Northeast

Democrats in this blue state double down on protecting criminal migrants. For one silly reason

Published

1 year ago

December 12, 2024

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Democrats in this blue state double down on protecting criminal migrants. For one silly reason

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During the last four years, Massachusetts has been overwhelmed by the migrant surge coming across the southern border. Last year, Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency, citing the rapid increase in migrant families seeking shelter and the state’s inability to adequately accommodate them.

Before the November 5th election, Healey was sending top deputies to the southern border to deliver a message that Massachusetts had no more vacancies. Healey, along with eight other Democratic governors, pleaded for federal action, including asking for funding to support states that had spent billions of dollars on housing and feeding the migrants.

Massachusetts was hit so hard democratic lawmakers condemned Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey for opposing bipartisan immigration reform. Two years of unrelenting waves of migrants continue to cost Massachusetts taxpayers between $1 and $2 billion annually – with no end in sight. Gov. Healey, herself, took aim at the Biden/Harris administration, stating: “This is not a problem that Massachusetts created.”

BLUE STATE FACES SPIKE IN MIGRANT SEX CRIMES AS TOP CITY PLEDGES RESISTANCE TO TRUMP DEPORTATIONS

Yet when relief is being offered, Massachusetts Democrats are not only rejecting that relief, but they’re also pledging to fight it to protect illegal migrants, even ones accused of abhorrent crimes, at the expense of taxpayers and public safety.

Why? Because it involves President Trump. Democrats fighting Trump, when it comes to reasonable common-sense deportations, will prove short-sighted, even in blue Massachusetts. Without question, Trump’s position on illegal immigration played a major role in why Trump improved his standing with voters in practically every city and town across Massachusetts.

Ignoring those results, after President Trump won, Healey restated her order that the State Police stand down if ICE asks for cooperation in apprehending violent migrants. According to Healey, she intends to use “every tool in the toolbox” to “protect” migrants from any deportation efforts made by the Trump administration.

Additionally, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu vowed to defy federal mass deportation efforts. And just last week, the Boston City Council voted unanimously to reaffirm its status as a sanctuary city. Ironically, the following day, the DOJ charged twenty-five people in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Nineteen targets were arrested in an ICE/DEA operation. Fourteen of the nineteen migrants are illegal. Ten of those illegal migrants were arrested in Boston the day after the 13-0 vote, affirming Boston’s sanctuary status. You literally, can’t make this stuff up.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu vowed to defy federal mass deportation efforts. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)

In November 2024, ICE arrested three individuals in Massachusetts on multiple charges related to child rape. Authorities also arrested a Brazilian national who allegedly raped a young woman behind a bar in Plymouth. Earlier this year, another migrant was arrested at the Chelmsford shelter on charges of raping a 12-year-old girl and just last year, ICE officials on Cape Cod located and arrested a Venezuelan national on the run from murder charges. When a disabled 15-year-old girl was raped by an illegal migrant, Gov. Healey disgracefully declared, “Things will happen.” In Massachusetts, it’s happening way too much.

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Last week, Jon Fetherston, a former director at a migrant shelter, explained that in Massachusetts, undocumented migrants, including those accused of child rape, receive food stamps and government health insurance. The migrants are all given three meals a day from catering companies and provided essential items such as toiletries, diapers, strollers and baby wipes. Migrants also received state-paid, same-day dry cleaning and taxpayer-funded Uber rides to appointments when needed.

He also exposed incidents of widespread violence, child sexual assault, and rape at shelters throughout the state, including an incident where a father impregnated his own 14-year-old daughter. Instead of alerting ICE and detaining him in a Middlesex County jail, authorities shipped this heinous individual to neighboring Worcester County, where he was placed in another taxpayer-funded shelter. Fetherston stated that a 16-year-old female student was also raped multiple times inside the shelter by a 29-year-old illegal migrant.

Gov. Healey has a crisis on her hands. More than 300 “serious incidents” have been recorded at state-run migrant facilities this year, but officials refuse to provide further details about why police or firefighters responded and what crimes may have occurred. Calls for police and emergency services to hotels and shelters housing migrants have skyrocketed.

And yet the elected leaders of Massachusetts are vowing to protect such violent criminals from being lawfully deported. By opposing Trump at every turn and burying their heads in the sand, Massachusetts Democrats like Healy, Warren and Wu have virtually guaranteed we will be left alone to clean up – and pay for – a mess created by them and their fellow Democrats. If those actions lead to attempts to disperse migrants and offer monthly stipends to hide them from ICE, Gov. Healey and her co-conspirators could be guilty of violating Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324(a) of federal law (harboring or concealing an illegal alien).

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey pauses to look at the Army cots set up on the gym floor as State and local officials toured the Melnea A. Cass Recreational Complex. (Getty Images)

Massachusetts was among one of the Democratic-leaning states that shifted to the right this year; in Bristol County, a hub of working-class immigrants for decades, Trump nearly defeated Harris and outright won the city of Fall River, the first time a Republican has done so in roughly 100 years.

The impact of illegal immigration in Massachusetts has no party affiliation and even traditional blue state voters realize something must change. Gov. Healey’s approval rating has slipped below 50%, indicating that virtue-signaling alone won’t guarantee her a second term in 2026.

If Massachusetts Democrats continue to sacrifice public safety, taxpayers’ dollars and commonsense for their political party’s agenda, they may see voters elect Republicans to do the job instead.

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Maine

Maine libraries scramble for books after distributor closes

Published

41 minutes ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Maine libraries scramble for books after distributor closes

Rosanne Barnes, an adult services reader’s advisor, shelves new fiction books at Portland Public Library on Wednesday. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)

Some hot new titles have been arriving late at Maine libraries in recent months, after the closing of one the country’s major library book distributors.

Baker & Taylor, based in North Carolina, began winding down its operations in the fall and expects to close entirely this month. The company’s demise has left many Maine libraries scrambling to buy books through other sources, including local book stores, and to endure deliveries taking twice as long.

That means patrons expecting to get new books on or near publication dates are waiting longer to start turning pages.

At the Portland Public Library, “Heart The Lover” by Maine author Lily King wasn’t available to patrons until nearly a month after its Sept. 30 publication date, even though it was ordered in July. At the Libby Memorial Library in Old Orchard Beach, John Grisham’s Oct. 21 release “The Widow” took six weeks to arrive. Staff at the Kennbunk Free Library weren’t sure how long they’d have to wait for “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans, so they bought two copies at a local store, Octopus Bookshop. As of this week, there were 28 holds on the book.

“Baker & Taylor closing has totally rocked the library world nationwide. It has long been the preferred vendor among many Maine libraries, and their closure is certainly having an impact on us,” said Sarah Skawinski, associate director of the Portland Public Library and president of the Maine Library Association. “I think we’re over the hump now, though.”

Skawinski and other librarians say Baker & Taylor had been having problems getting books from publishers and had been slow with some deliveries, a problem that began during the COVID pandemic. Last year when it became apparent Baker & Taylor was likely going out of business, many libraries switched to the nation’s other major distributor, Ingram Content Group, as well as another company called Brodart Library Supplies. But with increased demand, both those companies have been slow in filling some orders in the last couple months, too.

Industry publications reported that Baker & Taylor’s problems were mostly financial, beginning in the pandemic and included the failed acquisition of another company. An email to Baker & Taylor asking for more information on its closure was not answered Wednesday.

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Aspen Kraushaar checks books in at the front desk at the Kennebunk Free Library on Wednesday. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)

Not every Maine library bought the majority of its books from Baker & Taylor; some used other distibutors instead. Staff at the Waterville Public Library, for instance, say they rarely used the company and weren’t impacted. The Lithgow Public Library in Augusta was only getting about four books a month from Baker & Taylor, said Director Sarah Curra Schultz-Nielsen. Those included children’s books, reference books and travel guides. Finding other distributors for those books, including Brodart and Bookshop, a company that sells mainly to independent bookstores, has been “mildly inconvenient” for staff and has not impacted patrons, Schultz-Nielsen said.

But other libraries used Baker & Taylor for most of its new releases, including fiction and non-fiction, as well to replacements for worn-out books. Stephen King’s books, for instance, have to be replaced pretty regularly, some librarians said.

The Portland Public Library had been ordering about 1,000 items a month from Baker & Taylor, mostly printed books. The library has about 359,000 physical items in its collection. Now, new books are coming to the library from Ingram, but will take maybe four weeks to arrive, compared to one to two weeks when Baker & Taylor was running smoothly.

And there is added work for librarians: While Baker & Taylor sent books that had already been catalogued and ready to be shelved, with bar codes and spine labels, Ingram is not yet offering that service, said Nicole Harkins, cataloging librarian at the Portland library.

“Patrons are aware it’s taking longer and they’re being patient,” Harkins said.

Kennebunk Free Library also switched to Ingram, and staff are spending more time prepping books, including putting protective plastic covers on them, said Allison Atkins, assistant director and head of adult services. Atkins said library staff wrote about their “book ordering troubles” in a library newsletter and on social media, so patrons would understand why new books were slow to arrive. The library used to get about 100 books a month from Baker & Taylor and despite still being “way behind” on new books, patrons have been patient, Atkins said.

For smaller libraries with smaller staffs, finding a new supplier is not always easy. Baker & Taylor was the major books supplier for Davis Memorial Library in Limington. The staff there is so small that they didn’t have time to research or compare new suppliers, so they waited until early this month, said Heidi Libby, the library’s director. As a result, the library has very few new arrivals on its shelves right now and has been filling the “new book” shelves with donated books as well as ordering from Amazon.

Several librarians said this week that local book stores have been a big help during this period, getting books quickly and pricing them affordably. Sherman’s Maine Coast Bookshops, which has 10 stores across the state, saw its sales to local libraries increase from $50,000 in 2024 to nearly $100,000 in 2025, said Jeff Curtis, owner and CEO of Sherman’s.

The Auburn Public Library would sometimes get more than 300 books a month from Baker & Taylor, including books for adults, teens, and children, as well as fiction and nonfiction as well as some large print books and CDs, said Nancy O’Toole, collections manager at the library.

When Baker & Taylor started having problems, the library bought books from Amazon and the local Bull Moose music and book store chain. Now, with Baker & Taylor closing, the library has switched to Ingram, but has seen delivery delays as that company has been inundated with new customers. This week the library got an order of books that were released in November, including “Exit Strategy” by Lee Child and Andrew Child, “The Seven Rings” by Nora Roberts and “Return of the Spider” by James Patterson.

“The hope is that now that the holidays are over, shipping from Ingram will expedite. But just to be safe, we are choosing to buy certain books elsewhere, including titles by big-name authors, popular series, or anything tied to a fast-approaching holiday,” said O’Toole. “Patrons want to see those titles on the shelf in a timely manner, and we want to make sure we fulfill those expectations.”

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Massachusetts

Minnesota childcare fraud allegations spark audit request in Massachusetts: ‘Serious risks’

Published

59 minutes ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Minnesota childcare fraud allegations spark audit request in Massachusetts: ‘Serious risks’

Fraud allegations in Minnesota’s childcare system are prompting two Massachusetts Republican lawmakers to ask the Healey administration to conduct a “top-to-bottom audit” of a Bay State voucher program.

State Reps. Marc Lombardo, R-Billerica, and Nicholas Boldyga, R-Southwick, say they’re alarmed after seeing national reports of fraud in childcare subsidy programs, pointing specifically to widespread allegations in Minnesota.

Their concerns have prompted them to ask Gov. Maura Healey to direct Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler to “urgently conduct” an audit and review of the Massachusetts Child Care Financial Assistance program to identify any potential fraud and vulnerabilities here.

Child Care Financial Assistance helps low-income families pay for childcare in Massachusetts.

“While Massachusetts has not yet been directly implicated in the same manner, the similarities in program structure, relying on voucher reimbursements to providers for low-income families, raise legitimate questions about whether comparable fraud or waste could be occurring here undetected,” Lombardo and Boldyga wrote in a joint letter to Healey on Wednesday.

“Our Commonwealth invests hundreds of millions of dollars annually in this critical program to support working families and early education,” they added. “We owe it to Massachusetts taxpayers and the families who genuinely need this assistance to ensure every dollar is spent appropriately and reaches its intended purpose.”

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a Herald request for comment on the letter.

Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw has said that Massachusetts is not facing disruption to its $293 million share of federal childcare payments amid a nationwide freeze in response to the Minnesota fraud allegations.

Kershaw has also added that Child Care Financial Assistance is not being impacted, either. The state appropriates funds for the voucher program at the beginning of the fiscal year and then seeks federal reimbursement.

This fiscal year’s funding totals about $1.087 billion for the program, which covered more than 66,000 children in fiscal year 2025, according to a December report from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

“Obviously, we are incredibly concerned about families across the country and in Minnesota who may lose access to Child Care Financial Assistance based on acts by the federal government,” Kershaw told Bay State childcare stakeholders on Monday.

Before the new year, the federal Administration for Children and Families froze all funding to Minnesota. All 50 states must now provide additional verification before receiving more funds.

Minnesota Democrats accuse the Trump administration of playing politics and hurting families and children as a result.

This all comes after a video surfaced on YouTube alleging fraud in childcare in Somali communities in Minnesota, to which Kershaw has said none of the allegations have been proven.

The Massachusetts early education and care commissioner noted how there have been similar videos posted in Massachusetts and other states like Ohio, California and Washington.

In their letter to Healey, Lombardo and Boldyga also highlighted how the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has responded to the Minnesota allegations by closing loopholes that allowed payments without verifying attendance.

“These developments highlight serious risks in subsidized child care systems across the country,” the Republican lawmakers wrote, “including the potential for misappropriation of taxpayer funds on a massive scale.”

Lawmakers across the country are seeking similar reviews as Lombardo and Boldyga. In Michigan, State Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, a Republican, has asked for an audit of a state program that aims to help low-income families afford childcare there.

The Massachusetts audit would zero in on verifying that voucher payments to providers are based on documented child attendance records; cross-checking to detect potential “ghost children” or overbilling; and on-site inspections of voucher-receiving providers to confirm they are operating legitimate childcare programs, among other objectives.

“Such a thorough review would not only safeguard public funds,” Lombardo and Boldyga wrote, “but also strengthen confidence in a program that is vital to thousands of Massachusetts families.”

The Associated Press and Herald wire services contributed to this report.

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New Hampshire

NH Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life winning numbers for Jan. 7, 2026

Published

2 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

The New Hampshire Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 7 drawing

15-28-57-58-63, Powerball: 23, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 7 drawing

05-14-15-21-39, Lucky Ball: 10

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Jan. 7 drawing

Day: 1-5-7

Evening: 0-1-4

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Jan. 7 drawing

Day: 6-8-6-9

Evening: 7-8-6-6

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Megabucks Plus numbers from Jan. 7 drawing

03-08-13-33-40, Megaball: 04

Check Megabucks Plus payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Gimme 5 numbers from Jan. 7 drawing

16-19-21-25-34

Check Gimme 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the New Hampshire Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Pick 3, 4: 1:10 p.m. and 6:55 p.m. daily.
Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Megabucks Plus: 7:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Lucky for Life: 10:38 p.m. daily.
Gimme 5: 6:55 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Winning lottery numbers are sponsored by Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network.

Where can you buy lottery tickets?

Tickets can be purchased in person at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. Some airport terminals may also sell lottery tickets.

You can also order tickets online through Jackpocket, the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network, in these U.S. states and territories: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and West Virginia. The Jackpocket app allows you to pick your lottery game and numbers, place your order, see your ticket and collect your winnings all using your phone or home computer.

Jackpocket is the official digital lottery courier of the USA TODAY Network. Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services. GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER, Call 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). 18+ (19+ in NE, 21+ in AZ). Physically present where Jackpocket operates. Jackpocket is not affiliated with any State Lottery. Eligibility Restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Terms: jackpocket.com/tos.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a New Hampshire managing editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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