Washington

Roberto Pagan-Franco didn't have a bank account for decades. His employer paid him in cash or with a check that the Baltimore resident took to a check-cashing store. A few years ago he lost his job after a severe illness and for a time was homeless. Not exactly the type of customer you'd expect a big bank to court. But Pagan-Franco enrolled in a PNC Bank program that targets consumers who otherwise might be shut out of the banking system. And today, the 54-year-old has checking and savings accounts at PNC and is in the process of getting a credit card.

As Catholic institutions across the country sue the Obama administration over new health insurance rules, Baltimore's new archbishop is scheduled to speak in Washington this week at a conference focusing on "Rising Threats to American Religious Freedom. " Archbishop William E. Lori, who was installed this month as the 16th archbishop of Baltimore, said he would discuss "the roots of our own nation's tradition of respect for religious freedom" — including the roles of Marylanders John Carroll, the first archbishop of Baltimore, and his cousin Charles Carroll, the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Hundreds of people lined up on sun-drenched asphalt Saturday to see if they could get regular payouts, in the form of paychecks, from the new Maryland Live! Casino, a slots casino scheduled to open at Arundel Mills mall in about three months. "I hope I get lucky enough to get a position," said Mark Ellison, who's from West Baltimore. "They want people who are willing to go the extra mile so customers come in and enjoy spending their money. " The operators of what will be the state's largest casino hosted a job fair Saturday with the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corp.

Now that Vladimir Putin is Russia's president once again, the result of still another fraudulent election, we should expect ever more hostile relations with Moscow. Mr. Putin, a vain and vulgar man, was born and bred to despise the United States. And in recent times, Washington has given him little reason to change his mind. The latest example: President Obama waited several days before calling Mr. Putin to congratulate him on his election victory this month - though Mr. Obama did manage to call Francois Hollande just a few hours after he won the French presidential elections.

Albert Lord doesn't like to wait - not in business or on the golf course. The colorful chairman of student loan behemoth Sallie Mae, who's embroiled in a nasty fight over the failed sale of the company, has spent 40 years in the accounting and banking industries. He said that experience should have instilled in him a measure of patience, but it hasn't. Whether in traffic, at the office or on the links, Lord said, he just doesn't like to wait. He can't do much about the first two, but he's got a sure-fire solution for the last one: He's building his own, an 18-hole golf course on land he's acquired amid shuttered tobacco farms and grazing horses in southern Anne Arundel County.

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration has agreed to remove almost all the 250,000 names on a secret list of aliens considered ideologically unacceptable to enter the United States, ending a 40-year practice that has its roots in the McCarthy era.The action is largely symbolic because a revision of the immigration law last year barred the State Department from excluding an individual because of beliefs, statements or political associations that would be...

MARGARET JONES PROCTOR, retired Administrative Assistant of The Carnegie Institution of Washington in Baltimore and former Baltimore City English and History Teacher, quietly slipped from this life on December 29, 2005. Born Margaret Lee Jones in Richmond, Virginia on September 5, 1911 to William and Leonade Jones. At the age of two she and her brother moved to Baltimore. She was educated in the Baltimore public school system and graduated from then Morgan College. While in college she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.

One of the country's largest national prepaid cell phone carriers is making free phones and 64 minutes of monthly air time available to nearly 400,000 low-income Maryland residents under a new effort it brought to the state this week. TracFone Wireless Inc., which has 10 million customers nationwide for its prepaid cell phone plans, can offer the free service because it obtains a $10-per-customer subsidy through a federal program whose goal is to improve land-line and wireless phone access, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

Washington quarterback Jake Locker announced Monday he will return to Washington for his senior season. In a statement released by the university, Locker said he will not make himself available for the 2010 NFL draft and instead will return to the Huskies for one more shot at restoring the program to prominence. "I am very excited about this team's opportunities and potential for the upcoming season, and I am looking forward to being a part of it," Locker said. NFL draft pundits have raved about Locker's skills - running back speed combined with the bulk of a linebacker and an arm capable of making all the throws the NFL requires - with some believing he could be one of the first picks in the April draft if he made himself available.

Now that Vladimir Putin is Russia's president once again, the result of still another fraudulent election, we should expect ever more hostile relations with Moscow. Mr. Putin, a vain and vulgar man, was born and bred to despise the United States. And in recent times, Washington has given him little reason to change his mind. The latest example: President Obama waited several days before calling Mr. Putin to congratulate him on his election victory this month - though Mr. Obama did manage to call Francois Hollande just a few hours after he won the French presidential elections.

Packed into a sardine can of an interview room with about two dozen reporters - most of them sending details of his outing to his home nation of Taiwan - Orioles rookie left-hander Wei-Yin Chen tried to explain the toughest day of his brief major league career. Through his first seven starts as a big leaguer, the 26-year-old has been close to perfect on paper. He came into Sunday's start against the Washington Nationals with a 4-0 record that included wins over the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers in his past two starts.

Kathryn Manion was "at a loss for words" Tuesday night — shortly after being honored for her way with them. At a private club in New York, Manion, 22, was named the 2012 winner of Washington College's Sophie Kerr Prize, which at more than $58,000 this year is considered the most lucrative undergraduate literary award in the country. The senior English major, a Clarksville native and graduate of Notre Dame Prep in Towson, said late Tuesday that her win was still sinking in, but that she was honored.

All-America senior midfielder Catherine Kennedy scored five goals and added three assists to lead the 11th-ranked University of Mary Washington women's lacrosse team to a 16-8 victory over #14 Washington & Lee University on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Eagles improved to 14-4 on the season. Anneslie resident Kennedy is one of six local players who have contributed to the Eagles' stellar 14-4 season. Mo Sunderland, Emily Atkinson, Maddy Miller and Kara Hogan, all of Towson High, and St. Paul's School for Girls' Addie Hawley are the others.

Second Landmark Conference tournament crown in three years? Check. School-record number of wins in a single season? Check. First NCAA tournament victory? Goucher can now cross that off its to-do list after edging Washington, 5-4, in a first-round contest at Roy Kirby, Jr. Stadium in Chestertown Wednesday afternoon. The accomplishment may not sound like much to programs like Salisbury, Cortland and Tufts, but try telling that to the Gophers players. “It means everything,” senior attackman Rory Averett said.

Wednesday's first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament between Goucher and Washington is a rematch of a Feb. 25 contest in which the Gophers traveled to Chestertown and emerged with an 8-6 decision. Since then, both teams have enjoyed their share of success. Goucher is riding a 14-game winning streak en route to a 17-1 record and their second Landmark Conference tournament championship in three years. The Shoremen (11-5) captured the Centennial Conference regular-season crown for the first time since 2004 before falling to Dickinson in the tournament final last Sunday.

Washington had won the first two meetings between these teams until Goucher edged the Shoremen, 8-6, on Feb. 25. The Gophers, ranked 10th in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll, have won 14 straight contests game en route to a 17-1 mark and their second Landmark Conference tournament championship in the last three years. Washington, ranked 18th, is 11-5 and captured its first Centennial Conference regular-season title since 2004. Here are a few factors that could play a role in this NCAA tournament first-round contest at Roy Kirby, Jr. Field in Chestertown Wednesday afternoon.

Three months ago, I was in an Ohio college classroom, studying American government and organizational leadership, while my future mentor was in the Washington office of a nonprofit public policy organization. Thanks to a D.C. internship program, we have been brought together for several months to work, collaborate, learn and expand horizons. A college junior, I now spend my days researching issues ranging from public finance to higher education dropout prevention, while making the rounds of Washington think tanks and advocacy groups, going to book receptions and press conferences, and attending events with former presidents and other leaders.

Washington is riding a four-game winning streak and opened its Centennial Conference schedule with a thrilling, come-from-behind 10-9 win against McDaniel Saturday. But the Shoremen (4-2) will find out how far they've come when Haverford visits Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium in Chestertown, Md., Wednesday night. The Fords have qualified for the last six league tournaments and captured the tournament championship in 2010. This season has been much rougher for Haverford, which is off to a 1-5 start, but Washington coach Jeff Shirk said the Fords should not be underestimated or overlooked.

The hit men of the tea party can carve another notch in their collective gun belts this week with the ouster of Indiana Sen. Richard G. Lugar, a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Senate. Whatever mojo the conservative firebrands had in the 2010 GOP primaries, when they ousted party moderates right and left, is apparently still working for them. Longtime incumbents are not easily toppled, but Mr. Lugar's vulnerabilities were well-documented prior to Tuesday's Indiana primary: The six-term senator is 80 years old, has lived in Northern Virginia for decades (despite using a 1970s-era address for voting purposes)

The Goucher men's lacrosse team has usually relied on Rory Averett to score goals and Connor Mishaw to prevent them. That formula again proved effective in Wednesday afternoon's NCAA Division III tournament first-round game at Washington College. The Gophers got four goals from Averett and 15 saves from Mishaw to outlast the Shoremen, 5-4, before an announced 850 at Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium. Goucher, ranked 10th in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll, improved to 18-1, extended its winning streak to 15 and will meet No. 1 seed Salisbury (19-0)