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Tourism soared in N.H. over an extended Fourth of July weekend – The Boston Globe

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Tourism soared in N.H. over an extended Fourth of July weekend – The Boston Globe


CONCORD, N.H. — This year’s Fourth of July holiday was a big weekend for tourism. 

North Country businesses reported an increase in visitors and sales this year compared to last year when rainy weather put a damper on turnout, according to a survey by the Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce. And Michelle Cruz, the executive director of the chamber, said the North Conway parade had the highest attendance she’s seen in recent years. 

“We still don’t have the exact number on it of how many attendees there were, but it was definitely, I mean, a number we haven’t seen in years,” she said. “It was great to see.”

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Alex Foti, who owns Bretton Woods Vacations, said rentals of the company’s properties were up 25 percent compared to last year, which he attributed to better weather.

Sales for tickets on the Cog Railway were up 10 percent, and restaurants in the area reported being extremely busy, too.

”The entire week was incredible,” said Pete Gagne, who owns Saco River Canoe Rental. “The weather was perfect, hot, and humid. Last year was a bust so it didn’t take much to improve.”

Tourism in the region “is always driven by the weather, no matter the season,” Cruz said.

That made for a tough summer in 2023, when Cruz said record rainfall caused last-minute cancellations. But the hot and sunny weather so far this summer has helped business pick up. Cruz said because the Fourth of July fell on a Thursday this year, some people came up as early as the weekend prior and stayed for an entire week. 

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“The trend this season is that people are still traveling, but they are waiting until the last minute” to book accommodations, she said.

Most visitors to the region traveled by car from nearby states, including Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. There was some international travel as well, drawing tourists from Canada and the Netherlands.


This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.


Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.





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New Hampshire

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

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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.

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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.

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New Hampshire

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

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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.

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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.

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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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New Hampshire

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

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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.

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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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