Sen. Bob Menendez renewed his pledge of support to the Ukrainian community and its leaders in observance of the upcoming one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion. Menendez expressed his desire after this war is concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his cronies to be held accountable for the numerous ”war crimes” they’ve committed against innocent Ukrainian civilians, as mandated under the Geneva Convention. “As so many of the people we have here today can attest, the Ukrainian spirit has not been broken,” he commented. “There is no silver lining to this, but I do believe, like you, that Ukraine will win this war. Like you, I believe it must win this war. So let us continue fighting for Ukraine. Let us defend Ukrainian sovereignty and Independence.” North-JerseyNews.com
Ukraine is bracing for a potential surge of Russian attacks timed to the anniversary of the war on Friday, with officials urging schools to hold classes remotely and calling for people to avoid large crowds due to Russia’s history of striking schools and other civilian gathering centers such as residential buildings and hospitals that put classrooms at risk. Additional security measures are being put in place in the wider Kherson region in preparation for a possible Russian escalation. From Thursday to Sunday, many public institutions will work remotely, and law enforcement officers will patrol areas where crowds might gather. The New York Times
The U.S. is markedly increasing the number of troops deployed to Taiwan, more than quadrupling the current number to bolster a training program for the island’s military amid a rising threat from China. The U.S. plans to deploy between 100 and 200 troops to the island in the coming months, up from roughly 30 there a year ago, according to U.S. officials. The larger force will expand a training program the Pentagon has taken pains not to publicize as the U.S. works to provide Taipei with the capabilities it needs to defend itself without provoking Beijing. The Wall Street Journal
The bipartisan SALT Caucus is back for the 118th Congressional term. Rep. Josh Gottheimer will co-chair the caucus with Reps. Young Kim (R-CA), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) to do away with the deduction cap on state and local taxes (SALT) passed three times in the House since 2019. Gottheimer said that despite arguments from the extremes of both parties, restoring SALT will get more dollars back into the pockets of hard-working families who are already struggling with high costs. “But what they miss every time is that restoring the SALT deduction will lower taxes for millions of real, everyday, middle-class families who we represent,” said the Bergen County lawmaker. North-JerseyNews.com
New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) and Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) will both implement a bill credit and lower the basic gas supply service rate for some customers, effective March 1. With this bill credit and rate decrease, NJNG said its customers using 1,000 therms per year will see a savings of $129.48, or 8.1%, on their annual bill. PSE&G said its residential customers who use 100 therms per month will have a monthly winter gas bill about $3 less than it is now—it is the second rate decrease after the Newark-based utility lowered its charges to residential customers by 23% as of Feb. 1. When added to the rate reduction that will take place March 1, PSE&G ‘s customers will see winter gas bills decrease by 14% over the two months. ROI-NJ.com
The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) expects that the United States will default on its debt in the Summer or early Fall, if Congress doesn’t take action to address the debt limit before then. The timeline is similar to one the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released last week, saying lawmakers have until sometime between July and September to either raise or suspend the debt limit before the United States would reach the so-called X-date. The BPC projection noted the default date, when the country would no longer have the ability to pay all of its bills in full and on time, “will depend heavily on 2022 tax collections in a fragile post-pandemic economy with low unemployment, persistent inflation, and recession fears.” New Jersey Monitor
Gov. Phil Murphy announced $120 million in grants to expand access to full-day preschool throughout the state on Feb. 22. The money comes from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and it marks the first time funds like this will go to expand programs in regularly operating school districts. The administration recently awarded about $11 million to 16 school districts so they can create or expand their preschool programming. Another 33 districts will get start-up funding to ensure more free access for kids. NJ Spotlight News
State Assembly Republicans unveiled a plan to fully fund schools with the state’s surplus and then require local governments to slash property taxes dollar for dollar. The proposal announced Feb. 22 calls for $1.2 billion to $2.95 billion to fully fund New Jersey’s schools. The proposal comes as Gov. Phil Murphy gets set for his budget address next week. NJ.com
Members of the far-right Proud Boys were preparing for “all-out revolution” days before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and eyeing the potential for supporters of then-President Donald Trump to violently oppose the peaceful transfer of power, a former leader of the group testified Feb. 22. “Time was running out to save the country,” said former member Jeremy Bertino. “We were desperate at that point for anything else that could change the outcome of the election….I wanted to be there to witness what I believed was the next American revolution.” The Wall Street Journal
A man who fatally shot a 20-year-old woman on Feb. 22 in Florida returned to the scene later in the day and went on a shooting spree that killed a TV news reporter who had been covering the original homicide and a 9-year-old at a nearby home. The 19-year-old gunman shot two other people in Pine Hills: the mother of the 9-year-old and a photographer who worked with the TV news reporter at Spectrum News 13 in Orlando. They were both in critical condition on Wednesday night. The New York Times
Political operative Sean Caddle, who sought to have his business associate and friend killed, was ready to offer $15,000 to hit men to do the job, prosecutors say in newly released court documents. Federal authorities are seeking jail terms of 15 years and 18 years for George Bratsenis and Bomani Africa, respectively, for the murder of Michael Galdieri, a Jersey City political operative and City Council candidate, was found dead in his home office on May 22, 2014, with multiple stab wounds to his neck, head and torso, after the house was set aflame. The Record
The State Senate Labor Committee recently advanced legislation concerning government workers who developed a multitude of illnesses in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in lower Manhattan. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Joe Lagana (D-38) and State Senate President Nick Scutari (D-22), would provide health related compensation benefits for certain public safety workers unwittingly exposed to harmful toxins during their deployment to New York City following the attack. “Two decades later, even as these heroes continue to suffer physically as a result of their bravery, many still have not been duly compensated,” said Lagana. “This bill eliminates existing statutes of limitations and paves the way for first responders to receive essential benefits to which they are entitled.” North-JerseyNews.com
The battle over the proposed rules for this year’s Morris County Republican convention continued with Morris GOP chair Laura Marie Ali and Steve Lonegan, a State Senate candidate for the 24th Legislative District, releasing dueling statements on election integrity and ballot secrecy. Lonegan called for changes to the rules, saying he was concerned about the integrity of votes cast via mail-in ballot or on electronic voting machines. Ali refuted many of Lonegan’s concerns and said that if he had issues, he should have gone to the rules meeting in the first place. New Jersey Globe
State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-39) and Assemblyman Bob Auth (R-39) say they will run together on a slate with Saddle River Councilman John Azzariti in the Republican primary. Azzariti is seeking the seat of DeAnne DeFuccio (R-39), who announced that she would not seek re-election to a second full term in the Bergen County-based district. InsiderNJ.com
Harmony Dispensary in Secaucus is poised to become Hudson County’s first recreational cannabis dispensary — and may launch sales as early as next week. The dispensary, which has operated as a medical cannabis store on the south end of town since June 2018, is hoping to open on Monday, Feb. 27, Harmony staff and town officials said. The Jersey Journal
DreamWorks Water Park at American Dream mall in East Rutherford will remain closed until at least Feb. 24. This is due to an ongoing investigation into a prop helicopter that fell into one of the pools on Sunday that left four parkgoers injured. News12 New Jersey
And finally…Wayne arboretum seeks approval from DEP for an eight foot fence to stop deer. The Record
