1. Early Wednesday morning, some dude whipped out a pickaxe and completely destroyed President Trump’s star on the Hollywood (Calif.) Walk of Fame. The suspect, Austin Clay, faces charges of felony vandalism after turning himself in to police. The Hollywood Reporter writes that this is the second time in three years that Trump’s star has been totally destroyed; a 2016 vandal took to it with both a jackhammer and a pickaxe. The star has been more lightly vandalized on multiple occasions, with the property crimes really accelerating when Trump became a serious White House contender.
(LA Times)
2. In day three of the trial of former Kennebunk High School Teacher Jill LaMontagne, the defense called multiple witnesses, including LaMontagne’s husband, former students, coworkers, and LaMontagne herself. It was originally believed that LaMontagne’s phone and the student exchanged more than 90 phone calls, but on Wednesday, a cyber expert testified that it was 43 calls. One of those messages included LaMontagne allegedly sending the lyrics to a love song to the student. When asked about that interaction on the stand Wednesday, LaMontagne said she sent the song lyrics because “the song was about how people can change and these were things [the student] talked about with me.” When asked if she sent lyrics to confess her love, LaMontagne said, “Absolutely not. I thought he was a kid with no one in his corner and I thought I could help.” Her husband Steven said “We often talked about the conversations she had with him. I trusted my wife.”
(News Center Maine)
3. The Necco plant in Revere was abruptly shut down Tuesday after the entity that bought the company at bankruptcy auction in May announced it had sold Necco to another candy manufacturer. Round Hill Investments LLC, which purchased Necco for $17.3 million at emergency auction in May, confirmed the closure in a statement late Tuesday. The company, which is operating Necco under the affiliate name Sweetheart Candy Co. LLC, did not identify Necco’s new owner or say whether candy production would resume. Necco is the country’s oldest continuously operating candy company.
(Boston Globe)
4. Who’s up for another never-ending round of “Has April the Giraffe given birth yet?” On Wednesday, the owner of the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, where April lives, confirmed that the mama giraffe is pregnant again. “The results are in, and we are having a baby!” park owner Jordan Patch announced on TODAY. The 16-year-old April is expected to deliver her fifth calf in spring 2019. “The average [gestation period’ for a giraffe is 15 months,” Patch explained. “April likes to go 16, 17, 18…19 months.” In 2017, April delivered her fourth calf, a boy named Tajiri, during a livestream that became the second-most-watched live channel in YouTube history.
(Today)
5. Saturday, September 1 (Labor Day Weekend) Hot 104.7 & Grass Monkey Present another #HOTSHOW starring Lil Jon at the State Theatre. Tickets are ON SALE HERE! Charge by phone at 800-745-3000, in person at the Port City Music Hall box office Wednesday-Friday 10AM-5PM or online at Hot1047Maine.com.
