Man, 21, fatally shot, according to authorities.

NEWARK -- A shooting in Newark's West Ward left one man dead early Thursday, according to authorities.

Chief Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly said a 21-year-old man was killed in the shooting on the 500 block of South 17th Street. Additional details were not immediately available.

The killing marked the seventh homicide in the state's largest city this year. There were at least 14 murders in the same span last year, according to police records.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

An updated look at N.J. girls basketball's Top 20 teams.

Leaders in South Orange say they have embraced the controversial label as a political statement. Watch video

SOUTH ORANGE -- New Jersey has another sanctuary city, and this one is embracing the controversial name.

As political pundits debate the definition of "sanctuary cities," and what impact an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last month could have on them, officials in South Orange say they have passed the law as a political statement.

"We are taking a very public stand," Village President Sheena Collum said.

Some municipalities with similar laws in place have chosen alternative monikers, like "welcoming city," in an effort to thwart Trump's executive order. The order promised to cut federal funding to "sanctuary" jurisdictions that interfere with the relationship or communication between federal and local law enforcement agencies.

But Collum said the South Orange ordinance purposefully designates the small, but diverse town, which is home to Seton Hall University, as a "sanctuary city." The ordinance was passed by the village board of trustees Tuesday night.

"The use of the term is very symbolic," Collum said. "I would encourage other (municipalities) to use the same terminology to present a united front. ... We wear the term as a badge of honor."

Sanctuary cities have attracted attention in recent months for policies directing local law enforcement officials not to comply with federal immigration officers' requests to detain residents solely based on immigration status.

Most sanctuary cities say they will hold immigrants picked up for major crimes, but not those arrested for minor infractions.

A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has said that is in line with what the agency practices. The officers focus on detaining "convicted criminals and individuals who pose a threat to public safety and/or national security," he said.

Christie promises quick veto of sanctuary city bill

In South Orange -- a town of about 16,000 people where 16 percent of the population is foreign born -- officials acknowledge the new law won't be much more than a political statement.

Police Chief Kyle Kroll said he did not believe the South Orange Police Department had ever been contacted by ICE officers requesting a detainer.

"We have not really had any interaction with ICE," he said. The new law just codifies police practices that he said have been in place since 2007 Attorney General guidelines outlining interactions with federal agencies.

"Nothing's changed for us," he said.

East Orange, Maplewood, Plainfield, and Hopewell Borough are a few of the other New Jersey municipalities that have taken official action over the last few months to set up similar local laws.

They join Newark, Jersey City, and Princeton, which have long had laws on the books addressing the interactions between federal agencies and immigrant populations. Others are considering similar legislation.

The push to put the "sanctuary city" law on the books in the village started with a newly-formed community group, SOMA Action, which pushes political and social issues in South Orange and Maplewood.

About 200 members staged a community march, and approached the board to draft and pass a resolution.

Some residents at the videotaped trustee meeting Tuesday disagreed with the board's decision to create a law surrounding an issue that hasn't come up in South Orange.

"We've not had an immigration problem," resident Susan Pittman told the board.

"I do not believe that we need to risk trouble by defining ourselves."

But, Anita Gundanna, one of the leaders of SOMA Action, said in a phone interview the resolution eases fears that immigrants in the village have.

"For the community, it does make a difference," she said.

Gundanna also argued the move was proactive.

"It's really important to have this on paper," she said. "We don't know what the fight ahead could be."

Collum said the village consulted with volunteer immigration attorneys to ensure that "we are on very sound legal footing." On average, she said, the village receives about $600,000 a year in federal funding, mostly through project-based grants.

Collum and the attorneys said they don't believe the South Orange law violates Trump's immigration order, or puts in jeopardy the town's federal funding.

But, if it does, Collum said the town is willing to take the chance.

"We can't sell the values of our community," she said.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Tenant activists are asking the City Council to strengthen an ordinance that would require affordable housing for new development.

NEWARK -- Housing advocates and residents on Wednesday demanded the city strengthen protections for low-income residents so they can afford to live amid rising development.

Housing advocates gathered outside Newark City Hall Wednesday to ask the City Council to stregthen the inclusionary zoning ordinance and reject changes to the rent control ordinance. (Karen Yi| NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) 

Gathering at a press conference outside City Hall and later giving impassioned speeches before the City Council Wednesday, advocates pushed tougher rules for new developers and asked the council to reject changing the city's rent control laws. 

"We're not against what's happening," said Deborah Smith-Gregory, president of the NAACP Newark branch. "We have to make sure that the residents that are being displaced and threatened, they have a home, too."

The council deferred the ordinance that would require new housing developers with 30 or more units to provide 20 percent affordable housing. East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador said he wanted more time to review concerns.

Tenant leaders have asked for the inclusionary housing ordinance to apply citywide immediately, instead of being phased in. They also want the ordinance to give Newark residents housing priority and broaden which developments must comply.

"The whole notion of what the future of Newark is, is embodied" in the ordinance, said Joseph Della Fave, executive director of the Ironbound Community Corporation, which worked with the city on the ordinance but wanted it to be stronger. 

"Whether or not we will grow for all people or only for special people with high incomes."

The proposal to amend the city's rent control ordinance, however, was approved on first reading as members of the public booed the vote.

Responding to the pushback, South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James said the changes would boost protections. "We're not watering it down, we're strengthening it," he said. 

The ordinance, passed in 2014, makes it harder for landlords of rent-controlled buildings to spike rents once units become vacant.

That means a landlord can ask the city to raise a unit's rent by a maximum of 20 percent if the landlord spends $5,000 multiplied by the number of rooms in the unit to rehabilitate the residence. 

The proposed changes would reduce that threshold and allow landlords who spend eight months worth of a unit's rent to ask for up a 20 percent increase in rent. Rehabilitation work worth six months of rent would allow a 15 percent increase and work worth four months of rent would allow a 10 percent bump. 

James said when housing advocates and city leaders drafted the original ordinance, all parties agreed the rehabilitation threshold for landlords was too high. He said the changes also clarified that rehabilitation needed to be substantial for landlords to qualify for rent increases.

"They cannot be common or regular, normal repairs," he said. 

But tenant leader James Powell, who lives in the Central Ward, said those changes "would raise the amount of rent so much and reduce the amount that's needed to get this rent increase that it's basically a free gift to the landlord."

"This is a national crisis, this is not something that is just happening in Newark," said Eric Martindale, acting chair of Newark Tenants United. "The biggest worry, as far as the rent control: We don't want any rollbacks in the protections that we won in 2014."

Other residents from Terrell Homes, a Newark Housing Authority property that is expected to close, also rallied against its closure as the public chanted, "Homes for all!"

The council is expected to vote on both the inclusionary housing and rent control ordinances on March 1. 

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

Road closed for several hours early Thursday.

BELLEVILLE -- One person was in critical condition after a car crash that investigators believe is linked to a shooting overnight Thursday in Belleville, according to authorities.

A red car crashed into a utility pole on Franklin Avenue, near Mill Street, where investigators with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office were working at the scene around 7 a.m. Thursday.

Police Chief Mark Minichini said officials were investigating a shooting and crash at the scene. The shooting occurred in Belleville, he said.

Minichini referred questions to the prosecutor's office. The circumstances of the wreck and shooting were not immediately clear.

Cop jumps into frigid Passaic River to rescue suspect, authorities say

Chief Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly, of the major crimes unit, said the agency was investigating the incident near the intersection and would release more information later in the morning. 

Franklin Avenue was closed for several hours overnight, but reopened shortly before 8 a.m.

Several vehicles from the prosecutor's crash investigation unit and Major Crimes Task Force were at the scene. The red car had major damage, with the front end smashed.

Responders loaded the car onto a flatbed tow truck, that left the scene followed by two prosecutor's office SUVs. A utility pole was also partially toppled over the roadway.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Ask yourself whether it is time to replace U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th Dist.) with a Democrat who will keep and defend Social Security, Medicare and Obamacare.

By Carl Zeitz

Are you among growing millions of people marching, petitioning, protesting and despairing about your new all-Republican government?

Then here's something you can do:

U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th Dist.), who represents all of Hunterdon and parts of Essex, Morris, Somerset, Union, and Warren counties, is holding a Town Meeting Tuesday (Feb. 22) at 7 p.m. at Raritan Valley Community. A second meeting has been added for Feb. 25.

Here's why you should go:

It takes 218 of the 435 seats to control the U.S. House of Representatives. Lance voted for House Speaker Paul Ryan and Republican control.  Everything else that happens in Congress begins, flows from and ends with that choice.

Now take a look at your life and the lives of your families and friends. If the rest of this piece has impact and meaning for you and them, think about who you want controlling the House.

Lance has been elected to his seat every two years since 2008, winning usually with about 57 percent in a district designed to protect him from Democratic challengers.

What Lance -- former longtime New Jersey state legislator and career politician -- fears is a Tea Party primary challenger.  To protect himself from that, this supposed moderate has moved toward the extreme right of his reactionary party.

He is a staunch supporter of Ryan and his majority leadership team. Their program is to privatize Medicare, reduce Social Security to bare bones, deny women's health choices, defund Planned Parenthood, eviscerate voting and civil rights and, above all, repeal the Affordable Care Act.

House Republicans like Lance have voted ACA repeal over 60 times the past seven years. It is a law that delivers health coverage and care to more than 22 million Americans; ended abuses like denial of insurance coverage because of prior conditions; extended to age 26 from age 24 coverage of children under parents1 health insurance, and redirected hundreds of billions of dollars to hospitals to relieve them and state governments of costs for providing emergency care to uninsured.

Those are just some highlights of the ACA that Lance and all congressional Republicans want to destroy: to "repeal and replace." Replace with what?

Here are some things to know about the 7th Congressional District and the ACA, as set out in a 2011 report by the Minority Staff of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce:

That year -- and enrollment has only grown the past six years -- repeal would have taken health coverage away from 120,000 of 303,000 people enrolled in health insurance through ACA in the 7th District, including up to 39,000 children. Repeal would remove health care consumer protections like the pre-existing conditions ban from 508,000 7th District residents that get employer coverage or buy it in the private market. Repeal would have then cost hospitals in the district more than $17 million.

In New Jersey in 2015, there were 532,900 people enrolled in ACA health coverage including 249,395 through market place plans.

Some other 7th District facts: As of 2015, 122,232 people there received Social Security, including 99,257 over the age of 65 and 6,084 who depended on Supplemental Social Security, while nearly 10 percent of Lance's constituents -- more than 95,000 -- of them get their medical coverage and care from Medicare .

Go to the congressman town hall. Ask him why he is so ready and willing to hurt, harm -- even destroy the lives of tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of people in his own district. Ask him how that makes America great again? (If you don't go, give him a call Leonard Lance at 908-788-6900, 908-518-7733, 202-225-5361.)

Ask yourself whether it is time to replace Lance with a Democrat who will keep and defend Social Security, Medicare and Obamacare. And that's just for starters.

Vote for yourself and your family by marching to that congressional town meeting to make Lance the poster for why Congress has to be changed in the mid-term election 20 months from now in November 2018.

Carl Zeitz is retired after a career as a journalist, state public official and public relations consultant.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

President A. Gabriel Esteban will start at the country's largest Catholic university in Chicago on July 1. Watch video

SOUTH ORANGE -- Seton Hall University is looking for a new president.

The school announced Thursday President A. Gabriel Esteban will be leaving at the end of the academic year to take the top job at DePaul University in Chicago.

"It has been a great privilege and honor to serve as Seton Hall's president," Esteban said in a statement about the decision.

President A. Gabriel Esteban in a file photo. (John Munson | The Star-Ledger)
 

"This was a very difficult decision to make since I have come to know and respect so many members of the university community including students, members of the priest community, faculty, staff, alumni and board members. I am leaving with a heavy heart but I am confident that the university's tremendous progress in recent years will continue."

Esteban will be the first lay president of DePaul, the largest Catholic university in the country.

Seton Hall officials released statements Thursday expressing gratitude to Esteban, who has served as the school's president since 2011.

During his tenure, the school created a new Seton Hall School of Medicine and a new college of communication and the arts. School officials also said the university reached a fundraising "all-time high" under Esteban, raising about $40 million over the last year and a half.

"Working closely with Dr. Esteban for these past years has been a blessing," said Seton Hall Board of Regents Chairman Patrick Murray.

"He has been a great university president and with his leadership Seton Hall has made tremendous progress and growth."

The university will start the search for a new president before Esteban leaves. He starts at DePaul July 1, the school said.

Officials at DePaul University said current President Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, who has held the role since 2004, announced last June he would be stepping down. The Board of Trustees unanimously approved Esteban's appointment on Feb. 6, the school said.

"Dr. Esteban brings both extensive experience in higher education and strategic planning to DePaul University," William E. Bennett, chair of the DePaul Board of Trustees, said in a statement.

"I am confident he will preserve and continue to enhance DePaul's reputation for academic excellence, as well as the university's Catholic and Vincentian mission."

Esteban holds a bachelor's in mathematics and an MBA at the University of the Philippines, a master's in Japanese business studies from Chaminade University in Hawaii, and a doctorate in business administration from University of California, Irvine. Before working at Seton Hall, he held positions at the University of Central Arkansas and Arkansas Tech University.

He and his wife, Josephine, have one daughter, a medical resident at the University of Chicago.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Bloomfield Police say Everett Lewis of East Orange is charged with fraud, after he opened an account at Provident Bank, deposited the check and tried to withdraw cash

Everett LewisBloomfield PD 

BLOOMFIELD -- An East Orange man was charged with fraud, after police said he deposited a stolen check for $417,452 into a recently opened account and tried to withdraw cash on it. 

Everett Lewis, 29, is charged with fraud, forgery, receiving stolen property and money laundering, Bloomfield Police Director Samuel DeMaio announced Thursday.

DeMaio said Lewis had recently opened a business account at the Provident Bank branch on Bloomfield Avenue, and subsequently deposited the stolen check using a forged signature.

DeMaio said an employee of the bank contacted police on Tuesday, when Lewis returned to the bank and was waiting to withdraw cash from the account. Police went to the bank and arrested Lewis there.  

DeMaio said Lewis was also charged with Possession of CDS, after officers found he was carrying marijuana.

The director praised bank employees for quickly calling police after becoming suspicious.

A police spokesman declined to say where Lewis got the check.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Stores in Newark shut their doors on Thursday in solidarity with the 'Day without immigrants' campaign

NEWARK -- Along Ferry Street on Thursday, doors remained shuttered, chairs were stacked and newspapers left uncollected on doorsteps at restaurants and businesses. 

Some had a message for passers-by: They were closed to support "A Day Without Immigrants," a national boycott meant to highlight the impact immigrants have on the economy. 

Storefronts posted signs in English, Spanish and Portuguese that read "Nos unimos a un dia sin immigrantes, CLOSED!" or "We are joining the day without immigrants, CLOSED!" 

In New Jersey, immigrant rights groups said the movement was spurred by individual families and businesses as word spread of the planned demonstration on social media. Residents agreed to keep their kids home from school, miss work or shut stores down. It wasn't immediately clear how widespread the closures or absences were in Newark or across the state. 

Fake alerts of document checks spread in N.J. immigrant communities

"Even though there was not much organization, there was a lot of people that joined this movement," Newark resident Rosa Pizarro said in Spanish.

Pizzaro kept one of her kids home from school and told her employer she would not be going to babysit. "It's a way to support each other, to not feel alone, to not feel abandoned, to realize we're not one, or two, we're millions."

Pizarro and about a dozen other women and their children went to City Hall on Thursday to support a group of religious leaders from the city that had gathered to express solidarity for immigrants. 

The day was focused on fighting President Donald J. Trump's recent executive orders on immigration. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has also acknowledged immigration raids in at least six states though none have been reported in New Jersey. 

"Sometimes I don't go out, I get scared," said Maria V., an undocumented immigrant in Newark with four children as she wiped away tears. She said she's scared she'll be deported and separated from her kids. "If something happens to me, what will happen to my kids?"

The New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association Members said in a statement Thursday many of its employees planned on participating in the demonstration. 

"While we understand their time away from work duties may pose some inconvenience to our guests, we appreciate their need to share their concern about President Trump's Executive Orders on Immigration," the statement said. "The remaining staff and management will work hard to provide exceptional service while our colleagues and friends exercise their freedom of speech."

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

Three stations robbed in one day, according to police.

Khalyl Harley (Photo: Dept. of Public Safety) 

NEWARK -- A man and a teenager suspected in five gas station robberies around Essex County -- including three in one day -- were arrested in Newark's Central Ward, police said Thursday.

Khalyl Harley, 18, was being held at the Essex County jail on multiple robbery charges, according to county corrections department records.

Harley and an accomplice, a 17-year-old boy from Newark, were arrested with help from the State Police and Belleville police, according to authorities. Two others wanted in the robbery spree remained at large.

"We continue to make progress in this investigation and toward identifying accomplices," Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose added. "We expect to close this investigation in the near future, although I don't want to speculate on an exact date."

Man found shot in the head after wreck, authorities say

Four masked robbers held up the Conoco Gas Station on Sanford Avenue, Delta Gas Station on Mount Prospect Avenue and Millennium Gas Station about a block away on the same street all on Monday in Newark, authorities said. The crew also hit stations in Orange and Belleville.

In each case, authorities said the assailants used a silver Lexus with damage to the back bumper and a Florida license plate, police said. 

Harley and the teenager were caught in a stolen car Tuesday, according to a statement from police.

Authorities did not release the name of the teen because of his age.

Anyone with information was asked to contact police online at Newarkpdonline.org using the CrimeStoppers link or by calling 1-877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477) or 1-877-NWK-GUNS (1-877-695-4867). Police said tips would be kept anonymous and could lead to a reward.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Which are the toughest in New Jersey. To be honest we don't know and won't know until Saturday night after the first year of the realigned districts are over. The idea was for them to be equal and, one paper, they pretty much are. NJ.com makes its picks for the 10 toughest districts in N.J.

Class provides inside look at police, fire operations.

Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose speaks at an unrelated event (File photo) 

NEWARK -- Newark's public safety department is set to host its third Citizen/Clergy Academy, a program designed to give members of the community an inside look at police and emergency services in the city.

The 7-week program, which begins Tuesday, will offer courses on firefighter training, fire safety, crime prevention, gang awareness and offer a "day in the life" look at the work of Newark police officers, according to a news release.

"The course will allow concerned citizens to become active partners in our efforts to eliminate crime while inviting them into the world of police officers, firefighters and emergency management personnel," Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said in the news release.

Man found shot in the head after Belleville wreck, authorities say

Students will also gain insight into how authorities respond to major disasters, arson investigations and how calls to emergency services are prioritized, according to officials.

Anyone interested in enrolling can sign up online at www.newarkpdonline.org under the forms and reports tab or contact the Community/ Clergy Affairs Unit at (973) 877-9552, (973) 877-9550 or CommunityAffairs@ci.newark.nj.us. Seating is limited and prospective students can submit their names for future courses throughout the year, the department said.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Take a look at some of the best ninth-graders in the state as they prepare for their first district tournaments.

Investigators seized loaded gun in drug investigation, according to sheriff.

Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura (file photo) 

NEWARK -- Essex County Sheriff's detectives seized a loaded handgun and drugs with a total estimated street value of about $15,000 after separate arrests in Newark's North Ward, officials said Thursday.

Undercover investigators working at the Stephen Crane Village public housing complex saw Shahid Cromer, 21, of Newark, in a car at the apartments before he was approached by a woman Wednesday, according to Sheriff Armando Fontoura.

"After a brief conversation, Cromer exchanged items from his vehicle's center console with the woman for cash." Fontoura said in a news release.

Detectives boxed in Cromer's car and spotted the handle of a silver handgun in the center console, according to the sheriff. As Cromer got out, he kicked a box under the driver's seat.

Man found shot in the head after wreck, authorities say

In the box and center console, investigators found 847 glassine envelopes of heroin stamped with "OOH WEE" in red ink, 247 small plastic bags and a large plastic sandwich bag of crack cocaine along with six grams of marijuana, Fontoura added.

Police also seized the .25 caliber Gecado semi-automatic handgun, ammunition and $155, according to the news release.

Earlier on Wednesday sheriff's detectives conducted surveillance near Crane Street and Broadway. Luis Rodriguez, 43, of Newark, met with a woman and the pair walked to a nearby parking lot.

The woman removed a package hidden behind a Dumpster and handed it to Rodriguez, the sheriff said. Detectives found Rodriguez with 137 glassine envelopes of heroin stamped with "Warrior."

Sheriff's officers did not find the woman, officials added. Rodriguez and Cromer were each charged with various drug offenses. Cromer also faces weapons charges.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Tyrell M. Gibbs, 21, of Newark, is a member of the Monmouth University track and field team.

DEAL -- A third person was charged with disorderly conduct following a fight early Sunday at a large off-campus party hosted by players on the Monmouth University football team, police announced on Thursday.

Police responded around 12:24 a.m. to a home on Atlantic Avenue after someone reported a large fight happening in the backyard. Police said the party had between 200 and 300 people.

As police arrived at the home, students could be seen running from the home, police said. They said a fight broke out after about 30 people were not allowed inside the house. Those people then started to vandalize several vehicles around the home, police said.

Two Monmouth University football players, who police say were hosting the party, were arrested. Christian Runza Jr., 20, of Norwood, and Michael Christ Jr., 21, of Sterling, VA, were each charged with disorderly conduct, maintaining a nuisance and providing alcohol to underage people.

Police said on Thursday they arrested Tyrell M. Gibbs, 21, of Newark, and charged him with disorderly conduct and obstructing the administration of law. Gibbs was not arrested the day of the party and was later identified with the help of the Monmouth University Police Department and cooperating witnesses, police said. 

Gibbs is a member of the university's track and field team, according to his profile on the athletic department's website. 

Police said Gibbs interfered with a police officer's attempts to help a person who was bleeding from the head, police said. Gibbs then became disorderly, police said, and refused to listen to officers. 

He was released from police headquarters and given a summons to appear at a later court date.

Representatives of Monmouth University and its athletics department did not immediately respond to requests for comment by phone and email.

Police are continuing to investigate who was responsible for damaging the vehicles.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Deal Police Department at 732-531-1113. 

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The man then offered to buy a drink for a witness who confronted him, "for any trouble he may have caused," according to court documents.

NEWARK -- A man arrested last July on allegations he sexually assaulted a woman on a New Jersey-bound flight admitted in federal court Thursday that he groped the woman while she slept.

Veerabhadrarao Kunam, of Visakhapatnam, India, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Dickson in Newark to a charge of assault in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, according to a statement from the office of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

Authorities say that on July 30, 2016, Kunam, 58, was aboard a redeye flight from Los Angeles to Newark when he touched a woman's genitals and buttocks as she slept.

After the woman awoke and became upset, Kunam offered to buy a drink for a witness who confronted him "for any trouble he may have caused," according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court.

Kunam was arrested later that day by FBI agents after his flight arrived in Newark, according to prosecutors.

In a statement to NJ Advance Media, his attorney, Alex Spiro, said Kunam "remains remorseful for the unfortunate incident that occurred," and noted the charge he pleaded guilty to is a misdemeanor.

Kunam faces 30 to 60 days in jail, and up to 90 days of inpatient alcohol treatment, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. His sentencing has been scheduled for March 22, 2017.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from Kunam's attorney.

The attempt to fill in the funding gaps ripped wider by Trump's order against sanctuary cities might be dubious. Do it anyway. Watch video

The Senate postponed a vote Monday on a bill that would require our government to financially protect New Jersey's sanctuary cities if they face federal penalties from President Trump's executive order against undocumented immigrants.

Yes, the bill (S-3007) is quixotic. Nobody knows what form the federal policy will take, how much pain it will cause, and Gov. Christie already said it's DOA the moment it reaches his desk because it's "outrageous" and "political pandering."

Actually, it is neither. It's not outrageous to protect urban dwellers because our federal government has an indefinite sense of right and wrong; it's not pandering when you're defending the rights of people who cannot vote.

But as long as we have a Legislature who cares about our cities, it should uphold our legacy of inclusion and respect for civil rights, while withstanding attempts to divide the citizenry.

Top cops to Trump: Sanctuary cities make us safer | Moran

So we hope Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) continues to pitch the bill, because it's never pointless to mark who stood on the warped side of history. Christie would turn his back on Newark if HUD money stopped coming in for lead remediation. Christie would let Camden reap the damage if grants to address crime and health were stripped.

"You have to enforce the law that's there," the governor shrugged.

Many state Attorneys General and the ACLU say he's wrong, that Trump has no such constitutional authority to cut off such funds. And police officials in Newark and Jersey City remind us that sanctuary cities make us safer, period.

They have chosen to stand up to a nativist demagogue. Our Legislature should follow suit.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

The man's cellmate, Desmond Sanders, was found beaten and strangled in their cell on Sept. 1, 2013.

Rahdi Richardson. (Essex County Correctional Facility)
 

NEWARK -- As jury selection began in preparation for his murder trial, an Essex County jail inmate on Wednesday admitted to killing his cellmate, pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge under an agreement that will see him spend an additional two decades in prison.

The Prosecutor's Office had charged Rahdi Richardson with murder after authorities said his cellmate, Desmond Sanders, was found beaten and strangled on Sept. 1, 2013 at the Essex County Correctional Facility.

Richardson ultimately pleaded guilty Wednesday to aggravated manslaughter, after jury selection had already begun in his trial before Judge James W. Donohue, according to Katherine Carter, a spokesperson for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

Richardson agreed to a sentence of 29 years in prison, Carter said in an email.

At the time of Saunders' killing, Richardson was being held in connection with a June, 2013 armed robbery in Newark, to which he also pleaded guilty Wednesday, according to Carter.

The state's case against Richardson is being prosecuted by assistant prosecutors Justin Edwab and Joseph Giordano.

Richardson's sentencing has been scheduled for March 27.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Your quest to finally get a perfect score continues this week.

Ain't gonna lie: This is a pretty good weekly local news quiz, my favorite in awhile. There's a dog in it, which is cool. There are happy CYO basketball players, also cool. And no politics, unless you count the photo behind question 1, which you shouldn't because ... well, you get the idea. So let's see what you've got.

Take the seven questions below, and then brag on your score in comments. If you have a lousy week, no worries: There's a fresh local news quiz every Thursday evening on NJ.com.

John Shabe can be reached via jshabe@njadvancemedia.com. Follow John on Twitter, and find NJ.com on Facebook.

Muslim, Jewish, Catholic and Christian leaders met Thursday to stand together against the latest immigration actions by the Trump Administration.

NEWARK -- The city's religious leaders stood united on Thursday to send a message to the White House: President Donald J. Trump's policies are unfairly targeting and scapegoating their communities. 

"Washington needs to hear that we are not in agreement with what they are trying to do with our people," said Rev. Louise Scott-Rountree, manager of the city's office of clergy affairs, as she was flanked by interfaith leaders who nodded in approval. "When something is done to one of us, we should all be affected by it."

Interfaith leaders congregated at City Hall to denounce Trump's travel ban on refugees and citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries -- and address rising fear in immigrant communities.

U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement conducted immigration raids in at least 11 states last week though none have been reported in New Jersey.

"We have people hiding in their homes because they are afraid, we have Hispanic people being scapegoated," said Rev. Dr. Mamie Bridgeforth of Faith Christian Ministries. "This is an attack against the very core of all that we say we stand for and it is not of God."

Trump said Thursday he would issue a new proposal for his travel ban on citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries after his original executive order was challenged in court and suspended. He had defended the ban and said it will keep the country safe.

"This temporary lifting of the ban has eased some but we cannot let our guard down," said Imam Daud Haqq, President of the Imams Council of Newark.

On Thursday immigrants across the country -- and in Newark -- participated in a campaign called a "Day Without Immigrants" which encouraged all immigrants to stay home from work and school to show how much they contribute to the economy.

Deputy Mayor Jacqueline Quiles said the city was committed to helping everyone in the community stay informed and safe. 

"This is a nation of immigrants, we want everyone to know that we are going to stand united," she said. 

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.