Northeast

FBI warns New Jersey residents not to shoot down drones or point lasers at aircraft

Published

2 years ago

December 20, 2024

Press Room

FBI warns New Jersey residents not to shoot down drones or point lasers at aircraft

Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account – free of charge.

By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News’ Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive.

Please enter a valid email address.

The FBI field office in Newark urged New Jersey residents this week not to shoot down drones or point lasers at manned aircraft, taking to social media to warn against the dangerous — and possibly deadly — activity, which comes amid an uptick in reported drone sightings along the U.S. East Coast.

The drone sightings have prompted a collective sense of panic among residents, who have taken to social media to share photos and videos of believed drones captured in the darkened U.S. skies. The shared sense of fear-mongering has also prompted some vigilante-like responses, with some social media users documenting efforts to take matters into their own hands, including via laser beam.

In the statement, released by the FBI and New Jersey State Police, authorities expressly warned against such activities, citing an increase in pilots of manned aircraft in the area who have been hit in the eyes with lasers after being misidentified as a drone by someone on the ground.

‘DRONE’ SIGHTINGS IN THE NORTHEAST SPARK ‘UNFOUNDED’ PANIC, SAYS EXPERT

New Jersey State Assemblyman Paul Kanitra took a photo of what appears to be multiple drones hovering in the New Jersey sky on Thursday, Dec. 13. (Paul Kanitra / “Fox News @ Night”)

Officials said there is also a concern that people on the ground could also mistakenly fire weapons at what they believe to be an Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or UAS, but is in fact a manned aircraft.

“FBI Newark, NJSP, and dozens of other agencies and law enforcement partners have been out every night for several weeks to legally track down operators acting illegally or with nefarious intent and using every available tool and piece of equipment to find the answers the public is seeking,” the authorities said in the statement. “However, there could be dangerous and possibly deadly consequences if manned aircraft are targeted mistakenly as UAS.”

They also noted how easy it can be for an individual on the ground to mistake a manned aircraft for a UAS.

“Misidentification often occurs when UAS are mistaken for more familiar objects such as manned aircraft, low-orbit satellites, or celestial bodies like planets or stars,” they said.

“To improve accuracy and prevent false sightings, a variety of tools and techniques can be used to assist with the visual identification of suspected UAS. Accurate identification is critical for maintaining safety and ensuring appropriate responses to UAS activity.”

MORE THAN 20 DAYS INTO PHENOMENON, PENTAGON STILL HAS NO ANSWERS ABOUT ORIGINS OF MYSTERIOUS NJ DRONES

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., called for FISA reforms. (House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth )

The statement from the FBI field office and state police comes as New Jersey residents and lawmakers have voiced frustrations about the uptick in drone sightings and what they view as a lack of answers they have been given by the federal government in response.

Still, U.S. officials have sought to emphasize that the aircraft in question are not, in fact, a national security threat. Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, stressed to reporters during a briefing Tuesday that the drones are any sort of government asset, and ruled out the notion that they were any part of “experimental program” being tested by the U.S.

In a joint statement Monday, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense said that, while they “recognize the concern” from the general public, there is no evidence that the drones are “anomalous” or a threat to public safety or to U.S. national security.

Separately, senior officials from the CIA, FBI, and DOD traveled to Capitol Hill Tuesday afternoon to brief lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee on the uptick in drone sightings.

A social media user said she filmed several drones hovering over Fairfield, Connecticut on Thursday night. (Lucy Biggers)

It is unclear, however, how far these efforts have gone to thwart the rise in public concerns.

The FBI said Monday that it has received more than 5,000 reports of alleged drone sightings in the last “few weeks” — reflecting the rise in panic from some residents, including many who have taken to social media to document their sightings on social media.

Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, R-Conn., used an interview on “Fox News Sunday” to call on more federal agencies — including the Federal Aviation Administration — to share more information about the drone sightings with the public.

“The FAA in particular, which is the agency of jurisdiction through the domestic skies, ought to be out Saturday morning saying, ‘Let’s show you a picture at the number of aircraft, commercial and private and military, that go over New Jersey in any 24-hour period,’” Himes said.

“Just putting information out there to fill that vacuum would be helpful,” he added.

Read the full article from Here

Pittsburg, PA

Does Pittsburgh have black bears? Yes. Here’s what to do if you see one

Published

17 minutes ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

Does Pittsburgh have black bears? Yes. Here’s what to do if you see one

A black bear was recently spotted in North Park Lake, just north of Pittsburgh.
Officials advise the public to give bears space and not let pets bother them.
Black bears inhabit most of Pennsylvania, but are typically transient in urban areas.

If you see a black bear near Pittsburgh, give it space, and don’t let your pet bother it.

That’s the advice Allegheny County’s parks department gave locals after a bear was spotted in a lake north of Pittsburgh, with the department issuing a warning in partnership with Allegheny County Police Department on June 16.

Here’s what to know about the bear sighting and bears around the Pittsburgh area.

When, where was black bear spotted near Pittsburgh?

A black bear was spotted in North Park Lake in McCandless Township in Allegheny County just north of Pittsburgh.

Allegheny County Parks didn’t say when the bear was seen, but they posted about the sighting on Facebook on June 16, saying the Pennsylvania Game Commission had been notified and was monitoring the situation.

What should you do if you spot a black bear in Pittsburgh area?

After a black bear was spotted in North Park Lake, Allegheny County Parks and Allegheny County Police Department put out a joint statement warning residents not to bother bears.

If you see a bear, you should use caution and give it “plenty of space,” according to the county parks department. Don’t approach it, and don’t try to interact with it. If you have a pet with you, keep them controlled on a leash.

“The best thing you can do is view wildlife from a safe distance and allow it to move through the area undisturbed,” the parks department said.

The state also bans residents from feeding bears.

How common are black bears in Pittsburgh area?

Bears inhabit forested areas across more than three-quarters of Pennsylvania, though they’ve been spotted in every county, according to the state game commission. The bears seen in large urban centers and agricultural areas, like the southeastern corners of the state and parts of the western border, are generally transient, as those areas don’t have enough woods to create a good habitat.

The population of bears statewide is estimated to be about 19,000 and is managed through regulated hunting to reduce the risk of more frequent human-bear conflicts. Hunters harvested 2,873 black bears in 2026, with Tioga County reporting the most harvests. Allegheny did not rank among the counties with the top 10 most bears harvested.

Black bears are also not uncommon across the border in Ohio. The state set a record with more than 500 sightings in 2025, according to a report from the Ohio Department of National Resources, with the department finding “consistent evidence” that female black bears live in the northeast corner of the state.

Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.

Source link

Connecticut

Several state parks, beaches close Friday due to capacity

Published

1 hour ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

Several state parks, beaches close Friday due to capacity

Connecticut State Parks announced that several parks, recreation areas, and beaches are closed on Friday after reaching capacity.

As of 1 p.m., the following are closed due to the parking lots being full:

Rocky Neck State Park
Millers Pond State Park
Hammonasset Beach State Park
Mount Tom State Park
Gardner Lake State Park
Squantz Pond State Park
Silver Sands State Park
Pattaconk Recreation Area (Cockaponset State Forest)
Scantic River State Park, Powder Hollow
Satan’s Kingdom State Park

Connecticut continues to face excessive heat heading into the holiday weekend.

For a full forecast, head here.

Source link

Maine

Where did Maine’s 24/7 restaurants go?

Published

2 hours ago

July 4, 2026

Press Room

A sign taped to a window at the Palace Diner in Biddeford shares the diner’s hours and reminds customers it accepts cash only. The restaurant was open 24/7 during the city’s heyday as a mill town but now only opens for breakfast and lunch. (Teddy Almond/Staff Writer)

For decades, Dysart’s Restaurant and Truck Stop was the kind of spot where night didn’t really end.

Truckers came off long-haul drives looking for coffee and a hot meal. Hospital workers stopped in after overnight shifts. When the bars closed, late-night crowds spilled through the doors, still awake and hungry. At any hour, someone could sit down just outside Bangor and be served a hot meal.

But in 2019, Dysart’s ended its around-the-clock restaurant service, marking what felt like the end of an era for Maine’s late-night dining scene.

Once, a handful of diners and roadside restaurants across the state stayed open through the night, serving the workers, travelers and night owls who kept Maine moving after dark. Today, those options have all but disappeared.

What remains is mostly convenience-store food and a handful of 24/7 Burger King locations.

Restaurant industry veterans and experts say a host of combining factors have made 24/7 restaurants harder to sustain, including Maine’s demographics and changes to the way people work.

Norman O’Reilly, dean of the University of New England’s College of Business, says Maine’s status as the nation’s oldest state is likely a key factor.

“Most of those people are retired, or semi-retired, or doing consulting work,” he said. “They’re not out looking for a Becky’s late-night coffee and meals, right?”

O’Reilly also said the seasonal, tourist-centric nature of Maine’s economy creates inconsistency, making it potentially harder for businesses to maintain 24/7 service year-round.

Maine’s not alone in having fewer all-night options: A Yelp survey found that 24/7 restaurants declined nationwide by 11% from 2020 to 2025. Even New York City, “the City that Never Sleeps,” has seen a decrease; the New York Times attributed that to rising costs and changing sleep schedules.

THE LAST BASTION

Dysart’s, founded in 1967 in Hermon, was one of the last true 24/7 restaurants in the state.

“Either in 2016 or 2017, we started noticing a significant difference,” said Carol Brooks, a manager with more than 20 years of experience at the restaurant.

Brooks attributes the decline in late-night diners to two trends: changes in the trucking industry and a downturn in local nightlife.

“When they started making the truck drivers stop for a full eight hours, they (would just) come in and sleep,” she said. “They don’t eat anymore at night because they don’t have to keep on the road.”

O’Reilly also noted the advent of remote work in recent years has meant fewer people stopping for a meal on their way home.

Brooks reminisced about how Dysart’s used to often see an influx of late-night partiers after the bars closed — everyone from the patrons of the local strip club, Diamonds, to hospital shift workers coming off duty.

But soon, it got to the point where Dysart’s was spending more money staying open at all night than it was they were making. By then, the restaurant only had one cook and one server for the overnight shift.

O’Reilly noted that there’s been a national decline in nightlife, with fewer Americans going out to bars and restaurants late at night, making around-the-clock dining less profitable for businesses.

Although Dysart’s restaurant is no longer 24/7, its adjacent truck stop is. It’s stocked with premade hot meals like pot pies and hot dogs. While nothing compared to the menu once offered all night, sales of the premade meals are steady, Brooks says, with a lot of late-night construction workers stopping by to grab a bite.

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS?

It’s not clear exactly how many 24/7 joints once operated in Maine, but many Mainers can recall at least one they frequented in the past.

Biddeford’s popular Palace Diner used to serve patrons 24/7 in the 1960s, said co-owner Chad Conley. Although now the diner closes at 2 p.m. each day, back when Biddeford was a bustling mill town, Palace Diner served workers as they got off shifts throughout the night.

” data-large-file=”https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/07/24_7Story-ALMOND-15.jpg?w=780″ height=”683″ width=”1024″ alt=”” class=”wp-image-7677041″ srcset=”https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/07/24_7Story-ALMOND-15.jpg 6578w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/07/24_7Story-ALMOND-15.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/07/24_7Story-ALMOND-15.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/07/24_7Story-ALMOND-15.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/07/24_7Story-ALMOND-15.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/07/24_7Story-ALMOND-15.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/07/24_7Story-ALMOND-15.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/07/24_7Story-ALMOND-15.jpg?resize=2000,1333 2000w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/07/24_7Story-ALMOND-15.jpg?resize=780,520 780w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/07/24_7Story-ALMOND-15.jpg?resize=400,267 400w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”/>

The interior of the 15-seater Palace Diner located in Biddeford. (Teddy Almond/Staff Writer)

In Maine’s industrial heyday, the 15-seater railcar diner was a bustling center of activity.

“The shifts were happening around the clock, and people needed to stop in and have a quick meal,” Conley said. “It just made sense for the business to be open 24 hours a day when there was a constant stream of workers coming in and out of the mills.”

Conley is the sixth owner of the restaurant since it opened in 1927. To celebrate five years of their ownership, he and his business partner Greg Mitchell kept the restaurant open 24 hours for a single day in 2019.

“People really showed up,” Conley said. “I remember this one moment that was really special: At 3 in the morning, like three or four cops came in and (they said), ‘This is awesome that you guys are doing this, because we work at night, and we can’t come to your restaurant unless you’re open at 3 in the morning.”

While Conley wishes he could do that every night, he understands that it’s not realistic.

“Maybe if we do it once every five years, we can fill the seats in the middle of the night, because people are willing to stay up for the novelty of it,” he said.

Dan Beck, the third-generation owner of Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro, shared a similar experience. Late-night business was good when truckers used U.S. Route 1, but as Interstate 95 became the preferred route, the nighttime customer base dwindled. Eventually, in March 2000, Moody’s decided to end 24/7 service.

“I just think times change,” Beck said. “The main trucking route changed, the way goods are transported changes, so, the need for something like that wasn’t as great. And then you add the advent of 24-hour convenience stores where people can get a cup of coffee or a snack.”

Beck also says the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in a further reduction of late-night hours, which he said was typical of many restaurants along the Midcoast.

LAST OPTIONS STANDING

So what are we left with? Not much. There are four 24/7 Burger Kings, all of them in southern Maine. Portland’s only Denny’s — the diner chain synonymous with late-night meals — closed its doors in 2022.

Burger King’s South Portland location actually transitioned to 24/7 after the start of the pandemic, in 2021. The store’s general manager, Tracy Fairbrother, said rising sales since 2015 prompted the restaurant to keep extending its hours. She said she was inspired by the burger chain’s Forest Avenue location, which was already open around the clock.

“Just seeing them continue to grow and grow and grow made us realize, ‘Why don’t we try and steal from that pool a little bit?’” she said.

Fairbrother says lots of shift workers frequent the restaurant late at night. For those whose days are ending during the morning, she’s found that many don’t want breakfast food and would rather get a cheeseburger.

She also believes being located in the Portland area plays a role in the move’s success, since more people means more potential customers.

Asked how the company felt about its apparent status as the last 24/7 restaurant standing in Maine, a Burger King corporate spokesperson responded: “We know that access to delicious meals for a great value is important to many Guests, and we’re glad to be able to provide a reliable option for those looking to enjoy Burger King whenever it’s most convenient for them.”

The all-night diner booth may be harder to find, but the lights are still on somewhere — even if these days, they’re glowing above a Burger King drive-thru.