Here are the top stories at 7:30 a.m.:
Vermont stands to get $20 million from the federal government to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, and the state hopes it can use the money to deal with other problems; Another priest sex abuse trial is under way for Vermont’s Roman Catholic Church; The Vermont man accused of kidnapping 12-year-old Brooke Bennett has waived a preliminary hearing at which an FBI agent was expected to testify; As the government checks on hundreds of potentially leaking underground fuel tanks left over from the Cold War, New Hampshire authorities say that tanks in the state were removed long ago. A new poll shows that a year after the "surge" by U.S. troops in Iraq, and despite a decrease in American and Iraqi casualties, New Hampshire residents are strongly opposed to the war and are pessimistic about chances of eventual victory.