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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy ripped NJ Transit engineers for going on strike Friday — blasting their actions as a “slap in the face” to commuters and a “mess of their own making.” The Democrat lashed out after roughly 400 rail engineers walked off the job after marathon contract talks stalled ahead of a midnight deadline, setting off the first strike to hit the major transit system in more than 40 years. “It did not have to come to this,” Murphy told a news conference after the morning commuter rush got underway. “A small handful of locomotive engineers have walked...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) proposed Wednesday to spend $1 billion per year on the state’s failing high-speed rail project through cap-and-trade programs, even as his budget drowned in massive deficits. As Breitbart News reported, the governor’s revised budget plan sought cuts to a variety of programs to make up a $12 billion deficit. He even proposed cutting off new enrollees for “free” health care to illegal aliens. But high-speed rail — a program that is decades late and $100 billion over budget without a single station being built — will continue to be funded, as Newsom continues to embrace...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) celebrated Wednesday as his state became the world’s fourth-largest economy — albeit one that cannot fix homelessness or protect its citizens from devastating wildfires. Newsom’s office cited data indicating that California had surpassed Japan and that only the U.S., China, and Germany had larger economies, in terms of total output. He boasted in a press statement: California isn’t just keeping pace with the world—we’re setting the pace. Our economy is thriving because we invest in people, prioritize sustainability, and believe in the power of innovation. And, while we celebrate this success, we recognize that our...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the coming weeks to maximize the pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks, Ukrainian government and military analysts said. The move could give Russian President Vladimir Putin every reason to delay discussions about pausing the fighting in favor of seeking more land, the Ukrainian officials said, renewing their country’s repeated arguments that Russia has no intention of engaging in meaningful dialogue to end the war.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy was spotted at a Washington, DC, watering hole on a date with a progressive media mogul and strategist who’s boosted his efforts as a leading anti-Trump politician in Congress — just months after the Connecticut Democrat announced he and his wife were separating. Murphy, 51, was caught “cuddling” with Courier Newsroom publisher Tara McGowan, 39, last Monday by the bar at the Red Hen, located just one mile north of Capitol Hill in the district’s Bloomingdale neighborhood, a source told The Post, sharing a photo of the pair’s romantic rendezvous. The source said Murphy wrapped...

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is under increasing political pressure as she faces a likely competitive reelection fight and legal battles with President Trump. Hochul’s approval rating has been underwater for months as she surpasses the midpoint of her first full term in office and seems likely to have a serious primary battle on the horizon from Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who has become one of her sharpest critics. Presuming she gets past Torres, popular GOP Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) seems equally likely to run and could give Republicans their best shot at winning New York’s gubernatorial race in...

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) buzzed the funeral of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah omluvhin Beirut on Sunday as crowds chanted “Death to Israel,” reminding the Iran-backed terror group that Israeli warplanes killed Nasrallah in September. As Breitbart News reported at the time, Nasrallah and several of his aides, who had survived the “pager” attack several days before, were killed in a surprise bombing that took out his underground headquarters in Beirut. Nasrallah’s funeral was delayed until his body could be recovered, and until after Hezbollah had accepted a ceasefire. He was buried alongside his purported successor, Hashem Saffiedine, whom Israel...

MARIETTA — A Marietta woman who was accused of sending threatening packages to lawmakers was shot and killed after attacking a Cobb Police officer Christmas morning, police said. Using a knife and a handgun, Jameela Cecila Barnette, 53, assaulted an officer from the department’s Precinct 3 who had knocked on her apartment door after responding to an alarm, Cobb Police spokesman Sgt. Dana Pierce said. Despite receiving injuries to his arm, Pierce said the officer, who is not being identified at this time, fired his service weapon to stop the assault. The officer was treated and released at the scene,...

Police in central London are on the alert today amid fears of more violence between anti-Islam protesters and Muslims. Hundreds of supporters of the right-wing English Defence League are expected to descend on Trafalgar Square today. Tensions were simmering yesterday after a Cabinet minister raised fears of a return to 1930s fascism, comparing modern right-wing groups to Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts. Communities Secretary John Denham's comments came as he announced a drive to prevent white working class people being 'exploited' by extremists. He singled out protests being organised by the English Defence League, some of which have turned violent over recent...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2006 – The idea that progress and violence co-exist in Iraq is fast becoming a mantra for officials both in Baghdad and here. Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commander of Multinational Force Iraq, made this statement earlier this month during a visit here, and he stressed it again today in a Baghdad news conference. The idea is that people should not obsess on the violence to the exclusion of the progress the Iraqis are making. The security forces are a case in point, according to State Department and Multinational Force Iraq officials in Baghdad. The Iraqi...

Coalition forces rebuild mosque, provide medical care to villagers. WASHINGTON, July 23, 2006 — Coalition forces continue to aid and develop Afghanistan, even as they fight back terrorist extremists who are determined to stop progress, U.S. military officials reported today. Aid and reconstruction efforts include a rebuilt mosque in the Paktya province and medical and humanitarian aid to hundreds of Afghan villagers in the Kandahar province, said Combined Forces Command spokesman Army Col. Thomas Collins. " Coalition forces are not now and will not ever be dissuaded from their mission of building a free, secure, and independent Afghanistan. " Maj....

Mexican President Vicente Fox arrived in California Thursday amid intense debate over immigration and as the U.S. Senate approved sweeping reforms that include tighter border security and a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. Fox was to address a joint session of the state Legislature and meet privately with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, their first meeting since the movie star became governor. On Wednesday, Schwarzenegger said he would stress Mexico's responsibility for illegal immigration in his meeting with Fox. "Mexico is our friend," Schwarzenegger said at a Capitol news conference. "I am going to have an open discussion with...

China admits to 'deep-seated conflicts' amid economic boom By Richard Spencer in Beijing (Filed: 06/03/2006) China's prime minister gave a surprisingly gloomy assessment of the state of the country's booming economy and fast-changing society in his annual speech to parliament yesterday. In the face of near-euphoria among governments and businesses in the western world about the pace of its growth, Wen Jiabao said long-term economic health was at risk while society faced "deep-seated conflicts". Wen Jiabao delivers the annual ‘work report’ yesterday For years, Communist leaders have worried about the growing wealth gap between the expanding cities of the east...

NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Jan. 12, 2006 – A two-and-a-half-hour session yesterday morning raised thorny legal issues in the military commissions proceeding against an accused al Qaeda propagandist held at the U.S. detention facility here. The first such hearing here in over a year resulted in the defendant boycotting the proceedings and an ethical dilemma for the assigned military defense attorney. Yesterday's hearing highlighted the extent of refusal by defendant Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al Bahlul to cooperate. When presiding officer Army Col. Peter E. Brownback III gave him an opportunity to speak, Bahlul launched into a lengthy speech...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15, 2005 – Reports from Iraq's national parliamentary elections today indicate voter turnout was higher than the numbers seen for the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, military officials here said today. The outcome of the election will determine the first full-term government since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Iraqi security forces and Task Force Baghdad soldiers maintained security at hundreds of polling sites in and around the city as residents began lining up well before the 7 a.m. opening for the historic national elections. About 225,000 Iraqi security forces kept the city safe - 85,000 more than were in...

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Miffed Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will snub George W. Bush when the US president begins a visit to California amid a clash over fundraising for their Republican Party. The movie-star state governor, a moderate in Bush's conservative party, late Wednesday expressed irritation that the president apparently ignored his plea to delay the fundraising trip and said he would not take the time to meet Bush. The cash clash brings to the surface long-standing tensions between the two men as Schwarzenegger moves to raise crucial funds for himself ahead of a special election next month on which he...

MANILA (AP) - About 500 Muslim rebels have withdrawn from two Mindanao strongholds to let government forces launch an offensive against another Muslim group -- the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf, a rebel spokesman said Sunday. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas, nearly 300 of whom were armed, withdrew from Talayan and Guindolongan Thursday to allow the jungle offensive to go ahead and avoid accidental clashes with government troops, rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu said. The guerrillas plan to return to their camps Monday unless the military asks for an extension, Kabalu said.

The Race to PrescribeDrug for African Americans may debut amid debate Ben Harder Most modern medical research into race or ethnicity focuses on the disturbingly long list of health disparities among different groups. For example, compared with whites, blacks are 30 percent more likely to die of heart disease at any given age and 40 percent more likely to die of a stroke. Overall, blacks have an average life expectancy that's 5 years shorter than that of whites. Identifying such inequalities is one step toward helping each population get appropriate medical care. Sometimes, that requires making the same tests and...

SPRINGFIELD - Senate Democrats on the Executive Committee hastily approved four gun-control measures Wednesday amid partisan rancor. Another Senate panel already had rejected much of the legislation, and some Republican senators repeatedly expressed disapproval at the work-around tactic. Senate Bills 1330, 1331 and 1332 were approved Wednesday even though the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected identical legislation earlier this session. Two of the Judiciary Committee's six Democrats are from downstate - Sens. James Clayborne of Belleville and Bill Haine of Alton - and both tend to vote against gun-control legislation. On the other hand, seven of the Executive Committee's eight Democrats...

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