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NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Tuesday in a case involving New Jersey pregnancy resource centers challenging actions by the state’s Democratic leadership that they say violate their constitutional rights.
First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, a nonprofit comprising five facilities across north and central New Jersey, has been wrapped up since 2023 in the dispute over an investigative subpoena issued by Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who alleges the nonprofit could be defrauding its donors. First Choice counters that the inquiry is baseless and a First Amendment threat because it has rattled donors, who have kept the centers afloat for four decades.
During a tour of the New Brunswick center, First Choice Executive Director Aimee Huber told Fox News Digital that Platkin’s subpoena — seeking donor names, contact information and employment records — is unjustified.
“I think it’s important to realize that there have been no complaints that have been cited by the attorney general against First Choice, not one,” Huber said. “So, when we received the subpoena, it was clearly a fishing expedition. There were no complaints by donors or clients.”
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First Choice Pregnancy Resource Centers, New Brunswick, New Jersey, November 2025. (Fox News Digital)
The Supreme Court is weighing a technicality over whether the subpoena fight should play out in state or federal court. In state court, the New Jersey attorney general could have the upper hand.
Dalton Nichols, a lawyer on the case who works for the conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom, told Fox News Digital Platkin’s demand was “egregious” and that it was crucial that First Choice have its day in federal court to make its First Amendment claim.
Nichols said: “this is bigger than just a state court versus federal court issue.”
“This could have implications that impact other claims [over] any invasive requests for donor names like that, so a loss for First Choice in this case could be a bit more far-reaching than just state court versus federal court,” Nichols said.
“It’s getting at whether or not you even have a claim at all, and if First Choice has a First Amendment claim, then First Choice should be able to press that in federal court.”
Platkin, a Democrat appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy, began scrutinizing pregnancy counseling centers in July 2022 by launching a “strike force” to promote abortion access in the wake of the Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs decision. Platkin said such facilities presented consumer fraud concerns because they misled donors and clients about the services they offered.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin. (AP Photo/Mike Catalini, File)
“If you’re seeking reproductive care, beware of Crisis Pregnancy Centers!” Platkin wrote on X in December 2022. His subpoena to First Choice came less than one year later.
“Attorneys General are the chief law enforcement officers of their States and have broad authority to investigate potential violations of state laws,” state lawyers wrote to the Supreme Court in defense of Platkin’s probe.
The state lawyers also argued that First Choice was overstating the threat that the subpoena presented because the scope of donor information it sought could become narrower if hashed out in state court.
Huber said First Choice is forthright about its mission to promote alternatives to abortion.
“We’re always very careful to share that we do not perform or refer for abortions, so [the client] knows ahead of time before she comes in what services we can provide her and what services we don’t provide,” Huber said.
The New Brunswick center, which takes appointments, has an ultrasound room where a woman faces a wall of images of babies growing in the womb as a sonographer or nurse performs an ultrasound on her to confirm the pregnancy. A small separate room is used for consulting clients, the majority of whom are Hispanic, Huber said. Yet another room appears as a large closet lined with baby clothing — a “baby boutique.” Huber said economic and family pressures are frequent obstacles for women.
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A wall of a room where women can receive an ultrasound as a means to confirm they are pregnant at First Choice Women’s Resource Centers in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Fox News Digital)
“Women who are scared and vulnerable and think that abortion is their only option come to us, and they receive professional services and compassionate care, all free of charge,” Huber said, adding that First Choice has served more than 36,000 women.
Lawyers on behalf of New Jersey said the subpoena was intended to investigate whether donors were being solicited on certain websites under the false pretense that First Choice offered abortions and whether the nonprofit was making unsubstantiated medical claims about the abortion pill.
First Choice lawyers wrote in court papers that the nonprofit provides “medically accurate” information, showcasing a divide over dissemination of information about the pill, which has become a top pain point in the aftermath of the Supreme Court flipping abortion policy to the states.
“Every once in a while, we hear someone who doesn’t agree with what we do, and so that happens, but our clients are so appreciative and grateful, and our staff and our donors, so I’ve learned to focus on the positive and not the negative,” Huber said. “Of course, when we received the subpoena from the New Jersey attorney general two years ago now, everything changed in terms of our legal battle and what we were called to do during this moment.”
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new video loaded: Hochul and Mamdani Announce Plan for Universal Child Care
transcript
transcript
“Today, we’re working together with the mayor at this incredible place to announce the first major steps to make child care universal — truly universal — here in New York City, transforming the lives of children and parents all across the state.” “We will build on the city’s existing three-K program, and say, no longer will a family in Flatbush be offered a seat, but have to find out that seat is in Astoria. We will add seats in the neighborhoods where demand has not been met. This will be felt by expanded subsidies for tens of thousands of additional families. It will be felt when parents look at their bank accounts at the end of the year, and see that they have saved more than $20,000 per child.” “And today, I’m proud to announce that New York State is paying the full cost to launch 2-care. For the first time — universal daycare for 2-year-olds, as proposed by Mayor Mamdani. We’re not just paying for one year of the program. We don’t usually go one year out in our budget, but just to let you know how serious we are, we’re taking the unprecedented step to not just commit for the 2027 budget, which I’m working on right now, but also the following year as well to show you we’re in this for the long haul.”
By Meg Felling
January 8, 2026
Local News
A Boston nightclub where a woman collapsed on the dance floor and died last month will have its entertainment license reinstated after the Boston Licensing Board found no violations Thursday.
Anastaiya Colon, 27, was at ICON, a nightclub in Boston’s Theater District, in the early hours of Dec. 21 when she suffered a fatal medical episode. Following the incident, her loved ones insisted that the club’s staff did not respond professionally and failed to control crowds.
City regulators suspended ICON’s entertainment license pending an assessment of any potential violations. During a hearing Tuesday, they heard from attorneys representing the club and people who were with Colon the night she died.
As EMTs attempted to respond, crowds inside the club failed to comply with demands to give them space, prompting police to shut down the club, according to a police report of the incident. However, the club and its representatives were adamant that staff handled their response and crowd control efforts properly.
Kevin Montgomery, the club’s head of security, testified that the crowd did not impede police or EMTs and that he waited to evacuate the club because doing so would have created a bottleneck at the entrance. Additionally, a bouncer and a bartender both testified that they interacted with Colon, who ordered one drink before collapsing, and did not see any signs of intoxication.
Angelica Morales, Colon’s sister, submitted a video taken on her phone to the board for them to review. Morales testified Tuesday that the video disproves some of the board’s claims and shows that ICON did not immediately respond to the emergency.
“I ran to the DJ booth, literally bombarded everybody that was in my way to get to the DJ booth, told them to cut the music off,” Morales said. “On my way back, the music was cut off for a minute or two, maybe less, and they cut the music back on.”
Shanice Monteiro, a friend who was with Colon and Morales, said she went outside to flag down police officers. She testified that their response, along with the crowd’s, was inadequate.
“I struggled to get outside,” Monteiro said. “Once I got outside, everybody was still partying, there was no type of urgency. Nobody stopped.”
These factors, along with video evidence provided by ICON, did not substantiate any violations on the club’s part, prompting the licensing board to reinstate their entertainment license at a subsequent hearing Thursday.
“Based on the evidence presented at the hearing from the licensed premise and the spoken testimony and video evidence shared with us from Ms. Colon’s family, I’m not able to find a violation in this case,” Kathleen Joyce, the board’s chairwoman, said at the hearing.
However, Joyce further stated that she “was not able to resolve certain questions” about exactly when or why the club turned off the music or turned on the lights. As a result, the board will require ICON to submit an emergency management plan to prevent future incidents and put organized safety measures in place.
“This plan should outline detailed operational procedures in the event of a medical or any other emergency, including protocols for police and ambulance notification, crowd control and dispersal, and procedures regarding lighting and music during an emergency response,” Joyce said.
Though the club will reopen without facing any violations, Joyce noted that there were “lessons left to be learned” from the incident.
“This tragedy has shaken the public confidence in nightlife in this area, and restoring that confidence is a shared obligation,” she said. “People should feel safe going out at night. They should feel safe going to a club in this area, and they should feel safe getting home.”
Keeana Saxon, one of three commissioners on the licensing board, further emphasized the distinction Joyce made between entertainment-related matters and those that pertained to licensing. Essentially, the deciding factor in the board’s decision was the separation of the club’s response from any accountability they may have had by serving Colon liquor.
“I hope that the family does understand that there are separate procedures for both the entertainment and the licensing, just to make sure that on the licensing side, that we understand that she was only served one drink and that it was absolutely unforeseeable for that one drink to then lead to some kind of emergency such as this one,” Saxon said.
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Jack McGregor, a former state senator and the original founder of the Pittsburgh Penguins, died at the age of 91 on Tuesday. The organization announced the news in a post on social media on Thursday.
“The team extends our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and teammates during this difficult time,” a post on X said.
No other information was provided in the post, which was shared before the team’s game at PPG Paints Arena against the New Jersey Devils.
According to his biography on the United States Senate Library, McGregor served in the state Senate from 1963-1970. He represented District 44 in Allegheny County and was a Republican.
He was born in Kittanning, Armstrong County, and attended the University of Pittsburgh and Quinnipiac University before getting into politics, according to his biography. He also served in the United States Marine Corps.
In 1966, the NHL granted a franchise to Pittsburgh after McGregor formed a group of investors that included H. J. Heinz II and Art Rooney. McGregor was named president and chief executive officer by the investors and represented Pittsburgh on the NHL’s Board of Governors, according to his biography.
The team played its first game in 1967 at the Civic Arena. McGregor owned the team for four years before selling it.
There is also a scholarship in his name at Pitt. It aims to provide “financial assistance to a law student who excels academically and has committed to working in the public sector,” the university says.
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