The School District of the Chathams alleges in a federal lawsuit that social media companies are responsible for increases in mental health issues among students going back at least eight years. The suit claims social media platforms prey on young people to keep them on-line and engaged, but not always in healthy ways. The school district names the owners of social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Google, and YouTube in the federal lawsuit, as the school district claims it has had to increase mental health services for its students that are dealing with depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide. “We view this as a very important case, even as a righteous case,” said Michael Innes, the school’s lawyer in the case. “Our lawsuit seeks to hold them responsible.” North-JerseyNews.com
Several New Jersey lawmakers recently introduced legislation to crack down on social media platforms that use habit-forming features that entice underage users to develop social media addictions. Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr. (D-7) said the Congressional testimony of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen inspired him to introduce the bill , as well as several other bills intended to protect children from social media. Violators would face up to $250,000 in fines unless they remove the addictive features from their products. The bill applies only to companies that earned more than $100 million in gross revenue the preceding year and video game platforms. New Jersey Monitor
Central Regional School District officials clarified that Triantafillos Parlapanides is still on the payroll after first announcing its superintendent had resigned earlier this month following a controversy over his comment about a student’s suicide. “Triantafillos Parlapanides is not functioning as the superintendent for the Central Regional School District. He is on paid administrative leave pursuant to the terms of his employment contract and as required by law. The contract terms remain in effect at this time,” said a spokeswoman for the Ocean County district. Administrative leave is considered a temporary suspension of employment with standard benefits and pay—under the terms of Parlapanides’ contract, he is paid $195,353 for the 2022-2023 school year. NJ.com
A special grand jury that investigated election interference by former President Donald J. Trump and his allies in Georgia recommended indictments for multiple people on a range of charges in its final report, most of which remains sealed, the forewoman of the jury said on Feb. 21. Asked whether the jurors had recommended indicting Trump, Emily Kohrs would not answer directly but said: “You’re not going to be shocked. It’s not rocket science…It is not a short list.” In the portions of the report that were released last week, the jurors said they saw possible evidence of perjury by “one or more” witnesses who testified before them. The New York Times
Fox News host Tucker Carlson said he has possession of thousands of hours of security-camera footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol,. Capitol Police didn’t directly respond to questions about who provided the footage to Carlson, stating that “when Congressional Leadership or Congressional Oversight Committees ask for things like this, we must give it to them.” A spokeswoman for the Republican-led House Administration Committee, which oversees Capitol security, referred questions to the office of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), whose spokespeople didn’t respond to questions. The Wall Street Journal
As President Joe Biden concludes a three-day visit to Europe on Feb. 22 by meeting with leaders from NATO’s eastern flank in Warsaw, President Vladimir Putin of Russia was making his own show of domestic and international support, meeting with China’s top diplomat before addressing a large rally in Moscow. During a speech in Poland on Feb. 21, President Biden repeatedly blamed Putin for dragging Europe back to brutality on a scale not seen since World War II, accusing the Russian leader of wide-ranging atrocities and called on the world to stand up to him and other tyrants. “Autocrats only understand one word: No, no, no,” Biden declared. “President Putin chose this war. Every day the war continues is his choice. He could end the war with a word.” The New York Times
The Biden Administration is proposing to sharply limit who can qualify for asylum after crossing the border illegally in the U.S., making migrants who move through another country on the way and don’t first apply for asylum in that country ineligible. The proposed rule, put forward jointly Feb. 21 by the Homeland Security and Justice departments, is similar to a policy instituted known as the transit ban by the Trump Administration in 2019. It adds to the recent more restrictive actions taken by the current administration to deter migrants from seeking asylum at the Southern border. The Wall Street Journal
The Morris School District and Paterson Public Schools confirmed they will offer Advanced Placement African American Studies classes. In the 2023-2024 academic year, it will be taught at Morristown High School. The following school year, the class will be offered at high schools in Paterson. The Daily Record
Dozens of towns and school boards have dropped the State Health Benefits Plan for public workers, choosing to go with a private insurer amid dramatic increases that officials warned could leave taxpayers on the hook. At least 31 letters notifying state officials the towns or school boards are instead opting for private insurers were sent from last year to the end of January. NJ.com
With the one-year anniversary of recreational marijuana’s legalization coming in April, where do New Jersey residents want pot taxes to be spent? According to the most recent Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, they want it to fund education and public health initiatives. Twenty-three percent of those surveyed supported spending cannabis revenue on education, while 21% said public and community health initiatives such as drug treatment centers. When it comes to the views by party affiliation, the same percentage of Democrats and Independents—25%—say investing in education should be the top priority. For Republicans, 21% responded that revenues should be earmarked for funding police, courts and prisons, five percentage points higher than for education in this cohort. Black residents, at 38%, are more likely than residents of other races and ethnicities to feel the state should primarily invest the revenue in affordable housing development. North-JerseyNews.com
New Jersey is teaming up with 19 other states to create a multi-state Reproductive Freedom Alliance that will look to expand access to abortion and other forms of reproductive health, committed to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom in their states. A statement put out by the alliance went on to say they plan to “work together to strengthen reproductive freedom in the face of an unprecedented assault on abortion access and other forms of reproductive health care by states hostile to abortion rights and judges who are advancing their ideological agenda.” The Record
A Monmouth University poll released Feb. 21 found that 62% of poll respondents defined themselves as “pro-choice” versus just 29% who defined themselves as “pro-life.” That represents a significant change from 2013, when 54% of respondents said they were pro-choice and 38% said they were pro-life. Across party lines, 83% of Democrats said they were pro-choice, while 59% of Independents and 34% of Republicans said the same thing. New Jersey Globe
The redrawn legislative map in the 34th district will result in new lawmakers for the district in the next term. The first report on Feb. 21 was Assemblywoman Britnee Timberlake (D-34) filed paperwork with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission for a State Senate campaign in the district. Assuming she wins the primary and general elections in the Democratic stronghold, Timberlake would be the State Senate’s youngest member at 37 years old. Later that day, New Jersey Globe reported that Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-28), who would have been on the ticket in the 34th, will not seek re-election this year. Instead, he is expected to resign his seat to join the board of directors of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. North-JerseyNews.com
State Senate Democrats have admitted their newest member into their caucus: State Sen. Sam Thompson (D-12), who switched parties last week. “After a multitude of extended meetings with Senator Sam Thompson, as well as members of the Senate Democratic Caucus, we want to extend a warm welcome to Senator Thompson as he joins our Majority Caucus,” said State Senate President Nicholas Scutari (D-22). “He will bring extensive experience to our caucus as we continue to welcome those with differing perspectives to the big tent that is the Democratic Party.” New Jersey Globe
For the first time in over a decade, Hoboken hopes to let kids join in on the fun by hosting city-sanctioned St. Patrick’s Day festivities in the form of a float traveling around the city — a renewed investment in drawing people of all ages into the holiday celebration. The city event will fall on the same day as the primary day of the pub crawl formerly known as LepreCon: March 4. But since drinking-age revelers now mostly flock to the organized bar crawl, the bar crawl organizers don’t anticipate the chaos the city saw in 2011 that prompted the cancellation of the parade entirely. The Jersey Journal
The Murphy Administration called allegations offshore wind development projects are responsible for an increase in whale death are “unfounded.” Murphy’s statement suggested those asking for a halt to these wind projects are “motivated not by a concern for our environment, but by their own political ideologies.” NJ1015.com
And finally…Weather service not sure if a tornado touched down in New Jersey during powerful thunderstorms. NJ.com
