A version of this story first appeared in the Morning Update newsletter. Sign up here to receive the Morning Update and other BDN newsletters directly in your inbox.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Who made this map, Columbus?!”
— A TikTok user commenting on an AI-generated post that raved about an impossible coastal Maine road trip starting in Portland, heading east to Kennebunkport (which is actually southwest of Portland), then taking a nonexistent ferry across Penobscot Bay to Bar Harbor. A Bangor Daily News investigation found that AI chatbots have given exceptionally bad advice to Acadia National Park visitors.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
Graham Platner told a national union that he “wouldn’t be here” without Troy Jackson leading a similar movement for years in Maine. But the former Senate president from Aroostook County has struggled until the most recent polling to separate from a crowded Democratic gubernatorial primary field.
AI is giving tourists bad advice on how to visit Acadia National Park. Itineraries omitted good transportation options, suggested impossible ones, and described some of the park’s most crowded trails as quiet escapes from summer crowds.
9,400 tons of court-ordered sand will be sprinkled into the Penobscot River this summer. The pilot program aims to cover longstanding mercury contamination.
Read our guide to saving money when buying a home in Maine. Prices have shot up in recent years, but programs, grants and other resources exist to help aspiring homeowners.
NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE
- Troy Jackson’s surge and a Republican’s steady lead mark new Maine gubernatorial poll
- Graham Platner leads Susan Collins by 9 points in a new poll
- Ann LePage endorses Ben Midgley for governor
- A mystery group tied to Republicans is meddling in this Maine Democratic race
- Maine college grads face worst job market in years: ‘It’s not like it used to be’
- Bangor man accused of killing ex-girlfriend was found in stolen car, Massachusetts cops testify
- Downtown Bangor sandwich shop to open in new space next week
- Northern Light establishes new cancer research center with $10M local gift
- Construction starts on Bangor’s Joshua Chamberlain Bridge next month
- 3 charged with OUI in separate Penobscot County incidents
- 1 dead after Dover-Foxcroft collision
- Officials identify man who died in Aroostook fire
- Eastport residents push City Council to oppose underwater AI data center
- Maine man who allegedly killed and dismembered Irish farmer has 2 weeks to furnish an alibi
- Man seriously injured when he crashed his moped in Harpswell
- Parents protest after 14-year-old boy was allegedly assaulted at Maine school
- Maine county will charge more drivers who hit pedestrians or bicyclists
- Maine police save ducklings from their archnemesis
MAINE IN PICTURES
FROM THE OPINION PAGES
“If it is unclear why the U.S. is attacking Iran, it is also unclear how we’ll know when American objectives have been met.”
Editorial: With so many unanswered questions, Congress must assert its authority over war in Iran
LIFE IN MAINE
Tag along on the Ice Caves Trail in a wilderness area south of Baxter State Park.
Bird watching hobbyists have been flocking to Caribou for a monthlong birding series.
The Maine Trappers Association created a scholarship to honor Joshua Tibbetts, the warden killed in a recent plane crash.
