Emily Vanek is not buying up a bunch of LeapPad Explorers herself, but she may be at least partly to blame for some stores selling out of the $99 children’s tablet this holiday season. “The LeapPad is incredible,” the Denver mother of three boys wrote to the 6,000 readers of her Colorado- Moms.com blog. “Not […]

Crowd of mourners gather for Kim Jong Il PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Tens of thousands of mourners packed Pyongyang’s snowy main square today to pay respects to late leader Kim Jong Il as North Korea tightened security in cities and won loyalty pledges from top generals for Kim’s son and anointed heir. Women held […]

OSKALOOSA, Iowa (AP) — The slugfest between Republican presidential frontrunners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich is escalating, as the two sparred from a distance with attack ads that have come to dominate the volatile contest. The rift underscores the contrasting campaign styles of the two men as they ready their final pitches to voters in […]

WASHINGTON ( AP) — Stuck in a stalemate, President Barack Obama and his Republican rivals are slugging it out in Washington rather than reaching for a holiday season accord to prevent payroll taxes from going up on 160 million workers. The tax increases, as well as cuts to Medicare doctors’ fees and a lapse in […]

Job training program graduates first class LEWISTON (AP) — Maine Labor Commissioner Robert Winglass will present certificates to the first class of graduates from a new work force training program this week. The Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership program is funded by the state Department of Labor and Unity Foundation. The graduation ceremony will be held […]

WATERVILLE As the FBI stepped up its efforts to find a 20- month- old girl who disappeared from her father’s home over the weekend, investigators combed through trash bins, drained a stream and pored over more than 100 leads offered by the public. Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey refused to speculate Tuesday on whether Ayla […]

BRUNSWICK Paul Perzanoski, Brunswick School Department Superintendent, is back to work after a brief hospitalization last week. Explaining Perzanoski’s absence from a School Board meeting last Wednesday, board chair Corinne Perreault said Perzanoski was admitted after a “ health scare” to “ make sure that everything is OK.” Assistant Superintendent Gregory Bartlett said in an […]

BATH A 25-year-old Bath woman was charged with domestic violence assault after her husband told police she “headbutted” him early Monday morning. Bath police responded just before 4 a.m. Monday to the Shaw’s supermarket parking lot, where the man told police of the alleged incident, Bath Police Lt. Stan Cielinski said Tuesday. The man was […]

BRUNSWICK A 54- year- old Topsham woman was taken to Mid Coast Hospital early Tuesday after driving into a utility pole on Pleasant Street. Anita Frye, 54, of 16 Augusta Road, Topsham, told police she pressed the gas instead of the break and ran off Pleasant Street near Union Street into the pole, Deputy Chief […]

BRUNSWICK — The following grand jury indictments involving local individuals or incidents were reported Dec. 8 by the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office. Kevin Brown, 28, of Pownal, on a Class C count of aggravated operating under the influence after habitual offender revocation and a Class D count of criminal operating under the influence, for […]