MANCHESTER, PA – A Manchester man, Anthony Estavon Fernandez, 26, of Manchester, was convicted yesterday afternoon of Aggravated Indecent Assault, Corruption of Minors and two counts of Indecent Assault. Judge Ness ordered that a Sexual Offender Assessment be completed prior to sentencing on August 31st.
LAKEWOOD, NJ – A Bayville man who carjacked a woman in Lakewood pleaded guilty and is facing 25 years in prison for the 2018 incident.
According to police, “On December 5, 2018, Officers from the Lakewood Township Police Department were summoned to the area of Hearth Court for a report of a carjacking.”
A report issued by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said responding Officers learned that a 20 year-old female was sitting inside her motor vehicle, outside of her home, when an unknown male approached her and asked for directions as well as a ride.
“The female gave the male directions, but declined to give him a ride. A short time, later the male returned to the vehicle, pounded on the window, and broke the glass. The male then entered the vehicle, sat on the female victim, and began to choke her,” police reported. ” The male proceeded to drive the vehicle away with the victim trapped inside, and threatened to kill her if she did not remain quiet. The victim was ultimately able to open the passenger side door of the vehicle, and jumped out as the vehicle was in motion. The victim ran to a nearby house and the police were called.”
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said the following:
The victim was transported to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood for treatment of multiple injuries including a bite mark to her leg, a laceration on her head, and wounds to her neck. Later in the day on December 5, 2018, the victim’s vehicle was found abandoned in Jackson Township with blood stains on the rear driver’s side door and quarter panel.
On June 5, 2020, the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences advised that the DNA profile obtained from the blood stain on the vehicle was a possible match to John Bailey. On October 13, 2020, a court-ordered buccal swab was taken from John Bailey and compared to the DNA profiles obtained from the blood stain and bite mark on the victim’s leg. On January 4, 2021, the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences confirmed that John Bailey was the source of the DNA found in the victim’s bite mark and the blood stain in her vehicle. On January 5, 2021, Bailey was charged with Carjacking on a warrant and entered into the National Crime Information Center database as a wanted person. On January 26, 2021, Bailey was apprehended by members of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office/United States Marshals Service Task Force in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Bailey was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he has been lodged since the date of his apprehension.
by Beachwood Police Department
BEACHWOOD, NJ (PUBLIC SAFETY ANNOUNCEMENT) – As of mid-morning today, the intersection of Beachwood Blvd. and Birch Street has been transitioned to a four-way stop intersection; please use additional caution as vehicle operators become familiar with the new traffic signage and stop locations.
Our agency will be aggressively monitoring this location for violations and educating the public on the new traffic pattern and the four-way stop rules. This education campaign will be brief as we will then transition to a traffic enforcement campaign.
Rules for a Controlled Intersection:
– Always stop at a multi-way stop or stop intersection. Always yield to the driver on the right if arriving simultaneously at a controlled intersection with regulatory signs, such as a four-way stop. Always yield to any driver already at or in an intersection.
Source: New Jersey Traffic Law Center.
Title 39 violation for “Failing to observe a stop or yield sign” (39:4:144)
– Failing to observe a stop or yield sign can result in a fine of $200 and 15 days in jail. In addition, 2 points will be assessed to your driving record by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Service.
MANCHESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ – A Manchester man has been charged for animal cruelty after it was witnessed that he had kicked his dog and yanked aggressively on his leash while taking the dog to a groomer in Manchester.
The groomer was not involved in this incident and we will not be publishing the name of the business to protect the company.
“On Wednesday, June 1, 2022, members of the Manchester Township Police Department were dispatched to [a dog groomer] Manchester Township for a report of animal abuse.
“The caller reported that a male identified as Gary Petosa, age 63 of Manchester, had been observed by a witness, kicking his dog, several times prior to dropping him off for a dog grooming appointment,” Manchester police reported. “Video surveillance from several nearby businesses captured Petosa abusing his dog on multiple occasions to include; aggressively yanking on the leash, throwing the dog against the driver’s side of the vehicle, and kicking the dog several times.”
“In an investigation conducted by Manchester Police, Humane Law Enforcement Officer Detective Adam Guker, the allegations were substantiated through the aforementioned video surveillance and witness statements. The dog was examined and confirmed to not have sustained any injuries despite the abuse,” the department said.
As a result of this investigation, Petosa was criminally charged with animal cruelty.
By Scott DiSavino
(Reuters) -The power grid in the Central United States could be forced to impose rotating blackouts on some of the hottest days of the summer due to rising demand and plant retirements, federal energy officials said in an online energy comment on Friday.
Extreme weather is causing increasing challenges for power grids across the United States, and officials are concerned that record heat and drought could result in rotating blackouts in several regions in the western half of the country.
In addition to the shutdown of coal and nuclear plants over the past year, the Midwest’s summer generating capacity is threatened by planned maintenance and forced outages, as well as seasonal factors like low wind conditions.
The region’s grid operator, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), has already warned of potential capacity shortfalls and other reliability concerns in the north and central regions of its coverage area.
MISO operates the power grid for some 42 million people in 15 U.S. Central states from Minnesota to Louisiana and the Canadian province of Manitoba.
The northern and central regions of MISO’s coverage are at “increased risk of temporary, controlled outages to preserve the integrity of the bulk electric system,” MISO has said.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in the “Today in Energy” section of its website on Friday that forecast demand in MISO could reach an hourly peak of 118.2 gigawatts (GW) under normal conditions this summer and 125.2 GW in extreme conditions.
To meet that peak demand, MISO expects to have 143.2 GW of capacity available this summer. But planned maintenance and forced outages could reduce that capacity, EIA warned.
Reductions could leave MISO with just 114.9 GW of generating capacity, which is less than its summer demand forecasts.
One gigawatt can power about a million U.S. homes on average, but as little as 200,000 on a hot summer day.
In the past five years, MISO’s summer capacity has been reduced by an average of 6.7 GW of maintenance outages, 14.4 GW of forced outages and 9.6 GW of seasonal derates like drought, low-wind conditions and fuel supply limitations, EIA said.
One of the biggest power plants in MISO to shut over the past year was Entergy Corp’s 0.8 GW Palisades nuclear reactor in Michigan, which was retired in May after more than 50 years of operation.
MISO said it and member utilities have trained for worst-case scenarios this summer and are prepared to take actions to maintain grid reliability.
Those actions include urging homes and businesses to conserve energy, limiting power plant and transmission line maintenance during heatwaves and, if necessary, imposing rotating blackouts.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Holmes)
By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) – A U.S. judge has dismissed a proposed class action accusing Kellogg Co of defrauding consumers about the content of its Frosted Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts, one of several lawsuits challenging how it markets its toaster pastries.
In a Thursday decision, U.S. District Judge James Shadid in Peoria, Illinois, rejected plaintiff Roberta Reinitz’s claim that Kellogg’s labeling, including an image showing a chunk of fudge, violated federal and state consumer protection laws.
Reinitz, of Chatsworth, Illinois, said she would not have bought the Pop-Tarts or would have paid less for them had she known they contained no milk and butter, or milkfat, which she called “essential to fudge.”
But the judge said Reinitz failed to show that reasonable consumers would expect fudge to contain milkfat, or that “a chocolate-tasting fudge product made from oils and whey would mislead a reasonable consumer.”
In seeking a dismissal, lawyers for Kellogg said milk and butter were not the “defining ingredients” of fudge.
They also said “fudge” referred to the Pop-Tarts’ flavor, and that a reasonable consumer “would interpret it to mean that the product tastes like chocolate (which it does).”
Reinitz’s lawyer Spencer Sheehan has filed many lawsuits concerning the content of various foods.
He said on Friday he is reviewing Shadid’s decision and has not decided how to proceed. Kellogg and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
At least three federal judges in Illinois and New York have this year dismissed lawsuits filed by Sheehan claiming that Kellogg did not use enough strawberries in its frosted or unfrosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts.
The case is Reinitz v Kellogg Sales Co, U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois, No. 21-01239.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
OCEAN CITY, MD – The Ocean City Police Department is warning underage drinkers with fake identification cards to think twice before trying to use them this year.
“In addition to helping local establishments with checking ids at the door. We will be conducting alcohol compliance checks. The purpose of this operation is to ensure that employees of businesses that provide alcohol are making a concerted effort to avoid selling to individuals under the age of 21,” the department said. “Personnel under the age of 21, accompanied by plainclothes law enforcement officers, will be visiting bars, restaurants, and alcohol retailers attempting to purchase alcoholic beverages.”
The Ocean City Police Department would like to remind all business owners that serving alcohol to underage citizens is not only illegal but can have a detrimental impact on their business and the underage individual involved. The OCPD encourages everyone to obey all alcohol regulations to ensure a safer resort town.
ELIZABETH, NJ – A man walking along the shoulder on the Garden State Parkway was struck and killed and the driver fled the scene. Now, the New Jersey State Police are asking the public for help in the case.
“The New Jersey State Police is seeking the public’s assistance with a fatal hit-and-run crash investigation that killed Felipe Dos-Santos, 31, of Elizabeth, N.J. on May 25,” the agency said. “Based on the preliminary investigation, detectives determined that at approximately 12:45 a.m., Felipe was walking northbound on shoulder of the Garden State Parkway in the area of milepost 130.4 in Woodbridge Township. He was struck by a vehicle that fled the scene after the crash and continued traveling north. As a result, Felipe sustained fatal injuries.”
Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or the events leading up to or following the crash is asked to contact the Troop “D” Criminal Investigation Office at 732-441-4500 ext. 7426. Anonymous tips are welcome.
(Reuters) – Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk on Friday sent an email to his executives ordering a hiring freeze and job cuts, making the email his most direct message on the risks of a recession.
The billionaire has taken to Twitter several times in the recent past to share his thoughts on a possible recession.
DATE COMMENTS
May 26 When asked by a Twitter user if he still thinks
that “we are approaching” a recession, Musk
replied, “Yes, but this is actually a good thing.
It has been raining money on fools for too long.
Some bankruptcies need to happen.”
May 26 When a Twitter user asked how long he thinks the
recession will last: “Based on past experience,
about 12 to 18 months,” Musk responded.
“Companies that are inherently negative cash flow
(ie value destroyers) need to die, so that they
stop consuming resources. ”
May 20 In response to a Twitter thread by former Meta
Platforms CTO Mike Schroepfer, wherein he
commented about a tech downturn and said, “Nobody
can predict what is going to happen over the next
12 months but we haven’t had a real bad tech
downturn since 2000″, Musk said “I ‘member” and
called the thread “accurate.”
May 16 Remotely addressing the All-In Summit in Miami
Beach, Musk said “I think we are probably in a
recession and that recession will get worse.”
“It’ll probably be some tough going for, I don’t
know, a year, maybe 12 to 18 months, is usually
the amount of time that it takes for a correction
to happen,” he added.
Dec. 30 In reply to a tweet asking Musk to predict when
the next recession will be, the world’s richest
man said, “Predicting macroeconomics is
challenging, to say the least. My gut feel is
maybe around spring or summer 2022, but not later
than 2023.”
Nov. 30 In response to a report shared on Twitter, Musk
said, “If a severe global recession were to dry
up capital availability / liquidity while SpaceX
was losing billions on Starlink & Starship, then
bankruptcy, while still unlikely, is not
impossible.”
“GM & Chrysler went BK last recession. ‘Only the
paranoid survive.’ – Grove”
(Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
By Manas Mishra and Amruta Khandekar
(Reuters) -Bristol Myers Squibb Co said on Friday it will acquire drug developer Turning Point Therapeutics Inc for $4.1 billion in cash to help bolster its arsenal of cancer drugs.
Turning Point’s lead drug, repotrectinib, targets mutations in certain proteins in the body that lead to unchecked cell growth.
Bristol Myers will pay $76 per Turning Point share, a 122.5% premium to its last closing price.
The deal comes at a time when a dearth of large acquisitions, clinical failures and investor exits following a gradual easing of the pandemic have hammered biotech stocks.
Wall Street analysts said the deal could help lift sector sentiment.
The deal “will surprise many investors who over the past year have begun to believe late-to-market targeted oncology drugs are likely to be commercial failures,” Stifel analyst Bradley Canino said.
Turning Point’s shares, which have fallen roughly 28% this year, more than doubled to $73.60 in early trading.
Repotrectinib belongs to a class of treatments known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and is being tested to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and other advanced solid tumors.
However, the drug, if approved, will compete in a crowded market for lung cancer treatments and contend for market share with Bristol Myers’ own drug Opdivo, and other cancer drugs made by Roche, Merck & Co Inc and AstraZeneca.
Bristol Myers said it expects repotrectinib to become a standard-of-care therapy for certain patients with NSCLC, a lucrative market for drug developers, when it is approved.
Sales of Bristol Myers’ Opdivo have fallen below those of rival Merck’s blockbuster treatment, Keytruda.
Bristol Myers expects U.S. approval for repotrectinib in the second half of 2023.
(Reporting by Manas Mishra and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shounak Dasgupta)
English Premier League club Arsenal has agreed to sign the United States Men’s National Team goalkeeper, Matt Turner from the New England Revolution, pending completion of a medical.
ESPN reported that Turner will head to England ahead of the 2022/23 Premier League season, getting underway full of confidence after a whirlwind few years which has seen the 27-year-old establish himself as his country’s number one goalkeeper.
The move will see the New Jersey-born player end his six-year association with the Revolution, who signed him in March 2016 after a successful trial period at the Gillette Stadium. Although he didn’t make his MLS debut until the start of the 2018 season, he has been almost ever-present in their matchday squad since. In 2020 he really made his name, as the fans of the Revolution named him the team MVP. He also collected accolades from his teammates too as they voted him their Player of the Year.
Turner’s performances for his club didn’t go unnoticed as Gregg Berhalter called him up to make his debut for the USA in their warm-up game for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Trinidad and Tobago, and the keeper justified his selection by saving a penalty in the 7-0 win.
2021 proved to be even more fruitful, as more accolades for club and country followed, with Turner playing a vital part in the USMNT victory in the Concacaf Gold Cup. He conceded just one goal in his six appearances and earned himself the goalkeeper of the tournament award. On home soil, he continued to impress, helping the Revolution to the top of the Eastern Conference, before missing out on the title to eventual MLS Cup winners, New York City.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta made a move to sign Turner as their German goalkeeper, and current second choice, Bernd Leno, is set to leave the Emirates Stadium this summer. Arteta wanted an experienced addition to their squad to challenge their current number one and England international, Aaron Ramsdale, to help revitalize their fortunes after several years starved of success. Arsenal have won three Premier League titles, but have now gone 18 years without the top prize. And they’re unlikely to lift it this year as they’re outsiders in the latest Coral Premier League odds. With Turner being relatively inexperienced at the top level, it’s quite a statement that Arsenal have chosen him to help them realize their ambitions. They aim to put the squeeze on champions Manchester City next season, who continue to breeze past all comers, but it’s a test Turner is relishing.
“I always want to be able to challenge myself at the highest level I possibly can.” He said. “It’s been tough for goalkeepers to get moves. So, I understand, I’m 27 and it’s something that I really want to do and really want to accomplish.”
Although Turner knows that if he fails to achieve a starting berth with his new club it could impact his selection for the USMNT at the World Cup, which takes place in Qatar later this year, he isn’t fazed.
“Going overseas and getting into a situation where maybe I’m not playing, or maybe I don’t adapt well to being in a foreign country before a World Cup might be challenging.
“There’s a lot of things I can take from [the US] and apply with the Revolution for the rest of 2022, and then going into a World Cup, after a World Cup, we can revisit.”
Thomas Catenacci on June 3, 2022
The U.S. economy added 390,000 jobs in May while the unemployment rate was largely unchanged at 3.6%, according to Department of Labor data released Friday.
The number of unemployed people ticked up slightly to about 6 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report. Economists projected 328,000 Americans would be added to payrolls prior to Friday’s report, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“We probably are settling into a lower trajectory for job growth. The participation rate has recovered all of the dip we saw in the spring of 2020, related to Covid,” Thomas Simons, an economist at investment banking firm Jefferies Group, told CNBC. “I don’t think there’s a swath of people that is out of the labor force and on the cusp of being brought back in. There’s roughly two job openings for every unemployed person.”
The number of job openings declined slightly to 11.4 million in April, still far above historic levels, a separate Labor Department report published Wednesday showed.
Job gains were largely reported in the leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, transportation and warehousing sectors. The growth represented a month-over-month decline compared to April when the economy added a more-than-expected 428,000 jobs.
However, private sector employment grew just 128,000 last month with small businesses reporting negative growth, according to a report Thursday from private payrolls firm ADP.
“The job growth rate of hiring has tempered across all industries, while small businesses remain a source of concern as they struggle to keep up with larger firms that have been booming as of late,” ADP chief economist Nela Richardson said in a statement.
The May jobs growth brought the total number of employed Americans to about 151.7 million compared to the 152.5 million employed in February 2020 prior to the pandemic-induced recession, Federal Reserve data showed.
“As we transition to this new period of stable, steady growth, we aren’t looking to see blockbuster job reports month after month, like we have over the last year. But that’s a good thing,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre remarked during a press briefing Thursday. “That’s the sign of a healthy economy with steady job growth, rising wages for working Americans, everyday costs easing up, and a shrinking deficit. That stability will put us in a strong position to tackle inflation.”
“And in the short time since President Biden came into office, we have had record job numbers, record job creation,” she continued.
Inflation surged 8.3% over the 12-month period ending in April, near the highest level recorded since early 1982. In addition, the stock market has recorded negative growth this year with the three major indices falling between 8.50-21.27% since January, according to market data.
A whopping 69% of Americans surveyed in late May said they believed the economy is “bad,” up from 46% in April 2021, according to a poll from CBS News. Seventy-seven percent said they were pessimistic about consumer costs, 68% responded as pessimistic about the national economy and 67% said they were pessimistic about the stock market.
President Joe Biden is slated to address the jobs report Friday at 10:30 a.m.
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(Reuters) -Russian internet giant Yandex said on Friday that Arkady Volozh had stepped down as CEO and left the board of directors after the European Union included him on its latest list of sanctions against Russian entities and individuals.
Volozh, who co-founded the Yandex search engine in 1997, was put under EU sanctions on Friday after the bloc accused him of “materially or financially” supporting Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Volozh said he considered the European Commission’s decision “misguided”, but added that while sanctions were in place he was transferring his voting power to the company’s board.
Yandex itself is not subject to EU sanctions.
The company said it did not believe Volozh’s departure would affect its operations, financial position or relations with its partners.
Moscow-listed shares in Yandex were down 6% at 1,496 roubles ($23.43) as of 1407 GMT.
“The Board continues to function as normal. Yandex has a strong and deep management team that is well placed to take the company to new levels with the ongoing support of the Board,” it said in a statement.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special military operation” to disarm and “denazify” its neighbour.
($1 = 63.8500 roubles)
(Reporting by ReutersEditing by Mark Potter)
WELLSVILLE (POLICE BLOTTER) – On Wednesday, Wellsville Police arrested Shad R. Baldwin, age 44, charging him with DWI (Felony), AUO 1st (Felony), Refusal to take a breath test, Unsafe Tire, No Operable Headlamps, Unapproved/No Protective Helmet & Unregistered Motor Vehicle.
The charges stem from a traffic stop on North Highland Avenue in the Village. Baldwin was processed, issued an appearance ticket and released to a third party. Baldwin is due to appear in Wellsville Village Court on June 21st at 4:30 pm.
(Reuters) -The Russian rouble firmed past 62 to the dollar in Moscow trade on Friday while shares in internet giant Yandex fell sharply after EU countries imposed new sanctions against Russia.
EU countries have agreed their sixth package of sanctions against Russia over what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, including an import ban on all Russian seaborne crude oil and petroleum products in six to eight months.
The rouble firmed despite the negative development, as it is continued to be driven by capital controls that Russia imposed to protect its financial system soon after sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
At 1405 GMT, the rouble was 0.3% stronger against the dollar at 61.55 and firmed 0.6% to 65.11 against the euro.
The rouble has become the world’s best-performing currency http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/GLOBAL-CURRENCIES-PERFORMANCE/0100301V041/index.html so far this year, boosted artificially by capital controls and supported by high prices for commodities, Russia’s key exports.
New gas payment terms for EU consumers that require conversion of foreign currencies into roubles and a fall in imports have also supported the Russian currency, helping it to shrug off economic hurdles at home and risks of a looming default on sovereign debt.
Most of the gas payments were due in May, Gazprom and the Kremlin have said, and German, Italian and French companies agreed to use the new scheme where end-payments are made in roubles. Buyers from Denmark, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Poland and Finland were cut off after refusing to pay under the new rules.
Following lower activity from the foreign gas buyers to exchange foreign exchange for roubles, the euro continued to rise against the rouble and the dollar, Promsvyazbank said in a note, suggesting that the rouble might have found a balance between supply and demand against the euro and the U.S. dollar.
“The rouble looks balanced to us at the current levels, and we expect it to continue trading at 61-62 versus the dollar today,” Sberbank CIB said in a note.
On the domestic bond market, yields on 10-year OFZ treasury bonds fell to 9.08%, their lowest since early 2022, after inflation data underpinned expectations for another rate cut by the central bank as soon as next week.
Russian stock indexes were down. The dollar-denominated RTS index fell 2% to 1,172.9 points, while the rouble-based MOEX Russian index was also 2% lower at 2,293.3 points.
Moscow-listed shares in Yandex fell 6% on the day to 1,496 roubles after the sanctions prompted Arkady Volozh to step down as Yandex chief executive and leave the board. Yandex shares hit a record high of 6,217 in November.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by David Clarke)
GLEN BURNIE, MD – Police arrested and charged Justin James Wiggington for a grand theft auto involving a golf cart on Wednesday. According to police, at approximately 10:45 p.m. officers observed a golf cart being operated on the wrong side of the roadway, with no lights or reflective markers, near the intersection of Central Avenue and Beards Point Road in Davidsonville.
“A traffic stop was conducted in the area of Central Avenue West and Riva Road. The driver was determined to be operating a motor vehicle under the influence and the golf cart was reported stolen. The driver was arrested and charged accordingly,” police reported.
GLEN BURNIE, MD – On June 2, 2022, at approximately 12:25 a.m. an officer conducted a traffic stop on a gray 2014 Jeep Cherokee on Faywood Avenue near Faywood Court in Glen Burnie. During the stop, a probable cause search was conducted resulting in the seizure of 2.5 lbs of suspected marijuana, 33 suspected THC cartridges, 21 pre-rolled suspected marijuana cigarettes, 80 packaged edibles containing suspected THC, and a short-barrelled AR-15 rifle (w/o serial#). The driver was arrested and charged accordingly.
Police arrested Alaric Columbus Ricks, Jr., a 38-year-old from Lanham, Maryland.
NORTH AMITYVILLE, NY – A gun used during a shooting inside a North Amityville home turns out to be an illegal gun, reported stolen out of Georgia.
According to police, a North Amityville man is facing multiple weapons charges after he fired two shots during a dispute with his girlfriend in the early morning hours of May 29. During the argument, the man, a convicted felon, fired a shot out an open window of the home and then fired another shot into a bedroom wall, which entered another room where four children were sleeping.
Police confiscated a Springfield 9mm handgun, which had been reported stolen from Georgia in 2017.
TRENTON, NJ – If you have been avoiding your local municipal property taxes, Republicans in Trenton want to dock your next income tax return in order to pay for your liability.
According to New Jersey Senator Anthony Bucco, municipalities may soon be able to reduce property taxes by using an individual’s income tax refund to cover the cost of their delinquent property taxes.
Bucco is sponsoring a bill that will allow your town government to take your income tax return to pay your bill.
“New Jersey’s antiquated tax laws regarding delinquent property taxes have consistently led to higher property taxes for homeowners throughout the state,” said Bucco (R-25). “In fact, delinquent property taxes have forced municipalities to place more funds in reserve for uncollected taxes—an action that inevitably raises all of our taxes. My legislation will allow localities to credit an individual’s income tax refund toward their delinquent property taxes. This small, but important change will make it much easier for local taxing authorities to collect on delinquent property tax obligations, reduce the reserve funds for uncollected taxes, and allow taxpayers to keep more of their hard-earned dollars.”
Bucco’s bill, S-1777, would allow gross income tax refunds to be credited against a taxpayer’s delinquent local property taxes in the same manner as is currently required for homestead property tax rebates.
Under current law, a homestead property tax rebate owed to a delinquent property taxpayer must be applied to any property tax owed by that individual before the individual is entitled to the remaining funds.
Bucco blamed municipal tax cheats for high taxes in New Jersey.
“New Jersey’s property taxes are among the highest in the nation, if not the highest, and the overall cost of living and running a business in this state has forced residents to move elsewhere,” added Bucco. “We have the ability right now to make significant changes to our tax policies to ensure that homeowners get the property tax relief they deserve. This legislation is an important first step toward that goal.”
BROOKLYN, NY – An Orthodox Jewish man was assaulted on his way to prayer service at a local synagogue by a teen from Staten Island according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
D.A. Gonzalez today announced that a teenager has been arraigned on an indictment in which he is charged with assault as a hate crime and other related offenses in connection with an unprovoked attack against a Jewish man in Williamsburg.
The victim was walking to a synagogue and wearing traditional Hasidic attire when the attack occurred.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “Without warning or provocation, this defendant allegedly assaulted an innocent man simply because of his Jewish faith. Crimes that target individuals because of their religion, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation are a threat to everything we stand for here in Brooklyn. We will now seek to hold the defendant accountable.”
The following information was released in a statement by the D.A.’s office today:
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Logan Jones, 18, of Staten Island. He was arraigned yesterday before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on an indictment in which he is charged with third-degree assault as a hate crime, third degree assault, third-degree menacing as a hate crime, third-degree menacing, third-degree attempted assault as a hate crime, third-degree attempted assault, and second-degree harassment. Bail was set at $30,000 and the defendant was ordered to return to court on June 24, 2022.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on April 1, 2022, at approximately 7:55 p.m., at 58 Gerry Street, the defendant and a group of five individuals allegedly approached the victim, 21, and his wife, as they walked to Shabbat services at their local synagogue. The defendant allegedly suddenly began punching the victim in the face. The defendant and two of the other individuals are alleged to have then repeatedly kicked the victim as he fell to the ground and tried to escape by sliding underneath a truck parked in the street.
According to the investigation, the defendant and the five other individuals allegedly fled the scene after the victim’s wife asked a bystander to call 911. The victim suffered severe head and body pain, an abrasion to the cheek, as well as bruising to the face and mouth.
BERLIN -The Swiss government on Friday announced new rules for the nation’s five major banks, requiring that they boost their liquidity in order to better weather events such as the COVID-19 pandemic in future.
“The revision is intended to ensure that systemically important banks (SIBs) hold sufficient liquidity to absorb liquidity shocks and cover their needs in the event of restructuring or liquidation,” the Swiss Federal Council said in a statement announcing the adoption of the ordinance.
One change is that banks deemed systemically important now have to hold enough liquidity to weather a 90-day liquidity crisis, instead of the 30-day threshold previously, the seven-member federal council said.
Switzerland’s five SIBs are UBS, Credit Suisse, Raiffeisen, PostFinance and Zuercher Kantonalbank.
The requirements come into force on July 1, according to the statement.
Under the new rules, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) could impose institution-specific surcharges, the statement said.
To help banks meet the new requirements, certain measures can count towards the upper liquidity limit, for example the sale of marketable securities that a bank can use to generate liquidity during a crisis.
The council said some of the criticisms voiced by the banks had been taken into account when crafting the new rules.
In a statement to Reuters, Credit Suisse said it acknowledged the changes to the liquidity ordinance.
The five lenders have been given a transition period of 18 months to comply with the liquidity requirements.
($1 = 0.9608 Swiss francs)
(Writing by Miranda Murray and Rachel MoreEditing by Paul Carrel and Christina Fincher)
By Philip Blenkinsop
BRUSSELS – The European Union wants to accelerate efforts to finalise trade agreements with third parties after a six-month pause, as the bloc adapts to the Ukraine war and other challenges, EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Friday.
Dombrovskis said there was a “very broad consensus” among ministers meeting in Luxembourg that the bloc should step up efforts to conclude, sign and ratify trade agreements.
“We need to reconsider the current geopolitical landscape to ensure security of our supply chains and create new opportunities for our exporters,” he said.
Dombrovskis said the Ukraine war was the main but not only factor behind the bloc’s greater focus on trade deals. China’s “ambiguous positioning” towards Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was also a problem, although Brussels still needed to talk to Beijing.
EU diplomats say France, which holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU, has halted moves to clear trade deals, such as with Chile and Mexico, so as not to disturb presidential and legislative elections in April and June.
France is particularly sensitive to increased beef imports such deals could bring, but has denied it is holding up agreements. The more free-trade oriented Czech Republic takes over the EU presidency on July 1.
Finnish trade minister Ville Skinnari said before the meeting that his country was a strong backer of a deal with Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay struck in 2019, but put on hold due to EU concerns about Amazon deforestation.
French trade minister Franck Riester said it was important that Mercosur countries provided guarantees on sustainable development before the deal could be ratified.
The European Union is also negotiating free trade agreements with Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and India.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
PITTSBURGH, PA – A video of a juvenile, armed with a gun on his way to a parking lot in East Hills sparked a police response from the Pittsburgh Police Department on Saturday.
“On May 28, Pittsburgh Police from Zone 5, after viewing a video on a social media platform of a juvenile male waving a gun, headed to a parking lot in the East Hills area where they believed the online post had been created,” the department said. “Officers quickly located a large group of young males and females outside and in vehicles in the 2300 block of East Hills Drive.”
Upon their approach in marked police vehicles, two males ran from the area as officers gave commands to stop.
“Officers caught up with the one adult male and placed him in custody. A stolen firearm was discarded during the foot pursuit. He is charged with Receiving Stolen Property, Carrying a Firearm without a License, Tampering with Evidence, and Resisting Arrest,” the department said. “Police did not immediately locate the other male who fled on foot.”
A second male, the juvenile who was seen in the original video, was also arrested. He was released to the custody of his mother.
He faces charges of Firearms not to be Carried without a License, Possession of a Firearm by a Minor, and possession of a small amount of marijuana.
After a thorough search of the parking lot and search warrants secured for the vehicles, a total of eight firearms, four bricks of heroin, two bundles of fentanyl and drug paraphernalia were recovered from the scene.
Pittsburgh Police Department Press Release
The investigation is ongoing.
ABERDEEN, NJ – Residents in Aberdeen have reported seeing a black bear in the neighborhood near Van Brackle Road and Line Road. The sighting was reported at around 6:30 am on Thursday, according to police.
“Officers from both agencies searched the area with negative results. Upon speaking with the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife they believe that the bear will move on from Aberdeen Township soon,” the police said. “[The NJ DEP] They advised that as long as it has avenues of escape they will not come to remove the bear. We will continue to monitor this situation and as always please call the Aberdeen Township Police Department if it is an emergency.”
“Fish and Wildlife will not respond to remove the bear from our location unless it gets into a fixed position such as a tree or an enclosure,” the department said.
If you see the bear, please call (877) 927-6337. If you have bear questions call (908) 735-6938.
WASHINGTON – U.S. services industry growth slowed for a second straight month in May, but businesses reported strong gains in new domestic and export orders, a survey showed on Friday.
The Institute for Supply Management said its non-manufacturing activity index fell to a reading of 55.9 last month from 57.1 in April. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the non-manufacturing index dropping to 56.4.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the services sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. The continued slowdown could reflect persistent supply constraints, which have been worsened by China’s zero-COVID policy and Russia’s dragging war against Ukraine.
The ISM’s measure of new orders received by services businesses rebounded to a reading of 57.6 last month from 54.6 in April. Spending is shifting back to services from goods. Businesses also reported an increase in export orders.
Its services industry employment gauge also rebounded to 50.2 from a reading of 49.5 in April. The rise in employment helped businesses to make some progress in clearing the backlog of unfinished work.
The ISM survey’s measure of supplier deliveries fell to 61.3 from 65.1 in April. A reading above 50% indicates slower deliveries. Services inflation continued to run high. A measure of prices paid by services industries for inputs slipped to a still-high reading of 82.1 from 84.6 in April.
The Federal Reserve has increased its policy interest rate by 75 basis points since March. It is expected to hike the overnight rate by half a percentage point at each of its next meetings this month and in July. Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard said on Thursday she saw little case for pausing in September.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)