Police are investigating the murder of a Sayreville councilwoman shot dead in a car near her home Feb. 1. The Sayreville Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour sustained multiple gunshot wounds at approximately 7:30 p.m. She was pronounced dead at the scene on Samuel Circle. Neighbors told various media outlets that they heard six shots ring out followed by her SUV rolling down a hill in the townhouse development, stopping after hitting multiple parked vehicles. Residents said the shooting appeared to be targeted as the shooter stopped, opened fire and then drove away. North-JerseyNews.com
Gov. Phil Murphy said the shooting death of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour doesn’t appear to be politically motivated. “Unfortunately, there’s very little that is known right now,” Murphy said Feb. 2 during a radio interview. “It does not appear to be related to her position as an elected councilwoman in Sayreville. Again, please God, it doesn’t.” NJ.com
A Clifton man was arrested Feb. 1 for attempting to firebomb a North Jersey synagogue by federal authorities. Nicholas Malindretos, 26, is being charged in federal court with one count of attempted use of fire to damage and destroy a building in the attack against Temple Ner Tamid Jewish Congregation in Bloomfield Jan. 29. Law enforcement officers located the vehicle in Clifton and saw several items consistent with the video of the incident plainly visible inside. After obtaining a search warrant for the vehicle, video cameras in the area where the vehicle was parked captured a male individual with the same physical characteristics as Malindretos exiting the vehicle and entering a nearby building. North-JerseyNews.com
Investigators found flammable items and a concerning map when they searched the home of the Bloomfield synagogue bomber, according to federal prosecutors. Authorities said a search of Nicholas Malindretos’s home turned up gasoline, wicks, and lighters. Investigators also found a map noting a “ten-mile radius of targets,” including police and military targets. NJ1015.com
New Jersey’s three major toll roads will have to check their records first to make sure an alleged toll violator has an E-ZPass account that should have been charged, before issuing a toll violation notice. If they do, the account is to be charged for the toll, minus the annoying $50 administrative fee, as long as the account is in good standing. The measure signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy Feb. 2, covers the Turnpike Authority, which runs the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, and the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which operates the Atlantic City Expressway. NJ.com
Employers added 517,000 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis, an increase from 260,000 in December and the unemployment rate was 3.4%, the lowest since 1969, according to a U.S. Labor Department report released Feb. 3. The robust hiring figures defied expectations and underscored the challenges facing the Federal Reserve, which is trying to cool the labor market in its effort to tame rapid inflation. In addition to the report on Friday, the government released data this week showing that the number of posted jobs per available unemployed worker rose again in December. The New York Times
State lawmakers approved a bill on its fourth try aimed at beefing up protections for warehouse workers and other temporary staff. The legislation passed by the State Senate Feb. 2 requires that temp employees receive the same salary and benefits that workplaces offer to traditional staff, and it would ban agencies from deducting transportation fees and other mandatory charges often imposed on worker paychecks. Temp services would have to disclose basic details to workers about an assignment, including the pay, location, length of the job, health and safety arrangements and transportation. The Daily Record
Using sexual images to extort victims could soon become a crime in New Jersey after lawmakers in the State Senate unanimously passed legislation Feb. 2 to criminalize “sextortion.” The bill, sponsored by Sens. Steve Oroho (R-24) and Fred Madden (D-4), would make it a third-degree crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a $15,000 fine. If the victim is a minor or adult with developmental disabilities, the offense would be a second-degree crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $150,000 fine. The bill now goes to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk as it had previously passed the Assembly. New Jersey Monitor
U.S. officials are expected Feb. 3 approve giving Ukraine new Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs, precision-guided, 250-pound explosives that are strapped to rockets and can be fired from a Himars or another launcher. The armament, which has never been deployed and is only at the start of production, has a range of roughly 94 miles, or around twice the range of current Himars shells. It isn’t clear when Ukraine will receive the GLSDBs, or how many it will get, but when they arrive they could have a significant impact on fighting, analysts say. The Wall Street Journal
The United States detected what it says is a Chinese surveillance balloon that has been hovering over the northwestern United States, a discovery that comes days before Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken’s visit to Beijing. Pentagon officials said that while it was not the first time China had sent spy balloons to the U.S, this one has appeared to remain over the country for longer, did not pose a military or physical threat and had limited value in collecting intelligence over what China could glean through satellite imagery. President Joe Biden has chosen not to shoot down the balloon after a recommendation from Pentagon officials that doing so would risk debris hitting people on the ground. The New York Times
The FBI is expected to search former Vice President Mike Pence‘s Indiana home for classified material in the coming days. The Justice Department is in talks with Pence’s legal team about scheduling the search, despite Pence and his legal team considered their earlier search exhaustive and doesn’t believe additional classified documents exist there. The Wall Street Journal
About two million guns linked to crimes were recovered by law enforcement officials around the country from 2017 to 2021 — many of them semiautomatic pistols modeled on Glock 9-millimeter handguns. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives analyzed data in a federal gun tracing system to create a statistical portrait that law enforcement agencies can use to address new threats, such as the increased use of untraceable homemade firearms known as “ghost guns.” The report reinforced well-known patterns, including the importance of quickly investigating weapons thefts or illegal purchases to keep them from being used in crimes and the fact that the people most likely to use guns in crimes are men under the age of 40. The New York Times
Assemblywoman DeAnne DeFuccio (R-39) has decided not to seek re-election, just a week after officially launching her re-election campaign. “While I have been honored to represent Legislative District 39 in the state Assembly, I have made this decision for personal reasons. I will continue to vigorously serve my constituents through the end of my term and I am confident that my outstanding colleagues Bob Auth and Holly Schepisi will provide leadership in the days and years ahead.” In DeFuccio’s absence, four Republican candidates intend to seek her seat: Saddle River Councilman John Azzariti, Saddle River GOP chairman Jon Kurpis, former Freeholder Todd Caliguire, and Bergen GOP deputy vice chairman Ken Tyburczy. New Jersey Globe
New Jersey’s charter schools received some good news from the state Department of Education this week. Eleven of the 14 charter schools that applied for expansions and 17 of 18 schools that applied for renewals this year received them on Feb. 1 from acting Education Commissioner Angelica Allen-McMillan. Four of the renewals were granted under probation. Also, of the three charter schools that requested a reduction in enrollment, two were approved, said a spokesperson for the department. The expansion approvals will allow an additional 2,299 students, mostly in the state’s poorest districts, to attend charter schools. The Record
And finally…Arctic wind chills coming to North Jersey this weekend, bringing coldest temperatures in months. News12 New Jersey
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