Attorneys General from three New England states announced today that they will challenge a recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruling that declares that the agency has no legal authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, which causes global warming.

The EPA ruling, issued last week, contradicts earlier statements and testimony from the agency, according to Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe.

On Friday, May 2, at 9:30 a.m., Governor Baldacci and Attorney General Rowe will join the Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs), Legal Services for the Elderly, and TRIAD (a nationwide program that depends on local partnerships between seniors and law enforcement for the purpose of preventing crimes against seniors) to announce a new campaign called "Check It Out." Check It Out will enable seniors to call a toll-free number to check on offers that seem too good to be true. The number is 1-877-ELDERS-1 (1-877- 353- 3771).

Attorney General Steven Rowe today issued a consumer alert concerning an email with the subject line "Best Buy Order Fraud Alert."

Residents throughout Maine are receiving the email, which claims that a recent order has been received using personal credit card information. The order, placed online, is purported to have been made at Best Buy's official website.

Approval of California?s Controls Would Pave the Way for Similar Controls Maine and 13 Other States

Maine Attorney General Steve Rowe, along with 13 other Attorneys General moved to join two legal actions filed this morning by the State of California to force the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take action on California?s request for approval to regulate greenhouse gas pollution from automobiles sold in the state.?? Maine has adopted California?s regulations to combat global warming.?????

Tomorrow, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport, a case filed against the State of Maine by motor transport associations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.? The associations challenged the 2003 Maine law that requires that internet tobacco retailers utilize carriers who take specific actions to ensure that packages containing tobacco products are not delivered to minors.?

Maine, along with a coalition of eleven other states, is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over new regulations denying the public access to information about toxic chemicals in their communities.?

The EPA will allow thousands of companies to avoid disclosing information to the public about the toxic chemicals they use, store, and release into the environment by rolling back chemical reporting requirements.? The suit seeks to overturn the weakened reporting requirements and provide the public with the access they had in the past.

Today, Attorney General Steve Rowe filed a motion to enforce the Maine Courts Consent Decree against R.J. Reynolds (RJR). RJR recently ran an advertisement in Rolling Stone Magazine?s 40th Anniversary edition, dated November 15, 2007, the content of which violated the Consent Decree dated December 3, 1998.? The Attorney General is seeking to permanently enjoin RJR from using cartoons in the advertisement or promotion of tobacco products.?

The Attorney General is pleased to announce the beginning of a 6-month claims period during which the Office of the Attorney General will accept claims for reimbursement, or restitution, from consumers who purchased any “healing instrument” from The Gentle Wind Project between January 1, 2003 and September 14, 2006.

Today's technology provides us with extraordinary benefits. It has given us the ability to conduct business online, share information about ourselves with those who live thousands of miles away and access information at the "speed of light." Unfortunately, it has also provided the same benefits to identity thieves who use someone else's personal financial information to access bank accounts and obtain credit, often destroying the life savings and good credit history of innocent victims.