Maryland

Mayor Vincent C. Gray is set to introduce legislation that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain D.C. driver's licenses, following similar moves by Maryland and several other states. The legislation, according to a Facebook posting Tuesday night by the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Engagement, "would allow all eligible District residents the right to obtain a driver's license or DC identification card, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. " Gray, who is set to unveil the bill...

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) introduced a new twist at Thursday's bill-signing ceremony in Annapolis: barn dance music. For much of the two-hour event, a compact disc by The Barn Owl Band was piped into the governor's reception room as he and legislative leaders signed more than 250 bills into law. Aides said that O'Malley, a musician himself, had inquired for some time about having music played at the series of bill signings that follow...

Illegal immigrants could obtain Maryland driver's licenses under a measure the General Assembly sent to Gov. Martin O'Malley on Friday, and that aides said the governor supports. The measure , which passed the House of Delegates 82 to 55, would reinstate and expand a program that allowed some immigrants to obtain licenses prior to 2009, when it was ended so Maryland could conform to a stricter, federal rule on IDs. Maryland lawmakers, however, voted to repeal that decision.

The Big Ten released its first football schedule with Rutgers and Maryland included, and the Scarlet Knights are getting quite a welcome to conference in 2014. Rutgers' first five Big Ten games are: home for Penn State and Michigan, back-to-back road trips at Ohio State and Nebraska, and a home game against Wisconsin. The Penn State game will be Sept. 13 in Piscataway. Maryland first Big Ten game is at Indiana on Sept. 27, and then Ohio State visits College Park the next week.

Skechers agreed to pay $40 million to settle charges that it made unfounded claims about the benefits of its toning shoes by asserting that they help people lose weight, tone lower body muscles and even combat heart disease. In a complaint filed Wednesday in federal court, the Federal Trade Commission said Skechers hyped advertising for its Shape-ups line with unsubstantiated tag lines such as "Get in Shape Without Setting Foot in a Gym. " The company also failed to disclose that a chiropractor...

Maryland residents overwhelmingly support Gov. Martin O'Malley's plan to force gun buyers to submit to fingerprinting, safety training and more background checks, according to a new Washington Post poll . Across the state, fully 85 percent back the governor's licensing plan and 73 percent do so "strongly. " They also support banning high-capacity ammunition clips and assault weapons — two other portions of O'Malley's (D) bill, which in the wake of the December school...

For decades, if you cared about the pennies in your pocket and you were able, you've opted to buy your gasoline outside of the District, where prices were 20 to 30 cents cheaper per gallon. But the balance may tip in the opposite direction after lawmakers in Annapolis and Richmond recently tinkered with their gas-tax formulas to raise cash to meet transportation needs. Gas prices are sure to go up in Maryland . It's too soon to say for certain what a complex package of tax...

In the week since modest gun control died in the Senate , those of us who don't think guns make the country safer have been inclined to blame a few cowardly senators whose votes could have shifted the outcome. Unfortunately, the problem is bigger than that. Contrary to what then-Sen. Barack Obama told us in his inspiring breakout speech to the Democratic convention of 2004, there is a blue America and a red America. And the colors have been deepening over the decade since Obama spoke.

Just in time for the July Fourth holiday weekend, booze is the subject of a slew of new laws in Maryland and Virginia that take effect Friday. Underage drivers in Virginia face tougher penalties for drunken driving, Virginia restaurants can let diners bring their own wine, and drinkers in Maryland will pay an additional 3 cents on the dollar in sales tax. "Alcohol is probably the most regulated product in the country," said Steven Schmidt, a...

HAVING BALKED at raising gas taxes a year ago, Maryland reversed course this year — a victory of practicality over poll-driven politics that will pay dividends for years. With impressive speed, lawmakers adopted the first gas-tax hike in a generation in response to a coordinated push by Gov. Martin O'Malley and the two top leaders of the General Assembly, all Democrats. The legislation is expected to raise about $4.4 billion for new transportation projects and maintenance over six years, a...

THU 16 "What Is Sustainable Seafood?" David Moyer, the museum's curator for estuarine biology, leads a presentation about the local seafood scene and how to evaluate and choose seafood. Meet local watermen and seafood vendors on-site. Part of the "PEM Talks: Sustainable Chesapeake" series. 7 p.m. Calvert Marine Museum, 14200 Solomons Island Rd., Solomons. 410-326- 2042. www.calvertmarinemuseum.com . Free. The Langgaard Quartet Also known as the Atlas Quartet, the classical group performs works by...

BALTIMORE — Students at Maryland's state universities will be paying a little more next school year. The University System of Maryland's Board of Regents approved tuition and fee hikes at a meeting in Baltimore on Wednesday. The 2.4 percent increase over this year's tuition and fees is expected to boost revenue by $35.7 million. Officials say tuition for Maryland residents won't increase by more than 3 percent at most schools, but in-state students' tuition will increase by 6...

By her own admission, Broadneck goalie Natalee Easthom didn't play her best game Wednesday night. Through 49 minutes, the senior had struggled against South River . But Easthom saved the game — and the Bruins' season — with just 55 seconds left in the Maryland 4A/3A East Region final. She saved a South River free-position shot to preserve a 14-13 victory and send her team to the Maryland state semifinals. Broadneck will travel to...

About 300 engineers, financiers and consultants filled a hotel conference room Wednesday to learn how they might help build — and profit from — a $2.15 billion light-rail Purple Line through the Maryland suburbs. Maryland transit officials are seeking ideas from private companies for ways to finance a 16-mile transit link between Bethesda and New Carrollton with limited public funds. State officials said having a consortium of companies invest in designing and building the line, while...

You know things are going well when the home plate umpire approaches the home dugout looking for new baseballs four batters into an inning, and it's not because foul balls have sailed over the fence. That was the case Wednesday afternoon at La Plata , when the Warriors homered twice in the bottom of the fourth inning on their way to a 10-0 six-inning win over Chopticon in the Maryland 3A South semifinals. Six of La Plata's first nine batters had struck out, so when the...

Nothing Gov. Martin O'Malley said made news Tuesday morning when he greeted the Dalai Lama at a lecture at the University of Maryland. But photos of what O'Malley did upon meeting the Dalai Lama quickly went viral. The pictures showed Tibet's spiritual leader rubbing noses with Maryland's governor in what one O'Malley adviser later described on Twitter as "a special moment in College Park. " The governor's son William could be seen in the background in some shots with a look of amazement on his face.

ACC at-large WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Terrapins' 30-win season is the second in program history. Langhorne has reached double figures in scoring in 121 of 131 games in her career. Maryland has had at least one player record a double-double in 28 of 33 games. TOP PLAYERS THE TEAM G Kristi Toliver, 5-7, Jr. 16.8 ppg, 7.5 apg Coach: Brenda Frese Record: 30-3, 13-1 F Marissa Coleman, 6-1, Jr. 15.8...

Calvert County COMMODORE, Dorsey Leonard, 71, of Lusby, a bus driver, construction worker and Calvert Cliffs employee, died April 24 at St. Mary's Hospital. JOHNSON, Franklin Milford, 55, of Prince Frederick, an employee of Calvert Memorial Hospital, Solomons Pier and Body & Soul Landscaping, died April 23 at Southern Maryland Hospital. RAY, John Donnell, 32, of Huntingtown, a landscaper, installer of windows and doors, and owner of a car detailing business, died April 21 in Annapolis.