1. Investigators trying to determine what sparked the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history have found the massacre to be the work of a sophisticated planner with the means and desire to inflict unprecedented carnage. As he fired round after round during an 11-minute stretch from a suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Paddock used video cameras to keep an eye out for police storming his hotel room. Investigators were “making progress” on determining a motive, but complete answers remain elusive. (PH)
2. In delivering what BuzzFeed called a “bizarre, train-of-thought speech” during his visit to storm-ravaged Puerto Rico on Tuesday, President Trump said that Hurricane Irma wasn’t “a real catastrophe like [Hurricane] Katrina.” In a somewhat playful tone, he added that the island territory had “thrown our budget a little out of whack because we’ve spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico—and that’s fine; we’ve saved a lot of lives.” He then shifted back to the Irma-Katrina death toll comparison, saying, “Sixteen versus literally thousands of people. You can be very proud. Everyone around this table and everybody watching can really be very proud of what’s been taking place in Puerto Rico.” (BuzzFeed)
3. Maine’s first Krispy Kreme featured a line of waiting customers stretched down the side of the building on Main Street in Saco for most of yesterday. Cort Mendez, president and CEO of NH Glazed, said the Saco store is one of about a half-dozen in the country with Krispy Kreme’s new design, which looks more like a cafe then the traditional doughnut shop. But like all Krispy Kreme locations, a viewing window allows guests to watch the doughnuts being made. Mendez will have another location in Auburn that is expected to open in November, and is considering opening more Krispy Kreme shops in Windham, Bangor and in two New Hampshire towns. (PH)
4. Sunday River is adding a $2.2 million chair lift this season. The $2.2 million lift will get skiers and riders to the top in a fraction of the time. It goes from an 11 minute ride with the old lift to now it’s almost an eight minute ride. (WGME)
5. A huge pumpkin grown in Charleston has squashed the record for the heaviest one ever grown in Maine. Elroy Morgan’s Atlantic Giant pumpkin, topped the scales at 1,756 pounds. The current world record is 2,600 pounds, but just 40 years ago or so it was only 400 pounds. The intervening decades have brought great strides in pumpkin breeding and in care. (BDN)
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