Top news headlines for Thursday night, August 14
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
4 hours ago
- CBS News
Baltimore County woman pleads guilty to posing as a nurse at more than 40 facilities
A Baltimore County woman has pleaded guilty to using stolen nursing licenses to work at more than 40 Maryland healthcare facilities over four years, earning at least $100,000 in fraudulent wages, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Thomasina Amponsah, 50, pleaded guilty to making false statements in connection with health care matters and to aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore. Her sentencing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12. From September 2019 to August 2023, Amponsah posed as both a registered nurse and a licensed practical nurse using stolen identities, fabricated educational histories and falsified credentials, prosecutors said. In August 2019, she used a Maryland nursing license number assigned to one victim and submitted a copy of that nurse's license to gain employment as a licensed practical nurse. Amponsah modified her own name on applications to include the victim's last name, and falsely claimed to hold a nursing degree from Florida State University and prior supervisory experience. She was terminated from her first job after admitting she had forged a physician's signature on a prescription for Tramadol, a controlled opioid painkiller, according to officials. In July 2021, Amponsah used another stolen identity to apply for nursing positions through a staffing agency, this time using a Florida license number. Between July 2021 and October 2022, she worked at 21 skilled nursing facilities through the agency. At one facility in October 2022, Amponsah failed to administer prescribed medications and falsified medical records. Although she was terminated after being confronted for working without a valid license, she continued to seek employment using stolen credentials. Several facilities billed Medicare and Medicaid for services rendered by Amponsah during this time. Amponsah faces a maximum of five years in federal prison for making false statements related to health care matters. Federal sentences are typically below the maximum, with judges considering sentencing guidelines and other factors.
CBS News
12 hours ago
- CBS News
Baltimore lawmakers consider facial recognition technology after recent Mt. Washington break-ins
Some Baltimore leaders argue that it's time to use facial recognition technology to find the person responsible for a string of burglaries and break-ins in the Mount Washington neighborhood. The debate is dividing people in the community, as the police search continues for a suspect responsible for committing multiple crimes in the neighborhood over the last two weeks. Ring camera video shows a clear image of a person of interest, which could be scanned by police using facial recognition technology to possibly identify him. However, a state law passed in 2025 limits the use of facial recognition technology to serious offenses, such as violent crimes. "Unfortunately, this one has been a little bit challenging without being able to use facial recognition technology," Baltimore City Councilman Yitzy Schleifer said. "It has just delayed how long it's going to take to apprehend the suspect." Councilman Schleifer told WJZ the suspect would have been apprehended by now if this law weren't quite so restrictive. "I think that we should be able to use every piece of technology in the toolkit to solve crimes, and there's really no reason we should be limiting ourselves and limiting our detectives from utilizing a tool that can help them solve these crimes," Schleifer said. Baltimore Police confirmed five different streets in Mount Washington that have been targeted between July 30 and Tuesday, August 12. Police are looking for a person of interest who was caught on camera approaching multiple homes in the community. Police patrols have been bolstered after several attempted break-ins were reported in the past few weeks, according to Councilman Schleifer. On August 1, a burglary was reported in the 2500 block of Whitney Avenue. Two cases were reported in the 5700 block of Pimlico Road on August 1, two burglaries were reported in the 2000 block of Carterdale Road on August 7, and two more were reported in the 6100 block of Eastcliff Drive on August 8. Mount Washington residents have mixed feelings about the facial recognition technology. Some agree with the reasoning behind the law in the first place, voicing concern over the way the technology could backfire. "I think there are forms of technology that can be overused to the point where you could almost use it as a form of profiling or you could use it to generalize a certain group of people," said Mount Washington resident Theo Hyatt. "I have mixed feelings about it. I would say I have mixed feelings about the technology. I know it's a developing technology, I would just worry that it's like, of course, humans make errors," added Mount Washington resident Dayna Palmer.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Baltimore accepts judge's reduced $152.3 million award in opioid lawsuit
BALTIMORE — Baltimore has accepted a $152.3 million award in an opioid lawsuit against drugmakers McKesson and Cencora, boosting the city's total awards from pharmaceutical companies to $579.8 million. The city accepted the award Thursday afternoon, after being given a deadline of Aug. 22 by Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill. In his June ruling, Fletcher-Hill said the jury's $266 million award from a trial in November was 'excessive.' The city was told to accept the judge's new, reduced offer or opt to go to trial again. The final award amount was $152.3 million. The city originally sued McKesson and Cencora for $5 billion. 'From the beginning, this case has always been about securing justice for Baltimoreans who have been disproportionately impacted by the opioid crisis,' Mayor Brandon Scott said in a statement Thursday. 'Today's decision is an affirmation of these companies' liability, and the fulfillment of a promise kept to our residents.' According to court documents, Fletcher-Hill did not see evidence that pharmaceutical companies McKesson and Cencora were as responsible for the opioid epidemic in Baltimore as the city claimed. Baltimore sued McKesson and Cencora for their contribution to the city's opioid epidemic, accusing the companies of distributing 320 million oxycodone pills to the city from 2006 to 2019. The two companies accounted for 60% of the prescription opioid market in Baltimore. Fletcher-Hill said that while the two pharmaceutical companies were responsible for a portion of the epidemic, the city did not present strong enough evidence to prove they were responsible for the last 15 years. The jury found the companies guilty and awarded Baltimore $266 million. Fletcher-Hill offered Baltimore $100 million, in addition to a previous offer of $52 million. 'By the City's evidence, all of defendants' unreasonable conduct was based on a failure to recognize and act on problematic conduct at a pharmacy,' Fletcher-Hill said. 'Every single pill sold unreasonably by a defendant was also sold unreasonably by a pharmacy. It is fair to say that every one of those pharmacies was at least as culpable as defendants.' Although he disagreed with the ruling, Scott said the outcome is still beneficial for Baltimore's opioid prevention plan. The city has an Opioid Restitution Fund with $400 million, all of which is being put toward opioid overdose prevention plans, resources and programs. Scott said the win is for those affected by drug use in the city. 'While this amount is lower than the jury awarded us, this award still dwarfs the original amount the City would have received, had we not brought this separate litigation on behalf of our city,' he said. 'This is also the only successful jury verdict and only successful judgment against either of these companies.' Solve the daily Crossword
