Northeast

'Squad' faces final primary challenge as 4 states go to polls Tuesday

Published

2 years ago

August 15, 2024

Press Room

'Squad' faces final primary challenge as 4 states go to polls Tuesday

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After a tough summer at the ballot box for members of the so-called “Squad,” the group of progressive and diverse House Democrats is facing its final intraparty challenge on Tuesday as four states in the Midwest and New England hold primary elections.

Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota faces voters one week after her fellow Squad member, Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, lost her bid for re-nomination and nearly two months after another Squad member, Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, fell to his primary challenger.

But Omar, who made history as the first Somali American in Congress and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota on Capitol Hill, is the favorite as she faces three primary challengers in the Democrat primary. Omar is seeking a fourth two-year term representing the Minneapolis-anchored 5th Congressional District.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKING IN THE 2024 ELECTION

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images)

Bush and Bowman faced well-funded challengers and millions in outside spending by United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. While Omar is also a very vocal critic of Israel, she hasn’t been targeted by any ads from the United Democracy Project.

And Omar is considered to be in a much better political position than she was two years ago when she narrowly defeated Don Samuels, who for a second straight cycle is her top challenger.

But Samuels, in an interview Monday on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” said he’s seen a surge in his fundraising and in volunteers to his campaign in the week since Bush’s defeat. And he said Omar is “divisive and combative. She picks a side including, simply trying to divide her, her constituency, and ignores the other side.”

Minnesota’s primary comes a week after Vice President Harris named the state’s governor, Gov. Tim Walz, as her running mate on the Democrat 2024 ticket. And an old clip of Walz praising Omar has gone viral in recent days.

Vice President Harris greets Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Eau Claire, Wis., on Aug. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Arguably the highest-profile Squad member, three-term Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, easily crushed her primary challenger in June.

The only other Squad member with a primary yet to come this cycle is Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who is unchallenged in her September contest.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar is the overwhelming favorite in a five-candidate Democrat Senate primary as she seeks a fourth six-year term representing Minnesota in the chamber. Eight candidates are running in the GOP Senate primary.

In neighboring Wisconsin, Democrat Sen. Tammy Baldwin is unopposed in her party’s primary as she seeks a third term. Republican businessman Eric Hovde, a real estate developer who’s loaned his campaign $13 million and who is backed by former President Trump, faces nominal opposition in the GOP primary.

Two Democrats are running in their party’s primary in western Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, with the winner taking on Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a staunch Trump ally, in November.

And in northeast Wisconsin’s heavily red 8th Congressional District, all eyes are on the GOP primary in the race to fill the seat of former Rep. Mike Gallagher, who left Congress in April. Taking place alongside the primary is a special election for the remainder of Gallagher’s current term, which expires at the end of the year.

In Connecticut, the spotlight is on Republican primaries to challenge two longtime Democrat members of Congress: Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Jim Himes.

In Vermont, two Democrats are vying for their party’s gubernatorial nomination, with the winner challenging Republican Gov. Phil Scott in November.

Scott, a moderate Republican and GOP Trump critic, is unopposed in his party’s primary as he seeks a fifth two-year term steering Vermont. Even though Vermont is a reliably blue state. Scott remains popular and grabbed nearly 70% of the vote in his 2022 re-election.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

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Maine

Where did Maine’s 24/7 restaurants go?

Published

20 minutes ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

A sign taped to a window at the Palace Diner in Biddeford shares the diner’s hours and reminds customers it accepts cash only. The restaurant was open 24/7 during the city’s heyday as a mill town but now only opens for breakfast and lunch. (Teddy Almond/Staff Writer)

For decades, Dysart’s Restaurant and Truck Stop was the kind of spot where night didn’t really end.

Truckers came off long-haul drives looking for coffee and a hot meal. Hospital workers stopped in after overnight shifts. When the bars closed, late-night crowds spilled through the doors, still awake and hungry. At any hour, someone could sit down just outside Bangor and be served a hot meal.

But in 2019, Dysart’s ended its around-the-clock restaurant service, marking what felt like the end of an era for Maine’s late-night dining scene.

Once, a handful of diners and roadside restaurants across the state stayed open through the night, serving the workers, travelers and night owls who kept Maine moving after dark. Today, those options have all but disappeared.

What remains is mostly convenience-store food and a handful of 24/7 Burger King locations.

Restaurant industry veterans and experts say a host of combining factors have made 24/7 restaurants harder to sustain, including Maine’s demographics and changes to the way people work.

Norman O’Reilly, dean of the University of New England’s College of Business, says Maine’s status as the nation’s oldest state is likely a key factor.

“Most of those people are retired, or semi-retired, or doing consulting work,” he said. “They’re not out looking for a Becky’s late-night coffee and meals, right?”

O’Reilly also said the seasonal, tourist-centric nature of Maine’s economy creates inconsistency, making it potentially harder for businesses to maintain 24/7 service year-round.

Maine’s not alone in having fewer all-night options: A Yelp survey found that 24/7 restaurants declined nationwide by 11% from 2020 to 2025. Even New York City, “the City that Never Sleeps,” has seen a decrease; the New York Times attributed that to rising costs and changing sleep schedules.

THE LAST BASTION

Dysart’s, founded in 1967 in Hermon, was one of the last true 24/7 restaurants in the state.

“Either in 2016 or 2017, we started noticing a significant difference,” said Carol Brooks, a manager with more than 20 years of experience at the restaurant.

Brooks attributes the decline in late-night diners to two trends: changes in the trucking industry and a downturn in local nightlife.

“When they started making the truck drivers stop for a full eight hours, they (would just) come in and sleep,” she said. “They don’t eat anymore at night because they don’t have to keep on the road.”

O’Reilly also noted the advent of remote work in recent years has meant fewer people stopping for a meal on their way home.

Brooks reminisced about how Dysart’s used to often see an influx of late-night partiers after the bars closed — everyone from the patrons of the local strip club, Diamonds, to hospital shift workers coming off duty.

But soon, it got to the point where Dysart’s was spending more money staying open at all night than it was they were making. By then, the restaurant only had one cook and one server for the overnight shift.

O’Reilly noted that there’s been a national decline in nightlife, with fewer Americans going out to bars and restaurants late at night, making around-the-clock dining less profitable for businesses.

Although Dysart’s restaurant is no longer 24/7, its adjacent truck stop is. It’s stocked with premade hot meals like pot pies and hot dogs. While nothing compared to the menu once offered all night, sales of the premade meals are steady, Brooks says, with a lot of late-night construction workers stopping by to grab a bite.

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS?

It’s not clear exactly how many 24/7 joints once operated in Maine, but many Mainers can recall at least one they frequented in the past.

Biddeford’s popular Palace Diner used to serve patrons 24/7 in the 1960s, said co-owner Chad Conley. Although now the diner closes at 2 p.m. each day, back when Biddeford was a bustling mill town, Palace Diner served workers as they got off shifts throughout the night.

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The interior of the 15-seater Palace Diner located in Biddeford. (Teddy Almond/Staff Writer)

In Maine’s industrial heyday, the 15-seater railcar diner was a bustling center of activity.

“The shifts were happening around the clock, and people needed to stop in and have a quick meal,” Conley said. “It just made sense for the business to be open 24 hours a day when there was a constant stream of workers coming in and out of the mills.”

Conley is the sixth owner of the restaurant since it opened in 1927. To celebrate five years of their ownership, he and his business partner Greg Mitchell kept the restaurant open 24 hours for a single day in 2019.

“People really showed up,” Conley said. “I remember this one moment that was really special: At 3 in the morning, like three or four cops came in and (they said), ‘This is awesome that you guys are doing this, because we work at night, and we can’t come to your restaurant unless you’re open at 3 in the morning.”

While Conley wishes he could do that every night, he understands that it’s not realistic.

“Maybe if we do it once every five years, we can fill the seats in the middle of the night, because people are willing to stay up for the novelty of it,” he said.

Dan Beck, the third-generation owner of Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro, shared a similar experience. Late-night business was good when truckers used U.S. Route 1, but as Interstate 95 became the preferred route, the nighttime customer base dwindled. Eventually, in March 2000, Moody’s decided to end 24/7 service.

“I just think times change,” Beck said. “The main trucking route changed, the way goods are transported changes, so, the need for something like that wasn’t as great. And then you add the advent of 24-hour convenience stores where people can get a cup of coffee or a snack.”

Beck also says the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in a further reduction of late-night hours, which he said was typical of many restaurants along the Midcoast.

LAST OPTIONS STANDING

So what are we left with? Not much. There are four 24/7 Burger Kings, all of them in southern Maine. Portland’s only Denny’s — the diner chain synonymous with late-night meals — closed its doors in 2022.

Burger King’s South Portland location actually transitioned to 24/7 after the start of the pandemic, in 2021. The store’s general manager, Tracy Fairbrother, said rising sales since 2015 prompted the restaurant to keep extending its hours. She said she was inspired by the burger chain’s Forest Avenue location, which was already open around the clock.

“Just seeing them continue to grow and grow and grow made us realize, ‘Why don’t we try and steal from that pool a little bit?’” she said.

Fairbrother says lots of shift workers frequent the restaurant late at night. For those whose days are ending during the morning, she’s found that many don’t want breakfast food and would rather get a cheeseburger.

She also believes being located in the Portland area plays a role in the move’s success, since more people means more potential customers.

Asked how the company felt about its apparent status as the last 24/7 restaurant standing in Maine, a Burger King corporate spokesperson responded: “We know that access to delicious meals for a great value is important to many Guests, and we’re glad to be able to provide a reliable option for those looking to enjoy Burger King whenever it’s most convenient for them.”

The all-night diner booth may be harder to find, but the lights are still on somewhere — even if these days, they’re glowing above a Burger King drive-thru.

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Massachusetts

American flags

Published

35 minutes ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

Updated on: July 3, 2026 / 11:50 PM EDT
/ CBS Boston

One day before the Fourth of July, police in Yarmouth, Massachusetts say American flags were “ripped down” from a highway overpass that’s named after a two-time Purple Heart recipient.

Yarmouth police said an officer noticed the vandalism Friday on the Lance Corporal William Joseph Donovan Jr. Memorial Bridge over Route 6.

“The officer found American flags forcefully ripped from the fencing,” police said. “Their grommets had been torn out, and flags were ripped apart at the seams left hanging.”

Lance Cpl. William Joseph Donovan Jr., a Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School graduate, was awarded the Purple Heart twice for injuries sustained in Operation Enduring Freedom. After returning home, he died in a motorcycle crash at 27 years old.

Yarmouth police are investigating the incident and urge anyone with information to contact them.

This isn’t the first time that flags on the bridge were damaged. Last summer, they were similarly torn down before being replaced in a rededication ceremony.

The community has already stepped up to restore the patriotic display that was vandalized on Friday.

State Rep. Steve Xiarhos of Barnstable, who lost his son Marine Cpl. Nick Xiarhos to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, said “Cape Cod sent a message tonight.”

“You can tear down flags, but you cannot tear down the spirit of this community. If anything, you made people stronger,” Xiarhos posted to Facebook. “You brought people together from all over Cape Cod, united by love of country and respect for those who have served.”

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New Hampshire

Fireworks Near Me: July 4th Events Around Concord For 2026

Published

1 hour ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

Fireworks Near Me: July 4th Events Around Concord For 2026

A Times Square Ball Drop, a rolling series of ball drops, timed to occur at midnight on July 3 in every U.S. time zone from Guam to American Samoa, is part of the “Giving 4th Broadcast Benefit Show,” creating a nearly 24-hour celebration of the 250th anniversary. It’s part of the broader “Giving 4th” initiative that aims to make and establish Independence Day the biggest annual day of giving.

A time capsule will be buried in Philadelphia to be opened in 2276 on July 4. It contains a carefully curated collection of letters and artifacts reflecting the leadership, institutions, and communities that shape the country today. It will include contributions from all three branches of the U.S. federal government and submissions from each of the 50 states, Washington D.C., and five territories.

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