Vermont
Jewish group files ethics complaints against Vermont legislators who took paid trip to Israel – VTDigger
MONTPELIER — A Jewish group that opposes Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has lodged ethics complaints against the five members of the Vermont House who traveled to Israel last September on a trip that was sponsored by the Israeli government.
The Vermont and New Hampshire chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace argued in filings last week that by accepting invitations to go on the trip, the Democratic and Republican legislators ran afoul of state laws limiting what gifts public officials should accept.
The lawmakers are Rep. Sarita Austin, D-Colchester; Rep. Matt Birong, D-Vergennes; Rep. Gina Galfetti, R-Barre Town; Rep. Will Greer, D-Bennington; and Rep. James Gregoire, R-Fairfield. In all, 250 legislators from all 50 states attended the trip, which was described as the largest-ever gathering of U.S. state legislators in Israel.
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According to an Instagram post from Israel’s government at the time, the lawmakers “witnessed the magnitude of the October 7 tragedy, experienced Israel’s innovation and cutting-edge technology, tasted our incredible cuisine, and met with Israel’s leaders — including the Prime Minister, the President, the Foreign Minister, and many others.”
At a press conference Tuesday in the Statehouse — the first day of the 2026 legislative session — members of Jewish Voice for Peace, and several other advocacy groups, lambasted the lawmakers’ decision to travel to Israel and demanded they resign.
Officials from the Israeli government valued the trip at $6,500 per person, according to records attached to the ethics complaints that Jewish Voice for Peace filed.
“As elected representatives of Vermont, they implicated our state in Israel’s atrocities,” said Ashley Smith, a member of the Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation, one of the groups at the press conference, speaking to a crowd of dozens of people.
Israel’s ground and air campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 70,000 people, according to local health authorities. Israeli strikes have destroyed vast swaths of buildings and other infrastructure in the enclave. At the same time, the United Nations has declared a famine there, saying that more than half a million people face “starvation, destitution and death” as a result of Israel’s war.
An independent U.N. commission determined last year that Israel has committed four “genocidal acts” in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. The Hamas attacks on that day that prompted the campaign killed about 1,200 people and led to 250 being taken hostage.
Three other current state legislators were also at the press conference standing among the presenters, including Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden Central; Rep. Kate Logan, P/D-Burlington; and Rep. Esme Cole, D-Hartford. Vyhovsky called the trip “unconscionable.”
Jewish Voice for Peace is asking Vermont’s State Ethics Commission to recommend that the Vermont House’s internal ethics panel “conduct a thorough investigation” of the group’s complaints. The State Ethics Commission has little authority to take substantive action on ethics complaints when those complaints are related to legislators’ conduct, but the body is generally required to refer such complaints when it receives them.
Christina Sivret, the commission’s executive director, said Tuesday she could not discuss publicly what actions were or were not being taken regarding the complaint.
According to Jewish Voice for Peace, most aspects of the legislators’ trip did not fall into one of the categories of gifts that state law allows public officials to accept. Moreover, the group contended in a press release, the trip amounted to a paid lobbying effort by Israel’s government “with the expectation” that the lawmakers “would support legislation in their home states favorable to Israel’s geopolitical and economic interests.” At the least, the group wrote in its complaints, that created the appearance of a quid pro quo.
The legislators did not file lobbying disclosures with the Vermont Secretary of State’s Office, as is required for some gifts, at the time of the trip. But Vermont legislators aren’t required to disclose gifted trips, anyway, Seven Days reported last year.
The group pointed to how four of the five sponsored a bill last year aimed at creating a new curriculum for Vermont students, and new training for Vermont teachers, focused on “the evolving nature of antisemitism” in the U.S. The legislation, H.310, would also create a new definition of “antisemitic harassment” in Vermont law that includes, among other pieces, “negative references to Jewish customs or the right to self-determination in the Jewish people’s ancestral and indigenous homeland,” which is Israel.
The group also noted how, during a stop in Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar urged the assembled legislators to pass laws in their states that would hinder the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. That’s the international movement aimed at using economic pressure to force Israel’s government to change its policies.
All five of the legislators pushed back against the advocacy groups’ assertions and calls for resignation in written statements and interviews on Tuesday.
Birong chairs the House Government Operations and Military Affairs Committee and is the most powerful Vermont legislator who took the trip.
“In a world increasingly filled with siloed media and narrowed information streams, I wanted to take the opportunity to witness for myself and ask questions,” he said in a statement. “When accepting the invitation, I was under no illusion as to the perspective of our hosts.”
Gregoire is vice chair of the House Corrections and Institutions Committee and pushed back against the assertion that the trip was a lobbying effort by a foreign government.
“We went during the off session and there was no connection to our legislative work,” Gregoire said in a statement. “No one asked us to do anything beyond standing up against antisemitism and that was during casual conversations.”
Austin said she did not believe she or her colleagues had violated any ethics rules when traveling on the trip. Both Galfetti and Greer said they were eager to move forward with their legislative work for the year, and pointed to how they have been threatened and have feared for their safety since the details of their trip were made public last fall.
Galfetti said in a statement that the complainants and organizers of Tuesday’s press conference “have lied and continued to lie about this trip, pushing an incendiary false narrative designed to spread disinformation in these troubled times.”
In a statement, House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, said her office did not have purview over the legislators’ decision to go on the trip and that “our established, independent review process — the House Ethics Panel” — was where any issues from critics of the trip could be reviewed. The panel’s proceedings are highly secretive, with little information typically available to the public about a given complaint or how it gets resolved.
Meanwhile, Pattie McCoy, the House GOP leader, said in a statement Tuesday that she supported the legislators’ decision to go on the trip.
“We support State Representatives who reach out and travel to engage in, and build, international relations,” the Poultney Republican said. “Through these efforts Vermont has built business partners that continue to increase our economic presence globally, allowing Vermont businesses to grow and thrive.”
An investigation is underway in Vermont after two people were found dead following an early morning fire at a home in Chelsea.
Vermont State Police say the fire at a single-family residence at 5 North Common was reported around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday, prompting a response from firefighters from multiple fire departments.
It took about 3.5 hours to extinguish the blaze, according to police, and the building is a total loss.
During a subsequent search of the home, investigators found the remains of two people, police added. Their bodies will be brought to the chief medical examiner’s office in Burlington for autopsies to confirm their identities and determine the cause and manner of their deaths.
Additional details about the fire, or the victims, were not immediately available. The deaths are being investigated by state police detectives, and the original and cause of the fire is under investigation by the Department of Public Safety Fire and Explosion unit.
Anyone with information that could help investigators is asked to call state police at 802-234-9933, or provide an anonymous tip online here.
Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots: What to know in case you win
Here’s what to know in case you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
The Vermont Lottery offers several draw games for those willing to make a bet to win big.
Those who want to play can enter the MegaBucks and Lucky for Life games as well as the national Powerball and Mega Millions games. Vermont also partners with New Hampshire and Maine for the Tri-State Lottery, which includes the Mega Bucks, Gimme 5 as well as the Pick 3 and Pick 4.
Drawings are held at regular days and times, check the end of this story to see the schedule.
Here’s a look at June 16, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Vermont Mega Millions numbers from June 16 drawing
12-20-53-67-70, Mega Ball: 12
Check Vermont Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Gimme 5 numbers from June 16 drawing
06-21-27-29-38
Check Gimme 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from June 16 drawing
Day: 1-9-6
Evening: 5-1-1
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from June 16 drawing
Day: 6-3-0-5
Evening: 2-1-8-4
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 16 drawing
01-13-21-40-57, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
For Vermont Lottery prizes up to $499, winners can claim their prize at any authorized Vermont Lottery retailer or at the Vermont Lottery Headquarters by presenting the signed winning ticket for validation. Prizes between $500 and $5,000 can be claimed at any M&T Bank location in Vermont during the Vermont Lottery Office’s business hours, which are 8a.m.-4p.m. Monday through Friday, except state holidays.
For prizes over $5,000, claims must be made in person at the Vermont Lottery headquarters. In addition to signing your ticket, you will need to bring a government-issued photo ID, and a completed claim form.
All prize claims must be submitted within one year of the drawing date. For more information on prize claims or to download a Vermont Lottery Claim Form, visit the Vermont Lottery’s FAQ page or contact their customer service line at (802) 479-5686.
Vermont Lottery Headquarters
1311 US Route 302, Suite 100
Barre, VT
05641
When are the Vermont Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
- Gimme 5: 6:55 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily.
- Pick 3 Day: 1:10 p.m. daily.
- Pick 4 Day: 1:10 p.m. daily.
- Pick 3 Evening: 6:55 p.m. daily.
- Pick 4 Evening: 6:55 p.m. daily.
- Megabucks: 7:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 11:15 p.m. daily
What is Vermont Lottery Second Chance?
Vermont’s 2nd Chance lottery lets players enter eligible non-winning instant scratch tickets into a drawing to win cash and/or other prizes. Players must register through the state’s official Lottery website or app. The drawings are held quarterly or are part of an additional promotion, and are done at Pollard Banknote Limited in Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Vermont editor. You can send feedback using this form.
For the fifth straight year the Burlington Free Press sports department combed through our playoff results to compile an All-Championship team for the spring high school playoffs.
With a tilt toward players that won titles this spring we created an all-star like group of softball, baseball, lacrosse, Ultimate and tennis athletes that any team would welcome in the game’s biggest moments.
Below, you’ll find our All-Championship Team for boys and girls Ultimate.
Editor’s note:
All-championship teams for baseball and softball (Wednesday), boys and girls lacrosse (Thursday) and boys and girls tennis (Friday) will be published online later this week.
On Monday, June 22, readers will be able to vote on the boys and girls MVP of the 2026 spring playoffs. The ballots include all names listed below.
ALL-CHAMPIONSHIP GIRLS ULTIMATE TEAM
Marlie Bushey, Milton High School
Bushey ended her high school career with a state championship, putting up two goals and seven assists in No. 2 Milton’s 13-9 upset win over No. 1 Champlain Valley. The senior connected with Saunders on most of her assists and excelled as the mark in the Yellowjackets’ zone defense.
Saj Saunders, Milton High School
The junior scored a game-high five goals in No. 2 Milton’s 13-9 upset win to capture the program’s first title. Saunders also added two assists with the bulk of her goals coming early in the contest.
ALL-CHAMPIONSHIP BOYS ULTIMATE TEAM
Julian Olin, Champlain Valley Union High School
The senior scored the overtime game winner for No. 2 CVU in the championship contest giving the Redhawks a 14-13 win over No. 9 Milton with a wide-open catch. Olin finished the championship with two goals helping the Redhawks win their first title. The senior contributed two goals, and one pass break up in the Redhawks 15-8 semifinals win over Mount Mansfield.
Ethan Revoir, Champlain Valley Union High School
The senior supplied a hat trick in the Redhawks 14-13 overtime win against No. 9 Milton. Revoir was a force throughout CVU’s four playoff games, which includes two goals and two assists in CVU’s 15-8 semifinals victory. He also contributed three pass breakups in the playdowns.
Will Wallace, Champlain Valley Union High School
The senior played a big role in CVU’s playoff run which ended in a 14-13 overtime win against No. 9 Milton. Wallace finished the playoffs scoring three goals, dishing out 15 assists and broke up three passes in the Redhawks playdown win.
Contact Judith Altneu at JAltneu@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.
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