
CNS Maryland
Featured Writers

Jennifer Mandato
Journalist with work featured in over 30 publications. I specialize in legal and political reporting, with additional experience covering lifestyle topics.
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Aidan T Hughes
My work has appeared in Politico, The Baltimore Sun, Capital News Service and more. I'm passionate about shedding light on issues that would have gone uncovered without innovative data tools …
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Ryan E. Little
Ryan Little is an award-winning data journalist and the data editor at The Baltimore Banner. He leads a team of reporters who use computational tools to tell powerful stories about …
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Ashkan Motamedi
Ashkan Motamedi is an award-winning sports journalist with an M.J. from the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism. He has bylines in the Associated Press, the Washington Post, …
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Latest Articles

(WASHINGTON) – Republican and Democratic lawmakers voiced frustration with the Pentagon’s lack of communication with Congress about the escalating war in Iran during a House committee hearing on Thursday. Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of Defense, told the House Armed Services Committee that the agency is carrying out President Donald Trump’s strategy …

Washington protest marks four years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Ukrainians and their supporters came from across the country to the Lincoln Memorial to sing, pray and chant before marching toward the Russian ambassador’s residence, waving yellow and blue Ukrainian flags. “The war, Russia’s war, has had devastating consequences in Ukraine,” Jovita Neliupšienė, European Union ambassador to …

Elfreth legislation seeks to reduce domestic violence homicides nationwide
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Rep. Sarah Elfreth, D-Maryland, is pushing legislation that would support states and law enforcement agencies in preventing domestic violence related homicides across the United States. The legislation would create a national training and assistance center to standardize the use of the Lethality Assessment Program, a model that …

Maryland’s Senate race drives record outside spending
Outside groups poured over $57 million into Maryland’s congressional races during the 2024 cycle – over five times more than any prior election, according to FEC data that stretches back two decades.

Democrat McClain Delaney declares victory in Maryland’s 6th District House race
Three days after polls closed on Election Day, Democrat April McClain Delaney on Friday declared victory over Republican Neil Parrott in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District race.

When can Marylanders expect election results?
The 2024 election has already generated immense enthusiasm in Maryland, with nearly 1 million people having voted early in-person and over 600,000 more voters casting their ballots by mail as of Tuesday morning.

Election forecasters signal trouble for Maryland GOP hopes
Maryland Republicans entered the 2024 election cycle with reasons to believe their fortunes could soon change. Nevertheless, election forecasters have remained skeptical of Republicans’ odds.

Election Hub
I used WordPress to design an interactive “Election Hub” on the Capital News Service website and redesigned the homepage to create a carousel of election stories. Acts as a meeting place for all election content published by CNS.

Getting Ready With Us: Maryland Election Day
I created this story for Capital News Service to answer Maryland voters FAQs for election day. Collaborated with two other students to create questions, research the answers, and publish the story.

Maryland military facilities probing groundwater for ‘forever chemicals’
WASHINGTON — Maryland military facilities are in the early stages of remedial investigations into “forever chemicals” that jeopardize drinking water supplies in groundwater after a September report by the Department of Defense identified hundreds of military sites across the country as at risk for such chemicals. The facilities include high-profile …

Lead persists as problem in holiday gifts, environmental cost
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Lead poisoning has hit the news recently with pollution from leaded aviation gasoline, poisoning from applesauce pouches and federal lead pipe replacement projects. But some lead poisoning threats come during the holiday gift-giving season from jewelry, toys, makeup and other gifts. In October, the U.S. Environmental Protection …

Halloween beetles sneaking inside as temperatures drop. Here's how to prevent it and more
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A spooky, imported ladybug, often mistaken for a native bug, known as the Halloween beetle is preparing to migrate from gardens and into homes as Maryland heads for colder weather. And while they are extremely valuable to plant life, the little bugs bite. Halloween beetle home infestations …

Halloween beetle sneaks inside to provide a scare as temps drop
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A spooky, imported ladybug, often mistaken for a native bug, known as the Halloween beetle is preparing to migrate from gardens and into homes as Maryland heads for colder weather. And while they are extremely valuable to plant life, the little bugs bite. Halloween beetle home infestations …

Hellish tree of heaven weeds out native plants
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – As the invasive spotted lanternfly continues to spread nationwide, its proliferation has highlighted an even more worrisome invasive species: the prolific “stinking sumac,” or tree of heaven. National Geographic referred to the tree of heaven as the “hellish invasive species” in 2021. It is a fast-growing deciduous …

McElderry Park Community Association seeks to help displaced residents
Development and real estate is picking up in McElderry Park, a struggling East Baltimore neighborhood, but community activist Ernest Smith fears the development will force low-income people to leave the neighborhood. “When people begin to redevelop the homes and properties, many times those properties are being redeveloped at prices that …

Fatal vehicle crashes in Maryland spike during pandemic despite less people on the road
During the pandemic, fatal vehicle accidents in Maryland were higher than in previous years, reflective of a national trend. So far this year, the data shows that trend is continuing. The total number of crashes in the years leading up to the pandemic fluctuated between around 120,000 and 115,000 per …

Higher education enrollment faced unprecedented drop during COVID-19 pandemic
Undergraduate and graduate enrollment in public four-year universities has decreased during the pandemic and community college enrollment has seen an even more dramatic decline. As the pandemic led to financial uncertainty across the country and caused colleges to make changes to class delivery, student life and other services, students were …

Students level the playing fields at California high school
In Vista, California, heroes wear softball uniforms. Their names: Danielle Ellis and Sydney Prenatt. Ellis and Prenatt resist such praise. But at Rancho Buena Vista High School, where the pair were teammates on the Longhorns softball team for four years before graduating in 2018, that’s exactly how they’re remembered. “They …

Public school enrollment decreases during pandemic
As a grassroots, volunteer-based organization that connects homeschoolers across the state, the Maryland Homeschool Association (MDHSA) has been tracking data collected by the state education department on homeschooling rates for nearly 20 years. It always tended to fluctuate seemingly randomly, said founder Alessa Keener, never changing by more than 9%. …

Supreme Court weighs Mississippi abortion law, future of Roe v. Wade
WASHINGTON – With a crowd of hundreds of activists gathered outside, the Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on a Mississippi law restricting abortions that challenges the nearly 50-year precedent set by Roe v. Wade.

Supreme Court to hear arguments over Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks
WASHINGTON – In a landmark case watched by abortion advocates and opponents, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Dec. 1 on a 2018 Mississippi law challenging nearly 50 years of legal access to abortions.

Massive infrastructure bill cleared by House includes nearly $8 billion for Maryland
WASHINGTON — An unprecedented infrastructure bill that won final passage by the House late Friday includes nearly $8 billion for highway, public transportation, ports and broadband projects throughout Maryland.

Hoyer proposes $9 billion trust fund to help reverse global deforestation
WASHINGTON – Following up on one of President Joe Biden’s pledges to combat climate change, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Mechanicsville, introduced legislation on Wednesday aimed at ending global deforestation, creating a $9 billion trust fund to assist developing countries.

Van Hollen, Cardin push pilot program to curb military vehicle rollover deaths
WASHINGTON – During a May 2019 training exercise at Camp Pendleton in southern California, Marine 1st Lt. H. Conor McDowell of Chestertown, Maryland, was crushed to death when his light armored vehicle dove into a crevasse concealed by tall grass and rolled over.

Supreme Court hears arguments on Texas abortion law Monday
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday over a Texas law that relies on private citizens to help enforce restrictions on most abortions.

With holidays ahead, small businesses struggle with supply chain disruptions
WASHINGTON – Cecily Habimana, co-founder of Sew Creative Lounge, a sewing school in Mount Rainier, Maryland, normally imports her fabric from China and West Africa, but international shipping and customs delays have become unaffordable for the small business owner.

Facebook needs regulation, experts say, but they see roadblocks
WASHINGTON — Congress should enact regulations to curb harmful practices by social media companies like Facebook, cybersecurity and privacy experts say. But they are skeptical that lawmakers will act and, if they do, whether the pace of policy can parallel the ever-changing technology.

D.C. pro-choice march demands protection for women’s rights
WASHINGTON – Thousands rallied here Saturday in support of reproductive rights. Speakers warned that after almost five decades, abortions once again could become illegal at the whim of Republican state legislatures or the conservative majority on the Supreme Court.

With eyes on Texas and Supreme Court, pro-choice advocates to march in D.C. Saturday
WASHINGTON – Advocates for reproductive rights are planning to rally Saturday in the nation’s capital, a gathering that is expected to put the spotlight on the new anti-abortion law in Texas and a key abortion case that will come before the Supreme Court in December.

Companies look to hire Afghan refugees, but child care remains a question
WASHINGTON – As a number of top American companies are promising to train or hire Afghan refugees resettling in the United States, questions remain about providing child-care services to the new workers.