Maryland to Receive Funds from $39 Million Drug Manufacturer Settlement

Daiichi-Sankyo allegedly gave kickbacks to physicians to prescribe its drugs

Baltimore, MD - Attorney General Brian E. Frosh announced today that Maryland, joined by multiple states and the federal government, has secured a settlement with Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. ("Daiichi"), a global pharmaceutical company, to resolve allegations that it defrauded government healthcare programs by providing kickbacks to physicians to prescribe its drugs.

Under the agreement, Daiichi will pay more than $39 million to the states and the federal government. The Maryland Medicaid Program will receive $42,965.81, a portion of which will be paid to the federal government, which partially funds the program.

Top Cop to Missouri's Lt. Gov.: Back Up Your Racism Claims

The African-American sheriff of Milwaukee County has issued a no-nonsense challenge to Missouri's lieutenant governor who claims President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder are obsessed with race: Prove it!

David Clarke, one of Wisconsin's leading law enforcement officers, took strong exception to what Peter Kinder said Monday, when he told Newsmax TV's Steve Malzberg, "there is more racism in the Justice Department than there is in anywhere I see in the St. Louis area."

Kinder, Missouri's second in command, went on to accuse "the Holder and Obama left — and their minions … are obsessed with race while the rest of us are moving on beyond it."

But Clarke isn't buying it.

"I don't know what he had to substantiate that when you make those kind of charges, regardless of who it is," Clarke told Malzberg.

"And I'll say that with Eric Holder, President Obama, [New York City Mayor] Bill de Blasio or [the Rev.] Al Sharpton. He better have the accurate data and substantiation to make such a charge."

Clarke and Kinder's verbal swordplay comes a week after the Justice Department released a scathing report about the Ferguson police force, which they said was plagued by racism and anti-minority police tactics.

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Lower Shore Transition and Advocacy Conference to be Held at WAHS on April 11

A conference is being held on Saturday April 11 at Washington Academy and High School from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM to help provide students, families, and community members with valuable information to help students transition from high school to their chosen careers. The conference is targeted toward individuals with disabilities. This conference is a partnership between Somerset County Public Schools, Tilson and Associates and the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council. Topics include benefits counseling for individuals receiving social security disability funds, the high school transition process, college opportunities for individuals with disabilities and student self-advocacy. It is open to anyone from the lower tri-county area. 
Register online at http://advocacybythebay2015.eventbrite.com.

DOJ Bouncers Eye Conservatives

The Justice Department recently announced plans to crack down on campaign finance coordination between candidates and outside groups. Not satisfied with the job the Federal Election Commission is doing to keep candidates from leveraging independent political groups, Justice said it will investigate such cases and “aggressively pursue coordination offenses at every appropriate opportunity.”

The Wall Street Journal explains, “Under federal law, a campaign expenditure is illegally coordinated when it meets certain tests for content and conduct. The content of an ad must either advocate for a candidate or mention the candidate by name in the 60 days before a general election. The conduct amounts to illegal coordination if there is material involvement or substantial discussion between a [political action committee] and a candidate regarding that election-related content.”

Proving coordination can be difficult, but starting an investigation can be alarmingly easy. All that’s needed is an allegation that two people talked who shouldn’t have – then government lawyers can come in and comb through files, computer drives and bank accounts with the full power of the FBI behind them.

Is there really a rash of corrupt coordination taking place between political candidates and PACs? What kind of widespread corruption would warrant the Justice Department taking such sweeping actions? “The opportunity to commit crime has increased dramatically,” said DOJ spokesman Peter Carr. Oh, the opportunity. But what about actual crime?

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Security Firm: Clinton Didn't Encrypt Emails For 3 Months

Hillary Clinton did not encrypt her private email service with a digital certificate for the first three months of her tenure as secretary of State, according to a security research firm

After scanning Clinton’s domain, clintonemail.com, the security firm Venafi found that from January to March 2009, the domain had no digital certificate issued by an authority, which shows a site is secured.

“This means that during the first three months of Secretary Clinton’s term in office, web browser, smartphone and tablet communications would not have been encrypted,” said Kevin Bocek, vice president of security strategy and threat intelligence at Venafi, in a blog post.

According to Clinton’s travel records, she went to China, Egypt, Israel, Japan and South Korea, among other countries, during that time.

“Attackers could have eavesdropped on communications,” Bocek said. “As well, the server would not have been uniquely identified as being clintonemail.com and therefore could have been spoofed — allowing attackers to more easily trick an unsuspecting user of the site to hand over their username and password or other sensitive information.”

Clinton insisted Tuesday that “there were no security breaches” of her email and that the system had “numerous safeguards” in place.

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Obama: English Language Training For Schools 'Critically Important'

(CNSNews.com) - Improving public education "is a monumental task and it requires resources," President Obama said on Monday.

Millions of dollars should be spent on "special education and English-learning for large portions of our student population that may need extra help. That's going to be critically important," Obama told a gathering of school officials and educators at the White House.

The president announced in November that he will allow millions more illegal aliens to live and work in the United States without fear of deportation. This follows his 2012 decision to defer deportation for certain illegal aliens who came to the U.S. as children.

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When Critics Are Viewed as Traitors

Democrats forget their own foreign policy forays

“Traitors.” That’s a strong term, obviously. It should never be used lightly. Yet there it was, flying around like confetti in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

Why? Because 47 Republican senators who are understandably concerned about the prospects of a nuclear-armed Iran sent a letter to that country’s leaders about the deal now being struck with the United States and other countries. Their message: The next U.S. president can overturn “with the stroke of a pen” any deal Congress doesn’t approve.

“Judas got thirty pieces of silver. What did you get?” one New Jersey resident tweeted. Others, sparked by a White House who accused the 47 senators of “wanting to make common cause with the hardliners in Iran,” were equally vitriolic. The New York Daily News called it an “unprecedented missive.”

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Lawmaker calls for a rebellion against EPA pollution emissions for backyard barbecues

A Missouri state legislator wants the Environmental Protection Agency to back off of people’s backyard barbecues.

On Monday, State Senator Eric Schmitt (R) from St. Louis kicked off a #porksteakrebellion after he discovered the EPA is funding a study on propane grill emissions that suggest pit masters use a special tray to catch grease drippings and a "catalytic" filtration system to reduce air pollution, reports Fox News KTVI.

“The idea that the EPA wants to find their way into our back yards, where we’re congregating with our neighbors, having a good time, on the 4th of July, barbecuing pork steak or hamburgers, is ridiculous and it’s emblematic of agency that’s sort of out of control,” Schmitt said.

The EPA is funding a $15,000 University of California-Riverside study to look at the particulate emissions you breathe when grilling over an open flame. Along with the drip tray, the emission removal system includes the use of a “secondary air filtration system is composed of a single pipe duct system which contains a specialized metal filter, a metal fan blade, a drive shaft, and an accompanying power system with either a motorized or manual method,” according to study.

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Former Naval Academy commandant to lead Wesley College

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A former commandant of the U.S. Naval Academy has been tapped to become the new president at Wesley College, a private, Methodist-affiliated institution in Dover.

Wesley’s board of trustees announced the appointment of Robert E. Clark II this week. He succeeds William N. Johnston, who is retiring in July after seven years at Wesley.

Officials say Wesley’s presidential search committee received applications from 109 candidates, and the trustees voted unanimously for Clark.

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4 more aid workers flown back to US for Ebola monitoring

NEW YORK (AP) — Four more American aid workers arrived back in the United States on Tuesday from West Africa to be monitored for Ebola, health officials said.

The latest arrivals bring to 15 the number of aid workers who have returned from Sierra Leone since Friday. None of them have been diagnosed with Ebola, but they will be isolated and monitored during the next three weeks for signs of the disease.

Officials have released few details, citing patient privacy. But all are connected to — or had direct physical contact with — another American who came down with Ebola last week in Africa. The unidentified man is in critical condition at a National Institutes of Health hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Md. House OKs public campaign financing bill

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The Maryland House of Delegates has voted to bring back a voluntary check off on individual income tax returns for public campaign financing for governor.

The House voted 134-6 on Tuesday for the bill, which was proposed by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.

The original check off was repealed in 2010.

Hogan, who became the state’s first candidate for governor to win the election while using public campaign financing, received $2.6 million from the fund. Democratic Del. Heather Mizeur also used public funds in her unsuccessful primary bid last year. The fund had not been used before them since 1994.

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Wounded warrior gets lift from Veteran’s Airlift Command

GAITHERSBURG, Md. (WJLA) – Of all the flights in and out of Montgomery County Airpark, Michael Bell will tell you the flight he is piloting Monday night will be among his most memorable.

“I’ve had an incredible opportunity over the last couple years through the Veteran’s Airlift Command to meet some amazing young men and women,” said Bell.

Bell and co-pilot Mark Hogan are flying 27-year-old Jesse Murphree, his wife Ashlee, their young son Brody, and Murphree’s service dog Atticus from Maryland to the Murphrees’ home in Florida. And the pilots are picking up the cost of the flight. This is all possible thanks to Veteran’s Airlift Command (VAC).

VAC pairs pilots with men and women wounded after 9/11 who need medical attention out of state. The organization flew Murphree and his family to Maryland two weeks ago for his 63rd surgery. He’s had lingering nerve pain.

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Sea Gulls down Cavaliers in showdown of ranked teams

SALISBURY, Md. – The No. 15 Salisbury University men's lacrosse team defeated No. 10 Cabrini College on Wednesday afternoon in a 13-7 battle of top-20 teams.

After taking the opening faceoff, Cabrini held the ball for the first three minutes of the contest, but the Salisbury defense held strong and sophomore Andrew Ternahanforced a turnover to give the Sea Gull offense its first possession.

It did not take the Gulls long to get going, as junior midfielder Thomas Cirillo found classmate James Burton on the crease for a 1-0 lead at the 10:58 mark of the first quarter. After winning the following faceoff, Burton returned the favor 57 seconds later, finding Cirillo on the left wing for a rip into the top of the cage.

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State: No Record of Clinton Signing Separation Statement

The State Department says it has no record of Hillary Clinton signing a statement attesting that she had turned over all unclassified documents related to official business when she left her post as secretary of state in 2013.

Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Tuesday that neither of Clinton's two immediate predecessors, Colin Powell or Condoleezza Rice, signed such a statement either.

She also said that different bureaus within the department had different rules relating to such statements that had the effect of making their completion optional by some employees. She could not identify the bureaus in which employees had the option to sign or not.

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Good Morning From Marathon, Florida

A viewer send their best wishes this morning from Marathon, Florida. I know the area well. It's the only place I've ever been where you can see the sun rise as well as the sun set. Thanks for sharing and bringing back fond memories!

Check Out The "Couple" From Yesterday's Child Abuse Article

MAN GETS 6 TO 10 YEARS FOR CUFFING BOY WITH DEAD CHICKEN

MONROE, N.C. (AP) -- A North Carolina man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six to 10 years in prison Wednesday for handcuffing an 11-year-old boy by his ankle to a porch with a dead chicken around his neck as punishment.

Publishers Notes: Yeah, that's Wanda on the right.

Secret Service surveillance tapes may have been erased

WASHINGTON – The Secret Service may have erased surveillance videos following a crash into a White House security barrier involving two agents.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) told CBS News Wednesday that he had watched two videos from around the White House after the crash. However, he says that in a closed-door meeting Tuesday, Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy told him it is common policy to destroy surveillance tapes from around the White House after 72 hours.

“That’s just a stunning revelation that 72 hours after they make a tape they destroy it? That doesn’t make any sense to us,” Chaffetz told CBS News.

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Iran, Hezbollah left off US terror threat listing

Iran and Hezbollah were left out of an annual terrorism threat assessment report offered in late February to the US Senate by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Iran and Hezbollah had been fixtures on the annual report before 2015.

Iran’s efforts to fight Sunni extremists, including the so-called Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIL or ISIS), were touted in the unclassified version of the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Communities, released recently.

While a US-led coalition has targeted Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the report noted Tehran’s push to keep “ISIL from gaining large swaths of additional territory” in Iraq. Iran is allied with both the Iraqi and Syrian governments. So, with the US, it has a common foe in Islamic State.

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Pregnant woman's baby cut from womb when she answers Craigslist ad

(CNN)A stranger stabbed a pregnant woman and cut her baby from her womb when the victim answered a Craigslist ad in Colorado, authorities said.

Police were called to a home after a stabbing Wednesday afternoon in Longmont.

When they arrived, they heard a woman inside screaming for help, Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said.

Officers entered the home and found the 26-year-old woman with stab wounds in the stomach. She told them she had been pregnant, and the baby had been removed, authorities said.

The victim was responding to a Craigslist ad to buy baby clothes from the suspect when the attack occurred, according to Satur.

"When she got here, she was assaulted and stabbed, and her baby was removed," he said.

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President is not Commander in Chief of Foreign Policy

Politicians should stop referring to the President of the United States as "the Commander-in-Chief," as he is often referred to. Most recently, Hillary Clinton, whom I admire, said the following about Republican senators who wrote an open letter to Iran:

"Either these senators were trying to be helpful to the Iranians or harmful to the Commander-in-Chief in the midst of high-stakes international diplomacy."

But the president is not the Commander-in-Chief for purposes of diplomatic negotiations. This characterization mistakenly implies that President Obama — or any president — is ourCommander, and that his decisions should receive special deference. This is a misreading of our constitution, which creates a presidency that is subject to the checks and balances of co-equal branches of the government. The president is only the commander in chief of "the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States." This provision was intended to assure civilian control over the military and to serve as a check on military power.

The only people he is empowered to command are soldiers, sailors and members of the militia — not ordinary citizens.

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