A version of this story first appeared in the Morning Update newsletter. Sign up here to receive the Morning Update and other BDN newsletters directly in your inbox.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“If we don’t have a functioning appropriations process, that will hurt [Collins’] ability to direct funds to Maine and generally undercut Congress’ power and one of its most significant tools for pushing back against the executive branch.”

— Molly Reynolds, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, about how the Trump administration’s policies are affecting funds earmarked for states.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

Donald Trump and Elon Musk confound Susan Collins’ pledge to bring money to Maine. After Congress passed a bill to avoid a shutdown but cut state earmarks, Collins’ website got a subtle edit.

Potential cuts to MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program, threaten care for children and nursing home residents. “There’s no room to absorb additional costs” in Maine’s health care system, according to a health care executive. 

As Penobscot County’s HIV cases grow, attacks on prevention could worsen the outbreak. Maine lawmakers weigh a bill requiring one-for-one syringe exchanges as the Trump administration considers shutting down the CDC’s HIV prevention division.

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

MAINE IN PICTURES

Dave Bowman (right) and Hank Mcfarlin cheer for Cooper Flagg and the Blue Devils at Somerset Pour House in Palmyra where they watched Duke’s opening round on Friday. Credit: Linda Coan O'Kresik / BDN

For more photos tracking Flagg’s journey from Newport to the center of March Madness, don’t  miss our photo story. 

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

A person gazes out upon the sea smoke covering Portland Harbor from a perch in South Portland on Jan. 22, 2025. Sea smoke forms when frigid air mixes with a shallow layer of saturated warm air floating immediately above the ocean. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN

“Right now, what we need more than anything is to pause, listen, and care for each other, even when we disagree.”

Opinion: A call for understanding in a time of change

LIFE IN MAINE

UMaine’s newly crowned Hockey East champion men’s hockey team will open the 16-team NCAA Tournament on Friday as a No. 1 seed. The Black Bears were selected Sunday afternoon as the third-best team in the country and will take on No. 13 Penn State.

New Allagash Dash joins statewide downriver series. Dedicated to Allagash legend Tylor Kelly, the 15-mile race will be the first canoe race in the area for at least a decade, according to its organizers.

When hunting and fishing become celebrity spectacles. “Social media’s presence in the outdoor space has birthed a new era that is creeping ever-closer to threatening heritage, tradition, fair chase and ethics,” Outdoors contributor Chris Sargent writes.