Claims

Orioles closer Jim Johnson entered the ninth inning of Sunday afternoon's game against the Toronto Blue Jays coming off two clean outings, including saving a one-run win the day before. But Johnson walked off the field -- with Blue Jays players running around the field in jubilation -- with an all too familiar feeling of frustration. Johnson couldn't preserve a three-run, ninth-inning lead, blowing his fourth save in his past five opportunities in the Orioles' 6-5 walkoff loss at the Rogers Centre.

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough visited the Baltimore regional office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Friday to discuss efforts to address the agency's persistent backlog of veterans disability claims. The Baltimore office, which serves half a million veterans in Maryland, is among the nation's worst performers in processing claims, The Baltimore Sun has shown in a series of stories. McDonough's visit was not announced and was not open to reporters. McDonough met with managers in the office as well as employees who handle the claims processing.

When the call came from Maryland coach Cathy Reese, Kasey Howard was sitting in senior English class at Broadneck High pretty well convinced her days as a lacrosse goalie were just about over. Howard, who led Anne Arundel County in save percentage her last two seasons at Broadneck, figured she wasn't meant to be a college athlete when things didn't work out with another Division I program. Instead, she would go to Maryland for the education. Then her cell phone rang with an opportunity Howard had never imagined.

Two winning Powerball tickets - one from Baltimore City, one from Calvert County, and each with a second-tier prize of $1 million - were pulled from Wednesday night's drawing, said the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency on Thursday. No one has come forward to claim the prizes. The winning tickets were purchased at the Royal Farms in Baltimore on 4834 Hollins Ferry Road and at the Ken Mar Liquors in Prince Frederick on 1525 Solomons Island Road South, said Maryland Lottery spokeswoman Erica Palmisano.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers pressed the Obama administration Wednesday to reduce the backlog of disability claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs by improving cooperation between the several agencies that have a role in the process. Senators emerged from a closed-door meeting with VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and said the agencies would work to improve communication, provide more regular updates to Congress and identify high-level staff who will ultimately be responsible for addressing the delays.

A Baltimore woman claims in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court that city police destroyed her camera and arrested her because she was recording officers who she observed beating someone else. The lawsuit, first reported last month by WBAL-TV when it was filed in Circuit Court , seeks $150,000. The plaintiff, Makia Smith, said that on March 8, 2012, she was driving on Harford Road when she witnessed officers beating a young man, according to the complaint. She said she took out her camera phone and started recording.

Bel Air boys lacrosse coach Scoop Kelly had twice the satisfaction when his Bobcats defeated Franklin, 14-10, on Monday in the Class 4A-3A South regional semifinals. Not only did Bel Air (12-3) move one step closer to an appearance in the state tournament, but Kelly also notched his 100th career win.  On Wednesday, Bel Air travels to Howard, a 20-3 winner over Kenwood in the region's other semifinal game, in a bid to reach the state tournament for the second straight year.

Rutgers reinstated men's lacrosse coach   Brian Brecht on Tuesday, almost a month after having suspended him with pay over allegations of verbal abuse. While the university investigation found that the former Loyola University assistant did use inappropriate language and exhibited unprofessional behavior on occasion, the instances were infrequent and not directed at individual players. Accordingly the university found no criminal or university policy violations. “I regret my behavior and am determined to set a better example in the future,” said Brecht, who missed the last two games of the season.

Peter Jensen 's editorial on conservatives' attitude toward environmental protection is misleading ("Don't save the planet," May 4). The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, stressed the importance of the marketing message. Conservatives react more favorably to marketing messages that stress energy-efficiency or energy-independence than they do to saving the environment. The study does not suggest that conservatives as a group do not support energy-efficient products.

The Stevenson men's lacrosse team did not enjoy its first lead of Saturday night's NCAA tournament second-round contest against Washington College until 54 minutes had elapsed. But that was all the Mustangs would need. Senior midfielder Nick Rossi's blast from the left point with 5:42 gave Stevenson a 14-13 lead, and two goals from sophomore attackman Mark Pannenton and one from sophomore midfielder Billy Burgoyne gave the No. 4 Mustangs some extra breathing room en route to a 17-13 win against the No. 11 Shoremen before an announced 740 at Mustang Stadium in Owings Mills.