New Hampshire
Truck driver cleared in deadly NH motorcycle wreck testifies to get license back
A commercial truck driver who was acquitted of causing the deaths of seven motorcyclists in New Hampshire testified at a hearing Wednesday on his request to reinstate his suspended license, while a lawyer for the state said he still played a role in the 2019 crash.
A jury in 2022 found Volodymyr Zhukovskyy not guilty of multiple manslaughter and negligent homicide counts stemming from the collision in Randolph that killed seven members of the Jarheads Motorcycle Club, an organization of Marine Corps veterans and their spouses in New England.
Zhukovskyy, who came to the U.S. as a child from Ukraine and had permanent residency status, had his Massachusetts license automatically suspended in New Hampshire after his arrest following the June 21, 2019, crash.
MASSACHUSETTS TRUCK DRIVER INVOLVED IN FATAL CRASH THAT KILLED 7 WANTS LICENSE BACK
Based on his interviews with police at the time, “I thought I was the one that caused the accident,” Zhukovskyy, 28, testified at a four-hour administrative hearing in Concord in which he appeared via video. “I was like in a bubble with all the pressure.”
Prosecutors argued that Zhukovskyy — who had taken heroin, fentanyl and cocaine the day of the crash — repeatedly swerved back and forth before the collision and told police he caused it. But a judge dismissed eight impairment charges and his attorneys said the lead biker was drunk and not looking where he was going when he lost control of his motorcycle and slid in front of Zhukovskyy’s truck, which was pulling an empty flatbed trailer.
Zhukovskyy’s trial lawyers also said there was no evidence he was impaired at the time of the crash and that police did not make any observations in the hours afterward suggesting he was.
Restoration of Zhukovskky’s license would depend on whether hearings officer Ryan McFarland decides Zhukovskyy drove “in an unlawful and reckless manner” that “materially contributed” to the accident, according to state law. McFarland took the case under advisement after the hearing. If he finds in favor of the state, Zhukovskyy’s license could remain suspended for up to seven years.
One former Jarheads member injured in the crash spoke out against restoring the license.
“You’re all in jeopardy of this guy driving again,” said Manny Ribeiro, speaking with reporters after Wednesday’s hearing. “I know what happened that day. I was there.”
Volodymyr Zhukovskyy looks back at the gallery before closing statements started at his trial at Coos County Superior Court in Lancaster, N.H., Aug. 9, 2022. (David Lane/Union Leader via AP, Pool, File)
The manslaughter acquittal at the time drew strong comments from Gov. Chris Sununu, who said the seven bikers “did not receive justice,” and from Attorney General John Formella, who said he believed the state proved its case.
Zhukovskyy said at Wednesday’s hearing he was driving around a crest on an east-west highway, saw a motorcycle coming in his direction, and applied his brakes.
“He responded in seconds,” his attorney Earle Wingate III, said. “He did not cause the crash.”
But David Hilts, an attorney for the state Department of Safety, challenged that account, based on expert reports. He said descriptions of where the tires were at the time showed Zhukovskyy didn’t see the motorcycle in advance.
“The impact happened. He jams on his breaks,” Hilts said.
Hilts questioned Zhukovskyy extensively about his drug use based on the police interviews. The attorney said in his closing statement that Zhukovskyy did everything possible to not answer his questions about drug use and impairment.
Hilts also brought up prior accidents Zhukovskyy was involved in, including one 18 days before the Randolph crash. He said both Zhukovskyy and the lead biker, Albert “Woody” Mazza Jr., materially contributed to the crash. Mazza, one of the seven who died, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.135%, well above the legal limit of 0.08%, according to his autopsy report.
At the time, Zhukovskyy’s license should have been revoked because he had been arrested in Connecticut on a drunken driving charge in May 2019. Connecticut officials alerted the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, but Zhukovskyy’s license wasn’t suspended due to a backlog of out-of-state notifications about driving offenses. The Connecticut case is pending.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Zhukovskyy after the 2022 verdict, citing previous convictions of drug possession, driving with a suspended license, furnishing false information and larceny. Zhukovskyy was taken from a New Hampshire county jail to a federal detention facility.
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Zhukovskyy’s immigration attorney requested asylum for his client. In February 2023, a judge ordered Zhukovskyy’s deportation. But it’s unclear under how he could be sent to a country at war with Russia. The U.S. has paused repatriation flights to Ukraine and authorized Temporary Protected Status for qualified Ukrainians.
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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