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

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.

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.

Senator Kim is in the chamber tonight for the speech. Senator Cory Booker is not. Massive boycott by House Democrats.

Hey, Internet, I cover Congress and the U.S. government for NJ Spotlight News, a non-profit newsroom. Tonight I'm in the House of Representatives, watching Pres. Trump give his State of the Union remarks. After a big wind-up, he is finally talking policy...🧵 @njspotlightnews.org

🧵I'm in the House chamber ahead of President Trump's State of the Union address. The Republican side is pretty full at the moment and while there are several dozen Dems in attendance, their side does look a bit emptier. I have not yet seen the hockey team.

A publisher who lays off a reporter whose pen is freezing because she's covering a frigid war zone while dodging missiles is not an editor you want to work for, in a more perfect world

ICE Withholds Congressionally Mandated Detention Data In the midst of heated budget negotiations over immigration enforcement, ICE flouts Congress's prior mandate to publish timely detention data. austinkocher.substack.com/p/ice-withho...

Protestors want Congress to "defund" ICE. But is that even possible? www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/01/defu... @njspotlightnews.org

Exclusive: US preparing to seize more tankers off Venezuela's coast after first ship taken, sources say reut.rs/4oS4Kq2

Prince Charles leaving Cirencester Hospital after shaking too many hands (1990)

The average daily population for Delaney Hall reached 807 last month, a sharp uptick from September, when the site held 234 people, according to data from TRAC, a nonpartisan research group.

<Pours whiskey in his cornflakes>

As the roster of NJ locations certified as “film ready” has grown, many small businesses are cashing in amid record overall spending on in-state film productions. Still, not everyone is convinced offering tax breaks to incentivize these film productions is smart policy. @njspotlightnews.org

Friday news dump coming out of New Jersey and New York... Both states approved a new fossil gas pipeline. The company behind it (Williams) just confirmed ---> investor.williams.com/news-release... @njspotlightnews.org

Thanks, John. The quick overview is that Sherrill has obligations in both D.C. and New Jersey, and the timing on when she resigns is REALLY important. @njspotlightnews.org

NEW: Tens days ago, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Trump administration was "not trying to shut down" the Gateway project, a huge deal for New Jersey. Now, the administration is doing just that. www.njspotlightnews.org/2025/10/trum... @njspotlightnews.org

Trump said his administration was terminating the Gateway Program, a $16-billion public works project to add two new tunnels beneath the Hudson River between New Jersey and Manhattan. “It’s thousands of people, and it’s billions of dollars,” Trump said. @bhulac.bsky.social @njspotlightnews.org

From the Oval Office, Trump says he is considering order military strikes against Venezuela. “We are certainly looking at land now because we’ve got the sea under control," Trump said. @njspotlightnews.org

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory laid off 11% of its staff today, including many people working on an active Mars rover mission. “There’s no whitewashing the ‘doomsday-eve’ feeling that's looming over all our heads,” wrote one JPL’er. eos.org/research-and...

Senate adopted by voice vote: Kaine amendment #3337 to repeal the authorizations for use of military force against Iraq.

Trump administration banning drone photography in Chicago airspace. Photographers = not happy. “When the government imposes such a broad and prolonged ban on newsgathering, it risks turning ‘security’ into a pretext for suppressing press freedom.” www.nppa.org/news/814

Thanks, Bobby. The shutdown is about how much the government spends. But is also part of a broader fight about health policy. @njspotlightnews.org

Every federal shutdown is a bit different. Here are five things to know about this one... www.njspotlightnews.org/2025/10/gove... @njspotlightnews.org

NEW: It's day two of the federal shutdown. The shutdown is expected to cost an estimated $400 million every day. www.njspotlightnews.org/2025/10/fede... @njspotlightnews.org

After lawmakers were unable to reach agreement, the U.S. government lurched into a shutdown early Wednesday, a threshold that triggers federal agencies and departments to send staff home and forces employees considered “essential” to work without pay. @bhulac.bsky.social @njspotlightnews.org

CBO releases analysis on the impacts of a government shutdown on the federal workforce, economy and business activity www.cbo.gov/system/files...

NEW: A shutdown is imminent. There is a “strong likelihood,” said one government expert, “that we’ll end up with a government shutdown like no other.” www.njspotlightnews.org/2025/09/with... @njspotlightnews.org

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Dar Global, a real estate developer, is to launch a $1 billion project in Saudi Arabia in a deal with Trump Organization. @apnews.com

everyone's talking about the lethal shooting of Charlie Kirk there was a shooting at a Colorado high school THIS afternoon kdvr.com/news/local/a...

Students at one of the largest high school districts in New Jersey are beginning the school year without long-standing mental health services amid deep concern and outrage from school staff, parents and former students. @njspotlightnews.org www.njspotlightnews.org/2025/09/nj-h...

DC: If you see anything related to Trump’s ride along this evening, send to marisakabas.04 on Signal.

WOW. Russia's dictator gets the red-carpet treatment today in Alaska, per White House pool reporter.

Asked today if he was going with Trump to Alaska, Sen. Lindsey Graham said: “No," adding: “I’d be afraid Putin would take me back to Russia.” per @bennettjohnt.bsky.social

In New Jersey and beyond, business is looking great for the private prison industry. “I think it is an unprecedented opportunity for them," one attorney told me. www.njspotlightnews.org/2025/08/priv... @njspotlightnews.org @aclu-nj.org

From last night on @njspotlightnews.org — our interview with @dep.nj.gov Commissioner @shawnlatur.bsky.social on this landmark settlement www.njspotlightnews.org/video/nj-rea...

ICE is expanding its footprint in NJ. What does that look like and what does it mean for the region? @bhulac.bsky.social explains on this week's episode of "Hey, NJ."