Connect with us

New Hampshire

At the Democratic National Convention, breakfast isn’t just bacon and eggs – The Boston Globe

Published

on

At the Democratic National Convention, breakfast isn’t just bacon and eggs – The Boston Globe


At the national party conventions, state delegation breakfasts are in part organizational events, where weary state party staffers hand out credentials and preview the day’s schedule, not unlike camp counselors rallying their adult wards for the day. But the gatherings also offer revealing glimpses at political up-and-comers, who spend their early-morning hours with the party faithful they will need to secure higher office down the line. Their remarks are typically brief — sometimes funny, sometimes heartfelt, always laudatory of the state they’re addressing. For strong speakers, they end in standing ovations.

Savvy politicos make the rounds, moving with discipline from hotel ballroom to hotel ballroom and often hitting multiple breakfasts per day. Not all 50 are created equal: The A-list speakers pay particular attention to battlegrounds, influential delegations, and, of course, the early nominating states that could decide their fates should they pursue the presidency.

That elite status was clear this week for humble New Hampshire, with a breakfast speaker line up that included many of the party’s buzziest names. Vermont’s breakfast may have had maple syrup shots, but its New England neighbor heard from a who’s who of the party’s up and comers, including some who have run for president before or are looking to in the future, and some who were under consideration to serve as Harris’s running mate. Delegates enjoyed bacon, eggs, and potatoes as speakers addressed them from a podium flanked by inflatable coconut trees, an apparent tribute to the now-famous Harris line.

Not every state got the same attention. Shapiro was on the schedule to speak to a Massachusetts breakfast on Thursday, but did not appear. He did not miss his appointment with the New Hampshire delegation Wednesday morning, though.

Advertisement

The status of the state’s first-in-the-nation primary is uncertain on the Democratic side, after the national party pushed it later in the nominating calendar and New Hampshire rebelled. But the early contest, and the outsize power it gives this state of just 1.4 million people, was nonetheless at the center of the conversation.

“Speaking of New Hampshire, the primary is back!” laughed retiring New Hampshire Congresswoman Annie Kuster as she introduced Booker to the delegation on Thursday morning.

“I’m like, it’s home,” Booker said as he took the podium to applause. “I just love your state. I spent so much time there — I don’t know if you all know this, I ran for president in 2020.”

Ten minutes later, the crowd was on its feet applauding him, and state party chair Raymond Buckley had to chastise attendees for lining up for selfies and delaying the rest of the stacked program.

“You know, Cory Booker’s been to New Hampshire about 455 times, and he’s coming back,” Buckley chided.

Advertisement

For some of the state’s youngest delegates, access to the party’s future stars has been a highlight of the convention.

“Who’s gonna be there in ‘28, and who’s gonna be there in ‘32, and how many meals have we already had with them?” laughed Samay Sahu, a 20-year-old Dartmouth student. “Have I met them already? Have we taken a selfie?”

New Hampshire is “small” but “mighty,” Sahu added, crediting the primary for its political power.

Khanna, the California congressman seen as having presidential ambitions, attended more than a dozen state delegation breakfasts this week. A prominent poster near the New Hampshire delegation’s breakfast buffet thanked its sponsors; Khanna was at the top, and he was one of the few sponsors who did not live in the Granite State.

“I have gone to Michigan, to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin,” Khanna told reporters on Tuesday, naming a slate of battleground states as he spoke about the importance of introducing delegates to “the next generation of talent.”

Advertisement

“It’s about getting the right economic message for the party and figuring out what the right message is to win in the fall and going and talking to delegates, talking to people across the breakfasts, helps you figure that out,” he said.

And does the ambitious congressman have particular affection for the first-in-the-nation primary state?

“I love New Hampshire because it’s a state that values ideas. It’s a state that values retail politics,” Khanna said. He added that he has long been a supporter of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary, “and I’m pretty confident that it’ll have a big role going forward.”

Paying extra attention to states such as New Hampshire is nothing new in national politics. It was a similar scene at the Republican National Convention last month in Milwaukee, where onetime presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy sponsored a breakfast for the state, his smiling face featured on posters outside the room. The state’s Republican delegation heard from Ramaswamy and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Bill Shaheen, husband of Senator Jeanne Shaheen and DNC committeeman for New Hampshire, said in an interview after breakfast Thursday that his state “has a tradition of being involved and being active, and I think we can help give these people who want to run for president guidance.”

Advertisement

Sahu, who introduced Boston Mayor Michelle Wu when she addressed the New Hampshire breakfast earlier this week, said he was “bawling” when they heard from Buttigieg, whom he reveres.

“The thing is, even though we’re seeing them, and I get to be, what, two feet away from Wes Moore, it’s almost not that big of a deal,” Sahu added. “Because he’s gonna come back to New Hampshire.”


Advertisement

Emma Platoff can be reached at emma.platoff@globe.com. Follow her @emmaplatoff.





Source link

New Hampshire

Townsend man arrested in connection with two armed robberies in New Hampshire and New Jersey, authorities say – The Boston Globe

Published

on

Townsend man arrested in connection with two armed robberies in New Hampshire and New Jersey, authorities say – The Boston Globe


Authorities allege Joseph Sawyer brandished what appeared to be a handgun during a robbery at St. Mary’s Bank in Nashua, N.H., on June 12.Boston FBI

A Townsend man was arrested Wednesday night in connection with two armed bank robberies in New Hampshire and New Jersey last month, federal authorities said.

Joseph Sawyer, 52, was arrested by FBI Albany’s SWAT team after the bureau’s Boston office and Nashua, N.H., police learned he might be in upstate New York, FBI Boston said in a statement Thursday.

Investigators said the alleged robberies happened at St. Mary’s Bank on Northwest Boulevard in Nashua on June 12 and at a Chase Bank in Boonton, N.J., on June 27.

During both robberies, prosecutors allege Sawyer brandished what appeared to be a black semiautomatic handgun, ordered everyone inside the banks to get on the ground, and demanded their cell phones before stealing cash, according to a criminal complaint filed in New Hampshire federal court.

Advertisement

The complaint alleges Sawyer stole $6,000 from the Nashua bank before fleeing in a Honda minivan. Investigators say he discarded a shopping bag containing the bank manager’s cell phone in a nearby parking lot before driving away.

Investigators linked the two robberies through surveillance footage and license plate reader data, according to court filings. Authorities allege the minivan was driven with stolen New Jersey plates during the Boonton robbery that were later replaced with Massachusetts plates registered to Sawyer’s late father.

Sawyer was charged with one count of bank robbery in New Hampshire, court records show. It was not immediately clear Thursday night if he is being represented by an attorney.

The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s office for the District of New Hampshire, the FBI said.


Breanne Kovatch can be reached at breanne.kovatch@globe.com. Follow her @breannekovatch.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

New Hampshire

Trans athletes drop lawsuit to gain access to girls’ sports in New Hampshire after SCOTUS ruling

Published

on

Trans athletes drop lawsuit to gain access to girls’ sports in New Hampshire after SCOTUS ruling


A pair of trans athletes in New Hampshire have dismissed their lawsuit to challenge the state law that protects girls’ sports after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Title IX ruling on June 30.

Advertisement

The trans teenage plaintiffs, Parker Tirrell and Iris Turmelle, originally filed the lawsuit in 2024 to challenge a current New Hampshire state law prohibiting trans athletes from participating in girls’ sports. The lawsuit later expanded to add President Donald Trump’s administration to the defendants after Trump signed the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order on Feb. 5, 2025.

The lawyers for the trans athletes claimed Trump’s executive order, along with parts of a Jan. 20 executive order that forbids federal money from being used to “promote gender ideology,” subjects the teens and all transgender girls to discrimination in violation of federal equal protection guarantees and their rights under Title IX.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

A transgender athlete and the Supreme Court (Getty Images)

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire then ruled last year that female athletes represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys were permitted to intervene in the case to defend the state’s women’s sports law and the administration’s executive orders.

Advertisement

Now, after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling, which protects state laws that ensure only females compete in girls’ sports, there is no room for the trans teens to fight the law in New Hampshire.

“Women and girls deserve privacy, safety, and equal opportunities. That can’t happen when males are competing in women’s sports, taking spots on women’s athletic teams, and winning women’s championships,” ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Litigation Strategy Jonathan Scruggs said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

USA POWERLIFTING, ONCE IN TRANS ATHLETE LAWSUIT, SUPPORTS SCOTUS RULING: ‘LAW HAS CAUGHT UP WITH THE SCIENCE’

“President Trump’s executive orders and New Hampshire’s law recognize common sense and track Title IX, the federal law that ensures equal opportunities for women in athletics. We are grateful this case is coming to an end and that New Hampshire is free to protect its female athletes.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Tirrell and Turmelle’s attorneys at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) for a response.

Advertisement

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

A protester waves a transgender pride flag outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. Advocates organized a rally in response the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in US v. Skrmetti, in which the justices ruled to uphold state bans on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The SCOTUS rulings in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, the high court upheld state laws requiring student-athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond with their biological sex at birth rather than their gender identity, in a 6-3 decision.

However, there are still 23 states, including California, New York and Massachusetts, that don’t have any such laws, and some of those have laws to protect trans athletes in girls’ sports.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

New Hampshire

New Hampshire Gov. signs law requiring schools to out trans kids

Published

on

New Hampshire Gov. signs law requiring schools to out trans kids


New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte has signed legislation requiring public school employees to disclose information about transgender students to their parents or legal guardians, reversing a 2024 state Supreme Court ruling that upheld students’ privacy rights in certain circumstances.

Advertisement

Ayotte’s office announced on 2 July that the legislation had been signed into law. Under SB 430, educators must respond to written requests from parents for “material information” about their child, even if a student has asked that the information be kept confidential or fears negative consequences at home.

Supporters of the legislation, such as Republican state Senator Tim Lang, argue the measure strengthens parental rights and enables families to better support children who may be struggling. “If you don’t tell the parent, the parent can’t watch for the signs of self-harm,” Lang told New Hampshire Public Radio.

Educators and LGBTQ+ advocates, however, say the law places teachers in an impossible position by forcing them to choose between complying with the law and protecting vulnerable students. Megan Tuttle, president of NEA-New Hampshire, the state’s largest teachers’ union, said in a statement that the legislation is “vaguely written and risks putting educators in a position of outing a student.” She added that schools should remain places where every student feels “safe, seen, and free to be themselves.”

Aimee Terravechia, executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy group 603 Equality, warned the law could erode trust between students and educators while speaking with New Hampshire Public Radio. “Schools should be a place of learning… and a place of critical self-examination,” she said. “Placing educators into a role of monitoring and reporting removes the trust necessary for a thriving academic environment.”

Advertisement

The legislation also effectively overturns a 2024 New Hampshire Supreme Court decision, in which justices ruled that keeping a student’s gender identity confidential did not unlawfully interfere with parents’ rights, noting that parents still retained numerous ways to support and communicate with their children outside the classroom.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending