‘Incredible’: Photographer describes images of auroras over Maine

A series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the sun are creating dazzling auroras across the globe. Photographer Benjamin Williamson shares the vibrant pictures he captured in Maine.

An American woman dubbed the “Queen of the Con” is facing extradition to the UK to stand trial for what is said to be one of many alleged fraud schemes carried out over decades. Marianne ‘Mair’ Smyth, 54, previously served time in California after she was found to have scammed a TV producer out of nearly $100,000. The victim, Johnathan Walton, launched a podcast, “Queen of the Con: The Irish Heiress,” in which he sought to warn others of her exploits. He told stories of Smyth posing as Jennifer Aniston, an NHL coach, and a cancer patient, per the Guardian. He also claimed Smyth had convinced five people to hand over $172,000 while working as a mortgage adviser in Northern Ireland around 2009.

Smyth was to invest the money, but allegedly kept it for herself, per NBC News. Just before she was to be arrested, she fled—but only after killing a bunch of dogs that were living with her, according to a podcast interview with Smyth’s daughter, per the Guardian. Walton met Smyth years later in Los Angeles. He said he gave her $100,000, which she claimed she needed to secure an inheritance worth millions. He later learned she’d pleaded guilty in 2016 to stealing $200,000 from a travel agency that employed her. In Walton’s case, she was convicted of grand theft by false pretense and handed a five-year prison sentence in 2019. She was freed in December 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Walton’s podcast came out less than a year later.

A podcast listener reportedly informed Walton that Smyth was now residing in Bingham, Maine. Walton relayed the information to police in Northern Ireland, who worked with US authorities to secure Smyth’s Feb. 23 arrest. Prosecutors have alleged Smyth was continuing to scam people, this time posing as a satanic high priestess, per the Guardian. The AP compares her to infamous fake heiress Anna Sorokin of Netflix fame. US Magistrate Judge John Nivison on Thursday approved her extradition to Northern Ireland to face fraud and theft charges, which could result in decades in prison. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has the final say on the extradition. In the meantime, Smyth remains held in Piscataquis County Jail. (More fraud stories.)

A Maine resident received two “misdelivered” packages containing nearly 30 pounds of fentanyl worth $2 million, authorities announced this week.

The package is from California and was mailed to Winslow, Maine, about 75 miles northeast of Portland, the Winslow Police Department said in a news release Wednesday.

Someone called police about the package on May 3, police said. 

“The resident had not ordered anything nor was any delivery expected,” police said.

The package contained bags of pills that “tested presumptively positive for fentanyl,” a potent synthetic opioid, police said.

A second package containing pills was delivered the following day, on May 4.

The pills weigh 29½ pounds, police said.

Winslow police did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s requests for more information.

What is fentanyl?

Fentanyl has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for pain relief and as an anesthetic. It is about 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin as an analgesic, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

A fentanyl overdose can cause respiratory failure leading to death, the DEA said.

Deaths involving synthetic opioids such as fentanyl rose to 70,601 in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.