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Pro-life center fights New Jersey attorney general’s ‘fishing expedition’ in Supreme Court battle

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Pro-life center fights New Jersey attorney general’s ‘fishing expedition’ in Supreme Court battle

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NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Tuesday in a case involving New Jersey pregnancy resource centers challenging actions by the state’s Democratic leadership that they say violate their constitutional rights.

First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, a nonprofit comprising five facilities across north and central New Jersey, has been wrapped up since 2023 in the dispute over an investigative subpoena issued by Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who alleges the nonprofit could be defrauding its donors. First Choice counters that the inquiry is baseless and a First Amendment threat because it has rattled donors, who have kept the centers afloat for four decades.

During a tour of the New Brunswick center, First Choice Executive Director Aimee Huber told Fox News Digital that Platkin’s subpoena — seeking donor names, contact information and employment records — is unjustified.

“I think it’s important to realize that there have been no complaints that have been cited by the attorney general against First Choice, not one,” Huber said. “So, when we received the subpoena, it was clearly a fishing expedition. There were no complaints by donors or clients.”

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First Choice Pregnancy Resource Centers, New Brunswick, New Jersey, November 2025. (Fox News Digital)

The Supreme Court is weighing a technicality over whether the subpoena fight should play out in state or federal court. In state court, the New Jersey attorney general could have the upper hand.

Dalton Nichols, a lawyer on the case who works for the conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom, told Fox News Digital Platkin’s demand was “egregious” and that it was crucial that First Choice have its day in federal court to make its First Amendment claim.

Nichols said: “this is bigger than just a state court versus federal court issue.”

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“This could have implications that impact other claims [over] any invasive requests for donor names like that, so a loss for First Choice in this case could be a bit more far-reaching than just state court versus federal court,” Nichols said.

“It’s getting at whether or not you even have a claim at all, and if First Choice has a First Amendment claim, then First Choice should be able to press that in federal court.”

Platkin, a Democrat appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy, began scrutinizing pregnancy counseling centers in July 2022 by launching a “strike force” to promote abortion access in the wake of the Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs decision. Platkin said such facilities presented consumer fraud concerns because they misled donors and clients about the services they offered.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin. (AP Photo/Mike Catalini, File)

“If you’re seeking reproductive care, beware of Crisis Pregnancy Centers!” Platkin wrote on X in December 2022. His subpoena to First Choice came less than one year later.

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“Attorneys General are the chief law enforcement officers of their States and have broad authority to investigate potential violations of state laws,” state lawyers wrote to the Supreme Court in defense of Platkin’s probe.

The state lawyers also argued that First Choice was overstating the threat that the subpoena presented because the scope of donor information it sought could become narrower if hashed out in state court.

Huber said First Choice is forthright about its mission to promote alternatives to abortion.

“We’re always very careful to share that we do not perform or refer for abortions, so [the client] knows ahead of time before she comes in what services we can provide her and what services we don’t provide,” Huber said.

The New Brunswick center, which takes appointments, has an ultrasound room where a woman faces a wall of images of babies growing in the womb as a sonographer or nurse performs an ultrasound on her to confirm the pregnancy. A small separate room is used for consulting clients, the majority of whom are Hispanic, Huber said. Yet another room appears as a large closet lined with baby clothing — a “baby boutique.” Huber said economic and family pressures are frequent obstacles for women.

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A wall of a room where women can receive an ultrasound as a means to confirm they are pregnant at First Choice Women’s Resource Centers in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Fox News Digital)

“Women who are scared and vulnerable and think that abortion is their only option come to us, and they receive professional services and compassionate care, all free of charge,” Huber said, adding that First Choice has served more than 36,000 women.

Lawyers on behalf of New Jersey said the subpoena was intended to investigate whether donors were being solicited on certain websites under the false pretense that First Choice offered abortions and whether the nonprofit was making unsubstantiated medical claims about the abortion pill.

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First Choice lawyers wrote in court papers that the nonprofit provides “medically accurate” information, showcasing a divide over dissemination of information about the pill, which has become a top pain point in the aftermath of the Supreme Court flipping abortion policy to the states.

“Every once in a while, we hear someone who doesn’t agree with what we do, and so that happens, but our clients are so appreciative and grateful, and our staff and our donors, so I’ve learned to focus on the positive and not the negative,” Huber said. “Of course, when we received the subpoena from the New Jersey attorney general two years ago now, everything changed in terms of our legal battle and what we were called to do during this moment.”

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Maine

Maine Resiliency Center launches survey to gauge Lewiston shooting’s impact

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Maine Resiliency Center launches survey to gauge Lewiston shooting’s impact


LEWISTON (WGME) Nearly three years after the Lewiston mass shooting, the Maine Resiliency Center is asking the public to share how the tragedy has affected them and the community.

The nonprofit has launched a survey to better understand the impacts of the mass shooting in October 2023 and to help guide future support efforts.

The director of the Maine Resiliency Center said the ripple effects have spread widely and the organization wants to hear from anyone who has been affected.

“You could have been a service provider who is providing therapy or counseling for people; you could have been a funeral home director or city employee; you could be someone who lives in this community and knows somebody who is directly impacted or you could be directly impacted yourself. All of those opinions and information are really valuable to us as we look to support the broader community moving forward,” the director said.

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To take part in the survey, go to maineresiliencycenter.org.



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Massachusetts

Massachusetts man charged in N.H. and N.J. bank robberies caught in Capital Region

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Massachusetts man charged in N.H. and N.J. bank robberies caught in Capital Region


A Massachusetts man is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he robbed two banks in separate states and tried to evade investigators by switching license plates—before evidence gathered in New York’s Capital Region helped lead authorities to him.

Joseph Sawyer is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from St. Mary’s Bank in New Hampshire and a Chase Bank in New Jersey last month. In both robberies, prosecutors say Sawyer fled in a Honda Odyssey minivan.

Prosecutors say the minivan originally had Massachusetts license plates, but Sawyer swapped them out with stolen New Jersey plates in an attempt to cover his tracks.

After the second robbery, highway cameras in Albany County captured the minivan as it tried to flee the tri-state area, prosecutors said. The FBI later tracked the vehicle to a motel near Glens Falls, where Sawyer was staying.

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Prosecutors also say Sawyer’s own family helped identify him through surveillance photos, linking him to the robberies.



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New Hampshire

Man From Northwood Arrested On Driving Under The Influence Charge: Concord Police Log

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Man From Northwood Arrested On Driving Under The Influence Charge: Concord Police Log


CONCORD, NH — Anthony L. Russo, born in 1996, of Northwood, was arrested at 1:04 a.m. on July 7, 2026, on a driving under the influence charge and a yellow-solid line violation. He was arrested after an investigation or incident on South Main Street.





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