Things You Need to Know: Winslow Pit Bull Owners Plead Not Guilty
Here are the things you need to know today......
Centralmaine.com reports the woman found dead in the truck of a car did took her own life.
A Winslow couple have pleaded not guilty to a charge of not complying with an order to euthanize two pit bulls deemed dangerous by the courts and hiding the dogs. Centralmaine.com reports the dogs killed another dog and seriously injured a woman in 2016.
The bill to restricting sex offenders taking photos of kids is moving through the process to a legislative vote. According to centralmaine.com it has been amended in order to satisfy concerns raised about its constitutionality.
From the Associated Press:
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine is set to become the first state to let voters rank candidates in a statewide primary election. Voters will rank ballot choices from first to last in the system that supporters say would ensure a winner gets widespread support. Several cities around the country have used ranked-choice voting for municipal elections, but Maine will become a test case for how it can be used in statewide primary contests.
GARDINER, Maine (AP) — A Maine company says 300 employees will receive bonuses following changes to the federal tax code enacted at the end of 2017. Everett J. Prescott Inc., a Gardiner-based waterworks materials company, says the bonuses will arrive Monday. The Kennebec Journal reports CEO Peter Prescott said Friday that employees will receive a $1,000 bonus.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Gas prices are still falling in northern New England. GasBuddy's daily survey of gas outlets in Maine found that average retail gasoline prices in the state have fallen 2.6 cents in the past week to an average of $2.52 per gallon. New Hampshire has seen a decrease of 1.8 cents to $2.47 per gallon. In Vermont, average gas prices have fallen 1.2 cents per gallon, to $2.59.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The superintendent of Portland's public school system says students won't be punished for taking part in a national student walkout spurred by the fatal school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Superintendent Xavier Botana said Saturday that students will be allowed to participate in March 14 event, citing the students' rights to freedom of speech. WGME-TV reports students will neither be pressured to participate nor will they be punished for taking part.
COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine (AP) — Down East Maine's annual celebration of fried smelts and migrating fish is scheduled for April 21 in Columbia Falls. The 18th Annual Smelt Fry & World Fish Migration Day Celebration will take over the tiny community that day. The event began as a community potluck and has grown into a regional event that attracts hundreds of people.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Dozens of protesters have rallied against a proposal by the Trump administration to expand offshore drilling, saying it poses a threat to the state's marine ecosystem and economy. Protesters gathered Monday outside a Concord hotel that was hosting an information session by federal officials to explain the process that could lead to drilling for oil and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf in the North Atlantic. The hearing is one of 23 the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is holding.
YORK, Maine (AP) — The Nor'easter that battered the New England coast has once again revealed the remains of a shipwreck on Short Sands Beach in York, Maine. The York Police Department posted photos Monday that show the skeleton of a ship that's believed to be a sloop more than 160 years old. The shipwreck is normally covered by sand but has been uncovered several times, most recently five years ago.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A military investigation into the attack that killed four American service members in Niger concludes the team didn't get required senior command approval for their risky mission to capture a high-level Islamic State militant. Several U.S. officials familiar with the report say it doesn't point to that failure as a cause of the deadly ambush. The four U.S. soldiers and four Nigerien troops were killed Oct. 4 when they were attacked by as many as 100 Islamic State-linked militants.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are pleading with President Donald Trump to back off his threat of international tariffs, but he says he won't. Trump says Canada and Mexico will not be spared from special import taxes on steel and aluminum. But he's also holding out the possibility of exempting the longstanding friends if they agree to better terms for the U.S. in revising the North American Free Trade Agreement. House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republicans worry that such tariffs would spark a trade war.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The former Trump campaign aide who declared in various TV interviews that he won't cooperate with special prosecutor Robert Mueller is now saying he'll probably do as Mueller asks. The former aide, Sam Nunberg, told The Associated Press in an interview Monday night that he is angry over Mueller's request to have him appear before a grand jury and turn over thousands of emails and other communications with other ex-officials. He predicts that, in the end, he'll find a way to comply.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is playing host to a group of visiting South Korean envoys, affording the autocratic leader a whole new raft of propaganda and political opportunities. Photos released Tuesday showing Kim meeting with the envoys are all the more remarkable coming just months after a barrage of North Korean weapons tests and threats against Seoul and Washington that had many fearing war.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Democrats have turned out in force ahead of their state's first-in-the-nation primary Tuesday, even though their party remains a longshot to win much. Democratic early voting across Texas' most-populous counties more than doubled the last non-presidential cycle in 2014. But the party hasn't won Texas statewide office since 1994. Its best shot is flipping three Republican congressional seats in November.