Here are the things you need to  know today......

Winthrop is planning on buying bullet resistant vests for EMT and paramedics. According to WGME, Augusta, Waterville and Winslow already have made this move.  Gun violence and violence against EMS and fire officials has increased.  Winthrop hopes to have the vests this fall.

The Maine Forest Service has the fire danger around the state as ‘high’. As a result officials  want people to check with their local fire officials  before burning any sorts or campfires. And of course, caution needs to be used with fireworks of any kind in dry conditions.

Maine's Department of Labor has improved the Maine Job Bank and it will relaunch today as Maine JobLink. According to the Sun Journal it will have many improvements but will see be for people looking for jobs and employers looked for workers.

According to the Associated Press…Senators from New England states want September 25 again designated as National Lobster Day in recognition of the region's most-loved crustacean. The early fall day was designated in honor of the lobster last year. Senators from New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut are behind legislation that would make the designation again this year.

Dry weather is bringing humans into more contact with black bears in New England. Maine has the largest black bear population in the continental U.S., and complaints of nuisance bears have shot up. A scarcity of berries and other plants they eat is leading to the increase.

New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine have launched a new advanced traveler information system in time for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Transportation officials say the three states collaborated on the system, which lets travelers plot specific routes and get information on accidents, construction, traffic delays, weather alerts and events taking place along their way. Travelers can sign up for the free service at www.newengland511.org

Officials say the arrest of a man who rammed a van load of drug agents led to what's believed to be the largest seizure of heroin in Maine history. The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency says 33-year-old James Jamison, of Waterbury, Connecticut, was arrested after fleeing on foot Friday. The DEA seized more than 2 pounds of heroin packaged into more than 10,000 baggies, with a street value of $450,000.

The NASA spacecraft Juno has reached Jupiter. It's been a five-year voyage to begin exploring the king of the planets. Ground controllers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Lockheed Martin erupted in applause Monday when the solar-powered spacecraft beamed home news that it was circling Jupiter's poles. Scientists have promised close-up views of the planet when Juno skims the cloud tops during the 20-month mission.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for three attacks in Saudi Arabia. Late Monday, a suicide bombing outside one of Islam's holiest sites in Medina killed four Saudi security forces and wounded five other people. There were also suicide bombings near a Shiite Mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia and near the U.S. Consulate in the western city of Jiddah.

Amnesty International says some Syrian opposition groups have adopted methods of abuse similar to those used by the government of President Bashar Assad. Amnesty says the abuses were committed by five armed groups, including some backed by the United States and other regional powers, and al-Qaida's branch in Syria. Amnesty interviewed some 70 people in Idlib and parts of Aleppo, which are areas controlled by insurgents.

Police near downtown Houston say two people are dead and two are wounded after an argument broke out between two groups of people Monday night. Among the injured is a 10-year-old child who was struck in the abdomen. TV station KTRK reports the child's injuries are not life-threatening.

Some extreme eaters stuff themselves with hotdogs, chicken wings or pie. Those participating in a New York food festival in Buffalo this coming weekend will be going a little healthier. They're competing for the Kale Cup at this year's Taste of Buffalo food festival on Saturday. They'll have eight minutes to eat as much Kale as possible. The winner will take home $2,000.

 

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