NATIONAL NEWS

At least 3 dead in New Jersey after strong thunderstorms sweep through the Northeast

Jul 4, 2025, 8:53 AM | Updated: 3:02 pm

PLAINFIELD, NJ (AP) — Some residents in the Northeast were spending their July Fourth holiday cleaning up from strong thunderstorms that swept through the region Thursday night, bringing heavy rain, wind and hail.

The storms are being blamed for at least three deaths in central New Jersey, including two men in Plainfield who died after a tree fell onto a vehicle they were traveling in during the height of the storm, according to a city Facebook post.

The men were ages 79 and 25, officials said. They were not immediately publicly identified.

“Our hearts are heavy today,” Mayor Adrian O. Mapp said in a statement. “This tragedy is a sobering reminder of the power of nature and the fragility of life.”

The city canceled its planned July Fourth parade, concert and fireworks show. Mapp said the “devastating” storms had left “deep scars and widespread damage” in the community of more than 54,000 people and it was a time to “regroup and focus all of our energy on recovery.”

Continuing power outages and downed trees were reported Friday throughout southern New England, where some communities received large amounts of hail. There were reports of cars skidding off the road in northeastern Connecticut.

National News

Associated Press

Teen dies after being found unconscious on top of a New York City subway train

NEW YORK (AP) — A teenager found unconscious on top of a New York City subway train early Friday morning has died. New York City Police were called to the Queensboro Plaza Subway Station at 2:47 a.m. and discovered the unresponsive 15-year-old male, a NYPD spokesperson said. The boy was taken to a nearby hospital, […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Judge blocks immigrants’ deportation to South Sudan one day after Supreme Court clears the way

A federal judge on Friday temporarily halted deportations of eight immigrants to war-torn South Sudan the day after the Supreme Court greenlighted their removal, saying new claims by the immigrants’ lawyers deserved a hearing. District Judge Randolph Moss proceeded with the extraordinary Fourth of July hearing on Friday afternoon, directing the Trump administration to discuss […]

3 hours ago

FILE - EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin attends a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in...

Associated Press

EPA says Trump’s big bill should help in its fight to freeze billions in green bank funds

WASHINGTON (AP) — The sprawling tax and policy bill that passed Congress repeals a multibillion-dollar green bank for financing climate-friendly projects, and the Trump administration should be allowed to freeze its funding and cancel related contracts with nonprofits, federal officials said in a court filing. Climate United Fund and other nonprofits in March sued the […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Trump is expected to sign his huge bill of tax and spending cuts at the White House July 4 picnic

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to sign his package of tax breaks and spending cuts into law Friday after his cajoling produced almost unanimous Republican support in Congress for the domestic priority that could cement his second-term legacy. Against odds that at times seemed improbable, Trump achieved his goal of celebrating a […]

6 hours ago

Associated Press

At least 3 dead in New Jersey after strong thunderstorms sweep through the Northeast

PLAINFIELD, NJ (AP) — Some residents in the Northeast were spending their July Fourth holiday cleaning up from strong thunderstorms that swept through the region Thursday night, bringing heavy rain, wind and hail. The storms are being blamed for at least three deaths in central New Jersey, including two men in Plainfield who died after […]

6 hours ago

President Donald Trump dances after speaking at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Thursday, Ju...

Associated Press

Trump said he didn’t know an offensive term he used in a speech is considered antisemitic

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he didn’t know the term “shylock” is considered antisemitic when he used it in a speech to describe unscrupulous moneylenders. Trump told reporters early Friday after returning from an event in Iowa that he had “never heard it that way” and “never heard that” the term was considered […]

9 hours ago

At least 3 dead in New Jersey after strong thunderstorms sweep through the Northeast