Maine Biz - Families in Freeport can soon enroll children at a new United 4 Child Care center opening at 2 Stonewood Drive, expected in May or June, with capacity for 90 kids. Enrollment is already open for both the Freeport and South Portland sites, part of a United Way-backed effort to add 400 child care slots for working southern Maine families, especially those struggling with costs.
Press Herald
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins on Friday largely sidestepped
questions about President Donald Trump’s request to increase military spending
by roughly 40% next year, as the U.S. continues bombing Iran with no clear exit
strategy. Trump is requesting $1.5 trillion in military funding while
proposing $73 billion in cuts to domestic programs. U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree
called the proposal “dangerous and morally bankrupt.” Sen. Angus King and Rep.
Jared Golden declined to comment.
The numbers on gas station signs across Maine are
approaching a threshold many hoped they’d never see again. With regular
gasoline now nudging $4 a gallon and diesel surging toward $6, the pain is no
longer confined to the pumps. From the lobsterman in Stonington to the logger
in the North Woods, rising crude prices are triggering a ripple effect that
touches every corner of the state’s economy.
The Guardian - Donald Trump announced a fresh crackdown on “fraud” in Democratic states and tapped JD Vance to lead the charge. Officials swiftly announced a string of arrests in California.
In a Truth Social post on Friday, the US president announced that his vice-president was now “in charge of ‘fraud’ in the United States”, claiming the problem is “massive and pervasive” and that Vance’s new role as “fraud czar” will be “a major factor in how great the future of our country will be”.
Without citing evidence, Trump said that Vance would focus on “everywhere but primarily in those blue states where crooked Democrat politicians … have had a ‘free for all’ in the unprecedented theft of taxpayer money”. He pointed to California, Illinois, Minnesota, Maine and New York, and alleged fraud was “so large that, if successful, we would literally be able to balance our American budget”, without providing evidence.