AP: How Biden and McCarthy struck a debt limit deal and staved off a catastrophe   Washington (AP) — It was advice that Mitch McConnell had offered to Joe Biden once already: To resolve the debt limit standoff, he needed to strike a deal with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — and McCarthy alone. But after the first meeting of the top four congressional leaders with the… Read more »

NBC News: A break-glass option, gumbo and a bike ride: How the debt ceiling deal got done Right up until the end, the White House was exploring contingency plans in case the high-stakes talks with Republicans to raise the debt ceiling and avert economic disaster collapsed. The White House was considering the unprecedented step of bypassing Congress altogether and invoking the… Read more »

Boston Globe: For N.H. ski areas on National Forest lands, a chance to reinvest locally Help may soon be on the way to ski areas operating on National Forest land. Cogressional lawmakers are considering the Ski Hill Resources for Economic Development (SHRED) Act, a bipartisan bill that would allow fees paid to the U.S. Treasury by New Hampshire ski areas such as Loon, Wildcat,… Read more »

Bipartisan task force pushing for mental health, substance use awareness A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing Congress to dedicate a week this year to mental health and substance abuse awareness. And they’re doing so by pointing out a pretty grim statistic: More than 100,000 Americans died from drug overdose-related causes in 2021. The 140-member Task Force on Mental Health and… Read more »

  Letter: Seniors like me rely on Medicare Advantage   Protecting access to high-quality, affordable health care for seniors is traditionally a top priority for federal lawmakers and regulators. We’ve earned our Medicare benefits, and we are counting on Washington to protect them. Unfortunately, it appears Medicare Advantage is in jeopardy. Recently, the Centers for… Read more »

Keene Sentinel: Cheshire County touts emergency communications to Kuster in Tuesday visit Cheshire County’s emergency dispatch center once “literally was a closet,” County Administrator Chris Coates says. But after a multimillion-dollar upgrade completed in fall 2016, the center is better equipped to handle what staff say are daily calls about substance-use issues. The… Read more »

Nashua Telegraph: Kuster meets with Northern NH tourism officials offering help from Washington LINCOLN – Northern New Hampshire tourism officials met at Loon on Friday with Congresswoman Annie Kuster, D-NH, to discuss ways that the federal government can help with climate change, utility costs and their relationship with White Mountain National Forest, among other issues. Officials… Read more »

Concord Monitor: NH mental health leader present for Biden’s State of the Union speech Hearing President Joe Biden address mental health to the entire nation was an important night for Susan Stearns. “Each of us can be ambassadors and have a role to play in dispelling stigma, and ensuring folks hang on to hope, seek the care that they need, that allows them to live a full life… Read more »

Concord Monitor: New England College to expand nursing program with grant and third partner hospital New England College will use a $2 million grant to triple the size of its nursing program, and it is adding a third partner hospital to the program. The Henniker college announced Tuesday that Elliott Hospital will become a partner in its three-year bachelor’s degree in nursing… Read more »

Nashua Telegraph: Kuster denounces Republican disinformation on abortion, votes no on ‘misguided’ legislation WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02), a Member of the Pro-Choice Caucus, voted against two extreme Republican measures to restrict abortion access, spread harmful myths about abortion care, and overlook threats of violence to abortion providers and centers. Kuster is… Read more »