Maine’s new professional soccer team has officially arrived to the scene. The Portland Hearts of Pine unveiled their name, logo and motto Saturday morning at Portland’s Thompson’s Point at a ceremony attended by more than 1,000 fans, community members and local leaders. Inspired by the Eastern white Pine and blue Dirigo star on Maine’s state flag, the team’s brand reflects founder and Falmouth native Gabe Hoffman-Johnson’s vision for the franchise — a club that promotes positive change in the Pine Tree State, with a squad that Mainers can rally around. “As a player and a fan, I’ve seen t ..read more

An employee was assaulted and a customer at a Main Road business was stabbed with a used needle trying to stop a man from leaving the store without paying, according to Holden Police. The man, identified by Holden Police as Clifford Neville, 41, of Bangor was out on bail and faces charges for robbery, aggravated assault and violating conditions of release. Clifford Neville, 41, of Bangor. Credit: Courtesy of Holden Police Police say the worker confronted Neville, who assaulted her with a weapon. Several customers stepped in to help subdue Clifford, who stabbed one of the customers with a used ..read more

LOS ANGELES (AP) — On a recent afternoon, Grant Oh zigzagged across the University of Southern California campus as if he was conquering an obstacle course, coming up against police blockade after police blockade on his way to his apartment while officers arrested demonstrators protesting the Israel-Hamas war. In many ways, the chaotic moment was the culmination of a college life that started amid the coronavirus pandemic and has been marked by continual upheaval in what has become a constant battle for normalcy. Oh already missed his prom and his high school graduation as COVID-19 surged in ..read more

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tornadoes wreaked havoc Friday in the Midwest, causing a building to collapse with dozens of people inside and destroying and damaging hundreds of homes, many around Omaha, Nebraska. As of Friday night, there were several reports of injuries but no immediate deaths reported. Tornado warnings continued to be issued into the night in Iowa. Three people were hurt in Nebraska’s Lancaster County when a tornado hit an industrial building, causing it to collapse with 70 people inside. Several were trapped, but everyone was evacuated and the injuries were not life-threatening, auth ..read more

“What do you recommend with fewer forever chemicals ..read more

NEW YORK (AP) — The retrial in New York of Harvey Weinstein — whose moviemaking prowess once wowed Hollywood — won’t be coming to a courtroom anytime soon, if ever, legal experts said on a day when one of two women considered crucial to the case said she wasn’t sure she would testify again. A ruling Thursday by the New York Court of Appeals voided the 2020 conviction of the onetime movie powerbroker who prosecutors say forced young actors to submit to his prurient desires by dangling his ability to make or break the their careers. He remains jailed in New York state after he was also convicte ..read more

LUPTON, Ariz. (AP) — A freight train carrying fuel derailed and caught fire Friday near the Arizona-New Mexico state line, forcing the closure of an interstate highway that serves as a key trucking route. Initial passersby posted video and photos on social media of crumpled train cars and billowing, black smoke. No injuries were reported in the midday train wreck near Lupton, Arizona. BNSF Railway spokesperson Lena Kent said company personnel were on site working to clear the wreckage. Kent said the cause of the derailment is under investigation. Interstate 40 was closed by authorities in bot ..read more

Cumberland resident and University of Southern Maine student Julia Gagnon’s run on this season of ABC’s “American Idol” has stunned judges and audiences alike. She won a platinum ticket during auditions, which allowed her to skip directly into the top 24, and which made her the first Mainer to make it past the auditions round on the long-running singing competition. She’s made it through six rounds of eliminations, and as of last Monday is in the top ten for the season. This Sunday and Monday, Gagnon will find out if she’s made it into the top eight. If she impresses the voting public with he ..read more

NEW LIMERICK, Maine — With $17 in her pocket, 17-year-old Louise London hitched a ride to a Connecticut airplane engine factory. Just months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the Monticello native was precisely grinding cams and pistons for war planes like the Navy’s Hellcat during World War II. London  knew that being off even a hair could be deadly for pilots. “I felt a responsibility to the pilots, to give them more security,” she said. “I was doing it for good reason, to get the war over, to save our country, to get our service men and women home.” Earlier this month, London, w ..read more

As the world wakes up each spring, we eagerly await our favorite signs of the season. Robins hop around the yard, looking for worms. Bluets and dandelions dust the roadside. Ferns unfurl in the forest. But if you take a closer look, some peculiar things are happening. For the curious and adventurous, I’ve compiled a scavenger hunt of some of the strangest things that occur in nature during Maine’s springtime. Although, to be fair, if you look deep into the workings of any living thing, you’re bound to find something weird. In nature, the miracles are in the details, and finding them is a grea ..read more