Author Archives: atomtabloid

A New Jersey civil rights organization is condemning the removal of a sign supporting Palestinian civilians from a high school classroom, alleging that school administrators took it down under pressure from U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s office. The sign, which read “Gaza Must Live,” hung on the wall of a social studies classroom within the BergenContinue reading “Gottheimer condemned for attack on student artist’s freedom of speech”

Global oil prices spiked more than $2 a barrel Monday as Houthi militants backed by Iran shuttered Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport, the latest chaotic front in President Donald Trump’s unprovoked and illegal war against Iran — a conflict now threatening to expand three weeks before Republicans face voters in what increasingly looks likeContinue reading “Oil surges as Trump’s Iran war spirals, GOP braces for midterm bloodbath”

Top Republican super PACs aligned with President Donald Trump and congressional Republican leadership are cutting off financial support for Rep. Thomas H. Kean Jr. of New Jersey and one other GOP House member seeking reelection. This marks the first time in this cycle that national Republican groups have pulled support from incumbents, as the partyContinue reading “GOP super PACs cut off support for Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in New Jersey’s 7th District”

The Trump administration has proposed sweeping changes to the 2030 Decennial Census that civil rights organizations and public health advocates warn would exclude millions of people from the count used to allocate congressional seats and federal resources, while stripping demographic data critical to tracking health disparities. The Census Bureau published the proposed rule in September,Continue reading “Republicans would gut public health data and exclude millions in 2030 Census overhaul”

President Donald Trump’s reported White House meeting with a convicted former Colorado election official has intensified concerns about federal interference in the Nov. 3 midterm elections after her attorney described a proposal for the president to seize ballots nationwide, conduct hand recounts and potentially retain power under martial law if political turmoil erupts. Tina Peters,Continue reading “Did Trump enlist convicted election official for plan to seize midterm ballots?”

The struggle of local governments to spend their National Opioid Settlement Funds effectively is a growing point of contention across New Jersey and the United States. The city of Elizabeth has accumulated more than $1.6 million in opioid settlement funds but left more than 90% of the money unspent, raising questions about the urgency ofContinue reading “Elizabeth leaves 90% of opioid settlement money unspent as addiction crisis demands action”

By James J. Devine There is an extraordinary before-and-after photograph buried in New Jersey’s statute books. In 2024, Trenton was offering artificial intelligence companies and large-scale AI data centers access to as much as $500 million in state tax credits. Two years later, New Jersey was passing laws intended to keep those same enormous facilitiesContinue reading “New Jersey gave data centers $500 million, then pretended to protect residents from them”

By Erik Uebelacker | Courthouse News Service (CN) — Despite several court orders barring the Trump administration from making Federal Emergency Management Agency funding conditional on immigration enforcement, a coalition of states say the government is continuing to do just that. As a result, the states claim they’re being strong-armed into cooperating with federal deportationContinue reading “Trump continues to flout court orders by tying FEMA funding to ICE cooperation”

In the United States, a localized confrontation occurred outside NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and wounded a man in New York’s Marble Hill neighborhood Oct. 8. But while demonstrators clashed with police outside the hospital, where at least five people were arrested, the discord in New York highlights theContinue reading “School grievances, housing costs and political disputes fuel riots across the globe”

By James J. Devine In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, King Claudius famously admits the emptiness of his own performative devotion: “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” For constituents of New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, that hollow sentiment perfectly encapsulates the political theater of Representative Tom Kean Jr.,Continue reading “The Phantom on the Phone: Tom Kean Jr.’s tele-phony town halls”

New federal estimates show the privatized Medicare program will overpay insurers by $76 billion this year — as the program fuels a corporate buying spree of primary care practices. The nonprofit organization KFF notes that 32.8 million people enrolled in privatized Medicare Advantage plans in 2024, or around 54% of the eligible Medicare population. TheContinue reading “Privatized Medicare Advantage nets $76 billion in overpayments as health gets worse”

Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, will deliver the commencement address for the Northwestern Prison Education Program on Friday, Oct. 16. This graduation marks the first time incarcerated women students in the U.S. will receive a bachelor’s degree from a top-10 university. “We are deeply honoredContinue reading “Nancy Pelosi will deliver the commencement address for prison program graduates”

New York declares a disaster emergency as Pennsylvania reports more than 1,000 infections and five deaths; New Jersey health officials urge residents to check vaccination records. A nationwide measles resurgence has reached its highest level in more than three decades, with approximately 4,080 confirmed infections across 45 jurisdictions as of Oct. 8, 2026, raising concernsContinue reading “Measles cases surge to 30-year high nationwide as New Jersey monitors growing regional outbreak”

By Kate Wells Christina Starks-Clay doesn’t know how “Medicare for All” would work exactly, but she’s willing to bet it’d be better than what she has now. Standing in line for U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s town hall in Michigan’s state capital in September, she whipped out her phone to pull up a screenshot. ItContinue reading “‘Medicare for All’ message attracts voters buckling under medical bills”

The modern American political theater operates on a transactional frequency so loud it threatens to drown out reality itself. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump tells cheering crowds that his supporters will applaud “the stupidest things,” a rare moment of candid contempt for a base he treats as an endless applause machine. Yet this cynicalContinue reading “The Price of Fealty: Transactional diplomacy and the shadow of Russian influence”

The bill passed the House 232-198 and now awaits Senate action. “Members of Congress should serve the public — not profit from public office,” Kean said on the House floor, but the Republican lawmaker who mercilessly attacked former Congressman Tom Malinowski’s investments recorded 189 trades totaling $3.19 million, with the most recent transaction dated SeptemberContinue reading “Tom Kean Jr made 189 stock trades without pausing market activity during his 4-month psychiatric stay”

By Stewart Resmer, USMC (Ret.) Would that I could, we would walk in the gardens as the sages of the past would do, heads down in deep moral contemplation over this, minding our steps so as not to kill even the smallest creature beneath our feet, feeling regretful guilt for the grass we crush andContinue reading “Decorated Marine hero who served in Vietnam responds to Hegseth bloodlust”

Republicans are panicking. Democrats are expanding the map. A growing faction within the party’s progressive base is warning that the opportunity to change the nation’s direction could be squandered by the very forces that have long controlled the party’s purse strings. With Trump’s approval rating at record lows and Republicans facing historic headwinds, the electoralContinue reading “Democrats see Trump drag GOP but progressives fear corporate ‘pragmatists’”

Ron Reagan, the son of former President Ronald Reagan, sharply criticized President Donald Trump on Friday for remarks suggesting Iran could “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, calling the comments part of a broader pattern of abnormal behavior that Americans must not accept. In a Substack essay published Friday, Reagan wrote that Trump’s remarksContinue reading “Ron Reagan condemns Trump’s comments on Iran strikes as ‘Not Normal’”