CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - House and Senate lawmakers have moved toward agreement on a severely scaled-back version of a bill intended to align New Hampshire insurance rules with President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law.

The state insurance commissioner had argued that a wide range of changes were necessary to preserve the state’s traditional role in regulating insurance plans. But opponents of the bill cast the original as an attempt to move New Hampshire toward a state-operated marketplace, something specifically prohibited by state law.

In the end, House and Senate negotiators drafted a new three-paragraph bill to replace the 15-page original that addressed issues such as the demographic factors insurance companies can use in setting rates.

The committee plans to meet again Thursday.

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - Neighbors of an elderly New Hampshire couple stabbed to death in their Nashua home say they were stunned by the news they were killed and can only hope it's a random act of violence and not someone in their midst.

The bodies of 83-year-old William Grant and his 78-year-old wife, Eleanor Grant, were discovered by a home health care worker midday Monday.

Nashua police and the Attorney General's office said Wednesday their deaths are being investigated as homicides and that both died of multiple stab wounds.  Investigators continue to probe who killed the couple, who'd lived at that address since 1985.

Next door neighbor Linda Jones said there was no reasoning behind the crime and she and spouse Jennifer Hanlon are desperate for more details and an arrest.

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - Police say a man trying to get his boat into the Merrimack River ended up accidentally putting his trailer and pickup truck in the water, too.

John Pragosa was backing the truck and trailer hauling his hydroplane boat toward the river in Nashua on Wednesday when the river's current pulled the boat downstream.

Pragosa put the truck in park, got out and unhooked the boat and pulled it to shore. But then he said he heard a loud bang and the truck and trailer started rolling toward the river.

He said when he tried to get into the truck the doors had locked automatically. He eventually got the door open, but couldn't stop the truck.

Fire and rescue official say the truck - worth about $30,000 - and trailer sank in about 15 feet of water.
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Information from: The Telegraph, http://www.nashuatelegraph.com

LONDONDERRY, N.H. (AP) - School officials say a staff member at New Hampshire’s Londonderry Middle School has been diagnosed with whooping cough, the third such case at the same school.

A letter sent from the district superintendent to parents on Tuesday that the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services qualifies three cases of whooping cough in the same school as an outbreak.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory disease. It’s known to cause uncontrollable, violent coughing that can make it hard to breathe, and is sometimes fatal with young children or infants.

School officials cautioned that it is possible for more whooping cough cases to occur over the next few weeks.

They said they are taking every available precaution to ensure students and staff are not at risk.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire’s House speaker says it will be hard to get the Democratic House to support a state budget that does not include a way to expand Medicaid to an estimated 58,000 poor adults.

House Speaker Terie Norelli told The Associated Press on Wednesday there may not be enough votes in the House to pass a budget without the possibility of expanding Medicaid.

The House and Senate have been trading proposals on the issue, but so far have no agreement. The Republican-led Senate insists the issue needs further study and a vote by lawmakers independent of the budget next year. The House countered Wednesday with a plan that includes a study to be done next month with lawmakers returning in special session in August to vote on an expansion plan.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A nonprofit group that promotes marine conservation has been selected to move into a small storefront at Hampton Beach State Park.

The Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation was one of two groups vying to occupy retail space that was included in the state’s recent $14.5 million beach redevelopment project. Pending Executive Council approval Wednesday, it plans to open an education center focused on marine life, maritime history and conservation opportunities.

Under the three-year agreement, the group would pay the state just under $6,000 a year, plus a percentage of its income. The arrangement is part of a larger effort to generate money for the state’s struggling park system, the only one in the nation that relies solely on user fees to cover its operating costs. 

DOVER, N.H. (AP) - The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire has won a Creative Economy Award from the New England Foundation for the Arts.

The award recognizes successful strategies, scope of impact on the creative economy and the possibility for replication in other communities.

The museum relocated from Portsmouth to Dover five years ago, renovating an historic armory in a waterfront park. Museum representatives are included in city discussions about public art, parking, festivals, other nonprofits locating in the city and economic development.

Staff also are involved with the city’s Tourism Committee, Dover Main Street, the Chamber of Commerce and the Arts Commission.

Dodgeball could be poised to make a return in Windham. A study committee is recommending school officials allow dogeball-style games in phys ed classes. The eagle-tribune reports the distruct school board banned such games earlier this spring over concerns about bullying and student safety.

Governor Maggie Hassan and other official are set to detail the senate of hunger across New Hampshire. Officials will go over new numbers released by the group feeding America, along with how the issue affects state residents. The session is part of a food bank event called "Map the Meal Gap."

The longtime owners of Pat's Peak ski area are being recognized for their contributions to New Hampshire's skiing and snowboarding industry. Wayne and Sally Patenaude started Pat's Peak 50 years ago, making it the longest continuously operated ski area run by the same owners. Ski NH is giving the Patenaudes the award named for the late H.H. "Bill" Witney, who owned Black Mountain ski area in Jackson.

The state's congressional delegation is hosting the fourth annual "Experience New Hampshire" reception in Washington. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte and congresswomen Carol Shea-Porter and Annie Kuster are being joined by the New Hampshire state society today to showcase industries, dining, tourism, and business groups important to the state's economy.

New Hampshire has negotiated tentative contracts with senate labor unions. The deal provides workers with their first raises in five years. Workers will also pay an annual health insuracne deductable and contribute to their dental plan. The package will cost $38 million, a cost yet to be added to the state budget being negotiated.