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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sen. Ben Cardin's nephew apologized Wednesday for going a bit, well, overboard, for proposing to future wife with a staged police search on his boat in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

On August 7, Jon S. Cardin, a Maryland delegate, reportedly organized a boat ride with some friends and his now fiancee in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. With a helicopter hovering overhead and marine police searching the boat, Cardin popped the question.

Cardin said said he had asked the police to do the "routine five-minute safety check." He said he will contact the Baltimore City Police Department and reimburse them for any costs incurred.

"During the evening, I was focused on making my fiancee's night perfect," Cardin said in a statement posted on his Web site. "In retrospect I should have considered that city resources would be involved and used better judgment to put a stop to it."

She said yes.

(CNN) - There were tears, fears and lots of shouting Wednesday when Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland held a town hall meeting on health care at Hagerstown Community College in his home state.

Dozens of audience members crowded two microphones to ask questions, and many accused Cardin and President Barack Obama's administration of seeking to
bankrupt the nation's future by overhauling the health-care system.

"This government is out of control. We are in debt up to our eyeballs," one questioner declared, her voice rising in anger. "What are you going to do to restore trust and faith in the American people that you know what you're doing?"

Cardin, often speaking above booing and shouts of protest, said he believes the government has a responsibility to ensure that all citizens have access to affordable health coverage.

Much of the crowd's anger focused on one of three House proposals approved by different committees. As a senator, Cardin is considering versions that differ from the House measures, and he noted several times that Congress would continue negotiating to derive a single bill from the various proposals.
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OXON HILL, Maryland (CNN) - There were no angry mobs or Nazi SS symbols at a health care town hall in Maryland’s heavily Democratic 4th Congressional district on Thursday night, but the member of Congress in the spotlight did face some tough questioning from small but vocal crew of administration critics in the audience.

Rep. Donna Edwards, a Democrat who was re-elected in November with nearly 86 percent of the vote in her heavily African-American district, earned a round of applause at the beginning of her town hall forum when she said she would not tolerate any rude behavior.

“You have to be respectful,” Edwards said. “Because I don’t know what’s been going in every place else around the country. But I know that that is not the 4th Congressional district of Maryland.”

She rejected the “hyperbole” and “noise” from health care opponents and told critics in the audience that while the health care system may appear to be in good shape in wealthier communities, “it is broken for millions of Americans.”

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CAPE CHARLES, Virginia (CNN) – It is just after first light, and Don Pierce gently eases the Bri-Steff off the pier at Cape Charles harbor.

"You're sure you want to do this?" he asks a visitor with a whimsical smile. It is the last time the word "gently" will come to mind this day.

His closest crab pot is nearly five miles out into Chesapeake Bay, and the bouncing - and rocking - starts just seconds after passing the mouth of the protected harbor.

The Bri-Steff - named after Pierce's two children - Brian and Steffanie - is the only boat braving the rough waters on this morning. On a scale of 1 to 10 - with 10 being as rough as he dare venture out in - Pierce scores this morning "about a 9½."

Pierce has been working these waters since he was a teenager. Forty-eight years now - already eight years' experience under his belt when the world marked the first Earth Day in April 1970.

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(CNN) - Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon has been indicted on 12 corruption counts, according to a spokesman for the state prosecutor's office.

Dixon, who was slated to talk to reporters at 4 p.m., committed no crimes, she and her attorneys said.

The indictment follows a three-year investigation by the state prosecutor's office into City Hall finances, CNN affiliate WBAL reported. A grand jury focused on gifts the mayor received from developer Ron Lipscomb and the use of gift cards donated to the city for use by the needy, it said.

Dixon reported no gifts from Lipscomb on her financial disclosure forms, WBAL said.

Dixon was expected to return Friday afternoon to Baltimore after spending the morning at a state conference on the Eastern Shore.

– CNN's Carol Cratty and Kevin Bohn contributed to this story.

(CNN) – The 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee announced Monday that President-elect Barack Obama will travel by train to the nation’s capitol on January 17 from Philadelphia, but will stop along the way to host events in Baltimore, Maryland and Wilmington, Delaware – home of Vice President-elect Joe Biden.  The Obama and Biden families will arrive in D.C. on Saturday.

"As part of the most open and accessible Inauguration in history, we hope to include as many Americans as possible who wish to participate, but can't be in Washington," said Emmett S. Beliveau, Executive Director of the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee. "These events will allow us to do that while honoring the rich history and tradition of previous inaugural journeys."

The cities of Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore are especially significant as part of the 2009 Inauguration theme, ‘Renewing America’s Promise.”  According to the committee, the promise was realized in Philadelphia and defended and commemorated by the National Anthem in Baltimore. Washington, D.C serves as a gathering ground for Americans to unite and renew the promise, the committee said.

(CNN) – John McCain and Barack Obama swept the “Potomac primaries” – Tuesday’s contests in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. – as the march to the Republican and Democratic nominating conventions continues.

In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider takes a look at exit polling data from Tuesday’s votes.

Even before Obama’s sweep of the region’s primaries, Hillary Clinton had already taken steps to shake up her campaign. John Roberts speaks with former Clinton aide Lisa Caputo about the next phase of the former first lady’s campaign. And GOP long shot Mike Huckabee explains why he’s staying the race.

Finally, Chief National Correspondent John King breaks down the voting patterns in Tuesday’s contests, and takes a look at whether Huckabee can still win enough delegates in the remaining primaries to capture the Republican nomination.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

Track the Maryland Republican primary results county-by-county by clicking here: Maryland.

Track the Maryland Democratic primary results county-by-county by clicking here: Maryland.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Business was brisk at polling places in Virginia and Maryland Tuesday where primaries could answer key questions in the Democratic and Republican nomination races.

The District of Columbia voters are also participating in the so-called "Potomac primaries" - named for the river that separates Virginia and Maryland and flows past the nation's capital, Washington.

At stake in the primaries are 238 Democratic delegates and 119 total GOP delegates. Polls in Maryland and the District of Columbia close at 8 p.m. and in Virginia at 7 p.m.

In Maryland, turnout was anticipated to be about 40 percent, which is above normal according to Ross Goldstein, deputy administrator for the state's Board of Elections.

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