New Jersey
Booker says he'll lead Menendez expulsion effort – New Jersey Globe
If Bob Menendez rejects calls for his resignation, Cory Booker will head up a move to expel him from the United States Senate.
“He must stand up now and leave the Senate. He must do that. And if he refuses to do that, I will lead that effort to make sure that he’s removed from the Senate,” Booker said in an interview on MSNBC last night. “It is the just thing to do.”
A jury on Tuesday convicted Menendez of sixteen counts of bribery, conspiracy, extortion, obstruction of justice, wire fraud, conspiracy, and acting as a foreign agent.
“This is reprehensible behavior that he’s been convicted of…doing things for foreign governments that should chill a lot of folks for what he’s been convicted of,” Booker said of his New Jersey colleague. “This is enough. He should step down. He needs to step down right now.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called or Menendez’s resignation – something he had not previously done – but not for his expulsion.
But two Democratic senators facing tough re-election fights this year, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, said they would back a move to expel Menendez from the Senate. Both had called for his resignation after he was indicted last fall.
“Public service is a sacred trust and Senator Menendez has broken that trust,” Casey said on social media. “Now that a jury of his peers has found him guilty on all 16 charges, including acting as a foreign agent, Senator Menendez should resign or face expulsion from the Senate.”
The Senate doesn’t take the expulsion route easily; 14 of the 15 senators expelled since 1789 were tossed for backing the confederacy; no senator has been expelled since 1862.
Expulsion required a two-thirds vote.
Another senator from New Jersey was almost expelled in 1982.
Harrison A. Williams, Jr., was convicted on federal bribery and conspiracy charges related to the ABSCAM scandal in 1981 and remained in the Senate for more than ten months, resigning just as his colleagues were on the verge of expelling him.
Bill Bradley, the other senator from New Jersey, stood by Williams and refused to call for his resignation following his conviction.
At the end of the fifth day of the Senate expulsion trial, Bradley announced that he would vote to expel Williams. The loss of Bradley tipped the scales; with a vote near and without the support to avoid being expelled, Williams, for the first time, hinted that resignation was an option. He resigned the following day.
Like Williams, Menendez continued to maintain his innocence, predicting he will be successful in appealing Tuesday’s jury verdict.
“I have never violated my public oath,” Menendez said following his conviction.
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.
New Jersey
NJ Legislators Are Considering a Bill That Could Ban Tesla Robotaxis Due to Their Tech Choice
New Jersey lawmakers are deliberating on a law that would create a three-year autonomous vehicle pilot program in the state, but Tesla might be banned from participating altogether over a technical choice made by the Texas-based carmaker for its self-driving vehicles.
The bill, officially known as S1677, would establish autonomous vehicle testing requirements with the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. One of these proposed requirements is that autonomous vehicle operators use camera-based technology and two additional forms of sensor tech, such as lidar or radar. Of course, Tesla’s autonomous vehicle technology is purely camera-based, meaning the brand could be banned from testing in New Jersey.
The text of the bill is fairly straightforward, requiring prospective autonomous operators to submit a “law enforcement interaction plan” and detail redundant safety systems, crash-avoidance technology, and data recording capabilities. The specific language that would ban Tesla’s system requires autonomous operators to “be equipped with crash-avoidance systems, including a camera system and two distinct sensing modalities that are capable of detecting and tracking obstacles in the event of failure of the camera system.” The bill also favors keeping traditional steering wheel and pedal controls available. While initial testing would be completed with human safety operators, the bill would allow fully autonomous operation once certain metrics, such as 50,000 crash-free miles, are met.
The decision to require both camera- and sensor-based technology is not a coincidence, according to The Verge. “This is not anti-Tesla. I’m pro-New Jersey safety,” Democratic state senator Andrew Zwicker, the bill’s primary sponsor and a physicist by trade, said to The Verge. “At this point, I don’t think the evidence is sufficient that a single sensor with software can handle situations that humans can.”
Tesla is, unsurprisingly, upset about this development, and the company is fighting back. The automaker’s public policy platform, Engage Tesla, features a call to action for Tesla owners to contact members of the New Jersey Legislature to oppose the bill, with the plea claiming the autonomous vehicle testing program is the opposite of progress, and saying that Tesla would be legally barred from testing in the Garden State. Statistics about roadway death rates in New Jersey and denying freedom of movement for elderly populations are also included.
“Rather than prioritizing real safety outcomes and performance, the bill specifically bans Tesla from the New Jersey market,” the site reads. “Every arbitrary roadblock is a delay for the people who need this life-changing technology most. Legislation that bans Tesla’s proven AV technology from the market is not caution — it’s anti-competitive favoritism that will cause New Jersey to fall behind while other states move forward.”
The bill, introduced on January 16, is currently under consideration by the New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. The bill’s language closely mirrors talking points from the nonprofit SAVE-US, which is lobbying for stronger oversight of autonomous vehicle testing. New Jersey is not the only state pondering additional autonomous testing regulation; New York legislators are working on similar legislation. Just yesterday, federal safety regulators called out autonomous vehicle operators like Waymo for interfering with first responders.
A New York transplant hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Emmet White has a passion for anything that goes: cars, bicycles, planes, and motorcycles. After learning to ride at 17, Emmet worked in the motorcycle industry before joining Autoweek in 2022 and Road & Track in 2024. The woes of alternate side parking have kept his fleet moderate, with a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and a BMW 318i E30 street parked in his Queens community.
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