News Briefs 8-7-2025

The NH Attorney General’s Office is adding two full-time homicide investigators to its cold case unit. The unit also has two prosecutors and two State Police detectives. A spokesperson said the expansion is a message to victims’ families that the cases still matter. Funding for the additional staff was included by Governor Kelly Ayotte in the budget approved last month by the Legislature.

This weekend is the annual tax-free holiday in Massachusetts. NH Governor Kelly Ayotte is reminding consumers south of the border that tax-free shopping is available year-round in New Hampshire. The governor said she encourages Bay State residents to cross the border any day of the week and never pay a sales tax on their purchases.

A 59-year-old hiker with a serious leg injury is safe after being airlifted off the Castle Trail by an Army National Guard helicopter. Fish and Game said the air rescue was requested due to the difficulty of the upper part of the trail and the potential danger to rescuers. David Smith of East Wallingford, Vermont, was flown to Gorham Airport where he was transferred to an ambulance and taken to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin.