New Hampshire

NH House follows RFK Jr., approves ending hepatitis B requirement

Published

3 weeks ago

February 13, 2026

Press Room

NH House follows RFK Jr., approves ending hepatitis B requirement

William Skipworth
| New Hampshire Bulletin

The state House voted, 186-168, Feb. 12 to remove hepatitis B from the list of required vaccines in New Hampshire.

Rep. Kelley Potenza, a Rochester Republican and sponsor of House Bill 1719, framed it as an effort to align with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which under new Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has moved in a controversial direction on vaccines.

In December, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to change the federal government’s guidance to not recommend the hepatitis B vaccine at birth for infants unless the mother tested positive for the virus. The decision came months after Kennedy fired every member of the panel and replaced many of them with fellow vaccine skeptics and was condemned by dozens of major medical organizations.

Potenza has in the past argued that aluminum ingredients in the vaccines cause myriad health complications. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the CDC have all previously reported that aluminum is included in vaccines in doses too small to be toxic.

Supporters say the bill targets government overreach

“What (HB 1719) does is make the hep B vaccination a real choice,” Rep. Matt Drew, a Manchester Republican and co-sponsor of the bill, said on the House floor. “Not a government mandate with the force of the state behind it and the lurking threat of being banned from your day care or school if you refuse.”

State law allows for exemptions on religious and medical grounds, though Drew argued these were insufficient.

Democrats say bill harms public health

The bill was passed over Democrats’ opposition, who decried the bill’s potential effects on public health.

Rep. William Palmer, a Cornish Democrat, noted that since the universal hepatitis B vaccine was introduced in 1991, “there’s been a 99% drop in infant infections.” After 1 billion doses administered around the world, he said, it has proven to be “one of the safest and most effective of all vaccines.” Indeed, from 1993 to 2019, there was a 99% drop in infections among children and adolescents, according to a letter from the American Public Health Association and a coalition of health professionals.

“The peer-reviewed data around the world supports this impressive safety profile,” Palmer said. “And we should not be misled by reports that have not been subjected to such vigorous review.”

This bill will be considered by the House Finance Committee before it heads to the Senate.

Vaccine religious exemption bill passes, too

In a 197-163 vote, the House also approved another vaccine related bill, House Bill 1584. The bill would allow parents to receive religious exemptions from vaccines simply by providing any written statement attesting to the religious exemption as opposed to filling out a specific form created by the Department of Health and Human Services, as is the process now.

Additionally, the bill would require that any time the Department of Health and Human Services promotes vaccines, it must write that “medical and religious exemptions are available under New Hampshire law” in “bold, clearly noticeable, starred print on the front or top portion of the material.”

The original version of the bill imposed a fine of up to $1,000 on any department employee or officer who violates this requirement, but the bill was amended before it passed to allow department management to handle disciplinary action.

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New Hampshire

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Published

6 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

Local News

Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.

A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.

Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.

Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.

Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.

In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.

During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.

When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.

Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.

While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.

As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.

While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.

“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.

Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.

To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.

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New Hampshire

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

Published

19 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.

The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.

Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.

When will it snow in NH tonight?

According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.

Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.

Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.

How much snow will NH get tonight?

New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.

In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.

The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.

NH weather watches and warnings

The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.