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Thursday, January 2, 2025

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White House has seen no evidence of foreign direction in New Orleans attack; MI's $1B EV push falls short on jobs, as experts urge patience; Report: Only half of phone companies use required anti-robocall technology; Livestock undercover: How good people do bad things to animals.

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Federal officials present more information about the New Orleans terrorist attack and the Las Vegas cybertruck explosion. Mike Johnson prepares for a House speakership battle, and Congress' latest budget stopgap leaves telehealth regulations relaxed.

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The humble peanut got its '15 minutes of fame' when Jimmy Carter was President, America's rural households are becoming more racially diverse but language barriers still exist, farmers brace for another trade war, and coal miners with black lung get federal help.

Secession bill returns to NH legislature with focus on national debt

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Tuesday, January 9, 2024   

New Hampshire lawmakers will consider a proposal aimed at peacefully breaking away from the United States.

A similar measure failed in 2022, but new legislation says if voters approve a constitutional amendment allowing the state to secede, the national debt would then have to reach $40 trillion to trigger the event.

State Rep. Jason Gerhard, R-Merrimack, said people are tired of paying for debt they didn't incur.

"There's already a mood in this state to kind of step away from the empire-building, and just focus on our own people who need help right now," Gerhard said.

Gerhard added people have less faith in the federal government post-pandemic and are tired of paying for endless wars. The national debt currently stands at $34 trillion.

Opponents have labeled previous secession measures as "extremist" and "unpatriotic."

A poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire found one in five state residents would support a vote to consider becoming the first state since the Civil War to secede from the U.S.

Gerhard says what that would entail, and the possible creation of a secession study committee, will be the focus of a public hearing at the Capitol later this week.

"I'm more excited about just the average person on the street realizing that there is a different option," he continued. "It's not just, 'Vote harder.'"

A secession amendment was soundly rejected by the New Hampshire House in 2022 with just 13 Republicans voting to save it. If Gerhard's bill makes it pass the governor's desk this year, it would require approval by a two-thirds majority of the state's voters in the general election.


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