WASHINGTON (WJZ)—An economic disaster averted. The debt deal is done after weeks of tense negotiations.

Adam May talked with Maryland senators about their vote.

Between federal funding and federal jobs, Maryland had a lot at stake in these budget negotiations.  In round one, Maryland nearly dodged a bullet. The fight for round two is getting underway, and that fight could be just as nasty.

It will pay the bills and slash trillions in spending under a new debt reduction deal.

“It was wrenching analysis, but it was necessary,” said Senator Barbara Mikulski.

“It was the responsible thing to do,” said Senator Ben Cardin.

Maryland senators Mikulski and Cardin both voted in favor of the highly-debated deal.

“It was a true compromise,” Cardin said. “It contains some things I think are important. The debt ceiling is now increased to 2012, giving certainty to the financial markets.”

The bill requires a special team of lawmakers to come up with a long-term reduction plan. Maryland’s congressional district is split over what they want.

“I’d like to see this joint committee act responsibly to try to manage our deficit with a comprehensive plan. To me, that must include enhanced revenue,” Cardin said.

“I’m absolutely looking forward to getting rid of corporate welfare,” said Mikulski.

But Tea Party Republican Andy Harris—who voted against the deal— only wants more budget cuts.

“At this time, the worst thing we can do in the middle of what looks like it may be a double dipper recession is increase taxes,” Harris said.

Mikulski said that is not what the people want.

“This is a different crowd. They have rigidity and they’re uncompromising. And quite frankly, they don’t get that you really need a government that does things, that helps create jobs and opportunity,” she said.

Later on this year, if Congress does not approve that plan by the special committee, there is a default plan that would kick in, with trillions of additional dollars in cuts to both defense and entitlement programs. That is one thing that Maryland lawmakers on both sides agree on–that default plan would cost Maryland a lot of jobs.

Wall Street tumbled again despite the debt deal in Washington. The dow dipped below 12,000 as investors reacted to more signs of weakness in the economy.

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Around 50 protesters are into the second week of peaceful protest by camping in a small park right across from the Inner Harbor.

Mike Schuh went to Occupy Baltimore to better understand what the group is seeking. He reports there is no single answer.

There is no way to exactly define what this is. Every person has a different agenda. Every person has a different reason for being here.

“I speak for myself,” said Asher Strauss, Occupy Baltimore protester. “It’s difficult to speak for us as an entirety.”

There are protesters at 1,500 Occupy locations. The uniting theme is that corporate influence in government is too great.

Why McKeldin Square? One protester says it’s here where they are in the shadow of extreme wealth.

Occupy Baltimore provides a “voice to the voiceless,” Strauss said. “We don’t have a voice these days.”

For some they can clearly define why they’re here.

“I’m here for reasons like I work a full-time job, but I can barely afford to pay rent,” said Andrew Peverly, Occupy protester.

A college grad, Peverly can’t find work in his field. He’s now waiting tables. He has been protesting for 16 days but just spent his first overnight.

“The misconception that the media’s had is that it’s real vague and there are no list of demands and all this,” Peverly said. “Well, that’s because we’re not saying that we have all the answers. We are open to ideas to what might be a better solution.”

But frankly others communicate in a way that is difficult to comprehend. It’s very hard to put the comments of protester “Trippy Hippy” into any sort of context.

“I, as independent, like to think of an independent ratio that brings us together travelling always together, equally, soundly, peacefully and of course, with pride. That’s cool,” Trippy Hippy said.

So far, it’s has been peaceful. All the city has asked is for the sidewalks to be kept open and the square kept tidy.

One thing is clear, until the city decides this encampment is no longer welcome, Occupy Baltimore has the resolve to continue to make McKeldin Square its home.

The group has applied for a permit with the city. A spokesman for the mayor says since the protest has been peaceful, the city is taking a hands-off approach and will take measures as appropriate.

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — There have been violent clashes between police and the Occupy Wall Street protesters as the movement gains momentum across the country.

Andrea Fujii  reports protesters have been living at the Inner Harbor for three weeks.

The number of tents continues to grow at McKeldin Plaza. There’s more than two dozen now but all of that could soon change.

Anti-Wall Street demonstrators went head-to-head with police in Oakland, Calif. The tent city there was torn down. Dozens are behind bars as police used tear gas to control the angry crowds.

In Dallas, police put protesters on the ground after they blocked access to a downtown bank. Some were dragged into a police van as they were taken into custody.

In Chicago, at least 100 demonstrators were led to jail in front of a screaming crowd after they refused to leave a downtown park.

“We’ve been here for three weeks without a permit. What’s so different about tomorrow?” said Marcus Clary, Occupy Baltimore.

But Wednesday could be a very different day at Occupy Baltimore. City Hall has declared camping at McKeldin Plaza illegal. But some protesters say they’ll hold strong.

“I think it’s a beneficial thing for us to stand out here and stand up for what we believe in and if that gets us arrested, well, fine and dandy,” said Anthonio Henry, demonstrator.

The mayor’s office released a statement saying they are working to protect the protesters’ right to free speech but McKeldin Plaza is not a campground and overnight camping is prohibited. The city will continue to monitor the situation and deal with individual acts of illegal behavior on a case by case basis.

Demonstrators say even if they’re kicked off the plaza, it won’t stop them.

“They can try to stop this area but they can’t stop the movement,” said Asher Strauss, Occupy Baltimore.

Protesters say they are trying to work on a compromise deal with the city to remain there peacefully.

According to a new CBS/New York Times poll, 43 percent say they agree with the views of Occupy Wall Street.

BALTIMORE (WJZ)– Baltimore City officials are taking a stand to get Occupy Baltimore protesters to leave McKeldin Square. Wednesday night, they turned off the electricity in the area.

Andrea Fujii has more on how that’s affecting the demonstrations.

Lights stay on 24/7 at McKeldin Square, but the power has been cut. Protesters say this won’t stop them.

“It is getting cold and it’s quite inhumane for them to turn off the power,” said Timothy Chin of Occupy Baltimore.

City officials flipped the switch after they say they found fire and electrocution hazards.

“People have spent thousands of years living without electricity,” Philip Hoyle of Occupy Baltimore said. “I can see people making ways around it again.”

Just last week, the city ruled that camping at McKeldin Square was illegal.

A view from Sky Eye Chopper 13 shows the tents that remain. Safety is a concern at the site after reports of theft and illegal drug use.

“The protesters don’t seem to have that same concern about public safety and I take public safety very seriously,” Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said.

Demonstrators say that’s not true.

“There’s been a lot of reports of violence and sexual activity and drugs and all this stuff,” Marcus Clary, a protester, said. “And mainly it’s just gossip and rumors.”

City Council members understand the concerns but are sympathetic to the movement.

“I would completely understand if they wanted to continue to stay there until they had a greater sense that what they’re asking for is being heard,” said Councilman Bill Henry of Baltimore’s District 4.

“They’re a self-governing group and I believe in democracy,” Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke of District 14 said.

Demonstrators say they’ll continue the occupation with electricity or not.

The mayor has not said whether she plans to have the protesters evicted from the plaza.

The Department of Parks and Recreation declined to issue a permit for the protest.

NEW YORK (AP) — Occupy Wall Street is going on the road — a two-week walk to Washington.

A small group of activists plans to leave Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park at noon Wednesday and arrive by the Nov. 23 deadline for a congressional committee to decide whether to keep President Barack Obama’s extension of Bush-era tax cuts. Protesters say the cuts benefit only rich Americans.

The announcement came the same day that David Crosby and Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, planned an acoustic performance in the park for supports and passers-by.

Kelley Brannon is organizing the 240-mile march through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland with a core group of a dozen activists, picking up other marchers along the way — even if for a day, or only an hour, they say.

“Occupy the Highway” — as it’s been dubbed — will start from the Manhattan park where the first Occupy encampment was set up, with a ferry ride across the Hudson River from West 34th Street to Elizabeth, N.J.

Brannon likened the effort to the long-distance marches led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights era.

“I mean, I’m not comparing us to Martin Luther King,” said Brannon, of Queens, referring to three marches King led in 1965 from Selma, Ala., to the state Capitol in Montgomery. Those marches ranged in size from 600 to 8,000 people.

“That’s the premise Occupy is taking to the road: the historic relevance of such long-distance marches for social causes,” Brannon said.

They’ll overnight by camping or at volunteered accommodations, she said.

They are to join Occupy D.C. protesters in McPherson Square the evening of Nov. 22, then walk to the Capitol and the White House the next day.

The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction must decide by Nov. 23 to cut $1.2 trillion from the deficit; the tax issue is only one bitter bone of contention among politicians. But it’s the top issue for the Occupy activists heading to Washington.

New York’s multibillionaire mayor, Michael Bloomberg, whom many protesters consider their adversary as one of America’s wealthiest “1 percent,” has also called for ending the tax cuts.

“Interesting — but I’m not a Bloomberg supporter,” said the 27-year-old Brannon. “I’m not really impressed with what he’s doing, though we agree on this one little thing.”

The march is being funded with an initial $3,000 approved at Occupy Wall Street’s “general assembly” — a daily gathering of protesters to make decisions. The money comes from donations of at least a half-million dollars sent to the New York movement by supporters.

The marchers expect to get more support of both money and supplies along the way — an average of about 20 miles a day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., walking on highway shoulders, where it’s allowed, or on local roads.

They’ll hold nightly discussions — along the lines of their general assemblies, at 7 p.m. wherever they are, as they pass through cities with an Occupy presence, such as Philadelphia and Baltimore, as well as towns and rural communities not yet involved.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

BALTIMORE (WJZ)—About two dozen members of the Occupy Wall Street Movement are walking through Maryland on their way to Washington, D.C. to deliver their message to Congress.

Mike Hellgren has more on what that message is.

When the birthplace of the Occupy Movement in New York City erupted into chaos, some of its founding members were already in Maryland on their way to the seat of the nation’s power.

“We started off in Zuccotti Park, 22 of us,” said Bo Han. “It started off as one thing, and it’s just grown to something that is beyond even our control.”

“We tell them, we’re walking from New York to Washington, D.C.,” said one male protester.

They started last week. Some barefoot. And their travels through Maryland have included a few bumps in the road.

“We were outside of one general store where people were purchasing items, and the owner asked us to leave. So that kind of struck a nerve with some people , and it wasn’t great for morale,” said  Kelly Brannon.

“It’s a little rough, but it’s not anything to really worry about. You just gotta keeping pushing. Push through the pain,” said one female protester.

The entire journey is about 230 miles.

Many in the loosely-organized movement are upset over bank bailouts, a lack of jobs and a lack of action in Washington, D.C.

As they’ve pushed back, so have police with arrests from coast-to-coast. But Baltimore has largely remained peaceful– despite the city’s threats to evict demonstrators from McKeldin Square. It will be one stop for those walking, and they should get a warm welcome.

“They’re actually out there putting in the work.  They’re getting blisters on their feet. They are stars under my eyes. They are super stars,” said a Occupy Baltimore protester.

They stayed overnight Thursday in Havre de Grace and are expected to be in Baltimore by sometime Saturday. They are keeping people posted on their whereabouts via Twitter.

About 200 people marched across the Howard Street Bridge in Baltimore on Thursday as part of the Occupy protest.

One of the signs that we are better off than we were four years ago comes in the form of a press release from the Treasury Department.

Following the bailout of American International Group (AIG) in September 2008 – as financial markets went into meltdown – no one thought the US taxpayers would see much of the money spent to bailout the banking system returned.

For AIG, that meant that taxpayers would break even on the investment at $28.73 a share. As the crisis unfolded and financial industry stocks plummeted, AIG went below $6.00 a share. Many thought taxpayers would never see anything positive from their investment.

On Monday, the Treasury Department sold 553,846,153 shares in AIG on Monday, turning an $18 billion profit on the $32.50 a share price.

In May, the Government Accountability Office estimated that taxpayers will gain a profit of around $15 billion from the AIG bailout.

Amazingly, that number could actually be lower than the final result.

Also significant is that the U.S. Government is now a minority share holder in AIG, cutting its stake in the company from 53.4% to 21.5%.

According to the Treasury Department press release, Treasury and the Federal Reserve “have now recovered a combined total of $194.7 billion … representing a positive return of $12.4 billion to date compared to the original combined $182.3 billion commitment. Future sales of Treasury’s remaining AIG common stock holdings will provide an additional return to taxpayers.”

So, to date, tax payers have profited $12.4 billion from the AIG bailout that helped rescue our financial industry which is on much sounder footing.

Likewise, the auto bailout helped rescue the job market.

The financial crisis served as a catalyst for a weakened auto industry to teeter on the precipice of collapse.

Especially in states like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin where families and entire small cities depend on the auto industry the effects would have been devastating.

The General Motors and Chrysler bailouts preserved jobs beyond just the auto industry across those states, and many others, and now the Ohio economy is better than the national economy as a result.

Four years ago, few thought the auto industry would rebound so fast or maybe rebound at all. Many, including Mitt Romney, recommended that we let the auto industry, and Detroit, go bankrupt.

Today the auto industry is on the rise. Shuttered factories are opening. Open factories are adding jobs and adding shifts. Communities once headed towards collapse have been revived.

We do not know how bad things would have gotten without the bailouts but one thing is certain. We are better off than we were four years ago and the bailouts look like much better bets than they did in 2008 and 2009.

The bailouts were not popular. But they were effective. And every month we get fresh evidence that they performed better than expected.

About Bill Buck

Bill Buck is a Democratic strategist, President of the Buck Communications Group, a media relations and new media strategies consulting business based in Washington, DC, and Managing Director of the online ad firm Influence DSP. He has over twenty years of international and national communications experience. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CBS Local.

Today is the first anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, a protest movement that began in Zuccotti Park in New York City’s lower Manhattan location in Wall Street’s financial district on September 17, 2011. Adbusters, a Canadian activist group started the movement which quickly went global. Most every large city – especially in the United States – had its own Occupy organization mimicking the messages from the iconic New York City original organization.

The main purpose of the Occupy Wall Street movement has been to spotlight the financial inequality as well as wealth distribution in the United States between the wealthiest citizens and the remainder of its citizens. Commonly, the wealthy have been referred to as the 1% while the non-wealthy have labeled themselves the 99%.

Though the initial protest began September 17, 2011, plans were in the works for the organization months before. Kalle Lasn and Micah White – of Adbusters publication which focuses on anti-consumerism – are credited with the thought processes that started the movement. The movement’s website, OccupyWallStreet.org was registered on June 9, 2011 by Lasn, and on July 13, 2011 the Adbusters website emailed the site’s subscribers regarding the initial steps in a peaceful occupation of America’s Wall Street to spotlight a global crisis of monetary collapse via a growing discrepancy in wealth.

Though the movement gained in momentum through the following months of its inception with its throngs of animated participants, the movement has greatly lost momentum in recent months. Though a branch of the organization will occasionally be mentioned in a sidebar to protests of all types – from new school year teachers’ strikes to business opening and closings that are of concerns to consumers – the headlines Occupy held through last fall and winter have subsided substantially.

The group has never regained its total strength since New York City police disrupted participants last year at their camp site due to public health concerns. That disruption occurred about a month-and-a-half after the protesters occupied the Brooklyn Bridge in which 700 persons were arrested. To date, that is about half of the total number of persons New York City’s police have arrested in relation to the Occupy Wall Street movement.

In an effort to revive the passion for the Occupy movement, there is a plan for Occupy Wall Street’s peaceful protesters to reunite at New York City’s lower Manhattan Wall Street financial district again on Monday – the first anniversary.

According to reports, Occupy Wall Street activists will be in force, making themselves known to the masses again. The plan is to circle the New York Stock Exchange at 7:00 a.m. Monday morning. The New York Stock Exchange, the world’s largest stock exchange by capitalization of its listed companies at just over $14 trillion as of December 2011, is located at 11 Wall Street in New York City. It is an impressive financial location to be noticed, indeed. For the purpose of being noticed, as in the past, the activists hope to tie up traffic – a terrific way to get noticed in a large city on a Monday morning during rush hour. The efforts to snarl traffic include sit-ins at intersections in the area.

The Monday morning event is following a weekend-long array of activities in New York City and other locations where there are still an “Occupy” presence. The events over the weekend included Wall Street-topic seminars, peaceful demonstrations, and music.

Over the weekend, some 300 marchers engaged in the preliminary activities where several arrests were necessary according to New York police.

Should the first year anniversary be a success in Occupy terms, there could be more arrests as there were in the past because permits have not been obtained, according to Occupy Wall Street organizers. The New York Police Department says it is prepared for the demonstration even though a permit has not been sought. The NYPD claims it is prepared to accommodate peaceful protests, but is also ready to make arrests for any unlawful activity. Of course, while that seems more than fair, one has to ask what is fair anymore.

There is an obvious irony in the fact that many who have fought the financial corruption on Wall Street have been – and will be – subjected to time in jail while the allegedly-corrupt individuals at the financial institutions being protested against are still walking the streets of New York with their American-given freedom.

How much good the Occupy Wall Street movement has accomplished and whether it warrants continuation for the inroads it has made is a question that is answered differently – depending on who one talks to about OWS. Additionally, whether or not OWS’s first anniversary is a happy anniversary for the movement depends on who’s answering the question, too.

In terms of results, OWS made the world aware of Wall Street’s nearly-obscene inequities. But, unfortunately, that has been about it. How much has really changed because of the 12-month-old movement?

For one thing, it seems the movement was afraid of getting “political”, and that kept many people disinterestedly away. Whether OWS would have been totally pro-current U.S. government by totally supporting President Obama and his financial policies or against Obama, it would have been more of a “stand” for people to grab a hold of. There was never this “political” tie-in to issues that are obviously very “political”.

OWS attempted to divide a nation that has been historically 50%-50%, via politics by being Republican or Democrat, into a 1%-99% economic division hasn’t translate as comprehensively as it needed to for total success. The “politics” needed to make the movement forge ahead has been cautiously avoided.

I believe the reason for OWS not going as political as the movement needed for lasting success is because OWS refused to call-out Obama for his economic policies. Playing it safe and not offending Obama and his supporters was their biggest downfall.

Praise Washington, D.C. when it makes the right moves – and blast the hell out of the current administration when it fails.

Then, of course, there was the image problem which is nearly impossible to deny. Showing up to peacefully demonstrate against an institution is something many would do. However, setting up camp in parks like homeless people and running the streets is not an image many Americans would ever consider endorsing. While the unemployment rate is high and the economy is atrocious, the fact is that most Americans – by far – do have jobs and would never even consider missing work or their beds at night to camp out with Occupy Wall Street’s troops.

OWS is a piece of Americana that many of us do not want to let go of yet.

However, for the movement to sustain life beyond its first anniversary, OWS needs to get more “politically-aggressive” – and the participants need to go home at night and, in the morning, either go to work or look for a job before being an activist on their own time. “Politics” will make the entire movement more relatable to Americans, and “going home at night” will improve the movement’s image for the essential universal-acceptance needed for survival.

About Scott Paulson

Scott Paulson writes political commentary for Examiner.com and teaches English at a community college in the Chicago area. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CBS Local.

In a bit of political satire in Politico, Paul Ryan is now calling Mitt Romney “The Stench”, as in stench of defeat, and Team Romney refers to Paul Ryan as “Gilligan”.  While it may be just humor, it has the air of hitting pretty close to the mark.  Ryan and Romney don’t look too comfortable with each other these days.

Where is the bromance we saw in August?

Apparently the bloom is off that rose.

There is an old saying on the trail that you can’t spell campaign without “pain” – while not literally true the pain of the campaign was broadcast across Paul Ryan’s wincing face when Mitt Romney had a moment of unguarded honesty in Ohio.

Romney said, accurately, that President Obama had not raised taxes in the last four years. That moment of candor undercut the Romney/Ryan tickets messaging big time.

Team Romney quickly issued (another) so-called-correction on behalf of their presidential candidate.

But the video of Romney saying what is true and Ryan reacting to it cannot be rolled back with a blasted out email from the Romney Self Inflicted Wound Rapid Response Team.

Ryan, however, is not the only Republican to go rogue on his boss.

Perhaps the relationship began to unravel in a moment of Paul Ryan’s unguarded honesty when he called Romney’s words at a Florida fundraiser “inelegant” and “inarticulate”.

It’s not like Paul Ryan did not witness the Romney disaster of a primary campaign where every time he popped up in the polls he shot himself in the foot. With all the money he could need, Romney was unable to easily dispatch of a former speaker of the House who resigned in disgrace or a former senator that sat at one percent in the polls for over a year and was voted out of office in Pennsylvania by a landslide.

Is Paul Ryan so delusional that he thought he could fix the campaign?

The answer, apparently, is yes.

Ryan is part of a flotilla of Republicans abandoning the Romney ship in September.

In the history of Presidential campaigns it is unheard of for a campaign co-chair to leave the campaign seven weeks out to take a job in the private sector. But that is just what Romney co-chair, two-time vice presidential nominee runner-up and Minnesota Republican Tim Pawlenty did.

He left to take a job as a Wall Street lobbyist that he could have easily taken in November. By why defer the month and a half of extra money for a losing campaign?

As for the other runner-ups in the Romney veepstakes? They are starting their presidential campaigns with forays into Iowa. In September. Before the election.

Across the country candidates for the House and Senate have seen their internal polling. Mitt Romney is dragging them down with him.

In Massachusetts, Scott Brown who the GOP is counting on in the Senate, is running an ad for himself where President Obama says “good job” to him. He is literally embracing Romney’s opponent.

Across the border in Connecticut, Linda McMahon is likewise running away from the top of the GOP ticket.

But it is not just in blue states where Obama will easily win on November 6. It is a national phenomenon.

In Nevada , Virginia and Hawaii, candidates have all distanced themselves from Romney and his disparaging comments about the 47 percent.

Susana Martinez, the Republican Governor of New Mexico who spoke for Romney at the Republican National Convention, likewise sought to distance herself from Romney’s comments.

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

But the toughest words for Romney are coming from the Republican pundits that always knew Romney was not up to the task.

This parting of the ways is a huge strategic problem for Republicans. The Republican National Committee is sitting on tens of millions of dollars it can spend on television but it must be done in coordination with the Romney campaign and Senate and House candidates.

These “party building ads” do not work if they do more harm to the House and Senate candidates as Romney’s numbers nosedive.

The Super PACs have a similar problem. If they write off Romney then he loses more support and the job of lifting down ballot Republicans gets that much harder.

Romney is dragging every Republican down and House and Senate Republican operatives have conceded as much throughout the month of September.

The fact that it is September and the GOP is abandoning Mitt Romney in droves gives Democrats hope that what was unthinkable in the spring – an Obama reelection that increases seats in the Senate and a potential takeover of the House – may be within their reach.

About Bill Buck

Bill Buck is a Democratic strategist, President of the Buck Communications Group, a media relations and new media strategies consulting business based in Washington, DC, and Managing Director of the online ad firm Influence DSP. He has over twenty years of international and national communications experience. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CBS Local.

Showing the same business savvy that tanked the finance industry, the wealthy mega-donors of Republican SuperPACs are waking up to the fact that they got played by a bunch of political hacks that managed to massage the financiers bruised egos while fleecing the rich and mega-rich alike to the tune of hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions of dollars.

It turns out that a swath of the financial industry is no more adept at handling campaign money as they were in dealing with American mortgages.

From the outset let me say a few things. One, I am not a Communist. Two, I am not opposed to people making money. Three, I am a former Treasury Department spokesperson and have a lot of respect for many, but not all, of the people that work in the financial sector.

The American financial industry has been a source of comparative advantage for our national economy. A large number of actors in the industry have played by the rules, become wealthy and made others money as employees or stockholders, directly or through retirement plans.

But the fact of the matter is that the global financial industry brought down the global economy. A lot of bad actors walked away without legal ramifications.

Everyone in the industry, good actors and bad, ought to expect a an amount of deserved heat and attention for a while – at a minimum until the economy is in full recovery.

But the industry rejected the heat and has returned some of its bad behavior, which is why New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a lawsuit against Bear Sterns and JP Morgan Chase for allegedly selling garbage subprime mortgage-backed securities to unsuspecting investors.

Some contrition at some point would have gone a long way. But collectively the Titans of Wall Street did not have it in them.

And they cry all the way to the bank when politicians point out that the very industry that tanked the economy gets a special protected low tax rate at a time when the people they knocked out of jobs are struggling to feed and shelter their families.

It was a message that was difficult for those used to hearing from the sycophants and yes men they employ.

A large and vocal part of the wealthiest Americans has become unhinged over this. And the mega-rich SuperPAC donors have engaged in class warfare at an unprecedented level.

The mega-rich have found their way to get revenge. Thanks to the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court they are able to attempt to buy the 2012 election and put in power people that are more sympathetic to their perceived entitlement to live as they want, fleece who they want and not hear any back talk from Washington.

The collective emotional catharsis that Karl Rove and other SuperPAC profiteers offered wealthy donors cost donors a fairly substantial amount of money, at least by conventional standards.

They would have been wiser, or at least more economically efficient, to invest in actual therapy.

Incidentally, the financiers money may have attracted enough Republican campaign talent from actually working on campaigns that the Republican Convention and a number of campaigns have been poorly run while SuperPACs, that are not producing Republican victories, most certainly made their workers a lot of money by campaign standards.

It is called poor money management. It is called incompetence. It is also called arrogance.

The belief that you can just write a check, or write check after check after check, so that Karl Rove can take a cut off the top, then the ad guy can take a cut, and the pollster get their cut and then another large portion goes to overhead, then you are paying a massive premium for running the ad that campaigns do not.

Campaigns pay the lowest possible rate for ads. SuperPACs pay the market rate, which can be five to ten times more expensive in some cases.

It would not be surprising to later learn that 5 to 10 million SuperPAC dollars on the right went as far as 1 million dollars went for the Obama campaign.

No matter the disparity, it is clear that Democrats have shown a greater propensity to spend money wisely. At the end of the day, that is what America needs.

And the wealthy SuperPAC donors got what they needed too: an expensive vehicle to vent their anger at President Obama.

The question is, what are they going to do for the next four years?

About Bill Buck

Bill Buck is a Democratic strategist, President of the Buck Communications Group, a media relations and new media strategies consulting business based in Washington, DC, and Managing Director of the online ad firm Influence DSP. He has over twenty years of international and national communications experience. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CBS Local.

Over the past day the game tape of the debate has been reviewed. While Mitt Romney still enjoys the afterglow of the debate, the lies and half truths he told are being dissected.

From tax policy to hiring teachers. From cracking down on Wall Street (and Sesame Street) to coverage for the uninsured. From Medicare to shipping jobs overseas the fact checkers have been very busy correcting the record and pointing out falsehoods.

Even Team Romney had to correct the candidate on health care immediately after the debate.

As I predicted earlier this week, Romney had an October Surprise planned for the President – new policy ideas. But I had no idea that Romney would just lie about everything he had said over the past year and a half.

As the President said, Mitt Romney’s bright new idea is: Never Mind!

But there was a moment in the debate that will be discussed in the days ahead that everyone missed until yesterday.

A review of the debate tape reveals that, apparently, Mitt Romney needed a cheat sheet to keep the lies straight.

The rules of the presidential debates are clear about not bringing outside notes and presidents and aspirants have followed the rule for decades.

Video of the first eleven seconds of the debate available on YouTube shows Mitt Romney reaching into his pocket at the moment he is out of view of those in front of him, he used the lectern as a shield, and removing what appears to be folded papers from his pocket.

We see this because the camera that was broadcasting was behind Romney. Those in the audience and the moderator may have been shielded from his sleight of hand, but not the viewers.

Romney then proceeds to unfold the item in front of him.

For those curious if it could have been some else, later video sheds some light on what Romney retrieves from his lectern.

After the Romney and Obama families chat post-debate the President walks off stage, leaving his notes behind for an aide, no doubt.

But not so for Romney. The Presidential challenger goes back to his lectern to retrieve his items. It is clear that the only thing that Romney takes is paper. Not a handkerchief. Not a white flag. Nothing but paper.

So the next question is: what is Mitt Romney’s explanation for the apparent cheating?

Update:

The evidence seems to indicate it was a handkerchief. So there you have it folks. The mystery seems to have been solved.

But ye olde Mitt Romney saying, what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, doesn’t seem to hold true for news aggregator that just this week promoted a five year old story that was covered five years ago — and was not a story.

I have no desire to be part of the peddlers of conspiracy and falsehoods like the birthers or the truthers.

I did write an essay pointing out that there were questions that should be asked and that there was suspicious behavior on the part of Mitt Romney.

Those questions have been put to rest. Honestly, I do not know a person that carries a cloth rag in their pocket when they have a runny nose — it is a little gross.

It doesn’t change the fact that it is incredibly stupid to walk into a Presidential debate and sneak something from your pocket. There is advance staff to take care of tissues.

It also doesn’t change the fact that Romney distorted his campaign proposals and presented a very different version of Mitt Romney than the one that has been running for President for more than half a decade.

So it seems that Mitt Romney did indeed memorize his lies rather than bring a laundry list of them with him. And he carries a hanky.

About Bill Buck

Bill Buck is a Democratic strategist, President of the Buck Communications Group, a media relations and new media strategies consulting business based in Washington, DC, and Managing Director of the online ad firm Influence DSP. He has over twenty years of international and national communications experience. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CBS Local.

WASHINGTON (WJZ)—The fiscal cliff is averted after a late-night vote in Washington finally brought Congress together for a deal, but it’s a compromise that leaves both sides disappointed.

Kai Jackson explains the work is far from over.

There appears to be more frustration than pats on the back even though the 112th Congress reached a deal avoiding the fiscal cliff.

“I hate this agreement. I hate it with every fiber of my being,” said Sen. Kent Conrad, (D-North Dakota).

Late Tuesday night, the House signed off on a bill that prevents a middle class tax hike and delays automatic spending cuts.

Yet the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says Congress missed an opportunity to tackle the ballooning federal debt. Some call it a serious national security issue.

“This problem isn’t going away. They are going to have to keep working at it until they get it,” said Marc Goldwein, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

The bill raises taxes on families making more than $450,000 a year and extends long-term jobless benefits for a year.

“I sell cars for a living. I work for Audi, so I thought maybe that might kinda trickle down and affect our sales, so I was pretty happy to hear that they reached an agreement,” said Daniella Albano, of Eatontown, N.J.

Even though there’s relief that Congress reached a deal, avoiding tax increases for most Americans, there’s frustration that it took this long to get it done.

“How long has it been taking, several months obviously. A very long time. I mean this is something, especially for the president and Congress, that I would assume should probably take about 30 days,” said Peter Iskander, of Eatontown, N.J.

But the law doesn’t include spending cuts or Social Security and Medicare reform, leaving many lawmakers doubtful Congress will ever reach a sweeping budget deal.

The deal brought a stock surge to Wall Street.

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Business is booming for Baltimore-based clothier Under Armour. The latest profit reports sent the stocks soaring to an all-time high, making millions and millions of dollars for its CEO.

Derek Valcourt has more on the big boost for the company.

The company’s stocks rose 23 percent after it released a better than expected fourth quarter earnings report.

Under Armour executives ring the closing bell on Wall Street one day after it scored huge on the stock market.

Thursday, the Baltimore-based company’s stock prices shot up $19.54, closing at $104.76 after reporting fourth quarter 2013 net revenues increased 35 percent over the fourth quarter of 2012–far surpassing many analysts’ predictions.

“They had a blowout fourth quarter. They beat those expectations. And what was really impressive about their fourth quarter was the guidance they offered about 2014,” said Anirban Basu, Sage Policy Group. “And what the company is suggesting is that 2014 will be another very strong growth year in terms of earnings, profit margins, revenues and so the company’s stock price reflects those growing expectations.”

A big day for the company also meant a big day for its CEO Kevin Plank, who reportedly made $400 million Thursday. Forbes reports, in all, Plank’s personal fortune is up $1 billion since March.

And 2013 was a big year for the company, including the opening of their first retail stores.

Their stock surge comes just days after another big announcement that Under Armour will now outfit the University of Notre Dame athletic teams–a huge score over its athletic apparel rivals.

“And right now, Under Armour in its competition with Nike and others has the momentum and that’s one of the reasons the stock prices have done so well,” Basu said.

And with so much support in Maryland…

“I’m addicted to it, I love it now. I just can’t get enough,” said Makani Samios-Uy.

“You feel good when you’re wearing it,” said Aaron Blake.

The company now plans for a 16th straight quarter of at least 20 percent growth.

For Under Armour, the goods news just keeps on coming. Friday, stock prices closed up again another $3.35.

Under Armour says as they head into the future one of their biggest challenges will be expanding business overseas.

Other Local News:

• Harbor Tunnel Closed After Cash Reportedly Spilled Inside
• Pilot Makes Emergency Landing In Highway With Md. Skydivers On Board
• Suspect Driving Stolen Car Arrested After Crashing In Howard County
• Police Making Arrests In Baltimore Homicides
• Man Charged With Murder In Lyon Sisters Cold Case

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) – General Motors says second-quarter profit fell 85 percent as recall costs chopped $1.5 billion from the bottom line.

The automaker posted a net profit of $190 million, or 11 cents per share, including restructuring and recall-related expenses. A year ago GM made $1.26 billion, or 75 cents per share.

Without one-time items GM would have made 58 cents per share, equaling Wall Street’s expectations.

So far this year GM has recalled almost 30 million vehicles, a company record.

“We remain focused on keeping our customers at the center of all we do, and executing our plan to operate profitably in every region of the world,” CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.

GM took a number of pretax charges tied to the recalls. They Include $400 million to compensate victims of ignition-switch related crashes; $874 million to account for recall expenses during the next 10 years; and $1.2 billion for recalls announced during the quarter. The after-tax impact of those items was $1.5 billion.

TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Brutal stabbing. A man is robbed and attacked by a group of teens riding mopeds in Federal Hill.

Mike Hellgren reports the victim remains in critical condition following the attack.

Police have yet to make any arrests, but a reward is being offered. The victim’s father says his son is looking much better. He continues to recover at Shock Trauma.

Salvatore Schittino is still in the hospital–more than three days after a vicious attack and robbery on Federal Hill that left him fighting for his life.

It happened on Wall Street–just a short distance from Light Street–in the heart of the neighborhood.

Just after 4 a.m. Sunday, four men on mopeds tackled Schittino. His father says they stabbed him in the heart, liver and lung.

“They weren’t out to hurt him, they were out to kill him. I’m scared, and the whole community should be scared. These guys… maybe next time they’ll succeed,” his father, Sal Schittino, Sr., said.

The men got away with Schittino’s wallet and phone and left him for dead. The attack may have been captured on a security camera.

“He just kind of turned and ran. Just threw the wallet behind him. Someone yelled ‘get off him.’ And when they yelled ‘get off him,’ the guys jumped on their mopeds and took off,” Schittino, Sr. said.

There is concern that initial reports of what happened were inaccurate and police waited days to release an official account. Police have declined to answer questions.

“The problem is that a couple different people have a different version of the story, and that quickly got out of control,” said Eric Costello, Federal Hill Neighborhood Association.

“We’re especially concerned with the opening of the casino next week that there will be more people in the neighborhood,” said Morgan Alcalay, South Baltimore Neighborhood Association. “We want to make sure everyone stays safe.”

Dana Nixon lives just feet from the stabbing.

“I do see police officers riding by, so I would say it’s secure. I know when somebody broke into our home that they did say this is a safer area in Baltimore, but I guess you never know,” Nixon said.

Schittino’s dad says his son will recover and believes it’s important to get the men behind the attack off the streets.

“We were lucky. He’s going to be fine, he’s going to make a 100 percent recovery. If they get somebody else, maybe they won’t be as lucky,” Schittino, Sr. said.

Schittino was supposed to start grad school next week. He works at Sheppard Pratt and graduated from Loyola Blakefield and Washington College, where he played basketball.

Other Local News:

• Harbor Tunnel Closed After Cash Reportedly Spilled Inside
• Pilot Makes Emergency Landing In Highway With Md. Skydivers On Board
• Suspect Driving Stolen Car Arrested After Crashing In Howard County
• Police Making Arrests In Baltimore Homicides
• Man Charged With Murder In Lyon Sisters Cold Case

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Martin O’Malley is making tougher oversight of Wall Street a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, outlining steps to bring more regulations to large banks and tax high-frequency trading.

The former Maryland governor was releasing a series of policy proposals Thursday aimed at regulating large banks and cracking down on financial industry excess.

O’Malley says he would seek to reinstate the Glass Steagall Act, which required Wall Street firms to separate their commercial and investment banking practices, until it was repealed in 1999. Liberals contend its repeal helped contribute to the 2008 financial crisis.

O’Malley also intends to implement a financial transaction tax to limit high-frequency trading and reduce high-risk behavior on Wall Street. He would also install higher capital requirements for big banks, require banks and their executives who break the law to admit guilt, and double funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

O’Malley has yet to gain much traction at the start of his primary bid against Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, but he has put forward specific policy proposals on climate change and college affordability aimed at attracting the party’s base.

The ex-governor’s agenda reflects Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s populist push to police Wall Street in recent years. Warren was recruited to run for president by progressive groups but chose not to seek the presidency.

(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

NEW YORK (AP) — A statue of a young girl with a look of resolve has been placed in front of Wall Street’s famous charging bull in time for International Women’s Day.

A big investment firm, State Street Global Advisors, put the statue there to highlight efforts to get more women on corporate boards.

The work by artist Kristen Visbal is called “Fearless Girl.”

The girl appears to be staring down the bull. Her head is held high. Her hands are firmly planted on her waist. Her pony-tail looks as if it’s in motion.

A plaque at her feet says: “Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference.”

Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

BALTIMORE (AP) — Under Armour is cutting its annual outlook again, sending shares plunging 12 percent before the opening bell.

The Baltimore company posted a profit of $54.2 million, or 12 cents per share, Tuesday. Earnings, adjusted for restructuring costs, came to 22 cents per share, which was actually 3 cents better than Wall Street had expected, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research. Revenue of $1.41 billion, however, is shy of analyst projections for $1.49 billion.

Under Armour Inc., more importantly, lowered its annual per-share earnings forecast to between 18 cents and 20 cents per share, about half what it told investors to expect in August.

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(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (AP) — CVS Health edged Wall Street third-quarter earnings expectations, but slumping sales from established stores helped chop the drugstore chain’s profit more than 16 percent.

The company also narrowed its forecast for 2017 earnings.

CVS Health Corp. said Monday that it now expects annual adjusted earnings of $5.87 to $5.91 per share, a forecast that counts charges due to hurricanes. That’s down from a forecast of $5.83 to $5.93 that it made in August.

Analysts expect, on average, earnings of $5.88 per share, according to FactSet.

In the third quarter, CVS Health earnings fell to $1.29 billion from $1.54 billion in last year’s quarter, while total revenue climbed more than 3 percent to $46.18 billion.

Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $1.50 per share.

Analysts expected, on average, earnings of $1.49 per share on $46.19 billion in revenue, according to Zacks Investment Research.

CVS Health runs more than 9,700 retail locations, counting the pharmacy and clinic businesses of retail giant Target Corp. That total is second only to Walgreens. CVS Health also processes more than a billion prescriptions annually as a pharmacy benefits manager, or PBM.

Shares of Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS Health Corp. shares have declined 12 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has increased 16 percent. The stock has declined 16 percent in the last 12 months.

Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

(CNN) — It was raining cats and dogs on Wall Street on Friday: Online pet supplies retailer Chewy made its debut. And it was a strong one.

Shares of Chewy, which was bought by retailer PetSmart in 2017 for nearly $3.4 billion, soared nearly 80% to about $39 in early trading Friday. The company was valued at more than $15 billion following the stock sale.

Chewy priced its initial public offering Thursday at $22 a share. That was above the expected range.

The company raised $1 billion from the stock sale and now trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CHWY.

PetSmart remains the majority owner of Chewy, with a 70% stake in the company and 77% controlling interest.

Chewy is growing rapidly, despite competitive threats from Amazon as well as food giant General Mills — which recently acquired pet food seller Blue Buffalo.

Sales soared 68% last year to more than $3.5 billion. But the company is still losing money. It reported a net loss of $268 million in 2018, following a $338 million loss a year earlier.

Chewy is the latest high-profile unicorn IPO to launch with a smash, following in the footsteps of gig economy network Fiverr on Thursday and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike earlier this week.

Beyond Meat, video conferencing company Zoom and software firm PagerDuty have all surged since going public as well, a sign that the broader IPO market is still in solid shape despite the struggles of Uber and Lyft.

Chewy will be hoping that it is the next Beyond Meat and not another flop like Uber.

The company may also have to deal with unfavorable comparisons to Pets.com, one of the highest profile disasters of the dot-com bubble era in the late 1990s and early 2000.

The-CNN-Wire
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