Free Republic

Senate Democrats have reached an agreement on a new set of federal voting rules again, but this time it is more worrisome for Republicans because a key Democrat is on board. In fact, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who has not been a fan of previous voting bills, spearheaded this effort along with Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and a group of cosponsors, NPR reported. The package is the latest attempt by Democrats to counteract Republican-led measures at the state level to restrict voting access and alter election administration. The new legislation, unveiled Tuesday morning by Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar...

A recent SurveyUSA poll shows Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) could find trouble heading into the Democrat primary for her reelection as the 2022 midterms approach. The poll found that Maine’s Senate president, State Sen. Troy Jackson (D), has a strong standing in the hypothetical poll going head-to-head against Mills next June in the primary:

A Maine musical theater was forced to cancel its fall schedule after refunding $36,000 worth of tickets in the days since announcing a COVID-19 vaccination policy, according to a report. The Brunswick-based Maine State Music Theatre was buried in refund requests after saying on Friday that theater-goers would have to prove they’ve either been vaccinated or tested negative for the coronavirus, The Portland Press Herald reported. “Not selling a ticket is bad,” artistic director Dale Clark told the newspaper. “Having to refund a ticket that you have already sold, that’s a lot worse.” Clark blamed pushback against the new policy...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a lawsuit by a Maine church that sought to take a preemptive strike against future restrictions associated with a variant of the virus that’s spreading across the country. Calvary Chapel in Orrington asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Democratic Gov. Janet Mills from enforcing or reinstating any pandemic-related restrictions due to the delta variant of the coronavirus. The request was denied by Justice Stephen Breyer without even asking the other side to respond or asking his colleagues to get involved.

This is the moment cops confronted the leader of Rise of the Moors and he refused to drop his weapons when the citizen militia refueled at the side of Massachusetts interstate - sparking a nine-hour armed stand-off. Police body camera footage showed Massachusetts State Police approaching two cars with their hazard lights on parked on the shoulder of Interstate-95, near the town of Wakefield, around 1.30am on July 3. The group of heavily armed men were refilling gas tanks with their own fuel and told law enforcement that they were headed to Maine for 'training.' Bodycam footage taken by a...

Democrats are worried about winning the 2022 midterm elections after Republican state legislatures reformed 30 election integrity laws in 18 states and additional legislation may come.CEO of the Stacey Abrams-founded New Georgia Project, Nsé Ufot, told Politico, “If there isn’t a way for us to repeat what happened in November 2020, we’re f—ed.”Latosha Brown, cofounder of Black Voters Matter, told Politico that “hope is quickly turning into frustration.” She then asked, “When in the hell are those who claim that they are committed to democracy going to show up to protect those that protect democracy?”Along with the multitude of states...

Almost a year after a woman was fatally attacked by a great white shark while swimming in a cove in Harpswell, the state is nearly tripling the number of acoustic shark detectors in the waters along Maine’s coast. Following the fatal July 27, 2020, attack, the state Department of Marine Resources deployed eight acoustic receivers in coastal waters, spread out between Wells and Popham Beach, after it had already placed three in Saco Bay off Old Orchard Beach. The receivers, 11 in total, recorded pings from sharks that had been tagged with transmitters by researchers who are collecting data about...

White Shark Research Sharks in New England The Northwest Atlantic Ocean is home to a variety of marine species, and sharks are no exception. From the large filter-feeding basking shark to the small bottom-dwelling spiny dogfish, sharks of all shapes and sizes can be found inhabiting the waters of New England. Perhaps the most notorious and charismatic of these fishes, however, is the white shark. White sharks are classified as a highly migratory species, traveling large distances in search of optimal foraging and mating opportunities. Their presence in New England is historically documented, and they are most often observed during...

The Moorish Science Temple of America is an American national and religious organization founded by Noble Drew Ali (born as Timothy Drew). He based it on the premise that African Americans are descendants of the Moabites and thus are "Moorish" (sometimes also spelled "Muurish" by adherents) by nationality, and Islamic by faith. Ali put together elements of major traditions to develop a message of personal transformation through historical education, racial pride and spiritual uplift. His doctrine was also intended to provide African Americans with a sense of identity in the world and to promote civic involvement. An organisation with headquarters...

In Maine, the Governor signed suppressor, (gun muffler, silencer) reform into law. The change in law took effect on 8 June, 2021. It is now part of Chapter 112, Public Law. When the Maine legislature reformed Maine’s ban on hunting with suppressors, the law required a hunter to obtain a special permit to hunt with suppressors. It was an added bureaucratic burden which did not good. It increased useless paperwork and wasted everyone involved’s time.Here is how the old law read. From mainlegislature.org:2. Permit. In accordance with this subsection, the commissioner may issue a permit to a person allowing that...

A man who was caught on video stuffing razor blades into packages of pizza dough that were sold to multiple customers at a Maine grocery store pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday, authorities said. The shocking incident came to light in October 2020 after a customer reported finding several blades inside a package of Portland Pie pizza dough that he had bought at the Saco Hannaford Supermarket. Store employees reviewed surveillance footage and saw 39-year-old Nicholas Mitchell tampering with multiple pizza dough packages of the same brand, according to police. “When the patrons subsequently opened the pizza doughs, they discovered...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said his optimism on a bipartisan infrastructure bill was “short-lived” following President Joe Biden’s remarks that he would consider vetoing the bill if it doesn’t include a sweeping reconciliation package. His comments came shortly after Biden endorsed the bipartisan deal to spend $1.2 trillion over eight years before stating that “If only one comes to me, this is the only one that comes to me, I’m not signing it“ McConnell accused Biden of “caving” to the far left following the bipartisan breakthrough and offering mixed messaging on the matter.

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a bipartisan infrastructure deal with moderate senate Republicans and Democrats after meeting with them briefly at the White House. “We had a really good meeting and to answer your direct question, we have a deal,” Biden announced, standing with the group of senators Biden met briefly with the group to seal his support for the deal after the White House announced a framework deal for a bipartisan agreement Wednesday evening. The president celebrated the bipartisan nature of the deal, even though he said it was not all of the proposed spending that he asked...

Canadian pastor Tim Stephens arrested again by police in Calgary, Alberta. He's staying in jail rather than comply with bail conditions that demand he not hold church services.... Peoples Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier was arrested in the province of Manitoba for participating in a protest opposing coronavirus controls... Eight of the "fully vaccinated" at dead in Maine after contracting COVID-19. Some 457 "breakthough" cases of COVID-19 involving the "fully vaccinated" reported in the state... The talking point of the major media tonight 600-thousand deaths attributed to COVID-19 in the US. "Mask Dispute" leads to fatal shooting in Georgia......

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on Sunday said the infrastructure bill announced by a bipartisan group of 10 senators will not include a gas tax increase or undo the 2017 tax reform bill. When asked by host John Dickerson on CBS’s “Face the Nation” how the group plans to pay for the package, Collins, who is part of the bipartisan coalition, silenced rumors of a gas tax increase or rolling back the 2017 tax reform bill, while outlining the group’s strategies for financing the initiatives. Collins said the group, which includes five senators from each party, is considering three “pay fors”:...

PORTLAND (WGME) -- Eight Mainers have died with COVID-19 after being fully vaccinated, according to the Maine CDC. While it's a rare occurrence, it can leave families in shock and heartbroken. Eager and ready for normalcy, Arthur Mitchell got his second dose of the Moderna vaccine on March 8. “Counted out his two weeks to be fully vaccinated, was very excited about that,” daughter Margaret Staggs said. Staggs says once the family was fully vaccinated, they finally relaxed after a year of restrictions. “We probably all took a deep breath and let our guard down a little bit,” Staggs said....

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s beloved wild blueberry fields are home to one of the most important fruit crops in New England, and scientists have found they are warming at a faster rate than the rest of the state. The warming of the blueberry fields could imperil the berries and the farmers who tend to them because the rising temperatures have brought loss of water, according to a group of scientists who are affiliated with the University of Maine. The scientists analyzed 40 years of data and found that the state experienced a 1.1 degrees Celsius (1.98 degrees Fahrenheit) increase...

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and a group of Republican conservatives have struck a deal to allow a Friday vote on a bill setting up a bipartisan Jan. 6 commission, which will let senators leave Washington for the Memorial Day recess early Friday afternoon. The deal, which was approved by the entire Senate after being hotlined, will postpone the final procedural votes and the final up-or-down vote on a bill to improve U.S. competitiveness with China until next month. But it means that Republicans won’t be able to delay consideration of the China bill into the holiday weekend, which...

Senate Republicans on Friday blocked an independent, bipartisan commission to study the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.Eager to put the events of that day and former President Trump’s role in it behind them, Republicans blasted the commission proposal as a partisan attempt by Democrats to keep both in the news during next year’s pivotal midterm elections.The bill fell in the first legislative filibuster of the year as it failed to get the 60 votes needed to advance. The vote was 54 to 35 to move the bill forward, with a handful of Republicans breaking ranks — Sens. Mitt...

The Democrat speaker of the Maine state House stripped Republican lawmakers of their committee posts Monday after they entered the state House without masks in accordance with the governor’s most recent executive order. State Rep. Laurel Libby (R) released a video of a confrontation between the seven unmasked Republican lawmakers and a Capitol police officer who told them they are required to wear masks in the state House, even though Gov. Janet Mills (D) released an executive order, effective this week, that ended the state’s mask mandate.