Optum Rx, the pharmacy benefit manager for United Healthcare is being sued by the state of West Virginia for its role in the ongoing opioid crisis. Attorney General J.B. McCuskey filed a similar suit in August against Express Scripts, saying the companies knowingly ramped up the supply of opiate pills in the state and conspired with other drug manufacturers to push what he called “phony science claiming opioids were safe and non-addictive.”

Former 6th District Congressman David Trone is looking to reclaim the seat as he filed to run Thursday.  Trone ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2024 and fellow Democrat April McClain Delaney was victorious in the House race.  Trone’s decision sets up a Democratic Party showdown this coming June.

A Baltimore courtroom was the scene Wednesday as US Wind battles the Trump Administration for the right to construct a windmill farm off the coast of Ocean City.  The Biden Administration initially approved the project but the Trump Administration announced its opposition this year.  Arguments were heard in U.S. Federal District Court.

On Wednesday, December 10, 2025, the Cumberland Police Department served a criminal summons on William McKnew.  The summons was issued as the result of a private citizen filing charges against McKnew at the District Court of Allegany County.  McKnew was released pending trial. ARRESTED:  William Allen McKnew    AGE:  69      Cumberland, MD CHARGES:  Theft less than $100

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was at the National Cathedral in Washington this week participating in a conversation about political violence. The Governor’s mansion in Harrisburg was set on fire earlier this year by a protestor. Shapiro said that those in leadership should set the tone on how to respond to attacks – he says President Trump is not putting forth the correct path…     “When you are a president of the United States, you are looked to for that moral clarity. And we have a president of the United States right now that fails that test on a daily…

Attorney General Anthony Brown has worked with other state attorney generals on a $700 million settlement agreement with Google for anticompetitive practices. Google was found to be overcharging for services within its Google Play Store.  If approved by the court next April, the settlement fund will automatically reimburse the majority of consumers who made purchases on the Google Play Store between August 2016 and September 2023.

The largest population of African penguins in North America is getting bigger. The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore has hatched eight critically-endangered African penguins and, in an annual tradition, zookeepers have chosen a theme for the chicks’ names. This year the birds are being named after fruits and vegetables, and the first two names announced by the Zoo are Kiwi and Cayenne. The Maryland Zoo maintains the largest colony of African penguins in North America.

WCBC’s own Ella Holly is on a mission to make sure teens in the Mountain Ridge School District have a merry Christmas. Many students age out of programs that provide gifts at the holidays and Holly, along with Western Maryland Philanthropies has raised funds to provide gifts for 34 teens.  Holly tells WCBC they were directed to needy students through the area schools…   “I’m telling you, I went through a whole box of tissues talking with these parents who called. We actually worked with the social worker at the schools and were guided to the people who needed it…

Maryland’s six casinos combined to generate over $158 million dollars in revenue from slot machines and table games in November. Off just one-half of one percent from the same time last year, the casino’s gaming contributions to the state in the form of tax revenue topped $68.5 million dollars. MGM led the six casinos, bringing in $69 million dollars in revenue for November while Rocky Gap Casino generated $4.3 million, up 5% from the same month last year.

For the sixth year, Allegany County Tourism is holding its “Shop Small, Win Big” contest.  Shoppers can buy online or in-person at local participating businesses and submit their receipts to the county’s mdmountainside.com/winbig website through December 21st for a chance to win $1,000 in Visa Gift Card prizes.  Each qualifying purchase is an entry for a weekly $50 Visa gift card drawing and the grand prize of $550.