Maryland prison pet program suspended for lack of guidelines

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- Maryland's prison agency says it's no longer allowing inmates to raise rescued pets for adoption after one of the dogs bit two inmates and a correctional officer.

Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spokesman Robert Thomas told The Herald-Mail Tuesday that the program at the medium-security Maryland Correctional Training Center near Hagerstown has been curtailed.

The 18-month-old program allowed inmates to care for cats and dogs from area animal shelters. Proponents say it saved scores of animals from euthanasia.

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Alarming new study finds the vast majority of people who overdose on opioids are able to get new prescriptions

(Reuters Health) – Almost all people who overdose on prescription opioids continue to receive prescriptions for these painkillers, according to a new study.

“We found the results both surprising and concerning,” said lead author Dr. Marc R. Larochelle of Boston Medical Center.

“While this study wasn't designed to answer why, one possibility is that providers are not aware that their patients experienced an overdose when making the decision to continue prescribing opioids,” Larochelle told Reuters Health by email. “This lack of knowledge may be a symptom of our fragmented health care system where there is no clear mechanism to communicate events from emergency department or inpatient settings to providers in the community.”

The researchers used Optum, a national commercial insurance claims database, to identify almost 3,000 patients who experienced a nonfatal overdose between 2000 and 2012 while taking long-term opioids prescribed for chronic pain not related to cancer. Opioids include drugs like codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, and tramadol.

Just over 90% of these patients continued to receive prescription opioids after the overdose. More than half got the prescription from the same doctor.

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This Little Boy Asked For A Rattlesnake For Christmas

Be careful what you ask for Brooks! You just might get it!! Hahaha!!! Priceless!! I love a good prank.  #parentsoftheyear #santaaintgotnothingonus 
Posted by Alison Carroll on Friday, December 25, 2015

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Planned Parenthood Performed 323,999 Abortions in 2014, Accepted $553.7 Million in Taxpayer Funds

Planned Parenthood has released its 2014-2015 annual report at the conclusion of a year marked by controversy for the organization.

“There never has been a more important time to stand for and with Planned Parenthood,” Jill Lafer, the chair of Planned Parenthood, and Cecile Richards the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, wrote in an opening letter. “We are at a critical moment in our history. Over the past several months, we have been tested in every way imaginable — and have emerged stronger than ever.”

The report states that “In the pages that follow, we present highlights from a year filled with achievements and breakthroughs.”

“Abortion” is listed in the report as one of the organization’s “Top Achievements” in 2014.

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Flakka — the drug they call '$5 insanity' — is overwhelming police and hospitals in Florida

Flakka is a new psychoactive crystal that has invaded South Florida. For just $5, a single dose can cause severe paranoia, zombie-like behavior, and superhuman strength.

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New law lets cops confiscate guns without notice

Under a new law effective New Year’s Day, California cops can now seize guns from law-abiding Americans without charges and without giving any notice.

And police can keep those firearms for 21 days under the law known as AB 1014.

If family members believe a gun-owning individual is a danger to themselves or someone else, police may acquire a temporary “gun violence” restraining order from a judge, KPCC public radio reported.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the law after the 2014 shooting by Elliot Rodger near the University of California, Santa Barbara. Rodger, 22, killed six people and injured 14.
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State Police Probe Thefts From Sheds and Detached Garages

Sussex County, DE – Over the past several weeks; the Delaware State Police has investigated thefts from various residential sheds and detached garages at several locations ranging from Georgetown to Millsboro.

State police learned that an undetermined number of suspects have been entering various sheds and detached garages stealing items such as power tools, lawn and garden equipment, and in one incident, a 9mm pistol. In most of these cases, the out-buildings were left unsecured.

The Delaware State Police urge people to utilize the following tips:
Lock your shed and garage doors and secure any windows on the buildings.
Record serial numbers of the items stored in the buildings and take pictures of the items for identification purposes.
Leave outdoor lights on in the driveway or have security lighting or alarms installed.
If a large item came in a box as a Christmas present, don't advertise it by leaving the box out by the trash to be recycled or thrown away. Break down the box and shred it or take the box to a local recycling bin to be discarded.
Report any suspicious activity to 9-1-1 immediately.

If anyone has any information on these incidents, they are asked to contact Troop 4 Property Crimes Unit at 302-856-5850. Information may also be provided by callingDelaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIP-3333, via the internet atwww.delaware.crimestoppersweb.com, or by sending an anonymous tip by text to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword "DSP."

America's 'children in the basement' won't be moving out any time soon

Moving out of your parents' place is a rite of passage that occurs as you come of age.

When times are tough, it's understandable that one may delay such a move. The global financial crisis was one of these tough periods that forced an increasing percentage of 18- to 34-year-olds to live with their parents. Poor job prospects and massive student-loan debts kept independent living off the table.

But the US economy has been in recovery mode for almost six years, highlighted by a tumbling unemployment rate. And yet the rate at which this demographic cohort is living with their parents remains elevated.

"The share of young adults living with their parents has risen about 4 percentage points (or 3 million individuals) since house prices peaked in 2006," Goldman Sachs' Hui Shan and Daan Struyven observed in a recent note to clients. "The share of 'children in the basement' has not come down recently despite significant improvements seen in the job market."

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Md. teacher wants students — and the dog — to eat homework

WASHINGTON — “The dog ate my homework” isn’t a far-fetched excuse for the students of Ann McCallum.

Neither is, “I ate my homework.”

In fact, eating homework — on all fronts — is encouraged. That’s because the Montgomery County teacher says one of the best ways for kids to learn is to occasionally swap the pencil for a fork.

“Food is universal,” says McCallum, who has taught in Maryland for more than 20 years. “No matter where you are in time and space, we’re all human; we’ve all had food.”

It’s that mentality that prompted McCallum to write and publish all three of her cookbooks in the “Eat Your Homework” book series, including “Eat Your Math Homework,” “Eat Your Science Homework” and “Eat Your U.S. History Homework.” And it was a holiday project that started it all.

Several years ago, McCallum decided to disguise a math lesson in a gingerbread house activity. Introducing tubes of icing and boxes of graham crackers seemed like a great way to continue on with classroom material amid seasonal excitement — and it worked.

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Opioid overdoses on the rise, despite federal and state programs

WASHINGTON – Opioids are responsible for 86 percent of Maryland’s overdose deaths, and the numbers keep rising, even as states scramble to curtail them.

Those tracking heroin, fentanyl and opioid prescription deaths — both statewide and nationally — are reporting staggering numbers.

In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said overdose deaths related to opioids are up 14 percent from the year before.

“The most commonly prescribed opioid pain relievers, those classified as natural or semi-synthetic opioids such as oxycodone and hydrocodone, continue to be involved in more overdose deaths than any other opioid type. These deaths increased by 9 percent (813 more deaths in 2014 than 2013),” the federal agency says in a news release.

Both Maryland and Virginia are working to change their numbers, but both also report more deaths from opioids last year than in 2013.

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Money-printing has caused inflation — just not where we expected

I was asked once again why all this central-bank “money-printing” along with global zero-interest-rate or even negative-interest-rate policies haven’t caused a big bout of inflation, considering how currencies are getting watered down.

It’s a crucial question that baffled many minds for a while, but now, as this thing has been dragging out for seven years, bouncing from one major central bank to the next, without end in sight, the answer is becoming clearer.

This chart by NBF Economics and Strategy shows the growing pile of assets, expressed in dollars, that the “four big central banks” — Fed, ECB, Bank of Japan, and Bank of England — have heaped on their balance sheets: nearly $1

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States Pass Laws Allowing Concealed Weapons on College Campuses

As debate rages over gun control in Washington, eight states have already passed laws allowing concealed weapons for students and faculty on college campuses — and several others could follow suit in 2016.

Texas is the latest state to pass legislation permitting guns on campus, starting next August.

Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah and Wisconsin already have either laws or court rulings allowing the carrying of concealed weapons on some campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Florida are considering similar plans, the issue is pending in Ohio, The Washington Times reports and several other states are expected to consider similar legislation in 2016.

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Family: Suicide Was Result Of Baltimore Police Shooting

BALTIMORE (AP) — The family of a man who was shot by a Baltimore police officer in February says the Police Department treated him so poorly while he was recovering in the hospital that he killed himself instead of returning for more treatment.

The Baltimore Sun reports that the family of Jeffrey Blair filed a lawsuit Monday in Baltimore Circuit Court, saying police ignored his attorneys and refused to let his wife and mother visit.

The 35-year-old Blair was shot and hit with a Taser multiple times after a Feb. 22 traffic stop in which police say Blair exited his car and ran towards an officer.

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Former Gov. Bush, in Home-State Florida, Pans Clinton, Trump

Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said Monday that Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton "has no clue" about leading the country and GOP front-runner Donald Trump is "not serious about being a candidate."

Supporters cheered the former Florida governor's remarks at a Cuban restaurant near Miami.

Speaking briefly at times in Spanish before the largely Cuban supporters, Bush said America's leadership in the world is "essential for peace and security" and that "Hillary Clinton has no clue."

He repeated his critique of Trump from the Republican debate in Las Vegas, saying the billionaire businessman gets his foreign policy advice from "the shows." He said Trump "wakes up in his pajamas and watches the TV shows on Saturday and Sunday."

Bush said Trump "is not serious about being a candidate," but is a "great politician" who "fills the space."

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Falling Gas Prices Make For Record Number Of Holiday Travelers

It’s on track to be the busiest holiday for travel ever, and the American Auto Association (AAA) says you can credit that to falling gas prices.

The national average for a gallon of gas is now under $2 a gallon. That is the lowest prices have been since 2009.

Not only are the gas prices contributing to record travel for the holiday — the AAA says the time from Dec. 24 through Jan. 3 will be the busiest days of travel, ever.

Brad Durfee of Little Falls has been driving to Woodbury each Christmas for the last 30 years.

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The Gap closing at Westfield Annapolis Mall

The Gap will close its Westfield Annapolis store next month, one of 175 planned closures nationwide.

Store signage showed that the Annapolis location would be having a 50 percent off sale until its last day on Jan. 26. Customers were encouraged to visit the store's location atHarborplace in Baltimore. The Gap Outlet continues to operate at Arundel Mills, making that the chain's remaining store in Anne Arundel County.

Gap representatives could not be reached for comment, but they previously disclosed in financial filings that the company would be closing 175 locations, with 140 closures occurring in fiscal 2015.

In the early 1990s, both the Gap and Banana Republic operated on Market Space, two prime locations in downtown Annapolis. By 2001, parent company Gap Inc. announced both of those stores would be closing at a time when cutbacks were being made nationally.

Bob Burdon, head of the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, said that he was sorry to see the chain go.

"The Gap has been a welcome part of our community for a couple of decades now," Burdon said. He added that he didn't think this closure meant anything about the vibrancy of this area. "The Annapolis market is a very active, dynamic retail market. Many of us would've thought that they have a strong base of customers here and a strong basis of support."

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Officer refuses to fire at unarmed man who yelled ‘Shoot me’

Police charged a Frederick man with assault after they said he attacked a woman in a parking lot, then told police he had a gun when they confronted him.

Nicholas Ryan Christopher Combs, 26, of the 100 block of South Market Street, was lying on the ground, raising his middle finger to passersby when a city police officer spotted him around 2:40 p.m. Wednesday, according to charging documents filed in Frederick County District Court.

When the officer approached Combs, he fled a short distance, then put his hand into his pocket and told the officer he had a gun, the documents state.

“Shoot me, shoot me!” Combs yelled, according to the documents. “Shoot me and kill me!”

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Target wants your Unwanted Gift Cards

If you are a coffee-hater with a Starbucks gift card, you may be in luck. Target is buying unwanted gift cards, albeit at a reduced price.

There are fees taken out during the exchange, and the trade-in values vary. One example provided by Target: A $100 Walmart (WMT) gift card would exchange for an $85 Target gift card.

Target (TGT) is partnering with gift card exchange website Cardpool and electronic trade-in company Nextworth for the program. Cardpool provides the trade-in rate of consumers' gift cards and then re-sells them.

A card from a big-box store is likely to have a higher exchange rate than a more regional establishment, but the rates vary with demand, according to Patrick Ramsey, general manager of Cardpool. "You often find that grocery stores, gas stations and the mass merchandisers...will often have some of the higher prices closer to the face value."

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Could Maine's Food Stamp Solution Be Used Nationwide?

Food stamp rolls in Maine have plummeted in a year in what conservatives are proclaiming is a welfare reform victory that could be an example for the nation.

According to the Washington Examiner, the number of healthy adults without dependents who get food stamps fell by more than 90 percent, from 13,589 last year to 1,206 through mid-November.

In the fall of 2014, conservative Maine Gov. Paul LePage – who has run on a promise of welfare reform – started new work rules for food-stamp recipients that mandated any adult without children and who's able to work must do so at least part time, participate in job-training programs or volunteer to receive food stamp benefits.

"We have to make sure that our focus is on food stamps and other welfare programs being a last resort, not a way of life, and that we're promoting employment," Mary Mayhew, the commissioner of Maine's Department of Health and Human Services, tells the Examiner.

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Soros: 'Hysterical Anti-Muslim Reaction' Not Good

Surrendering to the "hysterical anti-Muslim reaction" triggered by radical Islamic jihadist attacks in Europe and America puts "open societies" at risk by stoking fear and resentment, billionaire investor George Soros argues.

In a biting opinion piece in the Guardian, the hedge fund legend writes it's "an egregious mistake to do what the terrorists want us to do" – accusing GOP presidential primary front-runner Donald Trump and surging contender Sen. Ted Cruz of doing exactly that.

"Abandoning the values and principles underlying open societies and giving in to an anti-Muslim impulse dictated by fear certainly is not the answer, though it may be difficult to resist the temptation," he writes.

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