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Former Trump ambassador eyes Senate return, potentially setting up key swing state campaign rematch

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Former Trump ambassador eyes Senate return, potentially setting up key swing state campaign rematch

RYE, N.H. – EXCLUSIVE – Scott Brown is on the move.

The former senator from neighboring Massachusetts and 2014 Republican Senate nominee in New Hampshire, who later served four years as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand in President-elect Trump’s first administration, is seriously considering a 2026 run to return to Congress.

If Brown moves ahead and launches a campaign in the months ahead, it would potentially set up a high-profile rematch with Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, in what would likely be a competitive and expensive Senate clash in a key swing state.

The 65-year-old Brown, who competed in nine triathlons this year and who on average performs around 40–50 gigs a year as lead singer and guitarist with the rock band Scott Brown and the Diplomats, is doing more than just thinking about running to return to the Senate.

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Former senator and former ambassador Scott Brown, who’s considering a 2026 run for the Senate in New Hampshire, competed in 9 triathlons in 2024.  (Scott Brown)

He’s been meeting in recent weeks with various Republican and conservative groups in New Hampshire.

Brown, in a national exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, said he’s doing his “due diligence, meeting with anybody and everybody. So you’ll be seeing me a lot around, whether it’s parades, triathlons, my rock band, meeting and getting out and really learning.”

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And Brown is taking aim at New Hampshire’s all-Democrat congressional delegation.

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“The thing that really ticks me off is how they’ve basically covered up for [President] Joe Biden for the last four years, what they’ve done or not done on the border, what they’ve done and not done in inflation, and they’re just completely out of touch with what we want here in New Hampshire. And the more I think about it, I think we can do better,” Brown argued.

Brown made headlines in 2010 as the then-state senator in blue-state Massachusetts won a special U.S. Senate election to serve the remainder of the term of the late longtime Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy. 

Former ambassador and former Sen. Scott Brown speaks with Fox News Digital, at one of his ‘Backyard BBQ’ political events, in August 2023 in Rye, New Hampshire  (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

After losing re-election in 2012 to now-Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Brown eventually moved to New Hampshire, the state where he had spent the first years of his childhood and where his family had roots dating back to the colonial era. He launched a Senate campaign months later and narrowly lost to Shaheen in the 2014 election.

After hosting nearly all the Republican presidential candidates in the 2016 cycle at speaking events he termed “No BS backyard BBQs,” Brown eventually endorsed Trump in the weeks ahead of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary. After Trump was elected president, he nominated Brown as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand, where the former senator served for four years.

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Returning to New Hampshire at the end of the first Trump administration, Brown supported his wife Gail, a former television news reporter and anchor, as she ran for Congress in 2022. 

And the Browns also stayed politically active in other ways, once again hosting many of the Republican presidential candidates, as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., at their “Backyard BBQs” during the 2024 presidential cycle.

Former ambassador and former Sen. Scott Brown (left), is joined by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as DeSantis ran for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, in Rye, New Hampshire on July 30, 2023 (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Asked in May 2023 if he’d consider another Senate run, Brown told Fox News Digital “of course.”

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Now, as Brown considers another Senate run, time isn’t working against him.

Brown jumped in late in the 2014 campaign, just seven months before Election Day.

BROWN HOSTS 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES 

This time around, he emphasized, “I have a long runway. I didn’t have that obviously the first time, and I’m going to do what I have been doing for almost a decade now, going around, meeting with people participating in the process.”

During his first Senate run, which came months after he changed his residency to New Hampshire, he repeatedly faced carpetbagger accusations.

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Last week, a progressive group in New Hampshire took aim at Brown.

Amplify NH claimed in a release that “the gentleman from Massachusetts is clawing for another chance at power, framing himself once again as a Senate candidate for New Hampshire.”

Brown says he’s not concerned.

“We’ve had a house here for over three decades, and we’ve been fully engaged full-time here for over a decade. So now I think that’s old news.”

And he argued that New Hampshire’s congressional delegation “votes 100% with Massachusetts.”

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Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., speaks before President Joe Biden arrives to deliver remarks on lowering the cost of prescription drugs, at NHTI Concord Community College, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Concord, N.H. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) (AP)

While Shaheen cruised to re-election in 2020, winning by roughly 16 points, and Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan won re-election in 2022 by nearly nine points, Senate Republicans are eyeing New Hampshire in 2026 as they aim to expand their incoming 53-47 majority in the chamber. New Hampshire, along with Georgia and Michigan, will likely be heavily targeted by Senate Republicans.

Trump lost New Hampshire last month, but he cut his deficit to just three points in his face-off with Vice President Kamala Harris, down from a seven-point loss to President Biden in the Granite State in 2020.

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And the GOP kept an open gubernatorial seat in party hands – former Sen. Kelly Ayotte succeeded longtime Gov. Chris Sununu – while expanding their majorities in the New Hampshire state House and Senate.

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Asked if he’d like Trump to join him on the Granite State campaign trail if he decides to run, Brown said “if he’s got the time, of course.”

And pointing to Trump, Brown said “not only did he help obviously, nationally, he helped here in New Hampshire.”

Former ambassador and former Sen. Scott Brown performs with his rock band Scott Brown and the Diplomats (Scott Brown and the Diplomats)

Shaheen has yet to announce if she’ll seek another term in the Senate. That decision will likely come early in the new year.

But Shaheen, in a fundraising email to supporters on Friday, didn’t sound like she was getting ready to retire.

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“Democrats need to be ready to fight back” against the incoming Trump administration, she wrote. The senator added that last month’s election setbacks for Democrats highlight that “early preparation has never been more important.”

And Shaheen, a former three-term New Hampshire governor, is taking over next month as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the first woman to hold one of the top two positions on the powerful panel.

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Shaheen also turns 78 next month.

Asked if age would be a factor in a potential Shaheen-Brown rematch, Brown said he likes Shaheen and really appreciated her support during his confirmation as ambassador to New Zealand, but added that “that’s certainly up to her.”

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“I’m 65. I can’t believe it. I feel like I’m 40. My wife says I act like I’m like 12, he added.

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Boston, MA

Boston nightclub where woman suffered medical emergency and died has license reinstated

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Boston nightclub where woman suffered medical emergency and died has license reinstated


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After hearing testimony from club representatives and the loved ones of a woman who died there Dec. 21, regulators found no violations.

ICON, a nightclub in Boston’s Theater District, had its entertainment license reinstated at a hearing Thursday. Lane Turner/The Boston Globe

A Boston nightclub where a woman collapsed on the dance floor and died last month will have its entertainment license reinstated after the Boston Licensing Board found no violations Thursday.

Anastaiya Colon, 27, was at ICON, a nightclub in Boston’s Theater District, in the early hours of Dec. 21 when she suffered a fatal medical episode. Following the incident, her loved ones insisted that the club’s staff did not respond professionally and failed to control crowds.

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City regulators suspended ICON’s entertainment license pending an assessment of any potential violations. During a hearing Tuesday, they heard from attorneys representing the club and people who were with Colon the night she died.

Anastaiya Colon, 27, suffered a fatal medical episode Dec. 21 while at ICON.
Anastaiya Colon, 27, suffered a fatal medical episode Dec. 21 while at ICON. – GoFundMe

As EMTs attempted to respond, crowds inside the club failed to comply with demands to give them space, prompting police to shut down the club, according to a police report of the incident. However, the club and its representatives were adamant that staff handled their response and crowd control efforts properly.

Kevin Montgomery, the club’s head of security, testified that the crowd did not impede police or EMTs and that he waited to evacuate the club because doing so would have created a bottleneck at the entrance. Additionally, a bouncer and a bartender both testified that they interacted with Colon, who ordered one drink before collapsing, and did not see any signs of intoxication.

Angelica Morales, Colon’s sister, submitted a video taken on her phone to the board for them to review. Morales testified Tuesday that the video disproves some of the board’s claims and shows that ICON did not immediately respond to the emergency.

“I ran to the DJ booth, literally bombarded everybody that was in my way to get to the DJ booth, told them to cut the music off,” Morales said. “On my way back, the music was cut off for a minute or two, maybe less, and they cut the music back on.”

Shanice Monteiro, a friend who was with Colon and Morales, said she went outside to flag down police officers. She testified that their response, along with the crowd’s, was inadequate.

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“I struggled to get outside,” Monteiro said. “Once I got outside, everybody was still partying, there was no type of urgency. Nobody stopped.”

These factors, along with video evidence provided by ICON, did not substantiate any violations on the club’s part, prompting the licensing board to reinstate their entertainment license at a subsequent hearing Thursday.

“Based on the evidence presented at the hearing from the licensed premise and the spoken testimony and video evidence shared with us from Ms. Colon’s family, I’m not able to find a violation in this case,” Kathleen Joyce, the board’s chairwoman, said at the hearing.

However, Joyce further stated that she “was not able to resolve certain questions” about exactly when or why the club turned off the music or turned on the lights. As a result, the board will require ICON to submit an emergency management plan to prevent future incidents and put organized safety measures in place.

“This plan should outline detailed operational procedures in the event of a medical or any other emergency, including protocols for police and ambulance notification, crowd control and dispersal, and procedures regarding lighting and music during an emergency response,” Joyce said.

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Though the club will reopen without facing any violations, Joyce noted that there were “lessons left to be learned” from the incident.

“This tragedy has shaken the public confidence in nightlife in this area, and restoring that confidence is a shared obligation,” she said. “People should feel safe going out at night. They should feel safe going to a club in this area, and they should feel safe getting home.”

Keeana Saxon, one of three commissioners on the licensing board, further emphasized the distinction Joyce made between entertainment-related matters and those that pertained to licensing. Essentially, the deciding factor in the board’s decision was the separation of the club’s response from any accountability they may have had by serving Colon liquor.

“I hope that the family does understand that there are separate procedures for both the entertainment and the licensing, just to make sure that on the licensing side, that we understand that she was only served one drink and that it was absolutely unforeseeable for that one drink to then lead to some kind of emergency such as this one,” Saxon said.





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Pittsburg, PA

Jack McGregor, original founder of Pittsburgh Penguins, dies at 91

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Jack McGregor, original founder of Pittsburgh Penguins, dies at 91



Jack McGregor, a former state senator and the original founder of the Pittsburgh Penguins, died at the age of 91 on Tuesday. The organization announced the news in a post on social media on Thursday.

“The team extends our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and teammates during this difficult time,” a post on X said. 

No other information was provided in the post, which was shared before the team’s game at PPG Paints Arena against the New Jersey Devils.  

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Pittsburgh Penguins original owner Jack McGregor drops a ceremonial puck between Evgeni Malkin #71 of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ryan Getzlaf #15 of the Anaheim Ducks at PPG Paints Arena on October 15, 2016 in Pittsburgh.

(Photo Credit: Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)


According to his biography on the United States Senate Library, McGregor served in the state Senate from 1963-1970. He represented District 44 in Allegheny County and was a Republican. 

He was born in Kittanning, Armstrong County, and attended the University of Pittsburgh and Quinnipiac University before getting into politics, according to his biography. He also served in the United States Marine Corps.

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In 1966, the NHL granted a franchise to Pittsburgh after McGregor formed a group of investors that included H. J. Heinz II and Art Rooney. McGregor was named president and chief executive officer by the investors and represented Pittsburgh on the NHL’s Board of Governors, according to his biography. 

The team played its first game in 1967 at the Civic Arena. McGregor owned the team for four years before selling it. 

There is also a scholarship in his name at Pitt. It aims to provide “financial assistance to a law student who excels academically and has committed to working in the public sector,” the university says. 



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Connecticut

State police investigating suspicious incident in Burlington

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State police investigating suspicious incident in Burlington


BURLINGTON, Conn. (WFSB) – Connecticut State Police are investigating a suspicious incident at a residence on Case Road in Burlington.

Multiple state troopers and police vehicles were seen at the home conducting an investigation. A viewer reported seeing nine police cars and numerous troopers at the scene.

State police said there is no threat to the public at this time. The investigation is ongoing.

No additional details about the nature of the suspicious incident have been released.

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