PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — One of the rarest whales on the planet has continued an encouraging trend of population growth in the wake of new efforts to protect the giants animals, according to scientists who study them.
The North Atlantic right whale now numbers an estimated 384 animals, up eight whales from the previous year, according to a report by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium released Tuesday. The whales have shown a trend of slow population growth over the past four years.
It’s a welcome development in the wake of a troubling decline in the previous decade. The population of the whales, which are vulnerable to collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear, fell about 25% from 2010 to 2020.
The whale’s trend toward recovery is a testament to the importance of conservation measures, said Philip Hamilton, a senior scientist with the New England Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life. The center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration collaborate to calculate the population estimate.
New management measures in Canada that attempt to keep the whales safe amid their increased presence in the Gulf of St. Lawrence have been especially important, Hamilton said.
“We know that a modest increase every year, if we can sustain it, will lead to population growth,” Hamilton said. “It’s just whether or not we can sustain it.”
Scientists have cautioned in recent years that the whale’s slow recovery is happening at a time when the giant animals still face threats from accidental deaths, and that stronger conservation measures are needed. But there are also reasons to believe the whales are turning a corner in terms of low reproduction numbers, Hamilton said.
The whales are less likely to reproduce when they have suffered injuries or are underfed, scientists have said. That has emerged as a problem for the whale because they aren’t producing enough babies to sustain their population, they’ve said.
However, this year four mother whales had calves for the first time, Hamilton said. And some other, established mother whales had shorter intervals between calves, he said.
In total, 11 calves were born, which is less than researchers had hoped for, but the entry of new females into the reproductive pool is encouraging, Hamilton said.
And any number of calves is helpful in a year of no mortalities, said Heather Pettis, who leads the right whale research program at Cabot Center and chairs the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium
“The slight increase in the population estimate, coupled with no detected mortalities and fewer detected injuries than in the last several years, leaves us cautiously optimistic about the future of North Atlantic right whales,” Pettis said. ”What we’ve seen before is this population can turn on a dime.”
The whales were hunted to the brink of extinction during the era of commercial whaling. They have been federally protected for decades.
The whales migrate every year from calving grounds off Florida and Georgia to feeding grounds off New England and Canada. Some scientists have said the warming of the ocean has made that journey more dangerous because the whales have had to stray from established protected areas in search of food.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in Adam Montgomery‘s quest for a new trial after he was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his daughter Harmony.
Adam Montgomery was sentenced to 45 years to life for murder and a minimum total of 11 more years — all to be served consecutively — for charges of falsifying evidence, tampering with a witness and second-degree assault. He received a suspended sentence of one year for the abuse of a corpse charge.
Wednesday’s hearing is expected to get underway at 9:30 a.m. at the NH Supreme Court in Concord, and will be livestreamed in the video player above.
In an appeal filed in New Hampshire Supreme Court earlier this year, Adam Montgomery’s defense took issue with several aspects of his trial.
The first concerns the combining of the assault case with the murder case. According to court filings, the defense believed the assault charges, tied to an incident in July 2019, would be approached separately from the murder charge, which alleged events on Dec. 7, 2019. However, the defense says the prosecution used the assault cause to establish a larger pattern of abuse. During the trial, the defense requested the cases be severed, but that request was denied.
This is tied to a larger defense argument that the court should not have admitted “bad acts” evidence – evidence that Adam Montgomery assaulted and neglected Harmony in the two weeks leading up to her death, and that he prevented her mother, Crystal Corey, from seeing her daughter to cover up that abuse.
While the evidence may have been part of Sorey’s story, that circumstance does not make the evidence admissible. The disputed evidence was not necessary or essential for the jury to realistically evaluate the evidence about what happened to H.M. on and after December 7, 2019,” the appeal reads.
Another concerns testimony by Kayla Montgomery, Adam Montgomery’s wife and Harmony’s stepmother.
Kayla Montgomery, was issued an 18-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to perjury charges related to the investigation into the child’s disappearance, testified that her husband killed Harmony on Dec. 7, 2019, while the family lived in their car after being evicted from their home.
Kayla Montgomery testified that her husband repeatedly punched Harmony in the face and head because he was angry that she was having bathroom accidents in the car.
In the appeal the defense argues there were “credibility issues” with Kayla Montgomery’s testimony and that it shouldn’t have been admitted. They argue that her story changed multiple times over the course of the investigation and that she had a “a history of dishonestly and misplaced trust.”
The final point concerns body camera footage presented at the trial. The video showed an encounter between Adam Montgomery and police officers on Dec. 31. 2021. The judge did not admit the audio from the encounter. The defense argues that showing the video without the audio unfairly prejudiced the jury.
Investigators believe Harmony was killed nearly two years before she was reported missing in 2021. Her body has never been found. Investigators believe Harmony’s remains are somewhere along a 26-mile route that Adam Montgomery took with a rental truck into Massachusetts.
LOWELL — From the sidewalk outside Majestic Barber Shop on Middlesex Street on Friday, owner George Voutselas traced a finger toward the bullet hole in the window frame at the front of the shop that he’s run for five and a half decades. The now-cracked glass that bears the shop’s name stands strong despite this clash with a bullet, which Voutselas points out is still lodged in the wooden frame.
The shooting that caused the damage must have happened in the early hours of Wednesday. The shop is closed that day, but Voutselas had stopped by in the late afternoon to grab something when he noticed the spiderweb cracks stretching across the exterior of the double-pane window.
“I said, ‘What the hell,’” Voutselas recalled.
At first, he didn’t realize a bullet grazing the edge of the glass had caused the cracks. It wasn’t until he called the Lowell Police and they came to investigate that he learned the truth.
“The officer said, ‘That looks like a bullet in there,’ and I said, ‘What?!’” Voutselas said.
Who fired the bullet — or why — is a mystery. At least for now.
It was reported in an emergency radio broadcast on Wednesday afternoon that a spent shell casing was recovered nearby around the intersection of Middlesex Street and Moulton Avenue. The Lowell Police Department was unavailable to comment about the shot that struck Voutselas’ shop.
The window will need to be replaced, and when it is, Voutselas said he’s been tasked with calling police so a detective can come by to dig the round out of the wood.
Voutselas, who turns 84 in December, spent nearly his entire life in Lowell before moving a few years ago to a 55-and-older community in Dracut. His father, Arthur, started the shop in 1921 after immigrating from Greece in 1914. Voutselas bought it in the early 1960s, and he’s been cutting hair on Middlesex Street ever since.
For 55 years, he’s been a fixture in the neighborhood — first just across the street, in a space that’s now a parking garage, and since 2001 at the current location at 50 Middlesex St.
“It’s a long legacy,” Voutselas said. “They even gave me a key to the city when we turned 100 years here.”
The framed key hangs next to the mirror in front of the barber chair.
“I’ve been here a long time. I’ve never gotten hit by a bullet though,” he said with a chuckle.
The cracked window wasn’t the first shock Voutselas faced in recent weeks — and it doesn’t come close to what he experienced last month.
On Sept. 21, he and his family were caught in the chaos of a shooting at Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua, New Hampshire, that led to the death of one man.
“We met face to face with the shooter, actually,” Voutselas said, recalling the traumatic episode while seated in his desk chair situated next to his shop’s fractured front window.
Voutselas was at the country club for the wedding of his great-niece. The outdoor ceremony took place that afternoon with about 120 guests in attendance. Later, everyone moved inside for the reception.
While the celebration was underway that night, gunfire erupted at Prime, the club’s restaurant. Authorities say Hunter Nadeau, 23, of Nashua, a former employee of the restaurant, walked in and opened fire.
Voutselas would later learn that Robert DeCesare Jr., 59, also of Nashua, stood up to protect his family from the shooter and was gunned down.
“Killed him,” Voutselas said, “right in front of his wife and daughter.”
As reported in multiple outlets from witness accounts, a guest is alleged to have struck Nadeau in the face with a chair, knocking the gun from his hands.
“Thank God for that guy,” Voutselas said. “He saved a lot of lives, probably.”
As this was going on inside Prime, Voutselas and members of his family, including his wife, daughter, and 12-year-old grandson, and the other wedding guests heard the gunfire and were urged by staff to escape through the kitchen. Voutselas recalled his daughter gripping his hand so tightly as they fled.
Amid the chaos, he noticed a man running with them — his face bloodied and unfamiliar.
“This guy is running with us,” he said. “We thought he had just fallen and banged his head. They opened up the door to go out back, and he ran ahead of us.”
Voutselas said he was standing just a few feet away when they became aware of who this man was: the alleged gunman.
“He looked at all of us, and said, ‘Free the children of Palestine, free the children of Palestine,’ and ‘I’m the shooter,’ and he’s going like this,” Voutselas said, mimicking the motion of a gun with his hand. “He was making believe he was shooting at us.”
Voutselas noted that, at the time, none of them realized the gunman had been disarmed. There was fear he might pull out another weapon and start shooting. The group retreated back inside. The suspect fled.
Following a massive police response, Nadeau was tracked down nearby. He has since been charged with second-degree murder and multiple other offenses related to the incident. While a motive has not been publicly confirmed, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella has said they do not believe the shooting was a “hate-based act,” despite Nadeau’s alleged comments regarding Palestine.
Authorities have also said there is no known connection between Nadeau and DeCesare.
Though the shooter had fled by the time they went back inside the club, Voutselas recalled how police on scene warned there may be a second gunman — information that was later ruled out. Law enforcement instructed guests to run down a hill to get away from the scene. Women who had been dancing moments earlier left their shoes behind in the rush. The group was taken to the Spit Brook Road Fire Station, where the news of the shooting was already playing on TV.
“It was like a movie,” Voutselas said. “I’m watching the drones, the helicopters, the SWAT teams.”
From there, they were bussed to the Sheraton Hotel on Tara Boulevard, where news crews and a heavy police presence gathered. Voutselas noted that the bride and her bridesmaids had escaped out another door at the club during the chaos, knocking on the door of a nearby residence. They stayed there until they reunited with family at the hotel.
“They fell to the ground and cried,” Voutselas said. “What a scene that was.”
“Now every year they are going to have to relive that whole thing,” he added, referencing the future wedding anniversaries.
Voutselas also reflected on the death of DeCesare. It was later revealed by DeCesare’s mother, Evie O’Rourke, that her son had been dining with family that night. His daughter’s wedding was scheduled just six weeks after the shooting. Voutselas said he heard the family still plans to hold the wedding on the original date, while adding, “But she won’t have a father to walk her down the aisle.”
“The whole world has gone crazy,” Voutselas said. “Now you just go out and shoot people. In the old days, you’d go to the park and duke it out.
“And to do that?” he added. “People are flipping out, but you can’t tell who is going to flip out at the time. They say take guns away from people. Listen, take away the machine guns and all that. No one is going to go hunting with a machine gun.”
While sitting in his shop on Friday, Voutselas recalled seeing photos of Nadeau on the news the day after the shooting. He immediately recognized him as the man they had encountered outside the venue.
Voutselas described the alleged gunman as a bizarre character — “out there,” he said, based on that brief but unsettling exchange.
“His demeanor and the way he talked and the way his eyes were,” he said. “For a while there, I was seeing his face. I was seeing his eyes.”
Voutselas added simply that his family is doing well, despite the tragic and horrific encounter. In the meantime, Voutselas is still trimming hair at his shop, behind the cracked front window with a bullet embedded in the frame, waiting to be recovered.
It’s been an unusual few weeks, and he hopes nothing worse is waiting around the corner.
“It’s crazy,” he chuckled. “It seems like they’re trying to get me. God is pissed off at me about something.”
Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.
New Hampshire police chase moose out of downtown areas
THEY SAY WERE HIDDEN IN THE TALL GRASS. YOU’VE HEARD OF POLICE CHASES, BUT THIS ONE IS UNIQUE. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS VIDEO. HERE YOU CAN SEE A MOOSE BEING CHASED DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET BY A POLICE CAR. POLICE RESPONDED TO REPORTS OF THIS MOOSE RUNNING AROUND DOWNTOWN. WITH THE HELP OF FISH AND GAME, OFFICERS WERE ABLE TO GET THAT MOOSE AWAY FROM ANY NEIGHBORHOODS, BUT YOU CAN SEE IT WAS RUNNING VERY FAST. HOPEFULLY THAT MOOSE IS OKAY. THAT’S A HIGH SPEED CHASE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE RIGHT THERE. YEAH, THAT’S WHAT WE GOT. POLICE OUT IN THE WOODS SOMEWHERE DEEP AND AWAY FROM PEOPLE, AW
The Keene Police Department in New Hampshire responded to an unusual call downtown Sunday. Police said they received reports of a moose that had wandered into the city. Video shows the moose being followed by a police cruiser as officers used lights and sirens to safely guide it out of residential areas. New Hampshire Fish and Game assisted Keene police to ensure the animal stayed away.Fish and Game officials remind the public to give moose plenty of space if they encounter one.
The Keene Police Department in New Hampshire responded to an unusual call downtown Sunday.
Police said they received reports of a moose that had wandered into the city.
Video shows the moose being followed by a police cruiser as officers used lights and sirens to safely guide it out of residential areas.
New Hampshire Fish and Game assisted Keene police to ensure the animal stayed away.
Fish and Game officials remind the public to give moose plenty of space if they encounter one.
BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Maine (AP) — Republican lawmakers are targeting one of the U.S.’s longest standing pieces of environmental legislation, credited with helping save rare whales from extinction.
Conservative leaders feel they now have the political will to remove key pieces of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, enacted in 1972 to protect whales, seals, polar bears and other sea animals. The law also places restrictions on commercial fishermen, shippers and other marine industries.
A GOP-led bill in the works has support from fishermen in Maine who say the law makes lobster fishing more difficult, lobbyists for big-money species such as tuna in Hawaii and crab in Alaska, and marine manufacturers who see the law as antiquated.
Conservation groups adamantly oppose the changes and say weakening the law will erase years of hard-won gains for jeopardized species such as the vanishing North Atlantic right whale, of which there are less than 400, and is vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear.
Here’s what to know about the protection act and the proposed changes.
Why does the 1970s law still matter
“The Marine Mammal Protection Act is important because it’s one of our bedrock laws that help us to base conservation measures on the best available science,” said Kathleen Collins, senior marine campaign manager with International Fund for Animal Welfare. “Species on the brink of extinction have been brought back.”
It was enacted the year before the Endangered Species Act, at a time when the movement to save whales from extinction was growing. Scientist Roger Payne had discovered that whales could sing in the late 1960s, and their voices soon appeared on record albums and throughout popular culture.
The law protects all marine mammals, and prohibits capturing or killing them in U.S. waters or by U.S. citizens on the high seas. It allowed for preventative measures to stop commercial fishing ships and other businesses from accidentally harming animals such as whales and seals. The animals can be harmed by entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships and other hazards at sea.
The law also prevents the hunting of marine mammals, including polar bears, with exceptions for Indigenous groups. Some of those animals can be legally hunted in other countries.
Changes to oil and gas operations — and whale safety
Republican Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska, a state with a large fishing industry, submitted a bill draft this summer that would roll back aspects of the law. The bill says the act has “unduly and unnecessarily constrained government, tribes and the regulated community” since its inception.
The proposal states that it would make changes such as lowering population goals for marine mammals from “maximum productivity” to the level needed to “support continued survival.” It would also ease rules on what constitutes harm to marine mammals.
For example, the law currently prevents harassment of sea mammals such as whales, and defines harassment as activities that have “the potential to injure a marine mammal.” The proposed changes would limit the definition to only activities that actually injure the animals. That change could have major implications for industries such as oil and gas exploration where rare whales live.
That poses an existential threat to the Rice’s whale, which numbers only in the dozens and lives in the Gulf of Mexico, conservationists said. And the proposal takes specific aim at the North Atlantic right whale protections with a clause that would delay rules designed to protect that declining whale population until 2035.
Begich and his staff did not return calls for comment on the bill, and his staff declined to provide an update about where it stands in Congress. Begich has said he wants “a bill that protects marine mammals and also works for the people who live and work alongside them, especially in Alaska.”
Fishing groups want restrictions loosened
A coalition of fishing groups from both coasts has come out in support of the proposed changes. Some of the same groups lauded a previous effort by the Trump administration to reduce regulatory burdens on commercial fishing.
The groups said in a July letter to House members that they feel Begich’s changes reflect “a positive and necessary step” for American fisheries’ success.
Restrictions imposed on lobster fishermen of Maine are designed to protect the right whale, but they often provide little protection for the animals while limiting one of America’s signature fisheries, Virginia Olsen, political director of the Maine Lobstering Union, said. The restrictions stipulate where lobstermen can fish and what kinds of gear they can use. The whales are vulnerable to lethal entanglement in heavy fishing rope.
Gathering more accurate data about right whales while revising the original law would help protect the animals, Olsen said.
“We do not want to see marine mammals harmed; we need a healthy, vibrant ocean and a plentiful marine habitat to continue Maine’s heritage fishery,” Olsen said.
Some members of other maritime industries have also called on Congress to update the law. The National Marine Manufacturers Association said in a statement that the rules have not kept pace with advancements in the marine industry, making innovation in the business difficult.
Environmentalists fight back
Numerous environmental groups have vowed to fight to save the protection act. They characterized the proposed changes as part of the Trump administration’s assault on environmental protections.
The act was instrumental in protecting the humpback whale, one of the species most beloved by whale watchers, said Gib Brogan, senior campaign director with Oceana. Along with other sea mammals, humpbacks would be in jeopardy without it, he said.
“The Marine Mammal Protection Act is flexible. It works. It’s effective. We don’t need to overhaul this law at this point,” Brogan said.
What does this mean for seafood imports
The original law makes it illegal to import marine mammal products without a permit, and allows the U.S. to impose import prohibitions on seafood products from foreign fisheries that don’t meet U.S. standards.
The import embargoes are a major sticking point because they punish American businesses, said Gavin Gibbons, chief strategy officer of the National Fisheries Institute, a Virginia-based seafood industry trade group. It’s critical to source seafood globally to be able to meet American demand for seafood, he said.
The National Fisheries Institute and a coalition of industry groups sued the federal government Thursday over what they described as unlawful implementation of the protection act. Gibbons said the groups don’t oppose the act, but want to see it responsibly implemented.
“Our fisheries are well regulated and appropriately fished to their maximum sustainable yield,” Gibbons said. “The men and women who work our waters are iconic and responsible. They can’t be expected to just fish more here to make up a deficit while jeopardizing the sustainability they’ve worked so hard to maintain.”
Some environmental groups said the Republican lawmakers’ proposed changes could weaken American seafood competitiveness by allowing imports from poorly regulated foreign fisheries.
This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
BOSTON — Massachusetts is chasing after a slice of a $50 billion federal fund created as part of President Donald Trump’s tax and policy bill to help offset the impact of looming Medicaid cuts on rural health care systems.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched its Rural Health Transformation Program last month, encouraging states to apply for a slice of the funding to “reimagine care delivery and develop innovative, enduring, state-driven solutions to tackle the root causes of poor health outcomes specific to rural America.”
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In the ranking, released Sept. 8, WalletHub looked at 30 metrics, including depression rate, feelings of productivity, income growth and unemployment rate, across all 50 states to determine which states are the happiest.
“In addition to pursuing your passions, having a good work-life balance and maintaining an emotional support network, another key way to boost your happiness is living in the right place,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in a statement. “The happiest states are those that provide above-average quality of life in a wide variety of areas, from strong state economies and high quality physical and mental health care to adequate amounts of leisure time and good weather.”
It found that three New England states are in the top 10 nationally for happiness.
A Pew Research study reported in 2020 that 54% of Americans believe marriage is important to living a fulfilled life. According to a 2025 article in Psychology Today, though, marriage isn’t the ironclad predictor of happiness that it once was.
Which New England states are the happiest?
Connecticut was the highest ranked New England state for happiness.
It was ranked fifth for emotional and physical well-being, 11th for work environment, and 8th for community and environment rank. It also had the fourth lowest suicide rate and the fifth fewest work hours. However, it had the fourth lowest income growth.
New Hampshire and Massachusetts were eighth and ninth, respectively.
Rhode Island, Vermont and Maine are the least happy states in New England, according to the ranking, coming in at 26th, 29th, and 33rd respectively.
What states are the happiest?
Hawaii was ranked the happiest state by WalletHub for the second year in a row, boasting the highest levels of life satisfaction and the second-lowest depression rate in the nation.
Here are the top 10 happiest states.
What states are the least happy?
West Virginia was ranked last in WalletHub’s list of happiest states. They also found it had the highest share of adult depression, the second lowest sleep rate and the fourth lowest sports participation rate.
Researcher Pamela Templer and her team removed snow from this study plot in Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest to simulate the increased freezing and thawing cycles created when snowpack recedes. Snowpack decline in the Northeast stresses trees and can reduce their ability to sequester carbon, Templer said. (Photo by Emerson Conrad-Rooney/Templer Lab)
New England residents know that snow is disappearing from our landscape, and scientists have proven that climate change is to blame. But the effects of snowpack decline go far beyond what’s visible, and researchers working in the forests of New Hampshire and the Northeast are learning more about just how far the phenomenon stretches across seasons and landscapes. Their findings reveal how much tracking snow can tell us about the health of our forests and our world, and what is still to learn.
“I grew up cross-country skiing with my family,” said Emerson Conrad-Rooney, a doctoral student at Boston University whose work focuses on the effects of climate change on northern forests. Conrad-Rooney, who grew up in western Massachusetts, said the places they had grown up skiing through the winter were, in recent years, open only a handful of days all season long. “That’s been kind of separate from this research I’m doing, but just something that me and my family have seen … We’re, I think, definitely feeling that change,” they said.
Eric Kelsey, a meteorologist and researcher at Plymouth State University, also grew up an enthusiastic winter recreator in Nashua. A love of snow and weather led Kelsey to learn more about the integral role of snowpack to the water cycle. But as he read more, Kelsey was struck by the relative lack of cohesive, long-term snowpack data, especially compared to other weather datasets tracking things like daily high and low temperatures and rainfall.
“We just don’t have a climatology of snowpack — that was surprising to me,” Kelsey said.
The problem, Kelsey said, was not necessarily a lack of data. For more than a century, people across the Northeast have logged information about snowfall, from dam operators attempting to predict how snowmelt would affect their rivers to farmers and ski slope proprietors.
Appalachian Mountain Club employee Maddie Ziomek uses National Weather Service instruments to measure snowpack in the White Mountain National Forest. (Photo by Maddie Ziomek/Appalachian Mountain Club)
Most tracked snow depth and snow water equivalent (the amount of water contained in that snow, a measure that fluctuates with snow density). Their observations, taken as a whole, are a rich collection of information about snowfall in New England, Kelsey said. But the records were also scattered and disparate, making it difficult for scientists to unlock the information they contained.
Now, Kelsey and Plymouth State graduate student David Zywiczynski are halfway through a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grant-funded effort to unify and clean that data, which includes measurements taken over yearslong periods from more than 400 sites. Then, they hope, scientists will be able to use it to make sense of long-term patterns in local snowpack, from general decline to years of snow drought — or abnormally low snowfall conditions.
Because snowpack plays an important role in replenishing streams, lakes, and aquifers when it melts each spring, a tool to identify snow drought with more certainty could help forecasters anticipate the dry conditions that will likely persist later in the year, Kelsey said. The “snow drought index” Kelsey and Zywiczynski are working on to facilitate that may be the first tool of its kind in the nation.
As historic data is put to work at Plymouth State, elsewhere in New Hampshire, scientists are tracking ongoing changes in forests as they unfold.
Just beneath Mount Washington in Pinkham Notch, Appalachian Mountain Club Senior Scientist Georgia Murray oversees the collection of daily snowpack depth and snow water equivalent measurements. Data collected in the notch and above at the Mount Washington Observatory stretches back to the 1930s, Murray said, constituting one of the longer sets of continuous snowpack observations available in the region.
Measurements from the two relatively close sites are often very different on the same day, highlighting how difficult it can be to assess snowpack, Murray said. Unlike rain, snow blows around once it falls, clearing off some areas completely and piling up in others. Having data from as many sites as possible is desirable for a more comprehensive understanding, Murray said, so she also works to encourage citizen scientists to measure and submit snowpack data across the region through a smartphone app.
“It’s complex with snowpack, because you have, you know, nooks and crannies across the mountain, and so you have so many ways that snow is distributed differently. Having citizen science data fill in the gaps is something we really value in the mountain ecosystem, where we can’t be everywhere,” Murray said.
Citizen science data also helps keep track of the downstream effects of snowpack decline, including its impact on plant life. Plants rely on natural cues to time their life cycles; when some cues, like the presence of snow, change while others, like day length, do not, they may be negatively impacted, Murray said.
“In climate change, there can be these mismatches of synchronicity,” she said.
Furthermore, as snow melts in spring, the water it releases carries nutrients through the soil, making them more available to the roots of hungry and thirsty young plants. But data shows that the timing of snow melt is changing, too, starting earlier and lasting for longer. Murray hopes citizen data will help shine a light on what that could mean for White Mountain plants, from delicate spring ephemeral wildflowers to alpine trees.
“The snowmelt timing has a strong impact in the spring, and can have a ripple effect over the growing season,” she said.
Understanding those and other ripple effects of snowpack decline is crucial to making informed predictions about what the future might bring for New England, researchers said.
Pamela Templer, chair of the Biology department at Boston University and a researcher who has studied northern forests for more than two decades, established a set of three research plots at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, in the White Mountains, about 10 years ago. The goal of the study, entitled “Climate Change Across Seasons Experiment,” or CCASE, was to assess how seasonal changes play off each other in yearly cycles.
Before that study, researchers had shown that in summer, temperate forests experienced some positive effects from growing seasons that were stretching longer, Templer said. Separate studies, including in Templer’s own work, had revealed the negative impacts on temperate forests from warming winters. But Templer wanted to assess those two phenomena together.
“We didn’t know at that point what the net effect of those two changes in climate were on the forest,” Templer said.
To do so, Templer and her team — including Conrad-Rooney and “a village” of other researchers — simulated the freeze-thaw cycle, which can occur in the forest floor when it is not protected by an insulating layer of snow, by removing snow in some plots and heating the ground before allowing it to re-freeze. Precise measurements of the trees within the plot, taken over the 10 years the study has run so far, tracked the forest’s growth and the amount of carbon it was storing away over that period.
The work is a demonstration of one of the many ways snowpack decline can add stress into an ecosystem, said Kelsey, who was not involved in the study.
To a tree, damage from repeated freezing and thawing “is, you know, like getting a cut on your finger,” Kelsey said. “It hurts, it will take some resources from your body to heal it, that could be doing other things… And as we know, if there’s too many stressors on a tree, it will die. So this is just adding another stressor to the trees. That’s not good.”
Ultimately, Templer, Conrad-Rooney, and researcher Andrew Reinmann concluded in a study published this July that the benefits to trees from longer growing seasons were outweighed by the damage those trees suffered from repeated freeze-thaw cycles in the winter. That finding, they said, reveals that previous models projecting forests’ role in helping sequester carbon may have overestimated their role in absorbing greenhouse gas.
“If we think that forests are actually storing more carbon than is actually happening, then that means that, maybe, more carbon would be going into our atmosphere than we realize,” Conrad-Rooney said.
This realization has implications for scientists’ ability to model ecosystem changes into the future. It could also inform land conservation decisions, Templer said.
“We need an accurate accounting,” she said. “If we’re going to use forests as nature-based solutions to climate change in terms of sequestering carbon, then we need to know how much they’re sequestering.”
Researchers expect that as they continue to examine historic and current snowpack data, more effects and ripples of snowpack decline will emerge.
From its role in keeping lakes cool through the summer to protecting the landscape from wildfire, snow impacts the water cycle all year long, Kelsey said. And – as is evident both in the origin of the field’s data and its implications – the study of snow brings together many interests, including those of industry, agriculture, tourism, homeowners with wells, and more.
“It touches our lives in so many ways,” Murray said. “… We hope that people see the science that we’re doing, so that they can understand what’s happening, and how it links to their lives and the outdoors.”
This story was originally published by New Hampshire Bulletin. Like Maine Morning Star, New Hampshire Bulletin is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Hampshire Bulletin maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Dana Wormald for questions: info@newhampshirebulletin.com.
23-year-old arrested for deadly shooting at New Hampshire country club – CBS News
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Police say a 23-year-old was arrested and charged Sunday night with second-degree murder after one person was killed and several others were injured in a shooting at a New Hampshire country club. Lilia Luciano has more.
23-year-old arrested after deadly shooting at New Hampshire country club – CBS News
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Police say a 23-year-old was arrested and charged Sunday night with second-degree murder after one person was killed and several others were injured in a shooting at a New Hampshire country club. Lilia Luciano has more.
Man charged with murder in deadly New Hampshire country club shooting
A 23-year-old man is facing murder charges after a deadly shooting at a New Hampshire country club on Saturday.
According to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, Hunter Nadeau, 23, is accused of fatally shooting 59-year-old Robert Steven DeCesare with a handgun at Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua on Saturday night.
Authorities say there is no known connection between Nadeau and DeCesare.
Nadeau also shot and wounded two other adults. Their conditions have not been released.
Initial police reports indicated that two suspects had fled the scene. However, after reviewing surveillance footage, investigators confirmed that there was only one shooter.
Boston 25 News Reporter Michael Raimondi spoke with local resident Tyler Holmes, who had just arrived home with his wife and two-year-old son when they heard gunfire nearby.
“We could hear gunshots from our house,” Holmes said. “I heard quite a few at first. Didn’t hear any for a while, then heard a few more. It was mostly the ambulances and sirens I heard.”
Nashua Mayor James Donchess called the incident a tragedy for the community.
“In a community like ours, this is a big tragedy that there would be such an incident,” Mayor Donchess said. “Thinking about the families that were affected, and for us, it’s sad that it happened in our community.”
Nadeau has been charged with one count of second-degree murder, with additional charges likely, according to the Attorney General’s Office, in connection with the other shooting victims.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday at the Ninth Circuit Court in Nashua.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
The scene is still very active, police added, but there is no further danger to the public.
Video surveillance has confirmed there was only one shooter and they are currently being detained. The scene is still an active investigation but there is no further danger to the public.
Nashua police told people to not respond to the area of the country club at this time. The Sheraton Hotel at 11 Tara Boulevard will be used as the unification site, they said.
Nashua police said they are currently investigating the shooting that occurred at Sky Meadow Country Club on Saturday night, Sept. 20, 2025.
Further details about what happened were not immediately available, including if anyone has died, or the name of the suspect. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Nashua Police Department 603-594-3500.
Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, who represents New Hampshire’s second district, said on social media that she is closely monitoring the tragic reports of a shooting at the country club.
“My heart is with the victims, their families, and the entire Nashua community as we await more information,” she wrote on X.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen also said she was monitoring the shooting reports and praying for those injured.
Multiple states are under a freeze warning and frost advisories overnight on Friday and into the weekend as temperatures could plunge into the 20s and low 30s, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Why It Matters
The NWS alerts aim to protect crops, outdoor vegetation, and plumbing as overnight temperatures drop well below seasonal norms.
The early arrival of cold weather could pose risks for farmers, gardeners, and homeowners who may not yet have prepared for freezing conditions, with the potential for economic consequences from lost crops and possible damage to infrastructure.
What To Know
The freeze warning is in place for portions of New York, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.
According to the NWS, “sub-freezing temperatures as low as 27 expected Friday night. Temperatures Saturday night are likely to be as cold or a bit colder than Friday night.”
Counties under warning include Central Somerset, Northern Franklin, Northern Oxford, Northwest Aroostook, Northern Somerset, and Northern Piscataquis in Maine.
In New Hampshire, Northern Coos and Southern Coos counties are under the warning. Hamilton, Southern Franklin and western Clinton counties in New York and Essex County in Vermont are impacted as well.
Frost advisories are in effect for adjacent regions, with the coldest temperatures forecast just before sunrise on Saturday.
Below is a map of the impacted states:
What People Are Saying
NWS meteorologist Brian Hurley to Newsweek via phone on Friday: “The forecasts we have are in the 20s and low 30s. It is interesting, it is a little early for these temperatures this time of year that is why we’re seeing these warnings and also advisories.”
Hurley added: “If you see frost, the means that grass blade or that windshield has seen freezing temperatures. These temperatures are below normal, but interesting enough, were not really looking at records with this.”
NWS Burlington wrote X on Friday: “What’s it take to make frosty weather? We’ve got it. Clearing skies and very dry conditions following a strong front in mid-September. Satellite shows clouds pulling a disappearing act as high pressure builds. Expect temperatures to plunge after sunset to create widespread frost.”
NWS Albany on X on Friday: “A Freeze Warning has been issued for Hamilton County and a Frost Advisory for Northern Herkimer and Northern Warren Counties from 2 AM to 8 AM Saturday. Protect any sensitive vegetation in these areas.”
What Happens Next?
The active freeze warnings are expected to expire by early morning in most regions. Residents are urged to take immediate measures such as insulating pipes, covering plants, and checking on potentially vulnerable individuals and pets.
Pedestrians and cars can be seen contending with heavy snow on February 5, 2014, in Burlington, Vermont. Pedestrians and cars can be seen contending with heavy snow on February 5, 2014, in Burlington, Vermont. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Two humpback whales came dangerously close to a boat off the coast of New Hampshire on Tuesday.An exclusive video sent to News 9 shows the whales breaching before one surfaced for air and swam directly under the vessel. Captain Dale Sprague and his first mate, Matt Hamilton, said they were haddock fishing about six or seven miles past the Isles of Shoals when they spotted the whales.”Just really kind of bottom fishing, so sitting around, and whales were all over the place, and then they started to get a little bit closer, it seemed,” Hamilton said.Both said they have seen whales before, but being this close was rattling.”Pretty good-sized whale jumping to the right of us. And then as that one landed, another one kind of to the left, very close to the boat. And then as we looked behind, we could see one kind of coming at us. And that’s when I got a little freaked out,” Hamilton said. The fishermen’s boat was a fraction of the whale’s size. “That whale seemed to be about probably three times the size of what we had,” Sprague said. The team quickly pulled in their lines and moved farther away. “It definitely will rattle you, to go get some life jackets and think about what can actually happen,” Sprague said. Experts said seeing humpbacks breach is rare.”You’re considered lucky if you see it,” said Ashley Stokes, director of Marine Mammal Conservation. “They’ll sometimes do it as a method of play and then on top of that, they may also be doing it to rid themselves of parasites or skin irritants.”While breaching is not a sign of aggression, Stokes advises anyone out on the water to stay aware of whales in the area.Despite the close encounter, Sprague and Hamilton said it won’t keep them off the water.Last July, a humpback whale crashed into a boat in Portsmouth Harbor. Both of the fishermen on board had to be rescued by people nearby. They were uninjured.
Two humpback whales came dangerously close to a boat off the coast of New Hampshire on Tuesday.
An exclusive video sent to News 9 shows the whales breaching before one surfaced for air and swam directly under the vessel.
Captain Dale Sprague and his first mate, Matt Hamilton, said they were haddock fishing about six or seven miles past the Isles of Shoals when they spotted the whales.
“Just really kind of bottom fishing, so sitting around, and whales were all over the place, and then they started to get a little bit closer, it seemed,” Hamilton said.
Both said they have seen whales before, but being this close was rattling.
“Pretty good-sized whale jumping to the right of us. And then as that one landed, another one kind of to the left, very close to the boat. And then as we looked behind, we could see one kind of coming at us. And that’s when I got a little freaked out,” Hamilton said.
The fishermen’s boat was a fraction of the whale’s size.
“That whale seemed to be about probably three times the size of what we had,” Sprague said.
The team quickly pulled in their lines and moved farther away.
“It definitely will rattle you, to go get some life jackets and think about what can actually happen,” Sprague said.
Experts said seeing humpbacks breach is rare.
“You’re considered lucky if you see it,” said Ashley Stokes, director of Marine Mammal Conservation. “They’ll sometimes do it as a method of play and then on top of that, they may also be doing it to rid themselves of parasites or skin irritants.”
While breaching is not a sign of aggression, Stokes advises anyone out on the water to stay aware of whales in the area.
Despite the close encounter, Sprague and Hamilton said it won’t keep them off the water.
At least 15 people were sickened by a parasite after drinking from a natural spring in New Hampshire, which also tested positive for E. coli, health officials said Thursday.
They urged anyone with water collected from the spring, which flows from a white pipe into a roadside bowl, to get rid of it or, if they plan on using it for anything, boiling it first.
Initially, five cases of giardia dating to late August were identified, and health officials urged anyone who drank from the spring in Bethlehem, to look out for symptoms of the sickness that giardia can cause: diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, gas and dehydration.
The owner of the Bethlehem property where the spring has been under investigation shut off the water proactively, officials said.
They also noted that springs aren’t concerned potable in general, since they have the potential for harboring germs.
“Water from these natural sources might look clean, but it could still be unsafe,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said last week. “The safest option is to avoid drinking from natural springs and other water sources that may be untreated.”
While his favorability had climbed to 45% favorable, 53% unfavorable after the inauguration, the New Hampshire Institute of Politics poll released Sept. 5 found that it had reverted to 43%-57%, which is in line with historical levels.
“President Donald Trump’s post-election bump has dissipated, setting up early leads for Democratic candidates in the upcoming federal office races,” said Neil Levesque, the Executive Director of the NHIOP, in a statement.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 26, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
The declining favorability for Trump is contrasted by a rising favorability for Democrats: on the general ballot in New Hampshire, the poll found that they lead by six points (50%-44%). It’s a “significant improvement” since March, said the poll, when the party held a lead over Republicans of just one point (47%-46%). Driven by Democrats, “elections and democracy” has surpassed the economy as voters’ top concern.
The poll also took an early look at the 2028 presidential race, New Hampshire federal races and Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s favorability. It surveyed 1,776 New Hampshire registered voters through online surveys from August 26-27 and has a margin of error of 2.3%.
Newsom and Buttigieg lead early 2028 presidential race
If the 2028 presidential election was held today, the poll found that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and California Gov. Gavin Newsom lead a field of potential candidates, each garnering the support of23% of Democratic voters. Trailing are Ptritzker (9%), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY,(7%) and former Vice President Kamala Harris (6%).
“Buttigieg looks to build on his strong showing in the last primary, while Newsom has been successful thus far in introducing himself to Granite State voters,” said Levesque.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, both of whom have also visited the Granite State this year, garnered 4% and 3% support respectively.
On the Republican side, Vance is the clear favorite with 56% of New Hampshire voters choosing him as their first choice. Way behind are Florida Gov. Ron Desantis (8%) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (7%).
However, polls are just a snapshot in time: the presidential election is still three years away and much could change.
Pappas, Goodlander: Who is leading in New Hampshire’s federal races?
In 2026, New Hampshire will see races in both congressional districts and an open Senate seat.
In the Senate, current Rep. Chris Pappas, D-NH is running to succeed retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH. According to the poll, he currently leads both his declared Republican challengers, former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown and state Sen. Dan Innis, by double digits. Brown leads Innis among Republicans, 48%-13%.
Rep. Chris Pappas, D-NH (left), and former Sen. Scott Brown, R-MA (right), will face off in the race to represent New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate.
In the First Congressional District, former Portsmouth City Councilor Stefany Shaheen leads the Democratic field, beating out Maura Sullivan 23%-9%. On the Republican side, repeat candidate Chris Bright has the most support (8%) but 85% of voters remain uncommitted.
In the Second Congressional District, first term Democratic Rep. Maggie Goodlander leads 2024 Republican nominee Lily Tang Williams (49%-31%).
What is Kelly Ayotte’s approval rating?
Ayotte remains relatively popular despite a highly polarized environment, the poll says.
49% of voters have a favorable view of Ayotte, while 46% have an unfavorable view. These numbers are slightly better than a recent University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll, which found her approval at 47%-46%.
The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit has identified the final victim in the Bear Brook murders as Rea Rasmussen, closing a 40-year search for answers in the notorious case.
Rea Rasmussen, born in 1976 in Orange County, California, was the biological daughter of Terry Peder Rasmussen, the man responsible for the murders, and Pepper Reed, who has been missing since the late 1970s.
“This case has weighed on New Hampshire and the nation for decades. With Rea Rasmussen’s identification, all four victims now have their names back,” said Attorney General John M. Formella.
The Bear Brook murders involved the discovery of four victims in barrels in Bear Brook State Park, Allenstown, New Hampshire. The first barrel was found in 1985, containing the remains of an adult woman and a young girl. A second barrel was discovered in 2000, with the remains of two more girls.
In 2017, investigators linked one of the children to Terry Rasmussen, who was a known serial offender who died in prison in 2010.
By 2019, three victims were identified as Marlyse Honeychurch and her daughters, Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters. The fourth victim, Rasmussen’s biological daughter, remained unidentified until now.
Initially, the identification of Rea Rasmussen was confirmed through DNA testing and documentary records on Friday, September 5.
“We never forgot Rea. We never stopped looking,” said New Hampshire State Police Detective Sergeant Christopher N. Elphick. “Naming her brings a sense of justice but also reminds us of the unanswered questions that remain.”
The investigation into the disappearance of Pepper Reed, Rea’s mother, remains active, and authorities continue to seek information about her whereabouts, alongside Terry Rasmussen’s movements during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Several people were sickened by a parasite, New Hampshire health officials said Saturday, as they investigated whether drinking natural spring water was the cause.
Five cases of giardia, in late August, have been identified, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said Saturday. Four of those people reported drinking from a spring on Old Franconia Road in Bethlehem, and investigators were working to determine which spring the fifth reported drinking from.
Officials urged anyone who drank from the spring in Bethlehem, which flows from a white pipe into a roadside bowl, to look out for symptoms of the sickness that giardia can cause: diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, gas and dehydration.
Officials said that the owner of the Bethlehem property where the spring under investigation — water sampling was in the works — had shut off the water proactively. They noted that springs aren’t concerned potable, with the potential for harboring germs.
“Untreated water from springs, lakes, rivers, and other naturally occurring water sources can contain Giardia and harmful bacteria,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said in a statement. “Water from these natural sources might look clean, but it could still be unsafe. The safest option is to avoid drinking from natural springs and other water sources that may be untreated.”
Looking to travel somewhere with beautiful foliage this fall? New Hampshire is one of the best states to see autumn colors, according to Airbnb.
The online vacation rental marketplace recently released 2025 fall travel trends, using data from over the last year to analyze things like top Gen Z travel destinations, coastal towns on the rise and top experiences for adventures this upcoming season.
For top destinations to see fall foliage, Airbnb named New Hampshire as the second-best state, placing right behind its neighbor Vermont. Here’s what they said about leaf peeping in the White Mountain State.
Why New Hampshire is a top state for leaf peeping
Aerial drone photo of during autumn day of the beautiful red, orange and yellow leaf foliage. Taken in the White Mountains, New Hampshire with train track trestle curving around mountainside.
According to Airbnb guest reviews, New Hampshire is one of the top travel destinations for fall foliage, with many listin reviews mentioning words like “fall,” “autumn,” “foliage,” “maple” and “color.” An Airbnb survey conducted by Focaldata in August 2025 shows that 83% of respondents find foliage to be an important factor when choosing a fall vacation spot.
Specifically, the most wishlisted stay in New Hampshire between the months of September and November last year was a peaceful home built with boulders on Stoddard’s 250-acre Lakefalls estate, which is surrounded by a two-mile-long marsh and 11,000 acres of conserved land full of beautiful nature.
Vice President JD Vance dominates a hypothetical 2028 GOP presidential primary field in New Hampshire, while California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are tied atop the Democratic heap, according to a years-early poll of the early primary state.
Vance leads the list of potential GOP candidates with 56 percent support. No other Republican cracked double digits; the next closest would-be contender, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, had just 8 percent support. He was followed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, former Rep. Liz Cheney, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (who won 43 percent of the primary vote in the state in 2024), Vivek Ramaswamy, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Sen. Ted Cruz.
Buttigieg, who finished second in the state’s 2020 presidential primary, is tied with Newsom at 23 percent. They’re followed by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker at 9 percent and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) at 7 percent. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who narrowly won New Hampshire last year, finished fifth among the Democrats that Saint Anselm polled with just 6 percent support.
Trailing Harris were Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — who twice won the state’s Democratic primary but is not expected to run again — and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who finished third in the state in 2020. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer rounded out the list. The survey was conducted online Aug. 26-27 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.
Nearly all of the top Democrats have visited the state over the past year to headline party fundraisers or campaign for the party’s candidates — trips typical of presidential aspirants to what has historically been the first-in-the-nation primary state. Buttigieg retains a loyal following in New Hampshire from his 2020 bid, and interest in Newsom has soared among Democratic activists as he counterattacks the Trump administration on redistricting.
Big Republican names have largely stayed away from New Hampshire since the election, though Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) visited the state days before launching her gubernatorial bid.
