Most recent political stories
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The new rules will allow asylum seekers to apply for welfare benefits, consistent with the intent of a 2015 state law that the administration of former Gov. Paul LePage narrowly interpreted. -
Several new laws that affect school nutrition programs will have Maine school districts retool the way they feed students to avoid 'food shaming' while providing nutritious meals.
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The president turns a campaign rally into an extended dissection of 4 Democratic congresswomen he attacked this week with racist tweets.
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July 17Intense national interest is fueling record donations to Sen. Susan Collins, while challenger Sara Gideon raised over $1 million in about a week.
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July 16Stone, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, was banned from posting on social media after a judge found he violated a gag order in his case.
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July 16The nonprofit receives nearly $2 million from the family planning program each year, and that money represents roughly 25% of its revenue.
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July 16Prior to the vote, the president calls on Republicans to stick with him, and renews his attacks on 4 women lawmakers of color.
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July 15Thaddeus St. John, 26, owner of Lincoln and Maine Inc., hopes to bring transparency to Portland's politics.
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July 16Jonathan Treacy filed papers Monday to become the fourth Democrat vying for the chance to challenge Maine's senior senator in next year's election.
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July 16There was near unanimous condemnation from Democrats for Trump's comments and a rumble of discontent from a subset of Republicans – but not from the party's congressional leaders.
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July 16All 4 members of the state's delegation criticize the president for racist and xenophobic tweets he made about their colleagues in Congress.
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July 16The campaign of Susan Collins, the only Republican from New England in Congress, announced it has raised a total of $6.45 million, with $2 million coming in the second quarter of 2019.
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July 14Ambassador Kim Darroch alleged the White House had no strategy for what would happen after withdrawal and no plan for reaching out to allies.
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July 13The city councilor urges voters to support the two other challengers taking on incumbent Mayor Ethan Strimling.
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July 12The development comes amid concerns over the short length of the scheduled hearings before two committees.
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July 13Alexander Acosta's resignation comes after criticism of his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein sex-crimes case when he was the U.S. attorney in Miami in 2008.
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July 12The Maine congresswoman teams up with a fellow Democrat from Florida in a bid to require the Department of Defense to consider sea level rise when planning new bases.
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July 11The problems between centrist Democrats and progressive newcomers have been developing for weeks, mounting as Congress struggled to pass a border funding package.
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July 11Justice Democrats, which helped elect Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York, has endorsed Sweet while other national groups are backing Sara Gideon to challenge Sen. Susan Collins next year.
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July 15The governor is directing the Department of Marine Resources to come up with an alternative to a federal plan to reduce the Maine lobster industry's impact on endangered right whales.
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July 11The nationwide sweep, which was postponed last month by President Trump and remains in flux, aims at people with final deportation orders.
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July 11The state's congressional delegation sends a letter urging the president to intervene to protect the lobster industry while regulators work on new rules to protect right whales.
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July 11Other candidates have raised significant funds, too, with City Councilor Spencer Thibodeau saying he's nearly matched the $60,000 the mayor has raised since January.
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July 10U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman wrote 'defendants provide no reason, let alone "satisfactory reasons," for the substitution of counsel.’
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July 9Retired fighter pilot Amy McGrath says she sees the Senate majority leader as vulnerable because of his tenure in Washington and his stance on health care.
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July 9The president has invited conservative organizations Turning Point USA and PragerU, but left out Facebook, Twitter and Google.
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July 9Heading into a tough 2020 re-election campaign, Maine's senior senator formed a joint fundraising group with her Republican colleague from South Carolina.
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July 9The president said he feels ‘very badly’ for Labor Secretary Alex Acosta and praised him as ‘very good’ at his job.
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July 9With a short time to collect 63,067 signatures, special interest groups and individuals file more than a dozen requests to challenge newly signed laws.
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July 9Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a growing collection of congressional Democrats say President Donald Trump's labor secretary should quit
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July 10The self-made billionaire was still at the office most days, even after being diagnosed with leukemia in February.
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But the president of the Maine Welfare Directors Association doesn't believe Sen. Ben Chipman's bill will have much of an impact on service center communities such as Portland and Bangor.
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July 8The California congressman becomes the first candidate in the crowded 2020 Democratic primary to exit the campaign.
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July 8Elizabeth Warren raised $19.1 in the second quarter, topping Bernie Sanders
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July 8The legislators criticize the governor for delaying action on a funding bill, but the Democrat says it would have set reimbursement rates too high to qualify for federal matching funds.
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July 8Legal challenges are expected, so the president's returns won't be turned over anytime soon.
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Newly obtained documents reveal details of trips the former governor tried to conceal.
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But lawmakers defeated several attempts to change the citizen initiative process and the ranked-choice voting that was used statewide in Maine for the first time last year.
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July 7Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan disputed news reports of especially troubling conditions, saying there's 'adequate' food and water and that facilities are cleaned daily.
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July 7The memos also characterize the president's policy on Iran as 'incoherent, chaotic.'
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July 6While campaigning in South Carolina, the former vice president says he's 'sorry for any of the pain of misconception that caused anybody.'
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July 6The measure, which would give the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation jurisdiction over some misdemeanor cases, was approved by the Legislature, but Gov. Janet Mills has yet to sign it.
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July 6Her Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act would fund regional care partnerships.
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July 6But it did not say exactly what options remain now that the Supreme Court has barred the question at least temporarily.
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July 5A pair of senators says the American flags the federal government purchases should have to be made in America
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July 4Maine Family Planning and other abortion providers are challenging the rule in court.
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July 4Gov. Janet Mills says she held 39 measures because of technical problems, conflicts with existing laws or concerns about costs.
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July 3Former state senator from Auburn has created an exploratory committee for a likely race in Maine's 2nd Congressional District.
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July 3Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's campaign on Tuesday reported a massive second-quarter haul of $105 million.
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July 2A lawsuit was filed Tuesday by the House Ways and Means Committee seeking access to the president's tax returns.
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July 3Staff members are pressuring John Hickenlooper to scrap his flagging presidential campaign and instead run for Senate in his home state, but he's so far refused.
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July 2Trump has used California as a punching bag on a variety of issues, including fire policy, environmental regulations and crime.
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July 2The companies urge the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that federal civil rights law bans job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
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July 1Gov. Janet Mills has signed bills that provide $1.4 million to help school districts and food pantries buy food grown on Maine farms.
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July 1The 16 Counties Coalition, formed by Democratic insiders and activists, will try to pressure the Republican senator on tax cuts and other issues.
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June 29For some Democrats, Hillary Clinton's loss to Donald Trump left them asking if the country is ready to elect a female president.
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July 1Disappointed in Susan Collins, Oxford's Jonathan Treacy plans to join the Democratic primary field for the chance to take her on next year.
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June 28The case involves former New Jersey officials convicted of causing gridlock near the George Washington Bridge to punish a mayor for not supporting Chris Christie.
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June 27The 10 candidates in Thursday night's debate show deep differences among the Democrats.
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July 11Maine's adult-use marijuana industry will have the strictest residency rules in the nation.
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June 27The emergency legislation is expected to ease a cash crunch at federal agencies that care for migrants who have flocked over the border in huge numbers seeking asylum.
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June 27In a discussion at Harvard Law School, the Facebook CEO invited regulators to set industrywide privacy standards and take a harder line with foreign interference in elections.
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June 27Democratic demands include more protections for the children, such as setting medical and hygiene standards at facilities, and a requirement that any death of a minor be reported within 24 hours.
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June 27The crowded field of candidates gets national exposure Wednesday and Thursday nights.
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June 26The new laws, effective in September, will reduce emissions and boost solar incentives.
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June 26Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was recognized by the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at Ohio State University for Excellence in Public Service.
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June 26As a senator, Joe Biden helped win passage of the law that many, including President Trump, now consider too tough.
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June 25The groups behind the campaigns want voters to decide on laws that require insurers to cover abortion and that eliminate broad exemptions for childhood vaccinations.
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June 26NARAL Pro Choice America and Emily's List both offer early endorsements of Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon in her bid to unseat Sen. Susan Collins in 2020.
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June 25Stephanie Grisham will succeed Sarah Sanders, whose resignation is effective at the end of the month.
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June 25The new law requires groups to provide the state a list of individuals paid to circulate petitions, and report the 'method' of compensation.
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June 24One new law – subject to federal approval – would let Maine act as a wholesaler to import prescription drugs from Canada.
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June 24A U.S. judge says new evidence paints a "disturbing picture" that racial discrimination may be the motive behind the Trump administration's push to ask about citizenship status.
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June 25The Democrat from Freeport will face at least 2 other members of her party in the primary next June who want to take on the long-serving Republican.
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The 129th Maine Legislature prohibited a lot of things this session, from single-use plastic bags to tanning beds for minors to driving while holding a cellphone.
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June 23The law, effective Jan. 2021, could increase prices, but it brings a sense of job security to over 500 employees at the Huhtamaki paper products plant.
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June 24Democrats used their legislative majority and control of the Blaine House to push through many bills in health care, education and the environment, but some measures still fell by the wayside.
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June 22The president told reporters that the U.S. won't allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon and when they agree to that, 'they are going to have a wealthy country, they're going to be so happy.'
funding the races
Dollars from donors: PAC spending in Maine’s 2018 gubernatorial and State House races
As of Oct. 29, political action committees and party committees had spent over $10 million to influence the governor's race, plus over $2.4 million more to influence Maine's State House contests.
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Woman found dead in Augusta could have been deceased for ‘several weeks’
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Jeffrey Epstein’s New Mexico ranch linked to investigation
