New Hampshire

U.S. House votes down border bill favored by conservatives • New Hampshire Bulletin

Published

9 months ago

April 20, 2024

U.S. House votes down border bill favored by conservatives • New Hampshire Bulletin

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House Saturday failed to pass a border security bill that Republican leadership intended as an incentive for conservatives to support a foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

The border bill, turned down on a 215-199 vote with five Democrats joining all Republicans in voting in favor, was brought to the floor under a fast-track procedure known as suspension of the rules that requires a two-thirds majority for passage. The conservatives it was meant to appeal to slammed it as a “show vote.”

The border security bill – nearly identical to legislation House Republicans passed last year – was an attempt by House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana to quell growing hard-right dissatisfaction prompted by his support for the $95 billion foreign aid package expected to pass Saturday with the help of Democrats.

The measure is separate and not part of a package of three supplemental funding bills containing aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan as well as another so-called sidecar bill dealing with TikTok. The Senate will be able to clear the foreign aid package and ignore the border security bill that closely resembles another House-passed border bill the Senate has not acted on.

Rather than quell their unrest, Johnson’s move produced only more ire from hard-right members. Three Republicans – Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Paul Gosar of Arizona – are already backing a move to oust Johnson through a motion to vacate.

During Friday’s floor debate, Democrats argued that the bill, H.R. 3602, was a rehash of H.R. 2, a bill House Republicans passed last year that would reinstate Trump-era immigration policies such as the construction of the border wall. Both bills would also require asylum seekers to remain in Mexico.

Border bill return

Republicans were largely in favor of the border bill, but several referred to the vote as a “sham” and admitted the bill would not pass in the Senate, which Democrats control.

“House Republicans are trying again to make our Democrat colleagues and President Biden take this border crisis seriously,” Alabama’s Barry Moore said.

The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, Jerry Nadler of New York, said the bill was a “foolhardy attempt to pass for a second time one of the most draconian immigration bills this Congress has ever seen. This rehashing of H.R. 2 is a joke.”

“Republicans have proven that they want the issue more than they want solutions,” he said. “So here we are, again, taking a virtually same draconian bill as before, knowing that if it actually passes the House it will surely go nowhere in the Senate.”

Nadler argued if Republicans were serious about addressing immigration at the southern border, they would have supported the bipartisan border bill in the Senate, instead of rejecting it.

Three senators – Oklahoma Republican James Lankford, Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy, and Arizona independent Kyrsten Sinema – spent months crafting a bill that would overhaul immigration policy at the request of Senate Republicans who insisted border security provisions should be included in the foreign aid package.

But congressional Republicans walked away from it early this year at the urging of GOP presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump, who was not supportive of the bill because he is centering his reelection campaign on immigration.

The chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, argued that the bill “isn’t quite H.R. 2.”

The bill is nearly identical to H.R. 2, but removes the mandate for employers to verify a worker’s immigration status and employment eligibility, and includes about $9 billion in grant programs for border states.

“Let’s take a step in the direction of fixing it and pass this legislation,” Jordan said of the southern border.

A ‘sham’

Washington state Democrat and chair of the Progressive Congressional Caucus Pramila Jayapal said the bill was pointless.

“The majority could barely pass this legislation last year,” she said, referring to the party-line vote in 2023. “And now it’s going to magically pass it in the House with a two-thirds majority? Give me a break. This bill is going nowhere, so let’s just be clear about that.”

Texas Republican Chip Roy agreed that the bill would not become law, and expressed his frustration that the GOP would not try to leverage foreign aid money for it.

“Republicans continue to campaign on securing the border and then refuse to use any leverage to actually secure the border,” Roy said. “We should get it signed into law but the only way to force Democrats to do it is to use leverage.”

Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs also agreed with Roy and Democrats that “this is a show vote.”

Pennsylvania’s GOP Rep. Scott Perry echoed similar remarks, but said he would still vote for the bill even though it’s “designed to fail.”

“But I want everybody to know it’s a sham,” Perry said.

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New Hampshire

Who is this man? Police say child sex assault suspect was living under false identity

Published

9 hours ago

January 28, 2025

Press Room

Who is this man? Police say child sex assault suspect was living under false identity

Police in Manchester, New Hampshire, are seeking the public’s help in determining the identity of a man charged with sexually assaulting a child in the city last year.

Manchester police say the man, who had claimed to be 60-year-old Angel Rivera Laureano, was brought to the attention of their Juvenile Unit in January of 2024 after someone alleged that he had sexually abused a child under the age of 13. He was ultimately arrested and charged with one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault.

During the investigation, police said they learned that the suspect might not be who he said he was. As a result of their investigation, police were able to determine that the man had been living under a false identity for years, and under that name was convicted of numerous crimes in New Hampshire dating back over a decade.

The real Angel Rivera Laureano was positively identified and located living in Puerto Rico, police said.

The suspect in the sexual assault case, who police are now referring to as “John Doe,” now faces an additional charge of identity fraud. At the time of his arrest he was already being held at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections, and he remains there.

Police said the man’s identity is still unknown, and are asking anyone with information about him to call Detective Guy Kozowyk at 603-792-5560 or email him at gkozowyk@manchesternh.gov.

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New Hampshire

Ondris scores 2 in Johnstown Tomahawks’ win over New Hampshire Mountain Kings – The Rink Live

Published

20 hours ago

January 27, 2025

Press Room

The Johnstown Tomahawks bested the New Hampshire Mountain Kings 7-3 on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2025 at 1st Summit Arena.

The hosting team took the lead early in the first period, with a goal from

Caden Olenczak

. Markas Samenas assisted.

The Tomahawks’

Nick White

made it 2-0 in the first period, assisted by

Hank Reed

and

Nick Jarmain

The second period ended with a 4-1 lead for the Tomahawks.

The Mountain Kings narrowed the gap to 4-2, only 25 seconds into the third when

Alex Gelhar

found the back of the net, assisted by Kim Hilmersson.

The Mountain Kings’ Kim Hilmersson narrowed the gap again, assisted by

Oli Genest

and

Rogiero Cacciarelli

at 1:12 into the third period.

Cullen Emery

increased the lead to 5-3 with a goal four minutes later, assisted by

Sam Blanton

Adam Ondris

also increased the lead to 6-3 with a goal one minute later, assisted by

Kirby Perler

and Charlie Zetterkvist.

The Tomahawks increased the lead to 7-3 with 29 seconds remaining of the third period after a goal from Charlie Zetterkvist, assisted by Adam Ondris and

Dylan Shane

Coming up:

Both teams will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025 when the Tomahawks face New Jersey at 6:30 p.m. CST at 1st Summit Arena and the Mountain Kings play the Philadelphia Rebels at 6:30 p.m. CST at Hollydell Ice Arena.

New Hampshire

3.8 magnitude earthquake off York, Maine coastline rattles Seacoast

Published

1 day ago

January 27, 2025

Press Room

3.8 magnitude earthquake off York, Maine coastline rattles Seacoast

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 10 miles off the coast of York, Maine on Monday.

The earthquake was recorded at 10:22 a.m. on Monday and was about 10 kilometers southeast of York Harbor, according to USGS. It shook at a depth of 13.2 km. There is no tsunami danger from this earthquake.

The earthquake was originally reported as a 4.1 magnitude quake by USGS and then downgraded.

People across New Hampshire reported feeling the earthquake.

The New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) said that New Hampshire 911 did not receive any calls about injury or damage as of 10:45 a.m. They encouraged residents to be prepared for all types of hazards, including earthquakes.

“Include all hazards when you are creating a family emergency plan,” said HSEM Director Robert Buxton. “You should also hold regular drills to practice what to do during an earthquake. It’s the best way to keep you and your family safe.”

Local schools, fire departments react

Staff at Mary C. Dondero Elementary School in Portsmouth, New Hampshire pulled the fire alarm after shaking began and had the entire school briefly evacuate, according to superintendent of schools Zach McLaughlin. No other school in Portsmouth evacuated during the course of the earthquake.

“The reality is, as New Englanders, many of whom have lived here our whole lives, this might be everybody’s first earthquake experience,” McLaughlin said Monday morning. “I think folks did the right thing but once it was clear that we were in good condition, folks returned to the building.”

City school department officials have not found any property damage in any of the school buildings thus far in the wake of the quake, McLaughlin added.

Portsmouth Fire Department Chief Bill McQuillen reported there had been no calls regarding personal injuries or property damage as of approximately 11 a.m. Monday.

The city sent out alerts to residents and automated messages urging any personal injuries or structural damages to be reported to authorities.

“We wanted to try and get out the word as quickly as possible and make sure the city sent out a message as soon as possible,” McQuillen said.

Over the Piscataqua River, calls were made to Kittery, Maine’s fire department but no injuries were reported and no property damage had been found.

“Our dispatch center took a lot of calls from concerned citizens reporting that they think something happened at their property,” Kittery fire Chief Craig Alfis stated. “So far everything has stabilized out and our dispatchers are back to normal operation. We haven’t been out on a call in 15 minutes so fingers crossed we’re past that.”

No calls had been made expressing concern about the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, per Alfis.

“Reports are coming in from various parts of town about noticeable shaking. We are aware of the earthquake and are actively assessing impacts. Please only contact public safety dispatch if you have an emergency,” the town of Kittery advised in an email.

Where was the NH earthquake? How far did it reach?

According to the USGS, Monday morning’s earthquake originated off the southeast coast of York Harbor, Maine.

York Harbor is about 10 miles north of the New Hampshire border.

Light shaking from the earthquake was felt as far south as Cape Cod, according to the USGS, though some people in Rhode Island also reported feeling the earthquake.

How strong was the NH earthquake?

Monday’s earthquake is being measured at 3.8 on the magnitude scale, according to the USGS.

According to Michigan Tech, earthquake magnitudes between 2.5-5.4 are often felt but typically only cause minor damage. Earthquake magnitudes measured at 7.0 and higher are considered major earthquakes.

How common are earthquakes in NH?

New Hampshire has a moderate earthquake risk based on its position in the North American plate: according to a 2019 fact sheet from the NH Department of Environmental Services, there have been 65 earthquakes above magnitude 2.1 since 1638.

New Hampshire’s earthquake risk rating is based on frequency rather than intensity.

What was the biggest earthquake in NH history?

While earthquakes in New Hampshire tend to be smaller, there have been similar magnitude earthquakes in the past, such as a 4.0 magnitude quake in Southern Maine in 2012 and another near Laconia in 1982.

The strongest earthquakes with an epicenter in New Hampshire in state history happened four days apart in December of 1940. Each had a magnitude of 5.8.

This story will be updated.

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