New Jersey
In South Carolina, Vice President Harris tells voters to continue MLK’s fight at the ballot box – New Jersey Monitor
Vice President Kamala Harris told a crowd gathered outside the Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, that the freedoms Martin Luther King Jr. advocated for six decades ago are under attack, and voters must fight back at the ballot box.
King “dedicated his life, and in the end gave his life, to advance one of our nation’s highest ideals – the ideal of freedom,” Harris said in her roughly 15-minute speech at the NAACP’s annual King Day at the Dome event.
The NAACP named the theme “Ballots for Freedom, Ballots for Justice, Ballots for Change!”
Harris said the freedoms at risk this election year include LGBTQ rights and abortion access. South Carolina is among states across the South that have enacted strict restrictions or near-total bans on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a half century of precedent and returned the legality of abortions to state legislators last summer.
“Freedom is fundamental to the promise of America,” Harris said. Under assault, she continued, is “freedom from fear, violence and harm, freedom to vote, to live, to learn, to control one’s own body, and the freedom to simply be.”
Harris was the featured speaker less than three weeks before South Carolina Democrats go to the polls for the first presidential primary recognized by the national party. Early voting for the contest starts in just one week.
President Joe Biden is expected to win handily over two little-known challengers.
But state and national Democrats want a strong showing in South Carolina, where Black voters make up a large part of the party’s base, to galvanize support amid polls that show a drop in enthusiasm for Biden among Black voters nationally.
In her speech, Harris cited part of King’s famous 1963 “I Have a Dream” address in Washington, in which he called the words of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence a promissory note that all Americans would be guaranteed the rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
Harris quoted King, saying, “We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. … So, we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice.”
She told the people who marched Monday from Zion Baptist Church in downtown Columbia to the Statehouse they are an extension of King’s fight to make the promise a reality.
“Though we have come far, in this moment it is up to us to continue that fight, to cash that promissory note,” she said.
In conclusion, she said, “Freedom is never truly won. You earn it, and win it, in every generation.”
Harris’ attendance brought extra layers of security for the event hosted annually by the NAACP since 2000. Initially organized as a protest of the Confederate flag that, at the time, still flew from the Statehouse dome, King Day at the Dome has become a must-attend event for Democratic presidential campaigns.
In 2020, Biden was among presidential contenders walking arm in arm down Main Street to speak at the Statehouse. Harris had dropped out of the race a month earlier. The event then went virtual for two years amid the pandemic before resuming in person.
This year, people who walked the half-mile from the church, the event’s traditional start, had to go through metal detectors at a security checkpoint before being allowed on the Statehouse’s front lawn. It was also the first time that tall security glass separated the speakers from the audience.
Other high-profile Democrats in Columbia for the event included U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who gave the main speech at the church to start the day. Like King, he said, sometimes people must step forward without knowing the destination.
He quoted a Bible passage from Luke, when Jesus and his disciples are in a boat, and Jesus calms the sea.
King stepped forward into the storm, guided by faith, Jeffries said.
“When he would go into a town like Birmingham, or St. Augustine, or Selma, Alabama, he wasn’t greeted with wine and roses,” he said. “He was greeted with billy clubs and fire hoses.”
He called for the audience to carry on the fight for justice.
“You can’t get from your departure to your point of destination without encountering at some point along the way some turbulence,” Jeffries said.
The event attracted separate groups of protesters this year.
Some people held signs calling for reparations for Black Americans.
Others protested the Israel-Hamas war. Some of them were removed from Statehouse grounds by security. It’s unclear how many.
Monday’s speech was Harris’ second in South Carolina this month.
In Myrtle Beach on Jan. 6, she told a crowd mostly of Black women it was time to “roll up their sleeves” and organize for a second Biden term. That speech was given to the 7th Episcopal District African Methodist Episcopal Church Women’s Missionary Society retreat.
Biden himself campaigned last week at Mother Emanuel in Charleston, where he thanked Black voters in South Carolina for putting him in the White House. He will return one week before the Feb. 3 Democratic primary for the party’s “First in the Nation Celebration” dinner.
SC Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. SC Daily Gazette maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seanna Adcox for questions: [email protected]. Follow SC Daily Gazette on Facebook and Twitter.
New Jersey
Ice, freezing rain alerts expand to 10 N.J. counties. Wind advisory issued for 50 mph gusts Monday.
Winter weather advisories have been expanded to 10 New Jersey counties with freezing rain that could cause a dangerous layer of ice tonight.
The National Weather Service has also issued a wind advisory for 16 counties Monday with up to 50 mph gusts possible.
The more immediate concern is freezing rain already hitting the state Sunday evening.
Winter weather advisories for Bergen, Essex, Hudson Passaic and Union counties expire between 10 p.m. and midnight.
Winter weather advisories for Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties take effect at 6 p.m. and run through 2 a.m.
As temperatures remain near or below freezing across northern New Jersey this evening, precipitation will fall as freezing rain, particularly in Warren and Morris counties where a glaze to one-tenth of an inch of ice accumulation is possible.
The National Weather Service warns that even areas outside the advisory that remain near freezing at the onset of precipitation could experience localized icing, especially on shaded surfaces that have remained below freezing for more than 36 hours.
Temperatures will rise above freezing areawide during the pre-dawn hours Monday as a warm front lifts through the region, changing any remaining freezing rain to plain rain.
A brief break in the rain is likely prior to daybreak Monday.
The warm front will be quickly followed by a strong cold front Monday afternoon, bringing another period of rain that may be moderate in intensity at times.
High temperatures Monday will reach the upper 40s along the coast before the cold front passes, bringing high winds to the area.
The wind advisory for 16 counties runs from 10 a.m. Monday to 1 p.m. Tuesday. Just Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties are not under wind advisories.
“Strong westerly winds develop Monday with wind gusts up to 50 mph and a wind advisory has been issued,” the weather service said Sunday evening. “Some tree damage and power outages possible.”
Tuesday will be markedly colder with high temperatures struggling to rise above freezing even at the Jersey Shore.
Wind chills in the teens and low 20s are expected during the day.
Skies will be partly cloudy with continued gusty winds of 20 to 30 mph.
Wednesday brings slightly milder conditions with highs in the mid 30s to near 40 degrees, though it remains well below normal for late December.
The extended forecast shows below-normal temperatures continuing through the end of the week and into the New Year.
Thursday may bring a chance of snow showers as a weak cold front passes through, though accumulations are expected to be light.
Friday looks dry with highs in the low to mid 30s.
Another weather system may impact the area late next weekend, potentially bringing a mix of rain and snow, though forecast confidence remains low for that timeframe.
Current weather radar
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One person was killed and another critically injured when two helicopters collided and crash-landed in Hammonton, New Jersey, on Sunday morning, authorities said.
The Hammonton Police Department told Fox News Digital that it received calls of an aviation crash at approximately 11:25 a.m. involving two helicopters in the area of the 100 block of Basin Road.
Police, fire and EMS responded, extinguishing one helicopter that was engulfed in flames.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have been notified and will investigate the crash, police said.
MIDAIR PLANE CRASH KILLS ONE PERSON NEAR COLORADO AIRPORT AS BOTH PLANES CATCH FIRE
Two helicopters collided Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025, in Hammonton, N.J. (WTXF)
New Jersey Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way wrote on X that she has been updated on the midair collision.
The site of a deadly helicopter collision in Hammonton, N.J., on Dec. 28, 2025. (WTXF)
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“The Atlantic County Office of Emergency Management, Hammonton Police Department, and @NJSP personnel are on the scene,” she said.
This is a breaking news story; check back for updates.
These actors and musicians all called the Garden State home at some point in their lives. Though they have passed, their work and spirits endure.
Peter Greene
1965-December 12, 2025
Born and raised in Montclair. Greene attended Montclair High School but dropped out before graduating, according to his IMDB biography, and ran away from home as a teenager, he revealed in a 1996 magazine interview. He struggled with homelessness and drug addiction before pursuing acting and became best known for his villainous roles in the films Pulp Fiction and The Mask. Greene was slated to begin production on an indie thriller this January, the New York Post reported. He was 60.
Eddie Palmieri
1936-August 6, 2025
Photo: Shutterstock/lev radin
The Grammy-winning musician was a New York City native but was living in Hackensack when he died at home at the age of 88. Palmieri’s decades-long career was “marked by his groundbreaking fusion of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and jazz harmonies,” wrote Manahil Ahmad in an obituary for NorthJersey.com. “His orchestra La Perfecta, formed in the early 1960s, set a new standard for Latin music….showcasing his explosive piano style—a blend of precision, power and improvisational grit.”
Palmieri performed at the Montclair Jazz Festival in 2019. Earlier this month, on what would have been his 89th birthday, the festival posted a tribute on their Instagram account. “We are so thankful to Eddie for his music and his friendship!” it concluded. “Long may his legacy continue!”
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
1970-July 20, 2025
The Jersey City-born actor, beloved for his role as Theodore “Theo” Huxtable on NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, died in an accidental drowning off the coast of Costa Rica, ABC News reported. He was 54. Warner played Huxtable from 1984 to 1992, and was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series in 1986. More recently, he starred as a surgeon on Fox medical drama The Resident until the show ended in 2023.
“Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Jersey City native Malcolm-Jamal Warner,” Governor Phil Murphy posted on social media. “[…] Malcom-Jamal brought joy and hope to millions of Americans. We are praying for the Warner family during this incredibly difficult time.”
Connie Francis
1937-July 16, 2025
The Newark-born pop singer, best known for ’50s and ’60s hits like “Who’s Sorry Now?” and “Where the Boys Are,” passed away at the age of 87 this summer. Dubbed “the girl with the million-dollar cry” by Dick Clark, she was the first solo female artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Francis spent her early years in Brooklyn before her family moved back to New Jersey, where they lived in Newark’s Ironbound section and later Belleville. Francis attended Newark Arts High School for a few years before transferring to Belleville High School, where she graduated in 1955. She was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016 at a 2017 ceremony held at Asbury Park’s Convention Hall.
Just two months before her death, Francis had responded to news that her deep cut “Pretty Little Baby” had gone viral on TikTo, six decades after its original release. “My thanks to TikTok and its members for the wonderful, and oh so unexpected, reception given to my 1961 recording,” she wrote in a Facebook post. Her publicist and record-label president, Rob Roberts, had informed her of her “viral hit”—a term she didn’t understand. “Clearly out of touch with present day music statistics terminology, my initial response was to ask: ‘What’s that?’” she continued. “Thank you everyone!”
Lenny Welch
1938-April 8, 2025
Though born in New York City, the pop singer was raised in Asbury Park, where he was shaped by the vibrant Black music scene on the city’s West Side. He attended Asbury Park High School and joined a local vocal group called the Mar-Keys, which, according to the Asbury Park Press, opened for Little Richard at city’s Savoy Theatre in the 1950s. He later became best known for his cover of “Since I Fell for You,” which hit number 4 on the Billboard chart in 1963.
During a 2011 panel about the history of race and music, Bruce Springsteen referred to Welch as “Mr. Asbury Park,” according to NJ.com. Later that year, Welch returned to his hometown to perform at the Soul of Asbury Park concert held at the Paramount Theatre. In 2012, he was inducted into Asbury Park High School’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. A few years before his death, in 2021, Welch told the Asbury Park Press that he thought about the city “every day” and hoped to return “before I leave this earth.” He said he wanted to “walk around, go up Springwood Avenue because that’s where I grew up….just walk up the street, look around, visit relatives’ gravesites […].” Welch died in Florida at the age of 86.
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