Free Republic

A prominent pro-Kremlin propagandist has been unmasked as a 37-year-old Navy veteran and tropical fish seller from New Jersey. Divorcee Sarah Bils is known to her 100,000 devoted fans online as 'Donbas Devushka', or Donbas Girl. She posed as a Russian Jew from the occupied Ukrainian city of Luhansk and a geopolitics expert. -snip- She left the military in November last year with an honorable discharge but only after being demoted. Bils claims she was 'kicked out' of the Navy due to her 'leftist views.'

Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.) has passed away from complications after suffering a heart attack on April 6. Payne never regained consciousness after the cardiac arrest and was kept alive on a ventilator in the intensive care unit at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. He was 65 years old. "Tammy and I are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of our friend, and a steadfast champion for the people of New Jersey, Congressman Donald Payne, Jr.," wrote New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy in a statement released just after noon ET on Wednesday. Payne's office originally attempted to depict the heart...

Swiss Air flight aborts takeoff from JFK, safely leaves minutes later... A Swiss Air flight traveling from New York City to Zurich last week had to abort takeoff, averting a "potentially dangerous situation," the airline confirmed. Flight LX17 from John F. Kennedy Airport left the gate at 4:21 p.m. April 17, according to FlightAware. The aircraft was cleared for takeoff at the same time an air traffic controller on another frequency cleared four other jets to cross the runway, according to audio obtained by NPR. "Due to the high level of situational awareness and quick reaction of our crew, a...

Former President Donald J. Trump may be coming back to Wildwood for a beachfront rally next month. The Board of Commissioners on Monday approved an agreement with the Trump campaign for a May 11 campaign rally. Rumors have swirled around Wildwood that the former president would be back this year. At a special board meeting, Mayor Ernie Troiano declined to say whether Trump would be in town in person, or even say what organization planned the event, but the unanimously approved resolution cites Donald J. Trump for President 2024 Inc. The vote came after a closed-door meeting of close to...

Atlantic City Mayor in New Jersey, Marty Small, Sr., and his wife, La’Quetta Small, a school superintendent, have been charged with child abuse involving their teenage daughter. The couple was charged on Monday with allegations of physical and emotional abuse that reportedly occurred over several months. Marty Small, Sr., a 50-year-old Democrat, faces charges of second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child, third-degree Terroristic Threats, third-degree Aggravated Assault, and disorderly persons Simple Assault. His wife, La’Quetta Small, a 47-year-old public schools superintendent, is charged with second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child and three counts of disorderly persons Simple...

A married teacher has been arrested over an alleged sexual relationship with a student after they were caught in 'states of undress' in a nature preserve. Jessica Sawicki, 37, from Point Pleasant, New Jersey, taught English at Hamilton High School West in Trenton, which is about a 20-minute drive from the preserve. She is accused of sexually assaulting the student - who has been described as 'at least 16 but not yet 18' - at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area in Upper Freehold.

Earthquakes on the East Coast are rare but sea level rise and frequent flooding may lead to a higher frequency of quakes. But here's why you shouldn't be alarmed. "An earthquake is based on tectonic plates, and New York is sitting on a 'lazy' plate, which is good, meaning we do not have so many earthquakes, but there are other things that happen -- too much rain or drought," Dr. Marsellos told NBC New York. Long periods of flooding can cause water levels to rise leading to possible landslides. Those slides can "lubricate" faults and may account for a higher...

A candidate running for Senate in New Jersey was ruthlessly goaded on social media after claiming the “climate crisis” was to blame for the Friday earthquake that rocked the tri-state area. Green Party member Christina Amira Khalil shared the controversial message just minutes after the quake, which was the strongest temblor to strike near the Big Apple in 140 years. “I experienced my first earthquake in NJ. We never get earthquakes. The climate crisis is real. The weirdest experience ever,” Khalil wrote on X.

The new "EV Tax" is the highest in the nation and will likely put the brakes on EV adoption in the Garden State. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With the stroke of a pen, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has unplugged the state's pro-electric-vehicle position, signing into law a new EV road tax that is the highest of its kind in the nation. Starting in July, New Jersey EV owners must pay an annual $250 road tax fee in an effort to offset the state's loss in fuel tax revenue. The new fee will increase by $10 each of the next four years until...

A massive container ship lost power in the waters around New York City and was brought to a rest near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Friday night — less than two weeks after failure on another massive cargo vessel caused it to smash into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.The US Coast Guard confirmed that its Vessel Traffic Service received a report that the 89,000-ton M/V Qingdao lost propulsion about 8:30 p.m. as it traversed Kill Van Kull waterway — the shipping lane between Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey. An image shared on X by John Konrad, CEO of maritime-focused news outlet...

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake shook the coast of the northeastern United States on Friday morning. The earthquake was felt from Boston down to Baltimore, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Many incoming flights at major airports in and around New York City were being diverted from landing, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in a tweet said, “My team is assessing impacts and any damage that may have occurred, and we will update the public throughout the day.”

My house in NJ rattled for 5 seconds, on phone with coworkers in Albany and Westchester NY, they had issues at the same time. This was about 30 sec ago.

The Democrat mayor of Atlantic City’s home was raided by armed police officers last week in what he now calls a “political” attack as police investigated a “family matter.” Mayor Marty Small Sr. said Monday he was approached by two Atlantic City Prosecutor’s Office officers while he was helping his mother-in-law into the car so his wife could take her to get bloodwork done at around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Fox 29 reports. The officers then presented him with five search warrants on Small’s home and vehicles as part of an ongoing investigation the mayor said he had been aware...

An LGBTQ activist with top degrees from Harvard, Yale and Princeton is facing up to five years in jail on charges of downloading child porn. Roy 'Trey' Farmer, 53, was arrested at his home opposite the gates of Princeton in New Jersey on Friday after a tip-off from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) The former 'piano prodigy' sits on the board of the New York Philharmonic and is president of Queer Princeton Alumni, but it has since had his details removed from their website. A successful banker and entrepreneur, he is a former president of the...

Despite Biden’s belief that renewable energy such as wind and solar are the cheapest forms of electricity, New Yorkers are about to receive higher bills for offshore wind that will raise their rates by more than twice what was originally agreed to in earlier canceled contracts. New York’s solicitations to cover the higher cost for offshore wind is also being used in other Northeastern states, allowing wind developers to rebid for higher prices and receive new contracts. Offshore wind is much more expensive than most other forms of electricity and these states are committing their residents to markedly higher rates...

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it will relocate control of the Newark, New Jersey, airspace area to Philadelphia to address staffing issues ... The FAA, which has struggled with air traffic staffing issues, said it and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) signed a memorandum to relocate control of Newark at New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) (N90) to Philadelphia Tower/TRACON by the end of June. The FAA said the change will help "meet continued traffic demand in the busy Northeast Corridor." Several controllers are expected to voluntarily transfer to Philadelphia. New York TRACON is...

Sunday is the Jewish holiday of Purim, a commemoration of the defeat of Haman, a king’s aide under the Achaemenid Empire who planned to massacre all of the Jews — and Jews in Teaneck, NJ, are on edge that the celebration will lead to a renewed violence in their community. They’re particularly worried about their children being targeted. Everything old is new again. Over the last few weekends, a car rally called “All out for Palestine” has targeted the town, the home of the second-largest Jewish population in New Jersey. The meetup location of the protesters is in Paterson, at...

A conservative political action committee billed as Fix Jersey Now is looking to do what Republicans have long been loathe to do: Beat the left at its own ballot game. The PAC, affiliated with New Jersey conservative icon Dominick “Mick” Spadea, aims to fund and implement a ballot-gathering initiative to bring back the GOP from the brink of oblivion in the Democrat-dominated Garden State. Third-party collection of ballots has been part of the Democrats’ blueprint to electoral success. Every so often they get caught breaking the law. “We need your support to get boots on the ground,” the organization urges...

There are innumerable superseding indictments against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ). The New Jersey Democrat found himself fighting for his political life when federal agents raided his home, finding gold bars and over $400,000 in cash strewn about the residence. Some money was tucked into clothing. Menendez was also charged with failure to register as a foreign agent of the Egyptian government. Now, Qatar is in the mix.#BREAKING:U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D) will not file for re-election in the Democratic primary but is keeping the door open to running as an independent in the general election if his legal issues are...

CAMDEN, N.J. -- Residents in the Philadelphia area are about to see a rare site — a battleship floating down the Delaware River. The USS New Jersey is scheduled to move from its dock in Camden on Thursday, when it will head to the Philadelphia Navy Yard for extensive maintenance work. The vessel, guided by tugboats, will initially head to the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, where it will be balanced to prepare for dry docking, and will then go to the Navy Yard six days later. The maintenance work is expected to take about two months to complete, officials said. Three...