Mainers in Las Vegas, a report on school discrimination, and Susan Collins’ big decision

Lots of news is coming in from all over the state, fast and furious. Let’s get into it.

What we’re talking about

Mainers who were at the Las Vegas country music festival during Sunday night’s horrific mass shooting shared their stories with the BDN and our media partners at WGME, CBS 13. Couples from Freeport and Caribou, as well as a man from Livermore, were among the Mainers who were there at the time. They described chaos, running for their lives and the terrifying sight of people falling to the ground under a hail of gunfire. A candlelight vigil was scheduled for tonight in Portland in recognition of the Las Vegas tragedy.

A report released today found that students of color are subject to “regular harassment and discrimination” in Maine schools. The report, by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine and based on 115 interviews conducted throughout the state, described a “constant barrage of bullying” targeting non-white students, as well as those of diverse religions and sexual identities.

Those of you who are waiting to see whether U.S. Sen. Susan Collins will run for governor will probably get your answer next week. The popular Republican senator has been weighing the decision for months, and her entry into the race would dramatically change the political landscape.

A police standoff in Lebanon ended up with a man dead. Police responded to reports of shots fired inside of a mobile home Monday afternoon. A police tactical team didn’t enter the home until around 9:30 p.m., when they found the body of a 59-year-old man they believe died of self-inflicted gunshot wound. The man’s wife, who was home during much of the ordeal, escaped uninjured.

The state’s first Krispy Kreme doughnut shop opened in Saco today, and Mainers started lining up to get in… yesterday. The highly anticipated franchise attracted crowds way ahead of time, with prizes promised to the first 100 people who came through the door.

Tweet of the day

From Egyptologist Kara Cooney:

The Big Idea

Hey, so… why don’t we have flying cars yet? Well, for one, manufacturers would need prove they’re safe through crash tests, and flying car prototypes are expensive to build. The financial hurdle of building a bunch of expensive flying cars and just crashing them to see how dummies hold up is a real damper on the growth of the novel vehicles.

Got any interesting story ideas, suggestions or links to share? Email us at jbleiberg@bangordailynews.com or skoenig@bangordailynews.com, or tweet @JZBleiberg or @SethKoenig.

If someone forwarded you this newsletter, click here to sign up. Or just text PORTLAND to 66866. As always, like BDN Portland on Facebook for more local coverage.