Speaker Ryan Fecteau discussed the end-of-session legislative workload, noting 500 divided reports and hundreds of unanimous bills. Key issues include the Part Two budget, with discussions on tax proposals and cuts, such as a 4% increase for University of Maine and community college employees, and additional funding for child care, Head Start, child protective services, and nursing homes. Fecteau emphasized the importance of bipartisan collaboration, despite past tensions. He also addressed the controversial bill on licensing home contractors, which passed narrowly, aiming to protect consumers but potentially restricting new entrants in the market.
Tropical Storms Karina and Lowell formed Thursday in the Pacific Ocean, both of which were expected to become hurricanes in the next few days, the National Hurricane Center said.
A new study suggests that El Ninos — the natural climatic chaos agent that pops up periodically and spikes global temperatures — are getting stronger because of human-caused climate change.
Two unvaccinated Pennsylvania residents have died after being infected with measles, the first U.S. deaths this year related to the contagious virus. State health officials announced the deaths Tuesday. They did not reveal any details about the people who died, other than that they lived in Lancaster County, west of Philadelphia.
