SHERMAN (AP) — Authorities say about 200 pigs died in a fire at an eastern Maine farm that may have been started by an electrical malfunction. Sherman Fire Chief Todd Hayes says no one was injured in the blaze reported by farmer Sam Sides at about 11:15 p.m. Sunday. Sides says he got up late […]

MACHIAS (AP) — Federal agricultural officials say Maine’s 2011 wild blueberry harvest was 83.1 million pounds, up just slightly from the previous year. The good news for farmers in 2011, however, was that prices for those blueberries jumped significantly from 61 cents per pound in 2010 to 85 cents per pound last year. That made […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — A reallife hamburglar struck a Maine McDonald’s last weekend. Police say a young man, emulating the McDonald’s mascot known for purloining patties, ran between a car and the takeout window at the Augusta restaurant at about 6 p.m. on Sunday as an employee handed a bag of food to a driver. A […]

KINGFIELD ( AP) — Authorities have charged five people in connection with what police called a methamphetamine lab that was discovered after a mobile home fire in Kingfield last month. Police say Seth Hinkley of Strong; Joshua Bartlett of New Portland; David Coffren of Kingfield; Charity Haines Christopher of Farmington; and Isaac Moody of West […]

BANGOR (AP) — Police in Bangor say they’re looking for a man who raided a locker room during a charity fundraiser musical at the high school over the weekend. Police on Monday released video surveillance of the man who went into the locker room on Sunday during the Rotary Club of Bangor’s seventh annual Music […]

AUGUSTA ( AP) — Gov. Paul LePage is asking lawmakers to pass a bill that would repeal a 2008 law that extended the right to unionize to nearly 300 child care providers, even though they are not state workers. Maine Today Media reports the Republican governor’s legal counsel told lawmakers Monday it’s not fair that […]

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is taking up the key question in the challenge to President Barack Obama’s historic health care overhaul: Can the government force people to carry insurance or pay a penalty? The justices hear extended arguments on that topic today. It’s the linchpin of the law’s aim to get medical insurance to an […]

SEOUL, South Korea Material that can be used to make nuclear bombs is stored in scores of buildings spread across dozens of countries. If even a fraction of it fell into the hands of terrorists, it could be disastrous. Nearly 60 world leaders who gathered today in Seoul for a nuclear security summit agreed to […]

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — The parents of a slain Florida teenager are blaming police for leaking information about their son being suspended for marijuana and details about the fight he had with the shooter that portrayed the teen as the aggressor. Trayvon Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, and family attorneys said Monday that it was part […]

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Conceding strained ties, President Barack Obama today welcomed Pakistan’s review of its relationship with the United States, saying it was important for the two countries to get their partnership right. Obama spoke alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani before the two men held private talks. The meeting comes amid […]