Topic: Montgomery County

Fired for voting? Ohio woman claims she was fired for Obama vote

Patricia Kunkle's lawsuit accuses Dayton-based defense contractor Q-Mark Inc. and its president of telling employees that if Obama was re-elected, then his supporters would be the first to be fired.

Standardized test backlash: Some Seattle teachers just say 'no'

Resistance to standardized tests has been simmering for years, but now a group of Seattle teachers is in open revolt. No longer will they administer the tests, they say, citing a waste of public resources.

As drought withers US corn crop, ethanol industry feels the squeeze

As corn prices soar amid deepening drought, ethanol plants watch their margins evaporate. The industry is working at half-capacity, and some plants have closed. The slowdown is a blow to some rural areas.

Heat wave: Eastern US to see 'a resurgence of the heat,' say forecasters

A storm amid record heat has left millions from Illinois to Virginia without electricity. 

Summer storms leave 2 million people without power (+video)

As of Monday morning, around 2 million customers along the East Coast and as far west as Illinois remained without power. Since Friday, severe weather has been blamed for at least 17 deaths,

Focus Supersize America: Whose job to fight obesity?

Banning large sodas, blocking restaurants in some neighborhoods, posting calories, kicking snack foods out of schools. Are anti-obesity campaigns crossing the line into nanny state intrusion?

Mother slain, baby abducted: kidnapper had suffered miscarriage

Verna McClain, who has been accused of killing a young mother and stealing her baby, is said to have been trying to replace the one she lost.

Baby found after horrific abduction from murdered mother

The mother was shot several times outside Houston, Texas, and then the baby was taken. It was found several hours later.

Creator of Revolution Muslim website, inspiration to US jihadis, pleads guilty

Jesse Curtis Morton, who ran RevolutionMuslim.com, admitted to influencing would-be American militants including 'Jihad Jane' and the Pentagon model-plane bomber. 

Oklahoma mom kills home invader: Why the law was on her side

Sarah McKinley, an Oklahoma mom who shot and killed a knife-wielding intruder, was cleared of any wrongdoing by prosecutors on Thursday – vindication of the 'castle doctrine,' proponents say.

Virginia Tech shooter shot himself

The incident prompted a lockdown of the Virginia Tech campus on Thursday and revived memories of a gunman's 2007 rampage that left 33 people dead in one of the worst shooting incidents in US history.

Virginia Tech: Gunman in police killing wasn't student (Video)

The campus shooting prompted officials to lock down the Virginia Tech campus for hours Thursday while police and SWAT teams searched the school, the scene in 2007 of the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

How D.C. is on the diamond in baseball playoffs

Lots of fans know that the nation's capital has had more than one major league team. But fewer know the city has had three, all of which are still playing – one in the baseball playoffs.

Epic scorching drought testing Texas' ways

Massive droughts caused by wildfires in Texas have ravaged the environment, incited a tug of war for available water, and fundamentally changed the way of life for the state’s millions of residents.

What a dead raccoon can teach about incentives and property rights

When a raccoon dies on your property, you have three choices of what to do with it

Tuition breaks for illegal immigrants? Montgomery College faces lawsuit.

Montgomery College recently formalized a policy of granting its lowest tuition rates to a group that includes some undocumented students. A lawsuit claims the policy violates federal and state laws.

Van Hollen won't lead House Democratic campaigning a third time

Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen led Democrats to a House majority in 2008 and has the same job in 2010, but he won't take a third term as Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee head.

Maryland's millionaire exodus

Maryland's governor raised taxes on millionaires. Their response? Move.

Elias Abuelazam arrested: four famous modern manhunts

On Wednesday night, after a multistate manhunt involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation, US resident Elias Abuelazam was nabbed at the Hartsfield-Jackson international airport in Atlanta before getting on a flight to Tel Aviv. He is suspected of 18 stabbings across three states, killing five. The manhunt holds a special place in crime annals for a simple reason: They provide a combination of imminent danger to the public with folk-hero lore – embodied by movies like "The Fugitive." Here are four memorable (and real) modern manhunts:

Flash floods kill 16 in Arkansas floods; dozens missing

More than 40 people are unaccounted for after two rivers rose quickly overnight.

Girl who asked First Lady Michelle Obama about immigration wants White House visit

A seven year-old Maryland girl who asked First Lady Michelle Obama about immigration earlier this week would like to visit the White House.

'Jihad Jane' and 7 others held in plot to kill Swedish cartoonist

'Jihad Jane,' as Pennsylvania woman Colleen LaRose dubbed herself, was indicted Tuesday for helping recruit a network for suicide attacks and plotting to kill a Swedish cartoonist. Seven Muslims were arrested in Ireland in connection with the alleged plot.

Surprise! Obama shows up at Sasha's parent-teacher conference

The town clock strikes 'ye olde' spending feel

Even in tough times, towns are snapping up faux-vintage centerpieces to inject energy into timewarn business districts.

Letters to the Editor

Readers write about why the US must stabilize Afghanistan, making science teachers a priority in US schools, ending greyhound racing, and why a college degree may not necessarily lead to a job.