PORTLAND (AP) — Health officials are investigating a case of mumps reported at the University of Southern Maine. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday confirmed that a student has been diagnosed with mumps, the state’s first case since 2013. School spokesman Bob Stein says the student lives off campus and that […]

BOSTON A statewide ban on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21 cleared a legislative committee on Thursday, and supporters said they were hopeful for final passage within months. Boston recently raised the legal age for tobacco purchases from 18 to 21, joining dozens of communities around […]

BOSTON The offshore wind industry has high hopes for establishing a permanent beachhead in the U.S. after years of disappointment. Business leaders and politicians who gathered for an industry conference in Boston this week said wealthy investment firms and seasoned European offshore wind companies are increasingly committing to projects along the East Coast. That, they […]

CONCORD, N.H. The state Senate on Thursday defeated a measure to repeal the death penalty and tabled another that would have suspended its use until methods exist to ensure an innocent person isn’t executed. The vote mirrored a 2014 repeal effort that deadlocked in the 24-member Senate. It followed a short debate between senators who […]

CLINTON (AP) — A family in southern Maine has given up 33 animals that lived with them inside their mobile home to officials with the Humane Society Waterville Area. Animal Control Officer Chris Martinez tells The Morning Sentinel that the animals included nine ducks, five rabbits, eight cats, two ferrets, two chinchillas, three parakeets, three […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine Attorney General Janet Mills is filing a complaint against a Cumberland man for allegedly failing to deliver on promised vacation tours after taking advanced payments. The complaint says that Barry Somes offered motor coach tours to destinations around the Northeast and Canada. His businesses included Tour Busters, Club Impac, and Lids […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine’s highest court is upholding the 37-year sentence for an Auburn woman who suffocated her 2-year-old daughter after giving her a high dose of allergy medicine. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday upheld the sentence of Leanna Norris for the 2013 murder of her daughter, Loh Melody Grenda. Norris admitted to […]

PORTLAND (AP) — A Maine man found guilty of luring a 15-year-old girl to her death with a fake Facebook profile has appealed his conviction to the state Supreme Court. Twenty-two-year-old Kyle Dube of Orono was sentenced to 60 years last May in the 2013 killing of Nichole Cable. Prosecutors said Dube abducted Cable to […]

RUMFORD (AP) — A Maine man who authorities say escaped from custody and led officers on a chase in a stolen SUV has been ordered held on $40,000 bail. The Sun Journal reports Derek Cook is facing more than a dozen charges including escaping from a police van. His lawyer on Wednesday recommended that bail […]

DETROIT Relentless in their attacks, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz leveled withering criticism at Donald Trump’s “flexible” policy positions and personal ethics in a Republican presidential debate Thursday that also featured a crude sexual reference from Trump. The two senators, who earlier had devoted considerable debate time to throwing sharp elbows at one another, pressed […]