Preet Bharara to Investigate State Police Slowdown in New Jersey
The New York Times
New Jersey’s attorney general has chosen Mr. Bharara, a former U.S. attorney, to investigate a steep dip in tickets for speeding and drunken driving.
New Jersey’s attorney general announced on Wednesday that he had enlisted Preet Bharara, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor, to lead a criminal investigation into a protracted slowdown in traffic enforcement by State Police troopers.
Mr. Bharara will serve as special counsel with “full authority” over an already active investigation into an eight-month reduction in traffic-safety enforcement by the State Police, the attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, said.
Between July 2023 and March 2024, tickets for speeding, drunken driving, cellphone use and other violations plummeted by 61 percent on the state’s busiest highways and rural back roads, data obtained by The New York Times show.
The slowdown coincided with an almost immediate uptick in crashes on the state’s two main highways, according to State Police traffic reports and data reported monthly to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. New Jersey’s traffic fatalities have since climbed by about 16 percent this year, compared with the same period in 2023, even as roadway deaths are going down in most other parts of the United States.
The sharp downturn in summonses and stops began a week after Mr. Platkin released a report that found glaring racial disparities in road safety enforcement. The analysis evaluated more than a decade’s worth of State Police traffic stops and concluded that troopers “were engaged in enforcement practices that result in adverse treatment toward minority motorists.”
Soon after, troopers were warned by their union president, Wayne D. Blanchard, about the “perils of motor vehicle stops” and advised to “be safe and protect yourself and your fellow troopers.”
John Chan was a Chinatown gangster before remaking himself into a powerful force in New York politics — one closely aligned with the Chinese Communist Party.
Liz Cheney, the former Republican representative, said President-elect Donald J. Trump “lied about” the bipartisan House committee that investigated his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack.
As Democrats try to fire up their fatigued base, two contests for the Virginia legislature will serve as the first measure of partisan enthusiasm since Donald J. Trump’s victory.
Linda McMahon is accused of failing to stop abuse in the 1980s within W.W.E., which she led at the time. The suit is on hold pending a ruling over a state law related to such cases.
The manhunt for the gunman who fatally shot Brian Thompson, chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, entered its fifth day, and the police released two new images.
Forrest Meggers, a professor at Princeton University, has turned his home into a live-in laboratory that pushes the boundaries of sustainability.
A confidential Navy program is studying whether intense fighter jet operations can cause devastating brain injuries in flight crews.
Applicants for government posts, including inside the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies, say they have been asked about their thoughts on Jan. 6 and who they believe won the 2020 election.
People across the state have reported seeing scores of large, low-flying objects in recent weeks. Officials haven’t said where they’re coming from, or why they’re here.
The Ohio city’s mayor and the family of the 15-year-old, Jazmir Tucker, raised concerns about how officers handled the incident.
The authorities have pleaded for help in finding the person who killed Brian Thompson, the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare. But some seem more interested in rooting for the gunman.