FBI warns of ‘broad’ threat to synagogues in New Jersey
The FBI said on Thursday it had received credible information about a “broad” threat to synagogues in New Jersey, a warning that promoted some municipalities to send extra police officers to guard houses of worship. The FBI’s Newark office released a statement urging synagogues to “take all security precautions to protect your community and facility,” but wouldn’t say anything about who made the threat or why. In Jersey City, Mayor Steven Fulop said police would be posted at the city’s seven synagogues and foot patrols would be added in the broader Jewish community. In 2019, two assailants motivated by anti-Jewish hate killed three people in a kosher market in Jersey City, along with a police officer.
Americans flock to vote early
Americans have swarmed early voting locations and returned mail ballots in droves, casting more than 32 million votes as of Thursday as turnout in most states keeps pace with the record levels of the 2018 midterm elections. The nation’s voting behaviors have entered uncharted terrain since the pandemic and the chaos of the 2020 election. Far more Americans now vote early or by mail, and far more Republicans now avoid mail ballots and vote in person — trends that have upended traditional voting models and prompted election experts and political operatives to caution against reading too much into this year’s early vote totals.
Fueled by billionaires, political spending shatters records again
Political spending on the 2022 midterm elections will shatter records at the state and federal levels, with much of it from largely unregulated super political action committees. The nonpartisan Open Secrets estimated Thursday that total spending in 2021 and 2022 would reach $16.7 billion when tallied after Election Day, easily surpassing the previous midterm record of $14 billion set in 2018. The total spent on federal races, currently $7.5 billion, has already passed the inflation-adjusted record of $7.1 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $8.9 billion when all is tallied. Of that, 15.4% has come from billionaires, up from 11.9% in 2020 and 15.3% in 2018.
Paul Pelosi leaves San Francisco hospital after attack
Six days after suffering a fractured skull in a vicious attack, Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been discharged from Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Paul Pelosi, 82, is resting at home, recovering from the injuries to his head, arm and hand. He spent most of his time at the hospital in the intensive care unit, according to a person familiar with the matter. David DePape, 42, has been charged by federal prosecutors with attempting to kidnap the speaker and with assaulting a relative of a federal official. He also pleaded not guilty Tuesday to several state felony charges.
Cherokees ask US to make good on a 187-year-old promise
In 1835, U.S. officials traveled to the Cherokee Nation’s capital in Georgia to sign a treaty forcing the Cherokees off their lands in the American South, opening them to white settlers. The Treaty of New Echota sent thousands on a death march to new lands in Oklahoma. The Cherokees were forced at gunpoint to honor the treaty. But though it stipulated that the Nation would be entitled to a nonvoting seat in the House of Representatives, Congress reneged on that part of the deal. Now, amid a growing movement across Indian Country for greater representation and sovereignty, the Cherokees are pushing to seat their delegate, 187 years later.
By wire sources
