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Officials closed down  part of the Topsham Fair Mall when a 'suspicious package' was found near Home Depot. WGME reports they found what appears to have been electronics inside. They are still investigating.

'Warden's Report' website that does free burn permits to communities that take part up again. WMTW reports it was taken down after the state said the site was illegal. Maine sent letter to fire departments and other sites who give out burn permits to stop. Lawmakers OK'ed a bill changing the law to allow the burn permit sites and the governor signed it.

The Winthrop Town Council voted to send a $10.98 million school budget to voters. According to centralmaine.com the school board had voted to approve a budget closer to $11.14 million. Now, the new, $10.98 million spending plan will be the budget to go to voters in a couple weeks.

From the Associated Press:

Maine state police say they don't know what drove a man to kill three people and wound another before being fatally shot in a confrontation with officers. They are trying to determine what sparked the violence Wednesday morning in Madison. 51-year-old gunman Carroll Tuttle killed his partner, 52-year-old Lori Hayden, and their son, 25-year-old Dustin Tuttle, at their home. The third victim was 57-year-old Michael Spaulding, who was killed at a nearby residence. McCausland says the gunman returned to the original location and wounded a fourth person before being shot and killed in a confrontation with deputies.  (Centralmaine.com additional info)

Capitol police say it appears there was no intentional damage to a car belonging to one of two Republican lawmakers who claimed their vehicles were vandalized. The two lawmakers claimed their cars were damaged after House Republicans torpedoed a compromise budget, causing the state government shutdown on Saturday.

Maine State Police say they arrested the driver of a stolen vehicle who identified himself as Santa Claus following a nearly 50-mile chase Tuesday. The chase started in Clinton after they tried to pull the driver over for a traffic violation. The chase reached 112 miles before spike strips were deployed in Newburgh. Christos Kassaras, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, drove on busted tires another 15 miles before troopers caught and arrested him.

Fire officials are investigating a blaze that damaged a lake house. The Kennebec Journal reports firefighters responded to a call about a house fire on Maranacook Lake in Readfield around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Firefighters contained the fire by 6:45 p.m. No injuries were reported. It appears to have been accidental.

Capitol police say it appears there was no intentional damage to a car belonging to one of two Republican lawmakers who claimed their vehicles were vandalized. The two lawmakers claimed their cars were damaged after House Republicans torpedoed a compromise budget, causing the state government shutdown on Saturday.

A Civil War-era fort at the entrance to Portland Harbor is being made more accessible to the public. City spokeswoman Jessica Grondin says a public-private partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers aims to preserve Fort Gorges, which she called an "untapped treasure." Friends of Fort Gorges tells the Portland Press Herald that the current project includes the installation of railings and gates throughout the fort to improve safety.

Maine state police say they don't know what drove a man to kill three people and wound another before being fatally shot in a confrontation with officers. Spokesman Steve McCausland says detectives are trying to determine what sparked the violence Wednesday morning in the town of Madison. The spokesman says gunman Carroll Tuttle killed his partner and their son at their home and then killed another person at a nearby residence.

Maine State Police say they arrested the driver of a stolen vehicle who identified himself as Santa Claus following a chase Tuesday. The chase started in Clinton when police tried to pull him over for a traffic violation. Troopers caught and arrested Christos Kassaras, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, nearly 50 miles (80 kilometers) later. He was jailed on stolen vehicle and criminal speed charges. It wasn't immediately known if he had a lawyer.

The United States is looking for new ways to put pressure on North Korea after its launch this weekend of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The Trump administration warns that Pyongyang is "closing off" the prospect of a diplomatic resolution to its provocations. The options include punishing countries that trade with North Korea - a threat aimed directly at China.

South Korean warplanes and navy ships have fired a barrage of missiles into the waters during one-day drills aimed at boosting a readiness against possible North Korean aggression. The drills were previously scheduled but they occurred two days after North Korea test-launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile. South Korea's navy says the drills involve 15 warships, plus helicopters and fighter jets.

Despite North Korea's claim its ICBM launch shows it can attack targets anywhere it wants, experts say it will probably be years before it could use such a weapon in a real-world scenario. Even for an experienced superpower, getting an ICBM to work reliably can take a decade or more. So, major milestone notwithstanding, the question now is how long it will take North Korea to have an ICBM that could really strike the U.S. West Coast _ and how long Washington has to stop it.

President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet immediately after he arrives in Germany to attend an international summit. The White House says Trump and Merkel are to meet privately Thursday night at a hotel in Hamburg before members of their delegations join the talks. Merkel remains disappointed in Trump's decision last month to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement. Trump says he withdrew because the pact was unfair to the United States.

Police are investigating what may have prompted the deadly ambush of an officer who was shot in a New York Police Department command post vehicle. Police Commissioner James O'Neill says Officer Miosotis Familia was "assassinated in an unprovoked attack on cops." Police say officers caught up with and killed gunman Alexander Bonds about a block away after he shot Familia in the Bronx early Wednesday. Friends of Familia's say the 48-year-old felt a calling to help her community.

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