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Who is Karoline Leavitt? Trump’s press secretary is from New Hampshire, lives on Seacoast

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Who is Karoline Leavitt? Trump’s press secretary is from New Hampshire, lives on Seacoast


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Before making history as the youngest ever White House press secretary, New Hampshire native Karoline Leavitt got her start in politics here in the Granite State.

Leavitt made her debut in the press briefing room Tuesday, marking her first White House news conference as the public face of President Donald Trump’s administration.

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“I can assure you that you’ll be hearing from both him and me as much as possible,” the 27-year-old said during the briefing.

Trump tapped Leavitt for the post soon after his reelection in November 2024, saying in a press release at the time that she is “smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator.”

Where is Karoline Leavitt from? Her NH ties

Karoline Leavitt grew up in Atkinson, New Hampshire, she told Seacoastonline in November.

Leavitt went to Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, Massachusetts, before attending Saint Anselm College in Manchester. While at Saint Anselm, she grew interested in politics and gained experience in the news media industry.

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“I just took advantage of every opportunity I could and started the St. Anselm College Broadcasting Club, I worked part-time at WMUR-TV, and I volunteered on a couple of campaigns, and then realized that this is, you know, what I wanted to do with the rest of my career,” she told Seacoastonline in November.

After college, Leavitt moved to Hampton. She still lives on the Seacoast with her husband and son.

Karoline Leavitt’s career history

Karoline Leavitt graduated from Saint Anselm College with a degree in communications and politics in 2019. After that, she worked as a presidential writer and assistant press secretary under Kayleigh McEnany during Trump’s first presidential term.

After her first stint at the White House, Leavitt worked as a spokesperson for Rep. Elise Stefanik, a close Trump ally.

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In 2022, Leavitt ran for Congress in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District. She won the primary but lost to incumbent Democrat Rep. Chris Pappas.

Leavitt returned to work for Trump in 2024, serving as national press secretary for his presidential campaign.

What does the White House press secretary do?

The White House press secretary serves as the spokesperson and public face of the presidential administration. Historically, they hold daily briefings for the press corps.

Karoline Leavitt became the youngest person to hold the role at age 27 when she was sworn-in earlier this month.

Before that, the youngest ever press secretary was Ronald Ziegler, who took the position at the age of 29 in 1969 under Richard Nixon’s administration.

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Leavitt held her first press briefing Tuesday, during which she said that she plans to hold briefings frequently. She also said that the Trump administration would be available to all media outlets as well as “new media voices who produce related content” such as “independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers and content creators.”

Contributing: Saman Shafiq and Margie Cullen, USA TODAY Network



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New Hampshire

Want to own a pet squirrel or raccoon? Some NH lawmakers want to make it legal

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Want to own a pet squirrel or raccoon? Some NH lawmakers want to make it legal


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  • Rep. James Spillane, R-Deerfield, introduced a bill to allow the ownership of some squirrels and raccoons in New Hampshire.
  • Spillane wants to prevent another situation like one in New York, where beloved Peanut the squirrel was taken from its owner and euthanized.
  • Opponents say that keeping wildlife as pets is dangerous and threatens public safety.

Last year, New York state authorities seized and euthanized an Instagram-famous squirrel named Peanut and a raccoon named Fred.

In New York, it’s illegal to keep animals like squirrels and raccoons as pets. So after receiving numerous complaints, the state Department of Environmental Conservation took the animals from owner Mark Longo and put them down.

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The story prompted national outcry and, to prevent that situation from happening in New Hampshire, Rep. James Spillane, R-Deerfield, has introduced a bill to allow the ownership of some squirrels and raccoons in New Hampshire.

“I wanted to make sure that we don’t get a black eye in the state of New Hampshire with the same sort of bad press,” said Spillane at a hearing on Wednesday.  

What would be the rules for owning raccoons or squirrels?

Spillane’s bill would allow rehabilitated raccoons and gray squirrels to be kept as pets without a permit if a wildlife rehabilitation facility makes a determination that the animal cannot survive in the wild and is “up to date” on any vaccines required. 

The bill says that the animals cannot be confiscated or euthanized without permission from the owner. But if the animal does not meet the requirements, the fish and game commission may charge the owner with a fine, confiscate the animal for examination, and vaccinate them.

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It would also allow people who come to New Hampshire from a state where having a pet raccoon or gray squirrel is legal to keep the animal.

However, the bill would not allow people to buy raccoons or squirrels at a pet store, breed them, or trap and capture them from the wild. 

Downsides of a pet squirrel

Representatives from the Humane Society and New Hampshire Fish and Game Department both spoke against the bill, warning the House Environment and Agriculture committee of the dangers of keeping wildlife as pets.

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“This bill threatens public health and safety and promotes the dangerous and inhumane trend of keeping wild animals as pets,” said Kurt Ehrenberg, the New Hampshire state director for the Humane Society. “Raccoons and squirrels are wild animals, not domesticated pets.”

They said that keeping raccoons and squirrels as pets come with risks like physical harm from unpredictable behavior and the spread of dangerous diseases like rabies.

Even though the bill calls for making sure the animals have their “required” vaccines, Dan Bergeron, the chief of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Wildlife division, said that there are no statutes that require vaccines for the animals and no approved vaccines for the animals because they aren’t proven to be effective.

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Will New Hampshire allow pet squirrels and raccoons?

It’s unclear yet whether this bill will make headway in the legislature, but this isn’t the first time New Hampshire has attempted to legalize alternative pets.

Last year, one bill would’ve allowed Granite Staters to own small-tailed monkeys, raccoons, foxes, otters, skunks, and red tailed kangaroos without a permit.

However, the House voted against the legislation.

“These animals really are not appropriate for home pet ownership. They are essentially wild animals,” said Rep. Peter Bixby, D-Dover, at the committee hearing. “Opening ownership of these up to people who just want them because it’s a cool idea could end up having our shelters dealing with kangaroos and short tailed monkeys that people decide they can’t handle after a short while.”

According to Bergeron, squirrels and raccoons can only be kept currently in New Hampshire under an exhibitors permit, so somewhere such as Squam Lake Science Center. While licensed rehabilitation centers can rescue an injured animal and nurse them back to health, they are not allowed to keep the animals. If they cannot be released into the wild, they must be euthanized.

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Do any states allow people to own squirrels and raccoons?

It’s illegal in most states to own a pet squirrel without a permit.

But a few states do allow it, such as Florida.



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New Hampshire

High PFAS concentrations found in foam on Seacoast waterways – The Boston Globe

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High PFAS concentrations found in foam on Seacoast waterways – The Boston Globe


While foam can form naturally as a result of rich organic material such as decaying leaves, it can also be the result of contaminants like PFAS – but you can’t necessarily tell what caused the foam just by looking at it, according to Mouser.

“When community members live in these areas they know are impacted by potential sources of contaminants, they can get concerned about seeing things like that,” said Mouser.

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The area Mouser and the citizen scientists studied was near two Superfund Sites in the Seacoast where PFAS have been found, including the former Pease Airforce Base, now the Pease Tradeport, where firefighting foam containing the chemical had been sprayed, and the Coakley Landfill.

PFAS are a man-made class of chemicals common in many consumer products from stain-resistant couches and fabrics to non-stick cooking pans and water-proof jackets.

But too much exposure to PFAS can lead to some health problems for humans, such as increased risk for some kinds of cancer, decreased fertility or increased high blood pressure in pregnant women, and developmental effects or delays in children, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Research is ongoing to figure out how different levels of exposure impact health.

That backdrop led to local concern about the foam.

“We’re seeing these foam accumulations in the local waterways where people recreate, and we wanted to know: Is PFAS accumulating in it?” said Andrea Amico, a Portsmouth resident, who has been advocating on PFAS issues since 2014. “If so, the community should be aware of that. And people should take steps to prevent coming into contact with the foam.”

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The New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services provides similar advice, recommending people avoid contact with any surface water foam since foam can contain a much higher level of PFAS than the surrounding water. According to the department, health risks of exposure vary based on how much foam a person is exposed to, how long the exposure lasts, and how frequently it occurs.

A researcher collects a sample of foam to test for the presence of PFAS along a waterway in New Hampshire.University of New Hampshire

The department recommends keeping children and pets away from the foam, since swallowing it can increase the risk for negative health impacts.

There are currently no federal or state standards or screening levels for surface water foams with PFAS, and there are no standard testing methods for the foams, according to the department, which is not currently testing foams for PFAS.

Amico credits a personal exposure for sparking her advocacy and citizen science around PFAS. She said her family was exposed to the substance when her husband worked for a company located at the Pease Tradeport and her children attended daycare there.

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“Prior to knowing there was PFAS in the water, my kids drank water there everyday,” she said. Along with two other moms, she went on to push for blood testing to determine how much PFAS was in their blood, in addition to testing for health effects to the community, results that are still pending.

She said it was on a nature walk during the COVID pandemic in 2020 that she remembers first seeing foam accumulating along waterways.

She pushed for testing of the foam she was seeing around the Seacoast, especially since four other states have found foam containing PFAS, including Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Minnesota.

Last July, she began working with Mouser on the research.

“It was validating to have the sample done and to know for sure that PFAS is detected in the foam of our local waterways,” Amico said.

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But there are still many unanswered questions. Mouser said she’s working on a proposal for a broader study including other areas where the foaming occurs, how it happens, and where the contaminants go after the foam dissipates back into the water.


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





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More than 100 people rescued from malfunctioning chairlift at New Hampshire ski resort – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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More than 100 people rescued from malfunctioning chairlift at New Hampshire ski resort – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


HENNIKER, N.H. (WHDH) – More than 100 people were rescued from a malfunctioning chairlift at Pats Peak ski resort in New Hampshire Monday, officials said.

At around 2 p.m., ski patrol and mountain operations crews responded to the Peak Triple chairlift for a “deropement,” according to a statement from Pats Peak. Henniker Fire and Rescue was also called to the scene.

Crews evacuated about 120 passengers from the lift over the course of about 90 minutes, the resort said. No injuries were reported.

A tramway inspector determined the malfunction was caused by wind gusts, as opposed to a mechanical issue, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s office.

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