GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip ( AP) — Israeli airstrikes killed two Palestinian militants and a schoolboy in the Gaza Strip today as Palestinian rocket squads barraged southern Israel in escalating fighting that has defied international truce efforts. The cross-border violence, touched off by Israel’s killing of a top militant leader on Friday, has been the […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The decade- long war in Afghanistan has spiraled into a series of U.S. missteps and violent outbreaks that have left few ardent political supporters. After NATO detained a U.S. soldier Sunday for allegedly killing sleeping Afghan villagers, Republicans and Democrats alike pointed to the stress on troops after years of fighting and […]

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban vowed revenge today after at least one American soldier shot to death 16 civilians in southern Afghanistan and burned their bodies, an attack that has fueled anger still simmering after U. S. troops burned Qurans last month. U. S.- led forces in Afghanistan have stepped up security following the […]

AUGUSTA ( AP) — There were more than 1,200 public employees in Maine who collected a salary and a state pension at the same time last year. Ten of those so-called double dippers earned an average of $ 168,000 each last year according to data from the Maine Public Employees Retirement System shows. Seven were […]

AUGUSTA — A popular U.S. senator considered a cinch for re-election shocks Maine’s political establishment by deciding not to run. Overnight, state officeholders, past politicians and a number of newcomers seeing a better-than-ever chance to get elected jump into the fray. Congressional primaries take odd shapes as contestants leap from one race to the other, and […]

BRUNSWICK — Nautical historian and musician Charlie Ipcar will speak about “Steamboating on the Sasanoa-Bath to Boothbay” on Tuesday at Curtis Memorial Library. Ipcar’s free presentation is part of Friends of Merrymeeting Bay’s (FOMB) 15th annual Winter Speaker series. “Even before Maine became ‘Vacationland,’ Boothbay Harbor was a place known for the restorative powers of its […]

BRUNSWICK — A 20-year-old Brunswick man has been indicted for gross sexual assault in a case involving a 13-year-old Topsham girl. Brady Chase, 20, of Brunswick, was 18 in 2010 when he allegedly met the girl through Facebook or Skype, according to Detective Martin Rinaldi of the Brunswick Police Department, who investigated the incident. Chase allegedly […]

DURHAM — Usually when Durham Fire and Rescue personnel respond to calls involving falls through the ice, they expect to be rescuing humans. But volunteer rescuers proved ready to help a fourlegged friend Friday when they were dispatched to Meadow Road shortly before noon to deal with a dog that fell through ice. The department’s public […]

Arrest Tylor S. West, 23, of Bath, Feb. 26, charged with operating under the influence, operating while license suspended or revoked, and failure to give correct name, address or date of birth, on Calls Hill Road, Dresden. Summons Female juvenile, 16, of Wiscasset, Feb. 25, charged with consuming liquor as a minor, on Back River […]

BRUNSWICK — A two-vehicle crash Friday afternoon on Bath Road sent one of the drivers to Mid Coast Hospital. Brunswick police and rescue workers responded just before 4: 30 p. m. Friday to the intersection of Bath Road and Pine Street, where a 2000 Volvo traveling west on Bath Road had just struck a 2007 Chevrolet […]