WBAL News Now With Bryan Nehman Podcast

School system administrators are not entertaining any plan that includes all students going to school in person every day. It will likely place a burden on working parents. Is it necessary?

Kids are going to have to go back to learning next fall. But what will learning look like and how will services related to schools, like nutrition, be provided?

Students ended the school year out of the classroom? How will they begin the next one, with the coronavirus outbreak still among us? There are concerns that some students may not be in an equitable position to succeed with continued distance learning.

The City Council trimmed $22 million from Baltimore's policing budget. A former head of the DEA says just taking money away won't do much to reshape policing.

Indoor dining resumed in much of Maryland over the weekend and it seems to be a huge success. But can Ocean City handle a socially distance deluge?

Protesters say we need fewer cops and more social workers. Naomi Reilly from the American Enterprise Institute says sending social workers into potentially explosive situations is a bad idea.

Protests continued this morning as calls escalate in some corners to defund the police. In Minneapolis, local lawmakers, but not the mayor, have their minds set on disbanding the department and starting over.

In Atlanta on Friday, rapper Killer Mike of Run The Jewels and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms gave voice to the causes of protesters and decried rioters. Killer Mike also had words for one of the targets, CNN. CNN Center, also home to a police precinct, was the site of a confrontation between rioters and police.

Disgraced former anchor Matt Lauer takes issue with the reporting of Ronan Farrow in the wake of an article challenging Farrow's reporting on the scandal that led to Lauer's dismissal from NBC. Farrow and The New Yorker stand by his work.

Restaurants were among the first to close and could be among the last to fully reopen. But with many being small businesses, some can't afford to wait that long.

Speaking this morning, State Sen. Jim Rosapepe suggested, without evidence, that the testing kits a Korean Air jet brought to Maryland did not in fact exist.

Conquer the disease at all costs? An economist talked to Bryan about seeking balance in easing the restrictions forced by COVID-19.

As a caravan of protesters rolled across Maryland, a large crowd turned out to the National Mall to watch the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds flyover. In Florida, beaches are reopening. Is Maryland in worse position or is the state dragging its heels on reopening.

A Carroll County delegate says small businesses in his district want predictability, including a specific date from the governor on when they can reopen. Nearly half of the state's COVID-19 deaths have been in nursing homes. Does that mean, then, that businesses that don't have a link to those sectors can reopen?

The Paycheck Protection Program is a lifeline for small businesses, but a few lawmakers concerned about a perverse incentive for people to stay on employment may have been right.

Parents are looking to limit their trips out and other vectors of potential exposure to COVID-19. However, other people who should be going to the hospital aren't.

Congress gave the Small Business Administration $349 billion in lending authority for small businesses. That money has been tapped. The ball is now back in Congress' court. How long can small businesses and their employees wait for Congress to get its act together?

What do we know about COVID-19 and where it came from? Was it a wet market, as originally indicated, or research gone awry?

Yuripzy Morgan says the president is wrong to say he can overrule governors on reopening businesses, but it's not the first time a president has overstepped.

Some localities are telling -- not asking -- residents to wear masks when they go out to grocery stores and other essential businesses. But how much do mask mandates help and whom?

The CDC issues tighter guidance on public gatherings. Meanwhile, if you took a drive through Federal Hill or Canton over the weekend, you might not have known anybody was concerned.

Authorities are taking bold actions in response to COVID-19. How prepared are you for adjustments? Meanwhile, at the time of this recording, school systems were stopping short of closing schools and instead doing everything but. (Since this piece has aired, Gov. Larry Hogan ordered public schools to close.)

Italy is taking drastic steps to stop the coronavirus. Is it a preview of decisions some American workplaces might soon make?

Is the pandemic horse out of the barn? What can the federal and state authorities do to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus?

Maryland confirms its first three coronavirus diagnoses. The three patients have been out and about since Feb. 20. Are more positive tests to come? What can really be done to stop an outbreak? And The New York Times endorsed not one, but two candidates for president. Both of them--Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren--have since folded.

Attorney General Brian Frosh says the governor doesn't need a state of emergency like one proposed by state Senate Republicans to send state troopers into Baltimore whenever he wants. Bryan says that that's exactly what Gov. Larry Hogan should do. And there's a silver lining to the coronavirus fears--the tactics being used to avoid it are also useful for flu season.

Joe Biden's campaign made a remarkable turnaround with a Super Tuesday to remember. What's Bernie Sanders' next move? In Baltimore, Sheila Dixon leads a new poll on the mayoral race.

Two Democrats dropped out of the presidential race to back Joe Biden. Why is it that Elizabeth Warren, who has plans by the dozen, is being bugged to drop out and endorse Bernie Sanders rather than the other way around? And business leaders turned out to oppose a plan to expand the sales tax to pay for the Kirwan Commission's education reforms.

South Carolina throws Joe Biden's campaign a liferaft. Two Democrats--Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg--dropped out and endorsed him. The Democratic field becomes a three-horse race. In Annapolis, a Talbot County council member says the state should cover the entire price tag for the Kirwan Commission reforms without sharing costs with localities.

Three Marylanders just met CDC criteria to be tested for the coronavirus. A top health official urges Marylanders not to panic, especially given that it appears that many people who have been sickened seem to be making full recoveries if they are symptomatic at all. Closer to home, a tone-deaf statement from the prison-bound Catherine Pugh.

Prior to her sentencing, disgraced former Mayor Catherine Pugh released a video that was 10% apology, 90% "greatest hits." Also, NFL players rebuff a proposal to lengthen the regular season.

Are we headed for a coronavirus pandemic? It depends who you ask. And at Tuesday's debate, candidates took the gloves off in dealing with Bernie Sanders, the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination. Are they a bit

Former Attorney General Doug Gansler says it makes sense to have mandatory minimum sentences for "violent convicted felons that are toting guns." The penalty is part of Gov. Larry Hogan's crime proposals. Meanwhile, the arrest of an armed student at Patterson High highlights the legal barriers to city school police officers carrying service weapons in schools.

A new poll finds Marylanders plead ignorance when asked about the Kirwan Commission. That said, they said they're generally in favor of the commission's ideas even as they oppose higher taxes. That's the multi-billion dollar question, isn't it? And the fundamentals show strong potential for Bernie Sanders, should he be the Democrats' nominee in the fall.

The House majority leader defends his idea of changes to the sales tax to fund the Kirwan Commission's education reforms.

Democrats plan to change the sales tax to fund the Kirwan Commission's proposals. Maryland families may pay more for services like haircuts and repairs. However, the proposal was met with swift opposition by Maryland's popular Republican governor. And Michael Bloomberg was not ready for prime time in Wednesday's Democratic debate and the shots he knew were coming.

State lawmakers are considering a plastic bag ban, this one carrying a more hefty fee than the version passed this year in Baltimore City. Why are retailers on board with the plan? Meanwhile, localities are worried about losing the revenue from their own bag fees. Meanwhile, the baseball world is aflame over the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and all Commissioner Rob Manfred can seem to bring is gasoline.

COVID-19, the coronavirus, has gotten worse in China and a professor with the University of Maryland says the course of the virus will be determined in the coming months. After a video went viral of a man kicking the reclined seat of a woman in front of him, the CEO of Delta is saying it is polite to ask before you recline.

Prosecutors say former Mayor Catherine Pugh should spend nearly five years in prison, revealing new details about the breadth of her criminal activity and the steps she took to conceal it. Prosecutors said those steps included laundering money through a shop she co-owned with Comptroller Joan Pratt.

The PGA Tour is coming back to Baltimore, and the event will be nothing to sneeze at. And what can be drawn from the record Democratic turnout in New Hampshire... and the record turnout for the non-competitive Republican primary?

Baltimore is again close to averaging a killing a day. The state Senate minority leader says he doesn't think the violence is a priority for Democrats in Annapolis.

Iowa did little to narrow the Democratic field and a pollster says President Trump is finding new voters, even if they're not all fans of his. And Baltimore had a rough weekend, including a possible arson.

You could write a book on this week in politics, from the end of the impeachment acquittal to the theatrics of the State of Union.

The impeachment trial is over, but Rep. John Sarbanes says House Democrats are intent on continuing oversight of the executive branch, though they want to talk about issues as well. On the other side of the aisle, Mitch McConnell secured exactly what he promised with the swift end to the impeachment trial, which he called a "colossal political mistake" by Democrats.

Candidates spent substantial time and treasure to win over Iowans to find a circus on caucus night. In the chaos, there are still winners and losers. Among the losers? Iowa's first-in-the-nation status, possibly.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison says it's unconstitutional to arrest "squeegee kids" and his department has bigger fish to fry. Does that send the right message to annoyed drivers? And last night's halftime show delivered.

Sen. Lamar Alexander tried to split the baby--he says the Democrats proved their case but that it doesn't rise to an impeachable offense. His announcement took the drama out of Friday's vote on witnesses in the impeachment trial. The vote comes on the same day Brexit goes from a concept to a reality.

Gov. Larry Hogan revives his push to make schools start after Labor Day, perhaps a quixotic goal in front of the same lawmakers who countered his old executive order with a veto-proof majority. And Planters is rethinking its Super Bowl plot twist of killing off Mr. Peanut after Kobe Bryant's shocking and tragic death.

John Bolton's upcoming memoir set off a political earthquake on Capitol Hill. A bill in Annapolis looks to protect kids' lemonade stands. Some say the law aims to protect enterprising suburban children yet look less kindly on Baltimore's "squeegee kids."

A penny for your thoughts while stuck in a long commute? Actually, make that a tax credit. And the coronavirus may be making its way into Maryland after state health officials say a Marylander met the CDC criteria to be tested. We're now learning the virus may spread from people who aren't showing symptoms.

William E. "Brit" Kirwan suggests ways to pay for his commission's multi-billion-dollar education reforms and the outcomes that could emerge from implementing said measures. And young people are talking less and using emojis more. One state is taking that trend to license plates.