WASHINGTON (AP) — Stepping back from a campaign promise, President Donald Trump on Thursday decided not to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, at least for the next six months. The White House described Trump’s waiver as a move to improve chances for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, but the relocation also risked igniting […]
politics
Posted inNation / World
Vladmir Putin denies involvement in election hacking, hails Donald Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a meeting with heads of international news agencies at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, June 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) ST.PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin insisted Thursday that the Russian state has never engaged in hacking and said Moscow will wait […]
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Maine regulators sign off on FairPoint sale
HALLOWELL (AP) — Maine has become the first state in northern New England to sign off on the $1.5 billion sale of FairPoint Communications to Illinois-based Consolidated Communications. The Maine Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously in favor of the deal Wednesday after Consolidated agreed to invest at least $52.2 million in its infrastructure in Maine. […]
Posted inNation / World
Trump administration aims to open more Arctic areas for oil
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke issued a directive aimed at spurring oil and natural gas development in Alaska, including a move to assess just how much crude might be lurking under the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Zinke’s order, signed during a visit to Anchorage, also compels a rewrite of a 2013 plan that limited oil and […]
Posted inNation / World
CNN sacks Kathy Griffin over Trump video
NEW YORK (AP) — Kathy Griffin has lost a decade-long gig ringing in the new year for CNN as a backlash builds over her video displaying a likeness of President Donald Trump’s severed head. CNN, which had called the images “disgusting and offensive” after Griffin posted the video on Tuesday, announced Wednesday it would not […]
Posted inMaine
Lawmakers consider copyrighting public meeting audio
AUGUSTA (AP) — A group of legislators concerned with political groups taking their words out of context has begun exploring whether lawmakers can copyright audio recordings of public hearings. The little-known panel has spent the last year mulling what to do with the archived audio recordings. Some legislators have called for immediately deleting the recordings […]
Posted inMaine
Larry Lockman’s immigration bill fails in Maine House
AUGUSTA — An anti-immigrant bill proposed by Rep. Larry Lockman, R-Amherst, that drew a torrent of criticism from Mainers who are sympathetic to newcomers fleeing war and oppression overseas failed to pass muster in the House on Wednesday. The Republican lawmaker pushed a trio of related bills taking aim at cities that offer sanctuary to […]
Posted inMaine
Trump plan to end state and local tax deductions likely to prove difficult
As Republicans try to figure out a way to deliver on tax cuts President Donald Trump promised, they’re taking a hard look at the possibility of eliminating the income tax deduction for state and local taxes. Though Congress is unlikely to go along, it’s a move that would sock many Maine taxpayers who file federal […]
Posted inMaine
Analysis: Maine budget negotiators remain far apart on school funding
A meeting Tuesday of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee showed just how far apart Democrats and Republicans are on education funding with a key deadline on the state’s two-year budget looming in less than a week. After closed-door partisan caucuses over the Memorial Day weekend, the committee met yesterday to take votes on agreed-upon items in […]
Posted inMaine
Betsy Sweet to run as Democrat for governor
As expected, Hallowell lobbyist Betsy Sweet filed Tuesday to run for governor in 2018, issuing a news release saying she’s “not part of the political establishment” while referencing a lobbying and advocacy career dating back to the 1980s. “I think I’m the sweet spot — if you will — between not experienced and being part […]