Maryland
Marine’s wife Bailey Anne Kennedy crowned first transgender Miss Maryland USA
The wife of a Marine has been crowned the first-ever transgender Miss Maryland USA — and said she was inspired by the “sisterhood” of other competitors she saw on the pageant circuit.
Bailey Anne Kennedy, 31, won the coveted title on Saturday, according to the official Miss Maryland USA Instagram account.
She is now prepared to compete at Miss USA, which will be held in Los Angeles on Aug. 4.
The victory, Kennedy told WDCW, was a “whirlwind because I knew it was bigger than me.”
“I knew that it was going to mean a lot for all the LGBTQ kids out there who might feel like they don’t belong in a box — like me growing up,” she explained.
Kennedy said she did not have any anxiety about being the only trans competitor, and said she felt bolstered by the “sisterhood” of women on stage.
“I felt confident in my own skin at 31, which is past the old age limit, which is 28 — as you know Miss Universe Organization lift the restriction now — so every woman of all ages can compete,” she pointed out.
Kennedy added that she “hopes her milestone will open up some doors, open up some hearts for people to see that there are many aspects of LGBT community out there and I hope I can be a positive contribution to society in making a difference like the USO program I’m working with.”
Kennedy was inspired to compete in pageants following her marriage in 2019, according to her website.
“When I turned 30, The Miss Universe Organization lifted the traditional marital status and age restrictions. I knew it was a sign from the Universe that they are ready to crown an older, military spouse like myself,” the write-up explained.
“Although this is such a small effort, I could only imagine the magnitude of my action on a state level, national level or even on the international level if I win the title to represent USA, the beautiful country to which I owe so much,” she added.
In addition to being the first transgender Miss Maryland USA, Kennedy is also the first Asian American winner and the first military spouse to hold the title, according to The Advocate.
The first trans contestant to appear at Miss USA was Kataluna Enriquez, who competed as Miss Nevada USA in 2018, the outlet noted.
“It hasn’t hit me yet. We just made history, and I don’t know how that feels. It was part of my goal, part of my dream,” Enriquez told the Las Vegas Sun in the wake of her history-making win in the state.
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson dashed Democrats’ hopes the state would join the national redistricting battle, telling colleagues that the chamber would not try to redraw the state’s congressional map.
“The Senate is choosing not to move forward with mid-cycle congressional redistricting,” Ferguson said in a three-page letter to state Democratic lawmakers that was shared with NBC News. “In short, the risk of redrawing the congressional map in Maryland is too high, making the unlikely possibility that we gain a seat not worth pursuing.”
Maryland is among the Democratic-led states the party has been eyeing to respond to Republicans enacting new gerrymandered maps in three states at President Donald Trump’s urging ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has held discussions with members of the Maryland delegation and Gov. Wes Moore, and state Sen. Clarence Lam introduced a bill to draw new district lines.
Ferguson did not respond to a request for comment and Lam declined to comment.
In the letter, Ferguson acknowledged the pressure lawmakers face to boost the Democratic Party nationally. But he said he believes any redistricting effort could open the state up to a court-ordered map that might give Republicans another seat. Currently, Democrats control seven of Maryland’s eight congressional districts.
Ferguson said he hoped Maryland’s refusal to enter the fray would give cover to other Republican states resisting pressure from Trump to redraw their maps, while adding that the effort could result in racial gerrymandering, too.
“It is hypocritical to say that it is abhorrent to tactically shift voters based on race, but not to do so based on party affiliation. As we weigh the risk and grounds for mid-cycle redistricting in Maryland, it is important to acknowledge the jurisprudence and work of many to create racially fair maps.”
Ferguson’s letter comes as the redistricting arms race continues to expand nationally. Earlier this week, Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun called for a special legislative session on redistricting, though support for such a measure among GOP lawmakers remains uncertain.
Elsewhere, Louisiana Republicans are expected to pass legislation this week to move back the date of their spring elections to prepare for the possibility that a Supreme Court ruling could allow them to enact new maps. In Virginia, Democrats are working to modify their redistricting commission to allow them to pursue a mid-decade redistricting effort.
Republicans in North Carolina, Missouri and Texas have enacted new maps this year aimed at helping the party shore up its narrow House majority in the 2026 elections.
California voters will decide next week whether to allow a new map that could net Democrats five House seats. And Jeffries visited with Democrats in Illinois earlier this week to discuss a possible redistricting push.
Maryland
Maryland Gets Low Ranking Heading Into Basketball Season After Coaching Change, Best Player Going to NBA
After an offseason with a head-coaching change, the Maryland men’s basketball team hopes to match what it accomplished last season.
The Terps were 27-9 overall and 14-6, good for second place in the rugged Big Ten in 2024-25. In a preseason media poll going into last season, Maryland was predicted to finish 10th in the conference.
The Terps finished ninth in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll. Maryland didn’t make its first AP poll appearance last season until Feb. 3, when the Terps were voted 18th.
Maryland advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, where it lost to eventual national champion Florida, 87-71.
Outstanding freshman forward Derik Queen was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 13th overall pick. Queen then was traded to New Orleans for the Pelicans’ 23rd overall pick and a future first-round pick.
Onward …
Maryland is a bit undervalued going into this season, which begins Nov. 3 with a home game against Coppin State.
CBS Sports recently published a ranking of the Top 100 And 1 teams.
Maryland was ranked 51st, which sounds on the low side, but maybe not given it has a new coach. Veteran Buzz Williams, who left Texas A&M after six years, replaced Kevin Willard, who went to Villanova.
“It’s hard to know what our expectations are,” Williams said at a recent news conference.
“Yesterday was our 26th practice and we’ve had a lot of volatility in those 26 practices. Maybe four to six of those practices have been what I would deem high-major good practices in regards to the work that was accomplished, the efficiency from start to finish.
“We’ve had more bad days than we’ve had good days. But I don’t think that those 15 players would say the same thing. Their numbers would probably be inverse.”
Given Williams’ comments, maybe the CBS Sports’ preseason ranking isn’t too low, after all.
Williams has the reputation of a hard-nosed, hard-driving coach. His career record is 373-228 (.621) over 19 years of coaching. He was 14-17 at New Orleans; 139-69 at Marquette; 100-69 at Virginia Tech; and 120-73 at Texas A&M.
CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander wrote about the Terps and their place in the Top 100 And 1 rankings: “What a violent swing for the Terps. This team finished 10th at KenPom, won 27 games and made the Sweet 16 … but underwent 100% turnover after Kevin Willard tied himself into knots and then sliced his way out of College Park in the process.
“So, hello, Buzz Williams, who was rumored the past two years to be itching again to switch jobs. The 53-year-old has 373 wins to his name and 12 NCAA Tournament victories [both much more than Willard], providing some short-term optimism for Terps fans.
“Provided with a healthy NIL budget, Williams and his staff brought Pharrel Payne and Solomon Washington along from A&M, in addition to Myles Rice (10/game at Indiana, but has potential to pop), Isaiah Watts (Washington State) and Elijah Saunders (10.4 ppg at Virginia).
“Freshman to know: Darius Adams, a five-star prospect who’s a slender 6-5 2-guard and will get some real run right away.”
So, it seems as if the Terps have a talent base from which to work. The Big Ten, again, is strong top to bottom, with six teams in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll and six other teams among “others receiving votes.”
Maryland isn’t on either list.
* Purdue: 1
* Michigan: 7
* UCLA: 12
* Illinois: 17
* Michigan State: 22
* Wisconsin: 24
Others receiving votes in Big Ten, and their ranking:
* Oregon: 27
* Ohio State: 30
* USC: 33
* Washington: 35
* Iowa: 37
* Indiana: 43
In the annual Big Ten preseason media poll conducted by the Indianapolis Star and Columbus Dispatch, Maryland was ranked 13th out of 18 teams. As in most preseason polls, Purdue is the favorite to win the Big Ten.
With so much transition in college athletics — transfers and major NIL money chief among them — tradition could play a factor in how a team rebuilds and ultimately performs.
Maryland has a wealth of basketball capital and credibility dating to its Atlantic Coast Conference glory days. Maryland has won seven regular-season championships and four tournament championships. Only in 2019-20 — the Covid year — did the Terps win a Big Ten title, a co-championship they shared with Michigan State and Wisconsin.
It wasn’t that long ago (2002) that the Terps, then in the ACC, and coach Gary Williams won the NCAA championship. Gary Williams was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
That might not be enough to keep Terps’ fans warm on cold winter nights but it’s a good starting point for Buzz Williams to show the new Terrapins what is possible.
Stay up to date with the Terrapins by bookmarking Maryland On SI.
A 2.5-magnitude earthquake shook Howard County, Maryland, on Monday evening, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
A 2.5-magnitude earthquake shook Howard County, Maryland, on Monday evening, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake happened at about 5:17 p.m. in Columbia at a depth of nearly 5 miles. It was reportedly felt in D.C. and Arlington, Virginia. It was felt as far south as Waldorf, Maryland, and as far north as Owings Mills.
Someone even reported feeling the quake across the Chesapeake Bay in the Easton, Maryland, area.
Tina Laboy, deputy director at the Howard County Office of Emergency Management, joined WTOP’s Nick Iannelli on Monday night, describing worried calls her office received about the reported earthquake.
She said their first step was to gather “as much information as we can about the incident.”
“Once we had reports of the boom and the shaking, our police department, our fire department, had crews out in the community surveying for damage,” Laboy said. “When we got that notification from the U.S. Geological Survey, that put it into perspective of what types of damages we might have been looking for.”
She said the county is monitoring the potential for aftershocks and reminded residents to “remain vigilant just in case.”
The exact epicenter of the earthquake is right next to Hopewell Park in Columbia.
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