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FARMINGTON, Maine (AP) — A fierce propane explosion leveled a newly constructed building after fire crews arrived to investigate the smell of gas Monday, killing one firefighter and injuring at least eight other people, including fellow firefighters, officials said.

The blast was so powerful it blew a vehicle across an intersection and damaged nearby buildings. Paper, insulation and building debris rained on the area.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Three women shot in the head, each dumped a month a part — the 2006 killings scared Daytona Beach’s street people so badly that they memorized suspicious men’s license plate numbers and gave them to police. And then suddenly the slayings stopped.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s one of the most commonly heard phrases around the White House as aides seek to explain Donald Trump’s thinking: “The president has made clear that ...”

But saying so doesn’t make it so. And on the question of a theoretical meeting between U.S. and Iranian leaders, it’s not clear at all.

On Sunday, Trump flatly contradicted top aides who had characterized his thinking on Iran last week, before a weekend attack claimed by Iran-backed Yemeni rebels on major oil sites in Saudi Arabia; Iran denied responsibility. Trump also contradicted his own remarks.

NEW YORK (AP) — Facing thousands of cheering supporters in the nation’s largest city, Democratic presidential contender Elizabeth Warren on Monday decried President Donald Trump as “corruption in the flesh” and outlined her plans to root out corruption in the White House, Congress and courts.

“Corruption has put our planet at risk. Corruption has broken our economy. And corruption is breaking our democracy,” said Warren, a Massachusetts senator who has emerged as a leading presidential contender.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has instructed two former aides to President Donald Trump not to appear at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, saying Rick Dearborn and Rob Porter are “absolutely immune” from testifying at what the panel is calling its first impeachment hearing.

UNITED STATES (AP) —  As his 10 top competitors were in Houston prepping for a big night on national television last week, Democratic presidential candidate and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock was 900 miles (1,450 kilometers) north in a suburban Des Moines brewpub.

The governor wasn’t drowning his sorrows over failing to qualify for the primary debate, but he wasn’t exactly hiding his disappointment from the crowd that gathered to hear his pitch on a Thursday afternoon. “There may be one place I’d rather be than in Clive tonight,” he acknowledged.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The good news is that it doesn’t look like a bitterly polarized Washington will stumble into another government shutdown.

But as Democrats controlling the House unveil a stopgap, government-wide spending bill to keep the lights on and pay the troops, there’s scant evidence that power sharing in the Capitol will produce further legislative accomplishments anytime soon.

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — President Donald Trump made a pocketbook appeal for reelection in the Democratic-leaning state of New Mexico on Monday, telling voters that his energy policies have made the state wealthier and warning that the gains could disappear if the proposal knows as the Green New Deal takes effect.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As they investigate President Donald Trump, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee will hold their first official hearing in what they are calling an impeachment investigation.

Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s outspoken former campaign manager, is scheduled to appear Tuesday to discuss former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Monday it “looks” like Iran was behind the explosive attack on Saudi Arabian oil facilities. But he stressed that military retaliation was not yet on the table in response to the strike against a key U.S. Mideast ally.

Oil prices soared worldwide amid the damage in Saudi Arabia and fresh Middle East war concerns. But Trump put the brakes on any talk of quick military action — earlier he had said the U.S. was “locked and loaded” — and he said the oil impact would not be significant on the U.S., which is a net energy exporter.