Things You Need to Know: Ayla’s Mom to ask Court to Declare Ayla Dead
Here are the things you need to know today......
There was a reported attempt of child kidnapping in Owls Head Monday afternoon. According to WABI the girl did not know the men, repeatedly said no and ran to the woods to get away.
The Waterville City Council voted to rezone an intersection of Main and Oak for KV Federal Credit Union's new location. According to centralmaine.com the buildings currently there would not be demolished until spring.
Trista Reynolds is going to court this week to have a judge formally declare the Ayla Reynolds dead. According to centralmaine.com this is so she can file a wrongful death lawsuit later against Ayla's dad. Ayla was reported as missing Dec 17, 2011 from her grandmother's home in Waterville. State police have said "foul play was involved in her disappearance and they don’t believe she is alive".
From the Associated Press:
State police say a woman was killed when her vehicle slammed into the back of a tractor trailer as she was exiting the Maine Turnpike. Maine Department of Safety Spokesman Steve McCausland says the woman's car was seen speeding on the turnpike Tuesday night. He says a state trooper had just activated the lights on his cruiser to pull the vehicle over when was driven off at the Auburn exit and then crashed.
The display of wild and exotic animals will soon no longer be allowed in Portland after a unanimous city council vote. On Monday, the Portland City Council voted to ban the use of big cats, elephants and other circus animals because of handling practices. The Portland Press Herald reports a Friday rodeo will go ahead as planned, as the ban exempts the display of cattle, horses, swine, sheep and goats.
A retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer accused of smuggling narwhal tusks across the border is due to be sentenced for money laundering. Prosecutors say Gregory Logan, of St. John, New Brunswick, smuggled 250 tusks valued at $1.5 million to $3 million into Maine in false compartments in his vehicle.
Maine is among seven states where the federal government is funding a research project to try to better understand harmful algal blooms. Harmful algal blooms can contaminate drinking water and have negative effects on the environment, wildlife and tourism. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is providing nearly $1.7 million for research projects about the blooms in Alaska, California, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Ohio and Virginia.
Maine Gov. Paul LePage is calling for a suspension of tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber to ease prices as families and businesses prepare to rebuild from hurricanes Harvey and Irma. He's particularly incensed over tariffs imposed for the first time on wood from neighboring New Brunswick and says the tariffs are bad for Maine. LePage's comments drew criticism Tuesday from a co-owner of Pleasant River Lumber in Maine, who says the governor shouldn't use hurricanes "as a political ploy."
A Maine attorney who resumed his law practice after a nine-month prison sentence for money laundering has been suspended from practicing law for six months following allegations of professional misconduct with a female client. The Portland Press Herald reports Gary Prolman will begin his suspension Nov. 1 after last week's ruling. The judge says Prolman "took advantage" of his client's vulnerability when he engaged in sexual acts with her.
President Donald Trump is vowing to "totally destroy North Korea" if the U.S. is forced to defend itself or its allies against the renegade nation's nuclear weapons program. Trump's threat came in a combative debut speech to the U.N. General Assembly that laid out a stark, good-vs-evil view of a globe riven by chaos and turmoil.
Mexico's civil defense agency says the death toll has risen to 248 from Tuesday's magnitude 7.1 earthquake that knocked down dozens of buildings in Mexico City and nearby states. The official Twitter feed of agency head Luis Felipe Puente says the deaths include 117 in Mexico City and 72 in Morelos state, which is just south of the capital. Another 43 are known dead in Puebla state, where the quake was centered. There are other deaths in Mexico State next to the capital and in Guerrero state.
Rescuers and volunteers are frantically digging through the rubble of collapsed schools, homes and apartment buildings looking for survivors of Mexico's deadliest earthquake since 1985 as the number of confirmed fatalities jumps to 248. Adding poignancy and a touch of the surreal, Tuesday's magnitude 7.1 quake struck on the 32nd anniversary of the earlier temblor that killed thousands and came just two hours after earthquake drills were held across Mexico to mark the date.
Puerto Rico's governor says residents of the territory should brace for Hurricane Maria, which he warns could hit with "a force and violence" not seen in generations. The eye of the Category 5 hurricane was nearing St. Croix late Tuesday and was expected to reach Puerto Rico on Wednesday morning. Authorities in Puerto Rico warn the island is expected to lose infrastructure and that there could be an islandwide power and communication blackout that lasts for days.
Officials and pundits across Asia are struggling to parse President Donald Trump's vow at the U.N. General Assembly to "totally destroy North Korea" if provoked. In a region used to Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear weapons generating a seemingly never-ending cycle of threats and counter-threats, Trump's comments stood out. South Korea is officially playing them down while some politicians worry they signal a loss of influence for Seoul. Tokyo focused on Japanese citizens abducted by the North.