Morning update: What you need to know in Maine today

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“This is my passion — something I do better than just about anyone else. That’s a God-given talent. It amazes me that I can do that. I’m just a good fish carver. That’s all.”

— Gene Bahr of Sebago on his craft of fish carvings.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

No clear motive has emerged behind the weekend’s attempted assassination of Donald Trump . Authorities continue to search for clues at the site of the shooting and the gunman’s home in western Pennsylvania.

Read more coverage of this developing story:

• A timeline of the assassination attempt on former President Trump
• Maine politicians denounce violence in wake of shooting at Trump rally
• Former fire chief who died at Trump rally used his body to shield family from gunfire
• Amid chaos and gunfire, Trump raised his fist and projected a characteristic image of defiance
• The RNC’s first day will still focus on the economy. Here’s what to know about Trump’s plans
• In prime-time address, Biden warns of election-year rhetoric, saying ‘it’s time to cool it down’
• Biden tries to balance his condemnation of the attack on Trump with the ongoing 2024 campaign

Meet the 19-year-old Maine immigrant who just bought his family a home . Ahmad Alsaleh took on three jobs while attending Cony High School and continued to work full-time through his first year at Central Maine Community College.

This 127-year-old “gothic grandma” hotel is one of Portland’s cheaper places to stay . There’s no elevator, no two rooms are alike and you may have to share a bathroom, in the hallway, with a few other guests. For many Mainers, travel within their own state is becoming more expensive. Are you being priced out of hotels in Maine?

The expansion of a midcoast energy facility could lessen Maine’s use of landfills . The new plant aims to provide additional electricity to the entirety of Brunswick Landing.

Maine’s food sovereignty movement has its first marketplace . The recent, quiet expansion to the 2017 food sovereignty constitutional amendment allows unlicensed sellers to vend outside of their production spaces for the first time.

Child care providers in Aroostook are about to get much-needed help . A new resource center will assist aspiring providers with state-mandated licensing,

MAINE IN PICTURES

NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE

• How Joe Biden’s struggles are playing for Democrats on the Maine ballot
• Susan Collins planning write-in, will not vote for Donald Trump
• Baseball group ‘shocked and confused’ after wrongly announcing former Maine athlete’s death
• There’s always a secret ingredient in this Aroostook woman’s pastries
• Millinocket teen was Maine’s 1st moose crash fatality since 2020
• Why a Lincoln woman is turning to Facebook to sell a $100K fixer-upper home
• A Blue Hill business offers a fresh take on the popsicle
• Body of kayaker found off Bar Harbor
• Bar Harbor man reported missing since Thursday
• Raccoon that scratched midcoast woman had rabies
• Federal grant will help halal butchery to expand in Waldo County
• Maine police chief resigns after theft of his vehicle and shootout
• Missing 75-year-old Maine man found in bog after 4 days
• This Maine family restored a farmhouse predating the American Revolution
• These Maine experts aren’t surprised by Cooper Flagg’s rise to stardom
• UMaine slugging first baseman anticipates being drafted

FROM THE OPINION PAGES

“Through election innovations such as open, nonpartisan primary elections where ranked-choice voting is used to select a winner in the general election, we can forge a more competitive American democracy where everyday citizens are incentivized and excited to participate.”

Opinion: Veterans are working to make democracy more representative

LIFE IN MAINE

What looks like any other Maine farmers market is actually a novel experiment in food sovereignty. The Aroostook market is the first to allow unlicensed vendors to sell directly to consumers outside their production space .

For Maine’s black bears, it’s A.B.C.: Always be consuming, for soon winter will come. In these trail camera videos from Bangor Daily News contributor Allie Ladd, grown bears forage for food, while feisty cubs get curious about their observer .

That fish on your buddy’s wall may not be real . More taxidermists are turning away from traditional skin mounts of fish and creating replicas instead, because of the surging interest in catch-and-release fishing.