A Few Clouds 74°
Politics
Trump Orders Travel Ban On 12 Countries, Restrictions On 7 Others Trump Orders Travel Ban On 12 Countries, Restrictions On 7 Others
Trump Orders Travel Ban On 12 Countries, Restrictions On 7 Others In a move he says will bolster national security, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that prohibits foreign nationals in 12 countries from entering the US.  This move was announced early Wednesday evening, June 4. The countries, mainly in Africa and the Middle East, are: Afghanistan Burma Chad Republic of the Congo Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Haiti Iran Libya Somalia Sudan Yemen "We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen," Trump said in announcing the order. "That is why today I am signing a new executive order placi…

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
NJ Man Who Stabbed Salman Rushdie On NY Stage Sentenced To Decades In Prison NJ Man Who Stabbed Salman Rushdie On NY Stage Sentenced To Decades In Prison
NJ Man Who Stabbed Salman Rushdie On NY Stage Sentenced To Decades In Prison A New Jersey man who nearly killed world-renowned author Salman Rushdie in a knife attack on a New York stage has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Hadi Matar, 27, of Fairview, NJ, was sentenced Friday, May 16, in Chautauqua County Court after a jury found him guilty in February of attempted murder and assault. The charges stem from a brutal ambush on Aug. 12, 2022, when Matar stormed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution, stabbing Rushdie more than a dozen times in front of a stunned audience. The attack left the 77-year-old Booker Prize-winning author blind in one eye and with seve…

SHARE

by Michael Mashburn
Politics
Trump Considers Renaming Another Part Of World Trump Considers Renaming Another Part Of World
Trump Considers Renaming Another Part Of World In a move that could reshape diplomatic discourse, President Donald Trump is reportedly considering a proposal to rename another part of the world. This time, it’s far from the continental US. Trump is weighing the idea of officially changing the name of the Persian Gulf to either the Gulf of Arabia or the Arabian Gulf. The proposal could surface during his upcoming trip to the Middle East, where he is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The Persian Gulf lies between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. Iran has already pushed back, with Foreign Minister Abbas…

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi
News
New Texts, Including Specific Attack Plans, Released From Leaked Chat Involving Trump Advisers New Texts, Including Specific Attack Plans, Released From Leaked Chat Involving Trump Advisers
New Texts, Including Specific Attack Plans, Released From Leaked Chat Involving Trump Advisers The Atlantic has just released the precise attack plans laid out by Trump Administration advisers during a leaked chat on a commercial app prior to a military strike against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen earlier this month. Two days ago, Jeffrey Goldberg, who edits The Atlantic, published a story stating that US national security leaders included him in an encrypted Signal messaging group chat. However, Goldberg did not release specific details regarding the attack itself. In a new story published Wednesday morning, March 26, headlined "Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advis…

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi
News
Iran Sent Hitmen To Kill NY Journalist: Two Mobsters Convicted In Foiled Plot Iran Sent Hitmen To Kill NY Journalist: Two Mobsters Convicted In Foiled Plot
Iran Sent Hitmen To Kill NY Journalist: Two Mobsters Convicted In Foiled Plot Two Eastern European mobsters were convicted in a chilling plot to assassinate an Iranian-American journalist on US soil—at the behest of the Iranian government. A Manhattan federal jury found Rafat Amirov, 46, of Iran, and Polad Omarov, 40, of Georgia, guilty on all five counts related to a murder-for-hire scheme targeting journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad on Thursday, March 20. The pair orchestrated the plan under orders from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), offering a hitman $500,000 to kill Alinejad outside her Brooklyn home, according to prosecutors. …

SHARE

by Michael Mashburn
News
NJ Man Who Stabbed Salman Rushdie Over Dozen Times Convicted Of Attempted Murder NJ Man Who Stabbed Salman Rushdie Over Dozen Times Convicted Of Attempted Murder
NJ Man Who Stabbed Salman Rushdie Over Dozen Times Convicted Of Attempted Murder A New Jersey man who repeatedly stabbed author Salman Rushdie on stage at a New York speaking engagement was convicted of attempted murder. Hadi Matar, 27, of Fairview, was also found guilty of assault in Chautauqua County Court on Friday, Feb. 21, for injuring another attendee following two hours of jury deliberations, Buffalo NBC affiliate WGRZ reports. Matar faces up to 25 years in prison when he's sentenced in April. The attack happened at around 10:45 a.m. on Aug. 12, 2022, as Rushdie was about to begin lecturing at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, located about 70 miles sou…

SHARE

by Michael Mashburn
News
Musicians Push Congress To Stop Corporate Radio From Dodging Royalties Musicians Push Congress To Stop Corporate Radio From Dodging Royalties
Musicians Push Congress To Stop Corporate Radio From Dodging Royalties Hundreds of music legends and rising stars are calling on Congress to make major radio companies equitably pay artists when their songs are played on air. Popular 90s R&B group Boyz II Men met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to advocate for the American Music Fairness Act, a bill aiming to require corporate radio stations to compensate performers while protecting small, local broadcasters. The meeting happened on Thursday, Feb. 13 to coincide with World Radio Day. The Philadelphia-based singers of the hit song "End of the Road" spoke with three leaders in the House of Represent…

SHARE

by Chris Spiker
Politics
Trump Pulls Dr. Anthony Fauci's Security Detail Trump Pulls Dr. Anthony Fauci's Security Detail
Trump Pulls Dr. Anthony Fauci's Security Detail The taxpayer-funded security detail assigned to Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the government's main spokespersons during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been pulled by President Donald Trump. The 84-year-old Fauci, the former National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious diseases director, served as one of the lead members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force under Trump, who often publicly criticized his advice. Earlier in the week, Trump pulled security for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton, both of whom face assassination threats tied to …

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi
News
Hunterdon County Commish: We Need Drone No Fly Zone As FBI Reports 3,000 Sightings Hunterdon County Commish: We Need Drone No Fly Zone As FBI Reports 3,000 Sightings
Hunterdon County Commish: We Need Drone No Fly Zone As FBI Reports 3,000 Sightings Hunterdon County Commissioner Director Jeff Kuhl wants Gov. Phil Murphy to do more about the numerous drones that have been spotted flying overhead at night. In a letter to the governor sent on Wednesday, Dec. 11, Kuhl said he wants Murphy to work with President Joe Biden to impose a ‘Drone No Fly Zone’ for civilian and commercial drone operations over New Jersey.  "The continued uncertainty regarding the origins of the mysterious drones appearing across New Jersey including where they take off and land is of great concern," Kuhl said. "As you noted, these drones 'are very sophisticate…

SHARE

by Sam Barron
News
FBI Thwarts Iran-Linked Plan To Assassinate Donald Trump, DOJ Says FBI Thwarts Iran-Linked Plan To Assassinate Donald Trump, DOJ Says
FBI Thwarts Iran-Linked Plan To Assassinate Donald Trump, DOJ Says An Iranian operative and two associates living in America have been charged in a murder-for-hire plot targeting United States citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump. Federal authorities have charged Farhad Shakeri, an alleged operative of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), along with two New York City associates in a plot to assassinate a US citizen critical of the Iranian government.  The case highlights the continued threat posed by Iran’s attempts to silence dissidents and even target top US. officials. According to the Department of Justice criminal complai…

SHARE

by Joe Lombardi
Obituaries
Memorial Set For Edgewater Teen Killed In Tragic Accident While In Iran For Family Wedding Memorial Set For Edgewater Teen Killed In Tragic Accident While In Iran For Family Wedding
Memorial Set For Edgewater Teen Killed In Tragic Accident While In Iran For Family Wedding Jahnan Rahimpour was wise beyond his years. At just 14 years old, the Edgewater native was already an activist who was passionate about volunteering and did so often. His most recent volunteer work was at the Leonia Library and at the Bergen County Rowing Academy, developing skills of newcomers at Overpeck Park. Fluent in Farsi, Jahnan was proud of his Persian heritage and was thrilled to visit his parents' native country of Iran this summer for his aunt's wedding. It was during that trip, though, that joy turned to tragedy for Jahnan's family. Or as his mother, Asal, says: "The weddi…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine