Baltimore

St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker and state Rep. Maria Isa Perez-Vega are competing for the open District 5 seat on the Ramsey County Board, vacated by longtime Commissioner Rafael Ortega, who has endorsed Perez-Vega. The district spans downtown St. Paul, Highland Park, Macalester-Groveland, West Seventh, the West Side and Dayton's Bluff. The race has been closely contested, ending in virtual ties at both the DFL endorsement convention and the August primary, with early voting now underway ahead of the November election.

Noecker emphasizes her council record on housing, wages and constituent services, and has criticized Ramsey County's handling of the Riverview Corridor transit project and detox center closures. Perez-Vega highlights her legislative work on insulin price caps and West Seventh Street road funding, prioritizing protection of federal assistance programs and downtown revitalization. Noecker has secured more labor union backing, while Perez-Vega holds endorsements from a majority of county commissioners and numerous state legislators. County commissioners earn $107,000 annually, and the board oversees a proposed 8.25% tax levy increase alongside a $320 million downtown development package.

The Baltimore Sun and Capital Gazette have launched a voter guide ahead of Maryland's Nov. 3, 2026 general election, surveying nearly 500 candidates across major statewide and local races. The guide covers contests for governor, attorney general and comptroller, plus General Assembly seats and competitive county-level races for executive, council, school board, state's attorney and sheriff in the Baltimore area and in Wicomico and Worcester counties. Circuit court clerk, register of wills, and orphans' and circuit court judgeships are also on the 2026 ballot.

The questionnaire lets candidates describe their backgrounds, policy positions and platforms in their own words, including reflections on past decisions and where they diverge from their party base. The outlets say the project is intended to help voters compare candidates directly as the election cycle ramps up.

The guide underscores the scale of Maryland's 2026 down-ballot landscape, which includes several competitive executive and legislative races likely to draw attention from political forecasters and prediction markets tracking state-level outcomes.

Julian Curo-Churata, a 47-year-old Peruvian national who had lived in Laurel, Maryland for about 17 years, died on September 29 while in ICE custody at Richwood Correctional Center in Richwood, Louisiana. ICE arrested him on June 27 during a targeted enforcement operation and transferred him from Baltimore to New Orleans before he was held at the Louisiana facility. An immigration judge had denied his applications for relief and voluntary departure on September 18, though he reserved the right to appeal.

ICE said Curo-Churata was found in medical distress on September 28 and taken to Ochsner LSU Health Monroe Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead the following morning. The preliminary cause of death is unknown pending an autopsy. ICE said he received proper medical care throughout detention. Friends described him as a hardworking family man and handyman with a wife and two children. His death brings the official ICE detainee death count to at least 37 this year, intensifying scrutiny of conditions and oversight in immigration detention facilities.

President Trump visited Baltimore to announce a $3.7 billion investment by Anduril Industries in a new submarine-related shipyard, paired with a separate $2.9 billion deal between Anduril and the U.S. Navy. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and the state's congressional delegation did not attend after being told they would not be allowed to participate in the announcement, according to people familiar with the matter. Moore's office said he would "work with anyone" to help Marylanders but would "bow to no one" in standing up for them.

A White House spokesperson denied Trump barred Moore from the event, saying the governor was invited as a guest and accusing him of "throwing a tantrum" over not getting to speak. The White House and Maryland officials issued competing statements crediting their own roles in the project, which is expected to create more than 13,000 direct and indirect jobs. The episode follows Trump's earlier move to rescind Moore's invitation to a bipartisan governors' dinner.

The Department of Justice has sued Maryland, Attorney General Anthony Brown, the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission, and Prince George's and Montgomery counties over laws banning law enforcement officers from wearing masks or face coverings while on duty. The state law, effective October 1, includes limited exceptions for undercover work, weather, and health reasons, and requires officers to display visible identification. Violations are treated as civil offenses carrying fines up to $1,500, a structure adopted after federal judges struck down similar criminal-penalty mask bans elsewhere. Montgomery and Prince George's counties passed comparable local laws in the spring.

The DOJ argues the laws unconstitutionally regulate federal officers under the Supremacy Clause and endanger ICE agents by exposing them to doxxing, harassment, and violence amid the administration's immigration crackdown. Officials including Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said only the federal government can dictate equipment for federal officers on duty. Maryland officials, including House Speaker Joseline Pena-Melnyk and Montgomery County Councilmember William Jawando, say the laws promote transparency and accountability and vow to defend them. Maryland is the eighth state the DOJ has sued over similar laws, following suits in New York, Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey, California, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee.

DOJ sues Maryland and two counties over laws barring masks for federal law enforcement, citing risks to ICE officers.

As it approaches its one-year anniversary on Sept. 29, the Memphis Safe Task Force has recorded more than 13,020 arrests, seized over 2,187 firearms, and coincided with a 37% drop in murders, according to the U.S. Marshals Service for the Western District of Tennessee. The task force was created by a September 2025 memorandum from President Trump directing 13 federal agencies to work with state and local law enforcement, including the Memphis Police Department, county sheriff's offices, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations, to curb violent crime in the city.

U.S. Marshal Tyreece Miller said no end date has been set, noting the president will decide when the mission concludes, though a return of National Guard troops is expected soon. About 6.5% of arrests involve immigration status, and officials maintain the operation targets violent crime rather than immigration enforcement, though ICE remains a partner agency. Memphis Mayor Paul Young welcomed the added resources but disputed claims of an immigration crisis, noting crime had already fallen 27% before the task force arrived. Reactions from residents and advocates remain mixed.

An 80-year-old Independence, Missouri man, James Lyon, has pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs of $124,262 through years of false claims about his military service.

Lyon admitted he refused Marine Corps training in 1966 as a conscientious objector but later falsely claimed he completed three separate periods of Marine Corps service, including combat in Vietnam, and fraudulently claimed to have earned the Bronze Star and Silver Star despite never serving in combat. He also lied to the VA about having been diagnosed with ALS, submitting fabricated medical records to obtain disability compensation based on the false diagnosis.

Lyon faces up to ten years in federal prison without parole, with sentencing to be scheduled following a presentence investigation. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri and investigated by the VA's Office of Inspector General, part of a broader federal push against benefits fraud under the Department of Justice's new National Fraud Enforcement Division.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said Thursday he would "absolutely sign" a statewide moratorium on new data center development if it reached his desk, though he stressed local jurisdictions should retain say over such decisions. Thirteen of Maryland's 24 jurisdictions, including Baltimore and Montgomery and Prince George's counties, have already imposed temporary bans amid resident concerns over housing and utility costs.

Moore's comments add to a growing wave of pushback against data center expansion tied to the AI boom. New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland also backed a moratorium, citing environmental concerns and calling for centers to build their own renewable power. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed regulators to penalize data centers violating water-use rules. At the federal level, Sen. Martin Heinrich blocked a GOP bill on data center electricity costs, calling it insufficient. President Trump has urged data centers to cover their own power and water costs but criticized New York's moratorium, warning it risks losing AI investment to China.