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Fred Bever

A Columbia University graduate, Fred began his journalism career as a print reporter in Vermont, then came to Maine Public in 2001 as its political reporter, as well as serving as a host for a variety of Maine Public Radio and Maine Public Television programs. Fred later went on to become news director for New England Public Radio in Western Massachusetts and worked as a freelancer for National Public Radio and a number of regional public radio stations, including WBUR in Boston and NHPR in New Hampshire.

Fred formerly was Maine Public Radio’s chief political correspondent from 2001 to 2007 and returned to Maine Public Radio in early 2016 as a news reporter and producer, covering a wide variety of topics across Maine and the region.

  • U.S. drug officials have traced a sharp spike in the already climbing death toll from heroin overdoses to an additive — acetyl fentanyl. The fentanyl is being cooked up in clandestine labs in Mexico.
  • Thousands of people turned out to welcome the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots back to Boston on Wednesday. Fans braved cold temperatures and stood in piles of snow along the parade route. Some held up posters saying "Deflate This" in reference to allegations that the team had deflated game balls to gain an advantage in the playoff game that landed them in the Super Bowl. Team members waved to the crowd from duck boats as confetti flew.
  • More Americans are wearing safety helmets when they ski or snowboard. The helmets prove their worth in preventing relatively minor injuries, and may help to reduce the severity of brain injuries.
  • Women play an outsized role in the underground firearms marketplace. Often they handle illegal guns that are not for for their own use, but for men close to them. One Boston program is campaigning against gun violence, drawing connections between "crime guns" and domestic violence.
  • Parts of the U.S. and Canada have seen a rapid decline in moose populations that may be linked to climate change. And, scientists and hunters warn, those declines have often been accompanied by a surge of infestations of the winter tick.
  • The windswept island about 6 miles off the coast was a haven for a hugely diverse bird population until fishermen decimated the birds' ranks. Puffins have been successfully reintroduced to Eastern Egg Rock, but warming ocean waters may be threatening their ability to survive.