Lawmakers announce $800,000 for high-speed internet access
WASHINGTON — Western Maryland will receive $800,000 in federal funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission to expand broadband connectivity and increase access to reliable, high-speed internet.
U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, and U.S. Rep April McClain Delaney, all Maryland Democrats, announced the award in a joint statement Friday.
'In today's world, access to the internet is an essential service — for families and businesses alike,' Van Hollen said. 'This federal investment from the Appalachian Regional Commission will help further close the digital divide that Allegany and Garrett counties have faced for far too long. Not only will this project deliver high-speed internet to local households, it will also generate new opportunities that will help the region's economy grow in the years to come.'
The funding will support the Garrett County Middle Mile Infrastructure Project and fund the construction of about 138,288 feet of middle-mile fiber optic cable across Garrett and Allegany counties.
'I know this investment will support our economy and the lives of so many Western Maryland families,' Alsobrooks said.
The new fiber optic network will improve internet connectivity in areas of the counties where access gaps have persisted. It will also support a new e-commerce distribution center that will help strengthen the supply chain and support business growth in the region — while making the counties more attractive for additional investment in the future.
'This ARC investment in middle mile infrastructure will strengthen our region's digital infrastructure so that families, students, and small businesses are not left behind. I will also keep fighting for the resources that Allegany and Garrett Counties need to attract business investment and further workforce development,' Delaney said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
White House slams LA ‘insurrection' as protests erupt over deportation raids
The White House slammed protests in Los Angeles on Saturday after some residents expressed outrage over raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, described demonstrations at the city's federal building as an 'insurrection.' 'An insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States,' Miller wrote in a Saturday post online. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said more than 800 protesters gathered to challenge the arrest of dozens of individuals by 'assaulting ICE enforcement officers, slashing tires, defacing buildings' on Friday. Demonstrations continued near the sites of raids on Saturday, with authorities also conducting a raid in the nearby Paramount. McLaughlin said Los Angeles Police did not respond to the incident on Friday. 'A message to the LA rioters: you will not stop us or slow us down. @ICEgov will continue to enforce the law,' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on the social media platform X Saturday. 'And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,' she added. McLaughlin said there's been an uptick in assault on law enforcement officers across the country. 'Our ICE enforcement officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults against them. And we have seen, in recent days, their family members being doxxed and targeted, as well,' she wrote on Saturday. 'Make no mistake, politicians like @RepJeffries, @AOC, and @Tim_Walz are contributing to the assaults of our officers through vilification and demonization—calling ICE the modern day Nazi gestapo and calling for their doxxing,' she added. Some California Democrats said the arrests were illegal and condemned the detainment led by Trump administration officials as an 'abuse of power.' They said they were denied access to the ICE facility where immigrants were being held amid concerns about the welfare of detainees. 'That's not a misunderstanding—it's a violation of federal law,' Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) wrote in a Saturday post on X. 'I'm demanding @Sec_Noem launch an immediate investigation. If her agency won't follow the law, she needs to answer for it,' he added.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Los Angeles Democrats clash with Trump administration amid ICE crackdown
California Democrats and Trump administration officials are locked in a battle over a wave of immigration raids targeting Los Angeles this week, as protests over the detentions swelled in the Democratic stronghold amid President Donald Trump's broader immigration crackdown. Federal agents in tactical gear appeared during protests on Friday afternoon against the detention of over 40 individuals in immigration sweeps across Los Angeles earlier in the day, sparking clashes between officers and protesters that turned violent and resulted in police throwing tear gas canisters in the middle of the crowd. As the situation escalated, the president of the labor union SEIU California, David Huerta, was arrested, sustaining injuries during his detainment that required brief hospitalization, according to a statement from the union. A video of Huerta's arrest shows officers knocking the labor union president to the ground. Following Friday's clash, a group of Democratic members of Congress from the Los Angeles area said they were barred on Saturday from visiting the federal building where people in immigration detention were reportedly being held. 'The reports of what is happening inside the Roybal Federal Building is a complete violation of our laws and a stain on our values as a country,' Rep. Luz Rivas (D-Calif.) said in a statement. 'The Trump Administration blocked my colleagues and me from conducting our congressional oversight duties into the reported abuses and neglect that is taking place at this facility.' According to a statement from SEIU on Friday evening, Huerta was released from the hospital but remains in custody. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli — a former lightning-rod Republican lawmaker — posted on X that he will be arraigned in federal court on Monday. 'What happened to me is not about me; This is about something much bigger,' Huerta said in a statement. 'Hard-working people, and members of our family and our community, are being treated like criminals. We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice. This is injustice. And we all have to stand on the right side of justice.' Meanwhile, Trump administration officials sought to cast Friday's events as a violent attack on federal immigration officials, spurred by Democratic politicians who have been outspoken in their condemnation of the administration's immigration policy. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the situation that unfolded was a direct result of the 'repeated vilification and demonization of ICE' by Democratic politicians, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. 'The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end. The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens,' McLaughlin said, adding that the 'violent rhetoric' of 'sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale.' ICE acting Director Todd Lyons also blasted local law enforcement, claiming it took the Los Angeles Police Department over two hours to respond 'despite being called multiple times.' Other administration officials also snapped back at Newsom and Bass, casting the two Democrats as supporters of violence against federal authorities. After Newsom wrote a post to X in support of Huerta, saying that 'no one should ever be harmed for witnessing government action,' the official DHS account replied that 'shoving ICE officers is not 'witnessing government action.' It's assaulting law enforcement,' adding that 'Governor Newsom must call on this violence to end — not glorify rioters that endanger our brave law enforcement.' Bass got similar treatment from FBI Director Kash Patel on social media after she released a statement saying she was 'deeply angered' by the detentions, and that 'these tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city.' 'We will not stand for this,' she captioned the posted statement on X. Patel came back with an unequivocal response on Saturday. 'We will,' he wrote in a post replying to the mayor. As outcry poured in on Saturday from major liberal organizations — including labor union giant AFL-CIO and the Southern California chapter of the ACLU — condemning the raids and demanding Huerta's release, ICE doubled down on its position and warned that Friday's events were by no means the end of their immigration clampdown. 'These violent rioters will be held accountable if they harm federal officers, and make no mistake, ICE will continue to enforce our nation's immigration laws and arrest criminal illegal aliens. Sanctuary politicians would do well to remember that impeding our efforts only endangers their communities, law enforcement officers, and the detainees they claim to support,' the ICE statement read.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Democrats see political trap in Trump's Biden probe
Democrats are warning members of their party not to fall into a political trap after President Trump ordered an investigation into former President Biden's mental state and executive actions at the end of his term. Trump directed his counsel, in consultation with the attorney general, to probe 'whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state' amid renewed scrutiny of his predecessor's age and health in the lead-up to last year's election. The probe threatens to keep an issue in the news that Democrats would like to move on from and could force them into the uncomfortable position of having to defend Biden despite his unpopularity. 'We need to avoid taking the bait for a totally unfounded political stunt, which is what this investigation is,' said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). 'It's a distraction from the problems that everyday Americans face in our economy: tariffs, rising prices and the 'Great Big, Beautiful Bill.'' Biden also cast the play as a distraction from controversy swirling around the current White House, pushing back sharply against Trump's suggestion that he was not the one making the decisions from the Oval Office. Trump's call for an investigation fixates on Biden's use of an autopen to sign executive actions, claiming that, if advisers 'secretly used' the mechanism 'to conceal his incapacity,' it would constitute an unconstitutional wielding of presidential power. 'Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,' Biden said in a statement. 'This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.' On Capitol Hill, where Trump's House-passed spending bill is hitting snags in the Senate as Elon Musk feuds with Trump and calls to kill the legislation, other Democrats are echoing that framing. 'He's clearly trying to deflect attention from the disastrous effect he's had on the US economy,' said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). 'He only brings up Joe Biden when he's really worried about something, like 'Vladimir Putin is playing me and the world sees it. My tariffs thing is not working out.'' 'So I would say, give it as little attention as possible,' Kaine said, suggesting Democrats should turn the inquiry around on Trump and say, ''You're the president now. What about your evidence of mental decline?'' Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Ruben Gallego (D-N.M.) concurred that the move is a distraction from the bill and that Democrats should respond by drawing Americans' focus to the budget concerns instead. Engaging could also risk legitimizing some of Trump's claims about the end of Biden's term, suggested Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright. He called the push for an investigation 'a distraction pitch that Donald Trump is trying to throw down at the batter's box, hoping somebody will swing at it.' 'Anytime we fall into the trap, then we trap our own selves,' Seawright said of Democrats. 'We should focus on this moment and not try to get caught up into conversations that don't gain us anything electorally or politically.' Questions about Biden's age and health dogged him along the 2024 campaign trail, contributing to his eventual exit from the race. Trump, who railed against his two-time rival as 'Sleepy Joe' as they jostled for the White House, has continued to raise the issue, while Democrats seek to turn the page and look toward the midterms and 2028. Trump has repeatedly blasted Biden over his autopen use, questioning whether orders signed by his predecessor — including 11th-hour preemptive pardons for his family members and others to protect against 'politically motivated prosecutions' — are void as a result. The White House confirmed this week that the Department of Justice is reviewing Biden's pardons. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has also started its own inquiry into what Republicans have cast as a 'mental decline cover up.' This week, Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) demanded interviews from some of Biden's former top aides as well as his doctor, Kevin O'Connor. At the same time, new books, including 'Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again' from CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson, have renewed debate about his mental acuity. The scrutiny also comes after Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer last month. The diagnosis itself prompted questions about whether the timing was intended as a distraction and did little to quell talk about whether the 82-year-old should have dropped out of the race earlier. Republicans, for their part, are largely heralding the inquiries as a pursuit in transparency. 'The American people deserve to know who was making decisions from the White House between 2021-2025. I hope this investigation uncovers the truth,' Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) said on X of Trump's probe. A number of Democrats seen as 2028 hopefuls, asked in recent weeks about the end of Biden's presidency, have acknowledged his weaknesses. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told an Iowa town hall last month that his then-boss's decision to run for reelection 'maybe' hurt Democrats, and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told Politico there's 'no doubt' Biden suffered cognitive decline. Across the board, though, Democrats have been pointing toward the future and hoping to move on from questions about their former party leader as they stare down the high-stakes midterms next year and aim for the White House in 2028. Biden's favorability was at 39 percent in the latest YouGov/The Economist polling, compared to Trump's 44 percent and former Vice President Harris's 42 percent. 'If Democrats shift their focus to this, then they risk further alienating and frustrating their base that is ready to put Biden behind them,' said Democratic strategist Fred Hicks. He pointed out Trump's public fallout this week with Musk, who's suggested that Trump's bill could be 'bankrupting America,' and suggested it could be opening for Democrats in their pushback against the administration. But although Democrats are pushing for the party to ignore not just the probe but the Biden discourse more broadly, many have acknowledged that the issue is likely to dog them through 2028 and could even be a political liability for some potential presidential contenders. Strategist Hank Sheinkopfinterpreted Trump's new probe not as a trap or bait, but as a direct attack, and countered some of his fellow Democrats by arguing that the party ought to respond. ''Take [Trump] on or lose in 2026' is really the reality which they don't want to deal with. They somehow believe that if they don't take them on, they'll win anyway,' Sheinkopf said of party leaders. 'What they want is [to say], 'Biden, we're not talking about that, that's the past.' But that's the present. So it's a delusional argument,' he said. 'Trump is making this the present. He's defining the Demcoratic Party by Biden, and the things he's going to say about Biden, whether they are true or not. So you can't let that stand.'
