filled with hundreds of photos of the outgoing educator and her adoring former and current students. Several of the latter cried this month when Smith told the Buckingham community she was retiring.

She says the decision, a difficult one, means she will have more time to spend with her family. She does not, however, intend to stop working on behalf of area children.

More

Muslim Pervert Spotted in Women's Bathroom

On May 25th at 5:00 PM, an AAN source reports that a Muslim man was spotted using the women's bathroom in the Dulles Airport in the Washington DC area. He was told by women in the bathroom that he was not welcome, comments which he condescendingly brushed aside. After all, why would he bother about "inferior" women's feelings? This picture of him was taken as he exited the bathroom, still buckling up his shorts.

The man later met up with 3 women in full black niqabs, possibly his wives (yes, plural). This phenomenon will only get more common with the Obama's administration obsession with letting anyone choose whatever bathroom is convenient to them, and with unrestricted immigration from third world countries that view women as inferior beings.

Source: AAN

Return of LGBT Discrimination.

Trump to Celebrate Memorial Day Weekend at Huge Biker Rally

Donald Trump is planning a Memorial Day weekend visit with one of his favorite constituencies: bikers.

As motorcyclists stream into the nation's capital for Rolling Thunder, their largest annual gathering, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is planning an appearance on Sunday, campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said.

"I am doing it in honor of the great bikers who have been totally supportive of my campaign and now I want to be supportive of them," Trump said in a statement to Bloomberg Politics. "I look forward to it!"

The bike rally, called the "First Amendment Demonstration Run," begins at noon Eastern time on Sunday, starting at the North Pentagon parking lot and circling the National Mall.

At Trump rallies, motorcycle enthusiasts frequently line the entrances to show their support as protesters do the opposite just steps away. A central part of his appeal to them: a shared belief that self-interested politicians are degrading the military, ignoring veterans and running “a sad government,” as a letter about this weekend’s ride published in December by Rolling Thunder organizers said.

More here

Andy Harris Letter to Superintendents on Obama Administration “Guidance”

Tropical Storm on Southeast Coast Tack for Memorial Day

A tropical storm may soak plans for Memorial Day weekend along the Southeast coast. That would be you Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Forecasters monitoring an area of low pressure in the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas say there's a 50 percent chance of a tropical or subtropical storm developing over the next two days and a 70 percent chance within five days, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“It's a sign that the tropics are waking up,” meteorologist Shea Gibson said, according to The Post and Courier.

More here

Thank God its Friday 5-27-16

What will you be doing this weekend?

Two sentenced for stealing dog in Accomack Co.

ACCOMACK COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — Two of three suspects accused of stealing a dog on the Eastern Shore received their punishments Thursday in court.

A judge sentenced Bettina Rodriguez and Gordon Shell to serve 90 days in jail, with all but five suspended. The two also have to pay a $1,000 fine, and Rodriguez had to complete 50 hours of community service.

On Thursday, both sides entered a plea agreement, which lessened the felony charge of larceny of a dog to a misdemeanor.

“As a first time offender, I had no idea I would be given any kind of punishment like that,” said Rodriguez. “I honestly thought I was just saving a life. My compassion and my heart took over.”

“I had no intentions of this going this far,” said Gordon Shell.

In January 2015, Rodriguez says a neighbor tipped her off to a dog being left in frigid temperatures near Parksley. In testimony, 10 On Your Side learned Shell, Rodriguez and Charlene Boyajian went to the home and cut the dog loose.

More

Community Partners Recognized at Annual Wicomico County Tourism Reception

Salisbury, MD – Wicomico County’s Tourism Division recognized its strongest partners during a reception and awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 25 at the Wicomico County Visitor’s Center. Held annually since 2000, the reception recognizes community members and businesses who have dedicated themselves to supporting tourism initiatives in Wicomico County.

In fiscal year 2016, Wicomico County’s tourism efforts have continued to grow. The division has sold or held 53 events, 7 of which were of regional or national caliber. These events generated over 35,000 hotel room nights, 132,000 visitors and an estimated economic impact of $53 million. This success would not be possible if it were not for tourism’s many community partners. These partners help the County recruit new events, retain and grow current events and welcome event attendees into the community. 2016 tourism award recipients included:

Hospitality Award: Joshua Sanders, General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn

Although fairly new to Wicomico County, Sanders has embraced tourism’s mission, becoming an active participant in all of tourism’s events. When issues arise or tourism has a need, Sanders is a willing partner who is always ready to lend a helping hand.

Business of the Year: Southern Boys Concepts (accepted by Todd Van Geluwe)

With five restaurants in Wicomico County, Southern Boys Concepts embraces tourism and its initiatives. It is one of the first to jump on board when advertising opportunities are presented in our annual visitor’s guide or special event programs. In addition to supporting events hosted by tourism, this business launched Wicomico County’s first brewery, which serves as a tourist attraction of its own.

Partner of the Year: Bill Atkinson of Fruitland Baseball

Atkinson is organizing over a dozen baseball tournaments in Wicomico County this year alone. It’s estimated that these events will generate an economic impact exceeding $9 million. The strong brand and reputation he’s built within the baseball industry continues to draw teams to Wicomico County, and tourism is proud to work in partnership with him.

Tourism Person of the Year (Betty K. Gardner Award): Priscilla Timken of Chesapeake Tours & Promotions

Timken’s professional career has been spent in the tourism industry as a tour guide, cultural liaison for the Smithsonian and as a certified travel agent. Her roots as a seventh generation Eastern Shore Native brought her back to the area over 25 years ago. Since then, Timken has dedicated herself to sharing the history and culture of the Chesapeake, opening up our back roads, quaint small towns and hideaway eateries to visitors. Most recently, she’s expanded her offerings and now serves as Wicomico County’s only full service, receptive tour operator.

Addiction Speaker Planned For Ocean City On Saturday

OCEAN CITY — With the scourge of heroin and opiate addiction hitting closer to home seemingly every day, a hard-hitting presentation is planned Saturday in the resort that will help continue to hammer the message home.

Live Wire Media, Kids are Dying Delmarva and The Dispatch will host critically acclaimed guest speaker Michael DeLeon for an inspiring and heart-felt presentation on the ongoing battle against the heroin and opiate addiction epidemic sweeping the nation and this community.

For the last 15 years, DeLeon, an addict himself, has worn out the tires on his vehicle taking his message to schools and community gatherings throughout the mid-Atlantic region and across the country. On Saturday, DeLeon brings his message to the Roland E. Powell Convention Center at 1 p.m. The presentation is free and will be followed by a question-and-answer period.

Brad Hoffman of Live Wire Media, which produces a variety of special events including car shows and surf contests and everything in between, conceived of the idea of bringing DeLeon to Ocean City after meeting with long-time friend Ruthie Chavis, who is fighting her own battle with addiction in her family. Chavis showed Hoffman a video presentation from DeLeon and Hoffman knew he had to reach out to the motivational speaker.

Hoffman said he conceived of the idea after a couple of heroin overdose deaths hit particularly close to home. Not sure how to help or where to start, Hoffman headed to social media to help get the word out about the growing epidemic.

More

Can You Name This Type Of Flower?

Two Yard Sales This Weekend

Tamarac Village

Saturday May 28, 2016

7am - 1pm

Next to Parkside High School

Who Remembers These?

Subject: Structure fire on Cross Way and Cedar Way Salisbury

You Know Your Wife Can't Cook When...

The End Of The Rainbow

Making Lighting More Beautiful

New Liberal Bathrooms

Huge Camera Rig Busts People for Texting and Driving

If you live in British Columbia, don’t try to sneak out a quick text while driving just because you don’t see any cops on the road. The RCMP., Canada’s version of the FBI, have started using DLSR cameras attached to massive scopes to spot distracted drivers from as far as three-quarters-of-a-mile away.

We all instinctively know to hide our phones while driving when we see a police car, but that doesn’t make using them any less illegal. (And it’s incredibly dangerous too, by the way.) 

To catch drivers in the act, traffic services in British Columbia have been using spotting scopes..

More