Autumn reflection along the Portsmouth New Hampshire waterfront. It is a historic seaport and … [+] popular summer tourist destination. Portsmouth is the third oldest city in the USA. New Hampshire is one of New England’s most popular fall foliage destinations bringing out some of the best foliage in the United States
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The positive relationship between economic freedom and economic growth is one of the most robust empirical relationships in economics. This is good news for New Hampshire, which ranks number one in the latest edition of the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of North America (EFNA) index.
Each year, the Fraser Institute releases its EFNA index, which ranks the 50 U.S. states, 10 Canadian provinces, and 32 Mexican states based on how free their citizens are to engage in economic activity. The three primary areas analyzed for the index are government spending, taxes, and labor market freedom. Data for the report are from 2022, which are the most recent data available due to lags in reporting across the various states and countries. Among the three countries, U.S. states are freer on average, holding every top 40 spot except for one: Alberta, Canada is tied for 12th overall. Every Mexican state is ranked below every U.S. state and Canadian province.
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In the United States, New Hampshire is the freest state, followed by South Dakota and Florida. New York is the least free state, ranked just below California and Hawaii (see figure below).
Top and bottom 5 states on EFNA index
Fraser Institute Economic Freedom of North America Index https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/economic-freedom-north-america-2024
As discussed in the report, the most economically free U.S. states experienced faster population growth and more employment growth from 2013 to 2022. Population growth in the states ranked in the top 25% was 8.3% over this period. For those ranked in the bottom 25%, it was only 0.8%. Similarly, employment growth in the states ranked in the top 25% was 12%, while it was only 4% for those in the bottom 25%. Per capita incomes also grew faster on average in states that increased their economic freedom over this period, as shown in the figure below.
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Average growth in per capita income and economic freedom
Fraser Institute Economic Freedom of North America Index https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/economic-freedom-north-america-2024
So, what can state policymakers do to increase economic freedom in their state? One option is tax reform. High tax rates impose large financial burdens on workers, businesses, and consumers and distort choices, such as whether to work more or invest rather than spend. Lower tax rates allow people to keep more of their money and reduce distortions, which is why lowering rates increases economic freedom.
Louisiana ranks 23rd on this year’s index, but it is likely to do better next year due to its recent tax reforms. In a recent special session that ended a couple weeks ago, Louisiana’s legislature approved a flat 3% individual income tax rate, eliminating the previous top rate of 4.25% that applied to income over $50,000. It also lowered the corporate income tax rate to a flat 5.5% from a top marginal rate of 7.5%. To offset some of the lost revenue, the sales tax rate was increased from 4% to 5%. Unfortunately, other pro-growth tax reforms that eliminated tax credits for restoring historic buildings and the film industry were defeated.
Reducing regulation is another way states can boost economic freedom. While regulation can provide benefits, too much regulation restricts consumers’ choices and imposes unnecessary burdens on businesses. America’s inability to build housing and energy and transportation infrastructure is a perfect example of what happens when regulation runs amok.
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Idaho is a great example of how a state can reduce its regulatory burden. Since 2019, it has eliminated or simplified 95% of its regulations through a comprehensive process that requires agencies to periodically review regulations and eliminate or reform those that are not working. Today, it is one of the least regulated states in the country and its economy is booming: Its real GDP grew by 5.9% on an annualized basis—the highest in the country—according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
A thriving economy benefits everyone—workers, consumers, and entrepreneurs—and government has a role to play in protecting individual economic choices so people are free to innovate and create new products and services. State officials who want to improve their state’s economy should focus on increasing economic freedom.
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 authoritiessaid.
Joseph Sawyer, 52, was arrested by FBI Albany’s SWAT team after the bureau’s Boston office and Nashua, N.H., police learnedhe might bein upstate New York, FBI Boston said in a statement Thursday.
Investigators said thealleged 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.
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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.
Fighting the transgender sports ban is ‘utterly misogynistic’: Riley Gaines
Fox News discusses the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold transgender sports bans. Former NCAA All-American Riley Gaines states it’s ‘insane’ to challenge biological sex in sports, asserting boys should not compete in girls’ sports. She calls the opposing movement ‘misogynistic,’ advocating for female athletes’ rights and fair competition, a view echoed by Education Secretary Linda McMahon. This highlights the contentious issue in women’s sports.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte (Getty Images)
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.
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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.”
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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.
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