Manchester state rep. announces run for Ward 5 alderman
Kathleen Paquette launched her campaign for the Ward 5 seat Tuesday, one week after incumbent alderman Tony Sapienza announced he would not seek reelection this fall to the seat he has held for the past decade.
Ward 5 school board member Jason Bonilla previously announced he is also running to succeed Sapienza.
Paquette currently serves on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee at the State House.
'In Concord, I've worked to address the real challenges that impact our neighborhoods, especially when it comes to crime and safety,' Paquette said in a statement. 'I believe local government should reflect the values of the people it serves. That means being smart with taxpayer dollars, creating safer streets, and supporting the families and small businesses that make our community strong.'
Paquette also thanked Sapienza for his decade of service and wishes him the best in his retirement.
In announcing her bid, Paquette describes herself as a longtime Manchester resident, community advocate, proud mother and grandmother, and a strong supporter of 'neighborhood-focused leadership.'
'I'm proud to call Ward 5 home, and I'm thankful for the support and trust so many of you have already given me,' Paquette said. 'Together, we can keep building a city where families feel safe, businesses can grow, and every neighborhood has a voice.'
For more information, visit www.kathleenpaquettenh.com.
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USA Today
12 minutes ago
- USA Today
Fed likely to stand pat on interest rates, stay coy on September cut amid Trump pressure
When the Federal Reserve feels confident it's getting closer to raising or lowering interest rates based on a clear-cut outlook for the economy and inflation, it often signals its plans at the prior meeting to avoid surprising markets. Now is probably not one of those times. At a two-day meeting that concludes Wednesday, the Fed is widely expected to hold its key interest rate steady despite President Donald Trump's monthslong campaign aimed at browbeating Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his colleagues into cutting rates. At a meeting with Powell at the Fed on Thursday, Trump said he's unlikely to try to fire the Fed chief, whose term expires in May. Two of the Fed's Republican governors, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, have backed Trump's call for a rate cut as soon as this week's meeting and they could dissent, said JPMorgan Chase economist Michael Feroli. It would mark the first time two Fed governors have dissented since 1993, Feroli said. Will the Fed reduce interest rates again? The drama, however, will center around whether Powell or the Fed's post-meeting statement will hint at a likely rate cut in September – a move that's forecast by fed fund futures markets. Investors expect a total of two rate decreases by year's end. 'It's really going to come down to Chair Powell,' said Nationwide Chief Economist Kathy Bostjancic. 'What type of…guidance does he provide?' Yet Trump's trade war has left a haze of uncertainty over the economy since January. And while the contours of his tariffs are taking shape, many of the import fees and their effects on inflation and the economy are still playing out. 'It's a long way to September,' Morgan Stanley wrote in a note to clients. 'The Fed needs more time to determine how the economy is evolving versus its goals.' In a research note, Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said he doesn't expect the 'central bank to tip its hand, as it will want to remain flexible because of the lingering uncertainty of where tariffs will ultimately settle, the magnitude of the boost to core goods prices, and whether tariffs are bleeding into other prices.' What happens when the Fed adjusts interest rates? The Fed chops rates to lower borrowing costs and juice a flagging economy and job market. It raises rates or keeps them higher longer to curtail inflation by cooling the economy. But economists expect Trump's levies to both reignite inflation and hamper growth as cost-burdened households reduce spending, leaving officials torn between their two mandates. Powell has said the Fed is taking a wait-and-see approach to assess which tariff-related hazard poses a bigger problem. The Fed lowered its benchmark short-term rate by a percentage point late last year after a pandemic-related inflation spike eased but has since been on hold. What are the current tariffs in the US? Some of Trump's tariff plans and their effects on prices are becoming clearer. In the spring, Trump announced a 90-day pause on high double-digit reciprocal tariffs for China and many other countries, easing recession fears and reversing a stock market sell-off. White House officials extended the reprieve to Aug. 1 to provide more time for negotiations. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has announced trade deals with the UK, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Phillipines and China, but the agreements still impose relatively high duties of 15% to 30%. Earlier this month, the president announced plans to raise the tariff rate on many Canadian imports from 25% to 35% and impose a blanket 15% to 20% duty on most other countries, up from 10%. He also threatened 30% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and the European Union, though the U.S. is still negotiating with those countries. Trump also has announced a 50% tariff on imported copper and all imports from Brazil. Already in effect: a 50% levy on metals, 25% on cars and 30% on China. How are tariffs affecting inflation? For months, the fees had little effect on inflation, but they appeared to leave a bigger imprint in June as Chinese-made products got a bit more expensive, according to the consumer price index. Apparel prices rose by 0.4%; furniture, 1%; video and audio products, 1.1%; and toys, 1.8%. Overall, an underlying inflation measure the Fed follows closely ticked up from 2.8% to 2.9%, and many economists said the tariff effects were still mild. Yet that's largely because many retailers and manufacturers stocked up on goods before the fees took effect or absorbed the costs – tactics that forecasters say have run their course. Amid the uncertainty, Powell will likely take a middle-ground approach, Morgan Stanley says. The June inflation numbers 'should provide some confirmation to the (Fed) that the tariff push to inflation has begun, but not so much that would lead Powell to downplay the possibility of rate cuts this year,' Morgan Stanley wrote. How is the current economy in the USA? The economy is sending similarly mixed signals. A key measure of retail sales increased 0.5% in June. But economist Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics said that's largely because of rising prices. Sales volumes appeared weak, he wrote. Morgan Stanley predicts a report Wednesday will reveal the economy grew a solid 2.2% in the April-June quarter, but it traces most of the gain to a reversal of a tariff-related import surge in the first quarter that caused the economy to shrink. (Imports are subtracted from gross domestic product because they're made in foreign countries.) How is the job market in the USA now? And wWhile employers added a sturdy 147,000 jobs in June, the private sector added just 74,000, mostly in health care. For many months, job gains have been concentrated in just a few sectors – health care, state and local governments, and leisure and hospitality. That's not a good omen for overall job growth in the months ahead, Bostjancic said. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect a report Friday to show the U.S. added just 118,000 jobs in July. With the labor market slowing, tariff tensions easing and their effects on inflation still modest, Bostjancic believes Powell could warm slightly to the idea of trimming rates in September. 'I would think he can sound a little more open to cutting rates just because of the data,' Bostjancic said. She expects the average U.S. tariff to rise from about 2% earlier this year to about 20%. That, she said, would push inflation from 2.7% to 3% by December – above the Fed's 2% goal but below the 3.4% many forecasters predicted a few months ago. At the same time, she noted that Trump's attacks on Powell and the Fed's independence have caused investors to worry officials ultimately may cut rates for political – rather than sound economic – reasons, driving inflation higher. As a result, market-based measures of inflation expectations have risen in recent weeks, a trend that could push up long-term rates and ironically undermine Trump's demands for lower borrowing costs. 'I don't think he'll send a hard signal,' Bostjancic said of Powell. 'I think he'll leave it open.'
NBC News
14 minutes ago
- NBC News
Democratic governors search for a balance between fighting and working with Trump
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Linda McMahon and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have largely been skewered by Democrats for the way they have run President Donald Trump's Education and Health departments. But over the weekend at a bipartisan summit of governors in Colorado Springs, they received a distinctly warm welcome — including from the Democrats on hand. Instead of pressing McMahon on her plans to eliminate the Education Department, a move that will substantially affect state budgets, Democrats who attended the National Governors Association meeting in the mountain foothills of Colorado offered praise to McMahon during a Friday session over the Trump administration's decision to release billions in education funding it had withheld. And they peppered her with questions about students' mental health, early childhood education and artificial intelligence — areas where they might be able to find common ground. On Saturday, Kennedy, whose stances on vaccines have drawn fierce criticism, held court with a group of Democratic governors, assuring them that he did not want to see budget cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services. These conciliatory moments, which occurred throughout the NGA's summer meeting, underscored the bind Democrats have found themselves in during Trump's second term: weighing when to fight back against the administration, as the base is pushing for, and when to work with it to benefit their constituents. It's a balancing act that's particularly acute at the state level. While Democrats are out of power in Washington, the party's governors have much more authority. And governors in particular have prided themselves on searching for common ground, even in a heated political environment — a core purpose of the NGA. Still, a growing number of Democrats argue that calls for bipartisanship do not meet the current moment. Govs. Tim Walz of Minnesota and Laura Kelly of Kansas were among several Democrats who did not attend the summit. All told, seven Democratic governors and 11 Republican governors came for at least part of the weekend, the NGA said, while three governors attended virtually. Walz and Kelly, as The Atlantic first reported, declined to renew their NGA membership dues for the upcoming fiscal year, due to broader frustrations with how the group has approached the Trump administration. A source familiar with the governors' thinking said that Walz's and Kelly's feelings were 'a view held by more than just these two governors' and were a product of 'frustration' that the NGA 'had tied its own hands' by not taking a more active role in advocating for states and governors amid Trump's attacks. 'If we can't agree on standing up for states' rights, we're passively endorsing what the president is doing,' the source said. During his second term, Trump has defied or threatened many Democratic-led states. Trump deployed National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles amid unrest over his immigration policies, despite objections from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Trump also froze federal funds for a child nutrition program in Maine after he clashed with Gov. Janet Mills over an issue related to transgender athletes. (The Trump administration later halted the freeze.) Newsom and Mills also did not attend the summit. 'We can't just walk away' Several Democratic governors who attended the weekend meeting expressed sympathy for Walz's and Kelly's decision. They also highlighted the importance of finding common ground with their political adversaries, suggesting that it remained a better option to try to win influence with them instead of not showing up. 'The promise that I made to the people of Maryland when the Trump administration came on board was that I will work with anyone, but I will bow down to no one,' Maryland's Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said during a session with reporters at the summit in response to a question from NBC News. 'But there's a clear understanding and a clear desire to be able to work with anybody to make sure that the people of my state and the people for all of our states are getting the support that they need. And I think one of the benefits of this weekend was, you know, we got a chance to sit down with Secretary Kennedy, that we got a chance to actually sit down with Secretary McMahon,' added Moore, who was elected vice char of the NGA over the weekend. He noted that previously he had not had the chance to do so in the first seven months of Trump's second term. 'I actually think it was a real benefit,' Moore said. Moore is no stranger to fighting with the administration: Most recently, he has accused Trump of denying his state federal disaster assistance for flooding in Maryland in May. Moore said he'd spoken with Walz and Kelly, calling their frustrations 'justified.' But he added that the NGA 'is never going to be either the cheerleader nor the heckler of a federal administration.' Hawaii's Democratic Gov. Josh Green, a physician who has blamed Kennedy for measles outbreaks, said he had a 'valuable' private meeting with the health secretary that lasted an hour. 'I have some deep ideological differences with Secretary Kennedy,' Green said in an interview with NBC News. But he added that creating a collaborative environment with Kennedy and McMahon helped him explain to them why he felt 'things have to happen to protect vulnerable people.' Green said that he and Kennedy discussed how governors could most effectively access the $50 billion rural hospital fund that was included in the massive tax cut and spending bill Trump recently signed into law. 'We can't just walk away, in my opinion,' Green said. 'Even though I'll keep pushing back on any changes to the vaccine schedule … I will also be able to take some advantage of the relationships.' Green also said he had 'deep disagreements' with McMahon, but that he felt it remained important to maintain a dialogue. 'Do I have concerns about working with the secretary of education?' Green said. 'Of course I do, but I would have deeper concerns if there was no one that could speak up for what I feel is about half of the country.' Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat whose term as NGA chair ended this weekend, said he invited Kennedy and McMahon in particular because governors had expressed to him that health care and education were two of the top issues they wanted to address during the event. 'I think these times call for the kind of bipartisan work of the NGA more than ever before. The American people want progress,' Polis said. 'And that only comes when the politicians stop fighting over their party labels and work together to achieve real outcomes that actually matter in people's lives.' Disagreements remain Democratic governors still made their disagreements with Republicans clear at the summit. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was among several Democratic governors to lambast the 'big, beautiful bill' and its cuts to Medicaid and food assistance. And a cadre of Democratic governors slammed Texas Republicans' plans to redraw its congressional maps ahead of schedule in an effort to help the GOP protect its narrow House majority in next year's midterm elections. In an emailed statement in response to questions from NBC News, NGA spokesperson Eric Wohlschlegel said that 'the record participation and support of NGA isn't because governors avoid tough topics; it's because NGA is one of the few places where they can cut through the noise and collectively focus on what works.' 'It's critical in a political climate where so many issues become zero-sum fights, NGA provides something increasingly rare: a forum for real, results-driven, bipartisan problem-solving. That's why governors keep showing up,' Wohlschlegel added. Green, Hawaii's governor, said that approach paid off — even though 'sometimes it gives me heartburn.'
New York Times
14 minutes ago
- New York Times
America Needs to Take Better Care of Its Military
For 12 days in June, the United States teetered on the edge of yet another war in the Middle East. We seem to have avoided the worst for now, but there is a chance that fighting between Israel and Iran could resume — especially if diplomatic efforts to restrain Iran's nuclear ambitions fail. And pressure on President Trump from prominent interventionist Republican policymakers remains to support a regime change operation against Iran, which also risks reigniting the conflict. At the same time, the threat of war with China looms large. China continues to rapidly expand its Navy and build capabilities that would enable it to seize Taiwan if it so chooses. We are now less than 18 months away from 2027, the year that Admiral Phil Davidson, a former commander of the military Indo-Pacific Command, once said China could be able to seize Taiwan through force. A war with nuclear-armed China would be several orders of magnitude more dangerous than a war with Iran. Regardless, the United States still must be prepared to wage a major conflict. And while there is no doubt that the U.S. military remains the most powerful and capable fighting force in the world, it is suffering from systemic challenges in a critical component of warfighting success: personnel readiness. Even on the modern high-tech battlefield, war is still a people business. For the Department of Defense, this means it must care for its people along with developing its weapons in order to maintain lethality while also creating an environment that incentivizes Americans to continue to serve. When service members and their families cannot rely on the programs that are intended to ensure their quality of life, it distracts them from their duties, which inevitably limits their effectiveness in combat. A critical challenge the second Trump administration inherited is the state of the Military Health System. The system is responsible for caring for over nine million uniformed service members, military families, retirees and contractors around the world, while also providing care for wounded service members at home. But the system has been declining, and budgets for military hospitals have fallen by nearly 12 percent since 2015. As a result, its ability to provide adequate care to these groups and support the Defense Department in a major military conflict has become severely compromised. Military treatment facilities currently face a global maintenance backlog exceeding $10 billion, which has led many M.H.S. hospitals to fall into disrepair. The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside of Washington, D.C., which routinely treats presidents and members of Congress, had to evacuate several clinics earlier this year, owing to burst pipes that resulted from delayed maintenance. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
