Education, Family, Police/Fire, Sci-Tech

Baltimore County Public Schools welcomes more than 111,000 students for 2023-2024 school year

TOWSON, MD—As Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers (Yarbrough) begins her first year at the helm of Baltimore County Public Schools, the school system opened the 2023-2024 school year on Monday by welcoming more than 111,000 students into its 176 schools, centers, and programs. “My team and I spent this summer working intensively to prepare for this school year,” said Dr. Rogers. …


Around Maryland, Sci-Tech

TSA now accepts mobile IDs in Google Wallet on Android mobile devices, starting with the State of Maryland

WASHINGTON—In collaboration with the State of Maryland and Google, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) now accepts Maryland-issued mobile driver’s licenses and ID cards in Google Wallet on Android mobile phones at select TSA airport security checkpoints. TSA PreCheck® passengers will be able to use this new feature at checkpoints for identity verification at 25 participating airports. “TSA’s partnership with Google …


Hyundai, Kia launch campaign to prevent theft of millions of vehicles targeted by TikTok challenge

UPDATE: The Baltimore County Police Department has launched a public awareness campaign on this issue. Original story below… —— WASHINGTON—Hyundai and Kia have developed theft deterrent software for millions of their vehicles that lack an immobilizer and will provide it free of charge to vehicle owners. The software updates the theft alarm software logic to extend the length of the …

T-Mobile data breach exposes info on 37 million accounts

BALTIMORE, MD—T-Mobile reported on Thursday that approximately 37 million customers’ account information had been accessed in a data breach. The company says a hacker used a single Application Programming Interface (or API) to obtain limited types of information on customers’ accounts. “As soon as our teams identified the issue, we shut it down within 24 hours,” T-Mobile said in a …

Maryland State Police warn shoppers of online scams over holiday season

PIKESVILLE, MD—The Maryland State Police Cyber Task Force is warning consumers to continue to proceed with caution while shopping online to avoid potential scams this holiday season. According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center’s (IC3) 2021 report, non-payment or non-delivery scams cost people more than $337 million annually. Credit card fraud accounted for another $173 million in losses. Consumers can …

Governor Hogan announces preliminary FY24 budget plan, health care investments for rural and vulnerable communities [VIDEO]

ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan on Thursday announced preliminary recommendations for the state’s Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget, a plan that supports continued economic growth and community revitalization, strong fiscal responsibility and budget sustainability, and key investments in critical areas—including expanding access to health care for rural and vulnerable communities. “I pledged to bring fiscal responsibility and common sense to our …

Governor Hogan announces emergency order banning TikTok, other China-/Russia-based apps in state government

ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan on Tuesday announced that the State of Maryland has issued an emergency cybersecurity directive to prohibit the use of certain Chinese and Russian-influenced products and platforms for the executive branch of state government, including TikTok. These entities present an unacceptable level of cybersecurity risk to the state, and may be involved in activities such as cyber-espionage, …

REAL ID enforcement deadline pushed back to 2025

WASHINGTON, DC—On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would extend the REAL ID full enforcement date by 24 months, from May 3, 2023 to May 7, 2025. Under the new regulations published to execute this change, states will now have additional time to ensure their residents have driver’s licenses and identification cards that meet the security standards established …