Northeast
Maine targets Second Amendment with several gun safety bills after deadliest shooting in state's history
Maine has the Second Amendment in its crosshairs as the state Legislature is set to pass bills impacting the rights of gun-owning residents.
The Democratic-controlled House followed the Senate on Monday in approving the governor’s omnibus gun safety bill that strengthens the state’s yellow flag law, boosts background checks for private sales of guns and makes it a crime to recklessly sell a gun to a prohibited person.
The House will also consider two separate bills approved by the Senate that lengthen waiting periods for gun purchases and a ban on bump stocks.
The series of gun safety bills were introduced after a shooting spree at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston left 18 victims dead and injured more than a dozen others.
MAINE SHOOTING: LEWISTON POLICE WERE WARNED ABOUT ROBERT CARD WEEKS BEFORE MASSACRE
The Legislature adjourns Wednesday, but Democrats in the chamber are hoping to pass the bills before it does, so they can send them to the desk of Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat.
The bicameral Legislature is made up of the Senate, with 22 Democrats and 13 Republicans, and the House, which has 80 Democratic members and 68 Republicans.
Despite Democrats holding majorities, their effort is not immune to resistance as the state has a strong hunting tradition and vocal advocates for gun owner rights.
One bill that failed was a proposal to let gun violence victims sue weapon manufacturers.
So far, neither chamber has voted on a proposal for a red flag law.
MAINE AUTHORITIES THOUGHT CONFRONTING ROBERT CARD WOULD INFLAME SITUATION IN WEEKS BEFORE SHOOTING: VIDEO
And, a separate measure sponsored by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross to fund a range of mental health and violence prevention initiatives does not yet have money in the final budget.
The Oct. 25, 2023 shooting that killed 18 people and injured 13 others in Lewiston prompted lawmakers to act. They specifically argued that constituents were demanding they do something that could prevent future attacks.
MAINE COLLEGE STUDENT FOUND DEAD AS AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATE CAUSE
One initiative, the red flag proposal, would allow family members to petition a judge to remove guns from someone’s home. The proposal differs from the state’s current yellow flag law that puts law enforcement officers — not the individual’s parents, siblings or children — in the lead of the process.
The initiative was proposed as police were warned by family members of the shooter, an Army reservist who took his own life after the deadly rampage.
Family members warned the eventual shooter was becoming paranoid and losing his grip on reality before the attack. He was hospitalized last summer while training with his Army Reserve unit.
On Sept. 15, his best friend, a fellow reservist, warned that the man was going “to snap and do a mass shooting.”
Six weeks later, he carried out the deadliest shooting in Maine history.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Northeast
NYPD crushes anti-American mob on NYC campuses as mayor blasts 'despicable' school environment
New York City Mayor Eric Adams lauded the NYPD on Wednesday after officers swept through anti-American and anti-Israel mobs at two major college campuses overnight, locking up hundreds of agitators.
He then ripped into the “despicable” academic environment that allowed the groups to fester.
He singled out an incident when NYPD officers tore down a Palestinian flag that protesters had raised in place of the Stars and Stripes, praising officers for putting their lives on the line and noting his own uncle had died defending American values.
“My uncle died defending this country, and these men and women put their lives on the line – and it’s despicable that schools will allow another country’s flag to fly in our country,” Adams, a former NYPD captain, told reporters. “So blame me for being proud to be an American, and, I think, Commissioner Daughtry for putting that flag back up. We’re not surrendering our way of life to anyone.”
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LOCKS DOWN CAMPUS BUILDING FOLLOWING OVERNIGHT MUTINTY: ‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’
“…[I]t’s despicable that schools will allow another country’s flag to fly in our country.”
New York City’s law enforcement leaders delivered an update Wednesday morning, hours after sweeping through the historic Hamilton Hall at Columbia University and clearing out a group of anti-Israel agitators who had “occupied” the building as part of their ongoing demonstrations.
Adams warned that a global movement to “radicalize young people” is being led by individuals who are “not affiliated with the university” but nevertheless recruited students to “create chaos.”
WATCH: NYPD reraises American flag at CCNY after removing Palestinian flag
“There is a movement to radicalize young people, and I’m not going to wait until it’s done and all of a sudden acknowledge the existence of it,” he told reporters Wednesday morning. “This is a global problem that young are being influenced by those who are professionals and radicalizing our children. And I’m not going to allow that to happen. As the mayor of the city of New York.”
COLUMBIA STUDENT DESCRIBES CAMPUS FEAR, ANTI-ISRAEL SIGNS SUPPORTING TERROSISTS WHO ‘PUT BABIES IN AN OVEN’
Police finally stormed the structure after school administrators repeatedly retreated from enforcing deadlines demanding the groups dismantle their campus encampment over the past two weeks. Columbia University officials finally threatened the group with expulsion after students smashed their way into the school’s Hamilton Hall and “occupied” the building.
“There’s nothing peaceful about barricading buildings, destroying property or dismantling security cameras,” Adams said.
His remarks came after university officials finally asked police for support as campus demonstrations grew increasingly unruly.
“This may be the most memorable moment in a mayoralty that has thus far not been very memorable,” said Paul Mauro, a former NYPD inspector, who warned that the bravado may be a way for city leaders to soften the consequences for students involved in the chaos.
“I want to see the numbers. They’re not all outside agitators. New York looked good the way it was handled by the NYPD… now though I see the meme developing that these are just kids led astray and that’s gonna be an excuse for them to go soft on these kids. These are not children – these are adults who are in one of the most prestigious institutions in the country and are our future leaders.”
Police arrested about 300 people at Columbia and at City College overnight.
SPEAKER JOHNSON CALLS OUT CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM AS COLUMBIA’S ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS SHOUT AT, HECKLE HIM
“Students occupying the building face expulsion,” school spokesman Ben Chang declared in bold letters in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
The blunt warning came about 12 hours after photos showed a mob of masked and keffiyah-clad demonstrators broke into the building, barricaded the doors and took it over.
Protesters have chosen to escalate to an untenable situation – vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances – and we are following through with the consequences we outlined yesterday.
“The work of the University cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules,” Chang said.
“Continuing to do so will be met with clear consequences. Protesters have chosen to escalate to an untenable situation – vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances – and we are following through with the consequences we outlined yesterday.”
COLUMBIA STUDENT DESCRIBES CAMPUS FEAR, ANTI-ISRAEL SIGNS SUPPORTING TERRORISTS WHO ‘PUT BABIES IN AN OVEN’
Outside the occupied building, a group of like-minded activists linked arms and demanded the university bend to their requests that it divest from Israel-related companies and promise not to punish students involved in the demonstrations.
Critics have widely condemned the controversial encampments, which have cropped up at Columbia and other major university campuses, as an antisemitic display that threatens the safety of their Jewish classmates.
The school said it had already begun issuing suspensions and that seniors singled out for that punishment will not graduate on time.
“This is about responding to the actions of the protesters, not their cause,” Chang said. “As we said yesterday, disruptions on campus have created a threatening environment for many of our Jewish students and faculty and a noisy distraction that interferes with teaching, learning, and preparing for final exams, and contributes to a hostile environment in violation of Title VI.”
Earlier on Tuesday, university officials declared a lockdown as a result of the Hamilton Hall break-in.
The NYPD later revealed video evidence that “professional” protesters were on the scene, egging on the students.
Supporters of Students for Justice in Palestine, one of the groups organizing the national anti-Israel demonstrations, insist they are carrying out peaceful protests.
However, Jewish students at Columbia and elsewhere tell Fox News Digital they are facing harassment, discrimination and physical threats.
COLUMBIA STUDENT SUSPENDED AFTER ALLEGED ‘FART SPRAY’ ATTACK DURING PRO-PALESTINIAN RALLY SUES SCHOOL
One student, who asked to be identified only with his first name, Josh, due to fears for his safety, told Fox News Digital that he could hear the protesters chanting anti-Israel slogans and beating drums well into the night.
“The scariest thing I want to emphasize is that we’ve had no idea who has been in these camps,” he said. “I’ve watched, while walking home at night, people climbing over the fence, smuggling stuff in through side doors.” He said some of the people he saw resembled a student he believed had been suspended in connection with the demonstrations.
ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS AT COLUMBIA ISSUE DEFIANT ULTIMATUM
He also played cellphone video taken over the weekend showing a group of anti-Israel agitators calling a pair of Jewish students “Zionists” and surrounding them because they were wearing Star of David necklaces.
Multiple people who said they were authorized to speak on behalf of the Columbia encampment declined to speak with Fox News Digital.
“I’ve had a friend who was beaten up,” said Itai Driefuss, a third-year Columbia undergrad and Israeli military veteran from Tel Aviv. “It’s scary. It’s violent.”
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched a surprise attack that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and saw more than 200 kidnapped and held hostage. Israel’s military response is still underway and has killed thousands.
Earlier this month, another Israeli military veteran who attends Columbia filed a lawsuit accusing the school of harshly punishing him for using “fart spray” on anti-Israel activists while turning a blind eye to their antisemitic rhetoric.
Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
Boston, MA
Boston Pops spotlights modern masters in new season
When Keith Lockhart became the Boston Pops conductor in 1995, the orchestra had a pretty obvious fan base and repertoire.
“When I came in, sales at the Boston Pops were over 60 percent group sales,” Lockhart told the Herald. “A lot of (the sales) were 50 people at a time from the Rotary Club in Gilford, New Hampshire.”
Now, to be clear, Lockhart would love for 50 people from the Rotary Club, any Rotary Club, to come see something on the 2024 calendar, which starts May 10. But he’s happy the Pops now reaches a wide-ranging audience with wide-ranging tastes.
“If you looked at who was in the audience and what they were expecting to hear in 1995-96 and now, without looking at the incremental steps over time, the differences are flabbergasting,” Lockhart said.
Maybe because today’s Pops defies expectations. Oh, sure, in every season there’s guaranteed to be nights devoted to Broadway, classic jazz, and blockbuster film scores. But even those standards have been tweaked.
The 2024 season’s Broadway program takes a look at modern masters with numbers exclusively from 21st-century Tony-winning musicals, including selections from “The Band’s Visit,” “Kimberly Akimbo,” “Hadestown,” “A Strange Loop,” and “Hamilton.” They’ll be lots of jazz but it will typically show up in surprising spots (Glenn Miller swing in “The Eyes of the World: From D-Day to V-E Day;” Branford Marsalis’ concerts exploring an overlap between jazz and classical). No “Star Wars” scores, but John Williams will be represented at a “Jurassic Park” night.
“I’m excited about a lot of things, Sutton Foster, Harry Connick Jr, and I’ve worked with them before and they are gold standard performers,” Lockhart said. “But I’m really excited about the ‘Eyes of the World’ program. I love that we are doing our first ever Pride Night concert with Thorgy Thor.”
Lockhart admits he’s not a big “RuPaul’s Drag Race” person, but he’s been wowed by drag queen Thor’s talent — “She’s just stunning, and you’d expect her to be fun and a little over the top, but on top of that she’s a really, really incredible violinist,” he said of the “Drag Race” alum.
All in all, the season is packed with the sublime and odd. There’s a in-concert film screening of “Encanto” with a live soundtrack. Marc Martel & One Vision of Queen join the orchestra for a symphonic blowout of the rock gods’ catalog. And the Gospel Night spectacular Grammy-winning a cappella group Take 6 ends the season.
“Some people want to be challenged, some people want to be entertained, so it’s amazing to me how much we’ve moved away from one-size-fits-all programming and toward something very bespoke,” Lockhart said. “Fortunately, the Pops is a flexible enough vehicle to encompass all these worlds. And I have to say, (these types of seasons) makes it more fun for us.” #
For tickets and details, visit bso.org.
Pittsburg, PA
Marshall Township house fire under control
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