WASHINGTON — American consumers and businesses would pay — literally — if President-elect Donald Trump followed through on his campaign pledge to slap big taxes on imports from China and Mexico. Trump said during the campaign that he’d impose tariffs of 35 percent on Mexican imports and 45 percent on Chinese imports to protect American […]
politics
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Political roundup: Wisconsin starts presidential ballot recount
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thursday’s political coverage (all times EST): Trump to meet Dem Sen. Heitkamp of North Dakota Updated: 10:45 a.m.: Donald Trump’s transition team says the incoming president will meet on Friday with North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat up for re-election in 2018. Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence plan to talk […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Canadian border bill passes U.S. House, goes to President Obama
FORT KENT — A bill supported by Maine’s U.S. senators that aims to strengthen security at the country’s northern border has unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Sens. Susan Collins, a Republican, and Angus King, an independent, co-sponsored the Northern Border Security Review Act, which passed the U.S. Senate last month. It passed the […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Democratic leaders block Gov. LePage’s $3 million Riverview plan
AUGUSTA — Construction of a crucial forensic psychiatric unit in Augusta was dealt a blow by Democratic legislative leaders who, using an oft-overlooked oversight power, voted against Gov. Paul LePage’s administration’s plan on Wednesday. LePage and the Department of Health and Human Services have been trying for months to start work on the building, which […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Provision mandating USA-made sneakers up for authorization
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The final version of the National Defense Authorization Act includes a provision to require the Department of Defense to provide military recruits with American-made shoes. Maine U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Maine Rep. Bruce Poliquin championed the change and announced its presence in the authorization act on Wednesday. The […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Analysis: Tax reform question shifts to LePage’s budget proposal
After opponents of Question 2 withdrew a recount request on Tuesday, the question of tax reform will shift to Gov. Paul LePage and the Legislature — where it was probably going anyway. The Republican governor has made cutting taxes perhaps his biggest priority in office, signing a budget that provided the largest income tax cut […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
House Democrats re-elect Nancy Pelosi as leader
Updated 12:40 p.m.: WASHINGTON — House Democrats re-elected Nancy Pelosi as their leader on Wednesday despite disenchantment among some in the caucus over the party’s disappointing performance in elections earlier this month. The California lawmaker, who has led the party since 2002, turned back a challenge from Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan. The secret ballot vote was […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Gov. Paul LePage pushes for cheaper electricity
Taking aim at green power initiatives that raise energy costs, Gov. Paul LePage said in his weekly radio address Wednesday that Maine consumers deserve a break. “Decades of corruption, poor decision-making and wealthy special interests controlling Augusta” have left the state shouldering higher-than-necessary costs for energy, the governor said, a legacy he claims crimps business […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Donald Trump vows details coming on how he will leave business ‘in total’
Updated 11:12 a.m.: WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s senior adviser says his adult children are expected to take more control of his business empire as the president-elect works to prevent conflicts of interest before he takes office. Kellyanne Conway told The Associated Press Wednesday that “The three adult children who do already work in […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Mitt Romney emerges from dinner with Donald Trump full of frog legs & praise
They talked for more than two hours, they laughed, they munched on carefully prepared frog legs, and afterward, Mitt Romney, once one of Donald Trump’s harshest critics, emerged a changed man. “I had a wonderful evening with President-elect Trump,” the former Massachusetts governor declared to the press after a final course of chocolate cake. “We […]