The new 118th Congress recently saw a number of New Jersey lawmakers appointed to key committee positions. The most notable was Rep. Tom Kean, Jr., appointed to three committees, including being handed the gavel for Europe Subcommittee on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Among the Dem assignments are Rep. Rob Menendez at Homeland as well as Transportation and Infrastructure committees, Rep. Josh Gottheimer was selected to serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Rep. Mikie Sherrill was reappointed to the House Armed Services Committee. Rep. Bill Pascrell will return to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, serving as subcommittee minority leader for oversight. North-JerseyNews.com
President Joe Biden plans to challenge the new House Republican majority to raise taxes on the wealthy, extend more social aid to the needy and rule out cuts to Social Security and Medicare as he opens an era of divided government. In his first State of the Union address since his fellow Democrats lost control of the House, aides said President Biden would call on lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to rally around his economic agenda, even as the newly empowered opposition gears up to try to force him to change direction. The New York Times
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy laid out the size of the cuts Republicans are seeking with no specific details in an address ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. “A responsible debt limit increase that begins to eliminate wasteful Washington spending and puts us on a path to a balanced budget is not only the right place to start, it’s the only place to start,” said McCarthy. “Now we must return Washington to a basic truth: debt matters. The debt limit is one of the most important opportunities Congress has to change course.” The Wall Street Journal
Although New Jersey’s gun laws seem to be failing in court, that hasn’t stopped the state’s Congressional delegation from attempting to tackle the issue at the national level. The Safe Gun Storage Act, also known as Ethan’s Law, would require gun owners to safely and securely store their firearms. Owners of guns would be required to secure firearms in a “secure gun storage or safety device” if a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm. “As recent tragedies have shown, it’s more important than ever to keep guns out of the hands of children or anyone else who could pose a risk to others. This law has a simple objective: storing guns safely and securely to save lives,” said Sen. Bob Menendez. North-JerseyNews.com
The top military commander overseeing North American airspace said some previous incursions by Chinese spy balloons during the Trump Administration were not detected in real time, and the Pentagon learned of them only later. One explanation, multiple U.S. officials said, is that some previous incursions were initially classified as “unidentified aerial phenomena,” Pentagon speak for U.F.O.s. As the Pentagon and intelligence agencies stepped up efforts over the past two years to find explanations for many of those incidents, officials reclassified some events as Chinese spy balloons. The New York Times
Turkey’s President Erdogan declared a three-month state of emergency in southern areas of his country that were hit by two powerful earthquakes as the death toll in Turkey and Syria passed 5,000 with thousands more injured and rescue teams racing to reach people buried under buildings. Aftershocks following the 7.8-magnitude and 7.5-magnitude quakes continued in southern Turkey into Tuesday. A massive snow storm over much of Turkey’s affected southern regions is hampering efforts. The earthquake also has damaged roads and airport infrastructure, limiting the response of emergency services. The Wall Street Journal
Anthony P. Vainieri, Jr. will give up his seat on the Hudson County Board of Commissioners to run for North Bergen commissioner in the May nonpartisan election municipal election. Vainieri, who will remain as the Hudson County Democratic chairman, and school board member Claudia Rodriguez will join Mayor Nicholas Sacco’s slate, along with incumbents Hugo Cabrera and Allen Pascual. New Jersey Globe
Morris County Commissioner Tom Mastrangelo is planning a run for the State Senate in LD-26. Mastrangelo edited his Facebook banner photo Feb. 6 to a declaration of “Tom Mastrangelo for Senate,” likely confirming he’ll challenge State Sen. Joe Pennacchio this year in the Republican primary. InsiderNJ.com
Temporary workers in New Jersey will soon receive sweeping new protections and rights under a law Gov. Phil Murphy signed Feb. 6 as supporters of the “Temp Worker Bill of Rights” is the first of its kind in the U.S. and will benefit more than 127,000 essential temp workers employed by at least 100 agencies in the Garden State, primarily in the warehouse and logistics sector. The bill eliminates many of the fees temp agencies deduct from workers’ paychecks, including mandatory fees for the vans that take temps to their worksites each day. Plus, temp workers will be guaranteed to earn at least minimum wage after fees are deducted from their checks by their temp agencies and agencies would be required to pay those workers the same as their full-time counterparts. NJ.com
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin announced charges of aggravated assault and official misconduct Feb. 6 against Paterson police officer Jerry Moravek, who allegedly shot and paralyzed an unarmed man in the back in 2022. According to Platkin, body camera footage shows that Moravek engaged in a footchase with the victim on June 11, 2022; Moravek ordered the man to “drop the gun!”—a gun which was not recovered on or near him after the shooting—before firing two shots. New Jersey Monitor
The racial disparity within the Paterson Police Department grew even bigger during the past year, despite promises to improve diversity on the force. A report recently released by city officials showed that the police department continues to have a disproportionately high number of White cops compared with its population, as well as a disproportionately low number of Black officers. At present, 35% of the city Police Department is White, but the 2020 census found that 8.2% of Paterson’s residents are White. Meanwhile, the report said 11% of Paterson’s cops are Black, but the census put the city’s Black population at 24.7%. The Record
Sen. Cory Booker is looking to help educate the American public about the richness and complexity of African American history. Under the legislation, $10 million would be invested in the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) over five years. The investment would be directed to support African American history education programs that are voluntarily available and help NMAAHC in developing and maintaining resources to promote understanding of African American history, including digital content on the NMAAHC website. “We have seen this happen far too many times throughout history—where some dismiss our important stories and intentionally change the way history is told to fit political agendas,” said Booker. North-JerseyNews.com
Centenary University named Dale G. Caldwell as the first African-American president in the school’s 156-year history. Caldwell, currently the executive director of the Rothman Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Hackensack, will assume his new duties on July 1. Caldwell will succeed Bruce Murphy, who announced in September that he’d be retiring after three years leading the liberal arts school in Hackettstown. The Daily Record
The Ridgewood Board of Education will vote next week on a resolution to introduce a later-start schedule for its high school students this coming Fall. The high school day would change from the current 7:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. span to a new 8:20 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. span in September. The school day would start 35 minutes later and end 15 minutes later. Only the high school’s 1,789 students would be affected. A proposal to change the middle school schedule as well was put off for now. The Record
Union City and its mayor, Brian Stack, along with 10 unnamed residents, have filed a lawsuit against the city of Hoboken and Madigan Development over the Monroe Street redevelopment project in Hoboken. The lawsuit is alleging the height of the development will rise about the cliffs and “negatively impact” Union City residents. The Jersey Journal
And finally…Citing Bruce Springsteen ticket prices, fanzine Backstreets is calling it quits. NJ.com
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