New Hampshire
NH Supreme Court Considers Camp Fatima Sex Abuse Lawsuit
By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – It’s now up to three judges whether or not a man who says he was raped by Fr. Karl Dowd is allowed to seek justice under the New Hampshire constitution.
The case illustrates the conflict between legislature’s 2020 law that removes the statute of limitations in child sex abuse civil complaints and Article 23 of the New Hampshire Constitution, which prohibits retroactive application of new laws.
The alleged victim, who claims he was raped in the 1970s while he was at a summer camp run by the Diocese of Manchester, brought his lawsuit in 2023. Under long-standing New Hampshire law, the man’s deadline to bring a lawsuit against the Church passed in the 1980s.
While the legislature removed the statute of limitations for child sex abuse complaints in 2020, the Diocese argues the legislature cannot pass laws that violate the constitution.
A skeleton-crew Court heard arguments Wednesday from attorney Scott Harris, representing the victim, and Olivia Bensinger, representing the Diocese. Supreme Court Associate Justices Patrick Donovan and Melissa Countway were joined by Superior Court Justice Charles Temple to hear the case.
Associate Justice James Bassett did not take part in the arguments due to his pending retirement, and Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald is disqualified from the case.
The victim’s lawsuit was dismissed last year when Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Leonard ruled that the law cannot be applied retroactively.
“The prohibition against retrospective application of laws under Article 23 of the New Hampshire Constitution must be respected in this case because “[r]etrospective laws are highly injurious, oppressive, and unjust” in every case, Leonard wrote.
Statute of limitations harm victims, enable abusers, and pervert justice, according to Harris. The 2020 law is absolutely meant to apply retroactively for people like the alleged victim, Harris said.
“The language could not have been clearer,” Harris said.
Victims of childhood abuse can take decades to even acknowledge what they suffered, and by the time they are ready to make a report the law closes the door on their ability to seek justice. The 2020 law ending limits for child sex abuse victims is a clear solution the legislature came up with to help victims, Harris said.
The 2020 law does not include any reference to retroactive enforcement. According to Harris, that is because the law is intended to apply retroactively.
“Our legislature would have included that language if they thought it necessary,” Harris said.
But Bensinger argued such language on retroactive enforcement isn’t needed since it is assumed that laws must comply with the constitution.
“[The 2020 legislature] knew the constitution protects against retroactivity,” Bensinger said.
The right to a statute of limitations defense is a vested right for all defendants, Bensinger said, and any change to the limits must also account for the constitution. Donovan expressed skepticism at Bensinger’s interpretation of the law.
“It seems to me that you’re reading language into the statute that isn’t there,” Donovan said.
Dowd was the priest in charge of the diocese’s Camp Fatima and Camp Bernadette for decades despite serious red flags. Dowd was promoted by the diocese in 1971 to be the camp director, after a prior sexual assault complaint at St. Bernard Parish in Keene where Dowd was accused of abusing a 16-year-old boy.
During Dowd’s leadership at Camp Fatima the summer camp become an abyss of child sex abuse, according to court records, with multiple priests and religious staffers raping the boys.
“Several other boys who attended Camp Fatima alleged that Dowd sexually abused them, including one man who alleged he was abused more than 100 times before 1975. Id. The abuse was so pervasive at the Camp that one former camper stated, ‘it was nothing to see somebody take a little kid, go into a cabin, [and] close all the shutters,’” court records state.
Camp Fatima is in Gilmanton Iron Works.
The alleged victim claims he was first assaulted by Dowd when other staffers directed the boy to hide in a particular cabin. The camp staffers were playing a game known as “strip the campers,” in which the boys were chased and forcibly stripped if caught by the staff. The victim was told he could avoid being stripped by going into the cabin, according to court records.
The alleged victim went into the cabin alone, and saw it was furnished with a bed. Dowd soon entered, joined him on the bed, and allegedly began his assault.
“Dowd proceeded to sexually assault the plaintiff while telling him that ‘God loved him and wanted him there, and so did Dowd,’” according to court records.
Dowd was the camp director until 1990. Dowd’s notorious abuse wasn’t known to the public until after he died in 2002 when several former campers came forward. But the victim alleges the diocese knew that Dowd sexually assaulted children.
Several former campers filed a class action lawsuit against the diocese in 2002, months after Dowd died while on vacation in Florida. That lawsuit was later settled out of court.
New Hampshire
Pakistan hosts diplomatic discussions on ending war
Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt will meet in Islamabad today in an attempt to come up with a plan to de-escalate the Iran war.
The meeting comes as several thousand more U.S. troops arrived in the region and after another group got involved in the expanding conflict: Yemen’s Houthis.
The Iran-backed Houthis launched missiles towards Israel, and there’s concern their involvement could threaten another vital global shipping lane in the Red Sea.
Here are more updates on day 30 of the Iran war.
Diplomacy Push in Pakistan
The four foreign ministers from regional powers will meet in Islamabad today and Monday for a push towards diplomacy to end the war.
In a statement ahead of the meeting, the Egyptian government said: “Discussions are expected to focus on recent developments related to regional military escalation and ongoing diplomatic efforts to contain tensions and promote de-escalation.”
“The talks come amid heightened concerns about regional stability, with participating countries seeking to coordinate their stances and support political solutions to emerging crises,” it added.
Whether whatever consensus the countries known as “the quad” come up with will be accepted by the US, Israel, and Iran is another question.
Pakistan has emerged as a possible peace-broker in the conflict, passing messages between the U.S. and Tehran. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Saturday that “dialogue, diplomacy, and such confidence-building measures are the only way forward.”
Dar also welcomed the fact Iran has agreed to allow 20 Pakistan-flagged ships – or two a day – through the Strait of Hormuz.
Houthis enter war
Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen launched the first missile they have fired since the war began toward Israel on Saturday. Israel’s military successfully intercepted it but the Houthis’ attack opens another front in a war that has now moved into its second month.
Up until Saturday’s missile launch the Houthis had stayed out of this war. But a Houthi spokesman said attacks will continue until “the aggression on all resistance fronts stops.”
Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs / AP
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AP
The Yemen-based rebels were active during Israel’s war in Gaza, firing on cargo ships in the Red Sea and disrupting global commercial traffic.
With Iran essentially blockading the Strait of Hormuz, driving up global oil prices, there are concerns that if the Houthis start attacking ships in the Red Sea again global shipping will be even more disrupted.
Iran also hit multiple sites around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Saturday and Israel’s military says Iran is increasingly using cluster bombs.
Designed to detonate at high altitude the munition disperses dozens of smaller bombs that are more challenging for Israel’s multi-layered air defense system to intercept and can cause damage over a wider area.
Dozens of countries have signed onto a cluster munitions treaty banning the weapons – except Iran, Israel and the U.S.
Iran threatens U.S. universities in region
Iranian authorities and residents say more airstrikes hit them overnight. Social media videos from across Iran showed strikes hitting all over the country.
Israel’s military said it had completed what it called a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting weapons production and storage sites.
Iran claims U.S.-Israeli strikes hit a Tehran university over the weekend and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened American university campuses in the Middle East in retaliation.
“We advise all employees, professors, and students of American universities in the region and residents of their surrounding areas” to stay a kilometer away from campuses, the statement, carried by Iranian media, said.
Several US universities have campuses in the Gulf, including New York University in the United Arab Emirates and Texas A&M University, among others, in Qatar.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to fire drones and missiles at Gulf countries, with Kuwait saying it was intercepting missile and drone attacks early Sunday. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed ten drones.
Iran also claimed it had attacked two major aluminium sites in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Emirates Global Aluminium confirmed an Iranian attack wounded several and caused significant damage to its plant.
U.S. Troops injured, more arrive
At least 15 U.S. service members were wounded Friday in an Iranian strike on a Saudi air base that hosts American troops, according to the Associated Press, including at least five in serious condition. The missile and drone strikes targeted Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan air base, located outside the capital Riyadh.
Iran has targeted U.S. service members at bases throughout the region since the war began a month ago, in retaliation for the U.S. attacks and seeking to drive troops out of the region. Overall, the Pentagon has put the U.S. casualty toll at 13 killed and more than 300 injured.
On Saturday, troops from the Japan-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, made up of around 3,500 sailors and Marines, arrived in the Middle East, according to U.S. Central Command.
The U.S. military will not say where and how they might be deployed. Thousands more soldiers from the U.S. military’s 82nd Airborne Division are also expected to be deployed.
Journalists killed in Lebanon
Three Lebanese journalists covering the Israeli invasion of the country’s south were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Jezzine.
One of them worked for a TV channel affiliated with Hezbollah and Israel accuses him of being a militant rather than a journalist – but has not provided evidence. The journalist Israel says it targeted was Ali Shaeb, a veteran TV correspondent and household name in Lebanon. After killing him, Israel’s military issued a statement accusing him of exposing the locations of Israeli troops.
The other two journalists killed were siblings, TV correspondent Fatima Ftouni and her cameraman brother, Mohammed Ftouni. Afterward their father appeared on TV, saying he was proud of his children.
All three had been covering Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon.
Lebanese officials called the attack a flagrant violation of international law, and said they’re complaining to the UN Security Council. Hundreds of fellow journalists marched at a protest vigil in Lebanon’s capital.
The three journalists were among at least 47 people killed Saturday in Israeli attacks, according to Lebanese health officials.
Nine of those killed were paramedics, which the head of the World Health Organization called “a tragedy,” noting health workers are protected under international law.
Israel has intensified its attacks across Lebanon, mostly in the South, where Israeli ground troops are moving northward to try to oust Hezbollah militants.
Another Israeli soldier was also killed in Lebanon, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing his condolences on X over the weekend.
Developments in Syria, Iraq
The war is spreading to more parts of the Middle East. On Sunday, Syria said it had intercepted a drone strike from Iraq targeting a U.S. military base. Pro-Iran Iraqi groups have claimed responsibility for some attacks on US interests.
Separately, the Syrian and UAE governments condemned an attack targeting the residence of the Kurdish region’s president Nechirvan Barzani.
French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the attack saying: “The sovereignty of Iraq, and of Kurdistan within it, is essential to regional stability. Everything must be done to prevent Iraq from being drawn into the ongoing escalation.”
On Sunday, the Israeli army said it had launched its “first” attack into Lebanon from Syria.
Jane Arraf in Amman, Emily Feng in Van, Turkey, Lauren Frayer in Jezzine, Lebanon, Carrie Khan in Tel Aviv, and Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg contributed to this report.
Copyright 2026 NPR
New Hampshire
Abandoned Camper Fire On South Main Street Knocked Down By Concord Fire And Rescue Teams
CONCORD, NH — The Concord Fire Department is investigating the cause of a camper fire on South Main Street late Friday night.
Around 11:30 p.m., fire and rescue teams were sent to South Main Street, not far from Langdon Avenue, for a report of a camper on fire. Dispatch said it was unknown if anyone was inside or if the camper was abandoned.
“We have a couple of calls on it,” a dispatcher said. “It’s fully involved.”
A few minutes later, the fire was confirmed, and firefighters worked to extinguish it. The battalion commander confirmed no one was inside, and it appeared to be abandoned. Dispatch said, if they recalled correctly, the camper had been there for “quite a while.”
News 603 posted videos from the scene on Facebook here:
And here:
The bulk of the fire was knocked down after about 20 minutes, with firefighters overhauling and dealing with “the hot spots.”
Not long after the overhaul update, firefighters were sent to a business on South Main Street, near the camper fire, in response to a report of an alarm activation.
After investigating, there did not appear to be an activation at the business, a commander said. Later, dispatch said the alarm appeared to restore itself automatically. Firefighters cleared the scene of the business alarm just after midnight on Saturday.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire may see rare Atlas V rocket launch. Here’s when to look
A 20-story tall, 1.3 million-pound Atlas V rocket will blast off from Florida this weekend, and Granite Staters waking up very early might able to see it if the clouds in the sky don’t cover it.
Teams with United Launch Alliance are prepping for the Atlas V rocket launch, the fifth Amazon Leo constellation mission. Liftoff is planned at 3:53 a.m. ET Sunday, March 29, 2026, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Pending weather conditions and cloud cover, the Atlas V-Amazon Leo predawn launch could be visible from Florida to New England, according to ULA. That is, if their city falls on the ULA Atlas V rocket launch visibility map (see below), and if they’re awake at the time of liftoff.
The Atlas V rocket will be equipped with five solid rocket boosters to launch the next batch of Amazon Leo broadband satellites (previously referred to as Project Kuiper) into low-Earth orbit, giving a great show to those watching.
However, weather could disrupt viewing, as the New Hampshire area on the visibility map is set for isolated snow showers before 10 p.m. on Saturday night as well as partly cloudy skies, the National Weather Service said.
Here’s what to know about ULA Atlas V rocket launch visibility from New Hampshire.
When will ULA Atlas V launch?
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida in the early morning hours on Sunday, March 29. The 29-minute launch window will begin at 3:53 a.m.
The visibility map provided by ULA shows about when and where your best chances are to see the rocket as it streaks northeasterly into space.
Will New Hampshire be able to see the ULA Atlas V launch
New Hampshire, specifically just outside Concord, New Hampshire, falls in the semi-outer periphery of the visibility area for the ULA Atlas V rocket launch, according to ULA’s visibility map.
Estimated visibility will occur at launch +330 seconds, or about five minutes and 30 seconds, following the launch in Florida. However, viewing chances depend on weather conditions, and Concord, New Hampshire is currently set for isolated snow showers before 10 p.m. and then partly cloudy skies on Saturday night into Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service. This might block visibility, as clear skies are essential for best views.
What is ULA Atlas V?
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket is a spacecraft with five solid rocket boosters that will send a batch of Amazon Leo broadband satellites into outer space, to low-Earth orbit.
How can you follow along live?
FLORIDA TODAY will offer live coverage via a live webcast with live tweets and updates for the rocket launch.
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