Maryland

The number of poor people living in America's suburbs now surpasses those in cities or rural areas. Long focused on the urban poor, social service agencies are now trying to respond to the basic needs of a much more far-flung population.

The last Census showed 9 million people, about 3 percent of the population, reporting more than one race. That's an increase of one-third from the decade before — and that number is only going up.

Federal prosecutors recently indicted 25 people associated with the Baltimore City Detention Center on charges of racketeering, and drug and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that prison guards allowed gang members free reign over the prison, helping them smuggle drugs and cellphones into the facility. Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon speaks with Baltimore Sun reporter Ian Duncan about the case.

In what sounds like a plot from The Wire, authorities say one gang has basically been running things at the Baltimore City Detention Center. The ring leader is accused of not only running his gang from the jail, but also of having sexual relations with female guards. Twenty five people face charges.

The chill in the Chesapeake has left the water too cold for the crabs to come out of the mud. It turns out this is extending their lifespan — since it means watermen can't catch them.

Housing season seems to have arrived early in some places where homebuying is already frenzied, and in many markets, the pendulum has swung from an excess of homes on the market a few years ago to a shortage.

If signed into law by Gov. Martin O'Malley, which is expected, Maryland will become the 18th state to end capital punishment.

Tony Lithgow and Andrea Mayer live under a highway overpass in Baltimore. They're among a growing number of the nation's homeless who are reaching what's called "premature old age." They're in their late 40s and 50s, but suffer from ailments more common for those in their 70s.

If you're homeless, you can be on your feet for hours, forced to sleep in the frigid cold, or seriously ill with no place to go. But increasingly, the nation's homeless population is aging — more than half of single homeless adults are 47 or older. Linwood Hearne, 64, and his wife have been homeless for four years, sleeping near Interstate 83 in Baltimore.

Kirk Bloodsworth was the first person in the U.S. to be exonerated by DNA evidence after receiving the death sentence. Convicted in Maryland, Bloodsworth is now one of the strongest advocates of abolishing the death penalty in the state.