BEIRUT (AP) — In dozens of tanks and armored vehicles, Syrian troops stormed rebellious areas near the capital Sunday, shelling neighborhoods that have fallen under the control of army dissidents and clashing with fighters. At least 62 people were killed in violence nationwide, activists and residents said. The widescale offensive near the capital suggested the […]

LOS ANGELES Christopher Plummer of the father- son tale “ Beginners” and Octavia Spencer of the Deep South drama “The Help” won supporting-acting honors at Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, firming up their Academy Awards prospects next month. Plummer, who won for his role as an elderly dad who comes out as gay after his […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is preparing to begin talks with Iraq on defining a long-term defense relationship that may include expanded U.S. training help, according to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s chief policy aide. Michele Flournoy, who is leaving her Pentagon post on Friday to return to private life, said in an interview with […]

WASHINGTON ( AP) — Aiming tax increases at millionaires and companies that ship jobs abroad may help frame the fairness theme of President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign, but it’s a plan that stands virtually no chance of passing Congress. Republicans have enough votes in the GOP-run House, and almost certainly in the Democratic-controlled Senate, to […]

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Mitt Romney isn’t taking any chances. A day before voting begins in Florida’s Republican primary, Romney is running ahead of rival Newt Gingrich in polls. The former Massachusetts governor earned positive reviews during two debates. And Romney has put the former House speaker on the defensive over ethics and Freddie […]

GAINESVILLE, Fla. Authorities in Florida were trying to determine today what caused the horrific pileup on Interstate 75 south of Gainesville, where a long line of cars and trucks collided one after another on a dark highway so shrouded in haze and smoke that drivers were blinded. At least 10 were killed in the early […]

LUBEC (AP) — The Coast Guard is holding a pair of meetings this week to hear from mariners about a tidal energy proposal in Cobscook Bay at Maine’s eastern tip. Ocean Renewable Power Co. has proposed using five turbine generator units for its Cobscook Bay Tidal Energy Project. A permit for the pilot project is […]

JAY (AP) — A Jay man has been charged with stealing an arsenal of 22 guns as well as a bottle of rum and a laptop computer from another home in town. Police say 33-year-old Roger Briscoe was arrested within 12 hours of the theft on Friday, in which a chainsaw and a bucket of […]

FARMINGTON ( AP) — A Maine professor is taking the editorial reins of an academic journal devoted to author Henry David Thoreau. Kristen Case at the University of Maine at Farmington has been named editor of the Concord Saunterer, an annual professional journal of The Thoreau Society. Thoreau, who lived from 1817 to 1862, is […]

AUGUSTA (AP) — Maine park officials say they’ll accept reservations for one of the state’s most popular campgrounds, Sebago Lake State Park, later this week. The Bureau of Parks and Lands reservation system will be open for Sebago reservations only on Wednesday, Feb. 1, and for all state park campgrounds at 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. […]