Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., has filed a petition with nearly 2,500 signatures to run for re-election as an independent, despite being on trial for federal bribery charges.
The New Jersey Division of Elections lists Menendez as a candidate in the Nov. 5 election after he submitted a petition with 2,465 signatures. To make it onto the ballot, Menendez was required to collect 800 signatures.
Menendez has served three terms as a senator and is now seeking a fourth.
After much speculation over whether Menendez would run for re-election – given the various criminal charges he faces of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, bribery, acting as a foreign agent, extortion and honest services fraud – he revealed in March that he would not be filing for the Democrat Senate primary.
REPUBLICANS SEE EMBATTLED MENENDEZ’S POTENTIAL INDEPENDENT BID AS CHANCE TO FLIP SENATE SEAT
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon/File)
Instead, Menendez announced at the same time his desire to run as an independent if he is exonerated during his summer trial.
He did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on his bid for re-election.
Menendez and his wife, Nadine, have both pleaded not guilty to bribery and obstruction of justice charges. They are accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz for the benefit of various business persons and the Egyptian government.
The senator’s trial kicked off in May.
SEN BOB MENENDEZ MAY BLAME WIFE NADINE DURING FEDERAL CORRUPTION TRIAL: COURT DOCS
Sen. Bob Menendez holds a press conference as he rejects accusations of corruption and calls from fellow Democrats to step down from Congress on Sept. 25, 2023. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Jurors will be expected to discern whether evidence against Menendez and two New Jersey businessmen, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, shows they were part of a bribery scheme, including meddling in criminal investigations and taking actions benefiting the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
All three have pleaded not guilty. Co-defendant Jose Uribe has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other defendants. A trial for the senator’s wife is delayed until at least July for health reasons.
This is the second time in a decade that Menendez has been accused in a federal corruption case.
SEN MENENDEZ CHARGED WITH OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE IN ANOTHER SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT
An evidence photo shows gold bars that were allegedly gifted by Fred Daibes and found in Democrat New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez and Nadine Menendez’s home. (United States District Court/File)
Menendez was charged by federal prosecutors with obstruction of justice in another superseding indictment unsealed in March relating to a multiyear alleged bribery scheme involving the Egypt and Qatar governments.
The 18-page indictment is wrapped into Menendez’s existing charges already against him and his co-defendants – including his wife, Nadine – for allegedly acting as a foreign agent and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to benefit the Egyptian government through his power and influence as a senator.
The indictment comes after Uribe accepted the plea deal and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. The charges also alleged Menendez committed conspiracy, bribery, acting as a foreign agent, extortion and wire fraud.
Earlier in April, Nadine’s attorneys requested to postpone her trial after an “unexpected medical development” arose. She was diagnosed with a “serious medical condition” on April 9, her lawyers said.
Republicans in New Jersey welcomed the embattled senator’s potential independent re-election bid in 2024 as they look to break the party’s decades-long hold over the state’s U.S. Senate delegation.
Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
new video loaded: Hochul and Mamdani Announce Plan for Universal Child Care
transcript
transcript
“Today, we’re working together with the mayor at this incredible place to announce the first major steps to make child care universal — truly universal — here in New York City, transforming the lives of children and parents all across the state.” “We will build on the city’s existing three-K program, and say, no longer will a family in Flatbush be offered a seat, but have to find out that seat is in Astoria. We will add seats in the neighborhoods where demand has not been met. This will be felt by expanded subsidies for tens of thousands of additional families. It will be felt when parents look at their bank accounts at the end of the year, and see that they have saved more than $20,000 per child.” “And today, I’m proud to announce that New York State is paying the full cost to launch 2-care. For the first time — universal daycare for 2-year-olds, as proposed by Mayor Mamdani. We’re not just paying for one year of the program. We don’t usually go one year out in our budget, but just to let you know how serious we are, we’re taking the unprecedented step to not just commit for the 2027 budget, which I’m working on right now, but also the following year as well to show you we’re in this for the long haul.”
By Meg Felling
January 8, 2026
Local News
A Boston nightclub where a woman collapsed on the dance floor and died last month will have its entertainment license reinstated after the Boston Licensing Board found no violations Thursday.
Anastaiya Colon, 27, was at ICON, a nightclub in Boston’s Theater District, in the early hours of Dec. 21 when she suffered a fatal medical episode. Following the incident, her loved ones insisted that the club’s staff did not respond professionally and failed to control crowds.
City regulators suspended ICON’s entertainment license pending an assessment of any potential violations. During a hearing Tuesday, they heard from attorneys representing the club and people who were with Colon the night she died.
As EMTs attempted to respond, crowds inside the club failed to comply with demands to give them space, prompting police to shut down the club, according to a police report of the incident. However, the club and its representatives were adamant that staff handled their response and crowd control efforts properly.
Kevin Montgomery, the club’s head of security, testified that the crowd did not impede police or EMTs and that he waited to evacuate the club because doing so would have created a bottleneck at the entrance. Additionally, a bouncer and a bartender both testified that they interacted with Colon, who ordered one drink before collapsing, and did not see any signs of intoxication.
Angelica Morales, Colon’s sister, submitted a video taken on her phone to the board for them to review. Morales testified Tuesday that the video disproves some of the board’s claims and shows that ICON did not immediately respond to the emergency.
“I ran to the DJ booth, literally bombarded everybody that was in my way to get to the DJ booth, told them to cut the music off,” Morales said. “On my way back, the music was cut off for a minute or two, maybe less, and they cut the music back on.”
Shanice Monteiro, a friend who was with Colon and Morales, said she went outside to flag down police officers. She testified that their response, along with the crowd’s, was inadequate.
“I struggled to get outside,” Monteiro said. “Once I got outside, everybody was still partying, there was no type of urgency. Nobody stopped.”
These factors, along with video evidence provided by ICON, did not substantiate any violations on the club’s part, prompting the licensing board to reinstate their entertainment license at a subsequent hearing Thursday.
“Based on the evidence presented at the hearing from the licensed premise and the spoken testimony and video evidence shared with us from Ms. Colon’s family, I’m not able to find a violation in this case,” Kathleen Joyce, the board’s chairwoman, said at the hearing.
However, Joyce further stated that she “was not able to resolve certain questions” about exactly when or why the club turned off the music or turned on the lights. As a result, the board will require ICON to submit an emergency management plan to prevent future incidents and put organized safety measures in place.
“This plan should outline detailed operational procedures in the event of a medical or any other emergency, including protocols for police and ambulance notification, crowd control and dispersal, and procedures regarding lighting and music during an emergency response,” Joyce said.
Though the club will reopen without facing any violations, Joyce noted that there were “lessons left to be learned” from the incident.
“This tragedy has shaken the public confidence in nightlife in this area, and restoring that confidence is a shared obligation,” she said. “People should feel safe going out at night. They should feel safe going to a club in this area, and they should feel safe getting home.”
Keeana Saxon, one of three commissioners on the licensing board, further emphasized the distinction Joyce made between entertainment-related matters and those that pertained to licensing. Essentially, the deciding factor in the board’s decision was the separation of the club’s response from any accountability they may have had by serving Colon liquor.
“I hope that the family does understand that there are separate procedures for both the entertainment and the licensing, just to make sure that on the licensing side, that we understand that she was only served one drink and that it was absolutely unforeseeable for that one drink to then lead to some kind of emergency such as this one,” Saxon said.
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Jack McGregor, a former state senator and the original founder of the Pittsburgh Penguins, died at the age of 91 on Tuesday. The organization announced the news in a post on social media on Thursday.
“The team extends our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and teammates during this difficult time,” a post on X said.
No other information was provided in the post, which was shared before the team’s game at PPG Paints Arena against the New Jersey Devils.
According to his biography on the United States Senate Library, McGregor served in the state Senate from 1963-1970. He represented District 44 in Allegheny County and was a Republican.
He was born in Kittanning, Armstrong County, and attended the University of Pittsburgh and Quinnipiac University before getting into politics, according to his biography. He also served in the United States Marine Corps.
In 1966, the NHL granted a franchise to Pittsburgh after McGregor formed a group of investors that included H. J. Heinz II and Art Rooney. McGregor was named president and chief executive officer by the investors and represented Pittsburgh on the NHL’s Board of Governors, according to his biography.
The team played its first game in 1967 at the Civic Arena. McGregor owned the team for four years before selling it.
There is also a scholarship in his name at Pitt. It aims to provide “financial assistance to a law student who excels academically and has committed to working in the public sector,” the university says.
2 hospitalized after shooting on Lodge Freeway in Detroit
Power bank feature creep is out of control
Defensive coordinator candidates who could improve Cowboys’ brutal secondary in 2026
Viral New Year reset routine is helping people adopt healthier habits
Oregon State LB transfer Dexter Foster commits to Nebraska
Pat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star
Nebraska-based pizza chain Godfather’s Pizza is set to open a new location in Queen Creek
Spotify digs in on podcasts with new Hollywood studios