Northeast
Wes Moore says he regrets not correcting interviewers who called him a Bronze Star recipient
AUSTIN, Texas– Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says he’s regretful over failing to correct past interviewers who wrongly claimed he was a Bronze Star recipient.
Moore, a rising star in the Democratic Party who served as an Army captain in Afghanistan, has been the target of critics after it was revealed he had included the prestigious military honor in his 2006 application for a White House fellowship, according to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by The New York Times. Subsequently, he did at least two interviews where he was identified as a Bronze Star recipient but did not correct them at the time.
“It was an honest mistake that I made nearly 20 years ago, and I own it,” Moore told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday.
RISING DEMOCRATIC STAR ADMITS FALSELY CLAIMING BRONZE STAR AWARD
“When I was just coming back from a combat deployment, when I was now being thrust into a national media that I’d never been in before, when I was still very much dealing with a lot of the consequences of conflict,” he continued. “Should I have, in a long introduction, gone back and said something? In retrospect, I probably should have… And I take responsibility for that.”
Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said he takes responsibility for not correcting interviewers who falsely claimed he was a Bronze Star recipient during an interview with Fox News Digital. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Moore was misidentified as a Bronze Star recipient in a 2008 interview by the late “PBS NewsHour” host Gwen Ifill and in a 2010 interview with comedian Stephen Colbert on “The Colbert Report.”
Moore remains proud of his service and said his love for the country is “undying.”
“I joined the military when I was 17 years old. I chose to raise my hand and serve with the uniform of this country, the flag of the country on my shoulder, and to serve with one of the most elite units in the entire United States military,” Moore said. “I led soldiers, I led paratroopers in combat, and I was rated as a top 1% officer. My senior rater said I was the best lieutenant that they worked with in all of Operation Enduring Freedom, in the entire Afghanistan campaign.”
“I am deeply proud of my service. I’m deeply proud of the work that we did. I’m deeply proud of the work that I did, that I’m doing now to support veterans and veterans’ families now as the governor of Maryland. And I will always do that, and I will always be very proud of the service I did,” he added.
WES MOORE PRAISES WALZ FOR MILITARY SERVICE, COMPLETING ‘MISSION’ DESPITE RETIREMENT OUTRAGE
Moore first admitted his mistakes to the Times, but that didn’t stop his critics from linking him to the controversy surrounding Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose military service record has been scrutinized since he joined the 2024 Democratic ticket.
During Moore’s introduction on a 2008 installment of “PBS NewsHour” where host Gwen Ifill claimed he “earned a Bronze Star medal.” (Screenshot/PBS)
The subject was broached during a conversation at the Texas Tribune Festival where he was asked whether Walz as well as his GOP rival Sen. JD Vance were having their military service “maligned.”
“It’s happened to me,” Moore told NPR’s Michel Martin. “Less than 1% of this country has worn the uniform of this country. And so when we’re talking about veterans issues, frankly, when you’re having a national conversation with this country, it’s more of a voyeuristic conversation because people haven’t experienced it.”
“I look at what’s happened to so many of these soldiers and airmen and Marines and sailors, how you’re watching this pushback from their service. Like, these are not people who raised their hands when the country asked. Like, these are not people who were willing to not just leave their families, but willing to leave their bodies when the country asked,” Moore later said. “And so, you know, I don’t have patience nor tolerance to be lectured by anybody, particularly from people who have no idea what they’re talking about and have no idea about the emotions that are going through that soldier or sailor or airman and Marine’s mind as they’re getting ready to say goodbye to their family, not knowing that’s the last thing they’re going to be able to say to them.”
MARYLAND GOVERNOR SIGNS BIDEN-INSPIRED BILL ESTABLISHING ‘CENTER FOR FIREARM VIOLENCE PREVENTION’
“And so whether we’re talking about Sergeant Major Walz, someone who’s devoted 24 years of his life wearing the uniform in this country and willing to leave it all on the line, or whether we’re talking about Corporal Vance, people who raise their hands as the country asked, I frankly just think that we have to remember that ‘Thank you for your service’ cannot just be a statement. There needs to be meaning behind it. And when we have two people who truly were willing to pay the highest price to be called American and who now we know that the next vice president of the United States will be someone who has worn the uniform of this country, no matter who wins in this thing. I just say there’s a deep sense of pride as a veteran that I have in that.”
According to the Minnesota National Guard, while Walz served as command sergeant major and long referred to himself as a retired command sergeant, he “retired as a Master Sergeant in 2005 for benefit purposes because he did not complete additional coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.”
Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore publicly addressed the Bronze Star controversy at the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Tx. on Sept. 6, 2024. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital)
Moore later addressed his own dust-up, explaining how he was instructed by his commanding officer and a former White House fellow to include the Bronze Star in his application.
“He told me that I was going to be awarded it. He instructed me, ‘Put it on your application,’ and the paperwork [for the Bronze Star] never processed,” Moore said.
“Because that never happens in the army,” Martin sarcastically chimed in.
“Yeah, because paperwork issues never happen in the army,” Moore also quipped with a chuckle. “And people have said, ‘Well, why don’t you go back and correct it,’ something that happened 20 years ago? The truth is I forgot about it. The truth is that I was just happy to make it home. The truth is that I didn’t serve because I was looking for a medal. I didn’t serve because I was looking for an award. I serve because I love my soldiers. I serve because I love this country.”
Moore added that he was “humbled” that his commanding officer, who learned that the governor never received his Bronze Star after hearing the reports, told him he was going to “resubmit” him for the honor.
RISING DEMOCRATIC PARTY STAR GOV. WES MOORE SAYS HE DOESN’T ‘SPEND MUCH TIME LISTENING TO DONALD TRUMP’S FOOLISHNESS’
Moore is widely seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, landing a prominent time slot during this year’s DNC convention in Chicago. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Despite his remorse, the Democratic governor chalked up the attacks against him as “foolishness.”
“I don’t have time to play these games. I’m too busy trying to make the lives of Marylanders better. I’m too busy trying to make sure that our veterans are taken care of,” he said.
“I don’t have time for foolishness. I never have. I never will. And so I think the thing that we do- what real patriots do- we keep our heads down and do the work, and that’s how I respond to this,” he later added.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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Good morning. It’s Monday. Today we’ll look at raccoons carrying rabies in the city.
New Yorkers don’t usually spend much time thinking about raccoons. Rats and roaches are far more visible. But even if you don’t always see them, raccoons are everywhere.
In September, the Metropolitan Museum of Art asked raccoon experts for guidance in gently redirecting a juvenile raccoon who was drawn to the exterior of their building on Fifth Avenue.
Back in 2021, Laura Dudley Plimpton, a researcher who tracked city raccoons with GPS collars when she was a Ph.D. student, found one living above a bar in Brooklyn near Green-Wood Cemetery.
At the Delacorte Theater, where Shakespeare in the Park is performed, raccoons who live near the stage often make cameos.
“I have particular memories of one raccoon running off with Teagle Bougere’s flip-flops during ‘The Tempest,’” a stage manager once told The New York Times, referring to one of the show’s actors.
And in 2022, a college student filmed a raccoon trying to claw its way out of a light fixture in her Brooklyn apartment.
“They are experts at utilizing whatever is available to them and using it well,” Plimpton said.
While many of the city’s raccoons are healthy, some are infected with rabies, a deadly virus that attacks the central nervous system and is transmitted via saliva. Other animals, such as skunks, bats and rodents, also carry the virus, but raccoons are the most commonly reported rabid animal in New York City.
The numbers fluctuate each year, but recent city data shows that rabid raccoons have most often appeared on Staten Island and in Queens. This year, however, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has already logged two rabid raccoons in areas of Brooklyn where it has never seen them before: Midwood and Sheepshead Bay. In addition, a third and “unusually aggressive” raccoon in West Midwood was presumed to be rabid but was not tested, the Health Department said in a public health advisory issued in April.
To date this year, nine raccoons and one skunk have tested positive for rabies in New York City. It may not sound like a lot, said Dr. Andie Newman, a public health veterinarian in New York State, “but there’s potentially more lurking behind the numbers that we actually see.”
In May, to prevent further spread of the virus, the city placed fish-scented bait packets in the parks and wooded sections of Brooklyn and Queens, including Prospect Park, Forest Park and Marine Park.
“When they bite into it with their little sharp teeth, there is a liquid vaccine that gets into the mouth,” Newman said.
In the fall, the city is planning to place the bait in other areas as well. It’s important that people and dogs avoid touching the packets. They’re not considered harmful, but dogs may vomit if they were to eat many of them. And if the pink vaccine liquid gets on human hands, there is a small risk of becoming infected with the vaccinia virus, which is used to make the wildlife rabies vaccine.
Rabid animals are often assumed to be aggressive. But that’s not always the case. They may instead appear to have a wobbly gait, act confused or stagger and fall down, said Sarah Bookbinder, the executive director of the Charles N. Gordon Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Earlville, N.Y., who advised the Met about the loitering raccoon.
According to the Health Department, other signs that an animal may be rabid include low energy; paralysis; chewing unusual objects like wood, soil or plants; having a vacant stare; and drooling or foaming at the mouth.
Given that raccoons are most active during dawn and dusk, people sometimes assume that raccoons are rabid if they’re out during the day, said Bookbinder, who specializes in the treatment of raccoons.
But in the spring, she added, it’s common for mother raccoons to forage for food to avoid leaving their kits alone in their den at night.
To protect your dog or cat (and yourself) from rabies, make sure that your pets are vaccinated. New York State requires that all domesticated dogs and cats be vaccinated for rabies, but some owners skip the vaccine, often out of concerns that the vaccines could be harmful to pets or unnecessary or could lead to illness. A 2024 survey estimated that about 22 percent of dog owners and 26 percent of cat owners could be classified as vaccine hesitant.
Even indoor cats need to be vaccinated, experts say, in part because of bats, which can enter homes. In 2025, two people in New York City received rabies antibodies and a vaccine series for exposure to a rabid bat.
If your pet has been in contact with an animal that may be rabid, report it to the Health Department and contact your veterinarian, Newman said. Dogs and cats who have already had the rabies vaccine will require a booster.
And when you’re outside, avoid contact with wild or stray animals.
“Enjoy nature from a distance,” Newman said.
Weather
It will be a sunny day today with a high near 78. The sky will remain clear tonight as temperatures drop near 61.
ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING
In effect until June 19 (Juneteenth).
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“When I look at the state of housing, I feel a lot of anger.” — Emely Rodriguez, 24, who grew up in Williamsburg and began engaging in housing advocacy at a young age.
METROPOLITAN diary
The Glow
Dear Diary:
On an unseasonably warm Brooklyn night, I was on my way to meet friends when I stumbled upon a glowing, heavy, orb-like glass sculpture on the sidewalk.
Something about it pulled at me. I scooped it up and carried it onto the train.
It moved with me through bars and parks and city blocks, unveiling itself as an invitation for connection. It passed tenderly from hand to hand, stranger to stranger, each of us sharing the weight and the moment.
On the way home that evening, I stood on the subway platform buzzing from the interactions the sculpture had touched off and with a renewed love for the city.
A handsome man gesturing toward the unusual item I was holding motivated me to remove my earbuds and fall into an easy, flirty rhythm as we fell onto the G train together, until his stop pulled him away.
Arriving home, I chastised myself for letting the moment close. With the residue of the evening’s magic still on my skin and feeling a swaggering confidence, I posted a missed connection on Craigslist.
The next morning, there it was: a note from orb man.
“I think it’s more of a nest shape, but we can argue about it when we see each other,” he wrote, the words levitating up and out of my phone.
We met again two days later. I left the orb at home.
— Billie Hirsch
Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Tell us your New York story here and read more Metropolitan Diary here.
A 17-year-old Boston Public Schools student took the skies on Monday, flying a plane for the first time. Messiah Dennison is part of Boston STEM Flight Academy and carefully went through his flight safety check with his instructor.
The two departed from Norwood Airport for a 45-minute discovery flight over Gillette Stadium and back, and from take-off to landing it was a smooth trip.
“I just flew a plane,” Dennison said. He’s beaming from ear to ear because for the first time he was able to see his future as clear as the sky above. “I can’t compare it to anything. Something I never experienced before and it’s unique and made me want to do it again,” he said.
Dennison got introduced to Boston STEM Flight Academy at his high school, Another Course to College in Hyde Park. “I think it’s really great actually, because it helps our students get exposed to new opportunities that they normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to be exposed to,” Another Course to College Head of School Demitri Curry said.
Founder Marcus James said Dennison is one of those students who never missed an aviation class. “I got to say Messiah, this kid is very exciting to watch in class, and we figured he was perfect for this flight today,” James said.
The students have been practicing flying this route from Norwood to Boston and to Foxboro on a simulator twice a week for the past two months. “We flew over Gillette Stadium, that was great. Everything felt so small, and I was enjoying it,” Dennison said. He said this experience has changed his perspective of what he can achieve in life and believes aviation is the path for him.
“Before I took the flight I couldn’t see it. Now I can envision it. Growing up in Boston you see the same thing every day. And being able to see myself doing something this cool opened the gateway for a lot of cool things,” Dennison said.
His mother watched nervously but proudly. “I’m very proud of him, this is his first time flying a plane ever, so I am proud he had this big opportunity,” she said.
James says he hopes Boston STEM Academy will help deal with the nation’s pilot shortage and plans to expand the program to other public schools in underserved communities. “By 2030 we need about 10,000 pilots. I want them to know the sky’s the limit, and they can do anything they would like to do the opportunity is available to them,” James said.
And Dennison got a real hands-on bird’s eye view of what he can achieve. “If you are going to give me the opportunity to do something great, why not be great,” he said.
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen at the tail end of the 2025 NFL season amidst struggles at the position. Thielen had returned to the Minnesota Vikings in 2025, the team that drafted him for which he carved out a very respectable career before signing with the Carolina Panthers in 2023.
Thielen appeared in five regular season games with the Steelers, catching 11 passes. He joined Good Morning Football on Monday and was asked about his experience in Pittsburgh, to which he couldn’t say enough nice things.
“What an amazing experience,” Thielen said. “First of all, just to experience the Pittsburgh Steelers organization. it was so cool to see it first hand. You hear a lot about it, you play against it, but you don’t really understand it until you get in that building. You just feel the culture and just kind of see how it’s different. It’s a family-owned business and it’s got that family aspect to it that they’re always in the building, they’re always around – it’s a really cool place.”
Thielen then discussed his time with Aaron Rodgers, and praised the four-time MVP for his approach to the game.
“Being around Aaron, I’ve known him for a long time,” Thielen said. “Played a lot of golf with him, built a strong relationship with him outside of football. But to seem in the building and in practice and his communication and the way he does things and his detail, it really showed me why he’s been so great for so long. A lot of times… you just think, ‘Oh, they’re really skilled…‘ these guys are great and separate themselves because of their process. He treated every single practice like it was the Super Bowl. it was unbelievable to see first hand just how hard he practiced, what it meant to him, how much communication there was through the week of trying to get everybody on the same page – whether that be coaches or players. So it was really cool to see that first hand and get to know him on the football side of things.”
Thielen retired after the 2025 season, finishing his career with 704 catches for 8,497 yards and 64 touchdowns.
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