O'Malley Distorts Job Generation Record

This mornings edition of The Daily Times - once again - helps to illustrate the differences in reporting styles between SBYnews verses The Daily Times.

You see folks - SBYnews has been keeping a tally on the dislocation of workers in our immediate area- unlike that of Governor O'Malley. So while our illustrious Governor O'Malley is down in Charlotte, NC blowing smoke up the "FANNIES" of the major networks - here at SBYnews we are helping to set the record straight.

Below - is a list for the exodus of businesses from our area - many of which exited under the O'Malley administration. So when O'Malley claims that the Obama administration created over 4 million jobs - we just wanted to set the record straight.
Under O'Malley and Obama's rule - our great State has lost an incredible amount of jobs. We hope that one of the major networks will catch wind of this so as to help keep America's eyes trained on the TRUTH.

Area Plant Closings - (Free Enterprise) - Wicomico, Worcester, Somerset, and Dorchester Counties
Business Identification Description No. of Unemployed
1. Sealy Upholster Company Unknown - best estimate 150+ employees 150
2. Field Container Corporation Unknown - best estimate 150+ employees 150
3. Dresser Industries/Haliburton 500 - 600 displaced workers. Facility moved to Austin, Texas
At production peak they employed over 1000 employees 600
4. Shawnee Homes Unknown - best estimate 150+ employees 150
5. Salisbury Engineering Unknown - moved entire operation to State of Delaware - just across State line
6. Heinemann Electric Unknown - previously located in Northwood Industrial Park, Naylor Mill Rd
7. Moore Business Forms 148 displaced workers. Factory announced closure on 07-27-94 148
Located in Snow Hill Maryland
8. Campbell Soup - Salisbury, Maryland 604 displaced workers. 604
9. Campbell Soup - Swanson Division 245 displaced workers - located in Pocomoke, MD 245
10. Campbell Soup - Mrs. Paul's Kitchen 200 displaced workers - located in Crisfield, MD 200
11. Montgomery Ward - Salisbury, MD 110 displaced workers - located Centre of Salisbury Mall 110
12. Gant Shirt Factory - Salisbury, MD 250 displaced workers - was 2nd largest shirt factory in the world 250
13. Jodi Shirt Company - Fruitland, MD 100 displaced workers - located in Fruitland, MD 100
14. Delmar Sportswear - Delmar, MD 90 displaced workers - located in Delmar, MD - owned by Pusey family 90
15. Ford Laboratory - Salisbury, MD 70 displaced workers - Salisbury, MD 70
16. Grumman Corporation - Salisbury, MD 401 displaced workers - employed 523 at peak production 401
17. Peninsula Press - Salisbury, MD 45 displaced workers 45
18. Preston Trucking Co. - Preston, MD unknown no. employees - filed for bankruptcy protection unknown
19. Chesapeake Bay Plywood - Pocomoke, MD 500 employees - plywwod plant shutdown, disassembled, moved to China 500
20. Ruddy Duck - Cambridge, MD 100 employees - factory shutdown unknown
21. Airpax Industries - Cambridge, MD 500 - (best estimate) at peak it employed 1500 - moved to Matamoris, Mexico 500
22. Service Merchandise - Salisbury, MD 50 employees - now Dove Point Facility - governmental entity 50
23. Purity Bacon - Salisbury, MD unknown - located South Divison Street - property purchased by college unknown
24. ES Adkins & Co. - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - Rt. 13, North Salisbury Blvd. - bldgs. Extensively leased by government unknown
25. Masten Home Center - Fruitland, MD unknown no. employees - Rt. 13, South Salisbury Blvd unknown
26. IMS - (MVP.com) - Salisbury, MD 40 - 50 employees - WBOC reporting - Old Campbell Soup bldg. & Lake Street 50
27. Powellville Garment Factory - Powellville, MD 100 - (best estimate) - closure announced 02/2001 100
28. Food Depot - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - last store to exodus Old Mall unknown
29. Ames - Fruitland, MD unknown no. employees - announced closure 11-14-2001 unknown
30. Ames - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - announced closure 11-14-2001-(Rt 50 & Tilghman Road) unknown
31. Central Tractor - Fruitland, MD unknown no. employees - announced closure 01-14-02 unknown
32. Nanticoke Homes - Greenwood, DE unknown no. employees - announced closure 07-15-02 unknown
33. Crown, Cork & Seal - Fruitland, MD unknown no. employees - announced closure 01-14-02 unknown
34. Stoney Point Decoy Factory - Crisfield, MD 35-40 employees at peak, DT reporter - Cording 45
35. Tyson Foods - Berlin, MD 600 employees - announced closure 04-19-03 600
36. Black & Decker - Easton, MD 1400 employees - announced closure 04-29-03 - announced plant move to Brazil & Mexico 1400
37. Pine Country Corp. - Pocomoke, MD 35 employees - DT reported 10-26-03 - operations ceased 09/03 35
38. Chesapeake Hardwood Mill - Princess Anne,MD 40 employees - Peggy Neck Road - closed 2002 40
39. Salisbury Steel Products Inc. 35 employees - closed 08-03 - Boundary Street, Salisbury, MD 35
40. True Value Hardware - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - announced closure 03-04 0 Isabella Street, Salisbury, MD unknown
41. Office Max - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - announced closure 02-04 - Rt. 13 North unknown
42. Helovet Pharma - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - announced closure 03-05 - Northwood Industrial Park unknown
43. Giant Food - Salisbury, MD 75 employees - announced closure 03-05 - Rt. 13 North 75
44. Super Deep Discount - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - announced closure 10-26-06 - Old Montgomery Wards site unknown
45. JV Wells, Inc. - Sharptown, MD Over 100 employees - many ancillary businesses-(indep. loggers - was MD's largest timber Co. 100
46. Nanticoke Seafood - Nanticoke, MD Was owned by Booth Fisheries, Rich Sea Pak, and most recently by Cape May Canners unknown
47. Islandic Seafood - Cambridge, MD 300 employees layed off 03-07, additional 122 laid off by end of 2007 422
48. Brunswick - Bayliner/Maxum - Salisbury, MD 180 employees - closed 2008 - moved operations to North Carolina spurred by tax incentives 180
49. Americhem Inc. - Salisbury, MD 30 employees - announced closure 10-23-07 - Northwood Industrial Park 30
50 Powerwave Technology - Salisbury, MD 100 employees, at peak employeed 300 - facilities sold to Tri County Council - (local gov. 2009) 100
51. Oddi Atlantic - Salisbury, MD 70 employees - closed 09-26-08 - (reported by DT rep. Gwenn Garland) - Owned by Iceland Co 70
52. Invista Plant - Seaford, DE 400 employees - subs. of Kansas based Koch Industries - (former DuPont Nylon plant) 10/08 400
53. Boscov's - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employee displacements/announced bankruptcy filing 08-04-08 - Salisbury spared unknown
54. Circuit City - Salisbury, MD 30 employees - anouncedclosure 01-12-09 - Rt. 13, N. Salisbury 30
55. Bob Smith Automotive - Easton, MD unknown no. employees - closure 03-09 - GM Dealer with another site in Federalsburg, MD unknown
56. Schaefer & Strohminger - Cambridge, MD unknown no. employees - closure slated for 04-30-09 - GM, Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep Dealer unknown
57. Boater's World - Salisbury, MD 15 employees Salisbury store - 75 employees/Denton, MD - closure announced 04/09 15
58. Saturn of Salisbury - Salisbury, MD 15 employees - announced closure 05-01-09 - North Salisbury, Rt 13 15
59. Waterman's Restaurant - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed doors on 04-29-09 - building vacant on Snow Hill unknown
60. Second National Savings & Loan 500 employees - headquarted at Phillip Morris Dr. & Rt. 50 - Salisbury 500
61. Burke Equipment - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - moved operations to Delmar, DE unknown
62. Jacks Religious Gift Shop - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 01-2010 - Snow Hill Road, Salisbury, MD unknown
63. Superfresh - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 08-11 - College Avenue, Salisbury, MD unknown
64. Atlantic Bookstore - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 03-11 - N. Salisbury, Rt 13 unknown
65. The Gospel Shop - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 12-11 - S. Salisbury Blvd, Rt 13 - (Old Montg. Ward site) unknown
66. Shiela's Craft & Party World - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 12-11 - S. Salisbury Blvd, Rt 13 unknown
67. Benedict the Florist - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 11-11 - S. Salisbury Blvd., Rt 13 unknown
68. 84 Lumber - Fruitland, MD unknown no. employees - closed 11-11 - S. Salisbury Blvd., Rt 13 unknown
69. 84 Lumber - Pocomoke, MD unknown no. employees - closed 11-10 - Rt. 13 South, Pocomoke, MD unknown
70. Southern States - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 2008 - Rt. 13, S Salisbury Blvd. unknown
71. Southern States - Pocomoke, MD unknown no. employees - closed 2008 - Rt. 13, Pocomoke, MD unknown
72. Allied Building Products - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 06-11 - Moss Hill Lane, Salisbury, MD unknown
73. The Bike Shope - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 12-11 - N. Salisbury Blvd, Salisbury, MD unknown
74. The Sunroom Store - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 11-11 - moved to Berlin, MD unknown
75. Tex Mex Restaurant - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 2007 - Centre of Salisbury Mall unknown
76. Shoreland Freezers - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - site purchased by college & bldg. bulldozed - 2008 unknown
77. Acme - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - Twilley Center - closed 2007 unknown
78. Pani Pit Pizza - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - N. Salisbury - closed 11-2011 unknown 79. Mombo Italiano - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 12-2011 unknown
80. Checkers - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 09-20111 unknown
81. Rugged Warehouse - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed 10-2011 - located next to Target, N. Salisbury unknown
82. Salisbury Office Supply - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - closed and building taken over by county election - Bateman St. unknown
83. Barn None - Salisbury, MD unknown no. employees - Snow Hill Road, Salisbury - closed 11-2011 unknown

Displaced Workers 8605
Lost Income Tax Base Due To Local Business Closures - (Conservative Estimate as many of Wicomico's lost employee count are unknown).
The actual lost income tax base could very well be double the 8605 number.
8605 x$28,015 = $241,069,075 Gross Income by wikepedia.org for Wicomico County
8605 x $806.47 (Wicomico Local Tax) = $6,939,674 Wicomico Local Income Tax Base
8605 x $1,040 (Maryland Income Tax) = $10,181.522 Maryland Tax Base

Publishers Notes: There some additions to this list. We'll try to update you in the next few days.

Civil War Events Feature Minstrel Song Revival

With their slouch hats, whiskers and time-worn instruments, members of the 2nd South Carolina String Band look and sound like a Civil War camp band. And while they play "Oh! Susannah" and other familiar fare, they don't shy from other historical songs with inescapably racist overtones that may offend some modern listeners.

The aim of these musical re-enactors is to accurately recreate music that soldiers from both the North and South enjoyed around battlefield campfires at Gettysburg, Antietam and Bull Run. Along with "Buffalo Gals" and "Dixie," they perform lesser-known songs in the exaggerated dialect of blackface minstrels from that tumultuous era when slavery was breaking apart.

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DEMOCRATS AIR FRUSTRATIONS WITH OBAMA 'COCKINESS'

President Obama's competitive, boastful nature and condescending advice rubs even loyal Democrats   the wrong way, a new profile alleges.

The New York Times' Jodi Kantor airs complaints from "loyal" Obama associates -- not as a buried lede but explicitly in her introduction:

He has mentioned more than once in recent weeks that he cooks “a really mean chili.” He has impressive musical pitch, he told an Iowa audience. He is “a surprisingly good pool player,” he informed an interviewer — not to mention (though he does) a doodler of unusual skill.

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Isaac Brings Touch of Relief, and Hope for Next Season, to Corn Belt

 All through the scorching summer, as their crops withered under cloudless skies, Corn Belt farmers waited and prayed for this moment. Now, courtesy of Hurricane Isaac, it has finally arrived: three days of rain to soak their parched fields and soften the cracked soil.

“It’s a dead-still, straight-down rain,” Greg Schneider, who lost 80 percent of his corn crop to this summer’s drought, said as he watched the storm from his dining room window. “This is exactly the kind of rain we needed.”

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'Green Mile' star Michael Clarke Duncan dies at age 54

Oscar-nominated actor Michael Clarke Duncan, the star of Frank Darabont's prison tale "The Green Mile," has died. He was 54.

The Chicago native rose to fame playing a hulking death row inmate with a special psychic gift in the 1999 film, adapted from the novel by Stephen King. The role, which cast him opposite Tom Hanks, earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.

Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing roughly 315 pounds, Duncan parlayed his considerable size into a career as a Hollywood security guard, working for the likes of Will Smith and the rapper Notorious B.I.G. His first significant movie role came in 1998's "Armageddon" with Bruce Willis; Willis later helped the fledgling actor land the "Green Mile" gig.

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'IN THEIR FACES': GOP BORROWS FROM OBAMA--AND BREITBART

In 2008, an aggressive candidate Barack Obama told  supporters to “argue with them, get in their faces.” In 2012, Republicans are taking a page from Obama’s book, holding a “counter-convention” outside the Democratic National Convention at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC. While Republican nominee Mitt Romney will be keeping a low profile all week, his party is taking the fight straight to the gates of the opposition.

The “counter-convention” will feature GOP leaders--including Sen. Marco Rubio (FL), Gov. Nikki Haley (SC), and Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus--among fifty Republican “communicators.” There will also be zany, street-theater tactics--such as “You Build It” Legos and a NASCAR race car emblazoned with the number “12.”

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US Stops Training Some Afghan Forces After Attacks

The U.S. military has halted the training of some Afghan forces while it digs deeper into their background following a surge of attacks by soldiers and police on their international partners, officials said Sunday.

The move only puts about 1,000 Afghan trainees into limbo, a small fraction of the country's security forces. But it shows how these attacks have the potential to derail the U.S.-Afghan handover of security so essential to the international drawdown strategy.

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PAPER DETAILS OBAMA ADMIN’S ALLEGED SECRET NOTE SENT TO IRAN: IF ISRAEL ATTACKS, WE WON’T GET INVOLVED

The Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot published a startling report Monday detailing a message it says was conveyed by the Obama administration – via two European countries – to Iranian officials. The request: if Israel decides to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, the U.S. will not support it and the Islamic Republic should refrain from retaliating on U.S. military installations in the Persian Gulf.

From the report by the well-connected diplomatic correspondent Shimon Schiffer [translated via hard copy by TheBlaze in Israel]:

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Group Says It Found 30,000 Dead North Carolinians Registered To Vote

RALEIGH A Raleigh-based group devoted to reducing the potential for voter fraud presented the N.C. Board of Elections on Friday with a list of nearly 30,000 names of dead people statewide who are still registered to vote.

The Voter Integrity Project compiled the list after obtaining death records from the state Department of Public Health from 2002 to March 31 and comparing them to the voter rolls.

“Mainly, what we’re concerned about is the potential [for fraud],” said project director Jay DeLancy. “Since there is no voter ID law in North Carolina, anybody can walk in and claim to be anyone else.”

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/09/02/3497857/group-says-it-found-30000-dead.html#storylink=cpy

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Muslims From Abroad Are Thriving in Catholic Colleges

DAYTON, Ohio — Arriving from Kuwait to attend college here, Mai Alhamad wondered how Americans would receive a Muslim, especially one whose head scarf broadcasts her religious identity.

“Here, people are more religious, even if they’re not Muslim, and I am comfortable with that,” said Ms. Alhamad, an undergraduate in civil engineering, as several other Muslim women gathered in the student center nodded in agreement. “I’m more comfortable talking to a Christian than an atheist.”

A decade ago, the University of Dayton, with 11,000 undergraduate and graduate students, had just 12 from predominantly Muslim countries, all of them men, said Amy Anderson, the director of the school’s Center for International Programs. Last year, she said, there were 78, and about one-third of them were women.

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Detroit Police Too Busy To Arrest Man in Killings

DETROIT — A man suspected of fatally shooting two men and seriously wounding two others had to turn himself in twice before Detroit police would arrest him, authorities said.

Detroit police said the 36-year-old man got into an argument at a party on Saturday, retrieved a gun and opened fire. Four people were shot, and two died. The man turned himself in at a fire station about two hours later, and fire officials called police, but no officers turned up.

Police said in a statement that “due to area patrol units being busy handling high priority runs, no units were dispatched to the location.”

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Immigrants Protest Loss Of Free Health Care in Spain

Hundreds of people protested in downtown Madrid Saturday against a measure that will leave undocumented immigrants without access to free health care, saying the decision by Spain's governing Popular Party amounts to "health apartheid."

The demonstrators cried out against Saturday's enactment of a measure that will strip the more than 150,000 illegal immigrants in Spain of their national health cards.

It was included in a government decree imposing urgent savings measures to safeguard the future of public health care amid a severe financial crisis and an unemployment rate of nearly 25 percent.

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Wall Street Journal Slams Obama for His ‘Head-in-the-Sand Performance’ on Iran

In a scathing editorial this weekend, The Wall Street Journal blasted President Obama’s handling of the Iran crisis, from the failure of U.S. diplomacy which has apparently only sped up the Iranian nuclear program, to Obama’s letting go unanswered Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey’s remarks that he doesn’t want to be “complicit” in an Israeli strike.

As TheBlaze reported last week, Dempsey told reporters that an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would only delay, not likely destroy any nuclear program, adding: “I don’t want to be complicit if they [Israel] choose to do it.”

The Wall Street Journal’s editors wonder if Gen. Dempsey was speaking for himself or on President Obama’s behalf:

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Robert Gibbs: Not Obama’s Fault But Don’t Expect 2008 Levels Of Enthusiasm

Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley, senior Obama campaign adviser Robert Gibbs said Sunday that the enthusiasm for President Obama‘s initial 2008 campaign should not be expected during this re-election campaign.

When asked whether he believes there has been voter “disappointment” in Obama since taking office, Gibbs denied such a thing, adding that “voters understand it took us years and years of tremendously bad decisions by running up huge debts,” suggesting voters recognize that the current economic turmoil is, in his view, largely the fault of previous president George W. Bush.

Crowley then pressed Gibbs about the reduced support among Latinos and other constituencies which are, in some cases, down by double-digits from four years ago.

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Fire At FAA Facility Leads To Brief Ground Stop at 3 D.C. Area Airports

A small fire at a regional air traffic control facility Sunday morning caused a brief ground stop at all three D.C. area airports.

A refrigerator caught fire in an office area at the Potomac TRACON facility, which controls the area's airspace.

The ground stop only lasted about 25 minutes, and affected fewer than 20 flights at Reagan National, Dulles International and BWI Marshall airports.

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Laboring Away: In An Ever-Changing Workforce, Some Collars Remain True Blue

American workers in the 21st century may be more likely to suffer carpal tunnel syndrome from typing on their keyboards than back injuries from heavy lifting -- but plenty of folks still do manual labor.

About 20,800 workers are employed in natural resources, construction, extraction, maintenance, production and transportation operations in Frederick County -- roughly 17 percent of the total workforce, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Just as Labor Day has evolved over the 130 years since the union-organized march that inspired it, so have the workers who sweat to earn a living.

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Gingrich Tangles With ‘Meet the Press’ Panel Over ‘Extreme’ Presidential Platforms

Former Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich tangled with a “Meet the Press” panel Sunday over the commonly-accepted assertion that the Republicans have a more “extreme” position on social issues than Democrats.

Gingrich argued that when stripped of political rhetoric and presented as the basic facts, more people are inclined to agree with Republicans.

“The president of United States voted three times to protect the right of doctors to kill babies who came out of abortion still alive,” Gingrich noted, adding:  “The vast majority of women do not believe the taxpayers should pay to abort a child in the eighth or ninth month.”

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While Republicans Stressed Unity, Democrats’ Convention Schedule Already Shows Division

First Lady Michelle Obama, arriving in North Carolina Monday afternoon, will address the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, the Obama campaign announced on Sunday.

But on Wednesday and Thursday, Mrs. Obama will address -- separately -- several key Democratic constituencies as they divide themselves into smaller groups based on race, ethnicity, gender or sexual preference.

Each of those groups comes to the Democratic convention with different grievances or demands -- immigration reform, same-sex marriage, free contraceptive coverage, and abortion rights, for example.

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The Party

They Throw It To Win It

Horseshoe pitching is generally associated with a relaxing day at a backyard barbecue, but the competition was intense Saturday at Frederick's Maryvale Park.

Competitors from across the state -- including several of the best pitchers in the country -- took part in the Maryland State Horseshoe Pitching Championship.

Diana Ratliff, secretary-treasurer of the Maryland Horseshoe Pitchers Association, said 54 competitors of all skill levels ranging from preteens to seniors in their 80s competed in the tournament.

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Kim Nichols Dolch Chosen As State High School Principal Of The Year

Joe - Last night I heard that Kim Nichols Dolch, a graduate of James M. Bennett 1974 and of SU 1978 had been picked as the state high school principal of the year for Maryland and would attend the national association. This happened several months ago and The Daily Times was notified. They said they would publish this achievement when they had room in the paper. As to this date it has never been published. She is principal at North Carroll High School. Her mother still lives in Salisbury and retired as a teacher from Bennett High School. Her father was the late Jack Nichols, who was well known in the community. I feel that Kim's friends would be interested in this news.

Great News For River's Edge Complex In Salisbury

There's been much discussion and debate over the foreclosed River's Edge complex in Salisbury and a new proposal has come to light.

This proposal would include apartments for people in the arts. It would include a gallery on the main floor to show, market and sell their goods.

The best way to get a really good understanding of what's being proposed would be to go directly to the City's Briefing Book HERE.

Virginia Could Host An Election-Night Nightmare

Take two deadlocked races in a battleground state that Republicans and Democrats alike say will play a huge role in who wins the White House and controls the U.S. Senate.

Blend in a new voter identification law and the possibility of thousands of additional provisional ballots that won't be counted for days.

Whip it to a froth with unprecedented political cash supporting get-out-the-vote efforts and eleventh-hour dirty tricks, and there's your recipe for a lingering election nightmare.

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Bill Clinton Reportedly Said Obama ‘Would Have Been Carrying Our Bags’ a ‘Few Years Ago’

The New Yorker has published a piece titled “Let’s Be Friends: Two Presidents Find a Mutual Advantage,“ in which they claim Bill Clinton told Ted Kennedy that Barack Obama ”would have been carrying our bags” a few years ago during the last presidential election.

The statement, passed on to the New Yorker by sources of Tim Russert, was allegedly made in an effort to convince the late senator to endorse Hillary Clinton for president.

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Shooting Victim's Church Plans Welcome Home

The church attended by the Perry Hall High School shooting victim is planning a celebration for when the teenager can return to worship there.

Seventeen-year-old Daniel Borowy was critically wounded Monday and is being treated at the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

He is a member of the Perry Hall Family Worship Center.

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Debt To Reach $16 Trillion In Time To Crash Democrats’ Convention

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Just as Democrats are gaveling in their convention Tuesday, the federal government likely will announce another dubious milestone — $16 trillion in total federal debt.

In an election already focused on domestic issues of jobs, spending and deficits, the $16 trillion number is likely to underscore just how much is at stake in November for both parties, which are offering dramatically different ways to begin to eat away at the deep hole.

Gross federal debt has been flirting with $16 trillion for the past two weeks, and the government ended Thursday $15.991 trillion in debt.

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D.C. Fire: Massive Flooding Submerges Cars, People Possibly Trapped

A flash flood in D.C. Sunday night brought massive flooding, submerging cars and possibly trapping people inside.

The D.C. Fire Department is responding to flooding at Rhode Island and Florida avenues NW at 1st and 2nd streets. Several cars are underwater and D.C. Fire says people may be trapped in their cars.

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Dem. Gov. Admits: No, We’re Not Better Off Than We Were 4 Years Ago

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) broke with his party Sunday to say Americans are not better off than they were four years ago — but said that’s not what the November election is about.

Democrats have been studiously avoiding the “are Americans better off today?” question, but O’Malley addressed it head-on during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“No,” he answered host Bob Schieffer, two days before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. “But that’s not the question of this election.”

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This Cartoon ABSOLUTELY Nails It

Click on image to enlarge.

Democrats to Livestream Convention in Spanish and English

Coming to a computer near you (drum roll) -- la convención.

The Democratic National Convention is livestreaming the entire event in Spanish as well as English, convention officials announced Sunday.

The gavel to gavel coverage from Charlotte, North Carolina, will be available on DemConvention.com/live as well as the Democratic National Convention Committee Mobil App.

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Late Court Decisions May Impact 2012 Election

Before voters get a say in this year's presidential race, lawyers and judges are having theirs.

A series of court battles in several states may determine, over the next several weeks, everything from how people cast their votes, when polling locations will be open and what ballots will look like. Many cases have a partisan bent, with rulings potentially tipping the scales slightly in favor of Democrats or Republicans.

The legal fights have entered an urgent phase, two months before the Nov. 6 election and just a few weeks before military and overseas absentee ballots must go out.
Pennsylvania lawyers recently filed briefs arguing whether an appeal on the state's strict voter ID law should be held in September or October. Opponents won a mid-September court date, which is late even by their standards.

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Dems Defend Obama On Debt, Say Balancing Budget Now A Bad Idea

After a week of withering attacks on President Obama's fiscal record, top Democrats on Sunday defended the president's plans for shaving down the deficit -- but said balancing the budget now would actually be a bad idea.

Senior campaign adviser David Axelrod, speaking on "Fox News Sunday," repeated claims that Obama's plan would cut the deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade, bringing  the budget shortfall down to a point that would "stabilize" the debt.

"And then, with growth, we'll be in a position to begin reducing it further," he said.

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Urban Voters Seek More Campaign Talk of Gun Crime

In a tough Philadelphia neighborhood where an off-duty police officer was shot to death last month, a mother is afraid to walk to the corner store with her two children. In a Chicago area where 23 people have been killed by gunfire so far this year, kids don't want to go outside. In Harlem, a 26-year-old man worries his family will get hit by crossfire.

Residents of inner-city neighborhoods plagued by gun violence say they feel neglected and ignored even in a presidential election year marked by highly publicized shootings at a Colorado movie theater, a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and outside the Empire State Building — a year in which Republicans have launched a full-throated defense of gun ownership while Democrats have largely kept quiet about an issue they used to put front and center.

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Mitt On The Economy

‘Jumah at the DNC’ Speaker: ‘Muslims Visited America Prior to Columbus’ & ‘It Was a Muslim’ Who Guided Him to the ‘New World’

The Bureau of Indigenous Muslim Affairs (BIMA) predicted that roughly 20,000 people would participate in its “Jumah at the DNC” open-air prayer ceremony Friday, but, according to reports, only a few hundred showed up.

That does not mean, however, that it was completely devoid of noteworthy activity.

During his comments at the prayer service, BIMA spokesman Jibril Hough reportedly claimed that Muslims reached the Americas before Christopher Columbus.

He stated, according to the Washington Times: “Muslims visited America prior to Columbus…It was a Muslim who guided Columbus on his voyage to the new world.”

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Homes Cracking Due To Drought-Parched Soil

ST. LOUIS — Carol DeVaughan assumed her suburban St. Louis home was simply settling when cracks appeared in the walls. When she noticed huge gaps between her fireplace and ceiling, and that her family room was starting to tilt, she knew she had bigger problems.

Like thousands of other Americans getting stuck with huge repair bills, DeVaughan learned that the intense drought baking much of the country’s lawns, fields and forests this summer has also been sucking the moisture from underground, causing shifting that can lead to cracked basements and foundations, as well as damage aboveground. Repairs often cost tens of thousands of dollars and can even top $100,000, and they are rarely covered by insurance, as shocked homeowners have been discovering.

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2 Consenting Adults And A Cow ...

A trial that has become a symbol, in Wisconsin and across the U.S., of government criminalization of farmers for providing food directly to consumers has been rescheduled for January.

But the delay from the previously scheduled September court date is expected to focus  even more attention on the dispute that has dragged Wisconsin dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger to the court’s defendant’s table in the Sauk County Circuit Court, presided over by Judge Guy Reynolds.

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Obama: RNC Like Watching ‘Black-and-White TV’ Because Romney ‘Did Not Offer a Single New Idea’

President Barack Obama lampooned the recently-completed Republican National Convention as better-suited to an era of “black-and-white TV“ and ” trickle-down, you’re on your own” economics Saturday, saying Mitt Romney “did not offer a single new idea” to fix the economy.

“There was a lot of talk about hard truths and bold choices, but no one actually told you what they were,” Obama said in Iowa, chuckling, as he set out on a three-day tour of battleground states in the run-up to his own convention. Later, Obama said, the Republican gathering was so rooted in the past, there should have been a rabbit-ears antenna on the convention hall.

Yet even the site of Obama’s convention, Charlotte, N.C., served as an unwelcome reminder to the Democrats of an economy so weak that it threatens his chances for re-election.

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Wave: GOP Voters at All-Time High

According to new research released today by Rasmussen, more voters identify themselves as Republican than ever in the last 8 years. More importantly, by a 4 point margin, more voters identify as GOP than Democrat. This is the largest spread between the parties ever. Worse for Democrats, the number of voters who identify with their party is also approaching an historic low. 

In August, 37.6% of voters identified themselves as Republican. That is up from 34.9% in July. By contrast, just 33.3% of voters identify themselves as Democrats. That is very near their historic low in February, when 32.4% of voters identified as Democrat. The 4.3 margin in favor of the GOP is the biggest gap ever between the parties. In November 2010, when the GOP won a landslide in the mid-term elections, their advantage was just 1.3 points.

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Hurricane Isaac Uncovers Mystery Civil War Ship

In the latest installment of a spooky pattern of events, Hurricane Isaac uncovered a boat believed to be a Civil War blockade runner on the beaches of Gulf Shores, Ala.

Photos of the ship were posted to Facebook by Meyer Vacation Rentals. Gulf Shores is about an hour’s drive from Mobile, Ala., to the west and Pensacola, Fla., to the east.

The ship was partially uncovered during Hurricane Ivan in 2004, and in 2008 Hurricane Ike uncovered more of the boat.

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Decision Not To Charge Ariz. Sheriff Isn't The End

PHOENIX (AP) — The federal abuse-of-power investigation into America's self-proclaimed toughest sheriff may have been closed without criminal charges but Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio'slegal troubles are far from over.

A civil case brought by a small group of Latinos who accuse Arpaio's office of systematically racially profiling is awaiting a verdict from an Arizona-based federal judge.

The U.S. Department of Justice has also sued the sheriff for alleged constitutional violations including racial profiling, retaliating against Arpaio critics, punishing Latino jail inmates with limited English skills for speaking Spanish and failing to adequately investigate a large number of sex-crimes cases. No trial date in that case has been set.

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Labor Day

I come from a long line of people who made a living by the sweat of their brows and the labor of their hands. Hands that could handle a plow or a crosscut saw, break an ornery mule or hold an infant baby.

Simple men who stood on the streets of small town America on Saturday afternoons while their wives bought supplies for the week and talked about the weather, the price of corn or the latest exploit of their prize coonhound or how this year's high school football team didn't quite come up to last year's.

They sat on the pews of the churches, in out-of-date suits and ties and listened to the gospel of Jesus Christ and applied the lessons and principles of honesty and integrity to their every day lives.

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Chuck Norris' Dire Warning For America

America’s favorite action star is doing just that this election – calling on evangelical Christians across the nation to join him in crushing the creep of socialism under President Obama.

Norris and his wife, Gena, have filmed a public service announcement, unveiled exclusively at WND, wherein the two urge Christians to help save the country in November.

“We are here to talk about a growing concern we all share,” Chuck Norris explains. “If we look to history, our great country and freedom are under attack. We’re at a tipping point and, quite possibly, our country as we know it may be lost forever if we don’t change the course in which our country is headed.”

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Federal Government Ending Wyoming Wolf Protections

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Visitors to Yellowstone National Park on almost any given day can glimpse packs of wolves and hear their iconic howls, thanks to a yearslong effort to revive the species that once neared extinction in the United States.

It's an effort the federal government has determined to be so successful that wolves no longer need special protections to ensure their survival in Wyoming — the state officials chose in the mid-1990s for reintroducing the predator to the Northern Rocky Mountains.

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Troopers Investigate Serious Pedestrian Crash, Milford

Location: North Union Church Road, south of Shawnee Road, Milford

Date of Occurrence: Sunday September 2, 2012 at approximately 9:33 a.m.

Operator and Vehicle Information:

Operator #1: Jennifer A. Herholdt, 38, Milford, DE
Vehicle #1: 2011 Ford Flex

Pedestrian: Savana E. Moore, 8, Milford, DE

Resume:
Milford, DE- The Delaware State Police are currently investigating a serious crash involving an 8 year old Milford girl.

The incident occurred at approximately 9:33 a.m. this morning as Jennifer A. Herholdt was operating a 2011 Ford Flex northbound on North Union Church Road approaching the intersection with Shawnee Road. At the same time, Savana E. Moore was standing on east side of the roadway waiting to cross to the other side. The young girl failed to see the Ford Flex coming and stepped out into the roadway and was struck by the SUV.

Savana Moore was removed from the scene by the Delaware State Police Aviation helicopter (Trooper 2) and airlifted to A. I. DuPont Hospital where she is listed in critical condition.

Jennifer A. Herholdt, who was properly restrained, was not injured in the crash.

Delaware State Police are continuing to investigate the incident. Traffic in the area of the crash was impacted for approximately three hours as it was investigated and cleared.

Troopers Seek Public’s Help In Locating A Wanted Subject

Locations:
Unit block of West Howard Street, Viola, DE
1000 block of Upper King Road, Felton, DE

Dates of Occurrences:
May 11, 2012
July 20, 2012

Victim(s):
41 year old male
79 year old female

Suspect and Charges:

Nicole Jean Cox, 33, Felton, DE (Photo Attached)
Theft < $1,500.00 and Victim is 62 year old or older (Felony)
Theft < $1,500.00
Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle
Wanted on three capias out of Kent County Courts

Resume:
Felton, DE- The Delaware State Police is asking the public’s assistance in locating Nicole Jean Cox, 33 of Felton. Cox is wanted by the State Police for two counts of theft and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

The first incident occurred in May of 2012 when Cox spent the night at a friend’s house located on West Howard Street, Viola. The 41 year old male victim woke up to find his Ford F150 pickup truck was taken and $200.00 in cash removed from his wallet. The truck has been recovered at this time. The second occurrence took place in July of 2012 when Cox removed an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency from her 79 year old grandmother’s purse and fled the residence located on Upper King Road, Felton.

If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Nicole Cox, they are asked to contact Troop 3 at 302-697-4454 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333. Information may also be provided via the internet at www.tipsubmit.com

Send an anonymous tip by text to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword "DSP."

Former Daily Times Editor Challenges My Residence

Joe Carmean has left a new comment on your post "It's A Holiday Weekend And I'm Taking Advantage Of...":

"Then by your own admission your a DELMAR BLOGGER this weekend".

Like a roach that just won't seem to go away, former, (and fired) Daily Times Editor Joe Carmean obsesses over where I'm spending my weekend and suggests I'm a Delaware Blogger.

Has anyone asked where Mayor Ireton is spending his weekend. Or should I say, does anyone really care?

I must really be getting under their skin if they are still playing this game.

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Liberalism, As We Know It

With Americans, on average, worth less and earning less than when he was inaugurated, Barack Obama is requesting a second term by promising, or perhaps threatening, that prosperity is just around the corner if he can practice four more years of trickle-down government.

This is dubious policy, scattering borrowed money in the hope that this will fill consumers and investors with confidence. But recently Obama revealed remarkable ambitions for it when speaking in Pueblo, Colo., a pleasant place Democratic presidents should avoid.

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Ale To The Chief: White House Releases Beer Recipe

Beer lovers, the secret is out.

The White House has made public the recipe for two homemade beers that have become an object of fascination for beer drinkers everywhere.

White House Honey Brown Ale, believed to be the first beer brewed on the White House grounds, includes light malt extract, amber crystal malt, honey, gypsum, yeast and corn sugar.

The recipe was released Saturday while President Barack Obama was campaigning in Iowa.

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Second WV Trooper Dies From Gunshot Wound

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Trooper Eric Michael Workman, the second State Police trooper involved in Tuesday night's shooting near the Roane-Clay county line, died Friday afternoon after spending nearly three days on life support.

Workman, 26, was pronounced dead at Charleston Area Medical Center's General Hospital. He had been in a coma since Tuesday's shooting.

"Trooper Workman was an outstanding young man with a promising future," West Virginia State Police superintendent Jay Smithers said in a statement.

"It is unfortunate his life was cut short by this senseless and cowardly act.

"Our prayers continue to be with his family and friends," Smithers said. "I am overwhelmed by the support the West Virginia State Police family is receiving during this difficult time."

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin also offered his condolences to Workman's family.

Maryland Surplus Spurs Debate: Did Lawmakers Need To Raise Taxes?

Three months after Maryland lawmakers raised taxes on the wealthy, saying the money was urgently needed for classrooms, surging revenue from other areas has left the state with a surplus, prompting a fight about whether the tax increase was needed at all.

Maryland ended its budget year with over a half-billion dollars in the bank — or more than twice as much as expected, Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) announced late last week.

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Iowans Send Message to Obama

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - President Obama received a less than warm welcome and a warning upon arrival at the airport here on the second stop of his Iowa visit, which was aimed at recapturing some of the magic the state gave his run to the White House in 2008.

Greeting Air Force One as it touched down under sunny skies and sultry heat was a hand-painted banner draped across the top of an airplane hangar that reads, "Obama Welcome to SUX - We Did Build This." "SUX" is the airport code for Sioux City.

The message appeared to be a response President Obama's "you didn't build that" remark from a July campaign rally, when he was trying to explain that government - not businesses - constructed public infrastructure on which the economy relies. Republicans have used the four words to attack Obama as out of touch with the realities of owning and operating a small business.

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Are All Women Born To Be Mothers?

These days, “mom” is king. It was perhaps the most frequently used word at the Republican National Convention this past week, where Ann Romney, mother of five, said, “It’s the moms of this nation . . . who really hold this country together.” Paul Ryan said his mother is his role model, and Chris Christie all but called himself a mama’s boy.

Republicans’ efforts to woo women have become fever-pitch pandering as the party tries to undo damage from comments such as Rep. Todd Akin’s remark that a “legitimate” rape victim can’t get pregnant and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s advice to women who object to invasive ultrasounds before an abortion: “You just have to close your eyes.”

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NY teen killed putting head out of party bus in NJ

A teenager headed to a sweet 16 party was killed after he stuck his head out of the emergency hatch of a double-decker bus and hit the underside of a highway overpass, authorities said.

The gruesome accident followed the warnings of a security guard on the bus who said he told the teens repeatedly not to open the hatch.

Daniel Fernandez, 16, was among 65 teens aboard the bus Friday night from New York City on its way to the party in Garfield, N.J., said Steve Coleman, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

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Rush Limbaugh: Clint Eastwood ‘got under Obama’s skin’

Rush Limbaugh is one of the few people praising Clint Eastwood’s rambling performance at the Republican National Convention, saying Friday that the Hollywood legend’s “great bit” involving an invisible President Barack Obama in an empty chair “got under Obama’s skin.”

“This is a great bit, and Eastwood was the essence of simplicity,” Limbaugh said, according to a transcript of his show. “How, if somebody’s not doing a job, you let ‘em go. Just simple as it could be. Real world simple. Plus, it was hilarious. It was funny. Of course, we are people who like laughing at Obama. The other side doesn’t.”

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Ocean City Megabar Pulls in Crowds, Big Bucks

The creator of this sprawling resort, Leighton Moore, grew up in Ocean City and learned about the hospitality business from his parents, who ran a hotel just a block from where Seacrets now rises from the sand.

By his own admission, Moore wasn't the greatest student. He got his GED when he was 16 and then hopped on a plane to Jamaica with a friend. The two arrived in Montego Bay with hardly any money and took a bus to Negril.

"And I fell in love," said Moore, now 60.

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Troopers Investigating A Double Fatal Pedestrian Crash, Rehoboth Beach

Location: Coastal Highway (SR1) south of John J. Williams Highway (SR24), Rehoboth Beach, DE

Date of Occurrence: Sunday September 2, 2012 at approximately 2:19 a.m.

Operator and Vehicle Information:

Pedestrian #1: Scott M. Emory, 33, Rehoboth Beach, DE
Pedestrian #2: Cheryl M. Dunn-Winchester, 28, Rehoboth Beach, DE

Operator #1: Lisa M. Governa, 25, Rehoboth Beach, DE
Vehicle #1: 2000 Volkswagen Jetta

Resume:
Rehoboth Beach, DE- The Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit is currently investigating a fatal crash involving two pedestrians and a car on Coastal Highway (SR1) south of John J. Williams Highway (SR24), Rehoboth.

The incident occurred at approximately 2:19 a.m. this morning as Lisa M. Governa was operating a 2000 Volkswagen Jetta southbound on SR1 in the far left lane just south of the SR24 intersection. Scott M. Emory, who was pushing a bicycle, and Cheryl M. Dunn-Winchester were walking eastbound across the southbound lanes of SR1 when they were struck by the front of the Jetta in the far left lane. Both pedestrians were pronounced dead at the scene. The Jetta continued southbound and came to a stop in the Wendy’s parking lot approximately one tenth of a mile south of the crash.

Governa, who was properly restrained, was not injured in the crash.

The area of the crash is dimly lit and both pedestrians were not walking in a crosswalk.

The Delaware State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit is continuing their investigation into this incident. Alcohol is being considered a factor in this crash. SR1 southbound and northbound lanes south of SR24 were closed for approximately four and a half hours while the crash was investigated and cleared.

Republicans Active in North Carolina Ahead of DNC

President Obama and the Democrats are converging on Charlotte, N.C., next week for their three-day national convention, but Republicans aren’t ceding the spotlight in the swing state.

The Romney campaign said Saturday that vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan has scheduled a campaign stop Monday at East Carolina University in Greenville.

The Democratic National Convention kicks off a day later at the Time Warner Cable Arena across the state in Charlotte.

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Unions Shrug at Democratic Convention

Labor unions and Democrats form a pretty traditional political alliance that’s usually on display in full force at the national conventions. Big labor historically spent big money on concerts, lunches, rallies and panels for its members, and spent millions to help fund the Democrats’ party.

This year? Not so much.

Some union officials are sitting out the political fete entirely after the Democrats chose a labor-unfriendly location in the right-to-work state of North Carolina. Others are sending skeleton staffs to support their union delegates, but say they’re focusing resources elsewhere. Labor groups aren’t shelling out for big events in Charlotte, and many aren’t even donating cash to the cause — despite their exemption from new restrictive fundraising rules.

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Maryland State Police Looking For Driver In Hit-&-Run Accident Involving Bicyclist Near Showell

A bicyclist is in intensive care after being hit by a driver on Route 113 near Showell just after midnight Saturday morning. Maryland State Police are looking for the driver.

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Another Sunday, Another Talk Show For O’Malley

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) is booked to appear Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” in advance of what is shaping up as a very busy week for him in Charlotte at the Democratic National convention.

CBS has billed the segment as “key Democratic voices from the convention floor.”

The broadcast from Charlotte will be the third time in as many weeks that O’Malley has appeared on a national Sunday morning talk show.

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