Latest news with #NewJerseyStatePolice
Telegraph
16 hours ago
- Climate
- Telegraph
I visited the World Cup final venue in New York... it is dull and dangerously hot
It is 10.45am at the MetLife Stadium, but it is already dangerously hot. It is 32C in the shade and some fans are feeling it as they walk. Two New Jersey state police officers are sitting in a gazebo outside the vast steel perimeter of what will be the venue for next year's World Cup final. Directly behind them is a large air conditioning unit – pumping chill air out into the open as the searing heat bounces off the tarmac and concrete that stretches out across the vast surrounding car parks and into the rest of the Meadowlands sports complex beyond. The officers are happy, but environmentally, it is a disaster. The 10.45am local time may well be at half-time during next year's World Cup final, which takes place in this stadium not in mid-June but on July 19, the absolute height of summer. And so this is what happened when attending a Club World Cup group game, between the Brazilian club Palmeiras and the Egyptian champions Al-Ahly. It is a story of a fixture that started at midday and was therefore due to finish before 2pm, and eventually ended at 2.52pm because the stands were evacuated due to a severe weather warning, including the small risk of a tornado. Even then, English referee Anthony Taylor should have announced far more than just six minutes of added time. But by then the players had stopped. It is also the story of another half-empty stadium – just 35,179 inside this huge open bowl that holds 82,500 – and of an Uber taxi driver trying to charge $150 (£111.40) in the middle of the afternoon for the tortuously slow eight-mile trip back into central New York. When challenged, he immediately dropped his price to $100 – still a rip-off. And it is the story of an apparently unloved stadium, built just 18 years ago and criticised for its lack of character and atmosphere, where it can take up to two hours to get out of the car park, but which will host the most watched sports event in the world with five billion viewers. First the heat. Fifa will not confirm the kick-off time for next year's final until after the World Cup draw in December. But there is speculation it could be as early as 10am (3pm UK time), although the semi-finals and final of this tournament, also held here, are scheduled for 3pm local time (8pm in the UK). That feels more likely. The humidity on my visit was 60 per cent and that is on the cusp of affecting sports performance, according to experts. At 1.25pm, the game was suspended. Just over an hour had been played when it was announced that everyone in the stands and the players on the pitch had to leave to take shelter inside the stadium because of a potential lightning storm. There was even a small chance of a tornado. A message emblazoned on the giant screens read: 'Your attention please. For your safety, we are going to have everyone leave the seating bowl area and take shelter inside the stadium because of severe weather in the area. Those on the field, please walk calmly to the nearest tunnel, to the West Hall, or the service corridor.' The delay, with Palmeiras 2-0 up, lasted 50 minutes. Many fans of Al-Ahly – there is a large Egyptian diaspora in the United States and New Jersey in particular – simply decided not to return. There was even a delay to the delay as Taylor could not get his communication equipment to work and then we waited for the broadcasters to be ready. Just 14 minutes later there was a drinks break, the second of the game, but interest among fans had dwindled by then and the game petered away. Is this the kind of football Fifa wants? The first drinks stop came after half an hour with players already being draped in wet towels and handed ice packs. When Taylor announced over the PA system that he was rescinding a red card he had wrongly awarded for a tackle, after a VAR check, the sweat was pouring down his shaved head. Weather cannot be controlled but how will such a delay and an apparent dwindling of interest look for next year's World Cup final? Instead of trying to explain what was going on, the officials spent their time trying to stop journalists live-streaming and checking their accreditations. After all, all Fifa content must be protected, even at the price of preventing information being spread. It was not just the players feeling the heat. There is very little shade inside this enormous roofless bowl for the supporters with those at the vertiginous top also having pretty poor views. Small bottles of water were selling for $5 and Bud Light beer at $14. Hot dogs? They were $8.50 and a pretzel $9 – plus tax. Not that the police liked anyone walking around with a water bottle. I was stopped and surrounded by no fewer than eight officers and had to have my bag checked, firstly by a sniffer dog. Fifa will set its own prices – do not expect them to go down – and deliver its own branding for the World Cup, which is partly why it has chosen for the tournament so many bigger American football stadiums, such as this one, the home of the New York Jets and Giants. Only 12 of the 63 games are being played in stadiums specifically designed for 'soccer', with eight of the 12 grounds having capacities of at least 65,000. Four of them will be used at the World Cup, with the MetLife hosting the most games. This competition is a dry run. A very dry run, given the temperature. The Club World Cup game was tough going. It was the third to be played in this stadium already during this tournament with the previous two ending goalless. When a score arrived it was an own goal headed headed in by Al-Ahly striker Wessam Abou Ali before Palmeiras substitute José Manuel López broke away to add a smartly taken second. At that point, an Egyptian journalist in the press box, wearing a red Al-Ahly shirt and who had been shouting throughout the game, unplugged his phone and walked away in disgust. Even the playing surface at the stadium has been criticised. The MetLife pitch with its synthetic grass is notoriously disliked by the NFL players – with 13 serious injuries suffered in the past five years, including famed quarterback Aaron Rodgers tearing his Achilles, so Fifa installed real turf. But players and coaches at this tournament have not been impressed and right up until kick-off, and then at half-time, four large firemen's hoses were dragged on to drench the pitch. It still quickly dried out. Getting to the MetLife is not easy. The stadium is in East Rutherford, right in the middle of Meadowlands, to the west of New York, near to the highways that lead into the city and the main routes around New Jersey. There is simply nothing else nearby and fans are told not to attempt to walk from local hotels. 'It is illegal and dangerous,' they have been warned in one poster. There are plenty of parking spaces for about $50, but how many fans attending the World Cup will have cars? And, it takes up to two hours to get out of the car parks – longer than the actual game unless there is another weather incident. The Meadowlands rail station, right on the doorstep, is open on match days, although fans were being directed instead to buses at the final whistle and it is a slow journey from Secaucus Junction, where they have to change trains to New York Penn Street. The Palmeiras supporters,who had taken over Brooklyn Bridge, were out in force, smuggling in flags and banners far bigger than those permitted by Fifa and trying to create any atmosphere. But this stadium lacks any character. It just feels a bit drab and grey and unsuitable and has been plonked in the middle of nowhere. It is dull, much like the football played here during this tournament so far. Even though ticket prices had been cut to just $38, huge sections of the stadium – three-quarters of the top tier and even more of the middle one – were closed and taken off sale. It will be different for the World Cup and the latter stages of this competition. Demand will be far higher. But that raises more serious questions, with complaints that the walkways out are too narrow for huge crowds to easily disperse. Maybe it will look differently next year when it is kitted out by Fifa, even if it will be hard to transform a stadium which has been compared to an air conditioning unit in the way it looks and the way it feels. Which, of course, is where we started.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Yahoo
Attorneys for N.J. man who hit Johnny Gaudreau wants statements, data tossed, filing says
Motions recently filed by the lawyers of the New Jersey man accused of causing the Aug. 29 fatal crash that killed Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, ask a judge to keep several pieces of evidence out of any future trial. Sean Higgins, 44, is charged with reckless vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter and several other charges related to the crash. The June 9 motions filed by Higgins' lawyers, Richard Klineburger and Matthew Portella, ask a judge to suppress a statement Higgins gave to police and data from his airbag control module. The motions were filed a day before Higgins appeared in Salem County Superior Court for a discretionary conference. During the hearing, Judge Michael J. Silvanio gave the defense and prosecution until July 7 to file briefs on the evidence suppression motions and two weeks after that date to respond to the other side's opposing briefs. Additionally, Higgins' lawyers said during the hearing that other legal issues they had discussed with Silvanio and Assistant Prosecutor Michael Mestern previously have been resolved. Higgins is next set to appear in court for a hearing on Aug. 21 at 1:30 p.m. According to court records and prosecutors, Higgins passed two vehicles around 8:20 p.m. on Aug. 29 while on a road in Oldmans Township, New Jersey. The vehicles had slowed down because the Gaudreau brothers were bicycling one in front of the other on the shoulder of the road. Court records say witnesses told New Jersey State Police that Higgins had been driving his Jeep Grand Cherokee aggressively, speeding up and then falling back several times before passing the first vehicle on the left. The second vehicle had moved to the left to give the Gaudreaus additional room, according to court records, when Higgins went around to the right, hitting the cyclists. Court records say Higgins had a blood alcohol level of 0.087 at the time of the crash. He stopped about a quarter mile from the crash scene and admitted to having several beers before and while he was driving, according to court records. Matthew, 29, and Johnny, 31, both died at the scene from their injuries. The brothers had been in town to attend their sister's wedding the next day. During an April 15 hearing, Higgins' attorneys asked the judge to toss the indictment because prosecutors didn't present evidence about the Gaudreau brothers' toxicology reports to the grand jury. Those reports found Johnny had a blood-alcohol level of 0.134, and Matthew's was 0.129, however, New Jersey does not have any law against bicycling while intoxicated. At the April hearing, Assistant Salem County Prosecutor Michael Mestern said neither brother had broken any law and witnesses to the crash were clear that the brothers had not been riding their bikes in any way that would have contributed to the crash. Higgins also did not call 911 and tried to get rid of open and unopened alcoholic beverage containers inside his vehicle, Mestern said. Silvanio sided with prosecutors and allowed the case to move forward. The judge also denied a request from Higgins' legal team to force prosecutors to provide information about plea negotiations in other cases. Silvanio said each case is different, and comparing cases is difficult because of that. Higgins rejected a plea offer in January that would have resulted in a 35-year prison sentence. He continues to be held in the New Jersey jail where he has been housed since his arrest on the night of the crash. Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@ or on Bluesky at @ Breaking and Trending News Reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@ and at @NathanRHart on X and at on Bluesky. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Johnny Gaudreau crash update: Driver Sean Higgins in court
CBS News
09-06-2025
- CBS News
Missing 10-year-old girl last seen leaving Jersey City mall with unknown man, N.J. police say
A 10-year-old girl went missing from a mall in New Jersey, and state and local police are seeking the public's help to find her. The family says they last saw 10-year-old Divine Anyanwu at home in Jersey City around 7 a.m. Thursday. She was later seen on surveillance leaving Newport Centre Mall around 7:45 p.m. She appeared to be walking toward Newport Parkway with a man who police are now looking to identify. A 10-year-old girl went missing from Newport Centre Mall in Jersey City, and police are seeking the public's help to find her. New Jersey State Police Police say Anyanwu is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs about 180 pounds. She was last seen wearing a neon orange headband, a white tank top, tie-dye shorts and black and white sneakers. She is known to frequent areas on Lincoln Park, Westside Avenue, the McDonald's on Communipaw Avenue, as well as multiple locations in the Bronx, according to police. A 10-year-old girl went missing from Newport Centre Mall in Jersey City, and police are seeking the public's help to find her. New Jersey State Police Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact the Jersey City Police Department's Missing Persons Unit at 201-547-5477 or the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit at 609-882-2000 ext. 2554.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Cops violated man's civil rights by putting tracker on car in driveway, judges rule
Police must have judicial permission to do more than a visitor could on residential property, court rules. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor) The New Jersey State Police violated a suspect's constitutional rights when troopers entered his driveway to attach a GPS tracker to his car under a warrant that only allowed them access to the man's vehicle, an appellate panel ruled Tuesday. The three-judge panel found officers violated state and federal constitutional protections by entering Maurice Johnson's driveway to attach the tracker because the communications data warrant they obtained for the device did not authorize them to enter the property. 'The [warrant] did not expressly authorize entry onto the driveway. Nor did the State Police seek prior judicial authorization to enter onto defendant's residential property when they abandoned the plan to install the device on a public street or parking lot,' the court wrote. The court granted Johnson's motion to suppress evidence gleaned from the improperly placed tracker. GPS data obtained from the tracker revealed a pattern of stops consistent with drug dealing, authorities said, and eventually led police to a storage unit in Johnson's name that held drugs, guns, and 'a substantial sum of money,' the court said. A lower court judge had rejected Johnson's request to toss the fruits of the communications data warrant, finding that the driveway was not afforded Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches because it was unfenced, unlike the rest of the parcel. The appeals court said the driveway, however accessible, was protected from unreasonable search and seizure. 'The fact the particular area where the subject vehicle was parked was not protected from the weather does not mean it was not protected from physical incursion under the United States and New Jersey Constitutions,' the panel wrote. The judges acknowledged that police can have an implied license to approach a home's front door — as any private citizen might — but said police officers veered away from the front door to plant the tracker, 'thus exceeding the spatial boundaries of any 'customary invitation' that might be granted to a visitor such as a delivery person.' An implied license, which allows people to, for example, knock on a front door or deliver a package without committing trespass, did not permit authorities to enter the driveway so they could put a tracker on Johnson's car, they added. 'Simply put, installing a concealed GPS device is not something a visitor or delivery person would be expected and permitted to do,' the court wrote. The state's arguments, which compared officers' actions to a private vehicle repossession, were unconvincing because the Fourth Amendment protects against state intrusion, not against private debt collectors, they added. Portions of the warrant that left the manner of the tracking device's installation to officers' discretion likewise did not allow them to enter the driveway because both state and federal constitutions require warrants to 'particularly describe' the locations they allow officers to search, the judges found. 'The [warrant's] reference to the need 'to minimize the chances of detection of the device by the person whose vehicle is the subject of this warrant' was not some kind of code authorizing physical entry onto unspecified private property,' the court wrote. Whether police sincerely believed the warrant allowed them to enter the driveway was irrelevant, the judges said. A lower court discarded findings from a separate search warrant that authorized officers to look through Johnson's home because officers did not knock and announce themselves before entering, as the warrant required. But the lower court declined to suppress evidence secured through the improperly applied GPS tracker. The drugs, guns, and money discovered in Johnson's storage unit formed the basis for the warrant authorizing a search of his home, according to Tuesday's ruling. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
KU professor joins lawsuit to pressure New Jersey to allow DNA testing of Lindbergh evidence
Jonathan Hagel, an assistant professor of history at the University of Kansas, is among plaintiffs in a New Jersey lawsuit filed to compel opening of a documentary archives tied to the kidnapping and murder of aviator Charles Lindburgh's son. Hagel and other researchers seek permission to expose certain documents to modern DNA testing. (Submitted) TOPEKA — An assistant professor at the University of Kansas is a plaintiff in a New Jersey lawsuit seeking modern DNA testing of state archive materials tied to the kidnapping and murder of the infant son of trans-Atlantic aviator Charles Lindbergh. The 200-page Mercer County Superior Court suit was filed amid controversy about decisions by New Jersey State Police to block access to the case archive. The plaintiffs — KU historian Jonathan Hagel, author Catherine Read and retired teacher Michele Downie — said their Open Public Records Act request related the 1932 kidnapping was rejected. Hagel, a New Jersey native who has studied the Lindbergh case, said DNA analysis of ransom notes or envelopes could contribute to understanding whether Bruno Richard Hauptmann, who was executed in 1936 after convicted of first-degree murder, acted alone in the high-profile crime. It is among questions that have riveted scholars and investigators since Hauptmann's trial. 'There were more than a dozen ransom letters overall, and they were sent through the post,' said Hagel, a New Jersey native who has studied the Lindbergh case. 'If Hauptmann's DNA is on it, then he definitely is not innocent of being involved. But, if there is other DNA, that would confirm other people's involvement.' Twenty-month-old Charles Lindbergh Jr. was abducted from the family estate near Hopewell, New Jersey. The family was contacted through ransom notes and parcels, and a demand for $50,000 was paid. The toddler's remains were subsequently discovered adjacent to a roadside several miles from the Lindbergh home. 'There are those who think we're likely to find Charles Lindbergh's DNA on the materials,' Hagel said. 'They believe there was some kind of accident, and he orchestrated this as a way to deflect responsibility.' At least one previous lawsuit unsuccessfully sought to compel New Jersey to allow DNA testing of documents associated with the case. A state appellate court said New Jersey law didn't guarantee a public right to physically examine archive materials. In 2023, the State Police said access was restricted to preserve contents of case files. 'My take is that states or police organizations, like any bureaucracy, just like to protect their stuff,' Hagel said. 'There are others who think the state police are embarrassed they may have botched it quite badly and been involved in a railroading.'
