Mayor Pugh Hand-Delivers Letter To Pres-Elect Trump On City Infrastructure

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — In her visit to M&T Bank prior to the Army-Navy Game, Baltimore City Mayor Catherine Pugh hand-delivered a letter on the needs of the city to visiting President-elect Donald Trump.

Pugh writes on social media “I delivered a letter noting importance of our infrastructure needs & need for investment of federal funds.”

This move by Pugh comes two days after City Council took action against President-elect Trump. The council unanimously voting to condemn the president-elect’s rhetoric.

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What to Eat -- and Avoid -- When You Have a Cold

Chicken Soup

You should have some, and not just because Mom says so. Studies shows it clears nasal passages and congestion better than other hot liquids. It also has an anti-inflammatory effect that may help your cold symptoms.

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Hunter accused of killing upright walking bear sues 6 people

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) — A hunter who says he was falsely accused online of killing a New Jersey black bear that walked upright on its hind legs and became an internet celebrity has sued six social media posters.

John DeFilippo’s attorney filed the suit Tuesday in state Superior Court. It seeks undisclosed compensatory and punitive damages for defamation and invasion of privacy.

The suit stems from the apparent death of the bear Pedals during the first part of this year’s state bear hunt. The animal walked upright because of an injury and was seen strolling around New Jersey neighborhoods in videos posted on social media and shown on national television.

State wildlife officials believe Pedals was killed during the expanded bear hunt staged in October. The Department of Environmental Protection released pictures showing the lifeless body of a black bear with injured paws, just like the ones Pedals had, but couldn’t confirm the identity because Pedals was never tagged.

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Time praised Obama, trashed Trump in 'Person of the Year' profile

President-elect Trump was named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" on Wednesday, just as then-President-elect Obama received the same distinction in 2008 after winning that election.

But that's where the similarities stop.

While Trump's write-up in Time is a "for better or worse" overview of his victory, laced with ambivalence. Obama's was a far more hopeful and confident look at the historical nature of his coming presidency.

Here's a look at how Trump was described by Time on Tuesday compared to what the magazine said of Obama eight years ago.

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Medical marijuana dispensaries could be coming to Md. by summer

WASHINGTON — Medical marijuana has been legal in Maryland since June 2014, but there is still no place in the state where patients can legally buy it. However, that may soon change.

Medical marijuana dispensary businesses in Maryland were given a preliminary thumbs-up on Friday, according to a news release from the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission. The businesses could be up and running by the summer.

Across Maryland, 102 medical marijuana dispensaries were given a preapproval for licenses out of 811 applications that had been submitted. The dispensaries have up to a year to make their businesses operational.

The MMCC told The Washington Post that patients could begin legally buying marijuana for medical purposes as early as the summer for the treatment of seizures or anxiety and for dealing with the side effects of cancer or chemotherapy.

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Homeland Security: 900 percent surge in asylum demands, only half of illegals caught

A damning new report on the Obama administration's immigrationpolicies and actions shows that about half of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border are actually caught, and demands for asylum have exploded 900 percent.

The report done for the Department of Homeland Security said that asylum demands since President Obama came into office and loosenedimmigration requirements surged from 17,000 to 170,000.

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Former OC Brewing manager to pay half-million for fraud

Joshua Shores, the former manager of Ocean City Brewing Company, has been ordered by the Middle District Court of Pennsylvania to pay $500,000 in restitution for his role in a multi-million-dollar counterfeit sports memorabilia scheme.

Shores, 41, was charged with wire fraud in January for operating more than a half a dozen internet businesses between 2008 and 2013 that sold fake sport jerseys. According to charging documents, the jerseys were purchased in bulk from China and had forged autographs and phony authenticity certificates.

He had owned and operated a number of internet businesses that operated from York, Pennsylvania and Maryland, according to U.S. Attorney Peter Smith. Buyers also purchased the fraudulent memorabilia from Shores’ Internet business through PayPal and Amazon.com, resulting in sales of approximately $2.5 million.

In March, Shores entered an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In return, he forfeited a residential property on Chicago Avenue in Ocean City, various computers, $140,563 in cash and additional amounts in lieu of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a sports utility vehicle.

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The collapse of the political Left

It's been a tough decade for the political left. Eight years ago a Time magazine cover portrayed Barack Obama as Franklin Roosevelt, complete with cigarette and holder and a cover line proclaiming "The New New Deal." A Newsweek cover announced "We Are All Socialists Now."

Now the cover story is different. Time has just announced, inevitably though a bit begrudgingly, that its Person of the Year for 2016 isDonald Trump. No mention of New Deals or socialism.

It's not surprising that newsmagazine editors expected a move to the left. The history they'd been taught by New Deal admirers, influenced by the doctrines of Karl Marx, was that economic distress moves voters to demand a larger and more active government.

There was some empirical evidence in that direction as well. The recession triggered by the financial crisis of 2007-08 was the deepest experienced by anyone not old enough to remember the 1930s. Barack Obama was elected with 53 percent of the popular vote—more than any candidate since the 1980s—and Democrats had won congressional elections with similar majorities in 2006 and 2008.

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Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission Announces 102 Dispensary License Pre-Approvals

Baltimore, MD  – The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (“MMCC”) today announced the names of 102 Dispensary entities who have been awarded Stage One license pre-approvals from a total of 811 applications submitted for up to 109 available licenses statewide. This marks the conclusion of this phase of the Grower, Processor, and Dispensary application process. Each pre-awardee has 365 days from date of pre-approval to implement their operations.

Dr. Paul W. Davies, Chairman for the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission stated, “These qualified entities will be on the front line providing medical cannabis to qualified patients in Maryland. They will have a tremendous responsibility in serving the legitimate needs of those patients that seek medical treatment.”

The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission’s Executive Director, Patrick Jameson stated, “These dispensaries will be the new face of the medical cannabis industry in Maryland, once final licenses are issued. The Commission has an expectation that these dispensaries will operate in an extremely professional manner. Professional business operations will provide reassurance to the general public that these companies will have a positive impact on their communities. The Commission will tightly regulate these dispensaries and looks forward to a productive working relationship with their management and staff.”

Video: ‘Migrant’ kicks young woman down flight of stairs

'This is cultural jihad. Gangs roam the streets and terrorize the weak'

Video emerged Wednesday of a young woman in a German subway station being kicked down a flight of stairs, in what some are calling an unprovoked attack by a “migrant gang.”

The security footage from the station in Berlin was posted from several sources, including the German newspaper Bild, which published it online with the headline, “Shocking video.”

See the video from Bild:

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ICE publishes quarterly international student data

WASHINGTON — There are 1.23 million international students with F (academic) or M (vocational) status studying at 8,697 schools in the United States according to the latest "SEVIS by the Numbers." This quarterly report on international student trends is prepared by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

The report, released Thursday by SEVP, highlights November 2016 data from the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a web-based system that includes information about international students, exchange visitors and their dependents while they are in the United States.

Based on data extracted from SEVIS Nov. 7, the international student population increased 2.9 percent compared to November 2015, but the number of SEVP-certified schools decreased one percent during the same timeframe. California, New York and Texas had the highest international student enrollment in the United States, with the largest number of students in these states coming from China, India and South Korea. International students in these states chose to major in business and engineering more than any other field of study.

Arkansas and Alabama saw the highest percentage increases in international student enrollment compared to the previous year, at 14 and 13 percent, respectively.

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School censors Charlie Brown Christmas poster

One of the most poignant scenes in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is when Linus stands on a stage and recites a passage from the Holy Bible describing the Christmas story.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior which is Christ the Lord. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” Linus said.

It really does sum up the true meaning – the true reason for the holiday season – the birth of our Lord.

Dedra Shannon, a staffer at Patterson Middle School in Killeen, Texas, was so inspired by the scene she decided to use images to decorate the door to the nurse’s office.

The decorations included a picture of Linus, the scrawny Christmas tree and that classic passage of dialogue about the true meaning of the holiday.

The decorations were installed on December 5. On December 7, Ms. Shannon was confronted by the school’s principal.

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Police: Shoplifting Family Affair At Babies R Us Ends In Car Chase

PASADENA, Md. (WJZ) — A man and a woman were charged, and the woman’s 10-year-old niece and 11-year-old daughter were given juvenile citations, after the four of them conspired to rob a Babies R Us in Pasadena Thursday night, police say.

The incident ended in a police chase on Ritchie Highway, where officers say the suspects were throwing the stolen merchandise out of the vehicle.

Officers responded to Jumpers Junction Mall around 7:43 p.m. for a report of shoplifting.

When they arrived, they say 28-year-old Tierra Latasha Reid and the children were running from the store to a getaway vehicle waiting in the parking lot, where 50-year-old Erik Benjamin Prestbury was waiting.

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Subject: Black Homeless Woman Says Trump Allowed Her to Live in Trump Tower Rent Free For 8 Years

This doesn't fit with the media's portrayal of Trump as a racist bigot

A homeless black woman reveals that she has been living in Trump Tower for eight years with the blessings of the Donald himself.

Filming from her hotel window, the woman says she originally snuck in the building before becoming a squatter in one of the empty rooms. Police arrived the next day and told the woman to leave or she’d be arrested.

“When I told them I would not go, they contacted Mr. Trump over the phone and he came down here. Instead of evicting me off the property, he said that I can stay and it’s been eight years I’ve been here,” the woman reveals.

“Not only did he not evict me off the property, he made sure that I ate three meals a day by room service and that I get a delivery of fresh flowers every week,” she adds.

The African-American woman expresses her displeasure at the characterization of Trump as a “bad guy”.

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SPD Press Release - (Armed Robbery-Bank of Delmarva) 12-10-16

U.S. Chamber Said to Tell Mexico It Will Defend Nafta Deal

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce told a closed-door gathering of Mexican and American corporate and government leaders that it is aiming to keep Donald Trump from fulfilling his campaign threat to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Tom Donohue, head of the biggest U.S. business lobbying organization, told members of the U.S.-Mexico CEO Dialogue in Mexico City on Wednesday not to panic and to wait and see what the president-elect proposes once he takes office, said the three people, who spoke about the private event on condition of anonymity. The audience included cabinet officials from President Enrique Pena Nieto’s administration, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, and more than 100 business and government leaders.

Relations between the president-elect and the Chamber were strained during the 2016 campaign when they sparred over trade policy. Trump made what he called the unfairness of the U.S. relationship with its biggest trade partners a central theme of his campaign, and he singled out Nafta, which also includes Canada, as ripe for being gutted or renegotiated.

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President-elect Trump to attend Army vs. Navy football game

Dover speedway removing more seats

DOVER — Section by section, row by row and seat by seat, large chunks of the grandstands that once nearly circled the entirety of Dover International Speedway are disappearing.

More than likely, they will never return.

Due to an extended sputtering economy and a declining interest in NASCAR over recent years, officials at Dover are downsizing the track’s seating capacity for a third time in order to get rid of some of the large pockets of empty seats that have glaringly stood out at its races the past several years.

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Will this puppy be Donald Trump's presidential pet?

In many ways, the Trumps are different from families that have lived in the White House — for starters, the entire family is not planning to live there right away.

One philanthropist wants to do one thing to make the Trump White House more like those in the past: She wants Donald Trump to have a presidential pet.

Every previous president has had pets in the White House, among them dogs, cats, parrots, sheep, horses, bear cubs, a pygmy hippo and an alligator. (John Quincy Adams let an alligator live in a White House bathroom, according to the Presidential Pet Museum's website.) President Obama didn't have any pets when he was elected, but swiftly remedied that by bringing home Bo and, later, Sunny, both Portuguese water dogs.

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Kane Company closing, laying off about 900 workers

ELKRIDGE, Md. (AP) — The Kane Company, an Elkridge-based commercial mover, is shutting down most of its operations and laying off at least 900 workers in Maryland and Virginia.

Owner John Kane announced Thursday that most divisions would cease operations Sunday.

Kane says the family-owned company found itself facing $2 million in lease costs it couldn’t pay involving a move into new warehouse space.

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