News in Greater Baltimore Area
Winds picked up sharply early Friday afternoon as Hurricane Earl spun closer to the Ocean City coastline. Waves as high as 14 feet plummeted onto the sand, crashing along the edge of dunes and the sea wall. Rains flew sideways, prompting visitors along the boardwalk to duck into shops and restaurants for cover. Despite the heavy winds, there were no reports of damage or flooding, said Ocean City spokeswoman Donna Abbott.
Little more than a week after beginning her freshman year at Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, 18-year-old Catherine "Catie" Carnes was playing a friendly game of volleyball when she collapsed, relatives said. She was taken to Gettysburg Hospital in Pennsylvania, where she died of a pulmonary embolism — a blood clot in the lung.
Voters like convenience and speed
Citing a 2,000-year-old Roman quote, "Who will watch the watchers?" a Harford County judge skeptically questioned prosecutors Friday pressing criminal charges against a motorcyclist for recording his traffic stop and posting the video on the Internet.