O’Malley signs executive order on swine flu
ANNAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Martin O’Malley has signed an executive order to enlist extra medical personnel to administer swine flu vaccinations, if needed.
The order signed Friday will help boost emergency medical personnel and other licensed medical professionals who volunteer to be part of the state’s swine flu response effort to give vaccinations.
Now, emergency medical personnel are allowed limited legal authority to vaccinate each other, not the general public.
The order also gives the state’s health secretary the authority to enlist help from licensed medical professional to administer the vaccine if they have the training to do so.
Md. mosque touched by Texas shooting
SILVER SPRING (AP) — Worshippers at a Maryland mosque say the man accused in a Texas Army base shooting that killed 13 people was a shy member of their community.
Nidal Hasan used to regularly attend prayer services at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Md.
On Friday, people at the center said they were shocked. They described Hasan as soft-spoken but said he expressed pride in his military service and was grateful for his Army medical education. The center’s imam, Mohamed Abdullahi, told reporters Hasan sometimes came to prayers in uniform.
The imam told worshippers at a noon prayer service, “One of the brothers who used to pray here did what you heard on the news.”
He urged worshippers to tell their non-Muslim neighbors that Islam was not responsible for the deaths.
Reward in Bethesda garage shooting up to $36,000
BETHESDA (AP) — The reward for information that leads to an arrest or indictment in the shooting of a man in his Bethesda garage last month has increased to up to $36,000.
Crime Solvers of Montgomery County president Kathleen Timmons said Friday that anonymous donations have been placed into a fund for a reward in 54-year-old Ashoka Mody’s shooting.
Montgomery County police say Mody was alone in his car when he arrived at his Millwood Road home Oct. 8. He was shot inside the home’s attached garage.
Police say the masked shooter wearing dark clothing fled and is still at large. Several shots were fired and police say Mody is still receiving treatment for his injuries.
Former CareFirst worker admits embezzlement
BALTIMORE (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a Baltimore woman has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $237,000 from a health care benefit program.
Thirty-four-year-old Nicole Stepney Turner entered the plea on Friday. She will be sentenced on Feb. 18.
According to her plea agreement, Stepney Turner worked at CareFirst as a billing and enrollment technician. She caused 84 checks to be issued by Carefirst and made payable to 10 conspirators, including, prosecutors say, to her husband, Melvin Turner. Prosecutors say the Turners got most of the money from the cashed checks.
Melvin Turner, who has been charged in the scheme, remains at large.
Federal officer, 3 others injured in Md. crash
DISTRICT HEIGHTS (AP) — Prince George’s County authorities say four people, including a Federal Protective Service officer, have been hospitalized with minor injuries following a multiple car accident.
County fire department spokesman Mark Brady says a Federal Protective Service car and three other vehicles crashed early Friday at Route Four and Silver Hill Road near District Heights.
Brady says the federal law enforcement officer and three others suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Montgomery Co. traffic signals back up
ROCKVILLE (AP) — Montgomery County officials say they have fixed the traffic signal computer system that caused problems for commuters after it malfunctioned for two days.
County Executive Isiah Leggett says engineers isolated the glitch and reconnected the signals to the central computer and most signals are now responding to commands. The county’s Ride On buses will still be free for riders on Friday.
For two days, a computer failure left the county’s 750 signals operating outside of regular timing patterns that adjust for rush hour and traffic flow.
Leggett says he plans to expedite a $35 million program to replace the computer system. The six-year program to replace the aging system began two years ago.
Obama delays Capitol Hill pitch on health care
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is pushing back a trip to Capitol Hill aimed at discussing the proposed health care overhaul with lawmakers.
Obama had planned to head to the Capitol on Friday. Now the White House schedule shows Obama planning to visit the Capitol on Saturday.
On Friday afternoon, Obama plans to visit Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
White House officials say the trip to Walter Reed had been scheduled before the fatal shootings Thursday at Fort Hood in Texas. They insist that the visit to Walter Reed, Obama’s first as president, is separate from the incident at Fort Hood.
Indictment alleges man made child pornography
BALTIMORE (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a Fruitland man has been indicted for allegedly producing child pornography.
Forty-four-year-old Russell Glenn Burnett was indicted on Thursday.
The indictment alleges that Burnett coerced a minor to take part in sexually explicit conduct to produce a visual image of that conduct. The incident allegedly happened in 2005.
Federal prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of property used to commit the alleged crime, including a home in Fruitland.
Woman killed in home invasion
CHESAPEAKE CITY (AP) — The Cecil County Sheriff’s Office say a woman was shot and killed during a home invasion and robbery at her Chesapeake City home.
Forty-year-old Terri Ann McCoy was shot early Wednesday at her home. She was taken to Christiana Hospital, and pronounced dead of gunshot wounds.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Michael Holmes says residents were in their house about 1:20 a.m. when they were awakened by armed intruders.
Holmes says there were “multiple suspects” in the house. They stole property from the home.
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