NH News Briefs 3-24-2026

More details are being released about a floor collapse during a wedding ceremony in Tamworth. Authorities say the building where Saturday’s incident happened didn’t have a state-required permit to hold such a large gathering. Roughly 70 people fell through the floor at The Preserve at Chocorua and as of the latest update two of them were still in the hospital. The building owner is cooperating with the investigation.

There’s a new development in the ongoing legal case involving Pamela Smart. Prosecutors are making a push to block Smart’s latest effort to have her conviction overturned following the murder of her husband. Smart wants to tell a judge she was denied a fair trial after prosecutors used transcripts that are inaudible and tried to steer jurors towards a biased conclusion. She has spent the last 30 years at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in New York.

The Environmental Protection Agency is expediting New Hampshire’s request to end its vehicle inspection program. A law was signed last year putting an end to those inspections, but the company contracted to do them filed a lawsuit saying the state needed federal approval to stop the program. The EPA usually takes about 18 months to make a decision on state petitions, but says a ruling will be made by the end of this year. Right now, inspections remain suspended and drivers don’t need to get one.

A new poll is revealing how people are feeling about the candidates in the race for Granite State governor. According to the Saint Anselm College Survey Center, Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte leads potential Democratic challenger Cinde Warmington by seven points with 15-percent of voters still undecided. Another Democrat, Jon Kiper is behind the governor by 14 points. Ayotte is hoping to win a second term in November.