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Environmentalists sue NY, NJ, DE over endangered sturgeon

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Environmentalists sue NY, NJ, DE over endangered sturgeon


New York, New Jersey and Delaware were accused in federal lawsuits Thursday of improperly allowing Atlantic sturgeon to be killed by commercial fishing operations even as the prehistoric fish is on the brink of disappearing.

The three parallel lawsuits filed by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Hudson Riverkeeper accuse the states of violating the Endangered Species Act by not obtaining necessary permits that allow commercial fisheries to catch and kill Atlantic sturgeon while they fish for other species such as striped bass and summer flounder. The environmentalists say the once thriving fish’s recovery is threatened because they are unintentionally caught in commercial nets as “bycatch.”

Atlantic Sturgeon in the Delaware River and Hudson River were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2012.

“The Atlantic sturgeon of our two rivers are at risk from being wiped from the face of this earth within our lifetime,” Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum said during an online news conference.

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The environmental groups say they want to compel the states to comply with the Endangered Species Act, which they believe will reduce the bycatch and help Atlantic sturgeon recover.

The environmental agencies of New York and New Jersey declined to comment on the litigation.

An email seeking comment was sent to Delaware’s environmental agency.

Sturgeon, notable for bony plates lining their bodies, date to the time of dinosaurs. Atlantic sturgeon are born in freshwater and migrate to the sea.

Sturgeon populations began to drop steeply more than 100 years ago amid pollution, dam construction and overfishing. The decline was driven in part by demand in the 1800s for caviar, a delicacy of salt-cured sturgeon eggs.

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Rossum said the Delaware River, once teeming with an estimated 180,000 females, now has fewer than 250 spawning adults remaining. Tracy Brown, the Hudson Riverkeeper, said numbers also are down in New York.

“Despite the endangered species listing, our Hudson River sturgeon population has not seen improvement,” Brown said. “It is, quite frankly, disgraceful that so little progress has been made towards recovery.”



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Delaware

Body cam video released of deadly police shooting in Wilmington, Delaware

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Body cam video released of deadly police shooting in Wilmington, Delaware


WILMINGTON, Del. (WPVI) — The family of Kadir Skinner is calling for criminal charges against the police officer who shot the 19-year-old after the release of officer body camera footage that attorneys say contradicts the police account of the incident.

The shooting happened June 24 after 11 p.m. at 24th and Jessup streets.

Calls grow for body cam video in deadly Wilmington police shooting

Body camera video shows an officer drawing and firing his weapon while yelling commands. In the footage, officers can be heard saying, “He’s got a gun,” as they approach Skinner, who is on the ground.

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Skinner repeatedly tells officers he is unarmed and says he cannot breathe.

“I don’t got nothing. I don’t got nothing,” Skinner says in the video.

Footage shows officers handcuffing Skinner and kneeling on him while he continues to say, “I don’t got nothing. I can’t breathe.”

Skinner was shot in the rear.

READ MORE | ‘We need answers’: Family disputes details after man killed in Wilmington police shooting

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A second body camera angle shows a crowd forming as officers instruct people to back up.

Video from a third responding officer appears to show an officer picking something up from the grass and returning toward the crowd and the officers with Skinner.

In the footage, an officer can be heard saying, “Secure the gun,” and the officer wearing the body cam says, “I have it.”

Attorneys for Skinner’s family, along with family members and community supporters, gathered at Shiloh Baptist Church in Wilmington following the release of the video to demand justice.

“Regardless if he had a gun or not, he was still shot in the back, running from police, not having been a threat,” attorney Harry Daniels said.

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SEE ALSO | Family releases witness video after 19-year-old fatally shot by police in Wilmington

Attorney Chance Lynch said the footage showed “an unjustified killing.”

“What we saw and what we witnessed was an unjustified killing,” Lynch said.

Attorneys for the family contend the video disputes the police version of events. Wilmington police previously said Skinner came out of a home armed and waved a gun at a crowd before officers opened fire.

“The video that I saw, I didn’t see a crowd, and I did not see Kadir coming out of a residence. I did not see a crowd, and I did not see Kadir pointing a firearm at a crowd,” Lynch said.

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Attorneys and the family maintain that Skinner was running from a loose dog.

The family also announced a $25 million claim against the city of Wilmington for wrongful death. They are seeking criminal charges against the officer who shot Skinner.

The Delaware Department of Justice is investigating.

Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Delaware oversight commission debates authority to reject utility rate hikes

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Delaware oversight commission debates authority to reject utility rate hikes


Delmarva Power objects to applying legislation to interim rate

The debate among commissioners over the breadth of their oversight on utility rates comes as the company has pushed back on the group, limiting its interim rate increase to half of its total request, even while it faced criticism from commissioners that it is “cruel” and “tone deaf” for continuing to press for rate hikes.

Delmarva Power, an investor-owned utility, serves 344,000 residential and nonresidential customers in the state. Its parent company, Exelon Corporation, is the nation’s largest regulated electric and gas utility.

Its customers pay a supply and a delivery charge for gas and electricity. The supply of energy comes from PJM Interconnection, a regional grid serving Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and several other states. Delmarva Power profits through the distribution fee.

Delmarva Power Region President Marcus Beal said they need to file rate hike requests to recoup money it spends on improving and maintaining the infrastructure.

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“Our equipment is extremely expensive, the items that we buy, the transformers, they’re very large, complex things to build,” Beal said. “Even something as simple as a treated pole of a certain size can be very pricey, so we spend a lot of money on the grid itself.”

Under Delaware law, interim rates can be approved seven months after a rate case is filed, while the full petition is being considered by the commission. Prior to the legislation, 100% of the rate request could be implemented. The bill caps interim rates at 50% and allows 75% of the ask to go into effect after 12 months. The bill also puts limits on Delmarva Power’s infrastructure spending.

Delmarva Power spokesperson Matt Ford said the commission overstepped its authority to cut the interim rate as much as they did and the company has argued in its PSC submissions that SB 326 did not apply to the rate increase request filed in December because it had yet to be signed into law. Meyer said he signed the bill Monday.

“Delmarva Power further reserves its objections to the applicability of the legislation, should it become effective, including its impermissible retroactive application,” the utility company said in comments filed Monday afternoon with the commission.

In addition, Delmarva Power has objected to halving $23.2 million in distribution system improvement charges as part of the interim rate commissioners approved. The fee allows utility companies to recover project costs and depreciation between full rate case proceedings.

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“My suggestion is, if you don’t like it, appeal it,” Iorii said.

It’s unclear whether the utility plans to appeal the order. Ford said they were reviewing it and its implications.

Tweedie said he hopes they decide not to appeal.

“If they appeal this, what they are essentially saying is, ‘We want to extract more money from our customers than the commission intended to allow,’” he said.



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Delaware man identified after fatal pedestrian crash

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Delaware man identified after fatal pedestrian crash


Delaware State Police have identified the man who was struck and killed by a vehicle while lying on the roadway in Harrington, Delaware.

On Monday, July 13, 2026, Jimmy Burgess, 62, was struck by a Chevrolet Silverado driving westbound near the 1500 block of Whiteleysburg Road.

According to police, the Silverado, which was operated by a 17-year-old boy from Milton, Delaware, was unable to stop once he saw Burgess on the road, striking him. The driver of the Silverado was not injured during the crash.

Burgess was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, said police.

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The roadway was closed for approximately three hours while the scene was investigated and cleared.

The Delaware State Police Troop 3 Collison Reconstruction Unit continues to investigate this crash.

Troopers ask anyone with information about the crash contact Sergeant M. Long at (302) 698-8518.

Information can also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police, or by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-(800) 847-3333

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