PORTLAND — Two Democratic House representatives have unenrolled from their party, eliminating the party’s outright majority in the chamber and reducing their advantage over Republicans to four representatives. Reps. Denise Harlow, I-Portland, and Ralph Chapman, U-Brooksville, confirmed their withdrawal from the party Friday in messages to the Bangor Daily News. Though unenrolling, Harlow said she […]
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Posted inMaine
Paul LePage tweaks budget proposal to boost legal fund, stop anti-bias program
AUGUSTA — Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage is tweaking his $6.8 billion budget proposal to add funds for private lawyers and cut a civil rights program, among other things. He’s proposing to eliminate the attorney general’s program aiming to reduce bias in schools, saving $550,000 over two years. His administration says the program should be […]
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Legislature sends marijuana regulatory bill to governor
The Legislature took a big, yet perfunctory step toward implementing marijuana legalization on Thursday. With a final vote in the Senate, a bill sponsored by House Speaker Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, went to Gov. Paul LePage’s desk. It would: Move regulatory control of recreational marijuana from the Department of Agriculture — as the 2016 ballot initiative prescribed — to […]
Posted inMaine
Analysis: What’s next for ranked-choice voting in Maine?
AUGUSTA — The implementation of ranked-choice voting hangs in limbo. The system, which election reform advocates have called a “better way to vote,” could be headed back to voters or could die at the hands of the Legislature, depending on what happens with two 11th-hour bills allowed into the legislative process on Thursday. Maine voters […]
Posted inNation / World
Donald Trump travel ban showdown headed for Supreme Court
In this Sept. 27, 2016 file photo, 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, Chief Justice Roger Gregory, gestures during an interview in his office in Richmond, Va. The 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals dealt another blow to President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban targeting six-Muslim majority countries on Thursday, May 25, 2017, siding with groups that […]
Posted inNation / World
Greg Gianforte wins U.S. House race in Montana, apologizes to reporter
Greg Gianforte, right, and wife Susan, center, celebrate his win over Rob Quist for the open congressional seat at the Hilton Garden Inn Thursday night, May 25, 2017, in Bozeman, Montanna. Gianforte, a technology entrepreneur, defeated Democrat Quist to continue the GOP’s two-decade stronghold on the congressional seat. BOZEMAN, Mont. — Republican multimillionaire Greg Gianforte […]
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Jared Kushner’s lawyer says he will cooperate with federal investigators
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is willing to cooperate with federal investigators looking into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, his attorney said. The statement from attorney Jamie Gorelick was issued Thursday amid reports that the FBI was investigating meetings Kushner had in December with Russian officials. “Mr. Kushner previously volunteered […]
Posted inMaine
LePage adviser David Sorensen to join White House as speechwriter
PORTLAND — An adviser to Republican Gov. Paul LePage is leaving the administration to become a speechwriter for President Donald Trump. David Sorensen called the new job an “extraordinary honor.” In a social media post, he said it’s an opportunity “to help President Trump make America great again just as Governor LePage has made Maine […]
Posted inMaine
LePage’s plan to dissolve turnpike authority hits roadblock
AUGUSTA — Without dissent, a key committee urged the Legislature on Thursday to turn thumbs down on Gov. Paul LePage’s bid to fold the Maine Turnpike Authority into the Department of Transportation. With little time and not much evidence that the move would help, the Transportation Committee had no trouble recommending leaving the quasi-independent state […]
Posted inNation / World
Federal appeals court largely maintains freeze of Trump’s travel ban
A federal appeals court on Thursday largely left in place the freeze on President Donald Trump’s revised entry ban, handing the administration another legal blow in its efforts to block the issuance of new visas to citizens of six Muslim majority countries. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit means […]