Feud

City officials retreated Thursday from criticizing federal agencies for their role in a joint investigation of feuding drug rings, emphasizing instead the collaborative nature of the process and the many times the feds have come to Baltimore's aid. Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III issued a statement saying the department's "strong partnership" with federal law enforcement is a "critical piece of [its] crime fighting strategy." And Mayor Sheila Dixon's spokesman said the U.S. attorney's office "has done a good job - a wonderful job, actually - in their work in Baltimore City."

Police believe a long-running dispute between drug organizations contributed to an unprecedented eruption of violence on Baltimore's east side Sunday night that left at least 18 people shot, including two who died. Twelve of the victims were struck at a backyard cookout that left a pregnant woman and a 2-year-old child injured, an incident that police say prompted a running gun battle between two vehicles three hours later. Mayor Sheila Dixon called the shootings a "cowardly act" and implored the community to come forward with tips, as police directed dozens of additional officers into the eastern and southeastern districts.

Simmering tensions among Maryland Republicans have boiled over into a public brawl with leading GOP officers and members of the General Assembly openly clashing with Chairman James Pelura over the party's future. The disagreements - dubbed Pelurapalooza by the popular conservative blog Red Maryland - escalated this week when state party officers called for a meeting with Pelura to explain his actions, including why he sought the resignation of the party's executive director, Justin Ready, on Monday.

Matthew Brzica and his wife hardly noticed when the hospital took a few drops of blood from each of their four newborn children for routine genetic testing. But then they discovered that the state had kept the dried blood samples ever since - and was making them available to scientists for medical research. n "They're just taking DNA from young kids right out of the womb and putting it into a warehouse," said Brzica, of Victoria, Minn. "DNA is what makes us who we are. It's just not right."

The feud between Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy is starting to click. The brothers highlighted a good episode of Smackdown Friday, as Matt opened with a solid promo, and an exciting stretcher match between them closed it. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/ringposts)

A scuffle at a Howard County high school between adults and teens from two feuding families led to six arrests, police and school officials said. Four students and two adults were charged with disorderly conduct in the incident Tuesday at Reservoir High in Fulton, police said. The members of the two families - students ages 15 to 17 and two female adults - encountered one another in the front office during the school day and began to bicker, said school system spokeswoman Patti Caplan.

First cousins Katie and Sarah Matz are best friends, and they're not about to let anything change that, especially not a lacrosse rivalry. While that might sound easy, it couldn't have been Tuesday when Katie's No. 1 McDonogh team rolled over Sarah's No. 4 Bryn Mawr team, 16-3. "Of course it's frustrating," Sarah said afterward, "but we're family, so we can't let it get between us. We're still best friends." How will they handle the aftermath of Tuesday's game? "We'll probably hang out on Friday," Katie said, and they both laughed.

The late Victorine Q. Adams helped black politicians challenge Baltimore's white establishment in the 1950s, became the first black woman on the City Council in the 1960s and founded one of the nation's first nonprofits to help people pay energy bills in the 1970s. But the Baltimore organization that represents her legacy isn't assisting anybody this winter. The Victorine Q. Adams Fuel Fund has suspended business, the result of a bitter disagreement with its main financing source, the Fuel Fund of Maryland.

MOSCOW - Fuel delivery to four European countries fell below normal yesterday as Russia's state gas monopoly withheld natural gas from neighboring Ukraine for the third consecutive day. Ukraine warned that its gas pipeline system could experience "serious disruptions" if a worsening price dispute isn't settled in 10 to 15 days, threatening shortfalls across Europe in the heart of winter. Flows of gas to Poland, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria, all of which depend on pipelines that cross Ukraine, decreased yesterday, officials said.

The most significant moment during Friday night's episode of Smackdown occurred on the entrance ramp just after Jeff Hardy's countout victory over The Big Show. As Jeff was taking his bows, Matt Hardy suddenly appeared on the ramp to celebrate with his brother. Matt got so excited that he grabbed Jeff's arm and raised it in a symbol of victory. Jeff, however, was selling an injury to the arm, and he immediately jerked it away, grimacing. I believe it's another hint that the Hardy boys are going to end up feuding.