PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — The owners of a Plymouth, Mass., furniture warehouse want to know the origin of a chunk of metal that apparently plunged through the roof. No one was hurt when the six- inch long, cylindrical piece of metal weighing about five pounds came through the roof over a storage closet Wednesday or […]

BANGKOK ( AP) — Exile media outlets say the Shan ethnic rebel group has signed a low-level cease-fire with the government in Myanmar. The Irrawaddy website reported the Shan State Army-South signed an agreement today with Myanmar’s official Shan State government. The rebel group was one of the biggest not to previously sign a cease-fire […]

Cain confers with wife, ponders future COLUMBIA, S. C. ( AP) — Set to meet with his wife for the first time since a woman came forward claiming she had a 13- year extramarital affair with him, Herman Cain is preparing for one last campaign stop before he decides whether to press forward with his […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than two and a half years, as employers stepped up hiring in response to the slowly improving economy. The Labor Department said today that the unemployment rate dropped sharply to 8.6 percent last month, down from 9 percent in […]

SANAA, Yemen ( AP) — Yemeni government troops have shelled residential areas in the restive southern city of Taiz for a fourth straight day, killing three people there today, residents said. The residents said the latest shelling came from army tanks positioned on mountains and hills around Taiz, Yemen’s second-largest city and a hotbed of […]

PORTLAND (AP) — A Portland man convicted in the shooting death of his roommate has been sentenced to 38 years in prison. Daudoit Butsitsi was accused of ambushing Serge Mulongo on the night of Feb. 10, 2010, in a revenge killing. Earlier in the day, the two had fought in their apartment and Mulongo later […]

Washington County judge sanctioned BANGOR (AP) — A Washington County probate judge has been sanctioned by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court for not dealing with cases fast enough. Judge Lyman L. Holmes was ordered by justices on Thursday to provide a list of cases taken under advisement for more than 30 days to the executive […]

PORTLAND (AP) — Portland’s Public Safety Committee has unanimously recommended that the City Council reject OccupyMaine’s request for a permit to remain camped in a city park. The 3-0 vote came Thursday night after a five-hour meeting that included more than two hours of public testimony. The council will vote on the permit at a […]

BREWER (AP) — A Holden man has been charged with pulling a gun on another man in a dispute that began over Silly String. Police say 21- year- old Michael Bragdon was arrested Wednesday as he drove out of a supermarket parking lot in Brewer shortly after the confrontation. He was charged with criminal threatening […]

BANGOR A national report released Thursday says Maine is making considerable progress on a project that at first glance might seem like a load of information technology mumbo jumbo. But education officials say the fledgling system will soon prove invaluable for tracking student progress from kindergarten all the way into the work force. Bill Hurwitch […]