Politics
NJ residents hit with doubled bills as lawmakers fume at Murphy's ‘energy disaster plan,' demand hearings
After a surge in home energy bills that left many New Jersey residents with costs that have doubled, or more, there have been widespread calls for hearings to hold the state utility commission, the governor and supporters of green energy accountable.
State Sen. Mike Testa, R-Salem, echoed those calls and said on Wednesday that much of the blame goes to Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy’s “Energy Master Plan,” launched in 2020.
“New Jersey is already one of the most unaffordable states in the United States of America. Now people are being hit with energy bills that are essentially doubled. And look, I get it that it was a hot July, but it wasn’t that hot that your energy bills should have doubled,” Testa said.
One constituent apparently told Testa they raised their thermostat four degrees on average this summer in the hopes of saving money but that the cost still somehow increased “significantly.”
GOP LAWMAKER TORCHES OFFSHORE WIND PROJECTS AS MAYOR WARNS OF ‘STAR WARS’ BACKDROPS
Homeowners in suburban Morris County vented about the news on a local social media group, according to the Morristown Daily Record, with a Parsippany resident questioning a $782 monthly bill.
“Quite frankly, what I think happened is, via the Murphy Energy Master Plan that I’ve often called the energy disaster plan, it seemed that the BPU (New Jersey Board of Public Utilities) and the Murphy administration are working in tandem chasing this green energy dream.
“It’s what I call the energy disaster plan. It’s a green energy nightmare,” he said, adding that BPU officials went so far as to wear windmill pins at public functions amid New Jersey’s kerfuffle over offshore turbines.
In a lengthy statement, BPU acknowledged it had received correspondence from New Jerseyans and offered several potential reasons for the rate hikes.
The board cited increases in generation costs and usage, and it asked customers to contact their utility or the board right away if they find an “anomaly and cannot determine an explanation” A one-time $175 bill credit program is also available, a board spokesperson said.
IDAHO FARMER BLASTS BIDEN’S WINDMILL PROJECT: ‘IT WILL DESTROY THE DESERT’
Fox News Power Rankings voter response to candidates on the economy (Fox News)
PJM, the energy transmission company that covers much of the Mid-Atlantic, offered data to Fox News Digital on the matter as well.
PJM research showed electricity demand is likely to increase in the region particularly due to “proliferation of high-demand data centers” and “thermal generators retiring at a rapid pace due to government and private sector policies as well as economics.”
Meanwhile, at the federal level, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., fumed at the BPU this week in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, which cited “thousands” of constituents discovering unbearable bill increases.
“Given these alarming reports, I demand that the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) hold a public hearing in South Jersey to allow residents to voice their concerns directly to the Board,” he wrote, adding the board must also determine whether there is a correlation between the rate hikes and the offshore wind turbine operations in his Cape May district.
Van Drew said New Jersey officials must take the situation seriously, and he dismissed claims that the “unseasonably warm summer” was the only variable.
“We need transparency and accountability from the NJBPU to ensure that the needs and concerns of South Jersey residents are being effectively addressed,” he said.
Van Drew previously noted how Danish green power company Ørsted withdrew its windmill plans for the Jersey Shore despite Murphy’s full support and taxpayer funding: “They still couldn’t make it.”
While Murphy’s office did not return a request for comment, the governor previously praised his Energy Master Plan’s goal of 100% clean energy by 2050 in the Garden State.
“The Energy Master Plan comprehensively addresses New Jersey’s energy system, including electricity generation, transportation and buildings, and their associated greenhouse gas emissions and related air pollutants,” he said.
In a statement Tuesday, the Murphy administration highlighted a “Residential Energy Assistance Payment (REAP) Initiative” to provide financial relief to thousands of households, of the same $175 figure cited by BPU.
“Making our state more affordable for New Jersey families has been the top priority since day one,” Murphy said in the statement.
State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Perth Amboy, added it is “great to see this resource added to the growing list of support available to residents who need a little extra help in our state.”
Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz, R-Summit, said price-per-kilowatt hour increases averaged 8.6% in Central Jersey.
“It’s simple economics: When supply drops and demand surges, prices go up,” she told Fox News Digital.
“I’m of the belief that Americans are innovative. … The government can’t be mandating deadlines at the same time that they’re … shutting down natural gas production.”
Munoz, who serves on the Budget Committee, said there are likely Democrats who agree the rate hikes are a problem: “That’s kind of a silly concept for them to think, like, do they not care that their constituents are the ones that are having to absorb these massive increases in cost?”
The Salem Nuclear Generating Station in Lower Alloways Creek Township, N.J., is pictured.
Fox News Digital reached out to state Senate President Nick Scutari, D-Clark, for such a perspective.
Citing attempts to make New Jersey vehicle sales 60% electric by 2035, Munoz said there won’t be the proper infrastructure to fulfill the need, regardless of opinions on EVs themselves.
When Testa was asked about other states’ similar green energy endeavors – such as then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo shuttering the Indian Point nuke plant on the Hudson River opposite Haverstraw in 2020 – he expressed relief that crackdowns hadn’t gotten that far at home.
A similar nuclear plant in Lower Alloways Creek Township remains operational, he noted, adding that he is proud to have it and its jobs and generation ability in his district.
Testa said the state’s energy portfolio is 50% natural gas, 40% nuclear and 10% other, which flies in the face of Murphy’s aversion to additional natural gas production.
While some energy experts fear crises arising from nuclear power, such as the 1979 Three Mile Island meltdown in Dauphin County, Pa., Testa said technology has advanced since and that there are also small modular nuclear reactors similar to those on submarines that could generate safe, clean energy inland at low cost.
“By the way, we’re positive that those don’t kill whales,” he said.
Politics
Federal judge blocks Trump from cutting childcare funds to Democratic states over fraud concerns
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A federal judge Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from stopping subsidies on childcare programs in five states, including Minnesota, amid allegations of fraud.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, a Biden appointee, didn’t rule on the legality of the funding freeze, but said the states had met the legal threshold to maintain the “status quo” on funding for at least two weeks while arguments continue.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said it would withhold funds for programs in five Democratic states over fraud concerns.
The programs include the Child Care and Development Fund, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and the Social Services Block Grant, all of which help needy families.
USDA IMMEDIATELY SUSPENDS ALL FEDERAL FUNDING TO MINNESOTA AMID FRAUD INVESTIGATION
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it would withhold funds for programs in five Democratic states over fraud concerns. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
“Families who rely on childcare and family assistance programs deserve confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended purpose,” HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said in a statement on Tuesday.
The states, which include California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, argued in court filings that the federal government didn’t have the legal right to end the funds and that the new policy is creating “operational chaos” in the states.
U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian at his nomination hearing in 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
In total, the states said they receive more than $10 billion in federal funding for the programs.
HHS said it had “reason to believe” that the programs were offering funds to people in the country illegally.
‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’: SENATE REPUBLICANS PRESS GOV WALZ OVER MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL
The table above shows the five states and their social safety net funding for various programs which are being withheld by the Trump administration over allegations of fraud. (AP Digital Embed)
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the lawsuit, called the ruling a “critical victory for families whose lives have been upended by this administration’s cruelty.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the lawsuit, called the ruling a “critical victory for families whose lives have been upended by this administration’s cruelty.” (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital has reached out to HHS for comment.
In what might be the most decisive critique yet of President Trump’s remake of the Kennedy Center, the Washington National Opera’s board approved a resolution on Friday to leave the venue it has occupied since 1971.
“Today, the Washington National Opera announced its decision to seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity,” the company said in a statement to the Associated Press.
Roma Daravi, Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations, described the relationship with Washington National Opera as “financially challenging.”
“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with the WNO due to a financially challenging relationship,” Daravi said in a statement. “We believe this represents the best path forward for both organizations and enables us to make responsible choices that support the financial stability and long-term future of the Trump Kennedy Center.”
Kennedy Center President Ambassador Richard Grenell tweeted that the call was made by the Kennedy Center, writing that its leadership had “approached the Opera leadership last year with this idea and they began to be open to it.”
“Having an exclusive relationship has been extremely expensive and limiting in choice and variety,” Grenell wrote. “We have spent millions of dollars to support the Washington Opera’s exclusivity and yet they were still millions of dollars in the hole – and getting worse.”
WNO’s decision to vacate the Kennedy Center’s 2,364-seat Opera House comes amid a wave of artist cancellations that came after the venue’s board voted to rename the center the Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. New signage featuring Trump’s name went up on the building’s exterior just days after the vote while debate raged over whether an official name change could be made without congressional approval.
That same day, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) — an ex officio member of the board — wrote on social media that the vote was not unanimous and that she and others who might have voiced their dissent were muted on the call.
Grenell countered that ex officio members don’t get a vote.
Cancellations soon began to mount — as did Kennedy Center‘s rebukes against the artists who chose not to appear. Jazz drummer Chuck Redd pulled out of his annual Christmas Eve concert; jazz supergroup the Cookers nixed New Year’s Eve shows; New York-based Doug Varone and Dancers dropped out of April performances; and Grammy Award-winning banjo player Béla Fleck wrote on social media that he would no longer play at the venue in February.
WNO’s departure, however, represents a new level of artist defection. The company’s name is synonymous with the Kennedy Center and it has served as an artistic center of gravity for the complex since the building first opened.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is leveling a stunning accusation at Vice President JD Vance amid the national furor over this week’s fatal shooting in Minnesota involving an ICE agent.
“I understand that Vice President Vance believes that shooting a young mother of three in the face three times is an acceptable America that he wants to live in, and I do not,” the four-term federal lawmaker from New York and progressive champion argued as she answered questions on Friday on Capitol Hill from Fox News and other news organizations.
Ocasio-Cortez spoke in the wake of Wednesday’s shooting death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good after she confronted ICE agents from inside her car in Minneapolis.
RENEE NICOLE GOOD PART OF ‘ICE WATCH’ GROUP, DHS SOURCES SAY
Members of law enforcement work the scene following a suspected shooting by an ICE agent during federal operations on January 7, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Video of the incident instantly went viral, and while Democrats have heavily criticized the shooting, the Trump administration is vocally defending the actions of the ICE agent.
HEAD HERE FOR LIVE FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE ICE SHOOTING IN MINNESOTA
Vance, at a White House briefing on Thursday, charged that “this was an attack on federal law enforcement. This was an attack on law and order.”
“That woman was there to interfere with a legitimate law enforcement operation,” the vice president added. “The president stands with ICE, I stand with ICE, we stand with all of our law enforcement officers.”
And Vance claimed Good was “brainwashed” and suggested she was connected to a “broader, left-wing network.”
Federal sources told Fox News on Friday that Good, who was a mother of three, worked as a Minneapolis-based immigration activist serving as a member of “ICE Watch.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Ocasio-Cortez, in responding to Vance’s comments, said, “That is a fundamental difference between Vice President Vance and I. I do not believe that the American people should be assassinated in the street.”
But a spokesperson for the vice president, responding to Ocasio-Cortez’s accusation, told Fox News Digital, “On National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, AOC made it clear she thinks that radical leftists should be able to mow down ICE officials in broad daylight. She should be ashamed of herself. The Vice President stands with ICE and the brave men and women of law enforcement, and so do the American people.”
Fed ‘Sweet Spot’ Sends Signal for Bitcoin as Jobs Data Quietly Sets Stage for $100K BTC
Will Trump’s US$200 Billion MBS Purchase Directive Reshape Federal National Mortgage Association’s (FNMA) Core Narrative?
Expert-Approved Workout Gear, Apparel and More Award-Winning Products From the Women’s Health Fitness Awards
‘Song Sung Blue’ movie review: Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson sing their hearts out in a lovely musical biopic
Riverside Church Trial: 2 Ex-Players Testify to Being Sexually Abused
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Federal judge blocks Trump from cutting childcare funds to Democratic states over fraud concerns
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,416
Trump administration can’t block child care, other program money for 5 states: Judge
AOC accuses Vance of believing ‘American people should be assassinated in the street’
Mercosur: How Macron’s domestic weakness undercut his Brussels clout
-
Detroit, MI6 days ago2 hospitalized after shooting on Lodge Freeway in Detroit
-
Technology4 days agoPower bank feature creep is out of control
-
Dallas, TX5 days agoDefensive coordinator candidates who could improve Cowboys’ brutal secondary in 2026
-
Health6 days agoViral New Year reset routine is helping people adopt healthier habits
-
Iowa3 days agoPat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star
-
Dallas, TX1 day agoAnti-ICE protest outside Dallas City Hall follows deadly shooting in Minneapolis
-
Nebraska3 days agoOregon State LB transfer Dexter Foster commits to Nebraska
-
Nebraska3 days agoNebraska-based pizza chain Godfather’s Pizza is set to open a new location in Queen Creek