Vermont
Senators interrogate Vermont Supreme Court nominee about prosecuting on behalf of Trump – VTDigger
MONTPELIER — Michael Drescher prosecuted cases on behalf of the federal government in Vermont during the first year of President Donald Trump’s administration — which dealt him historic immigration cases like those of Rümeysa Öztürk and Mohsen Mahdawi.
Now, Drescher is a nominee to serve on the Vermont Supreme Court, leading senators this week to interrogate his past.
Gov. Phil Scott appointed Drescher to serve on the state’s top court last week, along with former top Vermont federal prosecutor Christina Nolan. Both candidates led Vermont’s U.S. Attorney’s Office under Trump, with Nolan serving in the role during his first presidential term. To serve as a state Supreme Court justice, both nominees need state Senate confirmation.
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Drescher prosecuted the cases against Öztürk and Mahdawi, representing the federal government. Öztürk was a Turkish graduate student at Tufts University who was arrested in Massachusetts by plainclothes officers in March after co-writing a student newspaper op-ed critical of Israel’s war in Gaza. She was then whisked to Vermont, where she was held in an immigration office in St. Albans.
Mahdawi was a Palestinian student activist at Columbia University who vocally opposed Israel’s war in Gaza. He was arrested in Colchester in April during a routine immigration meeting.
Drescher resigned from his role as Vermont’s top federal prosecutor — under the title “First Assistant Attorney” — last week.
“I did that because, in order to be able to speak freely at this hearing, I think I needed to be unencumbered by being employed by the Department of Justice,” Drescher said Tuesday.
Lawmakers in the Senate Judiciary Committee heard from Drescher again on Wednesday, grilling him about his moral compass and views on free speech. Four senators in the committee said they’ve received hundreds of emails about his appointment.
“I still hold concerns about decisions that you made in your role,” Sen. Nader Hashim, D-Windham, the committee’s chair, said. Other senators expressed the same concern.
What was Drescher’s defense? “I was doing my job even though it was unpopular,” he said.
Drescher reminded senators Tuesday that Trump never formally appointed him to the role. He served as assistant U.S. attorney starting in 2002 and was promoted to the second highest position in the office in September 2023. He became the top federal prosecutor in the state last year, when the then-U.S. attorney for Vermont, who had been appointed by former President Joe Biden, resigned upon Trump’s inauguration.
Though Drescher held the office for about a year in an acting capacity, Trump never appointed him to a permanent U.S. attorney or sought his confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Drescher also did not seek out that appointment, he said.
Drescher said Tuesday that he found out in March his office would be prosecuting Öztürk’s case “out of the blue.” He saw the video of masked agents pulling the student into an unmarked car and described it as “irregular at least.” Drescher said he represented the federal government in the case because he didn’t want anyone else in his office to have to bear the burden.
“I could not in good conscience subject anybody in the office to be in that position. So I concluded that if anybody was going to be fired, it was going to be me,” Drescher said Tuesday, his voice cracking with emotion.
Drescher said he didn’t resign from his role because he thought his resignation would only prolong Öztürk’s and Mahdawi’s cases. And he would’ve violated his oath of office to not perform his due diligence in prosecuting the two immigration cases.
Drescher’s decision-making in those two cases influenced why Scott chose him.
“The Governor was aware of Michael’s role in both of those prosecutions and believes he showed great leadership by assigning those cases to himself, rather than asking his team to take the cases,” Amanda Wheeler, the governor’s press secretary, said in an email to VTDigger. “As Michael recognized, these assignments would either put the jobs of his career staff in jeopardy or subject them to threats and abuse from members of the public.”
But for some lawmakers, Drescher’s former position is a hard pill to swallow.
“It doesn’t sit well with me,” said Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden Central, in an interview.
The civil cases filed on behalf of Öztürk and Mahdawi respectively disputed the legality of their detention. In Öztürk’s case, Drescher repeatedly argued against her release from detention.
To Vyhovsky, that shows that Drescher wasn’t just filling shoes, rather he was in practice enforcing federal immigration actions.
Hashim, in an interview, shared the same concerns as Vyhovsky. The way Drescher handled Öztürk’s case gave him concerns about Drescher’s legal discretion, he said.
The national political climate only increases the need for the committee to do its due diligence when considering the appointments, Vyhovsky said. And she wants to make sure that state Supreme Court justices are committed to protecting people’s rights, she said.
Other senators expressed similar concerns in the Wednesday committee meeting.
“I’ve never seen a crisis point in America like we’re facing,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central. While Trump’s immigration agenda sweeps the country, Congress has “neutered itself” and left too much up to the judiciary, Baruth said.
Drescher told senators he understood those concerns. But he asserted that the legal cases wouldn’t have been able to move forward without competent legal counsel on each side.
He argued that in his former role, he was a counterbalance necessary to have a functioning legal system. And he held the executive branch to a high standard, he said.
Drescher said that while he understands why he’s being associated with Trump’s policies and attitudes, lawyers are not usually judged based on the character of those they represent.
Sen. Robert Norris, R-Franklin, asked Drescher if he would have done anything differently.
“I don’t think so. I don’t think so,” Drescher replied.
Score: UAlbany 4, Vermont 14
Location: Virtue Field | Burlington, Vt.
Records: UAlbany (10-5, 5-1 America East) | Vermont (8-6, 4-1 America East)
Short Story: UAlbany women’s lacrosse fell to the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday afternoon.
Key Stats
- Grace Cincebox recorded a total of 14 saves with 13 goals allowed for a .565 save percentage.
- Ravan Marsell led the Great Danes with two points on one goal and one assist.
- Four different UAlbany players scored in the contest.
- Reggie Williams was the team’s leader with three ground balls.
- Delilah Mile caused a team high three turnovers.
How It Happened
- The Catamounts came out of the gates hard and heavy, scoring all three goals between both sides in the first quarter.
- Vermont would take an 8-0 lead in the second quarter before Amanda Williamson found the back of the net on a women-down goal to put the Great Danes on the board and make it 8-1.
- The Great Danes would allow one more goal in the first half to trail 9-1 after 30-minutes of play.
- Grace Cincebox would enter the half with 10 saves.
- Riley Forthofer started the Great Danes off in the second half to make it a 9-2 game, before Vermont put up three more goals to take a 12-2 lead entering the final quarter of play.
- Mya Carroll and Ravan Marsell both scored on back-to-back free-position goals to make it a 12-4 game.
- The Catamounts finished the game with two more goals to take the win 14-4.
Up Next
The Great Danes will next have a bye week and wait to see the outcome of next week’s Vermont vs UMass Lowell game to see who will host the America East Tournament.
Social Central: Stay up to date with UAlbany women’s lacrosse by following the team on Instagram (@UAlbanyWLax), Facebook (UAlbany Women’s Lacrosse), and X (@UAlbanyWLax) for all of the latest news and highlights throughout the year.
Is creativity the missing key to better health?
Research suggests creative activities like art, music and crafts may benefit mental health as much as other key health habits.
Here’s another reason Vermont is the best New England state: It’s home to one of the top 5 happiest cities in the United States.
Plus, it has another within the top 15.
Massachusetts, on the other hand, doesn’t even break the top 50. Nor, does Connecticut or Rhode Island.
The personal finance website analyzed 182 of the largest cities in the country, and ranked Boston 63rd overall. Although the city is home to some of the nation’s top universities, high-ranking hospitals, and well-regarded companies, it didn’t break the top 50.
To get the rankings, WalletHub compared the cities using 29 metrics, including life-satisfaction index, depression rate, poverty rate, job security, and acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, and cities were assigned an overall happiness score.
Here’s a look at how the cities ranked.
South Burlington is No. 4 happiest city, Burlington is No. 11
South Burlington came on top for Vermont in WalletHub’s list of the happiest cities in the United States, ranking at No. 4. In scored very high for emotional and physical well-being coming in at the No. 4 spot, which made up for coming in No. 48 for community and environment. It was No. 9 for income and employment ranking. That gave it a total happiness of score of 70.15
Burlington wasn’t far behind at all, taking the No. 11 spot on the list and a happiness score of 67.54. It’s highest score was for income and employment ranking where it came second. It ranked No. 13 for community and environment and No. 21 for emotional and physical well-being.
Happiest cities in the US, per WalletHub
Here are the 25 happiest cities in the U.S., and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:
- Fremont, California – 74.09
- Bismarck, North Dakota – 73.11
- Scottsdale, Arizona – 71.36
- South Burlington, Vermont – 70.15
- Fargo, North Dakota – 69.36
- Overland Park, Kansas – 68.45
- Charleston, South Carolina – 68.44
- Irvine, California – 67.99
- Gilbert, Arizona – 67.96
- San Jose, California – 67.79
- Burlington, Vermont – 67.54
- Madison, Wisconsin – 66.35
- Columbia, Maryland – 66.28
- Chandler, Arizona – 65.69
- Seattle, Washington – 65.62
- Plano, Texas – 65.34
- San Francisco, California – 64.99
- Lincoln, Nebraska – 64.90
- Portland, Maine – 64.59
- Tempe, Arizona – 64.30
- San Diego, California – 64.30
- Raleigh, North Carolina – 63.47
- Peoria, Arizona – 63.38
- Durham, North Carolina – 62.84
- Huntington Beach, California – 62.80
Least happy cities in the US, per WalletHub
Here are the 25 least happy cities in the U.S., and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:
- Detroit, Michigan (#182 overall) – 29.55
- Memphis, Tennessee (#181 overall) – 34.39
- Shreveport, Louisiana (#180 overall) – 34.93
- Cleveland, Ohio (#179 overall) – 36.50
- Huntington, West Virginia (#178 overall) – 37.20
- Toledo, Ohio (#177 overall) – 37.21
- Augusta, Georgia (#176 overall) – 38.24
- Fort Smith, Arkansas (#175 overall) – 38.66
- Dover, Delaware (#174 overall) – 39.08
- Akron, Ohio (#173 overall) – 40.11
- Baltimore, Maryland (#172 overall) – 40.28
- Birmingham, Alabama (#171 overall) – 40.37
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana (#170 overall) – 40.47
- Columbus, Georgia (#169 overall) – 40.61
- Montgomery, Alabama (#168 overall) – 41.35
- Gulfport, Mississippi (#167 overall) – 41.65
- Charleston, West Virginia (#166 overall) – 42.18
- Jackson, Mississippi (#165 overall) – 42.60
- St. Louis, Missouri (#164 overall) – 43.53
- Knoxville, Tennessee (#163 overall) – 44.04
- Wilmington, Delaware (#162 overall) – 44.34
- Little Rock, Arkansas (#161 overall) – 44.48
- Mobile, Alabama (#160 overall) – 44.85
- New Orleans, Louisiana (#159 overall) – 45.19
- Tulsa, Oklahoma (#158 overall) – 45.33
Where New England cities ranked
Here are the 12 happiest cities in New England, and their happiness scores, according to WalletHub’s 2026 list:
- South Burlington, Vermont (#6 overall) – 70.15
- Burlington, Vermont (#11 overall) – 67.54
- Portland, Maine (#19 overall) – 64.59
- Nashua, New Hampshire (#27 overall) – 62.49
- Manchester, New Hampshire (#51 overall) – 59.10
- Boston, Massachusetts (#63 overall) – 56.88
- Warwick, Rhode Island (#66 overall) – 56.59
- New Haven, Connecticut (#95 overall) – 54.14
- Bridgeport, Connecticut (#96 overall) – 54.01
- Providence, Rhode Island (#98 overall) – 53.52
- Worcester, Massachusetts (#116 overall) – 50.12
- Lewiston, Maine (#145 overall) – 47.28
A tornado touched down in Vermont Thursday, when a strong storm system moved through the area, the National Weather Service said.
Winds are believed to have hit 90 mph when the tornado churned through Williamstown at about 9:15 p.m., the agency said Friday. That makes it an EF1 tornado on the Fujita Scale, which goes from 0 at the weakest to 5 at the strongest.
Lasting three minutes, the twister traveled for more than four-tenths of a mile, with a maximum width of 100 yards, according to the National Weather Service’s preliminary assessment. It damaged a pair of buildings and numerous trees, shearing tree tops. Golf ball-sized hail was also reported in the area.
Severe thunderstorms popped up across the North Country Thursday night, including in central Vermont — Williamstown is south of Montpelier.
The town thanked its road crew, firefighters and locals who spent hours in the wake of the storm cleaning up.
“We appreciate all that you do to keep the town functioning though an emergency situation,” the town said.
People in the area told NBC affiliate WPTZ that the storm was shockingly powerful, and National Weather Service staffer Marlon Verasamy said that while tornadoes in Vermont are rare, they’re even rarer in this part of the state.
“Generally, when we do see tornadoes around the area that they’ve been in Addison County and not here, so it make it really, really unique to get a tornado in this kind of terrain in this part of the state,” Verasamy said.
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