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Articles by Meredith Somers

Prince George's County firefighters clean up after a Sunday morning duplex fire in Chillum that left three families homeless. (Meredith Somers/The Washington Times)

Cold weather sparks series of holiday fires

Prince George's County fire officials are blaming the drop in temperatures for a series of fires that forced several families from their homes and critically burned one man over the Thanksgiving holiday.

November 25, 2012
Albrecht Muth (Sandy Schaeffer-Hopkins/MAI)

Email from Iraq added to record in Muth’s case

Albrecht Muth, the Georgetown man who claims to be an Iraqi army general and says his 91-year-old wife's death was a botched assassination attempt by Iranian agents, has received a cease-and-desist letter from the Iraqi Embassy, according to court records.

November 19, 2012
Flanked by women who work at the Maryland Live Casino, David Cordish announces expansion plans Wednesday for table games and 24-hour gambling at the Arundel Mills casino. Approximately 150 table games will be added to the casino floor, including black jack, roulette, craps and baccarat. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Arundel Mills casino promises more fun

Maryland Live Casino officials announced Wednesday that they were all in for table games and 24-hour operations at the Anne Arundel County gambling house, promising 1,200 additional jobs and an atmosphere of excitement on the floor of the nation's third-largest casino.

November 14, 2012
“As our schools are currently organized, we can’t achieve our goals,” D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson said Tuesday. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Henderson announces plan to close 20 D.C. schools

D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson on Tuesday announced 20 schools that could be closed next year, among them the alma mater of four former NBA players, the District's first junior high school and an educational center built in 1927.

November 13, 2012

Bill proposed to ban smoking on all Montgomery County property

A Montgomery County lawmaker is proposing a bill that would ban smoking on all county property — including parking garages and jail — as part of what she called a "filling in the gap stage" for a county that's been at the forefront of the anti-smoking movement.

November 12, 2012
** FILE ** A Metropolitan Police cruiser in downtown Washington (The Washington Times)

Pit bulls attack woman in NE apartment

Four pit bulls attacked a District Heights woman Saturday in a Northeast apartment, according to a D.C. police report, sending her to the hospital with "multiple bite marks, scratches, and bruising."

November 11, 2012
Sen. Jamie Raskin, Montgomery Democrat, speaks during a debate on possible amendments to a gay marriage bill in Annapolis, Md., Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012. Senate approved the bill Thursday. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Wedding planners in Maryland await calls from same-sex couples

The marriage proposal in August from his longtime partner was a surprise for Harford County resident Stephen Formwalt. Tuesday's affirmation of the law giving gay Marylanders the right to marry was just the icing on the wedding cake.

November 8, 2012
Vehicles clog the downtown streets of Washington as traffic comes to a halt as snow begins to fall, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Monsivais)

Storm could bring snow flurries to evening commute

D.C.-area residents could face snow flurries during their commute home on Wednesday, weather officials said, thanks to a nor'easter packing wind and rain that's making its way up the East Coast.

November 7, 2012
A steady stream of voters make their way to the voting site at Washington Mill Elementary School in Fairfax County past a map of the U.S. just after 6 a.m. on Election Day to vote for their chosen candidates. (Eva Russo/Special to The Washington Times) ** FILE **

Obama supporters turn out, excited about ‘what’s next?’

Outside many D.C.-area polling centers on Tuesday, the scene could have been mistaken for 2008 -- long lines of voters shivering in the crisp autumn air, multicolored campaign leaflets fluttering in the breeze -- but behind the lawns full of campaign signs and "I Voted" stickers, there was a change in energy that even President Obama's supporters could feel.

November 6, 2012
Tractor trailer traffic was halted along Interstate 68 in Frostburg, Md., on Oct. 30, 2012 due to the storm. Wet snow and high winds spinning off the edge of superstorm Sandy spread blizzard conditions over parts of West Virginia and neighboring Appalachian states Tuesday. Authorities closed nearly 50 miles of Interstate 68 on either side of the West Virginia-Maryland state line because of blizzard conditions and stuck cars. Eastbound lanes in Maryland ere later reopened. (AP Photo/Cumberland Times-News, Steven Bittner) WHAG-TV OUT

Wintry storm headed to D.C. area, possibly bringing snow

A storm featuring strong winds, rain and snow is forecast to follow in Superstorm Sandy's path on Wednesday, threatening battered coastal towns and perhaps bringing the D.C. area this season's first glimpse of snow.

November 5, 2012
Former Delegate Tiffany Alston, Prince George’s Democrat, accepted a plea deal to settle two criminal cases involving funding. (Associated Press)

Hall selected to replace Alston in Md. legislature

The Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee on Friday chose Gregory A. Hall, a businessman and 2010 delegate hopeful, as the replacement for Maryland Delegate Tiffany Alston.

November 2, 2012
Scoutmaster Tom Zuby, of Lithicum, Md., pulls the rope which will launch the pumpkin during a test run of Boy Scout Troop 672’s custom catapult in Severn, Md. The Scouts hope this year’s version will be more successful than last year’s model, which broke. (Rod Lamkey, Jr./The Washington Times)

Severn Scouts prepared to chunk a punkin

It's not a good weekend to be a pumpkin. Starting Friday, the bright orange squashes will be loaded, launched and landing in dozens of pieces during the 27th annual World Championship Punkin Chunkin competition.

November 1, 2012
**FILE** The National Christmas Tree is pictured after it was lit by President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha Obama and and mother-in-law Marian Robinson, at the Ellipse across from the White House in Washington, Thursday, Dec., 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

New National Christmas Tree survives the storm

National Park Service officials faced a planting predicament: Leave the soon-to-be National Christmas Tree in its shipping crate to ride out superstorm Sandy, or plant the 30-foot Colorado blue spruce and risk having it blow over like its predecessor last year.

October 31, 2012
The porch of Clyde Forbes’ house on Rhode Island Avenue Northwest, an area of the District known for severe flooding, is visited by a ghoul with a sign that reads “Die Sandy Die!” hours before the storm hit. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Storm can’t stop Halloween

Hurricane Sandy left more than 7 million people on the East Coast without power and forced the closure of schools, government offices and transportation systems.

October 30, 2012
Michael Murphy waits on a city bus to be taken to a shelter at the Lee District RECenter in Franconia, Va., during a mandatory evacuation order in the Huntington neighborhood of Alexandria, Va., on Oct. 29, 2012, as high winds and heavy rain from Hurricane Sandy pound the Atlantic coast. Mr. Murphy's home is on Arlington Terrace in Huntington. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

City will stay shut down Tuesday

The D.C. area remained largely shuttered for a second day in anticipation of what weather officials call an unprecedented storm system barreling along the entire East Coast.

October 29, 2012
Sandbags sit outside the doorway, and outdoor chairs and tables have been moved into an alcove of a business, along Rhode Island Avenue in the District on Sunday in anticipation of high water levels from Hurricane Sandy. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Storm or not, some report for duty

National Weather Service officials are predicting savage weather conditions for the next 72 hours, warning residents to stay home to avoid blistering winds and heavy rainfall.

October 28, 2012