Jardine pleaded guilty to a 2-count indictment charging him with indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years.

GREENFIELD – Ricky A. Jardine, 63, of Athol, was sentenced Tuesday in Greenfield Superior Court in connection with his sexual abuse of a 12-year-old Orange girl from 1998 to 2000.

Jardine pleaded guilty to a two-count indictment charging him with indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years.

Judge John Agostini imposed a one year jail term, followed by eight years of probation, during which Jardine must wear a GPS device, register as a sex offender, have no contact with children under 16 years, and participate in sex offender treatment.

The victim addressed the court, saying the crimes had affected every aspect of her and her family’s life, and she had waited so many years for the community to see and acknowledge that she was the victim, and that Jardine was the perpetrator of these criminal acts.

"I believe that I am that true conservative who can and who will defeat Barack Obama in 2012," Bachmann told a small group of supporters.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn, waves from her bus following a campaign stop at Valley High School, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

By BRIAN BAKST

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Michele Bachmann told a small group of supporters Tuesday night that she's staying in the presidential race as the only true conservative who can defeat the sitting president, despite a bleak showing in the Iowa caucuses.

The Minnesota congresswoman was running in last place among six candidates as returns came in from the nation's first Republican presidential nominating contest. But she told an anemic crowd of just a few dozen supporters, "There are many more chapters to be written on the path to our party's nomination."

"I believe that I am that true conservative who can and who will defeat Barack Obama in 2012," she said.

"What we need is a fearless conservative, one with no compromises on their record on spending on health care on crony capitalism on defending America on standing with our ally Israel," she said.

Shortly before Bachmann spoke, her campaign manager suggested she might leave the race. Asked if he could say with certainty whether she would go forward with her candidacy, Bachmann campaign manager Keith Nahigian told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, "I don't know yet."

He added, "It's hard to tell, but everything is planned."

But shortly thereafter he said she was going "full steam" ahead.

Bachmann's showing was a sharp turn after she finished in first place in the Iowa GOP's summer straw poll.

Before the voting began, she traveled to the backyard of her childhood to make her final appeal for support, imploring voters in her native Iowa to "reclaim our country." But the caucus site was hardly unified. Bachmann would need more than hometown connections to pull back into contention.

"I feel sorry for her," said Randy Herod, a retired business consultant. "She's real nice, but this isn't her time."

Romney eked out a minuscule 8-vote victory over Santorum in Iowa's Republican presidential caucuses, ringing down the curtain on an improbable first act in the campaign to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama.

Associated PressWith 99 percent of precincts reporting, Mitt Romney, left, and Rick Santorum were separated by fewer than 50 votes in the 2012 Iowa caucuses Tuesday night.

By DAVID ESPO
and THOMAS BEAUMONT

DES MOINES, Iowa – Vote by precious vote, Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney battled improbably to a virtual draw in Iowa's Republican presidential caucuses early Wednesday, the opening round in the race to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama in the fall.

"Game on," declared Santorum, jaw set, after easily outdistancing several other contenders to emerge as Romney's unvarnished conservative rival for the primaries yet ahead.

Neither a winner nor a loser, Romney looked past his GOP rivals and took aim at Obama. "The gap between his promises four years ago and his performance is as great as anything I've ever seen in my life," he told supporters in Iowa's capital city.

Returns from 99 percent of the state's precincts showed Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, and Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, in a near dead heat, a fitting conclusion to a race as jumbled as any since Iowa gained the lead-off position in presidential campaigns four decades ago.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul ran third and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was fourth, and both men vowed to carry the fight to New Hampshire's primary next week and beyond.

Not so Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who came in fifth and told supporters he would return home to Texas to reassess his candidacy.

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was a distant sixth, and her campaign appeared in disarray. She told reporters she would carry on — less than an hour after her campaign manager raised doubts in an Associated Press interview about whether she would stay in the race.

Romney is heavily favored in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 10. South Carolina on Jan. 21 figures to be a tougher test, the first contest in the South and a state that is part of the Republican political base.

Already, the top two finishers in Iowa were staking out their turf.

Officials said Romney would receive an endorsement in the morning from Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who twice won the New Hampshire primary and was the GOP presidential nominee in 2008.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, joined by wife Karen, left, addresses supporters at his Iowa caucus victory party Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, in Johnston, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Santorum said that was to be expected, and jabbed at his rival. "John is a more moderate member of the Republican team, and I think he fits in with Mitt's view of the world," he said.

Returns from 1,772 of 1,774 precincts showed both Santorum and Romney with 24.5 percent and Paul with 21.5. Santorum had 29,944 votes, Romney had 29,926 and Paul 26,163.

Gingrich had 13 percent, followed by Perry at 10 percent and Bachmann with 5 percent.

No matter how close the final results in Iowa, there were no plans for a recount.

Doug Heye, a spokesman for the state party, said the ballots were counted under the supervision of campaign representatives who certified the totals. He said the numbers were double-checked when they were reported to state officials and there was no reason to check them again.

"On to New Hampshire," Gingrich said to the cheers of his supporters, vowing to carry on his campaign no matter the Iowa outcome.

The former speaker led in the pre-caucus polls as recently as a few weeks ago, only to fall under the weight of attack ads run by a super PAC run by allies of Romney.

Paul, too, said he was looking forward to the nation's first primary in a week's time, telling supporters his was one of two campaigns with the resources to do the distance. "There's going to be an election up in New Hampshire, and believe me this momentum is going to continue and this movement is going to continue and we are going to keep scoring," he told supporters.

The Texas lawmaker didn't say so, but the other campaign already built for a long campaign was Romney's. The former Massachusetts governor was closeted with aides and his family as he sweated out the caucus count in a state that humbled him four years ago.

This time, win or lose, he appeared destined to draw a smaller share of the vote than the 25.2 percent he did then.

Each of the three in the top tier strove to create a distinct identity and brought a different style to the race.

Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, ran the old-fashioned way, spending parts or all of 250 days campaigning in the state in hopes of emerging as the preferred conservative alternative to Romney.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, takes the stage with his wife Ann at his caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, brought organization and money to the table, and was aided by deep-pocketed allies who ran television commercials attacking former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and others. That allowed Romney to take the high road in person, running as a former businessman who knew how to create jobs and defeat Obama.

Paul, the Texas congressman, was something of a blend of the two approaches, with money and organization. He drew on the support of younger caucus-goers with a libertarian-leaning approach that included a call to legalize marijuana and bring home U.S. troops from overseas.

Whichever among the three eventually finished ahead, it appeared likely the winner's share of the vote would be a record low for GOP caucuses in the state. Former Sen. Bob Dole had 26.3 percent support in 1996, when he won.

This time, the economy and the federal budget deficit were top issues, judged more important than abortion or health care, according to a survey of early caucus-goers.

Nearly a third of those surveyed said they most wanted a candidate who could defeat Obama, and those favored Romney as a group. Paul and Santorum split the votes of the one in four who called the selection of a true conservative their top priority, and the former Pennsylvania senator also made a strong showing among those who said their top priority was a candidate with a strong moral character as well as among late deciders.

Paul had an edge among younger and first-time caucus goers.

The survey by Edison Media Research for The Associated Press and television networks was based on interviews with 1,737 people arriving at 40 precinct caucuses across the state.

Obama was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Even so, his re-election campaign set up eight offices across Iowa, made hundreds of thousands of calls to voters and arranged a video conference with caucus night supporters.

"This time out is going to be in some ways more important than the first time," the president told Democrats across the state. "Change is never easy."

The Iowa caucuses' outsized importance was underscored by the estimated $13 million in television advertising by the candidates and so-called super PACs as well as thousands of campaign stops designed to sway 100,000 or so voters.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and his wife, Carol attend his caucus night rally, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, in Ankeny, Iowa. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Ironically, the weak economy that has made Obama appear vulnerable nationally was muted as an issue here. Despite areas of economic distress, the farm economy is strong. Iowa's unemployment in November was 5.7 percent, sixth lowest in the country and well below the national reading of 8.6 percent.

Despite its importance as the lead-off state, Iowa has a decidedly uneven record when it comes to predicting national winners. It sent Obama on his way in 2008, but eventual Republican nominee John McCain finished a distant fourth here to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Even before Tuesday night's results were known, this year's Republican hopefuls were turning their attention to the next contests. Romney's campaign purchased time to run television ads in Florida, where balloting is three weeks distant, while Perry put down money in South Carolina.

Aides said the Gingrich campaign had purchased a full-page newspaper ad in New Hampshire for Wednesday morning calling Romney a "Timid Massachusetts Moderate."

Romney, who finished second in Iowa in 2008 despite a costly effort, initially campaigned cautiously this time around.

But he barnstormed extensively across the state in the race's final days in pursuit of a first-place finish, running as a conservative businessman with the skills to fix the economy and as the challenger with the best chance to defeat Obama.

Santorum, Gingrich, Perry and Bachmann argued that Romney wasn't nearly conservative enough on the economy and social issues such as abortion. They vied for months to emerge as the alternative to the former Massachusetts governor.

Paul's libertarian-leaning views set him apart, and he hoped that might be enough to claim victory in a six-way race where no one broke away from the pack.

Unlike in a primary, in which voting occurs over hours, the 809 Iowa caucuses were meetings in which Republicans gathered for an evening of politics. Each presidential candidate was entitled to have a supporter deliver a speech on his or her behalf before straw ballots were taken.

Under party rules, caucus results have no control over the allocation of Iowa's 25 delegates to the Republican National Convention. The Associated Press uses the caucus outcome to calculate the number each candidate would win if his support remained unchanged in the pre-convention months.

The race in Iowa came to be defined by its unpredictability as the months rolled by and nationally televised candidate debates piled up.

Bachmann gained early momentum on the strength of a victory in a summertime straw poll and a feisty debate performance.

But she quickly faltered when Perry joined the race and overshadowed her as the 10-year governor of Texas with deep-pocketed supporters and an unbroken record of electoral success at home.

Perry's rise lasted only as long as a couple of debates including one where he memorably was unable to recall the third of three federal agencies he wanted to abolish.

Next up was Herman Cain, a black former businessman who improbably shot to the top of the polls in a party that draws its support chiefly from white voters. He suspended his candidacy a few weeks later, after a woman said she and he had carried on a long-term extra-marital affair.

Gingrich rode the next surge in the polls, a remarkable comeback for a man whose campaign had imploded earlier in 2011 when most of his aides quit in frustration. But his rise lasted only until a super PAC that supports Romney began attacking him on television.

Democrats watched carefully in a state that has swung between the two parties in recent presidential elections.

It was Iowa that launched Obama on the way to the White House four years ago when he won a convincing victory in the caucuses.

David Espo reported from Washington

"Game on," declared Santorum, jaw set, after easily outdistancing several other contenders to emerge as Romney's unvarnished conservative rival for the primaries yet ahead.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, takes the stage with his wife Ann at his caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

By DAVID ESPO
and THOMAS BEAUMONT

DES MOINES, Iowa – Mitt Romney eked out a minuscule 8-vote victory over Rick Santorum in Iowa's Republican presidential caucuses, the state party chairman said early Wednesday, ringing down the curtain on an improbable first act in the campaign to pick a challenger to President Barack Obama in the fall.

Appearing hours after the caucuses had ended, Matt Strawn said Romney had 30,015 votes, to 30,007 for Santorum, whose late surge carried him to a near win.

"Game on," declared Santorum, jaw set, after easily outdistancing several other contenders to emerge as Romney's unvarnished conservative rival for the primaries yet ahead.

Romney looked past his GOP rivals and took aim at Obama. "The gap between his promises four years ago and his performance is as great as anything I've ever seen in my life," he told supporters in Iowa's capital city.

The narrow margin, out of more than 122,000 straw poll ballots cast, was a fitting conclusion to a race as jumbled as any since Iowa gained the lead-off position in presidential campaigns four decades ago.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul ran third and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was fourth. Both men vowed to carry the fight to New Hampshire's primary next week and beyond.

Not so Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who came in fifth and told supporters he would return home to reassess his candidacy.

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was a distant sixth, and her campaign appeared in disarray. She told reporters she would carry on — less than an hour after her campaign manager raised doubts in an Associated Press interview about whether she would stay in the race.

Romney is heavily favored in New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 10. South Carolina on Jan. 21 figures to be a tougher test, the first contest in the South and a state that is part of the Republican political base.

Already, the top two finishers in Iowa were staking out their turf.

Officials said Romney would receive an endorsement in the morning from Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who twice won the New Hampshire primary and was the GOP presidential nominee in 2008.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, joined by wife Karen, left, addresses supporters at his Iowa caucus victory party Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, in Johnston, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Santorum said that was to be expected, and jabbed at his rival. "John is a more moderate member of the Republican team, and I think he fits in with Mitt's view of the world," he said.

Returns from all 1,774 precincts showed both Romney with 24.55 percent support and Santorum with 24.54 percent. Paul drew 21.5 percent of the votes. Romney had 30,015 votes, Santorum 30,007 and Paul 26,219.

Gingrich had 13 percent, followed by Perry at 10 percent and Bachmann with 5 percent.

The results are non-binding when it comes to picking delegates to the GOP convention next summer in Tampa. But an Associated Press analysis showed Romney would win 13 and Santorum 12, if there were no changes in their support as the campaign wears on.

No matter how close the final results in Iowa, there were no plans for a recount.

Doug Heye, a spokesman for the state party, said the ballots were counted under the supervision of campaign representatives who certified the totals. He said the numbers were double-checked when they were reported to state officials and there was no reason to check them again.

"On to New Hampshire," Gingrich said to the cheers of his supporters, vowing to carry on his campaign no matter the Iowa outcome.

The former speaker led in the pre-caucus polls as recently as a few weeks ago, only to fall under the weight of attack ads run by a super PAC run by allies of Romney.

Paul, too, said he was looking forward to the nation's first primary in a week's time, telling supporters his was one of two campaigns with the resources to do the distance. "There's going to be an election up in New Hampshire, and believe me this momentum is going to continue and this movement is going to continue and we are going to keep scoring," he told supporters.

The Texas lawmaker didn't say so, but the other campaign already built for a long campaign was Romney's. The former Massachusetts governor was closeted with aides and his family as he sweated out the caucus count in a state that humbled him four years ago.

This time, win or lose, he appeared destined to draw a smaller share of the vote than the 25.2 percent he did then.

Each of the three in the top tier strove to create a distinct identity and brought a different style to the race.

Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator, ran the old-fashioned way, spending parts or all of 250 days campaigning in the state in hopes of emerging as the preferred conservative alternative to Romney.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses supports with his wife Ann and their sons Matt, Josh, Craig and Tagg behind him during a Romney for President Iowa Caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, brought organization and money to the table, and was aided by deep-pocketed allies who ran television commercials attacking former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and others. That allowed Romney to take the high road in person, running as a former businessman who knew how to create jobs and defeat Obama.

Paul, the Texas congressman, was something of a blend of the two approaches, with money and organization. He drew on the support of younger caucus-goers with a libertarian-leaning approach that included a call to legalize marijuana and bring home U.S. troops from overseas.

Whichever among the three eventually finished ahead, it appeared likely the winner's share of the vote would be a record low for GOP caucuses in the state. Former Sen. Bob Dole had 26.3 percent support in 1996, when he won.

This time, the economy and the federal budget deficit were top issues, judged more important than abortion or health care, according to a survey of early caucus-goers.

Nearly a third of those surveyed said they most wanted a candidate who could defeat Obama, and those favored Romney as a group. Paul and Santorum split the votes of the one in four who called the selection of a true conservative their top priority, and the former Pennsylvania senator also made a strong showing among those who said their top priority was a candidate with a strong moral character as well as among late deciders.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, and his wife, Carol attend his caucus night rally, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, in Ankeny, Iowa. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Paul had an edge among younger and first-time caucus goers.

The survey by Edison Media Research for The Associated Press and television networks was based on interviews with 1,737 people arriving at 40 precinct caucuses across the state.

Obama was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Even so, his re-election campaign set up eight offices across Iowa, made hundreds of thousands of calls to voters and arranged a video conference with caucus night supporters.

"This time out is going to be in some ways more important than the first time," the president told Democrats across the state. "Change is never easy."

The Iowa caucuses' outsized importance was underscored by the estimated $13 million in television advertising by the candidates and so-called super PACs as well as thousands of campaign stops designed to sway 100,000 or so voters.

Ironically, the weak economy that has made Obama appear vulnerable nationally was muted as an issue here. Despite areas of economic distress, the farm economy is strong. Iowa's unemployment in November was 5.7 percent, sixth lowest in the country and well below the national reading of 8.6 percent.

Despite its importance as the lead-off state, Iowa has a decidedly uneven record when it comes to predicting national winners. It sent Obama on his way in 2008, but eventual Republican nominee John McCain finished a distant fourth here to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Even before Tuesday night's results were known, this year's Republican hopefuls were turning their attention to the next contests. Romney's campaign purchased time to run television ads in Florida, where balloting is three weeks distant, while Perry put down money in South Carolina.

Aides said the Gingrich campaign had purchased a full-page newspaper ad in New Hampshire for Wednesday morning calling Romney a "Timid Massachusetts Moderate."

Romney, who finished second in Iowa in 2008 despite a costly effort, initially campaigned cautiously this time around.

But he barnstormed extensively across the state in the race's final days in pursuit of a first-place finish, running as a conservative businessman with the skills to fix the economy and as the challenger with the best chance to defeat Obama.

Santorum, Gingrich, Perry and Bachmann argued that Romney wasn't nearly conservative enough on the economy and social issues such as abortion. They vied for months to emerge as the alternative to the former Massachusetts governor.

Paul's libertarian-leaning views set him apart, and he hoped that might be enough to claim victory in a six-way race where no one broke away from the pack.

Unlike in a primary, in which voting occurs over hours, the 809 Iowa caucuses were meetings in which Republicans gathered for an evening of politics. Each presidential candidate was entitled to have a supporter deliver a speech on his or her behalf before straw ballots were taken.

Under party rules, caucus results have no control over the allocation of Iowa's 25 delegates to the Republican National Convention. The Associated Press uses the caucus outcome to calculate the number each candidate would win if his support remained unchanged in the pre-convention months.

The race in Iowa came to be defined by its unpredictability as the months rolled by and nationally televised candidate debates piled up.

Bachmann gained early momentum on the strength of a victory in a summertime straw poll and a feisty debate performance.

But she quickly faltered when Perry joined the race and overshadowed her as the 10-year governor of Texas with deep-pocketed supporters and an unbroken record of electoral success at home.

Perry's rise lasted only as long as a couple of debates including one where he memorably was unable to recall the third of three federal agencies he wanted to abolish.

Next up was Herman Cain, a black former businessman who improbably shot to the top of the polls in a party that draws its support chiefly from white voters. He suspended his candidacy a few weeks later, after a woman said she and he had carried on a long-term extra-marital affair.

Gingrich rode the next surge in the polls, a remarkable comeback for a man whose campaign had imploded earlier in 2011 when most of his aides quit in frustration. But his rise lasted only until a super PAC that supports Romney began attacking him on television.

Democrats watched carefully in a state that has swung between the two parties in recent presidential elections.

It was Iowa that launched Obama on the way to the White House four years ago when he won a convincing victory in the caucuses.

David Espo reported from Washington.

The endorsement is a signal by the GOP's one-time standard-bearer that Republicans should start falling in line behind the former Massachusetts governor.

File photo | Associated PressSen. John McCain, R-Ariz., right, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speak to reporters aboard a plane after takeoff from Salt Lake City, Utah, in this 2008 file photo.

By KASIE HUNT

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Republican official says that 2008 GOP nominee John McCain is endorsing Mitt Romney for the party's 2012 nomination.

The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the endorsement and requested anonymity to discuss it.

The official says McCain's endorsement is scheduled to be announced Wednesday.

The endorsement is a signal by the GOP's one-time standard-bearer that Republicans should start falling in line behind the former Massachusetts governor.

Cynthia Small was indicted on three counts of larceny of property valued at more than $250.

BARNSTABLE — A Cape Cod woman sued in October for allegedly stealing from a Harwich-based charity she worked for is now facing criminal charges.

Cynthia Small was indicted Tuesday by a Barnstable grand jury on three counts of larceny of property valued at more than $250.

Authorities allege the 48-year-old Small embezzled about $65,000 from the Harwich Ecumenical Council for the Homeless Inc. The nonprofit provides low-cost housing and child care and manages about 60 rentals in Harwich, Dennis and Yarmouth.

The Cape Cod Times reports that the organization sued Small last year, claiming she used the money she embezzled to pay the rents of her two adult children.

As the Muslim Brotherhood looks to gain majority representation in Egypt, the United States stance towards the group changes its tone.

• $80k robot sanitizes rooms at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton[CNN Money]


• U.S. relationship with Muslim Brotherhood shifting in Egypt [New York Times]


• Republican official: McCain to back Romney, announcement Wednesday [Boston.com]


• Despite church closing, Catholic school maintains [Berkshire Eagle]


• Firefighters back tighter sprinkler code; cite safety, advanced technology [Daily Hampshire Gazette]


• MBTA riders could face fare hike as high as 43 percent [Telegram & Gazette]


• Release of social security numbers of Conn. state employees involved in food stamp fraud case causing stir [Hartford Courant]



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The victim has completed a series of rabies shots.

MONTAGUE, Mass. (AP) — Health officials say a fox that bit a Montague man last month has tested positive for rabies.

Director of Public Health Gina McNeely says the fox was found dead about a week and a half after the Dec. 15 attack.

The 70-year-old man bitten, David Svoboda of the Turners Falls section of town, tells The Recorder of Greenfield he has completed a series of rabies shots.

McNeely is asking any other local residents who may have come in contact with the fox to seek medical attention, and to bring their pets to a vet.

The state announced last week that a Cape Cod man bitten by a bat is the first person to contract rabies in state in 75 years.

The struggling Internet company has been without a permanent CEO since early September.

Associated PressIn this Nov.15, 2010 file photo, PayPal president Scott Thompson fields a question at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.

NEW YORK — Yahoo Inc. has named Scott Thompson, president of eBay Inc.'s PayPal division, as its new CEO, the fourth one in less than five years for the struggling Internet company.

Yahoo, which announced its choice Wednesday, has been without a permanent CEO since early September. It fired Carol Bartz after losing patience with her attempts to turn around the company during her 2 ½ years on the job. Tim Morse, Yahoo's chief financial officer, has been interim CEO since Bartz's ouster.

Thompson has served as president of PayPal, eBay's online payment service, since January 2008. He previously served as PayPal's senior vice president and chief technology officer.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo said Thompson's new job starts on Jan. 9. Morse will return to his CFO post.

Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock said Thompson's track record of building on existing resources "to reignite innovation and drive growth" is "precisely the formula we need at Yahoo."

It will be a big task. Yahoo has been losing ground in the fast-growing Internet advertising market to Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. for years. Mainly for this reason, its stock price has not topped $20 for the past three years.

Yahoo's board has been reviewing a possible sale of all or part of the company since Bartz's ouster last fall. There are several potential suitors, including China's Alibaba Group, which may join up with private equity firms in a joint bid.

Bartz, too, was hired to help turn Yahoo around but she had no experience in Internet advertising — Yahoo's main revenue source. This immediately raised doubts about her qualifications.

Yahoo shares fell 30 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $15.98 in morning trading. Shares of eBay, meanwhile, dropped $1.14, or 3.6 percent, to $30.20.

Police say they will summon the 15-year-old boy to court for hitting his younger sister.

SALEM — A Salem woman fed up with her bickering children called police and asked responding officers to arrest two of them.

The woman told police when they came to her home on Monday evening: "Arrest them both — I can't take this anymore."

The woman said her five children had been fighting all day but things came to a head when her 15-year-old son hit her 8-year-old daughter, and a 16-year-old daughter intervened to protect her sister.

The Salem News reports that when police asked what they could do, the mother said she wanted the teenagers arrested.

Instead, police say they will summon the 15-year-old boy to court for hitting his younger sister. Police also notified state child welfare authorities.

No names were released.

The plan to have Ingham County deputies patrol parts of Lansing won't impact police service for county residents.

Police arrested the suspects following 2 separate vehicle stops Tuesday afternoon

Republican file photo

HOLYOKE – Narcotics detectives arrested four suspects on heroin charges Tuesday afternoon - two from Vermont and the others from West Springfield and East Longmeadow - after a pair of motor vehicle stops near one of the city’s Interstate 91 interchanges.

The first vehicle stop, conducted shortly after 4:40 p.m. near the Route 141 interchange, yielded the arrests of Michelle Ritucci, 19, of 48 Althea St., West Springfield and Michael Kaplan, 29, of 26 Maynard St., East Longmeadow, police documents state.

Both were charged with possession of heroin and conspiracy to violate drug law.

The second vehicle stop, conducted about 7 minutes later in the same area as the suspects were preparing to head north on Interstate 91, yielded the arrests of Andrew L. Eames, 25, of 125 Pine St., Brattleboro, Vt.; and Joseph McAllister, 24, of 2641 Ames Hill Road, Marlboro, Vt., documents state.

Both were charged with possession of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to distribute and conspiracy to violate drug law.

Chief James Neiswanger, asked if the two stops were related, declined to comment.

Such arrests, however, are not unusual, he said. “Unfortunately heroin is cheap in the city, often times people will come here to buy, (dilute or cut it) and sell it to support their own habits.”

With a director in place, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be able to start overseeing the mortgage companies, payday lenders, debt collectors and other financial companies often blamed for practices that helped tank the economy.

Associated PressIn this July 18, 2011 file photo, President Barack Obama and presidential nominee to serve as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray are seen in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a defiant display of executive power, President Barack Obama on Wednesday will buck GOP opposition and name Richard Cordray as the nation's chief consumer watchdog even though the Senate contends the move is inappropriate, senior administration officials told The Associated Press

With a director in place, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will be able to start overseeing the mortgage companies, payday lenders, debt collectors and other financial companies often blamed for practices that helped tank the economy.

Obama's decision to make a recess appointment is certain to cause an uproar from Capitol Hill to Wall Street. He is essentially declaring the Senate's short off-and-on legislative sessions a sham intended to block his appointments.

The White House is expecting considerable criticism and perhaps a court challenge, but says Obama was left with little choice to get the consumer agency fully running after months of stalemate.

Acting right after Tuesday's GOP presidential caucuses in Iowa, Obama is seeking to grab attention and show voters that he will advocate for the middle class no matter what the opposition. It is his most bare-knuckle initiative so far in his campaign of taking action without waiting for Congress.

Obama planned to announce his decision later Wednesday during an economic event in Cordray's home state of Ohio, with Cordray along with him.

Cordray would take over the job later in the week and stand to serve for at least the next two years, covering the length of the Senate's session.

Administration officials spoke to the AP about the news on condition of anonymity because Obama had not announced the appointment.

Republicans in the Senate have blocked Cordray. Obama planned to say that every day Cordray waited for confirmation, millions of Americans remained unprotected from dishonest financial practices, according to prepared remarks obtained by the AP.

"That's inexcusable," Obama says in the remarks. "And I refuse to take 'No' for an answer. I've said before that I will continue to look for every opportunity to work with Congress to move this country forward. But when Congress refuses to act in a way that hurts our economy and puts people at risk, I have an obligation as president to do what I can without them."

More than a standoff over one significant appointment, the fight speaks to the heart of presidential campaign under way. Presiding over a troubled but improving economy, Obama's must persuade a weary middle class that he is their champion, all while fending off fire from Republicans challengers and lawmakers.

To get Cordray into the job, Obama is essentially dictating to Senate what constitutes a legitimate legislative session.

Obama has constitutional power to make appointments during a congressional recess.

Expressly to keep that from happening, Republicans in the Senate have had the Senate running in "pro forma" sessions, meaning open for business in name with no actual business planned. Democrats started the practice when George W. Bush was president to halt him from making recess appointments.

The Senate held such a session on Tuesday and planned another one on Friday. Republicans contend Obama cannot make a recess appointment during a break of less than three days, based on years of practice.

Yet the Obama White House has determined that such an approach is a gimmick.

For all practical purposes, the Senate is in recess and Obama is free to make the appointment on his own, administration officials told the AP.

Since the practice of pro forma sessions began in earnest in 2007, never has a president made a recess appointment during such a session, officials said.

Wary that Obama might do so, Republican congressional aides began warning Tuesday that the president would be undermining the nation's systems of checks and balances and overturning precedent — not to mention deepening his troubles with Republicans in a town defined by gridlock.

The president also was expected to announce other recess appointments on Wednesday.

Until now, he has made 28. Bush made more than 170 during his presidency. Bill Clinton made almost 140.

Republicans have had little opposition if any to the qualifications of Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general. Their objection is with the consumer agency itself, which they claim has too much power and too little transparency and accountability.

Obama and his team say lawmakers should try to revise the Wall Street oversight law if they don't like it, not keep the agency from performing its job.

The White House attempted to rally public support for Cordray and push senators to support his nomination, but the effort failed. In December, Republicans kept Cordray's nomination from coming to a vote. Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown was the only Republican who voted in favor of halting the delay tactic.

Before his remarks at a high school in a Democratic suburb of Cleveland, Obama planned to meet with a family who got taken advantage of by a mortgage broker. He wants to use their story as an example of how the consumer agency can crack down on such practices.

Obama was traveling to the most Democratic congressional district in Ohio, a Cleveland suburb, a day after Mitt Romney won Iowa's Republican presidential caucuses by just eight votes. Obama's trip signals the White House's intent to keep the president in the public eye even as the political world focuses on the GOP's selection process.

The White House's choice of Ohio for Obama's first presidential trip of 2012 underscores the state's high-profile role in presidential politics. It is a swing state that went for George W. Bush in 2004 and for Obama in 2008.

U.S. Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren said Wednesday that she supports President Obama's decision to override the Senate Republicans and approve Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In this Dec. 1, 2011 file photo, Rich Cordray, assistant director of Enforcement for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is seen in Washington. Senior administration officials tell The Associated Press that President Barack Obama will use a recess appointment to name Cordray on Wednesday as the nation's chief consumer watchdog despite steep Republican opposition. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

BOSTON -- U.S. Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren said Wednesday that she supports President Obama's decision to override the Senate Republicans and approve Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The following is a statement from Warren, who previously held the role of special advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

"President Obama's decision to overrule the big banks and the Senate Republicans who are protecting them gives consumers a strong ally and advocate in Washington. The President has made an exceptional choice in Richard Cordray as head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

"Republicans never had any substantive objections to Mr. Cordray, the very qualified former Attorney General of Ohio. Instead, Senate Republicans blocked a confirmation vote for anyone to head up the consumer agency. Instead of implementing the law as written, Senate Republicans tried repeatedly to undermine the agency’s effectiveness and to frustrate efforts to hold the big banks accountable for bringing our economy to its knees.

"The President made every effort to present a candidate for a Senate vote, but he was right not to let Senate Republicans block full implementation of the consumer agency. Senate Republicans will surely complain about the recess appointment, but their refusal to allow an up or down vote on Cordray's nomination is just another example of the political games in Washington that must end.

"It's time the big banks and their allies acknowledge the urgent need for change. It is time to work with Richard Cordray as he promotes basic, common sense rules to level the playing field for consumers.

When Republicans blocked Cordray's appointment to the position in early December, Sen. Scott Brown broke ranks with his colleagues and voted with the Democrats.

"I disagree with Republicans on this issue," Brown said in a statement at the time. "Mr. Cordray deserves an up or down vote, and I look forward to supporting his nomination. Having a leader at the helm is critical at a time when the agency is getting up and running. The unfortunate truth is that there are still bad actors in the financial system who will take advantage of vulnerable people in our society.”

Although Brown has not commented following Obama's appointment of Cordray while the Senate is in recess, based on his previous comments, it seems he and Warren are in agreement about the new head to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner spoke out against the move by Obama on Wednesday in an interview with the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Boehner said Cordray's recess appointment was "an extraordinary and entirely unprecedented power grab by President Obama that defies centuries of practice and the legal advice of his own Justice Department."

The Senate and the White House are now debating if the congressional body was technically in recess and the appointment will likely face a court challenge by Republicans.

Bachmann said Wednesday she has "decided to stand aside".

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., left, accompanied by her mother Jean LaFave, speaks at the Black Hawk County Republican caucuses site at the UNI-Dome Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, in Cedar Falls, Iowa. (AP Photo/Waterloo Courier, Brandon Pollock)

KASIE HUNT and STEVE PEOPLES, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Michele Bachmann has ended her presidential campaign — leaving her supporters up for grabs as Rick Santorum tries to become the conservative heavyweight in the Republican race.

Santorum's near-tie with Iowa caucus winner Mitt Romney topped a rise from deep in the polls to contender for the presidential nomination.

Bachmann said Wednesday she has "decided to stand aside" but would continue fighting to overturn what she called President Barack Obama's "socialist policies."

Like Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry took a blow in the caucuses — finishing fifth. He flew home to decide whether to stay in the race. It appears the answer is "yes." He tweeted Wednesday that he was bound for South Carolina.

Meanwhile, Romney jetted to New Hampshire to continue campaigning.

Police are seeking the public's help with the investigation of what they believe was a hit-and-run.

The Republican/Lori StabileThe body of Cory Cane was found on the side of Route 19 in front of this home.

WALES – The Hampden County District Attorney's office has identified the man who was found by the side of Route 19 early Tuesday morning as Cory Cane, 23, of Worcester.

The investigation is being conducted by state police, local police and investigators from the district attorney's office. Investigators believe Cane was struck by a car, and are seeking the public's help regarding the incident.

Cane was found in front of 138 Stafford Road (Route 19) by a driver passing by just before 5 a.m. on Tuesday. He was brought by Brimfield Ambulance to Harrington Hospital in Southbridge, where he was pronounced dead.

State police said they are trying to identify the type of vehicle that was involved in the hit-and-run, which is believed to have happened between 1:30 a.m. and 4:48 a.m.

State police attached to the Sturbridge barracks and Wales police are investigating. Anyone with information can call Wales Lt. Jay Hastings at (413) 245-7222 or the Sturbridge barracks at (508) 347-3352. Anonymous tips can be texted to 274637. Type “solve” as the first word in the text and then the message.

A portion of Route 19, from Ainsworth Hill Road to the Connecticut state line, was closed for approximately six hours Tuesday morning as police investigated. Blood could be seen on the ground on the road in front of the home at 138 Stafford Road.

A man who lives at that residence declined to be identified, but said the victim had head injuries.

Whitehead has been chief for three years and at UMass for five years.

File photo by The RepublicanUMass police chief Johnny Whitehead seen in UMass police headquarters in an April, 2011 file photo.

AMHERST – After three years as chief and five with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst police department, Johnny C. Whitehead will be leaving the department to become chief at Rice University in Houston.

According to Rice's website, Whitehead will be starting March 1.

“It is with mixed emotions,” Whitehead said about leaving UMass. “I definitely have some good relationships with my team.”

But he said, ”I think it’s a great opportunity down there at Rice. Just their reputation alone. It’s a prestigious, private institution.”

The Houston University has about 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
Whitehead, 55, said the smaller campus “will give me the opportunity to do the kind of policing I like to do, engaging with the campus community.”

He said he’s enjoyed that at UMass and talked about the range of programs that have been instituted at the campus to engage in students.

He said he was not looking for a new job. “I’m really pleased with my experience at UMass,” he said. He got a call about the position. “I was intrigued. The more I learned about Rice and the police department and things I really found that attractive. Houston seems like a great town as well.”

Whitehead is originally from Baltimore and was pleased with returning to a city. Whitehead earns $131,316 at UMass. He deferred to Rice for his new salary but said it was more.

“I think the town has a lot of respect for Chief Whitehead’s work,” said Town Manager John P. Musante, “and the UMass Police Department as a whole. He’s provided steady leadership. ”

“Chief Whitehead has done an outstanding job for UMass. He’s worked very effectively and collaboratively with people on and off campus and has really made a very valuable contribution to the university. We wish him well and success in his new endeavor,” said UMass spokesman Edward F. Blaguszewski.

Whitehead became interim chief three years ago when long-time chief Barbara R. O'Connor, was named director of public safety at the University of Illinois. O’Connor recently was named director of public safety/chief of police at the University of Connecticut.

“Johnny Whitehead’s more than 30 years of law enforcement experience in a wide variety of settings will benefit Rice in many ways,” said Kevin Kirby, vice president for administration on the Rice website.

“During his tenure at UMass, the officers became more engaged with the university’s students, faculty and staff, and the police department’s outreach strategies became more student-focused. He is well-qualified to build on the progress that RUPD has made, and his approachable, friendly and collaborative style should fit in well at Rice.”

James Sheehan, vice chancellor for administration and finance, is expected to name an interim chief soon.

After winning 10 percent of the vote in Iowa on Tuesday, Perry said he would reassess his White House bid.

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a campaign stop at the Fainting Goat in Waverly, Iowa, Friday, Dec. 30, 2011. Republican presidential candidates are largely shifting from persuading voters to mobilizing them for Tuesday's caucuses.

AUSTIN, Texas — A determined Rick Perry said Wednesday he will not abandon his presidential campaign despite a fifth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses.

"And the next leg of the marathon is the Palmetto State. ... Here we come South Carolina!!!," the Texas governor wrote on his Twitter account.

Perry, an avid runner, attached a photo of himself jogging near a lake, wearing a Texas A&M running shorts and showing a thumbs-up.

Phone messages left with his campaign were not immediately returned Wednesday.

After winning 10 percent of the vote in Iowa on Tuesday, Perry said he would return to Texas "to determine whether there is a path forward" for his White House bid.

After entering the race in August to great fanfare, he nosedived, plagued by missteps most notably in debates. He had planned to make South Carolina his final stand, but put events in that state on hold Wednesday while he headed back to the Texas capital.

Perry's national political director told campaign workers early Wednesday that the governor was reviewing his organizational and financial resources, and assessing the political landscape in South Carolina and beyond. South Carolina's primary is Jan. 21. The next contest in the race for the GOP nomination is Jan. 10 in New Hampshire.

The photo of Perry after what appears to have been a jog in cold weather was decidedly defiant compared to the emotional speech he gave in Iowa. In his remarks, Perry told supporters that he appreciated their work but needed to consider whether there was a viable strategy for him to restart his campaign in South Carolina.

"With the voters' decision tonight in Iowa, I decided to return to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus, determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race," Perry said, his family standing behind him.

Before Perry spoke, his advisers tried to paint the first contest in the South as the real start to his strategy and braced for a lackluster performance in the Iowa caucuses, which typically winnows the field of presidential hopefuls.

Richard Shenkman, 62, abducted his ex-wife, Nancy Tyler, from downtown Hartford in 2009 and forced her at gunpoint to drive to the home in South Windsor.

Associated Press file photoRichard Shenkman during his trial in Hartford Superior Court in Hartford, Conn., Oct. 5, 2011.

HARTFORD, Conn. — A former advertising executive was sentenced Wednesday to 70 years in prison for kidnapping his ex-wife, holding her hostage for nearly a dozen hours and burning down the Connecticut home they once shared.

Richard Shenkman was convicted in October of 10 charges including kidnapping, arson, assault and threatening. He faced a potential of nearly 80 years in prison.

Shenkman, 62, abducted his ex-wife, Nancy Tyler, from downtown Hartford in 2009 and forced her at gunpoint to drive to the home in South Windsor. The two were in the middle of divorce-related court hearings.

Tyler testified that Shenkman threatened to kill her, fired a gun near her head and threatened to blow up the house. She escaped unharmed. He was arrested after running out of the burning house.

During Wednesday's sentencing hearing, Shenkman told Judge Julia Dewey that he has hired an assassin to kill Tyler. The judge had rejected a motion by Shenkman's attorney to delay sentencing for further psychological evaluation of his client.

"Nancy's assassin is experienced and he has killed in the past," Shenkman said. "Ending Nancy's life when I am in prison makes my sentence worthwhile."

Defense attorney Hugh Keefe said Shenkman's remarks show his client is mentally ill. He had said Shenkman is a danger to himself and others and has gotten worse since his conviction. Keefe said he will appeal the judge's decision.

Tyler had urged the judge to impose the maximum prison sentence, saying Shenkman has terrorized her, her family and her friends. She begged the judge to "give us some peace."

"Mr. Shenkman's campaign of destruction has been devastating," Tyler said. She said he continues to threaten her from jail.

Prosecutor Vicki Melchiorre said Shenkman told prison guards that Tyler wouldn't make it to sentencing and he would be on death row for murder for hire.

"He will never stop trying to destroy her," Melchiorre said in asking for the maximum prison sentence.

Shenkman is the brother of Mark Shenkman, founder and president of one of the nation's largest money management firms, Shenkman Capital Management. Richard Shenkman's former advertising firm, Primedia, produced the "Gayle King Show" in 1997, starring Oprah Winfrey's best friend.

Shenkman had mounted an insanity defense during his trial, but Tyler testified that her ex-husband often acted "crazy" to get his way.

Defense lawyer Thomas Lesser said Cafeno's was a legal business and state action was inappropriate.

The Republican | Mark M. MurraySteven Sheldon, left, and Stephen Megliola, co-owners of the Cafeno's Internet Cafe, appear in Hampden Country Superior Court for their arraignments on gambling charges Wednesday morning.

SPRINGFIELD – A Westfield man and his business partner on Wednesday in Hampden Superior Court denied charges of running an illegal gambling operation at a now-closed Internet cafe in Chicopee.

Steven Sheldon, 48, of Westfield, owner of the cafe, and his business partner, Steven Megliola, 52, of Longmeadow, were indicted in November on charges of organizing or promoting gambling services and operating an illegal lottery.

Their business – Cafeno's Cyber Cafe at 76 Main St. – closed in March after it was raided by state police.

Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder accepted the agreed recommendation from prosecution and defense the men be free on their own recognizance with no conditions.

Sheldon was also indicted for allowing lotteries in a building and the sale and advertising of lottery tickets.

Their corporation, Cafeno's Inc., faces the same charges as Sheldon in the case brought by state Attorney General Martha M. Coakley's office.

Assistant Attorney General Lee Hettinger, chief of Coakley's Western Massachusetts office, said there are thousands of pages of discovery, or information, in the case and he has turned 4,000 pages over to defense lawyers with more to come.

All lawyers asked that the case be put on a slower court schedule than such a case would normally fall under and Kinder agreed, saying, "I understand this is an unusual case."

The next court date is a pre-trial hearing on May 18.

Thomas Lesser is representing Sheldon and Cafeno's Inc., and William Lyons represents Megliola.

Lesser, outside the courtroom after the arraignment, said, "In our opinion Cafeno's was a legal Internet cafe, it is protected by Massachusetts law with regard to Internet cafes, with regard to sweepstakes events. There are any number of cafes which are still operating throughout the commonwealth at this point in time, and we're going to litigate this strenuously. We expect to be found not guilty at the end of the day."

He said there were only two search warrants executed by the attorney general throughout the state that day, Cafeno's and one in Fall River, even though there are many Internet cafes operating then and operating today. "In fact, the attorney general had given an opinion prior to this event (the raid) stating that such cafes appear to be legal," he said.

The Republican file photo | Dave RobackPatrons look in the windows of Cafeno's Cyber Cafe at 76 Main St., Chicopee, soon after it was closed by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office.

"They were operating in the open, everybody knew that they were operating, the state police were advised that they were operating, at no point during all the months of operation did anyone suggest anything illegal was being done here," Lesser said. "They never received a notice from the attorney general saying, 'Wait a second, stop doing what you're doing, it's illegal.' "

Lesser said, "The first notice they had was when state troopers came, seized all the computers, seized all the records, seized everything in the establishment. That was inappropriate in our opinion. If the attorney general thought something illegal was being done they should have been called in to discuss it."

At the time of the indictments, Coakley said, "This cyber cafe was nothing more than an illegal, unregulated slot parlor with no protections for consumers. We allege that these defendants operated a gambling facility in direct violation of existing Massachusetts law."

Under state law, it is illegal to run or promote a gambling operation, the attorney general said. The current gambling law in this case points to the existence of an illegal "lottery," according to the attorney general.

The definition of a lottery includes a payment to play, a prize, and some element of chance, she said.

Coakley's office closed down Cafeno's on March 31 and confiscated some video games as part of an investigation of possible gaming violations, officials said.

Coakley said that customers at Cafeno's paid only for the right to gamble online and not, as the operators claim, to use the Internet and play a free sweepstakes.

Investigators allege that "no purchase required" opportunities were trivial and insignificant, and gambling was the only clear purpose at Cafeno's, Coakley said.

Legislation to ban Internet slot cafes is languishing on Beacon Hill, allowing several of the businesses to continue to run in Western Massachusetts amid legal questions about their operations. With fanfare and support from the attorney general, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo in mid-July filed the bill to shut down the cyber cafes.

Since then, despite the powerful backing, the bill inched ahead through the legislative process. The state Legislature voted on Oct. 27 to send the proposal to the Judiciary Committee. The bill probably will not receive a public hearing until early this year, Alexis Tkachuk, chief of staff for the committee, said in November.

In November, Coakley's office said it has "active and ongoing" investigations into cafes across the state. "We are doing this one by one. Each one is a question of fact," Coakley said.

The state's top elections official has given the green light to four proposed questions for the November ballot in Massachusetts.

Photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanSpringfield Mayor Domenic J.Sarno, left, and Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin look at a map that shows where new trees.will be located in Court Square. They were at Court Square to announce the establishment of a mature tree replacement program in the wake of the June 1 tornadoes.

BOSTON (AP) — The state's top elections official has given the green light to four proposed questions for the November ballot in Massachusetts.

Secretary of State William Galvin announced Wednesday that he has informed the House Clerk all four initiative petitions have more than the 68,911 certified signatures of registered voters needed to proceed.

One measure would allow terminally ill people to self-administer life-ending drugs. Another would allow for medical use of marijuana.

The other initiatives would require automakers to share diagnostic information with independent repair shops and create a new teacher evaluation system.

The next step is up to the Legislature, which has until May 2 to vote on the petitions. Backers of proposals not approved by lawmakers must then gather about 11,000 additional signatures to put the measures on the ballot.