In Annapolis, state Sen. Paula Hollinger was assured of having plenty of cash for her congressional race when she received the endorsement this week of Emily’s List, the nation’s largest political action committee. She has a lot of company in the crowded campaign for the seat being vacated by Rep. Ben Cardin: John Sarbanes, son of the five-term senator; former TV newsman Andy Barth; former Baltimore Health Commissioner Peter Beilenson and lawyer Kevin O’Keefe, formerly a top aide to Anne Arundel County Executive Janet Owens...

From Edgewater comes news that Atlantic blue crabs can hold their own in a fight. Scientists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center found that our blues can keep invasive European green crabs at bay — literally. Both species thrive off the coast of eastern North America, but green crabs don’t live in the Bay or other such estuaries along the coast due to predation by blue crabs...

In Maryland, snackers can plan on stocking their pantries with Maryland-grown food, thanks to a federal $149,262 Value-Added Producer Grant to Chesapeake Field Farmers, a Chestertown LLC working to help farmers and preserve farmland. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest announced the grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which will help farmers who sell locally grown, identity-preserved grain and oil seed products to make breads, soy snacks and gourmet popcorn...

Polling Update: Do you have a fantasy Christmas gift from the Neiman Marcus catalog? According to a nationwide survey of shoppers by Zogby International, the limited edition Lexus GS450 hybrid luxury car beat out such high-dollar gifts as an adult tree-house, a six-foot-high levitating sculpture and a private Elton John concert...

Our Creature Feature comes from the Indonesian island of Borneo where researchers believe they have discovered a new and mysterious animal that is being dubbed a cat-fox.

The creature is slightly larger than a cat with red fur, a long bushy tail, large hind legs and tiny ears, according to the World Wildlife Fund. It was photographed twice by a camera trap at night, and researchers hope to capture one. It would be the first new species of carnivore found in wild Borneo since the discovery of the Borney ferret-badger in 1895, the Wildlife Fund said.