The bill was rejected 6-5 by the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and faces ongoing opposition from Gov. Janet Mills, a former prosecutor.
Politics
Local, statewide and national political news from the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Former defense contractor executives plead guilty to illegal donations to Collins’ campaign
Clifford Chen and Lawrence Lum Kee, who worked for the engineering firm Navatek, violated federal laws prohibiting defense contractors from making contributions directly to candidates.
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Posted inNation & World, News, Politics
Prosecutor ends probe of FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation with criticism, but no new charges
John Durham’s 4-year investigation, hyped by Trump allies, delivered underwhelming results, with prosecutors securing a guilty plea from a little-known FBI employee but losing the only 2 criminal cases they took to trial.
Posted inNation & World, News, Politics, Schools and Education
DeSantis bans diversity, equity and inclusion in Florida colleges
The law also bans courses that include viewpoints with which the governor disagrees, prompting a statewide faculty union to argue that presenting a variety of perspectives is ‘a bedrock of democracy.’
Posted inNation & World, News, Politics
AI presents political peril for 2024 with threat to mislead voters
Sophisticated generative AI tools can now create cloned human voices and hyper-realistic images, videos, and audio in seconds, at a minimal cost.
Posted inNation & World, News, Politics
In debt ceiling standoff, COVID era of big spending gives way to new focus on deficit
While the White House has threatened to veto Republican’s debt ceiling bill, the administration has signaled a willingness to consider other budget caps.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Lawmakers consider adding right to bodily autonomy to Maine Constitution
The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Craig Hickman, has raised a host of possible scenarios that likely would need to be sorted out by the courts if the amendment were to pass.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Republican seeks to challenge Jared Golden
Robert Cross is the first but likely not the last contender in the large district.
Posted inLocal & State, News, Politics
Group trying to gain official party status warned against misleading voters
Maine’s secretary of state has sent a cease-and-desist letter to national organization No Labels, expressing concerns that it has confused voters who think they are signing a petition but instead are enrolling in a new party.
Posted inLocal & State, Politics
Patients, advocates clash with hospitals over bill to restrict facility fees in medical bills
Senate President Troy Jackson says patients should not be surprised by large facility fees in medical bills.