Things You Need to Know Today: Maine Lawmakers Hear Both Sides of Later School Start Time

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

The Gardiner City Council has voted 7-1 to gift $150,000 to Johnson Hall's renovation project, with a few stipulations. According to centralmaine.com if everything goes as planned for Johnson Hall that work would be done in 2019.

The Lawmakers Education Committee heard both sides of the issue for a later start time for schools. According to centralmaine.com the bill would ' would prohibit public high schools in Maine from starting school days before 8:30 a.m.'

A man was arrested on a burglary charge for  breaking into the old Tim Horton's in Waterville. According to centralmaine.com he told the officers that he did it to stay warm.

From the Associated Press:

A Lisbon man playing with a lighter set himself afire. 37-year-old Cory Mathis of Lisbon is being treated at Central Maine Medical Center after setting himself afire. He was intoxicated Tuesday evening when he began playing with lighter fluid. Officials say he suffered second-degree burns to legs, and also had facial injuries.

Maine marine authorities are looking for input from lobstermen about how they might be impacted by federal regulations designed to protect corals in New England waters. The regulatory New England Fishery Management Council is considering protecting corals in the Gulf of Maine. Two of the proposed protection areas are Outer Schoodic Ridge and the area southwest of Mount Desert Rock.

The Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine is moving from downtown Portland to a growing development on the Fore River. Museum executive director Suzanne Olson says the museum is "bursting at the seams" at its current location on busy Free Street. She says the museum's board and staff agree it's time to relocate to a space that is built specifically for the facility.

Northern New England is getting lashed by gusts topping 50 mph, knocking out power for thousands of homes and businesses. The National Weather Service says gusts have hit 53 mph in Guilford and 52 mph in Meredith, New Hampshire, and 50 mph in Portland, Maine.

President Donald Trump is defending his U.S. attorney general, saying the Democrats are just on a "witch hunt." Attorney General Jeff Sessions agreed Thursday to recuse himself from any investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The announcement followed revelations that Sessions failed to mention during his confirmation hearing that during the presidential campaign season he twice spoke with the Russian ambassador to the U.S.

The White House says a December meeting at Trump Tower attended by Russia's ambassador, Michael Flynn and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner was a "brief courtesy meeting." Flynn, who had yet to be named national security adviser, was fired last month for misleading the vice president about his contacts with the same Russian ambassador to the U.S.

Public records obtained by the Indianapolis Star say that when Vice President Mike Pence was Indiana's governor, he used a private email account to conduct public business. The newspaper reports that Pence communicated with advisers through his personal AOL account on homeland security matters and security at the governor's residence. Pence frequently criticized rival Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server as President Barack Obama's secretary of state.

Oregon lawmakers who are worried about a nationwide crackdown on legal marijuana under President Donald Trump's administration are rushing to protect the personal information of pot customers in case federal agents try to seize it. The committee that crafts Oregon's pot policies is proposing legislation that requires marijuana businesses to destroy customers' personal information within 48 hours. The measure is scheduled for its first hearing Tuesday.

Zimbabwe says floods have killed 246 people and left nearly 2,000 homeless since December. The southern African country is asking international donors for $100 million to help those affected by the floods, which have washed away some bridges and roads and cut off some communities from surrounding areas.