1. In a swift move by authorities to keep tension from boiling over, the U.S. Justice Department launched a civil rights investigation Wednesday into the video-recorded killing of a black man, Alton Sterling, who was shot as he scuffled with two white police officers on the pavement outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, LA. The shooting in the Louisiana capital — and the shocking cellphone footage that soon found its way all over the Internet — set off angry protests in the city’s black community and brought calls for an outside investigation. (PH)
2. Sunny weather and the growing popularity of day trips to Peaks and other islands are pushing up traffic at Casco Bay Lines, and the ferry service was overwhelmed over the July Fourth weekend with what it says was an unprecedented number of people trying to get to Peaks Island. Nearly 2,000 people rode ferries to the island during one three-hour period Sunday. Because the ferry can only hold 399 people, a second boat was used, but that didn’t stop a line from extending 500 yards from the landing. (PH)
3. Portland’s Allagash Brewing Company now has a beer not just brewed in Maine but grown in Maine, too. Allagash sees Sixteen Counties as a tribute to the Maine agriculture industry, in many cases opening up new avenues for farmers to sell their grains. Allagash plans to brew Sixteen Counties year-round. (WMTW)
4. Dwyane Wade is headed home to Chicago. Yahoo! Sports reports that the free agent guard is leaving the Miami Heat after 13 years for a two-year, $47.5 million deal with the Chicago Bulls. (Yahoo)
5. Snapchat is introducing a new feature called memories, which allows you to save photos you take in the app and share them again later. Memories, which will begin to roll out to Snapchatters over the next month, lets you create a searchable collection of your saved snaps within the app that you can share later. It will also allow you to share photos and videos taken outside of the app itself. (Mashable)
Made Hot in Maine by Neil’s Motors on Rt. 111 in Biddeford.
