News Articles

Trump to nominate ExxonMobil CEO Tillerson secretary of state, transition sources say


rex

President-elect Donald Trump will nominate ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson for secretary of state, according to two sources close to the transition.

The sources warned that nothing is official until the president-elect announces it, which is likely to come over the next few days. Trump told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” that he was “getting very, very close” to an official announcement. 

In another Cabinet development, Trump officially announced Monday morning that he plans to nominate retired Marine Gen. John Kelly for secretary of the Homeland Security Department. Trump had been widely expected to announce the former U.S. Southern Command leader for the post. 


Read More:Trump to nominate ExxonMobil CEO Tillerson secretary of state, transition sources say

Man Write Open Letter To Man Who Jabbed His Son In Baltimore


Dear Neighbor,

Please forgive me for this odd way of getting in touch. I don't know who you are, and I don't think we've met. But I've been thinking about you all morning, wishing that we had the chance to talk face to face. I'm still troubled by what you did on the Monday night before Thanksgiving, around the corner from where I live in Baltimore. I can't make sense of why you jabbed my 8-year-old boy.

I have a daughter too. She's close to 4, and she's learning how to ride a bike. I was walking beside her as she was pedaling along 37th Street that evening, around 6 p.m. She was really excited, it was the first time she'd ever pedaled on a bicycle outside the house. I was trying to help her steer, teaching her how to use the brakes. My son was tagging along a bit further down the street. His grandfather was also nearby. They saw you, but I didn't.


Read More:Man Write Open Letter To Man Who Jabbed His Son In Baltimore

Baltimore awards $575,000 to innovation leaders, investors


Money

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake doled out $575,000 in city funds Wednesday to seven Baltimore companies and organizations working in innovation and entrepreneurship.

The money was awarded awarded as part of a one-time funding effort through the Baltimore Development Corp.'s Innovation Fund. The fund was established with the goal of supporting entrepreneurship and job growth in the city. It is aimed especially at helping to build and attract small businesses, which account for almost two-thirds of new job creation, Rawlings-Blake noted.

The seven recipients, including investment groups, incubators and accelerators, were announced during a news conference at City Hall Monday.


Read More:Baltimore awards $575,000 to innovation leaders, investors

Rainfall totals nearing 1 inch around Baltimore


Rain

Nearly an inch of rain had fallen across the Baltimore region from Tuesday morning through midday Wednesday, helping to slow or reverse a developing drought.

From 5 a.m. Tuesday through noon Wednesday, 0.83 inches of rain had fallen at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, according to the National Weather Service.

Some parts of the region saw more rain than that on Tuesday alone. More than 1 inch was reported in Reisterstown and Norrisville, in northwestern Harford County, with nearly an inch in Sykesville, according to CoCoRaHS, a network of weather spotters.

More heavy rain is forecast Wednesday afternoon and evening. The weather service predicts more than half an inch could fall by about midnight.


Read More:Rainfall totals nearing 1 inch around Baltimore

Rawlings-Blake says she's leaving Baltimore in better shape than she found it


Mayor

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake led Baltimore through monster snowstorms, an earthquake, a derecho and a riot. She was mayor for the city's lowest murder rate in decades — and its highest. She's been cheered, and she's been booed.

After seven years leading a city fraught with challenges, Rawlings-Blake says she has few regrets as she prepares to step down Dec. 6. Despite the persistent violence, she argues she's leaving Baltimore in better shape than when she took over.

"I don't spend a lot of time thinking about 'Oh, this could have been better,'" Rawlings-Blake said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun. "I did what I know is the best job I could do on any given day."

The outgoing mayor — who was elected once but served the length of nearly two full terms — rose to national prominence as she climbed into leadership ranks of the Democratic Party. She became a staple on Sunday morning talk shows and has been applauded for her fiscal management of Baltimore.


Read More:Rawlings-Blake says she's leaving Baltimore in better shape than she found it

Baltimore’s Homeless Population Continues to Grow


Homeless

Despite an historic national decline in the rate of homelessness across the U.S., Baltimore’s homeless population continues to grow.  The most recent report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reveals that Baltimore’s homelessness population this year is 2725, up 6% from 2014, the last year Baltimore completed the count of homelessness.

Nationwide the rate of homelessness declined by 3% between 2015 and 2016, according to the most recent Annual Homeless Assessment. Homelessness has declined overall by 14% since 2010, the year the Obama Administration launched Opening Doors, the nation’s first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness, according to HUD.


Read More:Baltimore’s Homeless Population Continues to Grow