2 BUFFALO JUVENILES ARRAIGNED ON CHARGES FROM A FRIDAY HOMICIDE

The teetering campaign of Maine oysterman Graham Platner to be the Democratic Party’s nominee to oppose Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) should she run for re-election in 2026 suffered another blow over the weekend.

According to a report from Axios’ Holly Otterbein on Monday, Kevin Brown, who took the place of departed former political director Genevieve McDonald on the Platner campaign, is bowing out after taking the job last Tuesday.

Brown, a longtime friend of the potential nominee for the U.S. Senate seat, issued a statement to Axios explaining, “Graham is a dear friend. I started this campaign Tuesday but found out Friday we have a baby on the way. Graham deserves someone who is 100% in on his race and we want to lean into this new experience as a family, so it was best we step back sooner than later so Graham can get the manager he deserves."

The political neophyte has been battered by revelations about his past for days after making a splash as a potential threat to Collins, whose seat is considered vulnerable because of Donald Trump’s unpopularity.

As Otterbien wrote, “It's the latest in a series of personnel shakeups for Platner's campaign, which was endorsed by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) but has been thrown into turmoil because Platner made controversial social media posts in the past and had a tattoo that looked like a Nazi symbol.”

“The Democratic Senate primary in Maine has become a battle between the party establishment and its progressive wing. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is the top target for Senate Democrats in the 2026 midterms,” she added before pointing out the Gov. Janet Mills (D) jumped into the race last week, adding more turmoil to the closely-watched race.

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President Donald Trump's federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., refused to answer questions from reporters on why the Justice Department whitewashed a sentencing memo for a violent Jan. 6 rioter who was charged for an incident in which he livestreamed himself near former President Barack Obama's house with a stash of illegal guns and ammunition.

Tyler Taranto, during his heavily armed stream in 2023, also made a fake bomb threat against a government building. He separately received a pardon for his involvement in the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"US Atty Jeanine Pirro was just asked about the scrubbing of sentencing memo (of Jan 6 references) in Taylor Taranto case. Why did it happen? She wouldn't answer directly... and said the 'papers speak for themselves,'" stated CBS News' Scott MacFarlane on Thursday.

Additionally, Pirro, a former far-right Fox News personality who has pushed election conspiracy theories, would not comment on why a pair of prosecutors who worked on the memo were placed on leave.

The redoing of the sentencing memo, which argued Taranto receive 27 months in prison, raised alarm bells among legal experts, as not only did the new version remove all references to him being a January 6 rioter, it also removed references to the fact that Trump posted the location of Obama's home on Truth Social shortly before Taranto's threatening stunt.

On Thursday, a judge sentenced Taranto to 21 months, which works out to "time served," as well as three years' supervised release.