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

Maine has seen an increase in Hepatitis C cases because of drug use. According to the Bangor Daily News risk factor for hepatitis C include injecting drugs.

Slate Casting Boston will be in Maine May 21st holding auditions for a TV ad.  According to centralmaine.com they are looking for outdoorsy, healthy, active adults.

Two bills to let guns into schools and on campuses have been rejected by lawmakers. According to centramaine.com many felt the current system of letting trusties set the rules for their campuses was working.

The May 9th fire in the lower level of Super Shoes in Waterville was caused by an electrical issues. Centralmaine.com reports most of the damage in the store was caused by the smoke.

The bridge repair on RT 201 in Hallowell is just about done. Centramaine.com reports the two way traffic ahead of schedule making travel easier for all and earning the contactor a bonus.

From the Associated Press:

Republicans and Democrats are supporting a bill to create a constitutional victims' bill of rights. Republican Senate President Michael Thibodeau is sponsoring a resolution to amend Maine's constitution to enshrine specific rights for victims of crime. Thibodeau said Maine is among only 15 states that don't constitutionally protect the rights of victims.

Operators of a passenger ferry between Portland, Maine, and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, say advance bookings are up compared to last year. Bay Ferries Ltd. President Mark MacDonald tells the Portland Press Herald that advance ticket sales are up at least five-fold from 2016.

Amid a continuing clamor over Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election, the government wants to find out how much confidence people have in America's voting system. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order creating a commission to examine public attitudes. The long-awaited panel follows Trump's unsubstantiated claims that millions of people voted illegally in last year's election.

The federal government's 2017 budget bill includes $6 million in grant programs that support safety for fishermen. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican and member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says the grants will improve access to safety training for fishermen in coastal states such as Maine.

The New York Times reports that former FBI Director James Comey declined to pledge loyalty to President Donald Trump during a dinner the two men shared in January. The newspaper quotes two unnamed Comey associates who say they heard Comey's account of the dinner. Comey instead promised Trump "honesty."

Amid a continuing clamor over Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election, the government wants to find out how much confidence people have in America's voting system. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order creating a commission to examine public attitudes. The long-awaited panel follows Trump's unsubstantiated claims that millions of people voted illegally in last year's election.

China will seek to burnish President Xi Jinping's stature as a statesman at an international gathering centered on his signature foreign policy effort envisioning a future world order in which all roads lead to Beijing. The "Belt and Road Forum" is the latest in a series of high-profile appearances aimed at projecting Xi's influence on the global stage ahead of a key Communist Party congress later this year.

Arctic nations have approved a document calling for global action to address climate change but U.S Secretary of State Rex Tillerson say his country continues to review its own policies. Tillerson spoke Thursday in Fairbanks, Alaska, at a meeting of the Arctic Council, made up of the eight Arctic nations and indigenous groups. Tillerson says the United States appreciates that the other countries have important points of view and will take time to understand their concerns.

Aid officials say Jordan has sent hundreds of refugees back to southern Syria in the first four months of 2017, a spike in a practice that a rights group says is a violation of international law. Deportees interviewed by The Associated Press say women and children are among those sent back, some expelled without apparent reason or due process. A Jordanian official confirms deportations are taking place, but says refugees are only deported for security reasons.

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