Here are the things you need to  know today......

A fire that left a Winthrop family homeless many have started with a heat lamp keeping a pig warm.  Centralmaine.com reports heat lamps warming animals have caused several fires in the last few years.

A group of Skowhegan area professional asked the school board for SAD 54 to again vote on changing the 'Indian' name for the schools. Centralmaine.com reports that in 2015 the board did vote on the issues and did keep the name.

John Jenkins is now the 19th candidate to enter the race for governor.  Centralmaine.com reports he was the mayor Lewiston and Auburn and former state senator.

A Biddeford man has been charged in connection with a police chase on the Turnpike which ended in a crash. WCSH reports his 2 year old daughter was in the vehicle when he then left the scene. The little girl was not injured.

Four juveniles have charged for kids, ages 13 and 14,  with the vandalism at the armory on Central Avenue in Lewiston. Sun Journal reports cameras were installed earlier this year.

From the Associated Press:

Former presidential candidate Jill Stein is joining a push to get the state of Maine to enact ranked-choice voting. Maine voters chose to enact ranked-choice voting in the state in 2016 with a referendum vote. But the system may never be put in place because state lawmakers say it conflicts with the Maine Constitution. Stein, who ran losing Green Party campaigns in 2012 and 2016, is calling for support of a "People's Veto."

Interstate fishing regulators are holding a series of hearings on the East Coast about a plan to improve data collection in the lobster fishery. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is holding the hearings in January. The commission says it wants to improve harvest reporting and biological data collection to better inform fishing regulations.

Central Maine Power President and CEO Sara Burns is stepping down at the end of the year. The utility's parent company, Avangrid Inc., announced Thursday that Burns is retiring after leading the company for nearly 20 years, starting as president in 1998 and CEO in 2005.

Maine officials say a new species of wasp has been discovered. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry says University of Maine student Hillary Morin Peterson discovered the species while conducting work for her thesis. The department announced the discovery on Thursday. It is a small, non-stinging species of wasp.

The Senate's Republican-led tax panel has moved toward ending the Affordable Care Act's requirement that everyone in the U.S. have health insurance. The repeal of the so-called individual mandate is part of a GOP tax cut bill that's a top priority for President Donald Trump and the Republicans. The Finance Committee voted 14-12 along party lines to approve the tax overhaul bill and send it to the full Senate for anticipated passage the week after next.

President Donald Trump is weighing in on allegations of inappropriate behavior against Democratic Sen. Al Franken, saying the photo of Franken with his accuser "speaks a thousand words." Trump tweets: "The Al Frankenstien picture is really bad, speaks a thousand words. Where do his hands go in pictures 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 while she sleeps?" Leeann Tweeden came forward Thursday to accuse Franken of forcibly kissing and groping her during a 2006 USO tour. Franken has issued an apology.

Alabama Republican Roy Moore's campaign is lashing out at the women accusing him of sexual misconduct even as women's advocates decry what they call intimidation. Republicans in Washington are growing concerned that Moore might not only lose the special Senate election but damage the GOP's brand with women nationally. A spokesman for President Donald Trump says he finds the allegations against Moore "very troubling" but believes Alabama voters should determine the outcome of the Senate race.

Mafia 'boss of bosses' Salvatore 'Toto' Riina has died in the hospital while serving multiple life sentences as the mastermind of a bloody strategy to assassinate Italian prosecutors and law enforcement trying to bring down the Cosa Nostra, Italian media reported. He was 87. Riina died hours after the Justice Minister allowed his family bedside visits. His health had deteriorated following two recent surgeries.

China sent its highest-level envoy to North Korea in two years amid a prolonged chill in relations. The visit by Song Tao follows President Donald Trump's trip to Beijing last week, during which he called on China to use its influence to convince Pyongyang to cease its nuclear weapons program. Chinese media have said Song will report on the Communist Party congress held last month and visit with his counterparts, raising hopes for improved relations and progress on the nuclear issue.

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