Bahamas

Bang Warren dismissed the pounding on her cabin door early Monday morning as "children playing a prank. " Then a horn blared and she heard people running through the halls of the Grandeur of the Seas A fire had broken out in the early morning hours aboard the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship that sailed from Baltimore for the Bahamas on Friday. "Crew members told us to get our life vest on," recalled Warren, a White Marsh resident. "We asked if we could throw on clothes real quick.

Bang Warren dismissed the pounding on her cabin door early Monday morning as "children playing a prank. " Then a horn blared and she heard people running through the halls of the Grandeur of the Seas A fire had broken out in the early morning hours aboard the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship that sailed from Baltimore for the Bahamas on Friday. "Crew members told us to get our life vest on," recalled Warren, a White Marsh resident. "We asked if we could throw on clothes real quick.

Maryland Transportation Authority Police arrested a 61-year-old Brandywine man Friday as he got off of a plane from the Bahamas at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. James Ivory Barber was arrested on an outstanding warrant in Baltimore, said Sgt. Kirk Perez, spokesman for the transportation police. Perez said the police were notified by U.S. Customs and Border Protection that Barber was on the plane. The plane landed around 6:30 p.m., Perez said.

Larry and Fran Rawl, of Bel Air, celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary in the Bahamas. They are blessed with four children and six grandchildren.

A 71-year-old Reisterstown woman on an ocean cruise from the port of Baltimore has died while snorkeling off Freeport, Bahamas. Carol Martin Olson was a passenger aboard the Carnival Pride, which sailed from Baltimore April 25. A spokeswoman for Carnival Cruise Lines said Monday that "a female guest" died on April 30, but declined to confirm the victim's name "in deference to their personal privacy." Olson's identity was provided by another passenger on the excursion, and a Reisterstown funeral home said Olson died in "a snorkeling accident in Freeport, Grand Bahama."

Hurricane Sandy forced Carnival Cruise Lines to cancel just two of its many ocean voyages this week, including a seven-day trip to the Bahamas on the Carnival Pride that was to depart this past Sunday from the port of Baltimore. The cruise line is giving refunds to all passengers, but has decided not to let the 2,124-passenger ship merely sit empty in the Chesapeake Bay. Carnival is now offering a two-day cruise out to sea and back from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning. Rates start at $129 per person for interior rooms, based on double occupancy.

Lately, it seems everything is free. Free pancakes at IHOP. Free subs at Quiznos. Free nights at hotels. Free days at Walt Disney World. Free tickets to Universal Studios. The problem is most of it is stuff you don't really want or need. (When is BGE gonna give me a month's supply of heat for free? In Neverary.) The other problem is you have to spend money to get to the free part. But here's a free offer that could have a happy ending and end up costing you absolutely nothing except a few words.

The long arm of justice may reach from Baltimore to the Bahamas today as four defense lawyers and a prosecutor take a deposition from a federal fugitive on the island of Exuma.The deposition hearing was prompted by a defense attorney in an international drug case tied to the Florida-to-Western Maryland distribution network of convicted gang leaders Marshall L. Jones and Steven A. Silvers. The current case is scheduled for trial next month in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.Today's deposition hearing represents the first time a prosecutor from the U.S. attorney's office here has ever gone out of the country to take sworn testimony from a fugitive.

Shades of Dr. James Naismith. If ever a basketball game started from scratch, it is the Washington Bullets preseason contest against the Miami Heat this afternoon at Carnival's Crystal Palace Resort in Nassau, Bahamas.The first National Basketball Association game played on this resort island will be staged before a sellout crowd of 4,500 in what is advertised as "the biggest tent in the world."More a year in planning, every item needed to conduct an NBA game -- balls, a portable floor, glass backboards, electric scoreboards, clocks, sound systems and bleacher seats -- had to be imported at considerable cost from the United States.

NASSAU, Bahamas - Hurricane Frances barreled up the Bahamas yesterday, ravaging island after island with high winds, heavy rains and surging seas as it took aim on Florida. In Nassau, home to two-thirds of the nation's 300,000 inhabitants, 90-mph gusts blew out windows, sheared limbs off trees and ripped power lines from utility poles. White surf smashed boats into seawalls and flooded coastal roads. A Nassau teenager was electrocuted yesterday, the first death here attributed to Frances.

Baltimore Ravens defensive end Arthur Jones just isn't going to stop running anytime soon. Certainly not while adding to his single-season career highs in tackles and sacks. And definitely not while keeping up with his younger brothers: Jon "Bones" Jones, who holds the light-heavyweight Ultimate Fighting Championship crown; and Chandler Jones, a rookie defensive end for the New England Patriots. To broaden his athletic prowess, Jones, who also wrestled in high school, spends part of his off-season alongside brother Jon, training in martial arts.

The housewives are still in the Bahamas. Karent, Joanna, Lisa and Lea sit around the breakfast table in their pajamas, pretending they just woke up, but wearing full faces of makeup. Except maybe Joanna, but she just pisses me off because she always looks beautiful. Lea's giving Karent advice about the Rodolfo situation. In case you missed the last episode, or my gripping recap, Alexia shared an article with the women that said Rodolfo was in a serious relationship with someone, and it wasn't Karent.

This week the ladies are headed to Bimini. My initial reaction is, where the heck is Bimini? For those of us who don't know about beautiful, Caribbean islands, Bimini is an island located in the Bahamas. My next thought is why do the Bravo producers keep forcing these women, who clearly hate each other, to go on trips together? I guess they think we like the drama. I think, "wow, I should really pop a few aspirin before watching this show. " Let's recap who isn't getting along: Marysol vs. Lea- they don't like each other because...

Hurricane Sandy forced Carnival Cruise Lines to cancel just two of its many ocean voyages this week, including a seven-day trip to the Bahamas on the Carnival Pride that was to depart this past Sunday from the port of Baltimore. The cruise line is giving refunds to all passengers, but has decided not to let the 2,124-passenger ship merely sit empty in the Chesapeake Bay. Carnival is now offering a two-day cruise out to sea and back from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning. Rates start at $129 per person for interior rooms, based on double occupancy.

Maryland Transportation Authority Police arrested a 61-year-old Brandywine man Friday as he got off of a plane from the Bahamas at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. James Ivory Barber was arrested on an outstanding warrant in Baltimore, said Sgt. Kirk Perez, spokesman for the transportation police. Perez said the police were notified by U.S. Customs and Border Protection that Barber was on the plane. The plane landed around 6:30 p.m., Perez said.

Here's a vision of your vacation: Cheerleaders. In swimsuits. The Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders and 98Rock are teaming up again this year for the Spring Fling trip to the Grand Bahama Islands . Fans can join the station's talent and staff, along with the Ravens squad of cheerleaders, at the Grand Lucayan Resort, April 8-15. In addition to sun, fun, beaches and entertainment from 98Rock live broadcasts, fans will also be able to watch as the Ravens cheerleaders pose for photos that will be used in their 2012-2013 Swimsuit Calendar.

Baltimore Ravens defensive end Arthur Jones just isn't going to stop running anytime soon. Certainly not while adding to his single-season career highs in tackles and sacks. And definitely not while keeping up with his younger brothers: Jon "Bones" Jones, who holds the light-heavyweight Ultimate Fighting Championship crown; and Chandler Jones, a rookie defensive end for the New England Patriots. To broaden his athletic prowess, Jones, who also wrestled in high school, spends part of his off-season alongside brother Jon, training in martial arts.

Kamie Crawford, a 17-year-old from Potomac was crowned Miss Teen USA Saturday night in the Bahamas, making her the first contestant from the state of Maryland to win the distinction. Crawford, a senior at Winston Churchill High in Potomac, beat out Miss Illinois to win the title. The competition was held at Atlantis, Paradise Island resort, in the Bahamas. She was named Miss Maryland Teen USA in November, which was her first time competing in the pageant. As a result of the win, Crawford received a two-year scholarship from the New York Film Academy worth more than $100,000, a diamond tiara, and various trips and clothes.

Mohammad Akram Bhatti, the owner of an Edgewater gas station and convenience store, died of cerebral meningitis Nov. 9 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 68 and lived in Crofton. Born in Nabah, India, he moved with his family to the Punjab province in Pakistan as a child. He earned a degree from Islamia College in Lahore, Pakistan. He worked briefly for Lever Brothers in Karachi, Pakistan. Family members said that in 1969, with only some pocket money, he immigrated to Florida, where he studied at Florida Memorial College.