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Sen. Rand Paul is recruiting plaintiffs - and seeking donations - for a class-action lawsuit against the National Security Agency. “Dear Patriot,” the Kentucky Republican wrote Thursday in an e-mail to supporters. “I'm looking for ten million Americans to stand with me and sue the federal government and TAKE BACK our rights. “Can I count on your help? “Without it, I truly fear where our fragile Republic could be headed …” Paul, who is expected to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, told a Fox News interviewer this week that he would be asking Internet providers and telephone companies to join him in a lawsuit against the electronic eavesdropping agency based at Fort Meade.

Baltimore County police are investigating an assault outside of Woodlawn High School Friday after a video was posted on YouTube. The incident took place sometime after school but does not appear to have been reported to police, according to a statement from the department. The victim and a 17-year old suspect have been identified, police said, but it is unclear if the teen will be charged as an adult or a juvenile. Police spokeswoman Cpl. Cathy Batton said investigators are still trying to determine if Woodlawn students were involved in the incident.

Maryland's second highest court on Friday upheld the firing of a Baltimore police officer who was caught on video berating and pushing a 14-year-old skateboarder at the Inner Harbor in 2007. The Court of Special Appeals ruled that Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld III had the authority to terminate the 19-year veteran officer, Salvatore Rivieri, despite a recommendation from an administrative hearing board that he be suspended for six days and lose six days of leave.

A move to the midfield paid big dividends for Mount St. Mary's senior Andrew Scalley (Archbishop Spalding), who was named the Northeast Conference men's lacrosse Player of the Week for the fifth time this season. Scalley factored in on six of the Mount's 10 goals in a 10-9 win over first-place Bryant on Saturday. The senior, who typically plays attack, recorded two goals and four assists to push his league-leading point total to 63. Scalley scored a pair of goals in the second quarter and dished out assists on both Mount tallies in the fourth quarter.

In the video, electro-pop singer Libby Picken spots a fancy purse on a bench, calmly scoops it up and struts down Howard Street for a few paces before dropping it into an unsuspecting stranger's hands. Then she snatches a businessman's wallet, carelessly flings the cash on the sidewalk and flashes a devious grin, all while her song "Coquette" plays in the background. Her hot pink shirt and giant heart-shape earrings seem to jump right off the screen. The rest of the five-minute video is a montage of Picken stealing various objects but never keeping them.

Baltimore County police are investigating an assault outside of Woodlawn High School Friday after a video was posted on YouTube. The incident took place sometime after school but does not appear to have been reported to police, according to a statement from the department. The victim and a 17-year old suspect have been identified, police said, but it is unclear if the teen will be charged as an adult or a juvenile. Police spokeswoman Cpl. Cathy Batton said investigators are still trying to determine if Woodlawn students were involved in the incident.

The Internet, which connects people every millisecond in one way or another, has generated an entire orchestra from a cyber pool of strangers - aspiring players from 70 countries on six continents who uploaded more than 3,000 audition videos. The YouTube Symphony Orchestra, which bows April 15 in New York's famed Carnegie Hall with a concert led by esteemed conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, began online in December with an open invitation to players of all levels to try out for the ensemble.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Google Inc., the most-used Internet search engine, completed its $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube Inc. yesterday, adding a Web site where users watch more than 100 million videos a day. Google said it issued about 3.22 million shares, and convertible securities representing 442,210 shares, in connection with the purchase. The purchase is Google's largest and gives it a way to take a bigger share of the $410 million market in the United States for online video advertising.

Under a first-of-its kind arrangement, stories produced by WBAL-TV, Channel 11, are now available on the hugely popular video-sharing site YouTube. The Baltimore NBC affiliate's YouTube page was launched yesterday as part of a deal between the station's corporate parent, Hearst-Argyle Television Inc., and YouTube's parent, Google Inc. Hearst-Argyle television stations in five cities - Baltimore, Boston, Manchester, N.H.; Sacramento, Calif.; and Pittsburgh - have set up individual pages on YouTube onto which they can post video content.

ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Looking to check out the latest videos of cavorting kittens and lovelorn lip-synchers on YouTube? If you live in Turkey, you're out of luck. A Turkish court, acting on a prosecutor's recommendation, ordered the blocking yesterday of access to the popular free video-sharing Web site because it featured clips that allegedly insulted Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish state. Within hours, visitors accessing YouTube.com from Turkey were greeted with a message saying that access to the site had been suspended in accordance with the court decision.

Chris Dunn called the class to order with a simple instruction: "One, two, ready, strum. " A torrent of E minor chords - or close enough - from nearly a dozen guitars filled the room at the Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School near Patterson Park. The smallest kids could barely get their right arms around the body of the instrument, but they found a way to strum as energetically as the others. For the next 90 minutes, Dunn darted from student to student, making sure they had their fingers on the correct fret, offering words of encouragement.

About a year ago, Stephanie Barber looked up Bob Seger's 1976 classic "Night Moves" on YouTube, trying to figure out the lyrics. "I started reading the comments, and I just spent hours reading, and I cried, and I was like, 'Oh my god, this is so moving, this forum," Barber said. Barber, a Baltimore artist and writer, turned those unedited YouTube comments into a book called "Night Moves. " It's her way of exploring human nature, especially through relatively new public forums like YouTube.

A 57-year-old Randallstown woman has been arrested after video of her abusing an intellectually disabled man in her care at a Columbia group home surfaced online, according to Howard County Police. Donna Everett, of the 9900 block of Cervidae Lane, was arrested after her employer, Emerge, Inc., brought the video to the attention of police after discovering it on the website YouTube, police said. Everett, a house manager at the home in the 6500 block of Quilting Way in Columbia, "can be seen striking the man in the head, face and neck, and spitting in the man's face," police said.

The residents and employees of Oak Crest retirement community in Parkville wanted to do their part to cheer on the Ravens before the Baltimore team plays in the Super Bowl this Sunday. What would be the best way to get their message out? YouTube, of course. The 90-second video called "Super Dreams" released Wednesday, captures the thrill of being introduced before the big game through the eyes of Gene Miller, a 71-year old resident of Oak Crest.  Miller roots for the Ravens with his fellow residents and then shows off his dance steps in the big moment, ala a certain future Hall of Famer middle linebacker.

The LXM Pro Challenge had its final stop on the 2012 tour Saturday night in Del Mar, Calif., and Team STX defeated Team Sole, 15-12, in their series' seventh game, a contest that featured nine lead changes and eight ties. Team STX had already clinched the series victory with a 22-20 win in Henderson, Nev., on Dec. 1. After his record-setting seven-goal performance in Nevada, Sam Bradman (Salisbury) started right where he left off and beat former Sea Gulls teammate Johnny Rodriguez to give Team STX the early 1-0 lead.

Did you hear Time has named its Person of the Year and The Voice has a new winner? Bored? Not impressed? Well, what if I told you I had a video of a  GOLDEN EAGLE snatching a BABY !!!!!  YouTube and Reddit are buzzing this morning with a video purportedly out of Canada that shows a large bird momentarily picking up a small child. Don't worry the kiddie was not whisked away to the nest atop Death Mountain. The video is probably fake, but that hasn't stopped people from freaking out and watching, including me. [UPDATE: Yup, the video is fake.]

Brandon Hardesty is a moon-faced, 20-year-old grocery clerk who makes videos in the basement of his parents' Parkville home and posts them on the Internet. He impersonates Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Candy and Jodie Foster. The Towson University film student even stages one-man re-enactments of scenes from movies such as Goodfellas and The Silence of the Lambs, earning a following on the Web, not to mention a description of "cinematic genius" from The Village Voice. But in his most-watched effort, he's doing little more than clowning in front of the camera, laughing maniacally, flapping his tongue and barking like a mad dog. Chances are you've seen at least some of "Strange Faces and Noises I Can Make III" - since it's now part of auto insurer Geico's relentless television ad campaign.

If you thought YouTube was just for cheap audio/visual kicks, many of them along the lines of the people-falling-down, pets-going-nutty stuff that turns up on tacky home-video TV shows, think again. This week, an ambitious, very 21st-century project called the YouTube Symphony Orchestra was launched, creating an online community of aspiring musicians. YouTube and parent company Google put together this cyber ensemble, which has no less than eminent conductor Michael Tilson Thomas as artistic director.

With 'Drunk History,' Lutherville's Derek Waters has a tipsy hit Five years ago, Lutherville native Derek Waters was a struggling comedian in Los Angeles. Like thousands before him, he had dreams of being cast on "Saturday Night Live" or making it in Hollywood as a funny guy. But Waters wasn't having much luck. "My auditions were like, 'Stoned Guy No. 7' and 'Drunk-looking Guy No. 8,'" Waters, 33, said. "So I could've been bitter about it or write my own stuff, like shorts and sketches.

Five years ago, Lutherville native Derek Waters was a struggling comedian in Los Angeles. Like thousands before him, he had dreams of being cast on "Saturday Night Live" or making it in Hollywood as a funny guy. But Waters wasn't having much luck. "My auditions were like, 'Stoned Guy No. 7' and 'Drunk-looking Guy No. 8,'" Waters, 33, said. "So I could've been bitter about it or write my own stuff, like shorts and sketches. " Trusting his "dark" sense of humor, which Waters says he inherited from his grandfather, he followed the latter path.