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New Jersey proposes bald eagle's removal from endangered species list following big rebound

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New Jersey proposes bald eagle's removal from endangered species list following big rebound

New Jersey proposed Monday removing the bald eagle from its endangered species list, citing a rebound since more than four decades ago, when a single nesting pair in a remote county were the only of its kind in the state.

The turnaround stems from the work of volunteers and state professionals who nurtured hatchlings, guarded nests and educated the public, state environmental Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said in a statement. The proposed rule to delist the bald eagle as endangered includes the osprey, which was considered threatened, as well.

The proposal means the bald eagle, a national symbol of the United States, and the osprey have recovered to the point where the survival of those species is no longer in jeopardy, according to the department.

‘CLARK THE EAGLE’ MAKES SPECIAL APPEARANCE AT REAGAN AIRPORT IN ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA

“The de-listing of eagles and ospreys is a milestone in the history of wildlife conservation in New Jersey,” LaTourette said.

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The federal government removed the bald eagle from its list of endangered species in 2007. New Jersey kept the bird on its state list because of disturbances to nests and habitat threats.

A bald eagle is photographed in flight on March 12, 2022, in Milpitas, California.  (Photo by Liu Guanguan/China News Service via Getty Images)

The use of the insecticide DDT, as well as habitat destruction, played a significant role in the birds’ decline. The chemical had “lasting impacts on the food chain” because it was ingested by the fish the eagles and ospreys ate, making the shells of eggs too thin. It was banned for general use in 1972.

As of 2023, there were 267 nesting pairs of bald eagles in every county in New Jersey. That was up from a single pair in southern Cumberland County in the early 1980s, according to the department.

New Jersey began trying to reverse the decline in the early 1980s by bringing in eagles from Canada, along with artificial incubation and fostering efforts, the department said.

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Osprey, sometimes called fish hawks, are typically found along shoreline. They, too, were greatly affected by DDT, with the number of osprey nests falling to about 50 five decades ago. In 2023, the state documented a record 800 occupied osprey nests.

The proposed rule is open for public comment until Aug. 2.

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Northeast

From palace to prison: Venezuelan strongman Maduro locked in troubled Brooklyn jail

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From palace to prison: Venezuelan strongman Maduro locked in troubled Brooklyn jail

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Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are spending their days for the foreseeable future at a notorious jail in Brooklyn known for housing high-profile defendants awaiting trial in New York City.

The Metropolitan Detention Center, known as MDC Brooklyn, is a sprawling, industrial-style facility that has faced a series of scandals in recent years involving assaults and poor prison conditions. Maduro, the Venezuelan leader arrested in his home in Caracas by the U.S. military over the weekend, is now being held at the jail on narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation and weapons charges.

MDC Brooklyn currently holds more than 1,300 inmates, according to the Bureau of Prisons. A BOP representative confirmed to Fox News Digital that Maduro and his wife were among that figure.

MADURO’S WIFE SUFFERED ‘SIGNIFICANT INJURIES’ IN DRAMATIC CAPTURE, ATTORNEY ALLEGES

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Federal officers stand guard outside the Department of Justice next to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife, in New York City, Jan. 3, 2026. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

MDC Brooklyn inmates include little-known defendants and prominent ones, and they face a range of mild to serious charges. 

Maduro is likely to be held in what is known as the “VIP section” of the jail, according to Renato Stabile. Stabile is a New York-based criminal defense lawyer who represented former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was also held in MDC Brooklyn before he was freed in December as a result of Trump granting him a controversial pardon.

Stabile told Fox News Digital the VIP section is part of the east side of the jail, where high-profile figures like Hernández, rap artist Sean “Diddy” Combs and convicted crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried were once held. Others at MDC Brooklyn include Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old accused of murdering a top health insurance CEO. Jeffrey Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was also held there.

People celebrate in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Jan. 3, 2026, after the capture of Nicolás Maduro. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

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Those on the east side will be “hanging out together every day and watching TV together and playing pingpong together and doing whatever they do on that side,” Stabile said. He said the west side, where general population inmates are held, might be more crowded but that treatment of them was likely otherwise the same.

One reason inmates are segregated based on their notoriety could be that they are more vulnerable to violence or extortion, he said.

MDC Brooklyn is a male and female jail, but the inmates are not intermixed by sex, so Maduro and his wife might not be able to interact much there, except during joint meetings with their lawyers.

AFTER MADURO, VENEZUELA POWER VACUUM EXPOSES BRUTAL INSIDERS AND ENFORCERS

NYPD officers stand guard on a blocked road outside the MDC Brooklyn on Jan. 5, 2026, in New York City. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

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Maduro is being represented by New York-based attorney Barry Pollack, who previously represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty in court on Monday and now await their next court appearance, slated for March 17.

MDC Brooklyn has repeatedly come under scrutiny for its troubles, including a week-long power outage in the winter of 2019 that left inmates in freezing conditions, multiple inmate murders and assaults in 2024, and several allegations of inhumane conditions, including inadequate medical staffing and unsanitary food.

Stabile said, in his view, the facility is “run fairly efficiently.”

“But I can tell you that the east side is run a lot more efficiently than the west side, just because there are less people,” he said, noting that lawyers can see their clients with less hassle.

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Boston, MA

Boston City Hall intruder who stole from employees nabbed by police, after shoplifting arrest: BPD

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Boston City Hall intruder who stole from employees nabbed by police, after shoplifting arrest: BPD


Boston Police said they have nabbed the masked suspect who entered private office suites in City Hall during work hours and stole wallets stuffed with cash and credit cards from multiple employees.

The Boston Police Department identified Darrin O’Neil, 60, of Lowell as the suspect involved in the City Hall thefts, which occurred last month, on Dec. 1.

O’Neil was already being held after a prior shoplifting arrest at DICK’s House of Sport on Boylston Street when he was identified as the alleged perpetrator of the City Hall crime, following what the cops described as an “extensive investigation,” Boston Police said on Wednesday.

Three City Hall employees reported that their wallets, which contained cash, credit cards, health savings account cards, and personal ID were stolen from their offices, per Boston Police reports.

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One woman who had her wallet snatched out of her purse with two credit cards, her City Hall ID, Massachusetts driver’s license, insurance and library cards, and $100 in cash told police two of her coworkers saw an unknown man “in the area who was wearing a brown beanie, dark jacket, sweatpants, and a blue face mask.”

Two other employees told police that not only were cash and credit cards stolen from their offices, but the thief used the cards to rack up hundreds of dollars in unauthorized purchases — totaling $1,500 at Macy’s and Walgreens.

The incident led to calls from two city councilors, Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy, for the city to tighten up security protocols in light of the intrusion and theft, which occurred during work hours and was described by both as a “security breach.”

Mayor Michelle Wu’s office said a day later that steps have already been taken to increase security after the incident, which involved unauthorized access to “several” office suites that are restricted to authorized personnel only.

Municipal Protective Services, which provides security for city buildings, has increased internal patrols throughout City Hall as a result of the incident, the mayor’s office said.

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O’Neil was arrested on shoplifting charges on Dec. 27 at 760 Boylston St., after he was seen inside DICK’s House of Sport concealing merchandise, police said.

Police said they had responded to the store at 11:39 a.m. for a report of a theft in progress.

While police approached, O’Neil was seen exiting the sporting goods store. The cops “were able to quickly stop the suspect and could see clothing with tags affixed to them inside of a bag,” police said.

During a search, about $408 of stolen merchandise was recovered, police said.

For the shoplifting incident, O’Neil was arrested and charged with larceny under $1,200 and being a common and notorious thief, police said.

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After further investigation, police said they determined that O’Neil had seven active warrants for his arrest for charges of four counts of larceny from a building, three counts of receiving stolen property under $1,200, two counts of larceny of a credit card, shoplifting by asportation, credit card fraud under $1,200, and shoplifting by concealing merchandise.



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Pittsburg, PA

2 Pittsburgh business owners charged in EBT fraud scheme

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2 Pittsburgh business owners charged in EBT fraud scheme


Two Pittsburgh business owners have been charged after an investigation by Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office found that they purchased electronic benefit transfer cards at a discounted rate and used them to purchase food for their businesses. KDKA-TV’s Chris Hoffman has more.



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