News in brief
By The Associated Press
Tens of thousands of Marylanders receive pardons for marijuana convictions
ANNAPOLIS, Md. | Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has signed an executive order to issue more than 175,000 pardons for misdemeanor marijuana convictions. The governor described the pardons Monday as the “most sweeping state-level pardon in any state in American history.”
The pardons will not result in anyone being released from incarceration. And nor will they prompt past convictions to be automatically expunged from a person’s background check. But advocates praised the move as a way of removing barriers to housing, employment, or educational opportunities based on convictions for conduct that is no longer illegal.
China blames Philippines for ship collision in South China Sea
TAIPEI | China’s coast guard says a Chinese vessel and a Philippine supply ship collided near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The coast guard said a Philippine supply ship on Monday entered waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands that’s part of territory claimed by several nations. The Philippine military called the Chinese coast guard’s report “deceptive and misleading.”
The Chinese coast guard said in a statement on the social media platform WeChat the Philippine supply ship “ignored China’s repeated solemn warnings … and dangerously approached a Chinese vessel in normal navigation in an unprofessional manner, resulting in a collision.” The Philippines says the shoal is within its internationally recognized exclusive economic zone.
—From AP reports
