Category Archives: New Jersey

North-eastern US braces for record-breaking heat

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One heat-related death reported in New York while authorities in Philadelphia extend health emergency declaration

Residents in the north-east US braced for potentially record-breaking temperatures on Sunday as a near-week-long hot spell continued, prompting officials to warn of dangerous heat.

At least one heat-related death, in New York, was reported. Around the region, athletic events were shortened or postponed and cities opened cooling centers and even turned to buses to offer relief from the heat.

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New Jersey diocese agrees to pay $87.5m settlement to 300 alleged abuse victims

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Agreement between diocese of Camden and plaintiffs is one of largest cash settlements involving Catholic church in US

A New Jersey Catholic diocese has agreed to pay $87.5m to settle claims involving clergy sexual abuse with some 300 alleged victims, marking one of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church in the United States.

The agreement between the diocese of Camden, which encompasses six counties in southern New Jersey on the outskirts of Philadelphia, and plaintiffs was filed with US bankruptcy court in Camden on Tuesday.

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Nor’easter lashes eastern US with snow and wind gusts near hurricane force

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  • Philadelphia, New York and Boston in path of storm
  • Flooding, high winds and cold weather expected

A nor’easter with hurricane-force wind gusts battered much of the US east coast on Saturday, flinging heavy snow that made travel treacherous or impossible, flooding coastlines and threatening to leave bitter cold in its wake.

The storm thrashed parts of 10 states, with blizzard warnings from Virginia to Maine. Philadelphia and New York saw plenty of wind and snow, but Boston was in the crosshairs. The city could get more than 2ft of snow by early Sunday.

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US alarm at rise in child Covid infections sees school closures back on agenda

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Omicron threat stokes fears coast to coast but leading public health expert says ‘We know how to keep schools open and safe’

As US regional health authorities reacted with alarm to a jump in child Covid infections that caused some school districts to announce returns to remote learning, a leading public health official questioned the need for schools to close, saying: “We know how to keep schools open, we know how to keep them safe.”

Over the past three weeks, as Omicron-related cases soared in New York City and elsewhere, the number of children hospitalised in New York with Covid-19 quadrupled, the state health department said.

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Tech mogul who joined William Shatner in space on Blue Origin dies in air crash

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Glen de Vries and Thomas Fischer were aboard a single-engine Cessna that went down Thursday in northern New Jersey

A wealthy tech mogul who traveled to space with William Shatner last month was killed along with another person when a small plane crashed in northern New Jersey, according to state police.

Glen de Vries, 49, of New York City, and Thomas Fischer, 54, of Hopatcong, New Jersey, were aboard a single-engine Cessna 172 that went down Thursday in a wooded area of Hampton Township.

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Democratic governor Phil Murphy is New Jersey’s first to win re-election in 44 years

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The tight race was viewed as a referendum on Murphy’s – and more broadly, Democrats’ – leadership throughout the pandemic

The Democratic governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, has narrowly won reelection, eking out a victory that spared Democrats the loss of a second gubernatorial seat.

Murphy, a former executive at Goldman Sachs and ambassador to Germany, became the first Democratic governor to win reelection in New Jersey in 44 years. He defeated Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican and former assembly member.

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Woman in new lawsuit accuses Bill Cosby of rape in hotel room in 1990

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  • Lili Bernard says Cosby drugged and raped her in Atlantic City
  • Bernard, 57, says lawsuit prompted by actor’s prison release

A prominent Bill Cosby accuser filed suit on Thursday against the actor over a 1990 hotel room encounter in Atlantic City, New Jersey, before the state’s two-year window to file older sexual assault claims expires.

Los Angeles artist Lili Bernard told the Associated Press she was prompted in part by Cosby’s recent release from prison. The 84-year-old Cosby has been free since June, when the Pennsylvania supreme court overturned his 2018 sexual assault conviction in another case on procedural grounds.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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New York mayor: Ida devastation shows need to prepare for ‘very, very worst’

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Dozens died across the north-east as the storm system passed through and the climate crisis makes extreme weather more likely

As the north-eastern US reeled from catastrophic damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida, politicians and city officials warned that the climate crisis will bring more such events. According to the mayor of New York City, people should prepare for the “very, very worst”.

Related: New York floods: calls for action after 11 die in basement apartments

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Hurricane Ida death toll nears 60 as states begin to comb through debris

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The US death toll from Hurricane Ida rose towards 60 on Saturday, nearly a week after one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the US mainland made landfall in Louisiana. Two more evacuated nursing home residents were confirmed to have died in the southern state.

Related: Louisiana Shell refinery left spewing chemicals after Hurricane Ida

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More than 40 killed in US north-east amid sudden heavy rains and flooding

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Deaths and damage spanned huge areas in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Maryland

The death toll from floods and tornadoes in the US north-east rose past 40 on Thursday, as authorities continued to digest the full impact of the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

Ida struck Louisiana last Sunday, knocking out power to the city of New Orleans and causing deaths in that state and Mississippi.

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‘Outrageous’: why was a US health worker charged with spreading Covid?

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Attempt to hold a worker criminally liable for the spread of Covid resulted in Josefina Brito-Fernandez losing her license to work, fearing deportation

Prosecutors in Camden, New Jersey, charged a home health aide accused of inadvertently exposing an elderly patient to Covid-19 early in the pandemic in what appears to be the only case of its kind. The patient, an 80-year-old woman, died of the illness in May last year.

The attempt to hold an essential worker criminally liable for the spread of Covid-19 resulted in the worker, 51-year-old Josefina Brito-Fernandez, permanently losing her license to work and entering a probation program for fear she would be deported.

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Man accused of New Jersey killing says he is responsible for 16 deaths

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Sean Lannon is accused of killing a man he says abused him in childhood and is a person of interest in four other deaths

A man accused of killing a New Jersey man he says sexually abused him in childhood, and who is a person of interest in the deaths of his ex-wife and three other people in New Mexico, claims to be responsible for 16 deaths in all, prosecutors said.

Sean Lannon, 47, said he was responsible for the killings in New Jersey and New Mexico and claimed he had killed “11 other individuals”, NJ.com quoted Alec Gutierrez, an assistant prosecutor in Gloucester county, as saying at a detention hearing on Friday.

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US judge whose son was killed by misogynistic lawyer speaks out

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Esther Salas calls for measures to keep judges’ details private following deadly targeted attack by Roy Den Hollander

A federal judge whose son was killed and husband wounded in a shooting by a disgruntled lawyer at her home last month broke her silence on Monday, calling for measures to keep personal information of judges private, amid mounting cyberthreats in her profession.

Related: Coronavirus live news: world may never find 'silver bullet' Covid vaccine, says WHO

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‘My son’s death cannot be in vain’: US federal judge speaks out after attack on family – video

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Federal judge Esther Salas has released an emotional video message in which she describes the day her son was killed and husband shot in an apparent targeted shooting.

Holding back tears at times, Salas described how 20-year-old Daniel was shot by Roy Den Hollander, who was posing as a FedEx driver, in what police believed to have been a targeted attack at their home in New Jersey on 19 July. Hollander was later found dead by suicide.

Salas used her message to call for more protection for people in her position, saying: 'my son's death cannot be in vain', adding: 'The free flow of information from the internet allowed this sick and depraved human being to find all our personal information and target us'

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‘Anti-feminist’ lawyer suspected of shooting judge’s family found dead

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Roy Den Hollander discovered in the Catskills mountains after killing Esther Salas’ son

A self-described anti-feminist lawyer found dead in the Catskills from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound is the prime suspect in the shooting of a federal judge’s family in New Jersey, the FBI has said.

Roy Den Hollander, who received media attention including appearances on Fox News and Comedy Central for lawsuits challenging perceived infringements of men’s rights, was found dead on Monday in Sullivan County, New York.

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The power of touch: I was hugged for the first time at 18. It meant confronting my deepest fears

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I had grown up in brutal poverty, and saw touch as a privilege for those with less traumatic backgrounds. Then a friend and mentor changed my life

Welcome to the Guardian’s Power of Touch series

It happened one day during my first year of college at Rutgers University, in my home state of New Jersey. The anti-apartheid movement was raging on my college campus, there was still a massive buzz about Jesse Jackson’s first run for president and I had instantly become woke, as we say, because of names such as Winnie and Nelson Mandela, because of the Aids and crack epidemics, and because of my adopted big sister on campus, an older student named Lisa Williamson, who would later become the famed activist and bestselling author Sister Souljah.

For sure, Lisa was one of the most incredible speakers I had ever heard. She was a fearless leader, and I became so instantly fond of her, I even called her “Ma” just like I did my own mother. And she adored me, taught me and shared with me everything that she knew and was learning, in real time.

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Police marching with protesters: how some cities got it right and others didn’t

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New Jersey produced some striking images as protests elsewhere descended into violence but relied on trust previously being built

When Larry Hamm, a veteran activist with People’s Organization for Progress, kicked off last weekend’s protest in Newark, New Jersey, he asked the crowd what they wanted. The majority – though not all – said they wanted a peaceful protest.

Related: In 1919, the state failed to protect black Americans. A century later, it's still failing | Carol Anderson

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Coronavirus US live: Trump abruptly leaves press conference after clash with reporters

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Trump ends the briefing on a very abrupt and sour note.

Asked by CBS White House Correspondent Weijia Jiang why he is so fixated on comparing the US’ testing capability to other countries as opposed to focusing on the lag that still exists here, Trump snapped: “Maybe that’s a question you should ask China. Don’t ask me, ask China that question, okay?”

Trump throws a fit when @kaitlancollins of CNN tries to ask him a question and abruptly ends the press conference pic.twitter.com/58AVZ9CABl

Trump walked out of his own news conference after accusing @weijia of asking a "nasty question" and refusing to take @kaitlancollins's questions after calling on her.

Trump spent Mother’s Day sending conspiratorial tweets about his predecessor. In one tweet he accused Obama of committing the “biggest political crime in American history, by far!” Trump.

Asked to name the crime he is accusing Obama of committing, Trump replied: “Obamagate. it’s been going on for a long time it’s been going on before I even got elected.”

Related: Trump charges Obama with 'biggest political crime in American history'

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California to reopen some businesses this week as lockdowns ease across US – as it happened

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That’s all for today, thanks for following along. A recap of the day:

Senator Elizabeth Warren said today she believed Joe Biden’s comments on the sexual assault allegation were “credible and convincing”.

“I saw the reports of what Ms [Tara] Reade said, I saw an interview with vice-president Biden. I appreciate that the vice-president took a lot of questions, tough questions. And he answered them directly and respectfully. The vice-president’s answers were credible and convincing,” the senator and former presidential candidate said, according to a CNN reporter.

Related: Senate rejects Joe Biden's request to search for records on Tara Reade

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