Author: Edward Tomic

A year ago this month, over one hundred asylum-seeking migrants unexpectedly arrived in the city Sanford seeking welfare benefits and free housing, forcing the city to expend more than $300,000 more than their allocated General Assistance budget for the year. [RELATED: “We’ve been overrun”: Sanford City Officials Express Frustration Over Migrant Crisis at Emergency Meeting…] Migrants were transported from the Portland Exposition Building to Sanford in private cars, Ubers, and some vehicles purporting to be DoorDash drivers, after they were given misinformation that Sanford would offer them better housing and better benefits than Portland. The asylum seekers, most of whom…

Maine House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) recently appointed a new commissioner to the state racial equity commission, the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial & Tribal Populations (PCRITP), from an organization that administered a $175,000 taxpayer-funded grant to her “domestic partner.” [RELATED: ‘Homelessness Advocate’ Came to Maine DEI Commission Meeting Slurring Speech, Said N-Word, Claimed to be Part Black and Victim of Racial Profiling…] The new PCRITP Commissioner, Amy Winston, whose appointment was announced at the Commission’s Wednesday meeting, is the Senior Director of State Policy at Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI), a progressive thinktank focused on climate change…

The Democrats’ House Majority PAC is planning to invest $100 million into advertising and voter mobilization efforts focused on the issue of abortion as they attempt to win back the chamber from Republicans this November, according a memo released Thursday. The super PAC’s new “Reproductive Freedom Accountability Fund” is slated to target swing districts nationwide with advertisements denouncing “Republican extremism” and the GOP’s “shameless pursuit to ban abortion.” [RELATED: Planned Parenthood Spends Thousands to Unseat Maine House Democrat Who Opposed Late-Term Abortion Bill…] The House Majority PAC pointed to their success holding Republicans to a slim majority in the 2022…

Three people are facing drug trafficking charges following a traffic stop on I-95 in Orono that resulted in the discovery of crack cocaine and multiple firearms, the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday. According to the Sheriff’s Office, shortly before 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 25, a Penobscot County deputy determined that 49-year-old Tara Culpovich of Milford violated her bail conditions by traveling in a vehicle with 48-year-old Robert Moreau. Culpovich was recently arrested arrested for unlawful trafficking of schedule W drugs after the Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at 32 Pine Street in Milford, and was not supposed…

The U.S. was forced to put a pause on the delivery of aid to its “floating pier” on the coast of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday after a spell of bad weather caused the $320 million structure to break apart, officials confirmed to Fox News Digital. Officials told Fox News that four vessels that had stabilized the pier broke off of the structure due to choppy waters earlier this week, causing the pier to no longer be operational. Two of the unmoored vessels were reportedly beached on Gaza and two others drifted to the coast of Israel near Ashkelon. Pentagon…

The Biden administration has granted a request from the State of Maine to lease 15.2 square mile in the Gulf of Maine for an offshore wind array. The “research lease” site is located 28 nautical miles off the coast of Maine, southeast of Portland, and if developed would allow for the construction of up to 12 floating wind turbines capable of generating up to 144 megawatts of energy. [RELATED: Biden Admin Proposes Sale of 1 Million Acres in Gulf of Maine for Offshore Wind Projects…] Tuesday’s approval of the research lease dates back to an October 2021 application by the…

A Brunswick man arrested and charged with multiple drug trafficking counts last week in connected to an ongoing investigation into a fatal fentanyl overdose has been released from jail after posting $750 in bail, Brunswick Police announced Tuesday. Police said that during the course of a recent investigation into a fatal overdose involving fentanyl, investigators were led to believe illegal drugs were being sold at 338 Church Road in Brunswick. The Brunswick Police department executed a search warrant at the Church Road residence on Wednesday, May 22, looking for evidence of drug trafficking. The search resulted in the seizure of…

A traffic stop in Portland over the weekend led to the arrest of two men on drug charges, Portland Police announced Tuesday. 22-year-old Roger Sockabasin of Portland | Source: Cumberland County Jail According to police, the traffic stop occurred at 58 Alder Street (Bayside Bowl bowling alley) shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 26. The driver of the vehicle, 22-year-old Roger Sockabasin of Portland, was arrested on a warrant for violating conditions of release, operating with a suspended or revoked license and unlawful possession of schedule Z drugs. Schedule Z drugs, under Maine state law, include marijuana, certain prescription…

Border officers at a Texas Port of Entry last week found more than $1.3 million worth of cocaine hidden in a tractor hauling a shipment of soft drinks, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Friday. [RELATED: ‘No regard for human life’: Illegal Alien Caught Transporting Enough Fentanyl to Kill 6.8 Million People With Two Children in Car…] The seizure occurred on Friday, May 24, at the Roma International Bridge, which connects the cities of Roma, Texas, and Ciudad Miguel Alemá, Mexico, over the Rio Grande. A CBP Office of Field Operations officer stationed on the bridge referred a tractor…

A Berwick woman has pleaded guilty to a yearslong Social Security fraud scheme to illegally obtain benefits on behalf of her children, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Maine announced Friday. [RELATED: Fraud: NH Man Faked Disability to Obtain Over $660,000 in Veterans Benefits…] Suzanna Hercock, 46, pleaded guilty to Social Security fraud on Friday in U.S. District Court in Portland. In court records, federal prosecutors alleged Hercock lied to the Social Security Administration (SSA) from about December 2008 to February 2020, during which time she claimed that her husband — the children’s father — was not in…

The Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) branch in Scarborough will be closed starting on May 25 to allow for mold remediation and repair work, the Maine Secretary of State’s Office announced Friday. The Scarborough BMV is expected to be closed for at least four weeks while the repair work is ongoing. According to Maine Secretary of State’s Office, a roof drain above the BMV broke during a cold snap in February, sending water “cascading into the interior of the branch.” There has not been any threat to the health of the branch’s staff or customers, a Secretary of State’s…

A Lewiston woman has been charged with murder in connection to the death of a 90-year-old man in Litchfield. Gerald Marin, 90, was found dead inside his home at 1724 Hallowell Road in Litchfield on Saturday, May 18, after Maine State Police responded to the home at the request of a family member. Marin’s death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Sunday. Maine State Police say that Shari Allimah, 55, of Lewiston was charged with murder on Wednesday. At the time, Allimah was being held at the Androscoggin County Jail on unrelated charges,…

A New York woman pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland to bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and false use of a passport, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine. In court records, federal prosecutors alleged that in May 2023, 57-year-old Lisa Campos of New York attempted to make withdrawals from the joint credit union account of two victims by using a fake U.S. passport card as identification at several branch locations in southern Maine. Campos was successful in withdrawing $8,000 from one credit union branch in two separate transactions, but was unable to…

The Holden Police Department on Thursday announced that they had raided a house in connection to an ongoing investigation into Chinese-owned illegal marijuana growing operations. Dozens of similar properties have been searched by local law enforcement and county sheriff’s offices in recent months in connection to a sprawling network of illicit marijuana grows throughout rural Maine with suspected ties to Asian transnational organized crime. [Triad Weed: Here Are All the Raids Maine Cops Have Conducted on Illegal Chinese Drug Trafficking Operations] Holden Police executed a search warrant on a home on Winters Road in Holden at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday.…

After showing up to a meeting last Friday slurring her speech heavily, a “homelessness advocacy” commissioner on Maine’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Tribal Populations (PCRITP), a taxpayer-funded agency tasked with dismantling “systemic racism” in the state, proceeded to say the n-word, claimed to be part black, and said she was racially profiled by police. Amanda Comeau, who serves as the Permanent Commission’s “representative from a housing or homelessness advocacy organization,” entered several minutes late into PCRITP’s May 17 Community Engagement Committee meeting, and subsequently derailed the hour-long meeting into several slurred and rambling digressions. LISTEN:…

The law enforcement division of the Maine Department of Marine Resources recently mistakenly ordered over $8,000 worth of ammunition, but decided the tens of thousands of rounds would be too costly to return, according to public records. An April 25 Procurement Justification Form (PJF) filed by the Department of Marine Resources states that the Bureau of Maine Patrol purchased twenty-thousand rounds of 9mm training ammunition and ten-thousand rounds of 5.56mm duty ammunition. The total cost of the purchased ammunition was $8,010. The Bureau of Marine Patrol is a state law enforcement agency responsible for the enforcement of marine resource conservation…

Border Patrol agents in California last week caught an illegal alien transporting enough fentanyl to wipe out a city of 6.8 million people, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Wednesday. According to CBP, Border Patrol agents assigned to the Indio, Calif., Border Patrol Station arrested a female driver of a vehicle transporting 29 pounds of fentanyl on the morning of Wednesday, May 15. Border Patrol agents conducted a vehicle stop on the female driver on Interstate 10 in Indio, Calif., and determined that she was an undocumented illegal alien, despite her claim that she was a U.S. citizen, CBP…

A 16-year-old from Westbrook has been arrested for allegedly participating in a string of vehicle burglaries and of stealing a firearm from one the vehicles, Westbrook Police announced Wednesday. [RELATED: ‘They’re playing Grand Theft Auto, for real’: New Details Emerge Related to Southern Maine Teenage Drug Trafficking Network…] According to police, officers were dispatched early in the morning on Sunday, May 19, in response to a report of vehicles being broken into on Main Street in Westbrook. Officers responded to the scene and were able to locate and stop multiple suspects. Westbrook Police said that when officers detained the suspects,…

Former President Donald Trump boasted in a 1:30 a.m. post to his Truth Social platform on Thursday that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich would be released from Russian prison “immediately” if he his elected this November. Gershkovich, a 32-year-old Bowdoin graduate, has been held in Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison for over a year following his arrest on espionage charges on March 29, 2023, while working for the Journal in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg — the first American journalist to be arrested on charges of spying in Russia since the Cold War. Gershkovich, his family, the WSJ and the U.S.…

Maine taxpayers are footing the bill for state employees to attend breathing and muscle relaxation classes, “StoryTime” sessions, as well as workshops centered around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), according to an internal email obtained by the Maine Wire. Director of staff training and development at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (Maine DHHS), Bonnie Tracy, sent an email Wednesday to all DHHS employees outlining the department’s June training programs offered by the department’s Staff Education and Training Unit (SETU). “SETU will be offering an array of sessions throughout 2024 to help you in your professional development and…

The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), a Republican super PAC endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Republican leadership, has announced that it will spend $141 million in initial ad reservations ahead of the November elections — including millions of dollars targeting cities in Maine. “CLF’s initial ad reservations are larger than any previous election cycle to date,” the super PAC announced in a Wednesday press release. “We’re reserving nearly $20 million more than in 2022, when Republicans took back the House, and more than three times the amount from 2020, when Republicans picked up fifteen seats.” The CLF…

The arrest of a homeless man in Portland last week for visual sexual aggression against a child occurred at a public housing complex, according to arrest records. Ahmed Said Abdullahi, 30, whose Cumberland County Jail booking information indicated he was “unhoused,” was arrested early in the morning on Sunday, May 12, on the charge of visual sexual aggression against a child under 14 years old. Abdullahi was booked at the Cumberland County Jail where his bond amount was set at $500. As of May 22, Abdullahi is not longer in custody at Cumberland County Jail, according to the jail’s online…

The Washington, D.C., headquarters of the Republican National Committee (RNC) were put on lockdown Wednesday morning after “vials of blood” were discovered in a package, the New York Post reports. It remains unclear what caused the security alert, but one source told the Post that “It sounds like vials of blood were sent in a package and something broke open.” No injuries were immediately reported as a result of the incident, but a hazmat unit was on site at the RNC headquarters on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning, according to the Post. Capitol Police told NBC that the package contained two…

Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (ME-01) joined dozens of her House Democrat colleagues on a letter calling upon Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from all cases related to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol or the 2020 presidential election. Rep. Pingree, who includes a Ukrainian flag in her handle on social media, has previously called for the “out of touch” Supreme Court to be expanded after they turned down the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program and prohibited race-based college admissions last summer. [RELATED: Chellie Pingree Doubles Down on Calls to Expand ‘Out of Touch’ Supreme Court…]…

Maine’s largest union, the Maine Education Association, has passed a resolution calling for the state pension system to divest from corporations “complicit in the violation of the human rights” of Palestinian civilians amid Israel’s ongoing war against the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas, according to a copy of the resolution obtained by the Bangor Daily News. [RELATED: Report Uncovers Links Between Anti-Israel Protesters and CCP…] The union’s resolution, which calls for the state pension to exercise economic pressure on Israel as they attempt to eliminate Hamas, comes just over seven months since the terrorist group launched an attack on Israel from…

House Republicans are leading an investigation into the Department of Defense’s (DoD) upcoming report on matters related to diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the U.S. military, according to a Monday letter. House Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) and House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel Chairman Jim Banks (R-Ind.) led on the letter sent to the chair of the DoD’s newly created Defense Advisory Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (DACODAI), General (Ret.) Lester Lyles. The upcoming DACODAI report is expected to contain independent advice and recommendations on DEI policies in…

The owner and operator of a group of Massachusetts sober homes has ordered to pay $3.8 million in damages after being found liable by a federal jury in Boston for the sexual harassment of tenants, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts announced Monday. Following a five-day trial, on May 17, 51-year-old Peter McCarthy, of Lynn, Mass., owner of Steps to Solutions, Inc., was found liable for sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of the Fair Housing Act, a federal anti-housing discrimination law. The federal jury awarded $3.8 million in damages to seven identified victims of sexual harassment…

U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE) on Monday announced the arrest of an unlawfully present Mexican national who was convicted in Connecticut of driving under the influence and killing two children. [RELATED: Man Involved in Four-Car Crash That Left Maine Woman Dead Entered U.S. Illegally in January: Oguzhan Cildir…] Deportation officers with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested the 40-year-old illegal alien, Israel Alejandro Gonzalez-Arcinega, during a traffic stop in Meriden, Conn., on May 1. “Israel Gonzalez was convicted of driving under the influence and killing two Connecticut children,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons said Monday.…

Starting this year, non-U.S. citizens will for the first time be able to vote in elections for local offices and on ballot questions in Washington, D.C. Under the “Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022,” which was passed by the D.C. Council in October 2022 and came in to effect in February 2023, any person who will be 18 by the time of the next general election, and who has proof of their residence in D.C. for at least 30 days prior to the election, will be able to vote in elections to local offices and on D.C. ballot…

Two Chinese nationals accused of playing leading roles in a money laundering scheme involving at least $73 million in stolen funds from cryptocurrency scams have been arrested on federal charges, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday. [RELATED: Maine Democrats Made $100k from Sam Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Fraud and Refuse to Give the Money to the U.S. Attorney…] Daren Li, 41, a dual citizen of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, and resident of China, Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates, was arrested on at an Atlanta airport on April 30 and was transported to the Central District of California. Yicheng…

Three Massachusetts men have been indicted in connection to a February daytime shootout in Saco that led to a shelter-in-place order and school lockdown, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine Darcie McElwee announced at a press briefing alongside local and federal law enforcement Thursday. [RELATED: Multiple Teenagers Arrested as Portland PD Seizes 400 Grams of Cocaine, 6 Handguns, and $44,000 Following Drive-by Shooting…] The two-count indictment, returned on Wednesday, May 15, by a federal grand jury, charged Joshua “Mac” Estrada , 19, Yancarlos “Glizzy” Abrante), 20, and Jason “Ouda” Johnson-Rivera, 18, all of New Bedford, Mass., with conspiracy to…

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England’s Maine-based Political Action Committee (PAC) is spending thousands of dollars to unseat an incumbent House Democrat who voted against Gov. Janet Mills’ late-term abortion bill last year, according to expenditure filings with the Maine Ethics Commission. [RELATED: Expanded Access to Late-Term Abortion Goes Into Effect In Maine, One of the Least Restrictive Laws In The Nation…] Democratic State Rep. Bruce White, who represents part of Waterville in House District 65, was one of just a handful of House Democrats to vote against the highly controversial abortion bill — LD 1619 — last June. Signed…

The Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) on Wednesday adopted a new “Gender Identity Participation Policy” to make it easier for transgender or non-binary students to participate on high school sports teams in accordance with their “gender identity.” [RELATED: Trans Runner Who Destroyed Female Competition at Maine Cross Country Meet has Maine Medical Center Director of Clinical Ethics Father, Bates Feminist Ethicist Mother…] The MPA is a private nonprofit corporation that regulates interscholastic high school athletics statewide, including both public and private schools. “The Maine Principals’ Association is committed to providing all students with an equal opportunity to participate in interscholastic athletics…

U.S. Senator from Maine Angus King (I) in a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee (SSIC) warned of foreign “sleeper cells” interfering and potentially causing “chaos” in the 2024 elections. [RELATED: Maine’s Angus King Leaned on Twitter to Monitor GOP Opponent’s Supporters in 2018 – Twitter Files…] In an exchange with the Director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), Jen Easterly, Sen. King said foreign adversaries are using the free speech protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to subvert our elections. “What is going on here is our adversaries are using our…

The Maine Department of Corrections (Maine DOC) is seeking a vendor to purchase a “state-of-the-art” laser tattoo removal machine, a purchase the agency argues will help inmates successfully reintegrate into society. According to a Request for Proposals (RFP) posted by the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) on April 29, the Maine DOC is soliciting bids from vendors “to procure “to procure a state-of-the-art laser tattoo removal equipment that meets stringent requirements for safety, efficacy, and versatility, designed to facilitate the rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates within a correctional facility setting.” “This equipment will serve a critical role…

In April, the Maine Legislature passed and Gov. Janet Mills signed LD 2007, An Act to Advance Self-determination for Wabanaki Nations, sponsored by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland). The bill as advanced by the Legislature was a heavily pared down version of a broader tribal sovereignty bill initially introduced in June 2023 by Speaker Talbot Ross, which was opposed by Gov. Mills. Under LD 2007, as signed into law, the Wabanaki tribal courts — of the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy — have been granted more authority to prosecute Class C, D and E level crimes that occur on their territory…

A Maine man was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Concord, N.H., to over three years in prison for making an online threat to “shoot up” Portsmouth High School in April of last year. Kyle Hendrickson, 26, was sentenced to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release. He previously pleaded guilty in December to one count of interstate threatening communications, and one count of possessing a firearm in a school zone. “The defendant’s threat to ‘shoot up’ the Portsmouth High School sent a terrifying chill throughout the Portsmouth community,” said U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young in a…

An email threat sent Tuesday morning targeting multiple schools in the Portland Public School District was determined to be a hoax, authorities announced Tuesday afternoon. Portland Police say they were made aware of the threat at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. The six schools targeted by the email threats were Ocean Avenue Elementary, Talbot Community School, Amanda Rowe Elementary, Peaks Island Elementary, Longfellow Elementary and Deering High School, police said. As a result of the threats, all Portland schools in the district implemented a lockout, where no one was allowed to enter or leave the schools, during which time Portland Police…

Portland Police on Monday arrested a Sebago man suspected of assault on a boat docked in the Portland Fish Pier after a standoff that resulted in the use of pepper spray and tasers against the suspect. On Monday, Portland Police were called to the Portland Fish Pier at 300 Commercial St. for a report of a man being attacked. Upon arrival, the victim, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, told officers that he had been attacked by a man who was currently on a boat docked in the area. 62-year-old Stephen Thuotte of Sebago, arrested by Portland Police after a standoff on…

A juvenile has been arrested in connection to a shots fired incident on Monday in Portland, police announced Tuesday. [RELATED: ‘They’re playing Grand Theft Auto, for real’: New Details Emerge Related to Southern Maine Teenage Drug Trafficking Network…] According to Portland Police, officers responded to a report of shots fired at 10:30 p.m. on Monday, May 13, on Alder Street, in Portland’s Bayside neighborhood. While investigating, officers in the area heard a gunshot coming from the direction of Chestnut Street — just blocks away from Alder Street — and dispatch received a second call for shots fired, police said. Witnesses…

Thousands of marijuana plants were seized during raids on two properties suspected to be illicit marijuana growing operations in Piscataquis County, the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday. [RELATED: Triad Weed: U.S. Justice Department Moves to Seize Properties in Maine Linked to Large-Scale Marijuana Operations…] On Monday, May 13, the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office executed search warrants on two properties suspected to be operating as illegal marijuana grows. Source: Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office The first search warrant was executed on a property in Milo, Maine, and resulted in the seizure of 2,200 marijuana plants. The second warrant was executed in…

U.S. Senator from Maine Susan Collins (R) is the most bipartisan Senator in the 118th Congress, according to a study released Monday by the Lugar Center and the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. The nonpartisan study, launched in 2014, ranks members of each Congress according to the degree to which Senators and Representatives work across party lines on pieces of legislation. Sen. Collins, who previously led the Senate rankings for bipartisanship for eight consecutive years between 2013 and 2020, and placed second in the 117th Congress, retook the number one rank in 2023. “Since the founding of the…

A New Hampshire man on Monday pleaded guilty in federal court in Portland, Maine to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Dominic Barbosa, aka Christopher Barnhart, 29, of Manchester, N.H., was accused of obtaining the identification of individuals without their knowledge or consent from at least March 2019 through March 2022. In court records, federal prosecutors alleged Barbosa stole mail in Massachusetts, N.H. and Maine, including bank account statements, tax returns, and other documents containing other individuals’ personal identifying information. After allegedly stealing the mail, Barbosa would apply for duplicate driver’s licenses for others, often changing the address, and…

U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday announced the arrest in Massachusetts of an unlawfully present Colombian national wanted for murder in his home country. Deportation officers from ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested the 49-year-old Colombian national near his residence in Pittsfield, Mass., on Monday, May 6. [RELATED: Brazilian Illegal Immigrant Who Escaped Prison Sentence for Armed Robbery Arrested by ICE Boston…] According to ICE, the Colombian national was arrested in Bucaramanga, Colombia, on April 5, 2014, and was charged with aggravated homicide, aggravated theft, and possession of a weapon. He was convicted and sentenced in…

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (Maine DHHS) on Friday issued a request to waive competitive bidding on a $200,000 grant to the Mi’kMaq Nation Health Department to support “equitable vaccine access and vaccine confidence.” According to the grant request, the Maine DHHS Office of Population Health Equity (OPHE) is requesting $200,000 to “Address racial/ethnic COVID-19 disparities through COVID-19 response efforts within the Public Health District.” [RELATED: Lambrew Out at Maine DHHS…] The Mi’kMaq Nation Health Department, the provider, will use the $200,000 grant to “implement activities that increase equitable vaccine access and vaccine confidence through education, outreach…

A homeless man in Portland arrested on Sunday for visual sexual aggression against a child was given $500 bail at the Cumberland County Jail. According to Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office arrest records, 30-year-old Ahmed Said Abdullahi was arrested by Portland Police shortly after 10 a.m. on Sunday, May 12, on the charge of visual sexual aggression against a child. 30-year-old Ahmed Abdullahi, arrested Sunday on a charge of visual sexual aggression against a child | Source: Cumberland County Jail The arrest record indicates that Abdullahi is an “unhoused” man in Portland. Abdullahi was booked at the Cumberland County Jail where…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas, last week seized nearly $500,000 in cocaine hidden within a tractor trailer hauling cotton candy. The World Trade Bridge is a U.S.-Mexico border crossing that connects the city of Laredo, Texas, with Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, over the Rio Grande. According to CBP, the seizure occurred on Thursday, May 9, when a CBP officer referred a tractor hauling a shipment of cotton candy over the bridge for a secondary inspection. Following the secondary inspection, which involved the use of CBP canines, officers discovered 15 packages containing…

Democratic Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) on Friday introduced two bills seeking to increase tariffs of the importation of Chinese renewable energy products and automobiles. “Our country imports far more goods than it exports, a trade imbalance that threatens our future and leaves us dependent on the productive capacity of our competitors,” Rep. Golden said Friday. “When it comes to our manufacturers and energy independence, Congress should privilege American industry and be relentless champions for America and our workers.”  [RELATED: Jared Golden Slams Biden Admin’s Approval of Foreign-Owned Offshore Wind Projects…] “But industrial and trade policy aren’t just about our economy,”…

The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) and Lewiston Police on Friday announced the arrest of a Massachusetts man for aggravated trafficking of fentanyl in Lewiston and the seizure of more than half a pound of fentanyl during the course of their investigation. Jonathan E. Paige, 34, of Boston, Mass., faces charges of unlawful aggravated trafficking in schedule drugs, (Fentanyl), a Class A crime. According to the MDEA, the agency and Lewiston Police have been conducting “targeted enforcement efforts” to areas of Lewiston over the past several weeks, in response to community complaints of safety issues, drug trafficking and negative quality…

A Maine man has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for travelling to Times Square New Year’s Eve Celebration in 2022 to carry out a machete attack in the name of “radical Islamic jihad,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced Thursday. According to court documents, in December 2022, Trevor Bickford of Wells, Maine, then 19, travelled to New York City to, in his own words wage jihad and kill as many of his targets as possible. Prosecutors say Bickford chose Times Square on New Year’s Eve for his attack due to it being…

The Maine Ethics Commission on Thursday issued an invitation for public comment on proposals regarding amendments to the U.S. Constitution related to campaign finance activity. As required by a successful 2023 citizen initiative, the Maine Ethics Commission is obliged to issue an annual report on proposals in Congress regarding campaign finance regulation. According to Ethics Commission Executive Director Jonathan Wayne, this year’s report will focus on proposed constitutional amendments that would “reaffirm the power of citizens through their government to regulate the raising and spending of money in elections.” Wayne cited House Joint Resolution 13 and Senate Joint Resolution 45…

An Old Town, Maine, man pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to possessing child pornography involving a child under 12. In court records, federal prosecutors accused 40-year-old Matthew Podlaski of Old town of searching the internet for, and downloading images of, the sexual abuse of young children. Podlaski downloaded the images and stored them on multiple devices, according to the Maine U.S. Attorney’s Office. During the course of their investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations seized 14 devices belonging to Podlaski, including laptop computers, flash drives and external storage devices. Podlaski faces up to…

During a recent Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing, U.S. Senator from Maine Susan Collins (R) urged a top Biden administration official to issue an additional nearly 65,000 H-2B visas for temporary foreign workers. Sen. Collins comments come after she joined her fellow Maine Sen. Angus King (I) in November to announce that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) is expected to grant more than 64,000 temporary nonagricultural worker visas to foreign nationals in fiscal year 2024 (FY24). “Those are absolutely critical in my state, where 10-times the state’s population visits Maine,” Sen. Collins told President…

The City of Portland Parks Division will be hosting its second annual “Tree Hugging Event” this May. The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 18, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Deering Oaks Park. [RELATED: Global Warming Will Send Thousands of Migrants to Maine, Claims Portland’s Sustainability Director…] “Join this family-friendly community gathering and help celebrate all of the trees in our Forest City!” the city wrote in a press release regarding the event. According to a flyer for the event, in addition to “Hug a tree,” planned activities for the event include joining the city’s…

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to pass a bill that would require noncitizens to be excluded from the census when determining the population of a state for the apportionment of U.S. representatives and votes in the Electoral College. Both U.S. Representatives from Maine, Jared Golden (D) and Chellie Pingree (D), joined every Democrat in voting against the bill — in favor of including illegal aliens on the U.S. census to count towards the proportional allotment of members of the House to each state and to the election of the president. [RELATED: Soros Family Favorite: Jared Golden Collects…

A bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Senator from Maine Angus King (I) would set a minimum age of 13 to use social media platforms. The “Kids Off Social Media Act” would also prevent social media companies from pushing algorithmically-targeted content to social media users under the age of 17. “America’s youth should be protected from the harmful impacts of social media and from traumatic online content during their most formative years,” Sen. King said in a Monday press release. “The bipartisan Kids off Social Media Act would establish reasonable guardrails and set a minimum age for users of social media to protect our children from…

A New Hampshire man has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for faking a disability in order to illegally obtain more than $660,000 in veteran’s benefits, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire announced Monday. Christopher Stultz, 49, of Antrim, N.H., was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante to 18 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Stultz, who in January pleaded guilty to making false statements, was also ordered to pay a total of $662,871.77 in restitution. “This is one of the most egregious benefits fraud…

A Bangor man has been sentenced to three years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition after an investigation found that he discharged a handgun in a residential area. Toman Caudill, 31, of Bangor, was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Caudill had pleaded guilty to the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition on Jan. 17, 2024. According to court records, in September 2023, Bangor Police responded to a report that a male subject had fired a handgun…

The man who caused a four-car accident on I-95 in April, leaving an Albion woman dead and her husband in critical condition, had entered the United States illegally from Mexico in January, the Maine Wire can confirm. According to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official, the Customs and Border Protection’s resident agent in Albion was contacted when Oguzhan Cildir, 23, was arrested at the scene of the accident because the arresting agency found that he “had immigration status from when he crossed on the Southwest border.” The arresting agency then turned the individual over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s…

The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) announced Monday that a second person has been charged in relation to their investigation into the seizure of over seven pounds of fentanyl in Biddeford last week. [RELATED: Maine DEA Seizes Over 7 Pounds of Fentanyl in Biddeford Drug Bust, Man Arrested Twice in Two Days…] On Wednesday, May 1, after an eight-month investigation, MDEA agents executed a search warrant on a Ray Street apartment in Biddeford, finding in the course of their search more than $300,000 worth of fentanyl. Arrested on drug trafficking charges was 24-year-old Almuntadhar Mohammed. Based on evidence seized during…

In late March, Portland Police announced that as a result of their investigation into a February drive-by shootout, they had uncovered a large and sophisticated drug trafficking organization involving teenagers aged 16 to 19 years old operating out of homes in Portland, New Gloucester and Gray, Maine. The original drive-by shooting occurred during the afternoon Monday, Feb. 26, in the area of Forest Avenue and Clinton Street and involved multiple gunshots exchanged between two vehicles as they drove through nearby residential side streets. [RELATED: Multiple Teenagers Arrested as Portland PD Seizes 400 Grams of Cocaine, 6 Handguns, and $44,000 Following…

The South Portland City Council on Tuesday will vote on an order directing city staff to spend over $1,500 on painting rainbow crosswalks throughout the city this June in celebration of Pride Month. [RELATED: “The error is significant”: South Portland Faces $4 Million Budget Shortfall After Mistakenly Failing to Increase Property Taxes Enough…] If passed, the order will authorize the city to spend a total of $1,650 in taxpayer dollars to “infill Pride colors” with color chalk paint on three crosswalks — $550 per crosswalk — throughout the city. The three crosswalks included in the order are Mountainview and Highland…

The Maine Department of Corrections (DOC) is looking to spend nearly $400,000 on sponsoring a “restorative justice” program for juvenile criminal offenders. On April 30, the Maine DOC posted a notice of their intent to waive competitive bidding on a proposed $375,000 grant to the Portland-based “restorative justice” training organization Maine Youth Court — aka Youth-Led Justice (YLJ). “The [DOC] has the continued need for a community-based intervention program that will reduce the recidivism rate while also providing youth the skills and knowledge necessary to safely avoid future contact with the DOC,” grant coordinator for the Maine DOC Sonja Charest…

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey announced Friday that he has determined a York Sheriff’s Office deputy was acting in defense of himself and others when shooting a suspect multiple times in a November 2023 incident. [RELATED: Bangor Police Justified in Shooting at Woman Brandishing Knives During June 2023 Incident: AG Frey…] According to Attorney General Frey’s findings, outlined in a Friday letter to York County Sheriff William King, the incident in question involved the Southern Maine Special Response Team (SMSRT) assisting in the Nov. 8, 2023 arrest of a suspect on charges of domestic violence terrorizing with a firearm, and…

Two offices of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (Maine DHHS) were evacuated Friday morning due to threats, according to an email from Maine DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew. According to Lambrew, the Maine DHHS offices at 109 Capitol Street, Augusta, and at 17 Eastward Lane in Ellsworth, both received threats made via a phone call Friday morning. The threats were reported to Capitol Police at approximately 8:30 a.m. Friday. The Maine DHHS 109 Capitol Street office was briefly evacuated, during which time the Maine State Police searched the building and found no suspicious activity, Lambrew wrote. No one…

A New York man was arrested last week at a Portland massage parlor on charges of criminal threatening and aggravated sex trafficking. According to the Portland Police Department’s arrest log, 45-year-old Changsheng Xiao of Flushing, N.Y., was arrested shortly after 11 p.m. on Friday, April 26, on Forest Avenue in Portland. Xiao was transported to the Cumberland County Jail and charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and aggravated sex trafficking. 45-year-old Changsheng Xiao of Flushing, N.Y., charged with criminal threatening and aggravated sex trafficking | Source: Cumberland County Jail Under Maine law, aggravated sex trafficking is when a…

Following an eight-month investigation, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (Maine DEA) on Friday announced the arrest of a Biddeford man on multiple drug trafficking charges and the seizure of more than $300,000 in fentanyl. Almuntadhar M. Mohammed, 24, of Biddeford, was arrested without incident on Wednesday afternoon after he arrived at a Saco business parking lot to deliver fentanyl to an undercover agent, the Maine DEA said. Mohammed was charged on outstanding warrants for two counts of unlawful trafficking in schedule W drugs, and unlawful aggravated trafficking in schedule W drugs, related to multiple undercover purchases of fentanyl from Mohammed…

A South Portland man on Thursday was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday in U.S. District Court in Portland for the possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of fentanyl and cocaine with intent to distribute. U.S. District Judge Jon Levy sentenced 33-year-old Joshua Hopkins to 60 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release. After pleading guilty to the charges in February, Hopkins faced a maximum of up to 15 years in prison on the gun charge, and from five to a maximum of 40 years on the drug charges — with…

In a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower, Maine Sen. Angus King (I) pressed senior U.S. Navy officials on a decrease in funding for directed energy weapon research and technology. [RELATED: Angus King Denies Ukrainians Are Embezzling Any U.S. Tax Dollars, Claims Putin Will Invade Poland…] Directed energy weapons, such as lasers, use energy fired at the speed of light instead of bullets or missiles, making them less expensive per shot than conventional weapons, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Many countries, including the U.S., are researching directed energy technology primarily for counter-drone missions due…

A Maine man pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to the armed robbery of an Augusta bank. In court documents, federal prosecutors accused 38-year-old Joshua Brougham of Manchester, Maine of robbing an Augusta bank at gunpoint in October 2022. Brougham allegedly entered the bank wearing a brimmed hat and a standard hospital face mask, and proceeded to the counter where after a brief conversation with the bank teller he pulled out a silver handgun, placing it on the counter in the direction of the teller. Brougham then told the bank teller to give him “all the money…

Democratic Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) is urging the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to delay a proposed increase to the minimum allowable catch size for Maine lobstermen over concerns that the move could have dire economic consequences. [RELATED: Jared Golden Slams Biden Admin’s Approval of Foreign-Owned Offshore Wind Projects…] ASMFC is a commission made up of 15 U.S. states that acts as a coordinating regulatory agency for the conservation and management of marine fisheries resources, including American lobster. The proposed gauge increase, known as Addendum 27, is scheduled to take effect in January 2025, and would increase the minimum…

The Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday announced the arrest of a Glenburn man who was allegedly found in possession of over 200 grams of fentanyl and a firearm during a probation check. According to Penobscot Sheriff Troy Morton, on Monday, April 29, deputies carried out a probation check on 38-year-old Scott Senechal on the Orono Road in Glenburn. During a search of the residence, deputies allegedly found a “significant amount of dangerous drugs,” including about 205.7 grams of suspected fentanyl, as well as a firearm. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, just two milligrams of fentanyl can supply…

A massive illegal marijuana growing facility at a residence in Madison was raided by law enforcement Tuesday, the latest in a string of over a dozen busts of similar illicit cultivation operations suspected to be part of a sprawling network of unlicensed grows in rural Maine owned by Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations. According to the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, a search warrant was executed at a residence on Horsetail Hill Road in Madison shortly after 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, the culmination of a month’s long investigation into suspected illegal marijuana cultivation at the property. The team executing the search warrant was…

The U.S. Department of the Interior on Tuesday announced their proposal to lease nearly one million acres in the Gulf of Maine for offshore wind energy projects. The Biden administration’s proposed sale would cover approximately half of the final two million acre Wind Energy Area (WEA) off the coast of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts released by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) last month. [RELATED: Jared Golden Slams Biden Admin’s Approval of Foreign-Owned Offshore Wind Projects…] The proposed eight lease areas in the final WEA would have the potential to generate approximately 15 gigawatts of energy, and to…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Monday announced the seizure of more than $750,000 worth of cocaine hidden within a vehicle being driven across the U.S.-Mexico border by a Mexican citizen. [RELATED: Pingree and Golden Vote for Billions to Ukraine and Nothing for the U.S. Border…] The seizure occurred on Thursday, April 25, at the Pharr International Bridge, which connects the city of Pharr, Texas, with Reynosa, Mexico. According to CBP, officers on the bridge stopped a 2008 Dodge driven by a 58-year-old Mexican citizen and referred the vehicle for a secondary inspection. Upon a secondary examination of the…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Monday vetoed a bill that would ban the sale and possession bump stocks, while allowing another bill requiring a 72-hour waiting period between the sale and delivery of firearms to become law without her signature. The Democratic governor’s Monday actions on the two gun control bills come after she signed her own proposed legislation to expand background checks to advertised firearm sales and strengthen the state’s “yellow flag” law on Friday — her legislative response to the Oct. 25 mass shootings in Lewiston. [RELATED: Janet Mills Approves Expansion of Background Checks for Private Firearm Sales,…

Police are requesting that Portland residents check their cars and homes for damage from gunfire to assist in their investigation of a Sunday evening shooting in city’s West End neighborhood. Portland Police say they responded to a report of shots fired on Tate Street at about 6:41 p.m. on Sunday, April 28. Police say evidence of a firearm being discharged several times in the area was discovered. [RELATED: Portland City Officials Respond to Disturbing Video Showing Drug Abuse, Fights, Crime in Bayside Neighborhood…] Although two persons of interest were questioned in relation to the incident, police said Monday that no…

The Holden Police Department on Monday announced the arrest of a Bangor man after he allegedly robbed a store and stabbed a customer with a used needle while being subdued by an employee and several customers. Clifford Neville, 41, of Bangor, was arrested Sunday on charges of robbery, aggravated assault, five counts of violation of bail, and on two outstanding warrants. Holden Police say Clifford left a local store on Sunday with several unpurchased items. When confronted by an employee of the store, Clifford allegedly assaulted the employee with a weapon. According to Holden Police, the employee and several customers…

An Ecuadorian national who was previously deported from the U.S. four times has been sentenced to just over a year in prison for entering the country illegally after he was found by Border Patrol agents in Maine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine announced Friday. Cristian Paul Pinguil-Caguana, 37, of Ecuador, was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to 12 months and one day in prison, after which he will be deported from the U.S. for the fifth time. Pinguil-Caguana has been incarcerated since Oct. 6, 2023, and pleaded guilty to entering the U.S. after…

Maine Gov. Janet Mills on Friday signed into law her proposed legislation to expand background checks to advertised firearm sales and strengthen the states “yellow flag” law. [RELATED: Patriot’s Day: Maine Dems Mark Anniversary of American War for Independence by Voting for Gun Control…] The bill, LD 2224, entitled “An Act to Strengthen Public Safety by Improving Maine’s Firearm Laws and Mental Health System,” was announced by Gov. Mills during her January State of the State Address as her proposed legislative response to the tragic Oct. 25 mass shootings in Lewiston. While state law formerly only mandated background checks for…

President Joe Biden’s average approval rating is lower than any other modern U.S. president at the same point in their term, according to data released Friday by Gallup. https://twitter.com/GallupNews/status/1783861545438494752 President Biden averaged 38.7 percent job approval during his recently completed 13th quarter in the White House, which ran from Jan. 20 to April 19, Gallup found. Biden has a lower 13th quarter approval rating average than all nine presidents elected to their first term since Dwight D. Eisenhower, according to Gallup. During the same time period in their respective presidential terms, President Trump had an average approval rating of 46.8…

Five people from Maine were arrested by Canadian authorities late Saturday night for the unauthorized fishing of elvers in the Meteghan area of Digby County, near the southwestern coast of the province, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Ocean (DFO) announced Wednesday. Elvers, or “glass eels,” are extremely valuable baby American eels — often fetching more than $2,000 per pound — that are in high demand in East Asian countries, where the juvenile eels are raised in aquaculture farms to maturity and used in Japanese cuisine (unagi). The Maine Department of Marine Resources holds lotteries annually for a capped number…

Following a three-month investigation, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) and Portland Police Department on Thursday announced the arrest of a Portland man on multiple drug trafficking charges and the seizure of a significant amount of illegal drugs, cash and a loaded firearm. 27-year-old Charles Aboda was arrested without incident in the afternoon on Tuesday, April 23, in Portland’s Bayside neighborhood. [RELATED: Portland City Officials Respond to Disturbing Video Showing Drug Abuse, Fights, Crime in Bayside Neighborhood…] Charles Aboda, 27, who faces multiple drug trafficking charges | Source: Cumberland County Jail Aboda faces two counts of aggravated trafficking in schedule…

Portland city officials on Tuesday responded to a disturbing video published this week by a Bayside neighborhood landlord showing rampant drug abuse, violence and public indecency outside of his building. The video, shared on Monday by Portland landlord Ned Payne — viewed over 4,200 times on Youtube as of Wednesday — is a compilation of security camera footage recorded over a period of several months depicting the scene outside of 19 Portland St. [RELATED: “Zombie Slasher” Machete and Loaded Shotgun Horrify Store Owners Across from Portland Homeless Encampment…] Payne’s footage shows clips of young children having to step over homeless individuals…

Gov. Janet Mills on Tuesday vetoed her own proposed bill that aimed at establishing a minimum hourly wage for Maine’s agricultural workers, citing an amendment to the bill that would allow for farmworkers to sue their employer over alleged labor law violations. Gov. Mills’ veto comes after she “reluctantly” vetoed a similar agricultural minimum wage bill last July, over concerns regarding the scope and impact of the legislation. Following her veto last legislative session, Mills signed an executive order establishing the Agricultural Worker Minimum Wage Committee to develop recommendations for a new bill to implement a minimum wage for the…

A Massachusetts man was sentenced to 30 years in prison Monday after a being found guilty by a federal jury in Maine of sex trafficking a young woman from South Portland through force, fraud and coercion and obstruction. Ricardo Middleton, also known as “red,” 32, of Boston, received a 30-year prison sentence to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. [RELATED: MA Man Convicted of Sex Trafficking 25-year-old South Portland Woman…] “This significant sentence imposed by the court reflects the severity of the defendant’s exploitation of the victim over three days. [Middleton] used drugs, threats, physical force and rape…

A foot chase through Portland Monday led to the arrest of an 18-year-old Yarmouth man and the seizure of drugs and a handgun, Portland Police announced Tuesday. [RELATED: Multiple Teenagers Arrested as Portland PD Seizes 400 Grams of Cocaine, 6 Handguns, and $44,000 Following Drive-by Shooting…] 18-year-old Cole Swan of Yarmouth | Source: Cumberland County Jail According to Portland Police, at about 4:30 p.m. on Monday officers witnessed what they believed to be a drug transaction in the area of 55 Portland St. Police say that an attempt to stop the subject led to a foot chase, which ended about…

The City of Portland is set to begin considering ways to allocate nearly $750,000 in funds received from a 2022 settlement in a nationwide lawsuit against several opioid manufacturers and distributors. [RELATED: Maine Reports Nearly 10,000 Drug Overdoses in 2023, 16 Percent Decrease in Fatal Overdoses from 2022…] In September 2017, the Portland City Council passed a resolution signing onto the lawsuit, citing the manufacturers’ and distributors’ alleged “fraudulent and negligent marketing and distribution of opioids” and the prevalence of opioid addiction among the city’s homeless population. The settlement agreement, announced by Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey in January 2022, is…

A former New Hampshire man has been arrested in relation to a series of robberies at southern Maine churches, authorities announced Sunday. According to the Maine State Police, shortly after 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 21, a woman called 911 from the parking lot of a church located at 213 Federal Road in Parsonsfield, reporting that a male subject threatened to kill her and referenced a firearm, but did not display the firearm. Units from the Maine State Police and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, along with with other area agencies, began a search for the suspect as he left…

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) is calling for increased regular testing for HIV statewide for people with ongoing risk factors after three new HIV diagnoses were confirmed in Penobscot County, the agency announced in a public health advisory Friday. [RELATED: New Maine CDC Director Recommends Masks and Latest COVID Booster for Everybody Ages 6 months and Older…] Maine CDC said Friday that the three additional HIV cases in Penobscot County were confirmed among people who inject drugs, part of a cluster associated with a total of six recently confirmed cases in the county. Out of those…

The U.S. Army will begin conducting cognitive assessments on new soldiers and is exploring ways to provide servicemembers who are routinely exposed to blast pressure with additional protective equipment, a top Army official revealed during a recent hearing on Capitol Hill. The move comes after a brain tissue analysis of Lewiston mass shooter Robert Card revealed that he likely had a traumatic brain injury from his time serving as a hand grenade instructor with the Army. Card was a U.S. Army Reservist and was a longtime instructor at an Army hand grenade training range, where he was exposed to thousands…

Nine individuals were arrested Thursday following a joint operation by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) and the Berwick Police Department targeting a single-family home in Berwick, which had been under investigation for suspected drug trafficking for the past two months. [RELATED: Undercover Operation Leads to Arrest of Portland Man on Drug Trafficking Charges, Seizure of $10,000 Worth of Fentanyl…] According to the MDEA, the investigation into the residence located at 19 Katabel Lane in Berwick stemmed from community concerns regarding disturbances and suspected illegal drug activity at the residence. Berwick Police say they responded to the Katabel Lane home…

A Buxton man was sentenced Thursday to just over a year in prison following his December conviction for posting a death threat against Jewish people on Twitter — now X — in 2021. Brian Dennison, 27, of Buxton, was found guilty of transmitting a threatening interstate communication by a federal jury on Dec. 7, 2023, after a three-day trial. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Jon Levy sentenced Dennison to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. When delivering the sentence, Judge Levy “noted that threats like the one Dennison communicated are corrosive and…

Authorities discovered a “massive marijuana grow” operation Wednesday at a farmhouse on Route 133 in Jay, according to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. [RELATED: Somerset County Sheriff, DEA Bust Major Triad Weed Hub in Harmony, Maine…] According to a press release from Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Steven Lowell, Detective David Davol obtained a search warrant for the farmhouse, the exact address of which has not been disclosed. The Wednesday raid involved the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office along with officers from the Jay Police Department, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Border Patrol, Wilton Police, and the Maine Office…

Democratic Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) on Wednesday introduced a bill alongside a bipartisan group of his House colleagues that would impose sanctions on any Chinese military firm that provide material support to Russia. [RELATED: Jared Golden Signs Letter Urging Biden Admin to Send More Weapons to Ukraine…] The legislation comes amid ongoing concerns among Biden administration officials over Beijing helping Russia build up its defense industrial base to bolster their war effort against Ukraine. The bill, called the “NO LIMITS Act,” would give People’s Republic of China (PRC) military firms identified by the U.S. government 180 days to withdraw from…

Democratic Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) took to X Wednesday to slam the Biden administration’s recent approval of a massive foreign-owned offshore wind energy project off the coast of Massachusetts. [RELATED: Maine Scores a Victory for Lobstermen in the Face of Potentially Devastating Offshore Wind Development…] Rep. Golden’s statement comes after the Biden administration approved the new offshore wind project, New England Wind, on April 2, which will be the country’s eighth large offshore wind energy project to be greenlit and will be located south Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. https://twitter.com/RepGolden/status/1780591507809944009 Avangrid, the company set to install over 100 wind turbines as part…

A shipment originating from China containing over 1,000 pounds of a methamphetamine precursor powder was intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Chicago last week. According to CBP, the shipment was heading toward Wood Dale, Chicago, from Shenzhen, China, when it was detained on Thursday, April 11 by CBP officers and found to contain 26 boxes of unknown powder. [RELATED: ‘Gargantuan’ Seizure of Meth Worth $117 Million at Texas-Mexico Bridge: Border Officials…] The two types of powder in the shipment were sent to CBP’s Laboratories and Scientific Services for testing. Chicago CBP intercepts 1,117lbs of Methamphetamine precursor…

A South Berwick man formerly employed by the U.S. Postal Service as a postal carrier in southern Maine has pleaded guilty to stealing cash and gift cards from mail on his delivery route. Russell Joaquin, 48, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland to theft of mail by postal carrier. In court records, prosecutors allege that between January and May 2023, Joaquin opened and stole the contents of greeting cards from his postal route. According to Maine U.S. Attorney’s Office, Joaquin admitted to U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigators that he had stolen greeting cards from…

Disclosure: The Maine Wire is a project of the Maine Policy Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to expand individual liberty and economic freedom in Maine. Once a national leader in education, Maine’s K-12 public schools system is facing a multitude of challenges, including declining reading and math scores, an increase in behavioral and mental health issues among students and a dire teacher shortage, according to a new report published Tuesday by the Maine Policy Institute. The 91-page report, entitled “The Decline of Maine K-12 Education,” was authored by Maine Policy Institute education fellow and social science researcher Jonah Davids,…

The Maine House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a proposal to implement a required 72-hour waiting period between the sale and delivery of firearms, with certain exceptions for sales between family members, to law enforcement, and sales of antique firearms. [RELATED: Patriot’s Day: Maine Dems Mark Anniversary of American War for Independence by Voting for Gun Control…] The bill from Sen. Peggy Rotundo (D-Lewiston), LD 2238, would require that a seller of a firearm not deliver a firearm to a buyer sooner than 72 hours after the sale agreement. Under the proposed legislation, a seller found to have violated the…