Free Republic

While the mass migration crisis has overwhelmingly taken place at the southern border between the United States and Mexico, there is a similar record-breaking surge across the northern border between the United States and Canada as well... data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows that fiscal year 2024 has currently seen 12,859 illegal aliens cross the northern border. This marks a far larger amount than the previous three fiscal years under Joe Biden. By comparison, there were just 916 northern border crossings in fiscal year 2021, followed by 2,238 in fiscal year 2022, and 10,021 in fiscal year 2023....

Mainers are going to decide in November whether to adopt a new flag, but the state needs to settle on a design first. Anyone can submit a design proposal as long as it's based on the state's original flag, which featured a simple pine tree and blue star against an off-white background. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced the flag contest Friday. The deadline is July 19.

The Government of Maine has really big plans for floating wind, a floating net zero fantasy, in fact. Since floating wind power is the next big green thing, it is worth taking a close look at this ruinous vision. Floating wind is a fad, not an established technology. It has yet to be built at utility scale or tested in a hurricane. The world’s biggest grid-connected system is a tiny 50 MW and just came online off Scotland. The cost of floating wind is necessarily much greater than fixed wind. A fixed wind tower sits on a simple monopile, while...

AUGUSTA, Maine — Former NASCAR driver Austin Theriault easily defeated fellow state lawmaker Mike Soboleski in Tuesday’s Republican primary for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, setting up a showdown with U.S. Rep. Jared Golden in November. *** While Soboleski argued he had a stronger conservative voting record than Theriault, the Trump endorsement was important in the race between two candidates who each touted their support for the ex-president …. Theriault repeatedly highlighted Trump’s endorsement in debates, interviews and ads. His pugnacious primary campaign was far different against the one he crafted during his 2022 race for the St. John Valley seat...

Portland Press Herald Portland startup that became global leader in capturing carbon shuts down, lays off all staff Running Tide, which raised more than $50 million from private investors since it was founded in 2017, fell victim to a collapse in voluntary carbon market prices, its CEO says. June 15, 2024 Kelley Bouchard, Staff Writer A Portland-based startup that pioneered ocean carbon-removal technology, and sold credits to offset the emissions of major clients such as Microsoft, shut down and laid off its last employees on Friday because it could no longer sell enough carbon credits to survive, its CEO said....

Democrat lawmaker Chellie Pingree called for less border security and advocated for more migrants to be bused to her state, claiming there aren't 'enough locals to fill jobs.' The Representative from Maine, who has served as Maine's 1st congressional district since 2009, spoke for over two minutes during a House Appropriations Committee debate on the fiscal year 2025 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations bill. She expressed support for a Democrat-proposed amendment that would redirect $600 million from border fencing construction to a FEMA-administered municipal emergency shelter program, the Shelter and Services Program. The program would pay for migrant housing...

ARepublican lawmaker announced he is retiring from politics due to a candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump's victory in a Congressional primary election. Trump-backed candidate Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver and state representative, defeated State Representative Michael Soboleski in the primary for Maine's 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday. He will face off against Democratic Congressman Jared Golden, a top GOP target in the November elections in what could be one of the most competitive House races of the election cycle. State Representative John Andrews, who was a supporter and campaign manager for Soboleski, wrote in a Facebook post...

Even those who dislike the former President see a case of legal and political malpractice.How dare Mitt Romney. And Sens. Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell. The anti-Trump press corps is dismayed that Republicans of all stripes, even those who aren’t fond of Donald Trump, have criticized the Manhattan prosecution and guilty verdict. The media coverage after the verdict has followed the usual Trump-era pattern. Democrats pursue some anti-Trump operation—impeachment, a Russia collusion probe, a prosecution. The press then descends as one to chide Republicans, with the unsubtle implication that they must be unethical sellouts if they oppose what Democrats are...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Tuesday that it is releasing 1 million barrels of gasoline from a Northeast reserve established after Superstorm Sandy in a bid to lower prices at the pump this summer. The sale, from storage sites in New Jersey and Maine, will be allocated in increments of 100,000 barrels at a time. The approach will create a competitive bidding process that ensures gasoline can flow into local retailers ahead of the July 4 holiday and sold at competitive prices, the Energy Department said. The move is intended to help “lower costs for American families and...

The northern border shares something in common with the southern border of the United States - it is understaffed and Border Patrol agents are stretched thin. Despite a lack of proper support, agents at the northern border continue to apprehend a record number of illegal border crossers. In the busiest northern border sector of Swanton, Border Patrol agents made history by apprehending the greatest number of illegal border crossers in sector history of 1,109 in March, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. While the numbers are significantly lower than those apprehended at the southwest border, they are out...

The man who caused a four-car accident on I-95 in April, leaving an Albion woman dead and her husband in critical condition, had entered the United States illegally from Mexico in January, the Maine Wire can confirm. According to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official, the Customs and Border Protection’s resident agent in Albion was contacted when Oguzhan Cildir, 23, was arrested at the scene of the accident because the arresting agency found that he “had immigration status from when he crossed on the Southwest border.” The arresting agency then turned the individual over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s...

Earlier this week, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) decided not to veto an obscure law called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPV), which calls for the state's 4 Electoral College votes to be awarded to the presidential candidate who gets the most votes nationally regardless of the outcome in the state. The law doesn't go into effect, however, until states totaling 270 electoral votes join the compact. That's the number of Electoral College votes required to win the presidency. Once dismissed as an unworkable, almost farcical fantasy, the NPV just tallied its 209th electoral vote with Maine, and now...

The 87-year-old self-described “frontman” for an elaborate Chinese-run drug trafficking organization active in rural Maine told the Maine Wire that he’s been living with a family of black market marijuana growers for nearly three years and helping them with electrical upgrades at facilities throughout the state. In exchange for his services, the immigrant family feeds him, provides some level of medical care, and takes him almost everywhere they go. That was just one of the stunning details revealed by J. Martin Vachon, a master electrician from Ellsworth, over the course of an hour-long phone interview — details that are confirmed...

A new Maine bill was passed by the state legislature on Wednesday that would tie Maine’s Electoral College votes for president to the country’s popular vote. The bill narrowly passed the state’s lower chamber in a 73-72 vote. It was then approved by the state Senate, and it now heads to the desk of Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME), who has not indicated whether she will sign the legislation. If she does, the state would join a national movement where each state in the agreement would assign their Electoral College votes to the candidate who wins the national popular vote. “The...

A Chinese national living in the Guangdong Province, China, became the proud owner of a “fixer upper” in Penobscot County in February thanks, in part, to title transfer services provided by Paul H. Mills, the eldest brother of Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D). Xiling Ou, 44, of Malden, Mass., was the original owner of the ramshackle house and its three-bay garage, along with nine-acres of land, located at 51 Cider Hill in Corinna. But 13 days after the Penobscot Sheriff’s Department and Homeland Security agents raided an illegal marijuana grow just five miles away, she gifted the property to her...

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin on Wednesday indicated that he would not support President Joe Biden's judicial nominees if they could not secure the support of at least one upper chamber Republican. "Just one Republican. That’s all I'm asking for. Give me something bipartisan. This is my own little filibuster. If they can't get one Republican, I vote for none. I've told [Democrats] that. I said, 'I'm sick and tired of it, I can't take it anymore," he said, according to Politico. The moderate senator, who is retiring at the end of his current term, has long taken positions...

Border Patrol apprehensions of illegal immigrants at the northern U.S. border have jumped from 916 in fiscal year 2021 to 10,021 in fiscal 2023.. HIGHGATE, Vt.—At dawn or dusk, Kristy Brow used to enjoy alone time walking in the woods on her 21-acre property in Highgate, Vermont, a small rural town near the U.S.–Canada border. Lately, however, she’s cautious—she’s worried about potential encounters with illegal immigrants along the remote logging trail. “I don’t go out by myself anymore—especially at night,” said Mrs. Brow, who runs a dog obedience business from her home. “It’s unsettling. You can’t feel relaxed anymore,” she...

Democrats in Maine have quietly reintroduced into a different committee the same pro-transgender bill that was unanimously defeated once already. The bill would in part prevent parents from being contacted or having any say in the transing of their children by school or medical officials and would serve as a groomer protection measure. The bill, LD227, is very similar to LD 1735, which was killed in the Judiciary Committee in January. Republican critics of the bill are blasting the provisions as anti-family and anti-child.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has proposed a 10-knot speed limit for much of the Atlantic coast in a bid to protect the Whale population. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the federal government nears final approval for a 10-knot maritime speed limit along the East Coast, the Southeastern legal Foundation is warning that such a move would adversely impact the economies of coastal communities. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has proposed a 10-knot speed limit for much of the Atlantic coast in a bid to protect the whale population. Violators could face up to $20,000 in fines and one...

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellow has reversed course in her effort to keep former President Trump off the primary ballot after the Supreme Court on Monday unanimously overturned a similar ruling in Colorado. “I have reviewed the Anderson decision carefully. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that individual states lack authority to enforce Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment with respect to federal offices,” wrote Bellows, a Democrat. “Consistent with my oath and obligation to follow the law and the Constitution, and pursuant to the Anderson decision, I hereby withdraw my determination that Mr. Trump’s primary petition is invalid.”...