High Winds And Winter Weather, Mikulski's Ascent To Appropriations Chair, The Results Of A Chicken Farm Lawsuit, and The Marketplace For Online College Courses

BGE officials are saying about 70-thousand homes and businesses in Anne Arundel County were affected by last night's power outage. Most service had been restored by early this morning -- but BGE officials warn of the potential of more outages in the next couple days, due to high winds. Wind gusts today could reach 40 mph. Tonight, winds could gust up to 35 mph. And tomorrow, wind gusts could reach 60 mph -- there's a High Wind Watch in effect for Saturday. If you're headed out to Western Maryland, you can expect some snow... there are blizzard and winter storm warnings are in effect for Allegheney and Garrett Counties, where between 8 and 14 inches of snow could fall before tomorrow afternoon. The National Weather Service has forecasts and warnings here; there's more here from the Baltimore Sun.

Senator Barbara Mikulski has officially taken the helm of the Senate Appropriations Committee. She's the first woman ever to hold the post. Mikulski says creating jobs and avoiding the so-called "fiscal cliff" will be her first orders of business. More here from WYPR Senior News Analyst Fraser Smith.

And on today's edition of Inside Maryland Politics, Fraser talks with WYPR reporter Karen Hosler about Senator Barbara Mikulski's ascent to the role of chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

People set prices for their goods and services in ads and on the Internet every day. Now a Baltimore-based provider of online, entry-level college courses is joining the fray. This month, Straighter Line, which offers more than 60 college courses on the web, began letting its professors market their classes and set their own fees. WYPR’s Gwendolyn Glenn has more.

A federal judge ruled yesterday that neither Perdue Farms Incorporated, nor a family chicken farm in Berlin violated the federal Clean Water Act by allowing chicken waste to pollute the Pocomoke River and Chesapeake Bay. The decision deals a devastating blow to environmentalists who led the three year battle. Rona Kobell of the Chesapeake Bay Journal joins WYPR’s news director, Joel McCord, to talk about the case. There's more here from the Baltimore Sun.

A former Maryland congressional candidate has been charged with illegal voting. Democrat Wendy Rosen allegedly voted in 2006 and 2010 in Baltimore County while she was registered in Florida. Rosen won the Democratic Primary for the First District Congressional seat earlier this year, but dropped out after allegations came up. If convicted of illegal voting, Rosen faces up to 10 years in prison, and a fine up to 5-thousand dollars (via our wire service, the Baltimore Sun, and the Washington Post).

Anne Arundel County Delegate Don Dwyer is facing charges related to a boat crash over the summer that left him and six others injured. He faces a possible year in prison if convicted (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

You could soon be allowed to drive faster on the Intercounty Connector. An engineering study says that the speed limit on the toll road can be safely raised from 55 to 60-miles-per-hour. An accident review is due to be completed by late February and at that time, the Maryland Transportation Authority will decide whether or not to increase the ICC speed limit (via our wire service and the Baltimore Sun).

Maryland's population is growing. New numbers from the US Census Bureau show that Maryland got almost 45-thousand new residents in the last year. That's a .8% hike. Maryland is the 19th largest state in the nation with just under five-million-885-thousand people (via our wire service and the Baltimore Business Journal).

And in sports: the Ravens welcome the New York Giants to M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday. The game starts at 1pm. CORRECTION: the game is set to start at 4:25pm. The NFL moved the time earlier this month, and I looked at an old schedule when putting together this morning's newscasts; my apologies for the error -- Nathan Sterner.