
Nation’s most competitive governor’s race tests the power of ticket-splitters in New Hampshire
CNN
The shadow of the presidential race looms over the New Hampshire governor’s election between Republican Kelly Ayotte and Democrat Joyce Craig.
The last time Kelly Ayotte was on the ballot with Donald Trump, she lost. The former one-term Republican senator is giving it another go in New Hampshire this year, running in the most competitive governor’s race in the country. But the shadow of the top of the ticket looms large, with some Republicans in the Granite State worrying how many Kamala Harris voters Ayotte can win over when Trump looks likely to lose here. While Democrats attempt to nationalize the contest – attacking Ayotte on abortion and on Trump – Republicans are trying to localize it by zeroing in on Democratic nominee Joyce Craig’s past tenure as the mayor of Manchester, tying her to the city’s homelessness and drug problems. “It’s not her fault, but it didn’t seem like she did anything to help,” Ray Lawrence, 73, said of Craig while finishing lunch on a recent drizzly Friday here in New Hampshire’s largest city. He likes Ayotte’s record as a senator and former state attorney general, and he’s also voting for Trump. Around the corner on Manchester’s main drag, Claudette Laroche, 71, of Hooksett had a four-word response for why she’s backing Craig: “She’s advocating for women.”

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.

Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.

As lawmakers demand answers over reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike that killed survivors during an attacked on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a career Navy SEAL who has spent most of his 30 years of military experience in special operations will be responsible for providing them.










