Sens. Bob Menendez and Cory Booker recently led a bicameral group of nearly 80 lawmakers urging President Joe Biden to reverse his new immigration policy that includes the expansion of Title 42 and to abandon the proposed asylum “transit ban” rule.” The Democratic lawmakers, along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, on Jan. 26 said they want the President and his administration to work with Congress to ensure they develop safe, humane, and orderly border policies that enforce U.S. immigration laws and uphold the right to asylum under domestic and international law. “President Biden is reversing his promise to restore access to asylum at our Southern Border,” said Menendez. “We recognized that the U.S. is experiencing a migration challenge at the Southern Border (and) that President Trump made a top priority to dismantle border asylum and processing as we know it.” North-JerseyNews.com
The Biden Administration plans to let the coronavirus public health emergency expire in May. The White House wants to keep the emergency in place for several more months so hospitals, health care providers and health officials can prepare for a host of changes when it ends. The announcement came on the eve of a scheduled vote in the House on a bill that would immediately end the public health emergency. The bill, called the Pandemic Is Over Act, is one of several pandemic-related measures that the Republican-controlled chamber is scheduled to consider this week. The New York Times
The U.S. government likely awarded more than $5 billion in emergency pandemic loans to applicants that used questionable and unverified Social Security numbers, a government watchdog said Jan. 30. The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, an oversight panel that monitors pandemic-related government spending, said it had identified 69,323 loan receivers who had used Social Security numbers that weren’t issued legitimately or didn’t match other information. The Wall Street Journal
State Senate Minority Leader Steve Oroho (R-24) said he will not seek re-election, joining a growing number of North Jersey lawmakers deciding to not run this year. Oroho’s decision has led Parker Space, who had previously stated he would not seek reelection as an Assemblyman, to announce that he will attempt to return to Trenton as a State Senator. The North Jersey lawmaker said with the birth of a 10th grandchild and recovering from a recent unspecified illness, the decision became clear to him to not run this year. “I recently announced my intention to seek reelection to the New Jersey State Senate, but circumstances have changed and I’ve made a personally difficult decision that I will not be a candidate for re-election,” Oroho said. North-JerseyNews.com
U.S. Marine combat veteran Nick De Gregorio will not seek the Republican nomination for State Senate to take on State Sen. Joseph Lagana (D-38) this year. “In a Republic, there can be no greater compliment than to be asked by your fellow citizens to represent them in public office,” said De Gregorio, who last year lost to Frank Pallotta to be the GOP nominee in the 5th Congressional District. “It is with sincere regret that I cannot heed the call at this time.” In a bid for a Republican majority in the State Senate this year, Lagana is a GOP target in a district that favors Democrats. New Jersey Globe
President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will announce a nearly $300 million grant for Gateway Tunnel Project Jan. 31 in New York City. The money stems from the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure law that President Biden signed his first year in office, and the money for New York and New Jersey will aid a project that the Trump administration had pointedly blocked. PoliticoNJ
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects a global recession will probably be avoided as output is now forecated to be more resilient than previously anticipated. The economy is expected to slow this year as central banks continue to raise interest rates to tame inflation as IMF officials warned that the fight against inflation was not over. The IMF upgraded its economic growth projections for 2023 and 2024 in its closely watched World Economic Outlook report, pointed to resilient consumers and the reopening of China’s economy as among the reasons for a more optimistic outlook. The New York Times
Whole Foods Market is asking suppliers to help the retailer bring prices down on packaged groceries as inflation moderates. The Amazon.com Inc.-owned grocer told suppliers at a recent virtual summit that it wants to bring down retail prices in its store aisles as companies’ own costs start to decline. As food suppliers have raised wholesale prices, citing higher transport, labor and production costs, supermarket operators said they have passed those increases along to consumers. The higher price tags have helped grocery-store operators generate higher sales and profits. The Wall Street Journal
House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer previewed his priorities for this Congress, which will include a heavy focus on the handling of classified documents, the origins of the COVID-19 virus, and what he described as possible “influence peddling” by Hunter Biden. The panel will begin its work this session with a hearing Feb. 1 that will examine potential fraud and abuse of federal pandemic relief dollars, including small business loans and unspent funds left over in federal accounts. New Jersey Monitor
A federal judge ruled Jan. 30 that New Jersey cannot enforce its new concealed carry gun restrictions at parks, beaches, recreation facilities and casinos, dealing a setback to the Murphy Administration’s effort to limit guns in public places. The judge had previously blocked enforcement of the new law prohibiting residents from carrying concealed weapons into public libraries and museums, restaurants and bars that serve alcohol, and entertainment venues like stadiums and concert halls. The gun ban at other places that had been challenged—including airports, medical facilities, playgrounds, youth sporting events and zoos—remains in effect because the plaintiffs have “not come forward with strong historical evidence” to support their claim that the ban should be overturned. The Daily Record
The Paterson public school district has hired 149 teachers since authorizing $7,500 signing bonuses to new hires last Fall. However, school officials still need to fill a high number of staffing vacancies in New Jersey’s third-largest city, with 152 unfilled teaching jobs as of last week. The district is still offering the $7,500 hiring bonuses. NJ.com
Twelve New Jersey coastal mayors signed a letter calling for immediate stoppage of all offshore wind farm research after another whale was found dead Jan. 30. The mayors of North Wildwood, Brigantine, Deal, Stone Harbor, Long Beach Township, Wildwood Crest, Spring Lake, Linwood, Margate, Mantoloking, Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head have requested the immediate moratorium on offshore wind activity until more investigations are held. The latest dead whale washed up on Long Island at Lido Beach, 20 miles northeast of Sandy Hook. It’s now the eighth time a whale has been found dead in the region. News12 New Jersey
A 22-year-old Saudi national charged with stealing a Livingston school bus and driving it to Pennsylvania left behind journals containing writings about jihad and a variety of threats against Jews and police officers, federal officials said Jan. 30. The investigation into Bader Alzahrani began two days before the school bus was stolen when he used a fire extinguisher to break into an unoccupied house across the street from the school district’s bus parking lot. NJ.com
CarePoint Health has New Jersey Department of Health’s support in its plan to maintain its three Hudson County hospitals as nonprofits, an indication that the state Health Planning Board will likely issue its official approval as well when it hears the matter Feb. 2. In recommendation letters, the state said CarePoint Health’s plan may financially strengthen its hospitals and that denying it could burden the system since it already became a nonprofit without the state’s approval and would then have to revert back. The Jersey Journal
A proposal to build 585 market-rate multi-family housing units on the 88.7 acres that once housed the IBM/Express Scripts office complex in Franklin Lakes will be heard Feb. 1 during a combined meeting of the Borough Council and the Planning Board. The Hekemian Group, the contract purchaser of the property, is expected to present its concept plan for the site, currently owned by Cigna Corp. The developer has also offered to donate a 3½-acre site to the borough and suggests 55 affordable housing units can be built there. It is not clear if the site is part of the IBM property or in a different location. The property is currently zoned for office building as well as research and laboratory use. The Record
And finally…The last Boeing 747 leaves the factory. The New York Times
