Category Archives: New Jersey News

After a months-long investigation, the state attorney general’s report paints a devastating portrait of behavior by New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D), finding that he harassed 11 women. Investigators said witnesses also described an environment in the governor’s office that was abusive and vindictive. After reviewing the independent investigators’ report about sexual harassment claimsContinue reading “Investigators say Cuomo harassed 11 women”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list the emperor penguin, a flightless seabird endemic to Antarctica, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Climate change, specifically melting sea ice, is the primary threat to the species. Emperor penguins need sea ice to form breeding colonies, forage for food and avoid predation. As carbonContinue reading “Climate change puts Emperor Penguin on the Endangered Species List”

The state Attorney General’s Office is investigating police over fatal encounters with people in three municipalities: Bayonne, East Brunswick and Newton. The probes include looks at the death of a motor vehicle operator who was fatally injured after setting himself on fire on July 13, 2021, when Bayonne police officers attempted to make a motorContinue reading “Cops keeping Attorney General’s Office busy”

The emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle native to Southeast Asia, threatens the entire ash tree population in North America and has already changed forested landscapes and caused tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue to the ash sawtimber industry since it arrived in the United States in the 1990s. Despite the devastating impactContinue reading “Climate change threatens landscape biodiversity more than emerald ash borer”

An Essex County, New Jersey, man admitted illegally possessing a firearm and conspiring to defraud two banks of $250,000 using stolen credit cards and blank checks. Tamir Duval, 22, of Newark, pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to an indictment charging him with one count of illegal possession of aContinue reading “Newark man pleaded guilty to conspiracy”

By Robert Reich We’ve become so inured to Donald Trump’s proto-fascism that we barely blink an eye when we learn that he tried to manipulate the 2020 election. Yet the most recent revelation should frighten every American to their core. On Friday, the House oversight committee released notes of a 27 December telephone call from Trump toContinue reading “Trump’s proto-fascism should make us think”

Shadow of a Face, a proposed monument honoring abolitionist Harriet Tubman that was designed by Montclair architect Nina Cooke John, was selected to replace a statue of Christopher Columbus that once stood at Washington Park in Newark, New Jersey. The Columbus statue, one of two in Newark, was removed in June 2020. The space willContinue reading “Harriet Tubman monument picked in Newark”

A Pittsburgh judge on Monday sentenced a New Jersey man to 16 months in federal prison for threatening the life of a federal judge in New Jersey. Paramus, New Jersey, resident William Kaetz, age 56, pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan. In connection with the guilty plea, theContinue reading “N.J. man sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for threatening to kill U.S. judge”

On January 28, 2021, six employees went to work at a Gainesville poultry processing facility and never returned home. Messer LLC, headquartered in Bridgewater, NJ, has 3,700 total employees across all of its locations and generates $1.28 billion in sales. There are 551 companies in the Messer LLC corporate family. Messer is facing $74,118 inContinue reading “New Jersey company implicated in deaths of six workers at a Georgia poultry facility”

A state grand jury has voted not to file any criminal charges at the conclusion of its deliberations regarding the death of Kevin Cruz, 25, of Black River, N.Y., who was struck by a tractor trailer and killed during an encounter with the Montville Police Department on I-80 on Aug. 22, 2019. The fatal policeContinue reading “No charges in death of man struck & killed by a tractor trailer during police encounter”

More than 100,000 drivers have been ticketed each year for violating a state law that is unconstitutionally vague, overly broad, and invites discriminatory enforcement, according to a new opinion from the New Jersey Supreme Court. “Cops in NJ will no longer be able to stop drivers for plate frame violations like this, where only aContinue reading “Top court bans unjustified police stops”

A citizen’s group that wants to consolidate voting by moving the town’s quadrennial municipal elections from May to November says a letter from Township Attorney Ira Karasick directed Township Clerk Angelese Bermúdez-Nieves to reject their petition for a referendum. In his letter Karasick enumerated five deficiencies in the petition, filed by Vote Montclair, most notablyContinue reading “Montclair citizens suspect foul play”

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) last month filed an administrative complaint against Amazon.com, the world’s largest retailer, to force the company to accept responsibility for recalling potentially hazardous products sold online. “Today’s vote to file an administrative complaint against Amazon was a huge step forward for this small agency,” said acting Chairman Robert Adler. “ButContinue reading “Consumer Product Safety Commission taking action against Amazon.com for hazards”

This week, the House of Representatives passed a provision authored by Representative Tom Malinowski to ensure the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), the United States’ national repository of critical medical supplies, be adequately stocked for the next major pandemic. The language was included in the Fiscal Year 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and RelatedContinue reading “Malinowski beefs up stockpile for next crisis”

The Treasury Department has been advised by the Justice Department it needs to turn over former President Donald Trump’s tax returns to Congress.  The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel in an opinion Friday said the IRS must release Trump’s tax returns to Congress, affirming the House Ways and Means Committee had a legitimate legislative purpose for seeking them. HouseContinue reading “Trump’s tax returns are going to Congress”