Maine
Trump won. Here are 3 Biden priorities under scrutiny
President-elect Donald Trump said during his campaign that he wants to roll back a number of policies championed by his soon-to-be predecessor in the White House.
Ahead of the election, the Biden White House tried to “Trump-proof” some of its key priorities. Here’s a look at three of them.
Protecting the civil service
Trump has long railed against what he calls the “deep state” — opposition to his plans from within the civil service.
In the final weeks of his first term, Trump issued an executive order creating a new class of federal workers known as Schedule F who would be exempt from the United States’ traditional merit-based civil service program. The Biden administration saw this as a blatant attempt to politicize and dismantle the traditional nonpartisan federal workforce.
President Biden rescinded that executive order in his first week on the job. The Office of Personnel Management — the government’s human resources department — issued a final rule in April to further solidify job protections and make it more difficult to overhaul the federal workforce for ideological reasons.
Then-OPM Director Kiran Ahuja said the new rule would help “ensure that people are hired and fired based on merit and that they can carry out their duties based on their expertise and not political loyalty.”
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An OPM official speaking on the condition of anonymity ahead of the November election told NPR that they believe the current regulation is “extremely strong” and that any effort to repeal it would have to go through multiple steps.
Once a rule is on the books, it can’t just be changed via executive order, so the new Trump administration would have to propose a new rule — a long and somewhat tedious regulatory process that could take months or even years.
“They would have to put it out for public comment, and they then would have to issue a final rule that survived judicial scrutiny, because it would almost certainly be challenged,” said Howard Shelanski, who was the head of the federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Obama administration.
“I actually think it would take a fair bit of luck for a Trump administration to actually rescind the rule and get that affirmed by a court within the one presidential term he would have,” said Shelanski. “But it’s certainly possible.”
Climate measures in the Inflation Reduction Act
Trump has threatened to gut the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate legislation passed by Democrats in 2022 that contains the largest federal clean energy investment in U.S. history.
The law includes more than $300 billion in spending to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and spur investments in clean energy. As part of that package, it offers tax breaks for consumers and subsidies for manufacturing.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has already talked about trying to rescind elements of the law.
Particularly vulnerable are tax credits for people who want to purchase electric vehicles and incentives to build electric-charging infrastructure.
“Trump has a weird obsession with those two policies,” said Josh Freed, senior vice president of climate and energy at the left-leaning think tank Third Way.
“And there’s an enormous tax bill that will be negotiated in 2025 that would give a Trump administration a pathway to do just that,” Freed said in an interview.
But the Biden administration believes that the Inflation Reduction Act has spurred investments in manufacturing projects in a large number of Republican congressional districts — and influential private companies have already built the tax credits into their business plans. That could make rollbacks politically unpopular, a senior administration official told NPR, speaking on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly ahead of the election.
A group of House Republicans underscored these points in a letter to Johnson, the House speaker, a few months ago. “Prematurely repealing energy tax credits, particularly those which were used to justify investments that already broke ground, would undermine private investments and stop development that is already ongoing,” they wrote.
Military and economic support for Ukraine
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the White House quickly came to Ukraine’s aid. Biden repeatedly said that U.S. support for Ukraine would not waver.
Congress approved more than $112 billion in support for Ukraine during that year. But when that money ran out, Biden had to fight for months to get another $61 billion package across the finish line as Republicans balked.
Trump, who has long campaigned on the idea of American isolationism, has criticized the scale of this financial support. He has not explicitly said he would cut off all aid, but he has called for an end to the war and has suggested that there would be changes when he takes office.
Over the last several months, knowing the election would create uncertainty about support for Ukraine, the Biden White House took a series of steps.
This summer, NATO took on a larger role in coordinating military support and training for Ukraine — an effort that previously had largely been spearheaded by the United States. Then, in September, Biden announced that he would ensure all remaining funds for Ukraine would be allocated by the end of his term, leaving no money for the next president’s discretion. And a month later, the G7 announced a new plan to provide additional support for Ukraine — a $50 billion loan. The United States plans to provide $20 billion of that total, getting the money out the door beginning in December, ahead of Inauguration Day.
The loan would be paid back with interest earned on frozen Russian sovereign assets. “In other words,” Biden said in a statement, “Ukraine can receive the assistance it needs now, without burdening taxpayers.”
The situation on the battlefield might also look different by the time Trump takes the oath of office, said Elizabeth Hoffman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“A big question in my mind is: Will the Biden administration, before they leave, authorize any kind of deeper strikes into Russia? That could really make a difference, too,” Hoffman said.
Copyright 2024 NPR
Maine
Beware of these proliferating Maine rental scams
Housing
This section of the BDN aims to help readers understand Maine’s housing crisis, the volatile real estate market and the public policy behind them. Read more Housing coverage here.
A unicorn apartment was listed in the pricey city of Ellsworth: a 2-bedroom with all utilities included for just $700 per month.
If that sounds too good to be true, it is, and the scam was not hard to detect.
The unit was posted by an anonymous Facebook user in a local forum without a specific address. A palm tree was faintly visible through the front door in one photo. When a reporter inquired about the post, someone used a Montana company’s name and sent a link to apply for a private showing in exchange for a $70 deposit.
A quick call to the Montana company, which deals only in home sales in that state, is not behind the scam listing. A representative said the agency gets daily calls from Facebook users around the nation telling them scammers are impersonating them.
These kinds of apartment listing scams, often seen on Facebook or Craigslist, have picked up steam in recent years as the nation’s housing crisis deepens and more have become desperate for affordable places to live. The scams often promise below-market rents in cities squeezed for that kind of inventory, meaning the fraudsters target those who are most vulnerable.
“Rental scams in a very tight market are very prevalent,” Phil Chin, a lead volunteer with AARP Maine’s fraud watch network, said. “People under the pressure of income are trying to get the best for a lower price, and seniors are always at disadvantage only because they don’t have the wherewithal to do all this checking around.”
These kinds of scams are “unconscionable” for targeting families looking for affordable housing, Attorney General Aaron Frey said in a statement. His office has received multiple complaints on the issue.
Many of the advertised units do not exist, the Federal Trade Commission wrote in an advisory. Some exist but are not for rent. One Maine homeowner recently discovered that his house was for rent on Craigslist without his knowledge, said Christopher Taub, Frey’s deputy. The ad included photos and almost got one renter to send money to a Nigerian email address.
“Fortunately, the shopper contacted the Maine homeowner and discovered the scam before sending any funds to the scam artist,” Taub said. “Other consumers haven’t been so lucky only to arrive at their paid vacation home for the week or new apartment to find out that it isn’t for rent at all.”
Often, Facebook users are wise to these scams and will comment that they appear to be one. But Facebook allows any poster to restrict their comments, allowing many fraudulent listings to go unchecked. Neither Craigslist nor Meta, Facebook’s parent company, responded to a request for comment on scam apartment listings.
To avoid being scammed, it’s important to confirm the person listing an apartment is legitimate or from a known and trusted business before sending them money, Taub said. Call the property management company and ask lots of questions or visit it yourself, the office advised.
The Federal Trade Commission recommends searching online for the rental location’s address and the name of the property owner. If the two don’t match, that’s a red flag. If there’s no address listed at all, like the Ellsworth unit, that’s another sign of a scam.
Though Maine landlords are allowed to charge application fees, it can only be for specific reasons including a background check, a credit check or some other screening process, according to Pine Tree Legal Assistance. Frey warns against paying any such fees by cash, wiring money, sending gift cards or paying by cryptocurrency, as you can’t get that money back.
“It’s a hard one to deal with. People are under income pressure,” said Chin of AARP Maine. “They have to be vigilant on their own, … but it’s hard to keep your wits about you when you’re facing eviction.”
Maine
Vendors prep for Maine Harvest Festival & Craft Show this weekend
BANGOR, Maine (WABI) – You don’t need to be a farmer to enjoy Maine’s harvest this weekend!
Maine Harvest Festival & Craft Show is returning to Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center both Saturday and Sunday.
Open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, there will be over 80 local artisans, farmers and crafters selling a wide variety of goods, making it a perfect stop for Christmas gifts or Thanksgiving additions!
WABI got a glimpse into the Cross Insurance Center Friday as vendors prepped their booths ahead of the weekend.
New this year: admission is free!
Organizers say it is in response to low admission numbers post-COVID and to incentivize as many people as possible to come shop local.
“At the Cross Center, we really want to celebrate our community, and we want to make sure we give people, our local vendors a spotlight to reach the community,” says Brad LaBree, Cross Insurance Center’s Director of Sales and Marketing.
The event will also give attendees a chance to participate in the Cross Insurance Center’s ticket giveaway to upcoming shows a part of their Broadway series.
LaBree says Cross Insurance Center is expecting about a 5,000-person turnout this weekend.
Copyright 2024 WABI. All rights reserved.
Maine
Maine LifeFlight helicopters disrupted by laser strike
A LifeFlight crew was disrupted by a laser last week while flying back to their base in Sanford.
The light was pointed at the helicopter, which was flying at about 2,000 feet in the air around 7:45 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11, according to LifeFlight of Maine, a nonprofit that provides emergency medical transportation. While the pilot was able to fly back safely, those flashes of light can temporarily blind the crew, who are often wearing night vision goggles, the company said.
The Federal Aviation Administration has monitored thousands of nationwide laser strikes, where someone points the beam at an aircraft. As of Sept. 30, a total of 8,863 incidents were reported to the agency, 24 of which happened in Maine. In 2023, the nationwide total was 13,304.
This is the fourth laser strike reported by a Maine LifeFlight pilot in two years, the company said.
Pointing a laser at aircraft is a federal crime, punishable by a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. And according to Maine law, pointing a laser at a uniformed law enforcement officer or injuring another person with a laser is a Class D crime.
This story will be updated.
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