Late-breaking news from 501 N. Calvert Street:

Longtime reporters and editors at The Baltimore Sun were laid off today in “a wholesale thinning of the editing ranks,” according to a newsroom source. “The place is in shock.”

A Sun spokesman could not be reached for confirmation late yesterday but according to sources, the layoffs were discussed by editor Monty Cook in “a somber announcement” to staffers in the newsroom this evening.”

“Cook said that more layoffs have occurred in other parts of the building today, and more are likely in the coming days,” the source said. “He offered no numbers, saying that information would have to come from a company spokesperson. He expressed regret, and said the move was forced by declining ad revenues at The Sun, and not within Tribune at large.”

More information when it becomes available tomorrow……