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NH Republicans introduce bill to mandate abortion video showing in health class

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NH Republicans introduce bill to mandate abortion video showing in health class


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  • New Hampshire Republicans introduced a bill Wednesday to mandate the showing of abortion videos in public school health class.
  • They also introduced bills to require the showing of the “Meet Baby Olivia” video and to provide information about adoption in health class.
  • Bill sponsor says bill is for education purposes; Planned Parenthood said the materials are “anti-abortion propaganda.”

New Hampshire Republicans introduced a bill Wednesday to mandate the showing of abortion videos in public school health class.

HB 662 was one of three bills some state representatives have filed in an effort they say is to educate New Hampshire public school students on abortion.

While a bill to ban abortions after 15-weeks was withdrawn Thursday, these bills are a few of the ones keeping the abortion issue alive in Concord.

What would the abortion video bill do?

HB 662 would require public high schools to show at least two of three videos developed by Live Action, an anti-abortion activist group, as part of the school’s health and wellness education. The videos are described as showing the process of chemical or surgical abortion during the first or second trimester through “high quality, computer-generated rendering or animation.”

The legislation would also prohibit schools from offering any course materials from entities that provide abortions.

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Why do legislators want to mandate abortion viewing in health class?

Prime sponsor Rep. John Sellers, R-Bristol, said that the videos are “nonpolitical and non-religious” and that the goal of the legislation is purely educational.

“I believe that this information is information our kids really need to know and understand what they’re getting into and how it may affect them,” he said Wednesday. “Banning these educational videos would be no different than banning books and not allowing the children to learn.”

“Meet Baby Olivia” bill and more

In addition to HB 662, Sellers sponsored two other bills related to education on abortion in schools.

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HB 667 would require the showing of another video made by the anti-abortion group Live Action called “Meet Baby Olivia” which purports to depict the process of human development. It would make the viewing of this video a graduation requirement and would also mandate the New Hampshire public universities and colleges certify that students have seen the video. 

The language of this bill is like many others introduced around the country. North Dakota and Tennessee have already enacted laws requiring schools show “Meet Baby Olivia” or something like it, and lawmakers in several other states, including Iowa, Arkansas, and West Virginia, have introduced similar bills this year.

Sellers also sponsored HB 730, which would require school districts to discuss and provide materials related to adoption for at least one hour a year during health education and anytime sexually transmitted infections or contraception are discussed.

Planned Parenthood says bills push “anti-abortion propaganda”

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and New Hampshire said that while they support a wide variety of sex education topics, these bills “seek to require anti-abortion propaganda to be shown and provided in New Hampshire public middle school, high school, and colleges.”

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The organization said that the videos mentioned in the bills are biased and not based in medical practice or science. The “Baby Olivia” video, they said, has not been endorsed by “any unbiased media organization.” 

They also said that requiring the provision of adoption information “stigmatizes sexual and reproductive health care.”  

“All three of these bills seek to push an anti-abortion agenda on teenagers and young adults across the state. These bills all seek to shame teenagers,” read their testimony. “New Hampshire students deserve to have honest, medically-accurate, and complete information when it comes to making healthy lifelong decisions.”

All three bills saw hundreds more people in opposition than in support on the online testimony. They are all awaiting a recommendation from the Education Policy and Administration Committee before heading to the House floor for the first vote in the bill process.



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CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Driver seen driving across Windham, NH lawn late at night – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Driver seen driving across Windham, NH lawn late at night – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


WINDHAM, N.H. (WHDH) – Police are searching for a person seen on camera driving across a lawn in Windham, New Hampshire.

Windham police say on April 25, around midnight, a driver plowed across a lawn on Trails Edge Road in Windham.

Police say the vehicle is believed to be a late 1990s-early 2000s Chevrolet Silverado, but the color in unknown due to the video being black and white.

A next-door neighbor says their driveway was just redone one day before the incident.

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“The boys came in the other morning. I was surprised I didn’t hear anything,” she said. “That’s not that bad but kind of scary, though. I just hope it never happens again.”

The incident is still under investigation.

(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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Commission sets sights on UNESCO recognition for Mount Washington – NH Business Review

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Commission sets sights on UNESCO recognition for Mount Washington – NH Business Review


Ice coats instruments, buildings and rock fields atop Mount Washington. The peak’s extreme weather is one reason members of the Mount Washington Commission say they are seeking potential UNESCO World Heritage Site status for the peak. (Photo by Charlie Peachey, courtesy of the Mount Washington Observatory)

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Egypt’s Great Pyramids, Arizona’s Grand Canyon … and New Hampshire’s own Mount Washington?

At their April meeting, the group of institutions that steward the Northeast’s tallest mountain voted, 9-1, to take a preliminary step toward pursuing UNESCO World Heritage Site designation for the peak. The process may take years to decades, but if it is successful, Mount Washington could become the first site in New England to rank on the internationally recognized list.

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The possibility requires unique considerations, commission members said, including the need it would create to manage increased visitation that is already straining the summit’s alpine ecosystem and infrastructure.

Mount Washington Commission Chair Rob Kirsch believes the designation would be a boon for the mountain, bringing in not only more visitors but also more funding to invest in making the peak more resilient to traffic. Kirsch said he sees the application as a chance to showcase the wonder of Mount Washington at a grander scale.

“It will lead to an improved experience for people, generally,” Kirsch said. “It will give the state something to really be proud of.”

A property must meet at least one of 10 criteria to be considered for World Heritage Site status, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Mount Washington could invoke several categories in its application, including one for sites that “contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.”

There are many steps before Mount Washington could potentially be added to that list. The motion approved at the April 17 meeting of the Mount Washington Commission was the first: At that meeting, the commission approved pursuing “Tentative List” status for the mountain. One site is selected from that national list each year for submission to the United Nations World Heritage Committee.

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To move ahead, the application must receive support from the federal government. The commission has engaged with federal officials, and U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has been supportive of the project, commission members said.

“Mount Washington’s unique natural environment, scientific significance and rich history deserve global recognition,” Shaheen said in a statement to the Bulletin. “I am proud to support the Commission as they work to have our region’s most iconic peak designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.”

From here, Kirsch said, the process may take decades. UNESCO designation typically boosts visitorship to a site, and proponents generally point to the associated regional economic boost as a benefit of the status. But the list has also been criticized as contributing to overtourism that can degrade sites or harm the communities around them. While it can boost public awareness of a place, there is no funding attached to the status itself.

The Mount Washington Commission is guided by a 2022 master plan for the mountain’s stewardship and conservation. In November 2025, the commission reviewed preliminary results from an assessment conducted as part of that plan, showing that crowds and climate change were large factors in the strain on the summit’s delicate natural environment and aging infrastructure.

With significant investment, the summit could readily accommodate significant crowds, said Kirsch, who is also an environmental lawyer, former weather observer at the Mount Washington Observatory, and a member of the observatory’s board of trustees. It’s not clear yet where the money for those investments will come from, but Kirsch said he hoped the UNESCO designation would help.

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“You can bring as many people as you want to Mount Washington as long as you make sufficient infrastructure investment to protect the environment,” he said.

The commission is still waiting for more results from the summit’s environmental assessment, but Kirsch said the boost to visitation would not affect the environment if the commission adheres to the guidelines laid out in the Master Plan. Rather, he said, the investments he hopes designation would help secure could help prevent any danger from overcrowding and ensure the mountain’s environment is protected.

He added that the benefit of a UNESCO designation would go beyond the businesses operating on the mountain — which include the Mount Washington Auto Road and the Mount Washington Cog Railway — to boost others throughout the North Country.


This story was originally produced by the New Hampshire Bulletin, an independent local newsroom that allows NH Business Review and other outlets to republish its reporting.

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Investigation into woman’s 2007 death resolved, NH officials say

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Investigation into woman’s 2007 death resolved, NH officials say


New Hampshire authorities said Thursday that they have resolved their investigation into the death of a woman nearly 20 years ago.

On Feb. 24, 2007, 25-year-old Carrie Hicks was found dead from two gunshot wounds to the head at the Acworth home of Wayne Ring, who was found alive in the same room with a single gunshot wound to the head.

Ring died at the age of 57 on May 26, 2012.

Investigators officially determined Ring fatally shot Hicks before attempting to take his own life.

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People who knew Hicks and Ring told authorities that they had formed a suicide “pact” and openly discussed suicide.

“Witness testimony revealed that Ms. Hicks had specifically instructed Mr. Ring to shoot her twice so she would not be left alive,” the office of Attorney General John Formella wrote in a press release.

A review of the autopsy report this year, along with a forensic reconstruction of bloodstain patterns, demonstrated that it was “medically and physically impossible” for Hicks to have fired the second shot she sustained, officials said. They added that, beyond a reasonable doubt, she could not have inflicted either injury on herself, and that Ring fatally shot Hicks before turning the gun on himself.

Formella said that if Ring were alive, there would be sufficient evidence to prosecute a first-degree murder case against him.

“We hope that the conclusion of this investigation brings a measure of clarity and peace to the loved ones of Carrie Hicks,” he said in a statement. “This resolution underscores the commitment of the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit. By thoroughly re-examining the forensic evidence, witness statements, and autopsy records, our investigators have finally established the truth behind this tragic loss of life.”

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