One of US’s biggest airports, in New York area, experiences 210 delays and 88 cancellations amid aviation safety fears
Flight delays continued on Sunday as a major crisis gripped one of the US’s biggest airports amid aviation safety fears.
As of Sunday morning, there were 210 delays and 88 cancellations at Newark Liberty international airport (EWR) in New Jersey, according to FlightAware. The large airport is one of the major hubs for New York city and its surrounding area.
Continue reading...Crews still working to contain one the state’s largest ever wildfires, amid warm temperatures and dry conditions
With crews still working to contain one of New Jersey’s largest wildfires on record, fire danger remains elevated across the state and into eastern Pennsylvania, the National Weather Service warned on Friday.
“There is an increased risk for rapid fire spread this afternoon across portions of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania,” the NWS said.
Continue reading...Blaze in Pine Barrens expected to grow before forecast rain as commercial building and some vehicles destroyed
A fast-moving wildfire engulfing part of New Jersey’s Pine Barrens has not resulted in any injuries, officials said on Wednesday, though it is expected to grow before forecast rain later this week.
The fire in southern New Jersey’s Lacey and Ocean townships has grown to more than 20 sq miles (52sq km) and could continue to burn for days, officials said. No one has been injured so far in the blaze, and 5,000 residents were evacuated but have been permitted to return home. A single commercial building and some vehicles were destroyed in the fire, while 12 structures remained threatened on Wednesday evening.
Continue reading...Part of major highway closed as 3,000 people move to safety and officials say fire could become state’s largest in 20 years
A fast-moving wildfire burning in New Jersey forced thousands of people to temporarily evacuate on Tuesday, as officials warned the blaze could become the largest in the state in about 20 years.
Flames from the Jones Road wildfire in Ocean county sparked several small blazes near a decommissioned Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, state officials said.
Continue reading...Democrats press Trump administration to follow supreme court order to bring back Kilmar Ábrego García
Cory Booker plans to travel to El Salvador, a source familiar with the New Jersey senator’s itinerary said, as Democrats seek to pressure the Trump administration to return a wrongly deported Maryland resident.
Booker’s trip to the Central American country would come after the Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen traveled there this week to meet with his constituent Kilmar Ábrego García, a Salvadorian national deported last month in what the Trump administration acknowledged was an “administrative error”. Despite a supreme court ruling saying his administration must “facilitate” Ábrego García’s return, Trump has refused to take steps to do so, and El Salvador’s government on Wednesday denied Van Hollen a meeting with the deportee.
Continue reading...Cuts to disaster agency and deregulation of fossil fuels, plus rise of water-guzzling datacentres, highlighted in new report
The Trump administration’s sweeping cuts to the federal climate disaster agency – and the full-throttle deregulation of fossil fuels and water-guzzling datacentres – could prove catastrophic for America’s endangered rivers, threatening the food, water and livelihoods of millions of people, according to a new report.
American Rivers’ annual most-endangered rivers list lays bare a myriad of human-made threats including floods, drought and other extreme weather events driven by the climate crisis, as well as industrial pollution and poor river management – all of which Trump’s regulatory rollbacks will almost inevitably make worse.
Continue reading...FAA said New York Helicopter Tours will be shuttering ‘immediately’ after accident that killed all six on board
The company that operated the helicopter that crashed into New York City’s Hudson River on Thursday – killing all six people on board – has been shuttered with immediate effect, the US’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said late on Sunday.
New York Helicopter Tours is “shutting down their operations immediately”, the FAA said in a statement on X. The agency added that it would launch a review of the company’s license and safety records in the meantime.
Continue reading...Democratic senator calls on voters to get creative in pushing back against Trump at town hall in New Jersey
The Democratic senator Cory Booker took a version of his record-breaking Senate floor speech on the road Saturday to a town hall meeting in a New Jersey gymnasium, calling on people to find out what they can do to push back against Donald Trump’s agenda.
Booker took questions at suburban New Jersey’s Bergen Community College the same day that more than 1,200 “Hands Off” demonstrations took place around the country. The town hall event was punctuated both by celebratory shouts of “Cory, Cory” as well as at least a half-dozen interruptions by protesters.
Continue reading...Ohio, Maryland and Alabama among states to report new cases, with 378 confirmed in first few months of 2025
More US states are reporting measles cases as the Texas outbreak expands, surpassing last year’s total, amid vaccine misinformation and hesitancy.
The Texas outbreak could take a year to get under control, one health official said – during which time it may spread to more states. Yet the parents of the six-year-old girl who died of measles in Texas have spoken against measles vaccination as misinformation continues to proliferate, including from figures such as the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Continue reading...Turtle was detected after a body scanner alarm went off at Newark Liberty airport
A Pennsylvania man who was going through security at a New Jersey airport was found to have a live turtle concealed in his pants, according to the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
The turtle was detected on Friday after a body scanner alarm went off at Newark Liberty international airport. A TSA officer then conducted a pat-down on the East Stroudsburg man and determined there was something concealed in the groin area of his pants.
Continue reading...Cargo aircraft caught fire after striking bird shortly after departure from Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday morning
A FedEx cargo airplane caught on fire after striking a bird shortly after the plane’s departure from Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday morning, according to officials.
There were no injuries reported onboard, and the plane made an emergency return to Newark Liberty international airport.
Continue reading...Ras Baraka and other state lawmakers express outrage as sanctuary cities nationwide brace for similar Ice actions
The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, said an immigration raid in the city was done without a warrant, and led to the detainment of undocumented residents as well as citizens.
Newark mayor Ras Baraka said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) had raided a local establishment. “Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized,” he wrote in a statement.
Continue reading...State of emergencies issues in several states and cities as eastern two-thirds of country to experience dangerous cold
A major winter storm was sweeping across the central US on Sunday, forecasters said, bringing with it a dreaded combination of snow, ice and plunging temperatures.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued winter storm warnings from Kansas and Missouri – where blizzard conditions are expected – to New Jersey.
Continue reading...One person found dead in submerged vehicle in California as storm warning issued for Sierra Nevada through Tuesday
Forecasters through the US issued warnings that another round of winter weather could complicate travel leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, while California and Washington state continue to recover from storm damage and power outages.
In California, where a person was found dead in a vehicle submerged in floodwaters on Saturday, authorities braced for more precipitation while grappling with flooding and small landslides from a previous storm.
Continue reading...ACLU obtains documents showing agency’s effort to expand state’s detention capacity for undocumented immigrants
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officials could add 600 beds to detain unauthorized immigrants in New Jersey, according to new documents obtained by the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on Friday.
An additional 600 detainees could mark a significant increase in the number of people held in New Jersey. The Elizabeth detention center – the only facility in the state that holds detainees – can currently accommodate up to 300 detainees, the Bergen Record reported in April. There were 285 detainees in the facility as of the end of October, according to data analyzed by the Guardian from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.
Continue reading...Democrats from California to Illinois prepare to ‘Trump-proof’ and ‘fight to death’ against his extreme proposals
After the November elections ushered in a new era of unified Republican governance in Washington, Democratic leaders across the country are once again preparing to lead the resistance to Donald Trump’s second-term agenda.
California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said he would convene a special legislative session next month to “safeguard California values and fundamental rights”.
Continue reading...Dariel Vasquez died when tree fell on him as he battled major brush fire along the New York-New Jersey border
A New York parks employee died battling one of a number of wildfires in New Jersey and New York amid dry conditions that have prompted air quality warnings in both states, authorities said on Sunday.
The Eastern Dutchess county fire and rescue said the New York state forestry service reported that the worker died when a tree fell on him Saturday afternoon as he battled a major brush fire along the New York-New Jersey border, officials said.
Continue reading...National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration investigates discovery of remains of common dolphin
The butchered remains of a dolphin were found on a New Jersey beach, and federal authorities are investigating.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center, which responds to reports of dead or distressed marine animals that come ashore in New Jersey, said the remains of a common dolphin were found on Wednesday on the beach in Allenhurst, just north of Asbury Park.
Continue reading...Star-Ledger’s owner said decision was due to rising costs, decreasing circulation and reduced demand for print copies
The owner of New Jersey’s largest newspaper says it will stop publishing a daily print version of the paper early next year, but its online version will continue.
The Newark Morning Ledger Co said the decision announced on Wednesday was due to rising costs, decreasing circulation and reduced demand for print copies of the Star-Ledger. Two other daily New Jersey newspapers are also expected to end their print publications in the coming months, while a fourth daily newspaper, the Jersey Journal, is expected to cease publication altogether.
Continue reading...New Jersey appeals court sides with ride-hailing company, saying arbitration provision in terms was ‘valid’
A New Jersey couple seriously injured when their Uber driver ran a red light and collided with another car has lost a bid to take legal action against the company in court.
John McGinty and Georgia McGinty argue Uber is enforcing an arbitration agreement after their daughter clicked “agree” when presented with updated terms and conditions while ordering food via her mom’s Uber Eats account.
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