1. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, donated to help Portland’s asylum seeker emergency, is about to be put to work. Since June, the city has raised nearly $1 million for asylum seekers. The finance committee decided to put $870,000 of donations to the social services budget to benefit immigrants in need of assistance. City Manager Jon Jennings says that will help city staff focus on finding asylum seekers permanent housing all over the state. (WGME)
2. The Boston Celtics announced Thursday that they have reached an agreement to purchase the Maine Red Claws, reflecting a trend that has seen NBA teams buy their minor league affiliates. The teams have been affiliated since the Red Claws’ inaugural season in 2009 and in 2012, the Celtics became the team’s sole affiliate, assuming control of all basketball operations while the Red Claws maintained the business side, which will continue with this deal. Portland City Manager Jon Jennings said the sale is a good step in the relationship between the Celtics and the city. (Press Herald)
3. A new study has found that being obese may accelerate brain aging. For the study, researchers measured the body mass index (BMI) and waistlines of nearly 1,300 people with an average age of 64. About a quarter of the participants had a BMI of 30 or higher, which is considered obese, and about half were overweight with a BMI between 25 and 30. The results indicated that “being overweight or obese may accelerate aging in the brain by at least a decade.” (UPI)
4. The presidential seal projected behind President Trump during a speech on Tuesday was doctored to feature a two-headed eagle and a set of golf clubs. The two-headed eagle was presumably meant as a reference to Russia’s coat of arms. Trump was speaking at a student summit hosted by the conservative group Turning Point. “Someone is going to be getting in trouble, but they got one heck of a good laugh out of it,” said George W. Bush’s former ethics lawyer. (Washington Post)
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