JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Before the freighter El Faro sank, the captain was warned by a text message from his vacationing second mate that a storm looming offshore was forecast to become a hurricane. Second Mate Charles Baird testified Thursday before a U.S. Coast Guard panel investigating the ship’s sinking last October. All 33 aboard died. […]
politics
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Pope Francis: Trump ‘is not Christian’ if he wants border wall
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Francis said Thursday that Donald Trump is “not Christian” if he intends to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. Trump immediately fired back, saying it is disgraceful for a religious leader to question a person’s faith. Trump, a leading U.S. Republican presidential candidate, has promised to build a wall […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
$4.6 million grant to aid western Maine conservation
AUGUSTA — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing $4.6 million in support of conservation efforts in the vast western mountains of Maine. Members of Maine’s congressional delegation who announced the funding say the money will assist private landowners in improving fish and wildlife habitats between the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Moosehead Lake. […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine voters to use new machines in June 14 primary
AUGUSTA — Maine officials say the state will begin implementing new ballot-marking devices that will help voters with disabilities during the June primary. Officials say the new system is a single unit with a video screen and a built-in ballot printer with a controller attached. It will offer voters an audio and a visual ballot. […]
Posted inMaine
LePage says Congress should follow Constitution on Supreme Court vacancy
AUGUSTA — Maine Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday added his voice to the ongoing debate regarding the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy created with the unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia last Saturday. LePage sided with former governor and U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, saying President Barack Obama should nominate a replacement for Scalia. “I’m a […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
U.S. Supreme Court: Is 8 enough?
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has managed to function effectively at less than its full nine-member strength for two extended periods in the past 50 years. The question now is whether the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in the middle of the court term and a polarizing presidential campaign will make it harder for the […]
Posted inMaine
Maine’s senators offer views on Supreme Court vacancy
Maine’s two U.S. senators have diverging responses to the ongoing political controversy over whether President Barack Obama should be allowed to nominate a replacement for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia’s unexpected death Saturday triggered a tsunami of political rhetoric from lawmakers in Washington and those stumping on the presidential campaign trail. On Wednesday, […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Bruce Poliquin asks GOP presidential candidates to focus on debt
BANGOR — A group of freshmen Republicans in Congress is calling on the party’s presidential candidates to focus less on bickering and more on the national debt in advance of the South Carolina primary. Maine Rep. Bruce Poliquin is leading the group, which is sending a letter to the candidates Wednesday. Poliquin and the lawmakers […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Rep. Peggy Rotundo set to leave Maine Legislature in 2016
LEWISTON — Rep. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, will leave the Legislature in 2016. Rotundo, who has served four terms in both the Maine House and Maine Senate, said she wouldn’t attempt to run for the Senate again now that she has served the maximum number of consecutive terms in the House. Rotundo has been an influential […]
Posted inLife & Culture, sj-web
Quiz: Which U.S. President are you?
Happy Presidents’ Day! Many of us won’t be going to work today. We also won’t be going to the town office, the mailbox or the bank. That gives you plenty of time to take our presidential quiz before any possible car or mattress shopping. See who the pundits would compare you to when you’re in […]