Maryland
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley announces bid for DNC chair following 2024 elections
Hakeem Jeffries calls Trump cabinet nominations a ‘distraction’
Representative Hakeem Jeffries spoke about defending social programs and called Donald Trumps cabinet nominations a “distraction.”
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley told President Joe Biden on Monday that he was resigning as head of the U.S. Social Security Administration to run for office with the hopes of leading the Democratic National Committee.
O’Malley, 61, announced his candidacy in an interview with the New York Times and emphasized the need to connect with voters through a broad and unifying vision.
“We must connect our Party with the most important place in America — the kitchen table of every family’s home,” O’Malley said in a post on social media. “Jobs, Opportunity, and Economic Security for all. Getting things done. Hope. A 50-state strategy. Now.”
O’Malley is the first candidate to openly seek the DNC leadership spot as the party tries to reshape itself after the 2024 presidential loss and Republicans’ takeover of both chambers of Congress.
With outgoing chair Jaime Harrison not seeking another term, the new DNC leader will face significant challenges, including mending internal divisions, revamping electoral strategies and preparing for the 2026 midterms and 2028 presidential race.
O’Malley’s campaign is focused on showcasing his executive experience and his record on progressive policies and grassroots organizing. He previously chaired the Democratic Governors Association and, more recently, served as the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. The former governor plans to step down from his current role on Nov. 29.
“We face enormous challenges and a lot of soul-searching,” O Malley said in his interview with The Times. “We need to focus on fixing the problem and not the blame.”
The race for DNC chair is expected to draw a competitive field of candidates. Other contenders include Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler; Minnesota Democratic party chief Ken Martin; close Biden aide Mitch Landrieu, also a former New Orleans mayor; and Sen. Laphonza Butler of California, who was appointed to fill the seat of late Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2023 and chose not to run for a full term this year, according to Reuters.
Harrison, whose tenure has faced criticism after Vice President Kamala Harris’ decisive defeat by President-elect Donald Trump, is expected to address the party’s future direction in the coming weeks.
USA TODAY’s Cooper Allen, Riley Beggin, Michael Collins, Joey Garrison, David Jackson, and Ariana Triggs; USA TODAY network’s Susan Tompor and Reuters contributed to the reporting of this storyJeremy Yurow is a politics reporting fellow based in Hawaii for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach him at JYurow@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter @JeremyYurow
BEL AIR, MD — Road closures will be in place Sunday for the Bel Air Town Run starting at 8 a.m.
Drivers should expect temporary road closures and traffic delays along the race route, which includes:
- Main Street
- Broadway
- Hickory Avenue
- North Shamrock Road
- Troutdale Terrace
- Majors Choice Drive
- Benjamin Road
- Lee Way
- Connecting roadways in and around the course
The race will finish near the Shamrock Park Complex. The event is expected to last approximately 1.5 hours, and roads will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so, officials noted.
Home security cameras caught a frightening scene in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Thursday when police say an armed teenager tried to carjack a man outside his home.
It would have been the second carjacking to happen in front of Jheyco Borda’s home. But he and other family members decided to fight back.
Borda said he was installing a dashcam in his truck when he noticed a group of people, who appeared to be teens, walk onto his block.
“And I saw six kids come by playing around … And out of my corner of my eye, they stepped in front of my car … in front of the neighbor’s house,” Borda said in an interview with News4’s sister station Telemundo44.
Borda said he quickly called his brother, who was in the house, and then got out and began securing things in the back of his truck.
“I saw them put on a face mask. As soon as I figured that one out, I was like, something’s about to go down,” he said.
One of the teens then went up to Borda and pointed a gun in his face.
“And I told him, ‘The car is on. The keys are inside.’ And he saw my phone and was, like, ‘Give me your phone, too.’ So I gave it to him. When he got distracted looking at my phone, that was the split second when I grabbed the gun out of his hand,” Borda said.
Borda, a former member of the U.S. military, was joined by his brother, who’s about to enlist in the Air Force.
“Then my pops came out, and he got control of one guy,” Borda said.
During the struggle to get control of the gun the teen pulled the trigger, Borda said.
The family eventually subdued two of the teenagers and waited until police arrived.
There’s a large bullet hole in Borda’s truck. He said he’s grateful no one was hurt.
Maryland
Police seek Maryland woman and girlfriend charged in Silver Spring mom’s murder – WTOP News
Vanessa Tjongarero-Henderson and her girlfriend have been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Tjongarero-Henderson’s mother.
Police in Montgomery County, Maryland, are looking for two women accused of killing the 67-year-old mother of one of the suspects.
Vanessa Tjongarero-Henderson, 29, of Clarksburg, and her girlfriend Samantha Raebel, 36, of Phoenix, have been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Hilde Henderson, Tjongarero-Henderson’s mother.
Henderson was found dead on May 26, in an apartment on Fenwick Lane in Silver Spring, police said in a news release.
After an autopsy, Henderson’s death was ruled a homicide. Detectives identified the couple as suspects in her death and obtained arrest warrants, police said.
Anyone with information on Tjongarero-Henderson and Raebel’s whereabouts should call 911 or visit the Montgomery County police online tip line.
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