NEW: ICE and CBP have tens of billions of dollars in reserve.
Republicans in Congress want to give them more money -- enough at least to "carry us through the Trump presidency."
www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/04/immi...
@njspotlightnews.org
#ICE #CBP
NEW: Tom Kean has not voted in Congress since March 5.
Why has he been out of Washington? His office has offered zero specifics.
www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/04/kean...
@njspotlightnews.org
Inflation is straining the personal finances of many government retirees living in New Jersey.
Gov. Sherrill wants the state to make another full pension contribution in FY2027.
But COLAs for retirees would stay frozen for at least another year.
@njspotlightnews.org
NEWS: This tax year is going to be more complicated than usual.
The IRS is doing it with about 75% the staff it had before Trump.
www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/04/mark...
@njspotlightnews.org
The Supreme Court heard one of the biggest cases of the Trump era.
It could rewrite what it means to be an American.
www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/04/expl...
@njspotlightnews.org
SCOTUS: “Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy, as applied to Ms.
Chiles’s talk therapy, regulates speech based on viewpoint, and the
lower courts erred by failing to apply sufficiently rigorous First
Amendment scrutiny.”
www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
NEW: Most Democrats in the Senate would like to change or eliminate the filibuster.
Now, it's the one thing blocking the Trump administration from "supercharged" deportations & more.
www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/03/in-f...
@njspotlightnews.org
NEWS: Federal prosecutors put a deal on the table to pay for clean up at a long-contaminated New Jersey site.
The public has 60 days to weigh in on the agreement.
www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/03/ford...
@njspotlightnews.org
NEW: The North Atlantic Right Whale is near obliteration.
Things may soon get worse for the species, if the Trump administration alters a key ocean safety rule.
www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/03/noaa...
@njspotlightnews.org
Here's a good (relatively recent) piece on the fading use of conference committees.
rollcall.com/2022/05/24/c...
@bobkopp.net
In Congress these days, it's definitely an unusual measure.
The Trump administration is building a national detention and deportation machine, including in New Jersey.
My colleagues (like Colleen) and I at @njspotlightnews.org are all over this topic --->
#ICE #deportation
NEW: Two private prison firms are making a financial killing through their contracts with ICE.
One is about to get an extended contract to run a detention site in New Jersey.
www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/03/ice-...
@njspotlightnews.org
First Venezuela. Then Iran. Next Cuba?
Trump openly musing of toppling the Cuban government.
“I do believe I will be having the honor of taking Cuba," Trump said today.
GIFT LINK --->
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/w...
NEW: Democrats want congressional hearings on the Iran war.
“The Trump administration must answer questions publicly under oath in front of the American people, not just behind closed doors," said New Jersey senator Cory Booker.
@njspotlightnews.org
@booker.senate.gov
NEWS: Congress is close to passing what could be a massive new bipartisan housing law with a lot of support.
Obstacles? Trump and a hard-right faction of Republicans.
www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/03/in-r...
@njspotlightnews.org
NEW: After gutting Medicaid funding last summer, Republicans cut a private deal with rural senators to create a rural healthcare fund.
In the first year of that fund, New Jersey will get the least $$$ of any state.
www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/03/nj-t...
@njspotlightnews.org
NEW: 'Prevent public contact': ICE's deportation network comes into sharper view www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/03/prev...
@njspotlightnews.org
In typical bravado, Trump at the White House brags about war campaign against Iran.
"We're doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly, I would say. Somebody said, on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said, about a 15."
@njspotlightnews.org
NEWS: The Trump administration paid $130 million (more than double the value) for an ICE detention warehouse in New Jersey.
Sellers of the site (Dalfen Industrial and Goldman Sachs) refused to say what they pocketed with the sale.
www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/02/resi...
@njspotlightnews.org
Breaking: A blind Burmese refugee named Nurul Shah Alam has been missing since Thurs. after Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a Tim Hortons, leaving him to find his own way home.
His family & lawyers weren't notified. They're seeking help to find him.
www.investigativepost.org/2026/02/24/b...
President Trump spoke for 1 hour and 47 minutes, setting a record for the lengthiest State of the Union address.
Done! Democrats hot-footed it out of here. Trump shaking hands and taking selfies with Republicans, senators and House members, on the way out.
Something that didn't come up? Jeffrey Epstein and his years of abuse.
As NPR reported today, the Dept. of Justice withheld files about Trump and his ties to the serial sexual abuser.
www.npr.org/2026/02/24/n...
Trump appears to be wrapping up. Not surprisingly, very light on any hard policy, extremely heavy on pomp, shouting between he and Dems, and lots of "USA, USA" chants.
Trump deep into the second hour of the speech, on track to blow past his own record for longest State of the Union in history.
www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/pr...
A bunch of Democrats boycotting the speech at are an event on the National Mall instead.
More about that from the small-but-mighty @statesnewsroom.com folks in D.C.
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/dems...
Trump claiming to have prevented 8 wars. Yeah, there's no truth to that.
Republicans in this Congress have repeatedly voted to block resolutions to check Trump's war powers.
www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/01/nj-r...
@njspotlightnews.org
Rep. Norcross voted against the voter ID bill Trump wants Congress to pass.
New Jersey lawmakers split on it -- Republicans for, Democrats against.
The bill could make it harder for tens of millions of Americans to vote by requiring more documents/restricting mail-in ballots.
