PORTLAND (AP) — New data released by the federal government suggests there’s a lot of volunteering going on in Maine’s biggest city. An annual report released by the government agency that oversees Ameri- Corps says the Greater Portland metropolitan area ranks fifth in the country for volunteering. The report by CNCS indicates more than 162,100 […]

WESTBROOK (AP) — A Maine city and several government agencies and other organizations have reached an agreement to remove a dam as soon as 2020. U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree says the agreement was reached Wednesday between paper company Sappi North America, the city of Westbrook, the federal Department of the Interior and Fish and Wildlife […]

FARMINGTON (AP) — A New Sharon woman barred from having pets stemming from prior animal cruelty convictions has been convicted of contempt of court after authorities say she was seen with animals. Carol Murphy was convicted on Wednesday after the 71-year-old was found with dogs, a cat, a pot-bellied pig, chinchillas and a rabbit in […]

NEW YORK Call him the dealmaker-elect. By his own account, President-elect Donald Trump has worked out a few agreements after a parade of weekend visitors who could land major appointments in his administration. There were hints but no decisions to announce. Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee in 2012, was “under active and serious consideration” for […]

NEW YORK Cyber Monday is starting earlier and earlier. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said today that it’s kicking off its so-called “Cyber Monday” deals at 12:01 a.m. EST Friday for the first time ever as it aims to grab customers ahead of its competitors. Last year, the world’s largest retailer pulled up the “Cyber Monday” deals […]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas Two police officers have been shot in separate incidents in what authorities are calling targeted attacks. One died while the other was shot twice in the face but was expected to survive. A San Antonio detective writing out a traffic ticket to a motorist was shot to death in his squad car […]

BILLINGS, Mont. U.S. officials plan to block new mining claims outside Yellowstone National Park as the Obama administration races in its last days to keep industry out of pristine and environmentally sensitive areas. Mining claims on 30,000 acres north of the nation’s first national park would be prohibited for at least two years while a […]

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN A suicide bomber killed at least 28 people inside a Shiite mosque in the Afghan capital, Kabul, officials and eyewitnesses said. Ismail Kawasi, spokesman for the Public Health Ministry, said today that at least 45 others were wounded in the attack. Kawasi added that at least one small child is among the dead. […]

VIENNA Iran has begun to export excess quantities of a material that could be used in the process to make atomic arms as it moves to end a small but significant violation of a landmark nuclear deal, two diplomats told The Associated Press on today. At issue is heavy water, which is used to cool […]

MOSUL, Iraq Iraqi troops fighting Islamic State militants in the eastern outskirts of Mosul regrouped today in the city’s neighborhoods they recently retook from the extremist group, conducting house- to-house searches and looking for would-be suicide car bombs, a top Iraqi commander said. Maj. Gen. Sami al-Aridi of the Iraqi military’s special forces told The […]