A trip to the convenience store turned into a $4 million payday for one lucky Bergen County lottery player.

“We have a NEW MILLIONAIRE in town! A lucky player won a TOP PRIZE of $4,000,000 on a $30 200X Cash Blitz Scratch-Offs!” the New Jersey Lottery posted on Instagram Monday morning.

The winning ticket was purchased at the Krauszer’s on West Main Street in Ramsey.

While claiming the prize, the winner told the New Jersey Lottery: ““My hands are still shaking.”

The winner opted for the cash value of $2,409,200, rather than annuity payments.

“My lifestyle won’t change,” said the lottery player, adding the win does add security to their life.

Big winner: Oregon lottery player wins $329 million Powerball jackpot

The 200X Cash Blitz scratch-off game began at the beginning of the August and costs $30 to play. The game offers players a chance at prizes from $50 to $50,000 with three grand prizes of $4 million.

One top prize still remains. The other $4 million ticket was purchased at a Sunoco Foodmart on Chestnut Street in Elmer (Salem County).

Officials in the Trump administration have repeatedly used the term “illegal aliens” to describe “illegal immigrants”.

“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens—including murders and rapists—who have illegally come into our country,” a DHS spokesperson said.

“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,” the spokesperson added.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has begun targeted action against immigrants seen as “illegal” by the administration. The Republican administration had retracted the Biden administration guidelines that prevented enforcement actions near areas deemed “sensitive”. These included places of worship like gurdwara and churches.

Earlier, Vice-president JD Vance refused to rule out the possibility of immigration raids targeting religious buildings and said such measures are “not unique” to immigration.

“If you have a person who is convicted of a violent crime, whether they are an illegal immigrant or not, you have to go and get that person to protect the public safety,” Vance said.

‘Gravely concerned’

The Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDF) expressed grave concern about the Trump administration rescinding previous guidelines on “sensitive” areas.

“We are deeply alarmed by the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to eliminate protections for sensitive areas and then target places of worship like gurdwaras,” PTI quoted Kiran Kaur Gill, executive director of SALDEF, as saying.

“This troubling shift in policy comes in tandem with community reports of DHS agents visiting gurdwaras in the New York and New Jersey areas just days after the directive was issued,” SALDF said.

Gill said these actions threatened the “sanctity” of the Sikh faith and sent a “chilling message” to immigrant communities in the US.

The Sikh Coalition said the new directive would limit the ability of Sikhs to gather and associate with one another per their faith. “The idea that our gurdwaras could be subject to government surveillance and raids by armed law enforcement with or without warrants is unacceptable to the Sikh faith tradition,” it said.

“If Sikhs—whether documented or undocumented—are concerned with gurdwara raids and surveillance, gurdwaras may well be impacted by decreased attendance, and thus an inability to carry out essential religious practices in a meaningful manner,” Sikh Coalition added.

(With PTI inputs)

2-minute read

It’s not exactly time to get your shorts and T-shirts out, but after a weeklong deep freeze in North Jersey, the temperatures will rise Sunday to about 40 degrees and will get into the mid-40s by Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.  

“Everyone’s thermometers are not broken today — it’s actually in the 30s outside,” Bill Goodman, a meteorologist with the service’s Upton, New York office said Sunday morning. “There’s a weak frontal boundary moving through. It’s a welcome change from some of these recent mornings we’ve had in the single digits and teens.”

Sunday night, the temperature will dip back into the 20s, but the highs will reach back up near 40 both Monday and Tuesday.

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Sometime Tuesday afternoon there may be some passing flurries, but no significant snow accumulation, Goodman said.

Then Wednesday there is a chance of rain showers in the afternoon. The temperature turns colder again on Thursday, although nothing like the frigid temperatures of the past week, with highs in the low to mid-30s.

Last week, a polar vortex brought the coldest temperatures of the year to the area, with wind chills near zero. Streets and sidewalks became slick with ice as snow melted and then froze. Even the Great Falls in Paterson froze over.

By Friday, the high is expected to be between 35 and 40 degrees, with a chance of rain and snow showers in the evening. It should warm up further next weekend, Goodman said, with highs getting back into the 40s.

“It’s still a little bit unsettled, but temperatures are moving into the 40s,” he said. “I think Wednesday we’ll put a real dent into whatever snow is left on the ground.”