Stefany Shaheen launches 2026 campaign for NH 1st District seat in US House
"Are you as outraged about what is happening in this country as I am? Donald Trump is taking a sledgehammer to medical research. Alzheimer's, cancer, diabetes, it's horrible" she says at the opening of the video introducing her campaign.
"For me, the motivation to get into this race is what's happening to health care in this country. It's been work of my life since my daughter Elle was diagnosed 17 years ago (with Type 1 diabetes)," Shaheen said in an interview May 28. "Watching what has happened in the last three months to National Institutes of Health funding and Medicaid and the impact on children's and veterans health care ... it's going to have a meaningful impact on people in this district."
Stefany Shaheen commentary: It's time to channel our outrage into action
Shaheen talks in her campaign video about how her young adult daughter Ellle's battle since childhood with Type 1 diabetes has turned her into "a fierce fighter for medical research and innovation to help Elle and millions like her."
Shaheen said Trump, Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and congressional Republicans are threat to medical research and Medicaid.
Shaheen's 2015 book 'Elle & Coach: Diabetes, the Fight for My Daughter's Life, and the Dog Who Changed Everything,' which she wrote with Mark Dagostino, became a New York Times bestseller. She has previously considered running for higher office, including governor in 2015, but decided against it.
Shaheen, 50, a former member of the Portsmouth City Council and Police Commission, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the seat being vacated by Rep. Chris Pappas. Pappas is running in 2026 for the seat being vacated by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, Stefany's mother. Stefany Shaheen previously endorsed Pappas, stating she would campaign with him.
"I'm very proud of my mom's service," Shaheen said. "I am going to run a race focused on issues that matter to people in the district. I will focus on what experiences I can bring. I know what it's like to run a small business and worry about making payroll, and saving jobs in middle of pandemic. I'm going to work really hard to win every vote. I know the district very well. I grew up in the district and Craig (Welch, her husband) and I raised our family here."
Shaheen, who co-founded Good Measures, a small business she touted as providing "clinical and nutritional support to people living with chronic conditions" stated she is now "part of a ground-breaking biotech initiative in Manchester ... to advance biomanufacturing and develop regenerative treatments for some of the toughest health problems – from treating injured war fighters to diabetes, lung disease, and more."
Shaheen said she has heard from small business owners in the district who say Trump's tariffs are causing "constant pricing changes" that affect their customers and their sourcing of supplies.
"The key to this campaign is hearing what the challenges are for people in this district and doing what we can to address them," she said.
Asked how Democrats can change the momentum after 2024 when they lost the presidency, and with Republicans holding majorities in both chambers of Congress, Shaheen predicted Democrats will be successful nationwide in the 2026 midterm elections.
"We're going to win the House and therefore hold the majority and stop some of the terrible steps this administration is taking," she said.
Maura Sullivan previously announced she will run in the 2026 Democratic primary for the 1st District seat. Sullivan, 45, a New Castle resident, is a Marine Corps Iraq war veteran and former Obama administration official, serving in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense.
Several other local elected officials have said they are considering a run for the seat in 2026.
Stefany Shaheen includes Portsmouth ties in her list of supporters in her campaign announcement, including praise for her work on the PFAS water contamination issue from Andrea Amico, the founder of Testing for Pease. Also included are Jay McSharry, a Portsmouth and Seacoast restaurant and hotel owner, Portsmouth Police Chief Mark Newport, and Corinne Lamond, who played for the Portsmouth High School volleyball team when Shaheen was the coach.
This story has been updated to clarify Shaheen said she will campaign with Pappas. This story may be updated.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Stefany Shaheen launches 2026 run for NH 1st District US House seat
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- New York Times
Suleiman Obeid – Answering Mohamed Salah's questions about the death of the ‘Palestinian Pele'
On August 6, Suleiman Obeid travelled to the city of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, to retrieve aid for his family. He did not want to go, having described 'bullets whizzing past his head like rain' to his wife on previous trips. But with five children waiting in his tent, Obeid felt he had no choice. Advertisement Obeid had played football professionally, representing Palestine in international matches on 24 occasions. He was considered one of the greatest players to ever emerge from the Gaza Strip. Yet now, like other Gaza inhabitants, he was at risk of starvation. The New York Times reported this month that a U.N.-backed food security group found famine was widespread across Gaza due to months of severe aid restrictions imposed by Israel as part of its military operation against Hamas. At the aid site, his friends say Obeid was killed by armaments dropped by an Israeli quadcopter. He was 43 years old, and according to his friends and family, was a civilian who only wanted peace. According to the UN's latest figures, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed since May 27 while seeking food. Posting on social media after Obeid's death, UEFA stated: 'Farewell to Suleiman al-Obaid, the 'Palestinian Pele'. A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times.' Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool and Egypt forward who is one of the world's most famous footballers, replied: 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' Can you tell us how he died, where, and why? — Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) August 9, 2025 It appeared to be a latent criticism of UEFA, European football's governing body, for omitting Israel's role in Obeid's death. Salah's post was shared hundreds of thousands of times and represented a rare public statement from one of the game's leading names about the conflict. The Athletic has spoken to Obeid's friends, family, team-mates, and witnesses about his death in an attempt to answer those questions and tell of his life. 'The world needs to be asked, 'Why was Suleiman killed in this monstrous way, and taken away from his five children?',' his wife, Doaa, tells The Athletic, exchanging voice messages from the family's tent in Gaza. 'What did his children do to be orphaned at this young age? You can't imagine how life was before his death — and how it became after. 'I wish that you save these orphan children (from this war). He was our caregiver and our backbone. After Suleiman's death, no one can help us. Our life is ruined.' Suleiman Obeid jumps, and for a moment, everything is still. It is the 2010 West Asian Football Federation Championship in Amman, Jordan's capital. Palestine are 2-0 down to Yemen. The cross was sprayed towards the back post, an inswinger, but Obeid had already read its trajectory and taken four quick shuffle steps backwards. The defender has turned away. Obeid is alone. Advertisement He is midair as the ball passes the penalty spot, and horizontal when it arrives. With the laces of his right foot, he bends it around the covering defender and into the far corner. A scissor kick — the first goal Palestine had scored in the competition for six years. 'That goal was probably the greatest goal scored by the Palestine team,' says Ramzi Saleh, the goalkeeper on that day. 'He's always close to my heart,' he adds. 'Not only mine, he beats close to everyone's heart.' Saleh knows his friend is dead, but has not switched to the past tense. Few who know him in Gaza have. Obeid, all those involved in Palestinian football agree, is one of their iconic players. Capable of playing any position across the front three, the willowy forward began his career at hometown club Shabab Al Shati before moving to play for Markaz Shabab Al-Am'ari, where he spent four seasons and won the West Bank Premier League title in 2011. From then, however, he remained in Gaza, becoming a legend at Gaza Sports Club and Shabab Al Shati, and topping the goalscorer charts in three successive seasons. 'I am not thinking of retirement,' Obeid said in September 2023, at the age of 42, less than a month before Gazan football was suspended following Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel. In total, 1,195 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage in those attacks, according to Israeli officials via the New York Times. Israel launched counter-strikes into Gaza. One of those killed by Hamas was Lior Asulin, a former striker in the Israeli Premier League who had retired in 2017. That day, Obeid and Shabab Al-Shati had been preparing for a crucial game against Khadamat Rafah. It was cancelled when team members heard explosions on their way into training. He would never play another professional match. 'Everybody loved and appreciated him,' said Obeid's former team-mate Mohammed Ali Mohana, whose best friend, former Palestine coach Hani Al-Masdar, was killed by an Israeli airstrike last January. 'He was a talented player. His goals were so distinctive — and so beautiful.' As well as the 'Palestinian Pele', another nickname was 'Henry', after the former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry, a forward whose style he most closely mimicked. Ibrahim Al-Amur was a long-time team-mate of Obeid's at Gaza Sports Club. A left-back, he describes his fellow footballer as his best friend. Advertisement 'He was one of the best 10 players in Palestine's history,' Al-Amur says. 'He had pace, talent and athleticism to the extent that he played until 43 while not dropping his level — he was special even at that age. He treated his friends with all the love and respect. He supported the poor and the weak, a trait that not everyone has. 'My house was demolished in the war, but even then, I didn't cry like I cried when Suleiman passed away. This was the biggest shock of my life.' Obeid said his own home was hit and demolished by a bombing just one week into the conflict. The only piece of memorabilia he took with him was an old pair of club shorts — after his death, his wife Doaa cradled the blue kit. 'His main concern was to provide his children with a blessed life and to educate them to reach the highest level,' she says. 'In the last two years, life has been very tough. His dream was to take his children and go abroad.' In January, the forward posted on Facebook, uploading a picture of him sitting in the ruins of his house. 'I wish I hadn't gone to Gaza,' he captioned the photograph. At this point, the family were living in a refugee camp in the Al-Karama Towers area of Gaza. 'In the name of God, today we drowned in the tent,' he wrote. 'It's only the beginning and the rain hasn't been that strong. This is war, and how it can be.' Obeid tried to find the good where he could. He managed to open a small cafe that broadcast European matches, while a group of former professional footballers played together twice a week on old five-a-side pitches amid the ruins. 'It relieved our stress,' says Mohana, a regular at the sessions. 'We'd forget the worries of war and our living conditions, we escaped the water lines, the shelters, the challenges of life. It was about who would win, who would lose, to enjoy ourselves for a few moments, before returning to our difficult life once again.' Advertisement On one occasion, according to his friends, a missile strike barely missed Obeid while he sheltered in Deir al-Balah. They say he was buried in sand and debris, while those he sat with broke bones, and barely survived. The biggest issue for Obeid, however, was finding food. Obeid had responsibility for more than just his immediate family, made up of Doaa and five children. His brother, Hossam, has been missing for more than a year, and is presumed dead. His family were also cared for by Obeid. 'There's no problem dying through bombing,' Obeid wrote online in the weeks before his death. 'But starving us? In God's name, that's forbidden.' According to Doaa, Obeid was ashamed to go to the aid centres, wearing a cap to hide his face. In total, he had already made three trips, and described them to her as getting more dangerous on each occasion. A few days before his death, he met Mohana, and told his team-mate of his intention to return for a fourth time. 'I will never go to one,' says Mohana. 'These are killing centres, not aid distribution centres. There are always injuries, bullets fill the place. But he said he had children in need of food, and that he was forced to provide it from anywhere, even if it was dangerous.' 'No one knows if they are coming back (dead) on the shoulders, or coming back alive with aid,' adds Al-Amur. 'Every time Suleiman went to the aid centre, he couldn't believe that he came back in one piece, because people were dying next to him there. Every time he came back, he was happy that he wasn't injured or dead.' In its statement about the 1,373 deaths recorded of Palestinians seeking food since May 27, the UN human rights office said 'most of the killings were committed by the Israeli military'. Obeid made his last journey to an aid site on August 6. 'He didn't want to go,' says Doaa. 'But he didn't know it would be the last day of his life.' According to friends, Obeid left his tent at 6am to head towards Khan Yunis. From there, he took a car towards the United States and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution centre, which the Israeli army would open at 9am. 'At 8.15am, Suleiman was on the floor, him and his friends, who were waiting for the centre to open,' says Al-Amur. 'He was peaceful, sitting in the right way, and waiting. He was surprised by a quadcopter (a small drone) dropping a bomb towards him, and he was badly injured. Advertisement 'People there tried to resuscitate him, but they couldn't.' Other family members and friends have relayed accounts to The Athletic that match Al-Amur's story. Replying to Salah's tweet, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) international spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said: 'After an initial review, we found no records of any incidents involving Suleiman al-Obeid. In order to take a closer look, we need more details.' Subsequently, another IDF statement on August 10 added: 'From an initial and thorough examination, no casualties are known to have resulted from IDF fire in the distribution centre areas in the Gaza Strip on August 6.' Doaa, however, spent that evening in the morgue, with her husband. 'I can't believe the pain I felt when I saw him dead,' she told Middle East Eye on August 11. The IDF did not respond when contacted by The Athletic. In writing about Obeid's death, Salah's intervention was rare. The situation in Gaza is a difficult subject for footballers to speak openly about, with trauma experienced by both sides leaving them open to allegations of bias from the other party. Anwar El Ghazi was sacked by Bundesliga club Mainz in 2023 after posting the phrase, 'From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,' though a German court subsequently found in July 2024 that the Egyptian international had been 'unfairly dismissed'. Fortuna Dusseldorf pulled out of a deal to sign striker Shon Weissman this month, saying that prior comments from the Israel international about the war on social media were 'not compatible' with their values. Pep Guardiola was arguably the first high-profile Premier League figure to engage extensively with the topic, giving a speech about the suffering in Gaza after receiving an honorary degree from the University of Manchester in June. 'It's so painful what we see in Gaza. It hurts all my body,' said the Manchester City manager. 'Let me be clear — it's not about ideology. It's not about I'm right and you're wrong. Come on, it's just about the love of life. About the care of your neighbour. Maybe we think that we can see the boys and girls of four years old being killed with a bomb or being killed at the hospital — which is not a hospital anymore — and think it's not our business. Advertisement 'Yeah, fine. We can think about that. It's not our business, but be careful. The next one will be ours. The next four-, five-year-old kids will be ours. Sorry that I see my kids Maria, Marius and Valentina every morning since the nightmare started in Gaza, and I'm so scared.' Following Salah's criticism, UEFA displayed a banner at the European Super Cup final that read: 'Stop killing children, stop killing civilians'. Two refugee children from Gaza were also involved in the medal ceremony. UEFA received further criticism after this display, with Amnesty International accusing the body of 'naming the crime but not the perpetrator'. The Campaign Against Antisemitism said that the organisation had not commented on the deaths of Jewish children in the conflict. It demonstrates the difficulty many in the game feel about engaging. However, The Athletic has been told that a collective of more than 50 athletes, including high-profile footballers, are planning to take a stand on the issue. Despite the comments from Salah, the Premier League's reigning player of the season, the Premier League is not set to mark the conflict in any way over the first weeks of the season. In February 2022, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Premier League displayed the Ukrainian flag on big screens, while club captains wore special armbands expressing their support. 'We don't have any plans to make any statements about the situation,' Richard Masters, the Premier League's chief executive, told The Athletic on Thursday. Before their game against Sligo Rovers on Friday evening, players from the League of Ireland side Bohemians wore T-shirts in tribute to Obeid. Asked whether players would be sanctioned if they expressed support for Gaza or wore a Palestinian flag — especially following the UK government's announcement it would recognise a Palestinian state from September unless Israel meets certain conditions — a Premier League spokesperson stated this was a matter for the English Football Association (FA). Advertisement The FA's kit and equipment regulations state that 'any political or religious message is prohibited', though players are allowed to mark 'places of personal significance' on their boots. For the Premier League, it is business as usual on its opening weekend. According to the Palestinian Football Association, 339 members of its community, including players, coaches and officials, have been killed since October 2023. 'Can you tell us how he died, where, and why?' were the questions asked by Salah in his post. Obeid's family and friends say he died in an Israeli strike while waiting for food at an aid station near Khan Yunis. The why? 'I don't have the answer,' says Al-Amur. 'The answer is with the Israeli army.' Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
an hour ago
States move to send hundreds of National Guard members to Washington
WASHINGTON -- Three states moved to deploy hundreds of members of their National Guard to the nation's capital as part of the Trump administration's effort to overhaul policing in Washington through a federal crackdown on crime and homelessness. West Virginia said it was deploying 300 to 400 Guard troops, while South Carolina pledged 200 and Ohio says it will send 150 in the coming days. The moves announced Saturday came as protesters pushed back on federal law enforcement and National Guard troops fanning out in the heavily Democratic city following President Donald Trump's executive order federalizing local police forces and activating about 800 District of Columbia National Guard members. By adding outside troops to join the existing Guard deployment and federal law enforcement officers, Trump is exercising even tighter control over the city. It's a power play that the president has justified as an emergency response to crime and homelessness, even though city officials have noted that violent crime is lower than it was during Trump's first term in office. So far, National Guard members have played a limited role in law enforcement in D.C. and it's unclear why additional troops are needed. They have been seen patrolling at landmarks like the National Mall and Union Station and assisting with crowd control. A protest against Trump's intervention drew scores to Dupont Circle on Saturday before a march to the White House, about 1.5 miles away. Demonstrators assembled behind a banner that said, 'No fascist takeover of D.C.,' and some in the crowd held signs saying, 'No military occupation.' Trump was at his Virginia golf club after Friday's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Morgan Taylor, one of the organizers who coordinated Saturday's protest, said they were hoping to spark enough backlash to Trump's actions that the administration would be forced to pull back on its crime and immigration agenda. 'It's hot, but I'm glad to be here. It's good to see all these people out here,' she said. 'I can't believe that this is happening in this country at this time.' Fueling the protests were concerns about Trump overreach and that he had used crime as a pretext to impose his will on Washington. John Finnigan, 55, was taking a bike ride when he ran into the protest in downtown Washington. The real estate construction manager who has lived in the capital for 27 years said Trump's moves were 'ridiculous' because crime is down. 'Hopefully, some of the mayors and some of the residents will get out in front of it and try and make it harder for it to happen in other cities,' Finnigan said. Jamie Dickstein, a 24-year-old teacher, said she was 'very uncomfortable and worried' for the safety or her students given the 'unmarked officers of all types' now roaming Washington and detaining people. Dickstein said she turned out to the protest with friends and relatives to 'prevent a continuous domino effect going forward with other cities.' Gov. Patrick Morrisey, announced Saturday that he was sending a contingent of 300 to 400 Guard troops to Washington, while South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster authorized the deployment of 200 of his state's National Guardsmen and Ohio Gov Mike DeWine said his state would send 150 military police at the request of the U.S. Defense Department. 'West Virginia is proud to stand with President Trump in his effort to restore pride and beauty to our nation's capital,' Morrisey said. The West Virginia activation suggests the administration sees the need for additional manpower after the president personally played down the need for Washington to hire more police officers. Maj. Gen. James Seward, West Virginia's adjutant general, said in a statement that members of the state's National Guard 'stand ready to support our partners in the National Capital Region' and that the troops' 'unique capabilities and preparedness make it an invaluable partner in this important undertaking.' Federal agents have appeared in some of the city's most highly trafficked neighborhoods, garnering a mix of praise, pushback and alarm from local residents and leaders across the country. City leaders, who are obliged to cooperate with Trump's order under the federal laws that direct the district's local governance, have sought to work with the administration, though they have bristled at the scope of the president's takeover. On Friday, the administration reversed course on an order that aimed to place the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as an 'emergency police commissioner' after the district's top lawyer sued to contest. After a court hearing, Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, issued a memo that directed the Metropolitan Police Department to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement regardless of any city law. City officials say they are evaluating how to best comply. In his order Monday, Trump declared an emergency due to the 'city government's failure to maintain public order.' He said that impeded the 'federal government's ability to operate efficiently to address the nation's broader interests without fear of our workers being subjected to rampant violence.' In a letter to city residents, Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, wrote that 'our limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now.' She added that if Washington residents stick together, 'we will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy — even when we don't have full access to it.'
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Transgender runner Evie Parts sues NCAA and Swarthmore College for removal from track team
Swarthmore men's and women's track coach Peter Carroll, athletic director Brad Koch and athletics officials Christina Epps-Chiazor and Valerie Gomez also were named in the lawsuit. According to the complaint, they sent Parts into 'such a depressive state that she engaged in self-harm and in one moment told a friend that she wanted to kill herself.' Advertisement 'We stand by the allegations in the complaint,' said Susie Cirilli, an attorney who along with co-counsel Spector, Gadon, Rosen and Vinci, represents Parts. 'As stated in the complaint, the NCAA is a private organization that issued a bigoted policy. Swarthmore College chose to follow that policy and disregard federal and state law.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Swarthmore issued a statement that it 'deeply values our transgender community members.' 'We recognize that this is an especially difficult and painful time for members of the transgender community, including student-athletes,' the school said. 'We worked to support Evie Parts in a time of rapidly evolving guidance, while balancing the ability for other members of the women's track team to compete in NCAA events. Given the pending litigation, we will not comment any further.' Advertisement The NCAA chose not to comment. The NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes to limit competition in women's sports to athletes assigned female at birth. That change came a day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports. Pennsylvania's state Senate approved a bill by a 32-18 margin on May 6 to ban transgender athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports at the collegiate and K-12 levels. The state's Democratic-controlled House of Representatives isn't expected to vote on the bill. Parts joined the Swarthmore track team in fall 2020 before then taking off the following four winter and spring seasons. She went back to the Division III team in 2023 to compete in the indoor and outdoor track seasons and in cross country. When the NCAA issued its ban, the lawsuit states, Parts was told by Epps-Chiazor and Gomez that she could compete with the men's team or as an unattached athlete. She would only receive medical treatment, the complaint says, if she competed on the men's team. According to the lawsuit, Carroll and his staff were not allowed to coach Parts, she could not travel with the team, was not allowed to receive per diem or food and had to pay her way into meets. Parts also couldn't wear a Swarthmore uniform. Swarthmore 'fully reinstated' Parts on April 11, the lawsuit says, and she competed on the women's team until graduating in May. In July, a transgender woman sued Princeton University claiming she was illegally removed shortly before her race in a school-hosted track meet in May due to her gender identity. Sadie Schreiner, who had transitioned during high school, had previously run for Division III Rochester Institute of Technology but was set to compete as an athlete unattached to any school or club in the Larry Ellis Invitational. That complaint seeks unspecified damages for a 'humiliating, dehumanizing and dignity-stripping ordeal' in front of family and friends. Advertisement
