1. President Trump is heading to New Hampshire today to present a plan to tackle the U.S. opioid crisis mid-afternoon. In a conference call with reporters Sunday, a senior white house official previewed the president’s remarks saying the White House plan will put tougher criminal penalties on drug traffickers. That includes seeking the death penalty for some convictions when “appropriate under the law.” (News Center Maine)
2. Conversion Therapy, a practice meant to turn gay people straight could be banned in Maine. Representative Ryan Fecteau is proposing a ban on painful or shame-inducing efforts to discourage an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Supporters of conversion therapy say the bill could infringe on parental rights and jeopardize the work of faith-based counselors. The bill still faces votes in the House and Senate within the next month. (News Center Maine)
3. United Airlines had its third pet-related mishap in a week on Thursday, following a puppy that died in an overhead bin and another dog that was accidentally sent to Japan. During a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to St Louis, Missouri, flight attendants realized there was a dog in the hold that didn’t belong there. The animal was supposed to be on a flight to Akron, Ohio. At least 33 passengers were on the flight that was then diverted to Akron to drop the animal off. United said the passengers received an undisclosed amount of compensation for the diversion. The airline also noted that it “chose the fastest option to reunite the dog with his family.” (Daily Mail)
4. The University of Maryland-Baltimore County became the first #16 seed to defeat a #1 seed in the history of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, doing so in decisive fashion Friday with a 74-54 victory over Virginia. The Retrievers’ bid for a spot in the Sweet 16 came up short against Kansas State on Sunday, however. Among other Cinderellas, 11th seed Loyola-Chicago advanced to the Sweet 16 with a dramatic win over third-seeded Tennessee on Saturday, while Nevada staged a miraculous comeback to topple second-seeded Cincinnati, battling back from 22 points down midway through the second half. North Carolina and Michigan State also succumbed to underdogs (Texas A&M and Syracuse, respectively) over the weekend, while top-seeded Xavier blew a comfortable second-half lead to lose to Florida State. The University of Maine Women’s Basketball team fell to second-seeded Texas 83-54 in the first round of the NCAA women’s Division I tournament Saturday night. (NCAA)
5. Guinness World Records has officially declared that a rainbow recorded near a university in Taiwan is the longest-lasting on record, clocking in at eight hours and 58 minutes. The record-keeping organization held a ceremony on Saturday at Taipei’s Chinese Culture University, where professors in the Department of Atmospheric Science documented the rainbow. (UPI)
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