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Groups Rally In Augusta To Oppose Trump Administration’s ‘Gag Rule’ On Title X

Opponents of the Trump administration's so-called “gag rule” proposal for the Title X program rallied in Augusta Tuesday.

Maine Secretary of State Looking To Beef Up Cybersecurity For Voter Registration System

Trump Walks Back Controversial Comments On Russian Election Interference

Candidates Say LePage's Hold-Up Of Funds Defies Common Sense

By AP • 1 minute ago

Several candidates say the Maine governor's latest push to hold up over $1 million in budgeted public campaign funding "flies in the face of common sense" and legal precedent.

In briefs filed Monday, an advocacy group and 11 candidates argued that the governor is reducing political speech that will decide this November's election.

Gov. LePage and finance chief Alec Porteous are defending LePage's refusal to sign financial orders to release money due to over 120 legislative candidates and one gubernatorial hopeful through June.

Maine Author Explores The Changing American Border With Canada

By Nora Flaherty • 1 hour ago

For many in Maine, the border with Canada is an everyday fact of life. People cross the border for shopping, work or family.

But since September 11 — and, more recently, under the Trump administration — the border which used to be more porous is now hardened. For example, crossing is more formal. Stops within in the 100-mile "border zone" are increasing, and Trump administration policies have introduced a new friction into relationships between the two countries.

Heavy Rain Could Cause Flash Floods In Parts Of Maine

By AP • 1 hour ago

Heavy rain is making its way through much of northern New England.

The National Weather Service says there's a flash flood watch in effect from Tuesday afternoon through the evening for the area of York, Maine, and in much of southeastern New Hampshire.

Storms were moving through the region Tuesday.

Updated 1:56 p.m.

'We've Been Through Darker Times': Barack Obama Speaks In South Africa

By Scott Horsley • 4 hours ago

Updated at 12:05 p.m. ET.

Former President Barack Obama celebrated Nelson Mandela's life and legacy in South Africa on Tuesday with a speech that focused not only on the freedom Mandela came to symbolize, but the long walk it took to get there.

NYPD Will Pursue Internal Charges Against Officers In Eric Garner's Death

By Bill Chappell • 6 hours ago

Four years after Eric Garner was put in a chokehold by a police officer on Staten Island and died, the New York Police Department says it will pursue disciplinary actions against officers involved in the case. Police had postponed the move out of deference to a Justice Department inquiry.

Man Arrested In Fatal Lewiston Stabbing Is A Convicted Murderer

By Susan Sharon • 8 hours ago

State police have arrested and charged 76-year-old Albert Flick of Auburn in the fatal stabbing of a woman in downtown Lewiston Sunday morning.

Police say 48-year-old Kimberly Dobbie was assaulted in front of a laundromat where she had been washing clothes with her twin 11-year-old sons who witnessed the attack. Bystanders tackled the suspect and held him down until police arrived

Canadian Ferry Firm Proposes 5-Year Lease, $1M Minimum Total Payment For Bar Harbor Site

By Bill Trotter - Bangor Daily News • 8 hours ago

In a proposal to base The CAT in Bar Harbor, the Canadian firm that operates high-speed ferry service between Maine and Nova Scotia says it will spend $3 million in infrastructure improvements to the idle Route 3 property and will pay the town at least $200,000 in annual rent for five years. Both dollar figures are in U.S. currency.

U.S. Intelligence Chiefs, Current And Former, Fire Back At Trump

By Greg Myre • 8 hours ago

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on Monday directly challenged comments by President Trump, saying the U.S. intelligence community has been "clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election."

Coats has maintained an extremely low profile, rarely making public comments, since President Trump appointed him last year.

Trump's Helsinki Bow To Putin Leaves World Wondering: Why?

By Ron Elving • 9 hours ago

Given the attitude with which President Trump has greeted all news of the Russian interference in the 2016 election, his performance in Helsinki on Monday should have come as no surprise.

And yet there was surprise — even shock — when the president of the United States stood onstage alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and accepted the former KGB officer's denials regarding that interference.

Maria Butina Case Bolsters Understanding of 'Infiltration' In Russian 2016 Attack

By Philip Ewing • 9 hours ago

Charges accusing a woman of trying to build bridges between the Russian government and American political leaders via the National Rifle Association have delivered a breakthrough in understanding one aspect of the attack on the 2016 election: "infiltration."

After months of questions and speculation as to how or whether the NRA connection might have worked, prosecutors proffered an answer on Monday: The Russian woman, Maria Butina, was the intermediary between Russian government officials and Americans, both in the NRA and elsewhere in politics, according to court documents.