New Jersey

‘Weekend Update’: Bowen Yang Returns As Unfairly Besieged Inanimate Object — This Time A Drone Flying Above New Jersey

Published

2 years ago

December 22, 2024

‘Weekend Update’: Bowen Yang Returns As Unfairly Besieged Inanimate Object — This Time A Drone Flying Above New Jersey

In a return to form, Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update” featured Bowen Yang as another aggrieved inanimate object standing up for themselves (hat tip to previous performances as the Titanic iceberg and viral pygmy hippo Moo Deng).

During this week’s final episode of the year, with host Martin Short and musical guest Hozier, Yang portrayed a besieged and mysterious drone flying over New Jersey. Introduced by co-host Michael Che, Yang began without missing a beat, “Hey, wow, indoors — this is different.”

When asked by Che “what” he was exactly, Yang answered: “OK, no, we’re not gonna do that. See, I know what I am, and I don’t have to explain myself to anyone at any time for any reason.”

He continued, justifying his actions flying high in the sky for no discernible reason: “All y’all hate me ’cause I’m up. Everybody’s like, ‘Is it a UFO, is it military, is it promo for SNL 50?’ Meanwhile, I’m just minding my business, hovering over people’s homes, maybe filming them. Also, what is so threatening about random machines in the night sky? God, it’s like y’all have never been to Afghanistan before.”

As Che relayed that the government has said the drones are probably “manned,” Yang quipped: “What’s this obsession with whether I’m ‘manned’ or not? For the record, I can get a man whenever I want. Trust me, there’s no problem there.”

He conceded, however, that he does have a boo: “I’m dating the helicopter from Succession, if you must know.”

In a rousing end, Yang as the drone broke out into song, mirroring the lyrics to Elphaba’s “Defying Gravity,” belting out that nobody is “ever gonna bring me down.” (Yang was a prominent cast member in this year’s blockbuster Wicked: Part One, opposite Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who portrayed Elphaba.)

“For what be a drone but a mirror to society — and potentially a killing machine?” he posited.

Outside of Yang’s appearance, co-hosts Colin Jost and Che rattled through a few timely jokes, including about alleged UnitedHealthcare shooter Luigi Mangione‘s recent arrival to New York City, which drew loud cheers from the audience. Jost joked that the cheers were for “justice” and that, relatedly, “Bumble exploded” upon his return to the city.

Also, Che and Jost participated in their tradition of joke-swapping, during which Jost was forced to talk in a “Black voice” and poke fun at wife and actress Scarlett Johansson. Meanwhile, Che was forced to joke about being present at Sean Combs’ parties and comment on the rape allegations facing Jay-Z.

See “Weekend Update” below:

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New Jersey

NJ fines Sen. Wimberly $24K after use of donations for hotels, airfare

Published

51 minutes ago

July 14, 2026

Press Room

NJ fines Sen. Wimberly K after use of donations for hotels, airfare

2-minute read

PATERSON — In a three-month span at the end of 2022, state Sen. Benjie Wimberly, then an assemblyman, spent more than $7,200 in political donations on hotel bills, airfare and other travel expenses.

Now, Wimberly has been fined about $24,000 by New Jersey’s Election Law Enforcement Commission, partly for spending campaign funds on his own personal use.

The ELEC complaint against Wimberly had been pending since December 2024, and a settlement between the state and the senator was reached at the end of May 2026. ELEC made details of the deal public on July 1.

“Senator Wimberly chose to settle the matter with ELEC because his priority is addressing the immediate and important needs of his district,” said his attorney, Angelo Genova, a prominent and well-connected lawyer in New Jersey political circles.

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“As expressly stated in the Consent Order and Final Decision, Senator Wimberly and his treasurer neither admit nor deny the violations, and they maintain their good-faith belief that the disputed expenditures were permissible under the law,” Genova added.

Wimberly’s campaign treasurer, David Cozart, works as an assistant superintendent for Paterson Public Schools, with a $213,000 salary. Wimberly also works for the city school district as director of recreation, with a $194,000 salary.

The commission determined that 19 of Wimberly’s expenditures at the end of 2022, when he was still an Assembly member, were for impermissible uses. The order said $10,861 of the fine stemmed from Wimberly’s improper use of political funds. The rest of the penalty was for late filing of a finance report that covered October through December of 2022.

Among the expenditures highlighted by ELEC were:

$645 to the Hilton Garden Inn Lodge Colonial on Oct. 11, 2022.
$751 to the Embassy Suites Hampton on Oct. 25, 2022.
$497 to the Landing at Hampton on Nov. 8, 2022.
$322 to the Hilton Garden Inn on Dec. 6, 2022.
$378 to the Omni Hotels on Dec. 14, 2022.

The ELEC complaint did not provide specific locations of those businesses.

Partial payment of $4,000 in April

The order said Wimberly and Cozart made a partial payment of $4,000 in April 2026. The election commission also reduced the penalty, lowering it to $15,335.

Going forward, Cozart and Wimberly would make four payments of $3,833.99 through April 2027, the order said.

Wimberly supporters noted that the original complaint filed against him came at the end of 2024, when he was still an Assembly member making a bid for the vacant New Jersey 35th District Senate seat left vacant when Nellie Pou went to Congress.

Wimberly sought the Senate seat even though several Passaic County Democratic party leaders were backing then-Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter for the Senate. After the initial tally ended in a tie, Wimberly won the internal party election by one vote over Sumter.

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New Jersey

Heat wave to bring near 100 degree weather. When does NJ heat wave start

Published

13 hours ago

July 13, 2026

Press Room

Heat wave to bring near 100 degree weather. When does NJ heat wave start

Last week wasn’t a great one when it comes to weather at the Jersey Shore.

This one will be much better, at least if you like heat.

A heat wave will hit New Jersey this week with hot weather moving into the area on Tuesday. The warm temperatures will stick around for most of the week before we get a little relief by the end of the weekend.

The National Weather Service forecasts the heat wave to start July 14 with a sunny day with highs around 92 degrees. Wednesday is even hotter with temperatures expected to flirt with 100 degrees. Thursday stays hot with a high of 92 degrees forecasted, with Friday and Saturday also expected to see highs in the low 80s.

According to the NOAA, Wednesday the Jersey Shore area will be under an extreme heat watch.

Tuesday through Friday are expected to be sunny, with some clouds. Saturday is when showers roll in.

Sunday the heatwave is expected to break. Showers are also expected to stick around with a high of 84 degrees expected.

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New Jersey

New NJ businesses include non-alcoholic liquor store, art school

Published

1 day ago

July 13, 2026

Press Room

New NJ businesses include non-alcoholic liquor store, art school

2-minute read

The Record, NorthJersey.com, the Daily Record and the New Jersey Herald want to keep you up to date on all the newest shops, restaurants and service providers moving into your towns. Below is a roundup of businesses that recently opened or are coming soon.

Are you opening a business in North Jersey? Get the word out to your neighbors as soon as possible. Send us your information and photos and we will try to add them to our next new-business roundup.

We’re also interested in reporting business closings. Have a tip? Contact Business Reporter Daniel Munoz at munozd@northjersey.com, or 201-270-9870, and Stephanie Noda at noda@northjersey.com, or 973-558-0950.

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