New Jersey
Legslative committees approve new OPRA law – New Jersey Globe
Legislation that could weaken the state’s Open Public Records Act and make it tougher for the public to obtain government documents won easy approval today by Senate and Assembly committees.
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee approved the bill by a vote of 9-4
Yes votes were cast by Democrats Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge), Teresa Ruiz (D-Newark), Renee Burgess (D-Irvington), John Burzichelli (D-Paulsboro), Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-Barrington), Patrick Diegnan (D-South Plainfield), Linda Greenstein (D-Hamilton) and John McKeon (D-West Orange), and Republican Carmen Amato (R-Berkeley). The no votes came from Democrat Andrew Zwicker (D-South Brunswick) and Republicans Declan O’Scanlon (R-Little Silver), Doug Steinhardt (R-Lopatcong) and Michael Testa, Jr. (R-Vineland).
Former Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg said Johnson “was on his way to Trenton and told him he was being replaced on the committee.” McKeon was his replacement.
“Senator Johnson represents one of the premier Democratic, most diverse districts in the state of New Jersey,” said Weinberg. “This is an affront to Bergen, and to the legislative district I once represented.”
Among the senators present for the entire hearing, four voted no, and three voted yes.
The Assembly State and Local Government Committee voted 5-2 in support of the measure. All five Democrats voted yes: Robert Karabinchak (D-Edison), Lisa Swain (D-Fair Lawn), John Allen (D-Hoboken), Barbara McCann Stamato (D-Jersey City), and Garnet Hall (D-Maplewood). The two Republicans on the committee, Claire Swift (R-Margate) and Erik Simonsen (D-Lower), voted no.
McCann Stamato’s vote came despite opposition to the bill by her political ally, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop.
“I’ve said my feelings before that it’s a mistake to weaken OPRA, and I’ll further express that the weakening of OPRA, on the heels of ‘the Election Transparency bill,’ all happening in conjunction with a statewide conversation on ‘the lines’ — will only further disenfranchise the party base of activists that is essential to policy and elections,” Fulop said today on social media.
Sarlo sponsored the bill in the Senate and Joe Danielsen (D-Franklin) in the Assembly.
New Jersey
Ex-NJ GOP aide accused of staging slashing attack shows off horrific scars — and mystery man — in new snap
The unhinged ex-GOP aide who claimed she had been viciously attacked and labeled “Trump whore” — but who authorities say staged the assault and hired a fetish artist to carve her up — showed off her jaw-dropping scars in a new photo, along with a heavily-tattooed mystery man.
Natalie Greene, the Ocean City, NJ woman accused of faking a gruesome politically-driven assault while working for Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, shared a glimpse into her life for the first time since the scandal broke nearly a year ago.
The 26-year-old updated her Facebook profile picture on the Fourth of July to a smiling selfie of herself and the new pal.
She wore a knitted tank top – exposing multiple thick, pink scars across her shoulder, chest and neck.
Her dark hair was slicked back into a low ponytail, and her manicured hand covered her mouth as she laughed.
A man wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap with tattoos up his neck and arm smiled next to her.
Greene, a Masarati-driving ex-Rutgers Law student, was charged with conspiracy to falsely report a violent attack and giving false statements to law enforcement after claiming she was repeatedly slashed by three masked gunmen in a local park because she worked for Van Drew, a pol who had switched from Democrat to Republican in 2020.
Authorities found Greene on the ground with her hands and ankles zip-tied on a trail at a nature preserve in Egg Harbor Township on the night of July 23, 2025. She had dozens of bloody surgical-like slashes across her back, shoulder, chest and face. The words “Trump whore” were written across her stomach in black marker.
But the attack was nothing but a hoax, according to the Department of Justice, which said Greene hired a Pennsylvania-based “scarification” fetish artist to cut her up. Detectives even discovered a reference photo that Greene showed the artist – and her cuts matched the image exactly, investigators said.
Greene was granted supervised release in January as she awaits trial.
Childhood campmate Kristin Haughton James — who was previously busted for cocaine possession and riding an unlicensed vehicle in the streets, a Camden court heard in January — welcomed her into her Florida home and has been acting as her custodian.
Before moving in with Haughton James, Greene had already cycled through two other guardians – including her mother – and had been ordered to attend inpatient treatment.
But the arraignment quickly descended into a nightmare, Haughton James revealed.
“I have never met chaos incarnate until I met this person,” she told NJ.com. “Lives for the drama – wants everything to be about her.
“She just feeds off attention.”
She claimed Greene left her home a wreck, tried to get her evicted and falsely told cops that she was dealing drugs and threatened her with a gun.
Haughton James said she kicked her out in March. It is unclear where Greene is currently living.
Haughton James, Greene and Greene’s attorney did not return messages seeking comment.
New Jersey
Husband of slain New Jersey mom begs for help in newly released 911 call | Fox News Video
Former homicide detective Brian Foley joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to provide analysis on Conor Hanlon’s 911 call after finding his wife, Brooke, stabbed to death.
Former homicide detective Brian Foley provides expert insights into the newly released 911 call from Conor Hanlon, whose wife, New Jersey therapist Brooke Hanlon, was found stabbed to death. Foley analyzes the husband’s emotional state and the police’s approach, noting the case’s ‘suspicious’ designation 13 minutes into the call.
New Jersey
NJ firefighter dies after crash responding to fire call
A young firefighter died two weeks after being badly hurt in a crash while responding to a fire call, according to the Malaga Fire Company.
Robert (Bobby) Reider, 23, was driving north along Delsea Drive while trying to get to the scene of fire on Saturday, June 27 when his car went off the road, officials said.
When first responders got to the scene of the crash, they found Reider trapped in his car and worked to remove him.
Reider was then taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital where he was treated for severe and traumatic injuries.
Weeks later, on July 10 around 4:30 a.m., Reider died from his injuries while still in the hospital.
The Malaga Fire Company says that Reider joined their team in 2018 when he was just 16 as a junior firefighter.
He then went on to earn a certificate at Fire 1 at the Salem County Fire Academy in 2022.
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