Top Stories; Blue state residents 'fleeing in droves' after ‘insane’ progressive takeover, says top state attorney
Top Stories — Friday, April 24, 2026
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- Blue state residents 'fleeing in droves' after ‘insane’ progressive takeover, says top state attorney — Fox News
- FDA fast-tracks psychedelic drug research following Trump executive order — CNBC
- DOJ drops criminal probe of Fed Chair Powell — CNBC
Blue state residents 'fleeing in droves' after ‘insane’ progressive takeover, says top state attorney
Source: Fox News • Published: 4/24/2026, 8:03:28 PM
A top state attorney in Democrat-controlled Maryland says he has had enough and is throwing in the towel after saying the Old Line State has suffered an "insane" "ultra-progressive" takeover.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Haven Shoemaker, state attorney for Maryland’s Carroll County, said that after decades in public service, he is "sick to death" of the policies that "emanate" from the state capital in Annapolis. He said he is especially disgusted with Maryland’s "sanctuary" policies and the high taxes he said are being levied in part to pay for more services for illegal immigrants.
"Maryland has become California on the Chesapeake," said Shoemaker. "It only gets worse. It's not getting better. And at some point, I just had to make a personal decision that it's time to throw in the towel and head for what I believe are greener pastures."
Shoemaker is not the only one. He said that he sees Marylanders giving up on the state "all the time."
"The State of Maryland has one of the worst outward migration numbers of any state in the country right now," he said. "So, I don't know who’s going to be the last to foot the bill for the profligate spending that Annapolis likes to engage in, but it's not going to be me, I can tell you that."
Marylanders are "fleeing in droves" under Democratic Gov. Wes Moore and the Democra-controlled State Assembly, according to Carroll County State Attorney Haven Shoemaker. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images; Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Moore's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's questions. Fox News Digital also reached out to Maryland House Speaker Joseline A. Peña-Melnyk and Senate President Bill Ferguson for comment.
Born in Baltimore in the 1960s, Shoemaker spent three decades in local and state politics before taking the job as Carroll County’s top prosecutor in 2023. His career in public service includes seven years as mayor of Hampstead, Maryland, four years as a Carroll County commissioner and nine years in the Maryland House of Delegates. He rose to the role of House Minority Whip for the Maryland Republican Party.
Despite years deeply involved in state politics, Shoemaker said his decision to abandon Maryland has been a long time coming.
"I've been contemplating this move for a while, but the linchpin for me was this most recent legislative session where they essentially made Maryland a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants," he told Fox News Digital.
Earlier this year, the Maryland General Assembly passed an emergency measure to ban local and state law enforcement agencies from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through what is known as the 287(g) program. Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, whose name has been floated as a possible 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, signed the bill into law.
While emphasizing that law enforcement would continue cooperating with ICE on deporting individuals who "pose a risk to public safety," Moore lauded the bill, saying, "We will not allow untrained, unqualified and unaccountable agents to deputize our brave local law enforcement officers," according to WYPR.
While signing the measure, Moore stressed his view that "Maryland is a community of immigrants," saying, "It is not our weakness, it's our strength."
The Maryland State Capitol building in Annapolis, Md. (Getty Images)
Shoemaker, meanwhile, said that Maryland’s sanctuary-style policies are "just part of the problem."
"In addition to that, their tax policy here is horrendous," he said. He pointed to how state leaders raised taxes in Maryland last year by $1.6 billion.
The tax raise was passed by the State Assembly and approved by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore as part of a $67 billion state budget in 2025. The raise was part of a plan to address roughly a $3.3 billion budget deficit. Maryland’s budget is relatively large compared to other states, despite the state ranking 18th in population and 42nd in land size.
Shoemaker said that state leaders are "already looking at a structural deficit going into next year's budget of another billion and a half or so." He asserted the "handwriting is on the wall" that "Maryland politicians are beholden to their ultra-progressive base."
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speak to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 3, 2024. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg)
In the end, Shoemaker said that he has finally decided to escape to the South and head for North Carolina.
"A lot of taxpayers from across the State of Maryland are fleeing in droves," he said. He added a warning to Moore and other Maryland leaders: "If you want to staunch the bleeding that's occurring, maybe you should rethink your policies."
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
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FDA fast-tracks psychedelic drug research following Trump executive order
Source: CNBC • Published: 4/24/2026, 8:02:20 PM
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced a series of measures aimed at accelerating the development of psychedelic treatments for serious mental illness.
That comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Saturday directing federal health agencies to expand access to emerging therapies.
The move marks a significant shift toward supporting psychedelic-based medicines for conditions such as treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other substance use disorders, the FDA said.
"Under President Trump's leadership, we are accelerating the research, approval and responsible access to promising mental health treatments," Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in the release. "The FDA will prioritize therapies with Breakthrough Therapy designation, where early evidence shows meaningful improvement."
As part of the announcement, the FDA said it would issue national priority vouchers to companies studying psilocybin for depression and methylone for PTSD.
The agency also cleared an early-stage clinical trial for noribogaine hydrochloride, a derivative of ibogaine, as a potential treatment for alcohol use disorder. This is the first time a compound like it has been authorized for study in the U.S.
"These medications have the potential to address the nation's mental health crisis," FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said in the announcement. "It is critical that their development is grounded in sound science and rigorous clinical evidence."
The FDA said allowing these studies to proceed does not mean the drugs are approved or proven safe and effective. Officials said data with be closely monitored as research advances.
"If they are approved, they will be approved with certain conditions. These are not the medications you get a prescription for and pick up at a pharmacy," Makary told CNBC.
The announcement also follows the Trump administration saying it would ease restrictions on state-licensed medical cannabis operators.
DOJ drops criminal probe of Fed Chair Powell
Source: CNBC • Published: 4/24/2026, 8:02:12 PM
The Department of Justice on Friday dropped its criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, removing a major hurdle to the Senate confirming President Donald Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh to replace him.
Jeanine Pirro, the top federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia, announced the decision to abandon the Powell probe in a post on X.
Pirro had said on Wednesday that she was committed to continuing the probe, which had been crippled by a federal judge's ruling quashing subpoenas her office issued to the Federal Reserve related to a multi-billion-dollar renovation of its headquarters in Washington.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, had put an effective hold on the Senate even voting on whether to confirm Warsh unless the criminal investigation of Powell was dropped.
Pirro said Friday that the Fed's inspector general, an internal watchdog, had been asked to investigate cost overruns in the headquarters project, which had been the purported basis for her criminal probe of Powell.
"The IG has the authority to hold the Federal Reserve accountable to American taxpayers," Pirro said in her post.
"I expect a comprehensive report in short order and am confident the outcome will assist in resolving, once and for all, the questions that led this office to issue subpoenas," she said.
"Accordingly, I have directed my office to close our investigation as the IG undertakes this inquiry," Pirro said.
"Note well, however, that I will not hesitate to restart a criminal investigation should the facts warrant doing so."
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