The suspect in a May bank robbery admitted guilt in the crime Monday and is due to be sentenced later this year, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a statement. Newark resident Tyrone Anderson, 46, entered a TD Bank branch May 26 and handed the teller a note demanding cash and "to make it quick." Anderson left fingerprints at...

The suspect in a May bank robbery admitted guilt in the crime Monday and is due to be sentenced later this year, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said in a statement.

Newark resident Tyrone Anderson, 46, entered a TD Bank branch May 26 and handed the teller a note demanding cash and "to make it quick." Anderson left fingerprints at the scene, which were used to track him down and arrest him days later.

He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he's sentenced April 16.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Venika Williams was last seen heading to Jersey City

Newark police are asking the public's help locating a 28-year-old city woman who disappeared last month.

Venika Williams (Newark police)  

Venika Williams was last seen Dec. 22 in the 100 block of Dayton Street. She was heading to Jersey City.

Williams weighs 142 lbs., is 5'3" and was wearing a black coat, blue jeans and red sneakers. She was carrying a red purse and has a tattoo on her left hand that reads "Tanesha".

Anyone with information is asked to call the department's 24-hour Crime Stopper tip line at 1-877-NWK-TIPS(1-877-695-8477) or the Newark Police Special Victims Unit at (973) 733-7273.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Lawmakers approved an estimated $5 billion in tax breaks to lure Amazon's second headquarters to Newark.

The state Legislature on Monday embraced Gov. Chris Christie's plan to offer Amazon $100,000 per job it creates should it build its sought-after second headquarters in Newark.

New Jersey's offer, which could total $5 billion in tax breaks, rivals some of the largest incentive packages hatched by states looking to land big businesses, and would set a record within the state.

These deals are often controversial, with governments giving away their claim to badly needed tax dollars businesses would generate otherwise. But those same tax dollars and the ancillary economic benefits wouldn't exist at all, supporters say, if the business located somewhere else.

Here, lawmakers said the rare opportunity to compete for such a major development -- Amazon predicts it will hire 50,000 workers and invest $5 billion in its new headquarters -- is too big an opportunity to risk coming up short.

10 largest subsidy deals before Amazon

"When a company like Amazon is looking to invest billions and create tens of thousands of jobs, we simply cannot afford to be overlooked," Sen. Sam Thompson, R-Middlesex, a bill sponsor, said in a statement. "This legislation sends the message that New Jersey is a serious contender."   

Christie's administration has said residents stand to gain some $9 billion in economic benefits if Amazon comes.

The state's offer includes $10,000 per job per year Amazon creates for 10 years. Amazon has said many of these jobs will pay more than $100,000 a year.

If the online giant earned tax credits that exceed its corporate income tax liability, it could roll those credits forward for up to 50 years to reduce future taxes. It could even sell up to $25 million in credits a year to other businesses, with the stipulation the proceeds must be spent on infrastructure improvements at its facility.

Newark, a riot-scarred city with fits and starts of economic revitalization, is kicking in another $2 billion in incentives, including a city property tax abatement that could be worth $1 billion and a city wage tax waiver that would allow Amazon HQ2 employees to keep an estimated $1 billion of their earnings for up to 20 years, according to the governor's office.

So generous is the package devised by Christie that the Legislature had to change the state's existing rules for tax credits. They did so Monday, voting 30-3 in the Senate and 61-10 in the Assembly to create the Transformative Headquarters Economic Assistance Program.

Eligible projects, according to the legislation, must generate at least 30,000 new jobs and invest at least $3 billion in developing and improving their property. 

Newark applied in October for the chance to host the retail giant, putting itself in competition with 237 other eager North American locales that assembled viral videos, creative pitches and often tax breaks to get the competitive edge.

Amazon has said it wants to be in a metropolitan area within 30 miles of a population center, 45 minutes of an international airport and no more than one or two miles from major highways.

Experts say Newark isn't likely to be high on Amazon's list. 

Moody's Analytics's list of Top 10 candidates led with Austin, Texas, followed by Atlanta, Philadelphia, Rochester, N.Y., New York/Jersey City, Miami, Portland, Ore., Boston and Salt Lake City.

Newark's bid has been criticized as too generous by those who call corporate tax breaks a race to the bottom. Christie's administration dramatically scaled up the state's awards to recruit and retain businesses. 

State Sen. Michael Doherty, R-Warren, voted against the Amazon package, saying "New Jersey shouldn't be in the business of picking winners and losers, nor should we give special tax breaks to a company that's driving our mom and pop shops out of business."

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

A Newark student follows in the footsteps of her teacher and together they are champions for kids in the city they love.

Stacie Alvarez could see her first-grade student was upset after class at KIPP Thrive Academy in Newark on Friday. Seven-year-old Laila had doubts about her ability to solve an inversion math problem until Alvarez changed her thinking.  She kneeled, pulling Laila close, their faces inches apart. Alvarez reassured and comforted the girl to ease the child's anxiety.

"Look at my eyes,'' said Alvarez, telling her student that wrong answers happen sometimes. "You're still smart.''

With that, Laila's tears dried. But a visitor watching this unfold in the hallway, just outside the classroom, couldn't contain her own emotions. Charity Haygood, who once taught eighth-grade English to Alvarez at Newark's Bragaw Avenue School, was so proud to see how her former student had touched this young girl's life.

"You're doing it,'' said Haygood, now a principal at Brick Avon Academy in Newark.

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns  

The two women sat down moments later in Alvarez's classroom. Her students -- 15 of 29 who made it to school following last week's snowstorm -- had gone to music.

It was "surreal," Alvarez said about her mentor, whom she's known since fourth grade, observing her teach for the first time.

 Haygood liked what she saw from her protege, now a fifth-year teacher. The children were focused as Alvarez, 26, encouraged them to think and explain their math strategies.

If they strayed, she kept them on track. "Snap, clap, bring it back,'' Alvarez said. They repeated the catchy phrase and were concentrating again.

"Your kids are going to college,'' said Haygood, tearing up once more.

The students believe it, too. Kelli Coleman's 7-year-old son, Prince, who has improved his reading skills, now talks about college and becoming a lawyer. Coleman said she easily sensed the teacher's passion and love for the classroom at back-to-school night, when Alvarez outlined her vision.

Destiny Horton, 7, was in Alvarez's class last year and can't wait to attend to Spelman College, the historically black school for women in Atlanta. Destiny constantly tells her mother that Alvarez graduated from Spelman and during their summer vacation last year, Horton drove several hours out of her way so her daughter could see the campus. They stopped, took pictures and texted them to Alvarez.

That's the power of a teacher.

It was inevitable, it seems, that Alvarez would wind up a Newark classroom, just like Haygood, her mentor and mother figure.

Both took similar paths toward this noble profession. A Colorado native, Haygood started her teaching career in Newark in 1996 with Teach For America, a non-profit organization that recruits college graduates and trains them to teach in urban and rural schools.

Alvarez got her start the same way in 2013. Both could have left after their two-year assignments, but decided to stay. Haygood fell in love with the city, its people and neighborhoods and children at school.

For Alvarez, it must have been fate. During her first year, she taught first-graders at Bragaw Avenue School in the same classroom where she had been a fourth-grade student.

"I never felt more at home,'' she said. "I felt like I had come full circle.''

 It's where she connected with Haygood, a solid, stalwart example of a dedicated teacher.

Educating Newark children, which she has done for 22 years, is not just a job to Haygood. Neither is it for Alvarez. It's their conviction. They believe they are transforming lives in a city where young people are too often told to leave and not come back.

"If you love your community and see that we can really do great things, you don't want to leave,'' Haygood said.

She tells her students to stay, that Newark has a rich history of resilient people. Alvarez does, too.

Newark is their home. Their students see them on the street, at church, in the supermarket or at community events.

"It's OK for you to be a part of the circle and to be a part of the community for your kids," said Alvarez, a University High alum. "The work we do doesn't happen in isolation. The village is real."

Haygood is invested and doesn't let up. When she arrived at Brick Avon Academy nine years ago, her school was one of the lowest performing in the district. Now it's in the middle of the pack.

Parents respond to her leadership. Students do, too, especially when she has them shake her hand firmly while making eye contact. It's a habit she wants them to develop, so they'll be ready for that job or college interview.

"I'm going to college,'' said Daunte Baker, 14, who understands why Haygood stays on them. "She wants us to succeed in life.''

Unless she has a meeting in the office, Haygood is all over the building, darting in and out of classrooms, talking to and challenging her students. At lunchtime, she dishes out high-fives, then asks them what they are going to do after school. In unison, an entire table of them shouted: "Read."

MORE CARTER: A Newark Rhodes Scholar makes his city proud | Carter

Alvarez has seen this commitment since grammar and middle school. Now that she's an adult, that same "go-hard" work ethic is a daily staple for Alvarez. Like Haygood, she comes to school early and stays late.

Whatever the children need, she's on it. Extra attention in class, done. An appearance at an after-school activity, she's there. Before the school year starts, Alvarez visits the homes of students on her class list. She wants them and their parents to know that they matter.

Every morning, Alvarez gets that point across when she has the class recite inspirational lines from "Every kid needs a champion.'' It's a TED Talks Education delivered powerfully in April 2013 by the late Rita Pierson, a Texas educator who called on teachers nationwide to build relationship with their students.

Alvarez does that with her children, who loudly proclaim these words:

"I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. And I'll be a better somebody when I leave. I'm powerful and I am strong. I deserve the education I get here. I have things to do, people to impress and places to go.''

This is what Alvarez was getting at with Laila, the little girl upset by the math problem.

Even on a bad day, you are somebody and you still need a champion.

Alvarez, who learned from just such a champion, has become one herself.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or 

nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL

On top of the snow, sleet and ice we've had to deal with lately, the air has been brutally cold for two straight weeks. The end is finally coming soon.

This is one streak that even the most diehard fans of winter weather wanted to end -- the brutal cold snap that has plagued us all since just after Christmas.

Now, New Jerseyans can strip off some layers of winter clothing and rejoice: Forecasters say our relentless string of frigid days will officially come to an end on Tuesday, when temperatures finally climb above the freezing mark of 32 degrees.

So, exactly how long did this painful Arctic blast stick around?

For most of New Jersey, including its main climate site at Newark Liberty International Airport, temperatures were stuck at 32 degrees or colder for two straight weeks, from Dec. 26 through Jan. 8.

That makes it the third-longest cold snap on record in Newark, according to data from the National Weather Service, which began keeping track in 1931. It was also the third-longest cold snap ever recorded in Central Park in New York City.

Down in Atlantic City, the cold snap started a day later than it did in North Jersey and ended a day earlier. On Monday, the temperature at Atlantic City International Airport finally rose past the freezing mark, then pushed its way up a few notches to 37 degrees.

The casino city's frigid streak ended at 12 straight days, making it the sixth longest cold snap on record in that region, the National Weather Service said.

Frozen Delaware River sunrise 1.8.18 pic.twitter.com/PVk05rXaI2

-- Joe Kaczmarek (@joekaczmarek) January 8, 2018

January thaw begins

Temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 30s to low 40s on Tuesday and Wednesday -- balmy, right? -- then make a run for 50 degrees on Thursday and Friday. But don't pack away your parkas and long johns just yet.

Pockets of colder air will likely return next weekend, followed by short waves of warmer temperatures and short waves of colder air, said Michael Priante, a meteorologist at the WeatherWorks forecasting company, based in Warren County.

"We should see a nice warmup this week, but overall it looks like it's not gonna last fairly long," Priante said. 

Although the odds are good that "we're not gonna have fifteen straight days below average," Priante said, he noted it's only early January and almost anything can happen between now and March.

"We still have a lot of winter left," he said.

 Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Essex County College will be tested this year as its accreditation hangs in the balance -- for all its students and staff.

For all the friction that has torn at the revolving door of Essex County College's leaders in the last few years, 2018 will be the true test of whether the new overseers can extricate the institution from its precarious accreditation status.  

The college is a lifeline for its 9,000 part-time and full-time students, most of whom are black and Latino. Half of the student body receives some form of financial aid, officials estimate. 

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the college has been an anchor in Newark, providing an educational launching ground for people of all backgrounds -- those with children, full-time jobs or seeking a second chance. Last year's oldest graduate was 69 years old. 

"This county college holds a lot of future for Hispanic and blacks," student body president John Nwankwo said recently. "An immigrant like me whose been in America for just two years gets a shot at education. It's a blessing for us."

Stakes are high for students and the nearly 481 full-time employees and the 519 adjunct professors who work there, per 2016 fall data. The college's accrediting agency placed it on probation last year for failing governance and finance standards.

Essex County College has until November to show it has improved in both areas, or it can lose its accreditation. 

"It's an all or nothing," President Anthony Munroe told NJ Advance Media after the college was placed on probation in November. "We remain resolved and resolute to address each and every compliance matter outlined."

The college must submit a monitoring report to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education by March to show it is meeting standards. In June, Middle States will vote on whether to remove the college from probation or escalate its status to "show cause," giving the institution one last chance to plead its case before stripping it of accreditation in November 2018.

Losing accreditation means students would not be eligible for federal financial aid, limiting opportunities for low-income students and eliminating a revenue stream for the school. The college would most likely shutter. 

But ECC leaders have already celebrated progress under Munroe and are hopeful it won't reach that point. Most recently, the college's 2017 audit found no weaknesses, and was completed ahead of schedule in December. 

Last year, the college was late to submit its 2016 audit to the U.S. Department of Education. That meant the institution was at risk of losing its Title IV funding -- about $20 million that includes Pell grants for students. More than 7,300 students received Pell grants in the 2015-16 school year, college officials said. 

Consequences for the late audit submission were almost as dire as losing accreditation.

The college was cited by the USDOE and given a "provisional certification" to participate in federal financial aid programs. That triggers additional monitoring from the USDOE, including monthly, retroactive approvals for financial aid instead of lump sum payments. Essex County College remains on provisional certification through 2019, but said it already submitted its 2017 audit to the USDOE.

Munroe, who was hired in May, said the 2016 audit was submitted in June but was due in March. He said it was "clearly a financial management issue" but declined to elaborate. 

The college's Vice President of Finance and Administration Joyce Wilson Harley, who earns $205,000 a year, has been on paid leave since September pending an investigation by the law firm Porzio Bromberg & Newman, of Morristown. The reasons for her leave were not disclosed. 

In Munroe's recommendation to the Board of Trustees to place Harley on leave, which was obtained by NJ Advance Media, Munroe alleged Harley was in charge of supervising the late audit and did not communicate ongoing issues with its timely completion. Harley has denied any and all wrongdoing.  

"This administration inherited these challenges when we assumed leadership of Essex County College last summer," Munroe said in a statement on the clean 2017 audit. "Since that time we have been working together as a team to face these challenges head on and restore the college to its place of prominence."

Over the last two months, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo appointed three new Board of Trustee members and transfered another $1.5 million to the college's operating budget. The county makes up about 20 percent of the college's $60 million budget. The state provides about 19 percent of the revenue, officials said. 

After hearing about the college's probation, student Bryan Atahualpa said he was scared it could affect his ability to get the credits he needed to transfer to a four-year institution. 

But, he said, the problems were largely at the feet of college leaders and they needed to work together. "If they got along they would figure out how to solve it," he said. 

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

Who's the new team?

Soscia Salo of Lyndhurst was charged in the crash, which occurred Monday near Highland Cross in Rutherford

A wrong-way, head-on crash on Route 17 in Rutherford Monday night left one driver in critical condition and another driver facing drug charges, authorities said.

Soscia Salo, 43, of Lyndhurst, was driving a 2008 Dodge Caliber north when she crashed into a 2005 Hyundai Accent driven by a 65-year-old Belleville man in the southbound lane, according to Rutherford police.

The crash occurred about 10:20 p.m. near Highland Cross, police said.

Salo "incredibly cleared the concrete divider, traveled into the southbound lanes, causing a direct strike head-on," said Rutherford Police Captain Patrick Feliciano.

Both drivers were trapped in their vehicles and had to be pulled free by members of the Rutherford Fire Department. Officers found heroin on Salo when she was pulled from the car, Feliciano said.

Both drivers were taken to Hackensack University Hospital, where the man underwent surgery overnight, police said.

The man was in critical condition on Tuesday, according to Officer Anthony Bachmann, who investigated.

Salo, who remained hospitalized Tuesday, was charged with fourth-degree assault by auto, possession of heroin, operating a motor vehicle while in possession of CDS, reckless driving and driving on the wrong side of a divided highway, authorities said.

Police said Salo's blood was drawn at the hospital to determine whether she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Salo is scheduled for a first appearance in Bergen County Central Judicial Processing Court at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 17. 

Police said the roadways were wet but not icy at the time of the crash.

The crash investigation closed the southbound lanes of Route 17. The highway reopened before Tuesday morning's commute, police said.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The roadway is back open after 2 people were seriously injured in a wrong way crash on Route 17 at Highlands Cross. @ABC7NY pic.twitter.com/oQSAUQOMF8

-- Candace McCowan (@CandaceMcCowan7) January 9, 2018

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Two Jersey City men charged with the murder of a 50-year-old struck by a stray bullet while working on his parked vehicle pleaded guilty to lesser charges today and face sentencing in march.

JERSEY CITY -- Two Jersey City men charged with the murder of a 50-year-old father of five struck by a stray bullet while working on his car pleaded guilty to lesser charges today.

James Wheeler, 21, pleaded guilty the May 27, 2015 aggravated manslaughter of Larry Darnell Freeman, who was shot in the head on Sackett Street between Atlantic Street and Bramhall Avenue at about 2:40 p.m.

At the plea hearing, Hudson County Superior Court Judge Vincent Militello said the state is recommending Wheeler be sentenced to 16 years in prison and will have to serve nearly 14 years before becoming eligible for parole.

Marquis Allen, 20, who was also originally charged with Freeman's murder, pleaded guilty to a firearm offense this morning and is expected to be sentenced to seven years in prison. He will have to serve about 42 months before becoming eligible for parole.

Freeman, the youngest of 12 siblings, was described at his funeral service as a special man. "Everyone in the family had a special place for Larry. Everyone was loved, but Larry had that 'umph-factor,' being the youngest," his older brother Rudolph "Rudy" Freeman said. 

"He could look at something, and just figure it out - there was nothing that Larry couldn't do," said his older brother, who noted that Larry took great pride in being an independent mechanic.

Authorities said at the time he was shot Freeman was apparently doing bodywork on his vehicle. He was not the intended target of the gunfire that erupted near the Salem Lafayette public housing complex that afternoon. 

Both men are to be sentenced by Militello on March 23 in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City. Several other people were charged with lesser offenses in connection to the incident, but the status of their cases was not immediately available.

The state's largest city will hold elections in May for all nine City Council seats and the Mayor's slot. Already, political battles are brewing.

There are no lasting friends or permanent foes when it comes to Jersey politics and the bare-knuckle brawls that often define local elections. In the small big town that is Newark, alliances are already changing like the wind -- setting the scene for a frenetic election season that could rival the Garden State's most notorious political battles.

After months of will-she or won't-she rumors swirling around the city, Central Ward Councilwoman Gayle Cheneyfield Jenkins, who once ran alongside Mayor Ras Baraka in 2014, confirmed Tuesday she will seek to dethrone him in May's election.

That fight is only the beginning. A fired City Hall aide wants to unseat his ex-boss as councilman. A former North Ward Councilman is challenging, among others, the man who once anointed him deputy police director. And yet another spurned aide is going straight for the top -- and running for mayor.

The crisscross of former allies and opponents knits a complicated web of politics in New Jersey's largest city as it revs up for an election that's already elicited mud-slinging and personal attacks online -- months before political intentions were ever announced. 

In the circus that inevitably comes to Newark during its local elections, in which all nine council seats and the mayor's term are open, little is sacred. 

"In 27 years I've been in politics, I think this is going to be the most interesting election," said Nelson "Butchie" Nieves, who is running against his longtime boss, Councilman-At-Large Louis Quintana. Nieves sued Quintana last year claiming he was wrongfully fired. 

Team Baraka

Baraka has rallied a slate with eight of the nine incumbent council members and a newcomer seeking the seat of the sole holdout: Chaneyfield-Jenkins.

Team Baraka 2018. (Courtesy: Team Baraka)
 

The day before Baraka officially solidified his slate and named his former student LaMonica McIver as his candidate for Central Ward, Chaneyfield-Jenkins carved out a 15-minute slot during a televised council meeting saying she was fed up with the administration, and promised to fight the spears she said were being cast at her and her husband, Kevin Jenkins.   

"I'm not here to go along to get along, I'm here to make sure that the citizens are protected," she told NJ Advance Media Tuesday.

Chaneyfield-Jenkins said she was prompted to run by her disappointment in the administration -- she described a lack of transparency, disrespect toward her when she disagreed, and its recent scandals involving guilty pleas by two people close to Baraka for tax evasion and wire fraud. "I have the ability and obligation to try to make things better," she said.

Central Ward Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield-Jenkins on Tuesday.Karen Yi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com 

The councilwoman, who previously served at-large from 1995-2006, has often been the lone "no" vote on Baraka-sponsored initiatives. Most markedly during his efforts to push an inclusionary zoning ordinance mandating 20 percent affordable units in new housing and the transition to the state's health insurance plan.

The tension between the two camps has reached a boiling point on social media with Baraka supporters attacking Chaneyfield-Jenkins after Kevin Jenkins lobbed allegations of widespread wrongdoing against Amiri Baraka Jr., the mayor's brother and chief of staff, in a November Facebook post.

The city and Baraka's campaign declined to comment on the social media allegations. 

State Sen. Ron Rice, D-Essex, said all the Facebook battles "show a great immaturity."

"Even if the stuff is real, there's another forum for that," he said. "Negative campaigning of that magnitude doesn't get people very far today ... the mature voter wants government to come talk to them."

Chaneyfield-Jenkins said the social media attacks put her name out there first -- and now she's become the candidate they feared.

"I'm ready for it, I think we should stick to policy and issues and anyone who is promoting the crushing of a woman or the crushing of a candidate sends a different message as a leader," she said. 

As of Monday, 55 people had requested petitions to run for one of the ten open offices in Newark, according to the City Clerk's Office. 

That includes five challengers to Mayor Baraka. 

Among them: Louis Shockley, a former aide to West Ward Councilman Joseph McCallum Jr., who was fired a day after speaking at a December City Council meeting. 

Shockley, 55, is a community activist who worked as the senior aide for McCallum until he was terminated on Dec. 21, according to a letter from his boss. Aides serve at the will of their council members. McCallum did not return a call or an email seeking comment. 

It's not clear whether Shockley was fired for his comments. But during a Dec. 20 meeting, Shockley railed against the gentrification he said was taking over the city -- a trend started under former Mayor Cory Booker and continued under Baraka and a complicit council, he said. 

"You are losing your voters, you are losing your people," he said.

'A right to run'

Last week at the clerk's office, piles of petitions were stacked inside boxes. Ward maps were rolled and rubber-banded. A Lyft driver said he was angling to be the dark horse to fill one of four seats for Council member at-large. A jewelry-maker and political newcomer said she planned to challenge the longstanding East Ward councilman.  

The Mayor was politely told to wait in line for his turn after he walked in to pick up his re-election petitions. He later waited for McIver to pull her petitions for the Central Ward.  

Mayor Ras Baraka picks up his petitions for Mayor on Jan. 2 at Newark City Hall. (Karen Yi | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
 

"Everybody got a right to run, that's how I feel," Baraka said Tuesday. "The difference between now and then is I have a record, I got to defend it. That's part of the process."

The council as a whole has largely supported Baraka's agenda in the last year. And experts were not convinced social media infighting and broader allegations could sway voters one way or another.

"The micro-fights that you're seeing are big and important in those communities," said Matthew Hale, political science professor at Seton Hall University.

"But generally people are looking at the broader things like the control of the schools and control of finances."

Here are the people who have requested petitions as of Jan. 8.

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

There is a new No. 1 at 152 pounds plus other changes in the second NJ.com weight class rankings of 2018.

The 10-year fire division veteran was listed in critical condition after being hurt in a two-alarm blaze.

A firefighter who was seriously injured as he battled a tire shop blaze in Newark late last month was released from the hospital Tuesday, officials said.

Paul Leber, 38, teared up as a crowd of fellow firefighters and police officers applauded the 10-year Newark fire division veteran. He waved to the crowd of supporters before being placed in an ambulance for the drive from Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx to Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange.

Leber, who served in the U.S. Navy before becoming a firefighter, was initially in critical condition after he fought a two-alarm fire at Velez Tire Shop Dec. 30 on Park Avenue in Newark's North Ward.

Officials said Leber, along with fellow firefighters from Engine 7, were in the shop as conditions deteriorated. Crews were ordered out and Leber became disoriented as he tried to pull back from the inferno.

Facing the raging blaze, firefighters went back inside and rescued their injured colleague. He was first taken to University Hospital before being moved to Jacobi Medical Center, which has a burn center.

Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose praised firefighters who rushed back inside the tire store to save Leber.

"They are willing to risk their lives by entering burning buildings to ensure that others survive," the public safety director previously said.

Leber suffered burns to his face and airway from the heat and smoke inhalation, according to Ambrose.

Leber's condition was upgraded Jan. 1 and he gave a up thumbs up during a hospital visit from Ambrose, Mayor Ras Baraka, and Fire Chief Rufus Jackson, the public safety director added. Newark firefighters, joined by members of the FDNY and police, maintained a presence at the hospital to support Leber.

A page on GoFundMe, the online fundraising website, was launched to collect donations for the injured firefighter.

pic.twitter.com/LfsJtZl3xw

-- STEF the Gem (@LaaBellaaVita) December 31, 2017

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

Jury selection begins today in the murder trial of a Newark man arrested in Virginia on charges he killed an East Orange man found dead in car in Jersey City in 2015.

JERSEY CITY - Jury selection began today in the murder trial of a Newark man accused of shooting the son of a retired police officer and leaving him for dead in his car nearly two years ago.

Ibn Bailey, 29, of Newark, is charged with the March 25 murder of Karl Revis, 40, of East Orange, who was found slumped over the steering wheel of his running vehicle at 9:05 p.m. on Pacific Avenue near Forrest Street on March 25, 2015, officials said.

Bailey was arrested on the murder charge while he was incarcerated in Virginia on a drug charge -- after authorities say they found his fingerprint in Revis' car. 

Revis had attended Seton Hall and at the time of his death was in the process of marketing an urban clothing line, his mother, Judith Revis, said in an interview last year. Revis was one of 10 siblings, who was "adored" by his brothers and sisters. His father, Karl Cobb, is a retired Newark police officer.

In a prior hearing, prosecutors said cell tower site data from Bailey's phone places him at the crime scene shortly after the murder. Also, video images captured shortly after the murder showed the defendant holding a jacket last seen worn by the victim, and surveillance footage shows defendant and victim together at victim's residence earlier that day.

Defense attorney Christopher Orriss has argued the state's evidence doesn't show anything except that Bailey was at various places at various times. The trial is before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Sheila Venable in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City.

Jeremy Arrington is charged with three counts of murder in connection with an attack on a Newark household this fall.

What prosecutors expect will be a lengthy trial for the Newark man accused of killing a 23-year-old woman and two children in November 2016 is now tentatively set to take place this fall.

Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler, the presiding judge of the court's criminal division in Newark, told attorneys Tuesday that he will be transferring Jeremy Arrington's triple murder case to another judge with the expectation of the case going to trial after Labor Day.

Arrington, represented in court by defense attorney Bukie Adetula, is charged with murder and other offenses in the Nov. 5, 2016 slayings of siblings Aerial Little Whitehurst, 8, and Al-Jahon Whitehurst, 11, and Syasia McBurroughs, a friend of the Whitehursts' family.

Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab, who is handling the homicide case, told Wigler the prosecution's phase of the trial alone will require numerous witnesses.

Syasia McBurroughs, Aerial Little Whitehurst, and Al-Jahon Whitehurst. (Facebook, GoFundMe)
 

"Ballpark -- and I can only speak for the prosecution's case -- three to four weeks," Edwab said.

Arrington, 27, previously pleaded guilty to attacking an ex-girlfriend in two separate incidents in the summer of 2015. He has yet to be sentenced in connection with that case.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office has said the Whitehursts and McBurroughs, a student at New Jersey City University, were killed during an attack in which Arrington tied up and stabbed or shot numerous people inside a home on Hedden Terrace. 

Investigators have said Arrington -- who was wanted in connection with a sexual assault and shooting at the time of the slayings -- had been angered by a Facebook post shared by someone inside the home, in which authorities announced his wanted status.

He was arrested in Newark the day after the stabbings by city police, prosecutor's office investigators and the U.S. Marshals Service, following what authorities described as a brief standoff at a house on Pomona Avenue.

A motion by the prosecutor's office to admit Arrington's statements to investigators as evidence at trial remains pending before the court.

The attorneys are next scheduled to appear in front of Judge James W. Donohue on Feb. 5 to receive a briefing schedule and a date for a hearing on the prosecution's motion.

Arrington, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, remains jailed in the Essex County Correctional Facility.

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

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The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee just made New Jersey's 11th District one of its top 2018 targets.

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats increased their efforts to defeat Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen this year, adding challenger Mikie Sherrill to their list of top challengers.

Sherrill was one of seven candidates added Wednesday to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue" list. These 18 Republican-held districts are where the DCCC believes it has the best chance of winning in 2018 and represent more than two-thirds of the 24 seats the Democrats need to pick up in order to regain their House majority.

Such top-tier candidates get extra fundraising and organizational help for their campaigns.

"A Navy veteran and former federal prosecutor, Mikie Sherrill has spent her life serving our country," said Rep. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, the DCCC chairman. "Mikie gets the job done and it's clear why she's been able to build one of the strongest, grassroots-driven campaigns in the nation."

Big time lawmaker in more trouble

Several other Democrats also are seeking the nomination to take on Frelinghuysen, the most recent being lawyer Michell Cobert of Morristown, a former New York state assistant attorney general.

"I believe the people in our district need a proven advocate who will put their actual needs ahead of partisan rhetoric," Cobert said on his Facebook page. 

Others include Montclair State University lecturer Tamara Harris, former U.S. Army National Guard member Jack Gebbia and County College of Morris history professor Mark Washburne.

Frelinghuysen, R-11th Dist., the most powerful member of the New Jersey congressional delegation, voted for the House Republican health care bill that the Congressional Budget Office said would leave 23 million more Americans uninsured.

While he voted against the GOP tax bill that gutted the federal deduction for state and local taxes -- a tax break disproportionately used by New Jersey residents -- he supported the budget resolution that allowed Republicans to prevent a Senate filibuster and exclude congressional Democrats from deliberations and negotiations.

In November. the Cook Political Report, a Washington-based publication that tracks congressional races, downgraded Frelinghuysen's chances of being re-elected , saying the race now was a toss-up.

Democratic Gov.-elect Phil Murphy carried the district in last November's election and President Donald Trump won with less than 50 percent of the vote in 2016.

Frelinghuysen stepped up his fundraising, bringing in $1.2 million through Sept. 30, compared with $588,320 in the same period two years ago.

Sherrill raised $744,014 and Harris 459,607. The other Democrats did not report raising any money through Sept. 30, Federal Election Commission filings show.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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