Maine State News From The Associated Press 3-4-21

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MAINE

Maine: Collins boosts diaper act; Moxie fest canceled again

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Sen. Susan Collins has joined a bipartisan push to provide millions of dollars in emergency money to help get diapers to families during the coronavirus pandemic. Collins, a Maine Republican, joined a coalition that wants to pass the COVID-19 Diaper Assistance Act. The proposal would provide $200 million for diaper assistance. Collins says the pandemic has created “unprecedented demand” for services from diaper banks. She says even before the pandemic, the banks were able to meet only about 5% of diaper needs. Also in Maine, the Moxie festival has been canceled for a second straight year.

JACKSON LAB RESEARCHER-INVESTIGATION

Researcher under federal investigation for Chinese ties

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A former scientist at The Jackson Laboratory in Farmington, Connecticut, is being investigated by the FBI for failing to disclose financial affiliations with Chinese research institutions when requesting grant funding from the U.S. government. According to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court in Bangor, Yijun Ruan was listed as the primary investigator on 17 Jackson Lab research projects that received over $15 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health from 2014 through 2020. Bangor Daily News reports that the FBI has asked for court approval to electronically search Ruan’s email for more information about his contractional ties to Chinese research organizations.

HIGH WINDS

Powerful gusts responsible for bizarre injury in Maine

SIDNEY, Maine (AP) — Powerful gusts that knocked out power for tens of thousands of homes and business are responsible for a bizarre injury in Maine. The Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office says a woman was critically injured Tuesday when a tree fell on a moving vehicle, driving a tree limb through the dashboard and windshield and impaling her. Her husband was driving when the tree snapped and fell on their vehicle. She remained hospitalized Wednesday in fair condition at Maine General hospital in Augusta. The storm wreaked havoc across the region, causing a power line to fall on a bus and destroying a tent for a vaccination clinic in New Hampshire and causing a pileup of more than a dozen vehicles in northern Maine.