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Per Montgomery County: The extended Thanksgiving holiday is one of the most heavily traveled times of the year. Additionally, the evening before Thanksgiving has historically been one of the busiest nights for bars and restaurants, with high drinking rates. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) and the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) are reminding residents that high-risk activities, combined with the sheer number of drivers on the road, make it an especially dangerous time for alcohol-related collisions.

Montgomery County annually implements a “Holiday Task Force” in which officers from multiple agencies devote full-time and attention to detecting alcohol-related offenses. The Holiday Task Force begins operations before Thanksgiving each year and runs through New Year’s Day. County Police will establish sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols throughout the holiday period.

Per the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office: “Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, before the honorable Judge David Boynton, defendant, Steven Alston Jr., 18, of Gaithersburg, pleaded guilty to the charge of Attempted First Degree Murder for the shooting of a fellow student at Magruder High School in January 2022. Alston was 17 years old on Friday, January 21, 2022, when he shot the 15-year-old victim inside of the school restroom using a privately manufactured firearm, or ghost gun.  He was charged as an adult. Sentencing has been set for Dec. 22, 2022 at 9:30 a.m.”

“I want to express gratitude for the collaboration between Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery County Police and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office immediately following the shooting and for their actions in resolving the situation that day without any further violence. I thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Carlotta Woodward and Donna Fenton for their extraordinary work in the prosecution of this case,” said State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

Several local districts and law enforcement agencies are participating in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s 23rd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  This event offers anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide. For more than a decade, DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day has provided an easy, no-cost opportunity to dispose of medicines stored in the home that are susceptible to misuse and theft.

Opioid misuse remains at epidemic levels in the United States.  According to a report published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a majority of people who misused a prescription medication obtained the medicine from a family member or friend. “I encourage everyone across the country to dispose of unneeded medications to help keep our communities safe and healthy,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “The Take Back campaign is part of DEA’s continued efforts to combat the drug poisoning epidemic and protect the safety and health of communities across the United States.”

In the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision of New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. v. Bruen, Superintendent of new York State Police, the Supreme Court overturned a requirement of New York’s handgun carry law. The New York law had required an applicant for a handgun carry license to show proper cause for the license, and the Supreme Court held that the requirement violated the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. The Court explained, however, that longstanding laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings are constitutionally permissible.

Like New York, Maryland has a proper-cause requirement for wear-and-carry handgun licenses. Gov. Larry Hogan, in response to Bruen, instructed the Maryland State Police not to enforce the proper-cause element of the Maryland law. As a result of the Supreme Court ruling and Governor Hogan’s order to the Maryland State Police, more individuals in Maryland likely will carry firearms, regardless of whether the individuals have any good or substantial reason to carry them.

Kroger and Albertsons Companies have announced that they’ve entered an agreement that will merge the two companies. Kroger operates in Montgomery County as Harris Teeter while Albertsons operates as Safeway. Kroger will be acquiring Albertsons in the merger. Details surrounding the deal can be seen in the press release below:

Kroger (NYSE: KR) and Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which the companies will merge two complementary organizations with iconic brands and deep roots in their local communities to establish a national footprint and unite around Kroger’s Purpose to Feed the Human Spirit. Through a family of well-known and trusted supermarket banners, this combination will expand customer reach and improve proximity to deliver fresh and affordable food to approximately 85 million households with a premier omnichannel experience.

President Joe Biden released a statement this morning announcing a tentative agreement reached between labor unions and rail lines. The tentative agreement will exempt “time off for certain medical events from carrier attendance policies,” according to a joint statement from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART). Full statement by Oresident Biden can be seen below:

“The tentative agreement reached tonight is an important win for our economy and the American people. It is a win for tens of thousands of rail workers who worked tirelessly through the pandemic to ensure that America’s families and communities got deliveries of what have kept us going during these difficult years. These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions, and peace of mind around their health care costs: all hard-earned. The agreement is also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come.