Maryland officials are announcing that the infant mortality rate has dropped for a second year in a row. State and local officials, including Gov. Martin O’Malley and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, discussed last year’s decline at a news conference in ...

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WASHINGTON — Wholesale companies added to their stockpiles for a 17th straight month in May but their sales declined for only the second time in the past 11 months, providing further evidence of the U.S. economy’s slowdown in the spring. ...

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Over the years, we have grown closer to our neighbor to the south, Washington, D.C. The cities are alike in many ways. Their populations are roughly equal. Many Baltimore residents now commute to jobs in D.C. Many Washingtonians visit our ...

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WASHINGTON — U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in May at the slowest pace in 20 months, the latest sign that a sharp rise in energy prices is hampering economic growth. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, ...

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WASHINGTON — Even cities that weathered the housing market crash with relatively little damage are suffering now. Severe price declines have spread to Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis and Cleveland, which had mostly withstood the bust in housing since 2006. The damage ...

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Gas prices appear to be declining ahead of the Memorial Day travel weekend for parts of the mid-Atlantic. AAA Mid-Atlantic reports that Maryland’s statewide average for a gallon of gas has dipped to $3.90 on Sunday. That’s 11 cents lower ...

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LOS ANGELES — For years, fans of greyhound races have faced off against animal welfare activists who say the dogs are kept muzzled in small cages, fed inferior food, injected with steroids and frequently injured at the track. Dog breeders, ...

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NEW YORK — Weak demand for pricey flat-screen TVs and notebook computers helped push Best Buy Co.’s fourth-quarter net income down 16 percent. The decline adds urgency to the electronics retailer’s bid to remake its business by opening smaller stores ...

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WASHINGTON — Companies trimmed their orders for long-lasting manufactured goods in February, buying fewer computers, machines and primary metals. Durable-goods orders fell 0.9 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Thursday. It was the fourth decline in the past five ...

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down a number of appeals, including a challenge to the federal No Child Left Behind law and a request from cattle ranchers who dispute the endangered status of the Mexican spotted owl. The ...

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