As pennies vanish from the American landscape, many businesses are clamoring for federal guidance on how to handle cash transactions in a penniless world. From Kevin Hardy via @stateline.org

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will back off his plans to use National Guard troops in the Democratic-led cities of Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon. From @arianalfigueroa.bsky.social

David Stevenson has solar on his roof and drives a hybrid. How did he become the leader of the movement that helped Trump crush offshore wind farms? From @fieseler.bsky.social via @canarymedia.com

States must now provide “justification” that federal child care funds they receive are spent on “legitimate” providers in order to get those dollars, President Donald Trump’s administration announced. From Shauneen Miranda

A federal judge in California Wednesday found the Trump administration unlawfully terminated temporary protections for more than 60,000 nationals from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua. From @arianalfigueroa.bsky.social

The Trump administration will review frozen grants to universities without using its controversial standards that discouraged gender, race, and sexual orientation initiatives and vaccine research. From @fischler.bsky.social

As some states engage in an extraordinary redraw of congressional districts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, state courts may decide the fate of the new maps. From @jonshorman.bsky.social via @stateline.org

AI’s errors may be impossible to eliminate — what that means for its use in health care. Commentary from Carlos Gershenson

President Donald Trump’s administration unveiled Monday hundreds of millions of dollars each state will receive this fiscal year as part of a massive $50 billion rural health fund baked into Republicans’ “big, beautiful” law. From Shauneen Miranda

As multiple lawsuits over the abortion drug mifepristone unfold, state and federal proposals to regulate and restrict medication abortion are expected to continue in 2026. From @sofiaresnick.bsky.social

Deportations, tariffs, court clashes, record shutdown mark a historic year in Washington, D.C. From @jennifershutt.bsky.social

New Hampshire state senators to file legislation addressing abuse and neglect in the state's disability care system. From @willskipworth.bsky.social #NHPolitics

As a new legislative session approaches for New Hampshire, here are the early childhood education bills in the pipeline. From Maya Mitchell #NHPolitics

State Sen. David Rochefort, a Littleton Republican, said he and the state’s legislative staff are in the process of drafting a bill aimed at addressing systemic abuse and neglect issues in New Hampshire intellectual and developmental disability care system. @willskipworth.bsky.social #NHPolitics

In a new column, NHFPI's Gene Martin looks at 3 major policy decisions from 2025 that are already affecting affordability, health care access, and economic security — and will continue to shape life in NH in 2026 and beyond. 👉 Read Gene's piece in @newhampshirebulletin.com:

Rising utility prices are increasingly drawing scrutiny from state regulators and lawmakers nationwide. From Kevin Hardy via @stateline.org

Commentary from Leanna Lorden: "Child care providers are frequently told that broad economic strategies, particularly those focused on reducing business costs, will eventually benefit workers and families. On the ground, that promise hasn’t materialized." #NHPolitics

Federal prosecutors have sent a million more pages related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to the Department of Justice, which plans to release them in the coming weeks, officials said Wednesday. From Jennifer Shutt

President Donald Trump’s administration will start garnishing the wages of student loan borrowers in default beginning early next year, the U.S. Education Department said Tuesday. From Shauneen Miranda

"But what horrifies George the most about Pottersville is how desensitized the people living in it seem to be to its harshness and cruelty – how they treat him like he’s the crazy, deranged one for wanting and expecting things to be different." Commentary from Nora Gilbert @us.theconversation.com

New Hampshire clean energy program goes national with federal funds. From Sarah Shemkus via @canarymedia.com

As a new session approaches, here are some of the early childhood education bills in the pipeline. From Maya Mitchell #NHPolitics

The U.S. Department of Justice early Tuesday released thousands more files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with several referencing President Donald Trump. From Shauneen Miranda

"Data from the network is used at both the state and federal level, including to inform the National Weather Service’s U.S. Drought Monitor." From Molly Rains #NHPolitics.

As the state aims to fulfill its goal of increasing child care capacity and combating a workforce shortage, here’s a look at some of the filed bills relating to early care and education. From Maya Mitchell #NHPolitics

Since Inauguration Day, more than 1.5 million immigrants have either lost or will lose their temporary legal status, including their work authorizations and deportation protections, due to President Donald Trump’s aggressive revocation of legal immigration. From @arianalfigueroa.bsky.social

"The 59 liberalizing changes outnumbered the 13 restrictive changes to zoning made in the past year, the researchers noted." From @ethandewitt.bsky.social #NHPolitics

President Donald Trump’s administration said Monday it’s halting leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast due to national security risks. From Shauneen Miranda

The U.S. Department of Justice has sent a confidential draft agreement to more than a dozen states that would require election officials to remove any alleged ineligible voters identified during a federal review of their voter rolls. From @jonshorman.bsky.social via @stateline.org

Commentary from @genemartin.bsky.social of @nhfpi.bsky.social : "Decisions made this year in the New Hampshire State House and Washington, D.C., have impacted family budgets, health care, and economic security, and will continue to in 2026 and beyond." #NHPolitics

Only a handful of New Hampshire cities and towns made meaningful, pro-housing changes to their zoning codes in the past year, researchers at St. Anselm College have found. From @ethandewitt.bsky.social #NHPolitics

"The report does call for the Department of Education to propose a process to aggregate EFA student assessment data in order to better measure the program’s academic outcomes." From @ethandewitt.bsky.social #NHPolitics

"Invasive species, erosion, trampling, and climate change-driven shifts in weather patterns are limiting the success of native plant communities and wildlife at the summit." From Molly Rains #NHPolitics

"On Wednesday, Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Weaver received approval from the Executive Council to move forward with shrinking seven contracts in the first round of cuts." From @willskipworth.bsky.social #NHPolitics

"In vote after vote, the House fell short of the two-thirds requirement to override (Gov. Kelly) Ayotte’s vetoes." From @ethandewitt.bsky.social #NHPolitics

"Two new programs are being introduced to help child care providers make the most out of New Hampshire’s Child Care Scholarship Program." From Maya Mitchell #NHPolitics

"Even community issues that should be resistant to polarization, like the clear public good of public education, are susceptible to the politics of disconnection." Commentary from Dana Wormald #NHPolitics

"GSQ funding is a way for child care programs to get a few extra dollars 'when pennies are tough,' especially now when funding for child care employee recruitment and retention is in limbo." From Maya Mitchell #NHPolitics

The Department of Justice is expected to release records Friday related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but questions remained over whether officials will meet the requirements of a law overwhelmingly backed by both Republicans and Democrats. From @ashleymurray.bsky.social

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she was suspending applications for a diversity visa program because the man suspected of killing two Brown University students and an MIT professor this week obtained a green card through the program in 2017. From @arianalfigueroa.bsky.social

The U.S. House on Thursday passed, 211-204, a bill to remove Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf outside Alaska. From @fischler.bsky.social

“It’s really a system designed for failure, for sinking child care centers that are already struggling." Providers say NH’s early education quality system isn’t quality at all. From Maya Mitchell #NHPolitics

The $1,776 “warrior dividend” checks President Donald Trump announced during Wednesday’s prime-time address will come from basic housing allowance funds approved by Congress and signed into law in July. From @ashleymurray.bsky.social

President Donald Trump’s administration took major steps Thursday in a campaign to block minors’ access to gender-affirming care nationwide. From Shauneen Miranda

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana, which Trump said reflected the drug’s potential medical benefits while discouraging recreational use. From @fischler.bsky.social

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a prestigious cultural hub in the nation’s capital, will be renamed the Trump-Kennedy Center, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Thursday. From @arianalfigueroa.bsky.social

A panel of appellate judges seemed skeptical during Thursday oral arguments that the Trump administration erred in relying on a decades-old statute to require millions of noncitizens to register with the federal government and carry documentation. From @arianalfigueroa.bsky.social

Gov. Kelly Ayotte and the Executive Council called a special election Wednesday to replace Republican Glenn Cordelli, who recently retired from his seat in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. From @willskipworth.bsky.social #NHPolitics

When the New Hampshire Legislature passed its two-year budget, it imposed a roughly $51 million cut to Health and Human Services. This week, the department told the Executive Council it would reduce several of its contracts by millions of dollars. From @willskipworth.bsky.social #NHPolitics

"Individual disconnection enables large cruelties — and this country is more disconnected than it is divided. In such a place, there is nothing small about small kindnesses." Commentary from @danawormald.bsky.social #NHPolitics