February 1, 2018
Scattered showers with high temperatures in the upper 40s.
MENENDEZ WILL NOT FACE RETRIAL IN BRIBERY CASE
The Justice Department said Wednesday that it would not retry Sen. Bob Menendez on bribery and fraud charges, Politico.com reports. A federal judge then dismissed the case. Last year a jury was unable to reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared. The decision removes a challenge that Menendez, a Democrat, was facing as he runs for re-election this year.
CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN TO HEAD TASK FORCE ON DEMOCRACY
Christine Todd Whitman, a Republican who was the first female governor of New Jersey, will co-chair the National Task Force on Rule of Law and Democracy, NJ Spotlight writes. The nonpartisan task force, spearheaded by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, will also be co-chaired by Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney who was fired last year by the Trump administration.
FLIGHT FROM MOSCOW TO HAVANA DIVERTED TO ATLANTIC CITY
Passengers on a Russian flight to Cuba unexpectedly found themselves in Atlantic City when their plane became low on fuel and was diverted to New Jersey, the Press of Atlantic City reports. The 294 passengers and 14 crew members spent more than 15 hours in New Jersey after a leak was found in the fuel tank and they waited for a replacement jet.
BAYONNE SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH MUSLIM GROUP OVER MOSQUE
Bayonne has reached a settlement in a federal lawsuit brought by the nonprofit Bayonne Muslims, which had been seeking for two and a half years to build a community center on the east side of the city, NJ.com says. Under the settlement, the Muslim group will be permitted to open its community center after a public meeting is held on the matter, within 30 days of the settlement being struck.
MAHWAH ERUV WILL REMAIN IN PLACE UNDER SETTLEMENT
The Mahwah Township Council voted this week to accept a settlement agreement with an Orthodox Jewish group that will allow a controversial eruv to remain in place, The Record reports. Under the agreement, the township will also pay the group $10,000. An eruv is a symbolic perimeter within which Orthodox Jews are permitted to perform tasks that would otherwise be banned on the Sabbath.
