Ben Bragdon

It’s whiskey, catfish and Texas vibes watching Cooper Flagg play in Dallas The Maine native has become a source of excitement and hope for the thousands of Mavericks fans who turn out each night to watch him compete.

ICYMI: Here's what it's like to watch Cooper Flagg play in his new home. www.pressherald.com/2025/11/25/w...

BU College Republicans president says he called ICE to ‘detain these criminals’ at Allston Car Wash The president of Boston University College Republicans wrote on X he called the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requesting it detain employees at Allston Car Wash, the site of a Nov. 4 raid w...

According to the car wash owner, agents arrested employees before they could obtain their documentation from their work lockers. So many were likely here legally.

Here's hoping this article on Zac boasting about how he ruined some immigrants' lives follows him around for a very long time.

The world’s first trillionaire initiated a move that has left more than half a million people dead, most of whom are children.

ICE held 5-year-old autistic girl in Massachusetts to pressure father to surrender, family says The Department of Homeland Security denied the allegation, calling it a "disgusting smear."

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents held a 5-year-old autistic girl outside her Massachusetts home to pressure her father to surrender to authorities last week, according to the girl's family

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

It really feels like the chaos is the only point. It's just become too hard to do ... anything in the public sphere. And then when everything breaks down, the same people who ground everything to a halt complain that nothing works and demand the power to "fix it." But then they ... don't.

Lisbon football returns to the field The hazing scandal that ended last season shouldn’t be forgotten, but can be put in the past.

Lisbon hosted a football game Friday night, its first since shutting down the program midway through the 2024 season due to hazing. Unsurprisingly, they don't want to talk about it. Lisbon should move on, but shouldn't forget how it got here, either. My column:

www.pressherald.com/2025/09/05/l...

Trump bought more than $100 million in bonds since January, filings show The purchases could let the president make money off companies and local entities that could be affected by his agenda.

Trump has purchased at least $103 million worth of corporate and municipal bonds since he took office again, according to new filings from the Office of Government Ethics.
 
Trump made about 690 purchases from Jan. 21 through Aug. 1.
 
The active trading by a president of the U.S. is unprecedented.

Photo of DOGE staffer Nate Cavanagh, a 28-year-old white man in a blue pullover, carrying a black backpack.

Photo of 53-year-old Afghan scholar Mohammad Halimi. He is sitting, wearing white pants and shirt with a brown vest.

On the left: Nate Cavanagh, a 28-year-old DOGE staffer and college dropout.

On the right: Mohammad Halimi, a 53-year-old exiled Afghan scholar.

This is the story of how DOGE targeted Halimi on social media.

Then the Taliban took his family. 🧵

ICE GOON forcefully grab activists filming outside the immigration court and forcefully knock her phone out of her hand.

I’ve had nothing to do with that pedophile since he stole all of my teenage masseuses.

No, no, you misheard me, I’m in the Eckstein Files, a list of people who have succeeded despite lacking the physical attributes because of hard work, intelligence, and grit.

Lisbon grid star gets curtain call in Maine Lobster Bowl Kaiden LaValley is making the most of getting to play in one final game after his senior season at Lisbon was cut short by allegations of hazing on the team.

After the season was shut down early due to hazing, a Lisbon football player gets an unexpected final game. My column: #mesports

www.pressherald.com/2025/07/15/l...

Maine coaches, players bristle at inequities in college lacrosse championships Women's Division II and III teams are left out of 'Championship Weekend' at Gillette Stadium, raising questions about whether the NCAA is treating all athletes equally.

The men play at Gillette, the women get a smaller venue. Maine #lacrosse players and coaches weigh in on controversy over equity between men’s and women’s championship venues. www.sunjournal.com/2025/06/24/m...

Live updates: Maine ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump taking place throughout Saturday Thousands of protesters gathered in Portland, Augusta and Auburn as part of a nationwide day of protests against the Trump administration.

We are covering a number of No Kings protests across Maine today www.sunjournal.com/2025/06/14/l...

Some scenes of the D-Day beaches from our visit there last month.

Opinion | This journalist was the real hero behind Joe McCarthy’s takedown Drew Pearson rebuked Sen. Joseph McCarthy early and often. History gives him little credit for it.

great, provocative column from larry tye on what it took to defeat the american nightmare of joe mccarthy and the ism that bears his name.

along these lines, may i also point you to the 2nd season of my podcast, “ultra”:

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/r...

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

If St. Dom’s closes, a boys hockey tradition is lost The impending closure of St. Dominic Regional High School would leave an unfillable void in the Maine hockey community.

With the impending closure of St. Dom's, one of Maine's high school hockey powerhouses will be gone. My column:

www.pressherald.com/2025/05/24/i...

i think it should be a bigger story that the president held a meeting with a foreign head of state where he ranted about the most gutter white supremacist propaganda you can find on the internet

I said it would get worse very quickly. By tomorrow we will have completed the most dangerous & frightening 24 hours thus far of Trump 2.0. Just to name a few:
1. Defiance of a court order by sending migrants to Sudan without due process (despite clear DP decision SCOTUS) & Dist. CT. order.

Tuberville doesn't know the three branches of the U.S. government in which he serves, but he knows that Putin wants Odessa, Crimea, and limits to NATO. And Tuberville can't blame Putin for those demands.

Huh.

Just brutal. We have to create the outrage this deserves.

People don't know! Members of my own family have just completely checked out on the news. They don't know how bad it is! People assume the world still basically works like it used to and it really doesn't.

A nightmare, courtesy of the federal government

The Onion: DOJ Plants Gun on Maine

theonion.com/doj-plants-g...

Boston has the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever

Great line by Travis:

"Each of his plate appearances probably requires a capital letter, a number, and a '!'."

So great that I'm jealous.

Live updates: Mainers rally across the state to protest Trump policies At least a thousand protesters gathered in Portland's Monument Square, while other 'Hands Off' protests were held in Freeport, South Paris and elsewhere across the state.

We’re covering protests throughout Maine today. www.sunjournal.com/2025/04/05/l...

Wells police department applies to ICE program to enforce certain aspects of federal immigration law A Wells police captain said it would save time and resources in specific scenarios. But an immigration lawyer said ICE is using the program to expand detention and deportation efforts nationally.

First person to react with a stupid little heart to this gross news on our town Facebook page has a Maya Angelou quote in her bio. Repulsive. www.mainepublic.org/courts-and-c...

Lewiston changes job title, description of DEI specialist The change comes amid the Trump administration's hostility toward diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

www.sunjournal.com/2025/04/02/l...

It’s in writing the Trump administration was okay with Social Security fraud to punish a political enemy www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...