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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It is very scary, I would say, to be a scientist in the U.S. right now.”
— Dr. Elisabeth Marnik, Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory’s science outreach director, whose research organization is facing uncertainty as the National Institutes for Health has canceled hundreds of grants across the country.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
Most Maine trans kids don’t bother playing sports. Trans people say barriers like the general alienation they face as a marginalized group to the complex paperwork often keep them from participating in sports.
This safety feature is driving up Maine home costs. While the statewide building code exempts new single-family homes from requiring sprinklers, roughly a dozen communities mandate them.
Houlton considers a tax credit for rebuilding apartments destroyed in fatal fire. The project relies on an anticipated $4.2 million rural development grant from MaineHousing, but that funding has hit a snag.
Blue Hill lab opens new interactive aquarium as it expands its mission. The Shaw Institute has grown to cover the health of marine ecosystems and sea life, climate change, PFAS and microplastics.
Maine research organizations face uncertainty as the Trump administration vows to cut “wasteful spending.” The NIH has canceled hundreds of grants, leaving research labs and public health departments across the country scrambling.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
- Experts blast federal probe into Maine’s transgender student policies as ‘unprecedented’
- Feds investigating Maine for allegedly hiding students’ transgender identity from parents
- HHS refers Maine’s Title IX violation to the Department of Justice
- Maine climate programs proceed amid federal funding freezes and uncertainty
- This Democratic bill could end Maine’s unique presidential election system
- Longtime Bangor service provider closing after months of turbulence
- Loring water customers get temporary reprieve from controversial rate hike
- Convicted sex offender found guilty of new charges
- Worker killed at Down East construction facility
- Bucksport town manager resigning in June
- Chimney fire spreads, destroys Belfast home
- Former Belfast restaurant building torn down for new credit union
- House panel says Bowdoin failed to adequately address campus antisemitism
- Deputies fatally shoot man after Oxford County domestic dispute
- Marden’s is opening a new store in western Maine
- Portland Diocese to close central Maine Catholic high school
- Ceiling collapse at Longhorn Steakhouse by Maine Mall ‘could have been much worse’
- Cooper Flagg keeps winning awards. He’s focused on winning games.
- Duke’s defense sends Blue Devils to Final Four
- Penn State knocks UMaine men’s hockey out of NCAA tournament
- Former UMaine football players test skills in front of NFL scouts
- Former Miss Maine Basketball winner returning home as UMaine transfer
MAINE IN PICTURES

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

“No presidential administration has ever done so much that is so wrong in such a short span of time that it’s almost impossible to determine where to begin to push back or what to focus on.”
Opinion: Trump agenda not really about waste, fraud and abuse
LIFE IN MAINE
Here’s a challenge: Get to know your local Maine trails. “It’s easy to get caught up in pursuing hotspots while missing what’s available close to home,” writes Outdoors contributor Aislinn Sarnacki.
The mysterious “Hermit of Monson” may have smuggled opium out of Maine in the 1920s. Nobody in town truly knew where Jim Whyte came from or why he chose to retreat into in the Maine wilderness at the start of the 20th century.
How to turn your hunting trophies into European mounts. The concept of a European mount is a simple one, but it requires care and attention to detail. It’s one more way to enjoy the hunting season.