President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a White House statement released July 21. President Biden, who is fully vaccinated and twice boosted, is experiencing very mild symptoms and has begun taking Paxlovid. Consistent with CDC guidelines, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the President will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time. The 79-year-old Democrat’s last previous test for COVID was July 19, when he had a negative test result. Since that test, the only out of town event listed on his public schedule was a trip to Rhode Island and Massachusetts on July 20. The President made his first trip to the Middle East last week, with stops in Israel and Saudi Arabia. North-JerseyNews.com
As a mob of his supporters assaulted the Capitol, former President Donald J. Trump sat in his dining room off the Oval Office, watching the violence on television and choosing to do nothing for hours to stop it, an array of former administration officials testified to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack in accounts laid out on July 21. The committee showed in never-before-seen footage from the White House, Trump privately refused to concede — “I don’t want to say the election’s over!” he angrily told aides as he recorded a video message that had been scripted for him the day after the attack — or to condemn the assault on the Capitol as a crime. The New York Times
The Secret Service was instructed by the DHS inspector general’s office to halt its internal investigation into missing phone records while the inspector general pursues its own probe. The IG’s demand underscores the escalating tensions as several inquiries scrutinize the Secret Service, which was accused of last week of erasing many text messages from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021. The National Archives and Records Administration and the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack in recent days have pressed the Secret Service for more information about lost phone data. The Wall Street Journal
Rep. Mikie Sherrill continued her efforts to support fellow veterans in the Garden State when she voted in favor of the Honoring Our PACT Act for the second time. The veterans’ healthcare bill was designed to create a presumption of service connection for as many as 3.5 million veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits while serving in the armed forces. The Honoring Our PACT Act would install provisions to streamline coverage decision-making from the Veterans Affairs’ review process, and require medical exams and opinions for veterans with toxic exposure disability claims. “Burn pit exposure is this generation’s Agent Orange and is absolutely devastating amongst the most recent generation of veterans,” said Sherrill. North-JerseyNews.com
The U.S. Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s nomination of Dr. Shereef Elnahal as the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs by a vote of 66-23. Elnahal had served in Gov. Phil Murphy’s cabinet as New Jersey’s Commissioner of Health from 2018 to 2019, when he became president and CEO of University Hospital in Newark. The 37-year-old Garden State native returns to Washington, where he had served as chief quality and safety officer of the Veterans Health Administration during the Obama administration. New Jersey Globe
The House on July 21 passed a bill that would protect access to contraception on a federal level, as Democratic lawmakers say they fear the recent Supreme Court ruling ending the constitutional right to an abortion could endanger other protections. The bill, which passed 228-195 with eight Republicans siding with Democrats, protects access to any contraceptive device, including all contraceptive products approved by the Food and Drug Administration such as intrauterine devices known as IUDs and emergency contraception such as Plan B. It follows another piece of legislation that passed this week to protect same-sex and interracial marriage. The Wall Street Journal
Rep. Josh Gottheimer has introduced a bipartisan bill which would begin tracking when the internet, and especially social media outlets, are used in illegal activity. The bill, co-sponsored with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), requires the FBI to include a check-off box on crime reports submitted by local law enforcement which will show that the internet was somehow involved in the crime being reported. Known as CHATS—Combating Harmful Actions with Transparency on Social—Act, the bill would require the U.S. Attorney General, working with the FBI, to set up standards for local police to include social media involvement in any crimes. New Jersey Herald
Gov. Phil Murphy on July 21 signed legislation creating a police licensing system in New Jersey, making the Garden State the 47th in the country to allow for the licensing of police officers and the decertification of those who abuse the badge. The $6 million program will create uniform statewide standards for hiring and firing police, requiring officers to pass a psychological examination and continue to take training courses throughout their career to remain licensed. Additionally, officers would be prohibited from joining groups that advocate for “the violent overthrow of the government or for discrimination” against protected classes under the state’s anti-discrimination laws. NJ.com
A bipartisan set of New Jersey lawmakers want to expand state law to allow stalking victims to get restraining orders against their harassers, even if they’re being stalked by a stranger. Under state statute, the only times restraining orders can be issued without a conviction are in domestic violence cases or in stalking cases involving minors or adults who cannot provide consent because of a disorder. Currently, an adult stalking victim to get a restraining order against a stranger, but they must wait for their stalker to be convicted on related charges, such as harassment. New Jersey Monitor
New Jersey added 9,800 jobs and its unemployment remained a low 3.9% in June, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said July 21 in a sign that businesses and consumers have continued their robust spending despite the highest inflation levels in 40 years. With the latest job gains, the Labor Department noted, New Jersey has recovered all of the 702,000 private-sector jobs that it lost during the first two months of the pandemic in 2020. Notably, the leisure and hospitality sector added 7,600 jobs during the month. The industry, hit hard by the pandemic, has recovered about 97% of the jobs it lost. The Daily Record
The Labor Department is now offering in-person appointments for any unemployed worker who wants one. Previously, limited in-person appointments were only available if initiated by the agency, and workers had to wait to hear if they could get one. “Since we opened back for in-person services back in March, we have called through to every claimant for service from the people waiting the longest, a couple of months, reaching out to offer appointments,” Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo told NJ Advance Media in an exclusive interview. He called it “equitable” to offer those workers the chance for a face-to-face first. NJ.com
A deal brokered between Ukraine and Russia aiming to allow millions of tons of Ukrainian grain to be exported, alleviating a global food shortage, is expected to be signed July 22. More than 20 million tons of Ukrainian grain has been trapped in Ukraine’s Black Sea ports since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February, cutting off grain exports from one of the world’s breadbaskets, exacerbating famine in Africa, and undermining international food supply chains already battered by the pandemic. The New York Times
Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-25) plans to introduce legislation that would require budget resolutions be published publicly by June 1, well before the June 30 deadline for passing a final budget. “Timely disclosure of budget documents is intended to allow for ample examination and instill public confidence in the process,” said Dunn, a member of the Assembly Budget committee. “Unfortunately, legislative leaders have failed to follow the rules, so it is time we spell them out clearly in law.” Legislative rules require any changes to the proposed budget and their authors be published 14 days prior to the budget’s final consideration in committee. However, Dunn said Democrats have instead interpreted that to mean that the resolutions only need to be filed with the two budget committees, rather being released to minority party legislators and the general public. New Jersey Globe
Hundreds of thousands of public workers, early retirees and school employees in New Jersey are facing potential rate increases of as much as 24% for health benefits under proposals being considered by the State Health Benefits Commission. Rate increases being considered include a 24% increase for medical and a 3.7% increase for pharmacy benefits for active public workers, as well as a 15.6% increase in medical and a 26.1% increase in pharmacy benefits for public workers who retired before the age of 65. NJ1015.com
The presence of a harmful algae bloom (HAB) at Lake Hopatcong was confirmed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), leading to an advisory for visitors to the lake. The sample was the first this season on any part of the lake to exceed the less severe “watch” threshold. HABs can cause illness in humans and animals, with children and pets the most vulnerable as they ingest more water in relation to their weight, according to NJDEP. Rep. Tom Malinowski recently secured nearly $200 million from the EPA to combat HABs, citing Lake Hopatcong by name in announcing the funding. The congressman said the funding was approved as part of the fiscal 2023 Interior-Environment appropriations bill, which included $44.8 billion to confront the climate crisis. North-JerseyNews.com
Under a $36 million program, the Passaic Valley Water Commission in September will begin replacing lead pipes that connect houses with water mains at no cost to homeowners. The commission previously identified 6,500 homes with lead-contaminated pipes in Paterson, Passaic, Clifton and Prospect Park, with about half of them in Paterson. During the summer, the commission’s contractor will start inspecting the water service lines in another 11,000 homes to check for lead pipes. The Record
The World Outreach Christian Church and a Sunoco station in Jersey City are providing drivers with a total of $7,500 of free gas July 23. The first 300 motorists to show at the Sunoco at 465 Grand St., starting at 8 a.m., will be given $25 worth in the giveaway that started as a plan to ease the pain at the pump for 100 people. The Jersey Journal
A study of redevelopment in Bayonne from 2015 to the present is officially underway. The study comes in the wake of the pause on most major residential redevelopment by Mayor James Davis amid the 2022 non-partisan municipal election. Davis initiated the pause, which will last until the completion of a study to gauge the impact of redevelopment in the city. Officials will collect and develop empirical data in order to determine whether the residential dwelling units being built are being rented, sold, and or utilized. Hudson Reporter
In the face of major trash disposal cost increases, Clifton officials are looking at all cost-reducing strategies, including once-a-week pickups. Costs may possibly double, or more, said officials, so rethinking how the city’s trash is picked up and discarded, is all up for review. Under consideration to cut costs is cutting curbside pickup from twice to once a week and possibly increasing the size of trash containers to ones that hold 95 gallons and have wheels specifically designed to work with garbage trucks with robotic arms. The Record
And finally…FBI found no sign of Jimmy Hoffa under a Jersey City bridge after a recent search. New Jersey Herald
