Patuxent Iron Works

The Maya Angelou Academy at New Beginnings, renamed from Oak Hill Academy in May 2009, is an alternative school operated by the non-profit See Forever Foundation which manages Maya Angelou Schools. Named after American poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, the school is located east of Laurel, Maryland in Anne Arundel County. It is at the New Beginnings Youth Development Center, the District of Columbia's secure facility for youth who are adjudicated as delinquent and committed to its Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS).The See Forever Foundation began management of the academy in June 2007 upon winning a three-year $12 million contract. Founding principal David Domenici is the son of former New Mexico senator Pete Domenici. Domenici subsequently led the Consortium for Educational Excellence in Secure Settings. Maya Angelou visited the school on April 30, 2009, when it had 90 students, ranging from 14 to 19 years old.While the See Forever Foundation operates other schools under the authority of the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board, Maya Angelou Academy is not affiliated with the DC PCSB.Chelsea Clinton profiled the academy in 2012 for a video segment on NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams. In 2014, a report by the Southern Education Foundation highlighted Maya Angelou Academy as a "successful model for teaching in locked facilities"; tests taken before and after students' 9-month incarceration at the school showed an average of 1.3–1.4 years of improvement.In 2016, twice as many students who completed the program at Maya Angelou Academy at New Beginnings were working or attending school compared to records from 2007.

The U.S. State of Maryland currently has 12 statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). On March 6, 2020, the OMB delineated three combined statistical areas, seven metropolitan statistical areas, and two micropolitan statistical areas in Maryland.

Maryland City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 16,093 at the 2010 census. It is located east of Laurel, just over the border with Prince George's County, and it has a Laurel ZIP Code. Maryland City mostly consists of an older, compact housing development and is adjacent to Fort Meade army base. A large newer development (built mid-1990s) on the north side of Maryland Route 198 is known as Russett and is included within the Maryland City CDP.

The Patuxent Research Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, established in 1936 by executive order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It is the only National Wildlife Refuge in the country established to support wildlife research. With land surrounding the Patuxent and Little Patuxent Rivers between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, the refuge has grown from the original 2,670 acres (10.8 km2) to its present size of over 12,800 acres (52 km2) and encompasses land formerly managed by the Departments of Agriculture and Defense. Throughout decades of change, Patuxent's mission of conserving and protecting the nation's wildlife and habitat through research and wildlife management techniques has remained virtually unchanged.About 1,100 species of vascular plants have been reported on the refuge.Patuxent Research Refuge supports a wide diversity of wildlife in forest, meadow, and wetland habitats. The land is managed to maintain biological diversity and to protect and benefit native and migratory bird species. During the fall and spring migrations, many waterfowl species stop to rest and feed. Over 270 species of birds occur on the refuge. Bald eagles are occasionally seen feeding on the refuge. Increasing forest fragmentation in the area caused by urban development has damaged many populations of neotropical migratory birds. The refuge is one of the largest forested areas in the mid-Atlantic region and provides critical breeding habitat and wintering habitat for these species. Patuxent Research Refuge is divided into three areas: 1) North Tract, which offers hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, trails, and many interpretive programs; 2) Central Tract, where the headquarters for both the refuge and the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center are located, as well as research study sites; and 3) South Tract, which has the National Wildlife Visitor Center, trails, and many educational programs. The North Tract and the National Wildlife Visitor Center are the only areas open for visitor activities.The National Wildlife Visitor Center at the Patuxent Research Refuge is the nation's largest center for environmental science and education operated by the United States Department of the Interior.In 1996, three women were murdered on the Patuxent Research Refuge near the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. One of the men involved, Dustin Higgs, was executed for the crime.

Birmingham Manor was a historic slave plantation home located in Anne Arundel County, Maryland The manor served the Snowden family for five generations. The property resided on the "Robinhood's Forest" land patent. The manor was built by Richard Snowden Jr. and constructed out of brick with shingle siding. A central hall was surrounded by fireplaces. A semicircle of barns held tobacco crops. A boxwood garden led to the cemetery. By 1790 the estate composed 10,000 acres. The house burned down on August 20, 1891 under William Snowden’s ownership. The fire broke open a hidden wood panel above a mantle that contained hidden family parchments just before they burned. A large tract of the estate became the Fort George G. Meade and the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center The Baltimore–Washington Parkway was built over the plantation site next to a general aviation airport. The family cemetery remains mostly inaccessible.

Russett is an unincorporated planned community of 613 acres (2.48 km2) within the Maryland City census-designated place in far-western Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States, near the city of Laurel. It is situated in a park-like setting complemented by 12 miles (19 km) of walking trails and a 70-acre (280,000 m2) lake nature preserve. Approximately 13,000 residents live in Russett, which is divided into 21 residential neighborhoods, including four condominium communities, 11 town homes, and six single-family home neighborhoods. Three apartment rental properties on four sites pay assessments to Russett, as do several on-site commercial properties. The community is built out to a capacity of 3,600 units.

Snowden Hall is a historic house located on the grounds of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, outside Laurel in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It stands on open rolling ground approximately 3⁄4-mile west of the Patuxent River.

Forest Haven (previously the District Training School for the Mentally Retarded) was a state school and hospital for children and adults with intellectual disabilities located in Laurel, Maryland and operated by the District of Columbia. The site was opened in 1925 and closed on October 14, 1991, by order of a federal judge after years of physical and sexual abuse, medical incompetence, ten deaths from aspiration pneumonia, and hundreds of other deaths under suspicious circumstances.

Duvall Bridge is an historic single-lane bridge over the Patuxent River near Laurel, Maryland. A bridge has been located on this site since the mid-18th century although the current bridge is estimated to have been constructed circa 1907. The first bridge was constructed to serve the mill at the 450-acre plantation of Dr. Charles Duvall "Goodwood" renamed later to "Gladswood". The Duvall family had arrived in Anne Arundel County with arrival of Mareen Duvall in 1650. Mareen Duvall's Middle Plantation is downriver on the same path, now called Davidsonville Road. The Steel bridge was constructed in 1907. The bridge provided water crossing for the main Baltimore-Washington telegraph lines following "telegraph road". In 1936, the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center was created on the land, and the bridge was transferred to the federal government in 1941. A plaque was installed in 1966 by the Duvall society. The bridge was condemned in 1977 after flooding. The bridge was rehabilitated in 2012 and serves as a connection between the central tract and north tract of Patuxent Research Refuge. Although a common bridge type, Duvall Bridge is one of only two surviving truss bridges in Prince George's County, along with Governor's Bridge. The Duvall bridge has a cross braced deck for wooden planking. The bridge has a plaque noting the Anne Arundel county commissioners of 1907: G.D. Ridout J.H. Wayson J.M. Beard H.D. Cook J.S. Smith W.T. Wells A.A. Shipley

The Central Security Service (CSS) is a combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense which was established in 1972 to integrate the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Service Cryptologic Components (SCC) of the United States Armed Forces in the field of signals intelligence, cryptology, and information assurance at the tactical level. In 2002, the CSS had approximately 25,000 uniformed members. It is part of the United States Intelligence Community.

The National Security Operations Center (NSOC) or Directorate K is the part of the United States National Security Agency responsible for current operations and time-sensitive signals intelligence (SIGINT) reporting for the United States SIGINT System (USSS). It is one of two centers watching; the other being Directorate V or the NTOC which assesses threats.

The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data for intelligence and counterintelligence purposes, specializing in a discipline known as signals intelligence (SIGINT). The NSA is also tasked with the protection of U.S. communications networks and information systems. The NSA relies on a variety of measures to accomplish its mission, the majority of which are clandestine. The NSA has roughly 32,000 employees. Originating as a unit to decipher coded communications in World War II, it was officially formed as the NSA by President Harry S. Truman in 1952. Between then and the end of the Cold War, it became the largest of the U.S. intelligence organizations in terms of personnel and budget. Still, information available as of 2013 indicates that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) pulled ahead in this regard, with a budget of $14.7 billion. The NSA currently conducts worldwide mass data collection and has been known to physically bug electronic systems as one method to this end. The NSA is also alleged to have been behind such attack software as Stuxnet, which severely damaged Iran's nuclear program. The NSA, alongside the CIA, maintains a physical presence in many countries across the globe; the CIA/NSA joint Special Collection Service (a highly classified intelligence team) inserts eavesdropping devices in high-value targets (such as presidential palaces or embassies). SCS collection tactics allegedly encompass "close surveillance, burglary, wiretapping, [and] breaking". Unlike the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), both of which specialize primarily in foreign human espionage, the NSA does not publicly conduct human intelligence gathering. The NSA is entrusted with assisting with and coordinating SIGINT elements for other government organizations—which Executive Order prevents from engaging in such activities on their own. As part of these responsibilities, the agency has a co-located organization called the Central Security Service (CSS), which facilitates cooperation between the NSA and other U.S. defense cryptanalysis components. To further ensure streamlined communication between the signals intelligence community divisions, the NSA director simultaneously serves as the Commander of the United States Cyber Command and as Chief of the Central Security Service. The NSA's actions have been a matter of political controversy on several occasions, including its role in providing intelligence during the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which contributed to the escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Declassified documents later revealed that the NSA misinterpreted or overstated signals intelligence, leading to reports of a second North Vietnamese attack that likely never occurred. The agency has also received scrutiny for spying on anti–Vietnam War leaders and the agency's participation in economic espionage. In 2013, the NSA had many of its secret surveillance programs revealed to the public by Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor. According to the leaked documents, the NSA intercepts and stores the communications of over a billion people worldwide, including United States citizens. The documents also revealed that the NSA tracks hundreds of millions of people's movements using cell phone metadata. Internationally, research has pointed to the NSA's ability to surveil the domestic Internet traffic of foreign countries through "boomerang routing".