Hospitals across New Hampshire are seeing higher patient numbers, as the state health department and CDC report high rates of illness.

The House voted Thursday to renew enhanced health care subsidies that expired last year, while in the Senate lawmakers advanced a bill over authorizing military force in Venezuela.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced the number of vaccines it recommends for all children. The state health department said this week that it would continue to follow guidance from national medical organizations.

In 2025, the New Hampshire Bulletin published a series of articles outlining abuse and neglect — sometimes fatal — committed by caretakers against people with disabilities. The stories also uncovered systemic failures of oversight and prevention that allowed the abuse and neglect to happen.

After a six month delay, children placed in group homes will now be provided lawyers to advocate for their interests during abuse and neglect proceedings.

Data from the state health department and CDC suggest flu and other respiratory illnesses will continue to spread this winter.

The federal money comes after years of consolidation and closures among New Hampshire’s rural hospitals and health care providers.

Marijuana advocates hoped to expand access to medical cannabis in New Hampshire, noting Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte has vowed to veto any marijuana legalization bill.

A Nashua woman won a second free speech lawsuit this year. An appeals court ruled the city of Nashua violated her First Amendment rights by refusing to fly politically divisive flags on the city’s Citizen Flag Pole.

The New Hampshire state health department reports respiratory illnesses are most severe in the southern part of the state.