Massachusetts
‘Isn’t capable of being president right now’; Massachusetts Republicans want Biden to resign
Republicans will challenge replacement of Biden
“That’s not how this is supposed to work.” House speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans will challenge Democratic efforts to replace Biden.
Republican party leaders in Massachusetts are questioning President Joe Biden’s fitness to remain in office after the 81-year-old withdrew from the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, endorsing his vice president just weeks ahead of the Democratic Party Convention. And they are objecting to the switch of nominees after the primary process has ended.
“I don’t think anybody expected it to be any different,” said Thomas Hodgson, the chairman of former President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign in Massachusetts. He is the former Bristol County sheriff.
“The Democrat Party has been hiding what everybody else has seen for a long time: He’s not capable of being president for another term, and frankly he isn’t capable of being president right now. He is cognitively challenged, as everybody knows, and so for us — for America — that’s not a good thing. Who knows how it will play out. If he continues to stay in there, as I said, it’s not a good thing. But given the fact that he’s never there, he works limited hours, it’s the best thing that could happen, and frankly should have happened a lot sooner.”
Although political pundits have speculated that Biden is suffering from cognitive decline and the president has made misstatements in recent weeks, Biden’s statement did not say he was withdrawing because of any health reasons.
Geoff Diehl, who ran for the governor in 2022 and is a supporter of Donald Trump also spoke out against Biden.
‘I’m glad that President Biden has withdrawn. Our country needs a strong leader & he had no mandate to proceed. Be aware, though, that a sitting President who won the primary process, just had a reelection campaign canceled by a handful of party insiders. An atrocious precedent.”
The statements echoed many of the state points Chris LaCivita and Susan Wiles, of Trump’s national campaign said on Sunday.
“Joe Biden cannot take himself out of a campaign for President because he is too mentally incompetent and still remain in the White House,” reads the statement. “Biden is a national security threat in great cognitive decline and a clear and present danger to every man, woman, and child in our country. The question then to Kamala Harris is simple: knowing that Joe Biden withdrew from the campaign because of his rapidly deteriorating condition, does Harris believe the people of America are safe and secure with Joe Biden in the White House for six more months?”
Massachusetts
Dangerousness hearing held for Taunton man in Fall River after Massachusetts, Rhode Island State Police make trafficking arrest involving Bristol, Plymouth, RI counties
A dangerousness hearing was held Friday for a Bristol County man after a drug trafficking investigation led to his arrest.
According to Massachusetts State Police, during May and June of this year, members of the Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team – South initiated an investigation into narcotics trafficking. Intelligence revealed that 33-year-old Jason Hodo of Taunton was distributing trafficking quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in Rhode Island and throughout Plymouth and Bristol Counties in Massachusetts. Investigators completed extensive traditional and covert surveillance, record checks, and intelligence analysis. The investigation led to warrants being sought and granted to search for all controlled substances at all locations related to Hodo.
In June, executing officers followed Hodo in his vehicle after he departed the Rhode Island location and drove to a Taunton gas station. Hodo was detained, searched, and arrested after amounts of fentanyl and cocaine were located. Members then executed the “knock and announce” search warrants without incident at locations in both states.
The searches in Massachusetts led to the seizure of approximately 528 grams of fentanyl, 206 grams of cocaine, and nearly $22,000 from Hodo’s person and vehicle. Hodo was eventually transported to State Police-Middleboro for booking on charges related to Trafficking Class A and Class B Substances.
A simultaneous search of the Rhode Island location by Rhode Island State Police revealed the following: two firearms loaded with high-capacity magazines, approximately 12 grams of fentanyl, nearly $19,000, several high value bars of gold, jewelry, and a diamond/gold chain with receipt for $103,000.
Previously in Fall River Superior Court, Hodo pled not guilty at his arraignment and was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Friday.
On Friday, also in Fall River Superior Court, dangerousness was taken under advisement with Hodo still held without bail.
His next scheduled court appearance is a pre-trial conference in February.
Massachusetts
Mass. State Lottery winner: Lucky store sold 6 winning tickets Friday
It was the final day of the fall, but for one store in Arlington, it was their luckiest day of the year.
On Friday, Dec. 20, Peter Pan Superette in Arlington sold six winning Keno tickets, each worth $9,600.
While over the course of the year the store has at times sold two winners in one day, Friday was the only time in 2024 the total grew to six.
Overall, at least 565 worth $600 or more were won or claimed in Massachusetts on Friday, including six in Springfield, 29 in Worcester and 42 in Boston.
The Massachusetts State Lottery releases a full list of winning tickets every day. The list only includes winning tickets worth more than $600.
So far, the largest lottery prize won in Massachusetts this year was worth $1 million a year for life.
The prize was from the lottery’s “Lifetime Millions” scratch ticket game. The winner claimed their prize through a trust on July 10, and opted to receive a one-time payment of $15.4 million.
Massachusetts
How much snow in Massachusetts? Here are the storm totals for December 20
BOSTON – More than five inches of snow fell in several towns in eastern Massachusetts on Friday. Boston picked up 4.4″ of snow, one of the biggest snowfalls in almost three years.
Here are the latest snow totals from the National Weather Service, Rob Macedo, the SKYWARN Coordinator for the National Weather Service in Taunton, and WBZ-TV Weather Watchers.
Norwood 6.0 inches
Dedham 6.0
Walpole 5.5
Needham 5.5
Danvers 5.3
Topsfield 5.0
Cambridge 4.9
Newton 4.5
Boston 4.4
Randolph 4.0
Foxboro 4.0
Milford 3.2
Rehoboth 3.2
Millville 3.0
North Attleboro 2.0
West Yarmouth 2.0
Worcester 1.0
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