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Maryland governor signs Biden-inspired bill establishing 'Center for Firearm Violence Prevention'

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Maryland governor signs Biden-inspired bill establishing 'Center for Firearm Violence Prevention'

Democratic Maryland governor Wes Moore signed a bill establishing the first statewide gun violence prevention center earlier this week.

The project, which is called the Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention, will operate within the Maryland Department of Health. Its mission is to “consolidate and better coordinate Maryland’s public health approach to preventing gun violence,” according to a press release published by the governor’s office on Thursday.

“The center will partner with local governments, advocates, and medical professionals engaged in violence intervention programs to build upon the critical gun violence intervention programs that were pioneered in Maryland and help ensure that they are adequately funded and informed by the best available data,” the statement explained.

Moore follows in the footsteps of President Biden, who established the Office of Gun Violence Prevention in September 2023. The Old Line State is the first to adopt a statewide agency against gun violence, Moore said.

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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore established a Biden-inspired statewide gun prevention center. (Getty Images | iStock)

“Maryland became the first state in the nation to officially answer President Biden’s call,” the governor told reporters.

Moore also signed the Growing Apprenticeships and the Public Safety Workforce (GAPS) Act, which is aimed at better funding police departments in the state.

“With police departments across the state facing challenges with hiring and retaining officers, the bill proposes short and long-term actions to help address the problem by reforming the existing apprenticeship model for public safety officials – with the goal of making apprenticeships a more viable pathway to law enforcement, and requiring the establishment of a model policy for law enforcement officer wellness programs to ensure officers receive the support they need in their often challenging work,” the statement explains.

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Gov. Wes Moore talks about ongoing work at the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse site, during an interview with The Associated Press in his office on April 8, 2024, in Annapolis, Maryland. (AP Photo/Brian Witte)

The laws come as Baltimore continues to be ravaged by crime. According to the Baltimore Police Department’s website, there have been more than 1,800 aggravated assaults and 1,200 robberies since 2024 began. In addition, there have been 155 shootings and 62 homicides this year.

“When we entered office, we made public safety our number one priority, and we said we were going to move differently on this issue – because the status quo wasn’t working,” a statement from Moore read. “Today, we make Maryland safer by signing bills to support victims, build stronger pipelines to law enforcement jobs, and tackle the gun violence epidemic, head-on.”

“We’re making progress, but our work is far from done. Together, we will continue to take an all-of-the-above approach to public safety.”

President Biden greets then-gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore during a rally on the eve of the midterm elections, at Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland, on Nov. 7, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

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Fox News Digital reached out to Moore’s office for additional comment, but did not receive an immediate reply.

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Boston, MA

Boston City Hall intruder who stole from employees nabbed by police, after shoplifting arrest: BPD

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Boston City Hall intruder who stole from employees nabbed by police, after shoplifting arrest: BPD


Boston Police said they have nabbed the masked suspect who entered private office suites in City Hall during work hours and stole wallets stuffed with cash and credit cards from multiple employees.

The Boston Police Department identified Darrin O’Neil, 60, of Lowell as the suspect involved in the City Hall thefts, which occurred last month, on Dec. 1.

O’Neil was already being held after a prior shoplifting arrest at DICK’s House of Sport on Boylston Street when he was identified as the alleged perpetrator of the City Hall crime, following what the cops described as an “extensive investigation,” Boston Police said on Wednesday.

Three City Hall employees reported that their wallets, which contained cash, credit cards, health savings account cards, and personal ID were stolen from their offices, per Boston Police reports.

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One woman who had her wallet snatched out of her purse with two credit cards, her City Hall ID, Massachusetts driver’s license, insurance and library cards, and $100 in cash told police two of her coworkers saw an unknown man “in the area who was wearing a brown beanie, dark jacket, sweatpants, and a blue face mask.”

Two other employees told police that not only were cash and credit cards stolen from their offices, but the thief used the cards to rack up hundreds of dollars in unauthorized purchases — totaling $1,500 at Macy’s and Walgreens.

The incident led to calls from two city councilors, Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy, for the city to tighten up security protocols in light of the intrusion and theft, which occurred during work hours and was described by both as a “security breach.”

Mayor Michelle Wu’s office said a day later that steps have already been taken to increase security after the incident, which involved unauthorized access to “several” office suites that are restricted to authorized personnel only.

Municipal Protective Services, which provides security for city buildings, has increased internal patrols throughout City Hall as a result of the incident, the mayor’s office said.

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O’Neil was arrested on shoplifting charges on Dec. 27 at 760 Boylston St., after he was seen inside DICK’s House of Sport concealing merchandise, police said.

Police said they had responded to the store at 11:39 a.m. for a report of a theft in progress.

While police approached, O’Neil was seen exiting the sporting goods store. The cops “were able to quickly stop the suspect and could see clothing with tags affixed to them inside of a bag,” police said.

During a search, about $408 of stolen merchandise was recovered, police said.

For the shoplifting incident, O’Neil was arrested and charged with larceny under $1,200 and being a common and notorious thief, police said.

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After further investigation, police said they determined that O’Neil had seven active warrants for his arrest for charges of four counts of larceny from a building, three counts of receiving stolen property under $1,200, two counts of larceny of a credit card, shoplifting by asportation, credit card fraud under $1,200, and shoplifting by concealing merchandise.



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Pittsburg, PA

2 Pittsburgh business owners charged in EBT fraud scheme

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2 Pittsburgh business owners charged in EBT fraud scheme


Two Pittsburgh business owners have been charged after an investigation by Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office found that they purchased electronic benefit transfer cards at a discounted rate and used them to purchase food for their businesses. KDKA-TV’s Chris Hoffman has more.



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Connecticut

Justice Department sues Connecticut and Arizona as part of effort to get voter data from the states

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Justice Department sues Connecticut and Arizona as part of effort to get voter data from the states


HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Officials in Connecticut and Arizona are defending their decision to refuse a request by the U.S. Justice Department for detailed voter information, after their states became the latest to face federal lawsuits over the issue.

“Pound sand,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes posted on X, saying the release of the voter records would violate state and federal law.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced this week it was suing Connecticut and Arizona for failing to comply with its requests, bringing to 23 the number of states the department has sued to obtain the data. It also has filed suit against the District of Columbia.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the department will “continue filing lawsuits to protect American elections,” saying accurate voter rolls are the ”foundation of election integrity.”

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Secretaries of state and state attorneys general who have pushed back against the effort say it violates federal privacy law, which protects the sharing of individual data with the government, and would run afoul of their own state laws that restrict what voter information can be released publicly. Some of the data the Justice Department is seeking includes names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.

Other requests included basic questions about the procedures states use to comply with federal voting laws, while some have been more state-specific. They have referenced perceived inconsistencies from a survey from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Most of the lawsuits target states led by Democrats, who have said they have been unable to get a firm answer about why the Justice Department wants the information and how it plans to use it. Last fall, 10 Democratic secretaries of state sent a letter to the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security expressing concern after DHS said it had received voter data and would enter it into a federal program used to verify citizenship status.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat, said his state had tried to “work cooperatively” with the Justice Department to understand the basis for its request for voters’ personal information.

“Rather than communicating productively with us, they rushed to sue,” Tong said Tuesday, after the lawsuit was filed.

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Connecticut, he said, “takes its obligations under federal laws very seriously.” He pledged to “vigorously defend the state against this meritless and deeply disappointing lawsuit.”

Two Republican state senators in Connecticut said they welcomed the federal lawsuit. They said a recent absentee ballot scandal in the state’s largest city, Bridgeport, had made the state a “national punchline.”



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