The Reporter's Notebook is a rolling list of developing stories our newsroom is following. Check back throughout the day for updates.
- The Baltimore County Council passed a bill Tuesday night redefining smoke shops and barring new ones from opening within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, health centers, or other smoke shops. A grandfather clause protects shops that were operating before Oct.
- Baltimore County police are searching for 17-year-old Thy'Ione Small, last seen around 7 a.m. Tuesday in the Essex area.
- The New Carrollton City Council is weighing whether to remove Mayor Phelecia Nembhard from office over alleged personnel decisions. Nembhard denies the allegations and is expected to address the council at Wednesday's meeting.
- Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman is expected to announce his conditional resignation Tuesday evening, effective Nov. 9, 2026, if he wins the Montgomery County Council District 3 seat in the Nov.
- Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced Tuesday he will not seek charges against the six officers involved in the July 12 fatal shooting of Elliott Powers at a Gaithersburg bus stop. Body-camera footage showed Powers drew a loaded 9mm handgun, chambered a round, and told officers they would have to kill him before officers opened fire.
- A St. Mary's County judge sentenced Kendall Deshong Young, 34, to 10 years in prison — eight years active — for fatally striking a man stopped on the shoulder of Point Lookout Road in Leonardtown while Young was using his cell phone. A witness reported observing Young driving erratically for about five miles before the March 2025 crash.