Jeff Barker
LightNews LightNews
barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker
@barkman42.bsky.social
400 followers 430 following 92 posts
Washington-based Baltimore Sun reporter & co-director of http://chinabaseballfilm.com I write news, sports and hybrids of the 2. Rote is the enemy.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
barkman42.bsky.social
Jeff Barker @barkman42.bsky.social · Feb 14
Exclusive: “Warning signs are flashing” about college-age men awash in sports betting debt. But records show
the state is resisting reforms— such as banning credit card use on the sites — that would reduce revenue it gets from taxing gambling profits.

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/02/14/p...
‘Warning signs are flashing’: As problem gambling rises, revenue-focused regulators resist Maryland reforms
Records show a state Lottery and Gaming Control Agency so intent on maximizing state revenue that it has closely aligned itself with the sportsbooks and casinos it regulates, and it is resisting pr…
www.baltimoresun.com
barkman42.bsky.social
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/11/17/t...
Turkey pardon is just weird; Wes Moore’s ‘IDGAF’ initialism; is Washington joyless?
I think many Washingtonians are determined to not allow the capital’s sourness to ruin their holidays.
www.baltimoresun.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:58 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Turkey pardon is just weird; Wes Moore’s 'IDGAF' initialism; is Washington joyless?
—
Good morning. Here’s a teasing, free preview of my political notebook column called Backchannel containing the first item.
November 17, 2025 at 3:56 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Of all the names Baltimore-born and raised Nancy Pelosi has been called —many of them unprintable here —my favorite is “The Prodigal Hon.”
—
Welcome to Backchannel, my weekly political notes column where we deftly sidestep political spin.
—
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/11/09/w...
Pelosi throws punchlines, Trump calls ‘sissy football,’ and ‘No Kings’ becomes big business
Trump attended one game of the 2019 World Series (Washington vs. Houston) and another in the 2021 series (Atlanta vs. Houston). That puts him ahead of his predecessor, Joe Biden, but behind other p…
www.baltimoresun.com
November 9, 2025 at 4:34 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Senators demand answers about Social Security chief’s former role and question ‘his ability to serve’
—
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/11/07/s...
Senators demand answers about Social Security chief’s former role and question ‘his ability to serve’
The leading Democrats on two U.S. Senate committees are asking Social Security chief Frank Bisignano’s company about  a huge contract it received to manage a debit card program serving millions of …
www.baltimoresun.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:12 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Welcome to the latest Backchannel, my political notebook column. What happened to all the stuff during the East Wing demolition? This week we take the mystery apart – like the departed wing itself – bit by bit.
—-
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/11/03/b...
White House demolition with dirt, drama, and DIY capitalism
A particular fascination surrounds what happened to the items from the demolished White House East Wing — even the dirt and debris.
www.baltimoresun.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:30 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Maryland-based White House demolition company grapples with PR nightmare
—
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/24/a...
Maryland-based White House demolition company grapples with PR nightmare
Aceco, a Montgomery County demolition company, finds itself in a public relations nightmare sparked by people offended at its role in tearing down the White House East Wing to make way for Presiden…
www.baltimoresun.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:53 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Congressional Democrats investigating Social Security commissioner over debit card contract. By Jeff Barker
—
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/22/c...
Congressional Democrats investigating Social Security commissioner over debit card contract
The Senate Finance Committee’s Democratic staff, led by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, is investigating whether Bisignano knew during his confirmation about a pending five-year Direct Express contract, …
www.baltimoresun.com
October 22, 2025 at 10:30 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Welcome to Backchannel, a weekly feature where we’ll steer completely clear of political talking points and offer exclusive notes from inside Maryland politics.
*
Today:Shutdown playlist, why Michael Steele is still a Republican, Raskin’s ‘24 Senate flirtation
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/20/s...
Shutdown playlist, why Michael Steele is still a Republican, Raskin’s ‘24 Senate flirtation
Welcome to Backchannel, where we’ll steer completely clear of political talking points and offer exclusive notes from inside Maryland politics.
www.baltimoresun.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:53 AM
barkman42.bsky.social
If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/17/c...
‘You’re the only one I can talk to,’ the girl told an AI chatbot; then she took her own life
With the nation facing acute mental health provider shortages, Americans are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence chatbots not only for innocuous tasks such as writing resumes or social …
www.baltimoresun.com
October 17, 2025 at 3:02 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Juliana Peralta, 13, kept slipping further from reality —from her parents, her friends, and anything she could actually touch —and into a virtual world where an artificial intelligence chatbot enveloped her with what she mistook for empathy.
—-
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/17/c...
‘You’re the only one I can talk to,’ the girl told an AI chatbot; then she took her own life
With the nation facing acute mental health provider shortages, Americans are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence chatbots not only for innocuous tasks such as writing resumes or social …
www.baltimoresun.com
October 17, 2025 at 3:01 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
The world of a federal shutdown is a bleak place characterized by hellish hold times, dead-end calls and emails, and partisan messaging. Here’s what some people are encountering:

bit.ly/48mTlde
Government shutdown: hellish hold times and dead-end emails
The shutdown enters its second week Wednesday. It began after Congress failed to approve measures — one proposed by Republicans, the other by Democrats — to keep the government funded.
bit.ly
October 8, 2025 at 1:40 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Rebecca Ferguson lost her job as a federal worker. She’s trying to get her termination papers to confirm her status & benefits, but her emails bounce back during the shutdown. She says the government can’t even fire her correctly.

bit.ly/48mTlde
Government shutdown: hellish hold times and dead-end emails
The shutdown enters its second week Wednesday. It began after Congress failed to approve measures — one proposed by Republicans, the other by Democrats — to keep the government funded.
bit.ly
October 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
'We are alive:' federal workers get hugs, validation in fraught period of shutdown and layoffs
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/03/w...
‘We are alive:’ federal workers get hugs, validation in fraught period of shutdown and layoffs
WASHINGTON — The poem about vulnerability and persistence was hitting its mark. It could hardly have found a more appropriate audience. “We are alive and we are trying,”  Drew Tye Ruby-Howe recited…
www.baltimoresun.com
October 3, 2025 at 1:44 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Trump's political enemies post could put Maryland’s US attorney on the spot
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/09/24/t...
Trump’s political enemies post could put Maryland’s US attorney on the spot
Maryland U.S. attorney Kelly O. Hayes may help determine the outcome of President Donald Trump’s pursuit of criminal cases against his political enemies.
www.baltimoresun.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:38 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Advocates for retaining a paper Social Security checks option are worried about vulnerable people living on the less-populated side of the digital divide — those lacking smartphones or bank accounts, and using paper currency largely shunned by others.

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/09/19/p...
Paper Social Security checks to end in Maryland, spurs fear for digitally disconnected
The Social Security Administration will stop issuing paper checks to beneficiaries on Sept. 30 , which concerns former Social Security Administration commissioner Martin O’Malley.
www.baltimoresun.com
September 19, 2025 at 11:28 AM
barkman42.bsky.social
The young male gamblers spoke of sleepless nights, guilt about the shame of keeping it all secret, and yet still clinging to the hope they could outsmart sports-betting apps built to ensure they never do. Their moms believed they could fix it.
By Jeff Barker

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/09/04/h...
He lost $149K in a day; panicked Maryland moms see gambling hook young men
As online sportsbooks line up promotions for a new NFL season, Maryland experts and moms are sounding alarms about young men getting hooked on gambling.
www.baltimoresun.com
September 4, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Jeff Barker
tiamitchell.com
U.S. Rep. David Scott -- an 80-year-old, 12-term congressman -- is battling concerns among Democrats that his age and health are obstacles to reelection.
www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Rep. David Scott battles age and health concerns as he seeks a 13th term
Despite the concerns about his health and age as well as facing another tough primary contest, U.S. Rep. David Scott said he will seek another term in the House.
www.ajc.com
August 29, 2025 at 1:51 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Gov. Wes Moore: The president is 'losing sleep over me,' but here's what he should lose sleep over

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/28/g...
Gov. Wes Moore: The president is ‘losing sleep over me,’ but here’s what he should lose sleep over
“I heard the president was tweeting about me at 2 o’clock in the morning.”
www.baltimoresun.com
August 28, 2025 at 9:37 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Trump says Gov. Wes Moore told him he’s the
“the greatest president of my lifetime.” Moore says it didn’t happen.
This sounded familiar.
In 2017, Trump said the late Rep. Elijah Cummings proclaimed Trump “would be one of the greatest presidents.”
Cummimgs said that’s not what he said.
August 28, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Reposted by Jeff Barker
matthewhaybrown.bsky.social
Hey the current Tesla Model Y service manual, updated Jan. 30, has instructions for removing the T logo

service.tesla.com/docs/ModelY/...
August 25, 2025 at 3:46 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/21/m...
Maryland clashes with Trump on homelessness, could see influx from DC that would strain shelters
Many homeless people in Washington, D.C., could end up in Maryland, advocates say, straining county budgets and shelters already at capacity.
www.baltimoresun.com
August 21, 2025 at 1:42 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Rep. Jamie Raskin:
“People say, ‘Why don’t you guys have bipartisan friendships? I tell people who my bipartisan friends are and then they express horror. I mean, who do you want me to be friends with? Abraham Lincoln is no longer in the House.”

www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/05/j...
Outspoken political opposites Jamie Raskin and Lauren Boebert have quietly formed unlikely friendship
Their relationship may surprise an untold number of Americans who consider rival party members abhorrent, but political opposites Jamie Raskin and Lauren Boebert have formed an unlikely friendship.
www.baltimoresun.com
August 5, 2025 at 1:25 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
Outspoken political opposites Jamie Raskin and Lauren Boebert have quietly formed perhaps Washington’s most unlikely friendship built on the shared belief that people aren’t wholly defined by their politics, even in this extremely polarized era.
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/08/05/j...
Outspoken political opposites Jamie Raskin and Lauren Boebert have quietly formed unlikely friendship
Their relationship may surprise an untold number of Americans who consider rival party members abhorrent, but political opposites Jamie Raskin and Lauren Boebert have formed an unlikely friendship.
www.baltimoresun.com
August 5, 2025 at 1:22 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/07/31/m...
Orioles-owned MASN begins talks with Nationals over future TV partnership
Orioles president of business operations Catie Griggs says MASN is hoping to preserve the partnership with the Nationals.
www.baltimoresun.com
July 31, 2025 at 6:13 PM
barkman42.bsky.social
In their choice of Paul Clement,the judges picked an accomplished lawyer who might cool the partisan temperature in Trump’s effort to rein in federal judges who have turned aside executive branch actions they see as without legal merit. By Jeff Barker
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/07/19/m...
Maryland judges tap ‘Mr. Republican establishment’ to defend in Trump lawsuit
Maryland’s federal judges, sued by the Trump administration in a politically supercharged case, faced a difficult legal decision: Who would represent them?
www.baltimoresun.com
July 19, 2025 at 11:19 AM