A video posted to TikTok Thursday by Christian preacher Perez Ndi appears to show a self-described Satanist berating a group of Christians for protesting outside Planned Parenthood in Portland, Maine. https://twitter.com/ClownWorld_/status/1664252844462190592?s=20 “How many have you adopted? Zero! Cause you’re a hypocritical piece of sh—” The man yelled at a 71-year-old man protesting outside the Planned Parenthood clinic. “Why is that the standard?” The protestor responds. “Well why is it the standard that you have to stand out here and f—ing berate people for their f—ing beliefs and sh—?” The man screamed. “I’m berating you! I’m coming back into your face…
Author: Edward Tomic
Edward Tomic
Edward Tomic is a reporter for The Maine Wire based in Southern Maine. He grew up near Boston, Massachusetts and is a graduate of Boston University. He can be reached at tomic@themainewire.com
On Wednesday Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden shared his thoughts regarding President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s debt ceiling deal on his Substack, “Dear Mainer.” [RELATED: Biden-McCarthy Debt Ceiling Deal Heads to Congress for Approval] In a previous newsletter released in April, Rep. Golden called on President Biden to be the “bipartisan dealmaker” he promised to be during his 2020 campaign, and to sit down with Speaker McCarthy to negotiate a deal that would “deliver a responsible budget.” Golden suggested a compromise of returning to Fiscal Year 2022 discretionary spending levels, rescinding unspent COVID-19 relief funds, reversing Biden’s $400…
State Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a recent change in Maine law that established fundraising limits for political action committees (PACs) led by legislators known as “leadership PACs.” In a press release sent Wednesday, Libby said she has challenged 21-A MRSA 1056-C, a new law that restricts individual contributions to leadership PACs to just $475 per year. The campaign finance law also prohibits any contributions to these PACs from business entities. In 2021, Rep. Libby was one of the co-founders of the Dinner Table PAC, a committee that spent more than $450,000 backing…
Bangor-area Pines Church is suing the Hermon School Department, alleging that the school board discriminated against the church on the basis of its religious beliefs when it denied the church’s request to lease the high school auditorium for Sunday services. The lawsuit claims that the Hermon School Committee denied the church’s lease proposal because of the church’s religious beliefs on abortion, sexual orientation, gender reassignment care, conversion therapy, and gay marriage. [RELATED: Email Shows Hermon School Board Member Discriminated Against Christian Church Over Religious Views] After the non-denominational Christian Pines Church outgrew its Sunday service meeting space at Spotlight Cinema…
On Tuesday a group of protestors lined the sidewalk outside the Maine State House in Augusta demanding justice for a U.S. Army veteran who was shot and killed at a Vassalboro apartment building on Memorial Day last year. Jeremy Gilley, a 37-year-old Iraq War veteran who previously had his lower legs amputated in 2011 after being hit by a van, died as a result of being shot inside an apartment building in Vassalboro, Maine on May 30, 2022. Public information officer for the Maine Department of Public Safety Shannon Moss said in a statement after the incident that Vassalboro apartment…
On Monday a Maine State Trooper shot at a truck near the U.S.-Canada border in Houlton, Maine, after the Trooper observed a sign on the truck indicating the driver had an explosive device on board and the driver refused to stop. According to a Monday press release by Maine State Police, State Trooper Denver Roy attempted to stop a truck going northbound on Interstate 95 in Houlton at about 10:40 a.m. PoliceStatement5-30Download The truck operator continued toward the U.S.-Canada border without stopping, at which time the Trooper saw a sign on the truck indicating that the operator had an explosive…
The Maine Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial in Augusta was vandalized over Memorial Day weekend, according to a Monday statement from the Maine State Police and several law enforcement agencies. https://twitter.com/MEStatePolice/status/1663167859923484674?s=20 Colonel William Ross of the Maine State Police issued a public statement regarding the vandalism Monday morning. “It is disheartening to see the Maine Law Enforcement Memorial vandalized. Those responsible clearly have no idea what it means to serve and protect our citizens and visitors to Maine,” Colonel Ross said. “Thankfully more people value those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice so others can live their lives peacefully. Thank…
Members of Congress are set to vote this week on the contentious debt ceiling deal reached by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Joe Biden over the Memorial Day weekend. [RELATED: Biden, McCarthy Fiercely Divided Over Debt Ceiling Crisis Before May 9 Meeting] The details of the deal between President Biden and Speaker McCarthy were released Sunday in a 99-page bill called the “Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.” The proposed bill includes several hard-fought compromises with which neither congressional Republicans nor Democrats are likely to be entirely satisfied. Biden and McCarthy will work to win bipartisan approval to push…
Bangor High School officials are investigating an allegation of an “inappropriate relationship” between a staff member and a student. On Friday Bangor Superintendent James Tager announced in an email to the community that Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services and law enforcement have launched an investigation alongside school officials into an alleged inappropriate relationship between a staff member and student. Tager said that the investigation began on Wednesday, immediately after school officials were made aware of the alleged relationship. The identities of the individuals involved in this case are being kept confidential while the investigation is underway. “At this…
Republican lawmakers on the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee stormed out of a work session Wednesday after learning that noncitizens were being actively recruited for free ride scholarships at Maine’s taxpayer-funded community colleges. [RELATED: Maine’s Taxpayer-Funded Community Colleges Are Recruiting “Noncitizens” for Free Scholarships] Some GOP lawmakers in the 130th Legislature voted in support of the free scholarship program, unaware that the Maine Community College System (MCCS) would seize on the opportunity to recruit out-of-state and foreign students to Maine for taxpayer-funded scholarships. Republican Committee members refused to return to Wednesday’s work session on Gov. Janet Mills’ budgetary “change package”…
On Thursday the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs voted “ought to pass” on LD 1966, a bill that would allow candidates for county offices to receive taxpayer funds under the Maine Clean Election Act (MCEA). The MCEA currently allows candidates running for Governor, State Senator and State Representative to voluntarily accept full public financing of their campaigns. If a candidate decides to receive MCEA funds, he or she can no longer accept private contributions to their campaign. Rep. Benjamin Collings’ (D-Portland) proposed bill, LD 1966, would expand eligibility for MCEA funds to candidates running for county offices…
Crowds gathered at Maine’s State House on Thursday for two events: a rally against a bill that would eliminate restrictions on late-term abortions, and a public hearing for a bill that would create a 12-week paid family and medical leave program funded by a new payroll tax. The “Speak Up for Life Rally @ the State House 2.0,” is the second rally this month led by State Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn) against Gov. Janet Mills and House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross’ (D-Portland) proposed bill LD 1619. [RELATED: Maine Women’s Lobby on Late-term Abortion Bill: “This One’s in the Bag”] Speaker…
On Wednesday morning Maine’s Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on LD 1953, a bill presented by Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan) which would establish a “Parental Bill of Rights” in the Constitution of Maine. Rep. Poirier’s proposed legislation seeks to ensure that parents have control over the upbringing and education of their children. [RELATED: New Hampshire Democrat Rep Tells Parent to “Shut Up” About Parents’ Rights Bill] The rights outlined in the bill include the right of parents to inspect and object to instructional materials used in the classroom, opt their children out of health and sex education and to…
Democratic lawmakers in Augusta killed a series of GOP-backed measures aimed at promoting safe schools on Wednesday — the anniversary of the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Maine’s Republican lawmakers brought four of their proposed school safety bills to Wednesday’s work session before the Education and Cultural Affairs committee. Three of the proposed bills would allow certain teachers, security officers or staff with concealed carry permits to be armed on school grounds (LD 52, LD 518, LD 1557). LD 1326 would require teachers to be trained on school design features implemented to defend against active shooters, and would hold…
Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) is withdrawing her bill which would allow homeless people to avoid criminal charges for criminal trespassing on private property if they are trying to find a place to sleep. [RELATED: Maine House Speaker Proposes Amnesty for Homeless People Who Criminally Trespass on Private Property] On Wednesday morning, State Sen. Stacey Guerin (R-Penobscot) broke the news in a radio interview with George Hale and Ric Tyler on Voice of Maine that Speaker Talbot Ross put in a “leave to withdraw” on LD 1949 late Tuesday night. Guerin said that she got involved with the…
After experiencing a surge in asylum seekers, New York City Mayor Eric Adams asked Justice Deborah Kaplan of the New York County Supreme Court to alter the city’s 39-year-old “right to shelter” law. Following a court order in 1984, the “Callahan consent decree,” New York City has been required to provide shelter and board to all homeless people who apply for it, provided that the applicant qualifies for the city’s home relief program or is in need of shelter due to physical, mental or social dysfunction. Mayor Adams seeks to amend the 1984 court order to allow the city to…
The Biden Administration is planning to end familial DNA testing at the U.S.-Mexico border, a key tool used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to prevent the fraudulent entry of migrants posing as family units and mitigate child trafficking, according to leaked memo obtained by Just The News. DNA testing was a measure initially implemented in the Trump-era “following a court order related to the separation of migrant children from their families and evidence drug cartels were using children to create fake family units to sneak illegal immigrants across the border,” Just The News reported. “[CBP’s] familial DNA contract…
According to reporting by Fox News and NBC, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to announce his 2024 presidential campaign Wednesday on a Twitter Space with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. [RELATED: NAACP Warns Black Americans Against Traveling to Florida] Fox and NBC claim that sources familiar with the governor’s plans say DeSantis will host an online discussion on Twitter with Musk and tech entrepreneur David Sacks, in which he will formally declare his candidacy. The event is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Musk seemed to confirm the reports by retweeting the breaking news: The decision to host the event…
On Saturday the Bangor Daily News published an article from opinion contributor and former Washington Post reporter Gordon Weil in which Weil compares former President Trump’s CNN townhall performance to Adolf Hitler’s “Big Lie.” https://twitter.com/bangordailynews/status/1659910595754196992?s=20 “Because Adolf Hitler operated so far below civilized bounds, it may seem unfair to say anybody else is like him. But some people continue to use his strategies,” Weil says in the article. This opening disclaimer, however, did not deter Weil from going on to equate Trump’s claims of election fraud in the 2020 Presidential election to the dictator of Nazi Germany. “While the situation…
On Saturday the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) issued a travel advisory warning Black Americans and other people of color against travelling to Florida. “Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals,” the travel advisory states. “Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color,” the travel advisory reads,” it says. https://twitter.com/NAACP/status/1660050271328694273?s=20 The civil rights advocacy group cites recent legislative action taken by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the reason behind…
The media company behind former President Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, is suing The Washington Post for defamation after the news outlet published an article on May 13 accusing the company of securities fraud and other illegal actions. The lawsuit, brought by Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG) in Florida’s Sarasota County, seeks $3.78 billion in damages from the Washington Post for the article, which TMTG alleges was false and defamatory, posing an “existential threat” to the company. TMTG claims that the Washington Post article in question, “Trust linked to porn-friendly bank could gain a stake in…
Democratic New Hampshire State Rep. Tommy Hoyt had harsh words for a parent who wrote to him in support of a bill establishing a parental “bill of rights” in education. A parent of children in Hopkinton, New Hampshire wrote to Rep. Hoyt asking him to support the passage of the bill, SB 272, without any amendments. Hoyt angrily responded to the parent, “Do you know why children’s results tanked during covid? Their parents were incompetent teachers.” “Do your children a favor, let the teachers teach, and shut up. You’re clearly no professional,” Hoyt said. Hoyt later confirmed to the NHJournal…
Border Patrol agents have encountered 98 total non-U.S. citizens at ports of entry that are on the government’s terror watchlist, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics. [RELATED: Biden Deploys 1,500 Troops to Mexican Border as End of Title 42 Restrictions Risks Migrant Surge: DoD] The Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS) is the U.S. government’s database or “watchlist” on terrorist identities. This database includes known or suspected terrorists, as well as individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States and its affiliates. CBP reports that so far in 2023, Border Patrol agents have stopped 96 individuals on…
On Thursday the Maine Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee held a public hearing on a proposal to pave the way for the development of offshore wind infrastructure in the Gulf of Maine, including the construction of a coastal manufacturing facility that would build the offshore floating wind turbines Lawmakers also considered Thursday Rep. Tiffany Strout’s (R-Harrington) LD 1884, a bill that would block offshore wind developments. In recent years, the prospect of filling the Gulf of Maine with hundreds of wind turbines has taken on an air of inevitability, with environmental groups, industry groups, and well-paid lobbyists pouring millions…
On Wednesday former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele released a statement on Twitter defending himself after the release of special counsel John Durham’s report on the FBI’s “missteps” during their 2016 Trump-Russia collusion investigation. [RELATED: Durham Report: FBI Never Should Have Launched Investigation Into Trump/Russia Collusion] https://twitter.com/Chris_D_Steele/status/1658907748212285441?s=20 The so-called Steele Dossier (a.k.a. the Golden Showers Dossier) was a compilation of raw intelligence pertaining to alleged ties between former President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia, and claimed the existence of a sex tape of Trump’s alleged lewd exploits in a Moscow hotel. Steele was hired to compile the dossier…
Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) sponsored a bill Tuesday that would allow an “unhoused” person to avoid the legal consequences of committing criminal trespass and some cases of aggravated criminal trespass. Speaker Talbot Ross’ bill, LD 1949, proposes to establish an affirmative defense to the prosecution of criminal trespass in cases where the “unhoused person” was “attempting to seek shelter” in the dwelling place, structure, place, cemetery, or burial ground the person entered. An affirmative defense does not deny a crime was committed by the defendant, but rather attempts to prove exculpatory circumstances which may mitigate the criminal…
In a public hearing by the Maine Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Wednesday morning, Rep. Rebecca Millett (D-Cape Elizabeth) struggled to clearly define the terms “abnormally dangerous” and “assault style weapons” in relation to her proposed bill to hold firearm manufacturers liable for damages inflicted by people who use their products. WATCH: Rep. Rebecca Millet Crumbles Under Question From Rep. John Andrews https://rumble.com/v2oe63w-rep.-rebecca-millet-crumbles-under-question-from-rep.-john-andrews.html Rep. Millett’s LD 1696, “An Act to Create a Civil Cause of Action for Persons Suffering Damages Arising from the Sale of Abnormally Dangerous Firearms,” would allow firearm manufacturers to be held liable for the manufacturing, marketing, importing,…
Crossfire Hurricane, the infamous investigation into the allegation that former Republican President Donald Trump conspired with the Russian government to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016, was based on unsubstantiated intelligence and should not have been opened by the FBI, according to a report from special counsel John Durham. The Department of Justice released the more than 300-page report Monday, signalling the end of Durham’s years-long investigation into an FBI probe that consumed much of Trump’s presidency and dogged his 2020 re-election effort. “Neither U.S. law enforcement nor the Intelligence Community appears to have possessed any actual evidence of collusion in…
On Monday morning Portland Police officers responded to a report of a suspicious man who had entered King Middle School in Portland. Upon arrival, officers found the perpetrator near the Deering Oaks Park entrance to the middle school. Portland Police announced Tuesday the arrest of Jacob Horwitch, a 43-year-old Portland man, charged with Criminal Trespass, Violation of Privacy and Refusing to Submit to Arrest or Detention. https://twitter.com/PolicePortland/status/1658524284623388689?s=20 The officers’ investigation revealed that Horwitch had entered the girl’s bathroom and offered hypodermic needles to a female student.
A candidate for the Portland schools’ superintendent job was at the center of a March 2022 scandal over allegations he inappropriately sought a deal with the Minneapolis teachers’ union that would have landed him the top job in that district. The Portland Superintendent Search Committee announced last week that Eric Moore, who is currently the senior advisor to the Minneapolis schools superintendent, was one of two finalists to become Portland’s next superintendent. Although the Committee’s public statements about the process suggest they are aware of some of the controversy associated with Moore’s tenure in Minnesota’s largest school district, many of…
Amid Maine’s ongoing migrant and housing crises, Maine’s elite liberal arts colleges could help alleviate the burden placed on Maine’s cities and towns by welcoming housing insecure migrants into student dormitories. But despite an abundance of resources and receiving generous tax benefits and grants from the federal government, Maine’s private colleges in Brunswick, Lewiston, and Waterville will not be opening their dorms to asylum seekers this summer, the Maine Wire has learned. Representatives from Bowdoin College, Bates College, and Colby College all confirmed that they do not intend to lend a hand by housing asylum seekers in their dormitories this…
U.S. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, presented new evidence Wednesday pertaining to pay-to-play schemes involving President Joe Biden, several Biden family members, and foreign nations. The report is yet another indication that the Biden family, while the patriarch was Vice President and before he was the 2020 Democratic nominee, leveraged his political office for financial gain that often involved foreign nationals and foreign businesses, including corporations connected to hostile foreign powers, such as the People’s Republic of China. However, if your only source of news are Maine’s top newspapers, you probably haven’t heard much about…
Two Republican State Senators have proposed bills seeking to reform the municipal General Assistance program to provide relief to Maine municipalities struggling to accommodate a recent influx of migrants and asylum seekers entering their communities. [RELATED: “We’ve been overrun”: Sanford City Officials Express Frustration Over Migrant Crisis at Emergency Meeting] Sen. Eric Brakey (R-Androscoggin) proposed five bills before the Committee on Health and Human Services on Friday, May 5. The proposed legislation would enact substantial reforms to current regulations governing municipal General Assistance (GA) benefits, in efforts to ensure the limited GA resources are utilized for their intended purposes and…
Portland’s Presumpscot Elementary School cancelled math and literacy classes one day in March so that staffers at the public school could lead students on a “Black Lives Matter” march, according to videos posted by the school and emails obtained by Parents Defending Education. A video posted to Portland’s Presumpscot Elementary School’s Facebook page on March 4, 2023 showed teachers leading young students in a march on the street while chanting “Black Lives Matter” and holding signs reading “antiracist baby” and “speak up”. Watch the full video below: https://www.facebook.com/presumpscot/videos/3190867101211553 In the caption of the video, the Principal of Portland’s Presumpscot Elementary…
The city of Sanford — population: 22,000 — has been overrun with asylum-seekers who arrived throughout last week seeking General Assistance benefits and free housing, according to city officials. The migrants arrived in private cars, Ubers, and even some vehicles purporting to be DoorDash drivers. Why did they suddenly show up in Sanford? City Manager Steve Buck told the Maine Wire two Sanford city residents — unidentified, at present — took it upon themselves to invite asylum-seekers to Sanford. Those individuals went to the Portland Expo building and promised asylum-seeker families better housing and better benefits, but those promises were…
Tuesday marked National Fentanyl Awareness Day as the Maine Drug Data Hub’s March 2023 Overdose Report revealed a total of 2,506 recorded overdoses in Maine this year, 140 of which were fatal. The Maine Drug Data Hub aggregates state and community information in collaboration with several state departments, the Governor’s Office, and the University of Maine. While 5.6 percent of overdoses in the first three months of the year were fatal, this is down 11.1 percent from the proportion of fatalities in the first three months of 2022, according to recently released data. Cumberland, Penobscot, and Androscoggin Counties accounted for…
New England talk radio legend Howie Carr gave his listeners a scare on Monday when he appeared to pass out in the middle of his afternoon radio broadcast. An update posted to Carr’s Twitter by his family stated that he fainted during his show and was now recovering. https://twitter.com/HowieCarrShow/status/1655681340845568002?s=20 Carr opened Monday’s Howie Carr Show saying he was not feeling well after an unspecified medical procedure. Carr fainted during an interview segment with Gerry Manning, owner of Captain Parker’s Pub and a sponsor of his show. While speaking with Manning about his chowder, Carr’s speech trailed off and he slumped…
Democratic lawmakers announced their re-introduction of the “Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act” (FAIR Act) on April 28, a bill proposing a ban on forced arbitration clauses in employment, consumer, and civil rights cases. The FAIR Act would grant employees and consumers the right to choose between resolving legal disputes by arbitration or in the Court system. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), one of the Congressmen who initially re-introduced the bill, issued a press release on the FAIR Act. “Forced arbitration is an underhanded maneuver that corporations use to trick consumers, worker, and small businesses out of their right to go to…
In an email sent out to Sanford City officials Sunday, Sanford School Department Superintendent Matt Nelson provided a detailed account of the city’s response to the arrival of 23 asylum-seeking families from Angola. “Over the past week, new immigrant families from Angola arrived unexpectedly in the Sanford area,” Nelson said in the email. “As families arrived, the General Assistance office worked to find temporary housing at the Sanford Inn and provided resources to help the families meet their basic needs,” he said. “Our outreach and ESOL staff immediately began the process of connecting with the families to welcome them to our community and to…
During Wednesday’s Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, President Biden’s Secretary of Energy David Turk struggled to answer Sen. John Kennedy’s (R-La.) questions regarding how many trillions of dollars the U.S. would need to spend in order to become carbon neutral by 2050. Watch a video of the full exchange between Secretary Turk and Senator Kennedy below: https://twitter.com/SenJohnKennedy/status/1654187532991492096?s=20 In the hearing, entitled, “A Review of the FY 2024 Budget Request for the U.S. Department of Energy, including the National Nuclear Security Administration,” Sec. Turk couldn’t say how much American carbon neutrality would cost — or how much it would lower global temperatures.…
Negotiations over the debt ceiling remain tense between President Joe Biden and GOP lawmakers after House Republicans narrowly passed the “Limit, Save, Grow Act” on April 26. Finding a resolution to the fierce debate was given an added sense of urgency by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s May 1 letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in which she warned the Treasury will be unable to meet all of the government’s obligations potentially as early as June 1. “I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States”, Secretary Yellen said. The debt…