AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The latest federal campaign finance reports show U.S. Sen. Angus King is the top fundraiser in the 2018 U.S. Senate race. King reported raising about $650,000 during the spring and nearly $1.6 million in total this year. He received $20,000 apiece from aerospace and defense corporation General Dynamics and leadership PACs […]
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Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Sean Spicer resigns as White House press secretary
WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press secretary Sean Spicer, President Donald Trump’s embattled spokesman during the first six months of his presidency, is resigning his position, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. Spicer’s decision appears to be linked to the appointment of a new White House communications director, New York financier Anthony Scaramucci. […]
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Analysis: Legislature has enough work to keep going into August
The Maine Legislature was back Thursday for what we thought was possibly their last day, but leaders quickly decided that the session that led to the first state government shutdown since 1991 will keep on giving into August. That protracted budget fight set the Legislature’s other business back significantly, leaving them to consider $200 million […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
The fate of Dakota, the husky 'pardoned' by LePage, could be decided Monday
The fate of Dakota, the husky pardoned by Gov. Paul LePage, could be decided Monday by a District Court judge if the former owner, the woman who adopted the dog and the Kennebec County district attorney strike a deal that would lift permanently the euthanasia order imposed in April. If Judge Valerie Stanfill were to […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Republican leaders plan to vote Tuesday on health care bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders pushed toward a Senate vote next Tuesday on resurrecting their nearly flat-lined health care bill. Their uphill drive was further complicated by the ailing GOP Sen. John McCain’s potential absence and a dreary report envisioning that the number of uninsured Americans would soar. The White House and GOP leaders fished […]
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Donald Trump's lawyers seek to undercut Mueller's Russia probe
Some of President Donald Trump’s lawyers are exploring ways to limit or undercut Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, building a case against what they allege are his conflicts of interest and discussing the president’s authority to grant pardons, according to people familiar with the effort. Trump has asked his advisers about his power to […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Gov. Paul LePage will decide on possible cellphone ban for drivers
AUGUSTA — Maine lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to a measure that would ban the use of handheld devices while driving. The measure, initially approved by both the Senate and House last month, heads next to Gov. Paul LePage. State Police Major Chris Grotton called the proposal “exactly the law that Maine law enforcement needs […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Donald Trump's frustration with AG Sessions boils over in interview
In this July 12, 2017, file photo, Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks in Las Vegas. President Donald Trump says he never would have appointed Sessions as attorney general had he known Sessions would recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation. Trump makes the extraordinary statement about Sessions in an interview with the New York Times […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
U.S. Supreme Court allows strict enforcement of Donald Trump's travel ban
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is granting the Trump administration’s request to more strictly enforce its ban on refugees, at least until a federal appeals court weighs in. But the justices are leaving in place a lower court order that makes it easier for travelers from six mostly Muslim countries to enter the United […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Donald Trump pushes GOP senators to restart Obamacare repeal-and-replace effort
WASHINGTON — Hoping to avoid a humiliating political defeat, President Donald Trump on Wednesday demanded that Republican senators resume their efforts to approve a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, insisting that lawmakers are “very close.” A day after the GOP strategy to rollback the ACA appeared dead, Trump invited Republican senators […]