BREAKING NEWS: Boehner Needs 2 to 6 More Votes

House Speaker John Boehner is only two to six votes short of having enough votes to pass his bill to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending, a member of the House GOP said Friday.

Since the vote was called off late Thursday night, “there’s been momentum picked up overnight,” Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), a member of the Ways and Means Committee. “I feel like we’re pretty close. I think we get there – I think it’s important we get there.”

Buchanan said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he thinks Boehner could get enough votes to make up for the deficit of as many as a dozen votes that he was reported to have on Thursday night.

Buchanan said Boehner still needed between two and six votes to pass the bill.

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BREAKING NEWS: Maryland’s Job Loss Rate Highest in Nation

Maryland continued to shed jobs in June, tying with Kansas for the fastest rate of job loss in the nation over the past year, the federal government estimated Friday.

The state's unemployment rate hit 7 percent, up from 6.8 percent in May, the U.S. Department of Labor said.

Maryland lost nearly 15,000 jobs in the 12 months ending in June, according to the agency's estimates, which are drawn from surveys and can be revised later as more information filters in. That loss was slightly more than half a percent of the employment base, worst in the country alongside Kansas, with Delaware and Georgia close behind.

But Maryland's month-over-month loss — 300 jobs — wasn't nearly as bad as it was in May, when the state shed nearly 10,000 positions. The state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation emphasized that change, calling May an "outlier."

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How’s that Obama thing working out for ya? How ‘bout that O’Malley thing? – Ed.

BREAKING NEWS: Boehner Prepared to Compromise!

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Thursday he has prepared his members to compromise on the debt ceiling and that a majority of House Republicans could support a potential deal with Democrats.

In a news conference at the Capitol, Boehner pressed anew for the GOP’s “cut, cap and balance” plan but also pushed back against conservatives in his caucus who are unwilling to move beyond it.

The Speaker was asked to respond to comments from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, who described the “cut, cap and balance” plan as “the compromise” and signed a pledge opposing other alternatives to raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.

“I’m sure that we’ve got some members who [aren't willing to compromise], but I do not believe that’s anywhere close to a majority,” Boehner said.

Asked earlier if he had prepared his membership to compromise, he replied: “I have.”

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BREAKING NEWS: O’Malley Accuses GOP of Trying to Destroy the Economy

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) said that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and the “dinosaur wing of the Republican Party” are actively trying to ruin the economy by undermining debt-ceiling negotiations.

Speaking to reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference Thursday, O’Malley said certain elements of the GOP are trying to undermine the economy to harm President Obama politically. O’Malley claimed that these Republicans are trying to either push the country into default or hurt the economy by cutting government jobs.

“I believe that there are some members – some members – of the Republican Party who, in order to defeat President Obama in the next election, would like to kill the jobs recovery now, either by default or by massive sudden cuts to public sector jobs,” O’Malley said.

When asked by CNSNews.com after the press conference which Republicans he was talking about, Gov. O’Malley fingered the House Majority Leader and a “dinosaur wing” of the GOP.

“I’m talking about Eric Cantor and the dinosaur wing of the Republican Party,” O’Malley said.

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BREAKING NEWS: House Approves ‘Cut, Cap And Balance’ Plan

House of Representatives votes 234-190 to approve GOP’s ‘Cut, Cap and Balance’ plan.

BREAKING NEWS: Pedestrian Struck on 123rd St. Ocean City

Ocean City PD units on scene of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle.  Person trapped under vehicle on 123rd Street.  MSP helicopter has been requested.

BREAKING NEWS: Palin to Decide on White House Bid by Late Summer

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says she'll announce her intentions for the White House in late August or early September.

Palin told Fox News' Sean Hannity Wednesday night that she thinks she could win a campaign against President Barack Obama, a sentiment first reported in a Newsweek cover story.

Palin says she would campaign for a candidate with "good executive experience" and a "servant's heart" who wasn't so "obsessively partisan that they can't just do what's right." At the moment, though, she says she doesn't see that candidate in the Republican field.

Palin says she's thinking about offering herself up "in the name of service," confident that she has "common sense, fiscally conservative, pro-private sector policy experience and ideas that can be put to good work for this country."

from the Washington Examiner / AP

BREAKING NEWS: Obama Walks Out of Debt Talks

President Barack Obama has ended a nearly two hour debt-limit negotiation brusquely, declaring: "Enough is enough" as he rejected Republican demands that he accept a short-term extension of the government's borrowing authority.

Democratic officials and Republican aides familiar with the negotiations say the meeting ended after White House officials had identified more than $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years to reduce the deficit. Pressed by House Republican leader Eric Cantor to accept only months-long debt ceiling increase, Democratic officials say Obama announced: "Enough is enough. We have to be willing to compromise. It shouldn't be about positioning, and politics and I'll see you all tomorrow."

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the closed-door meeting.

from the Washington Examiner / AP

TRAFFIC ALERT: Boat Leaves Trailer West of Easton

On the eastbound side of US 50, west of Easton, a tractor-trailer hauling a boat has parted company with the boat.  The tractor-trailer AND the boat are currently off on the shoulder.  However, expect delays.