ZFJ founder. Oxford comma enthusiast. Unfortunately specializes in the government beat. Computer science and economics undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park.
EDISON, N.J., June 12 (ZFJ) — Sam Joshi and his team of town council candidates swept the Democratic primary election on Tuesday, June 10.
Nearing the end of his first term, incumbent Edison Mayor Sam Joshi secured 6,000-7,000 more votes than his challengers, Lav Patel and incumbent Councilman Richard Brescher.
“Thank you 🙏 everything we do is for the residents of Edison,” Joshi posted on social media after polls closed. “On to the general election in November.
EDISON, N.J., May 26 (ZFJ) — The Edison Board of Education abolished Policy 5756, the transgender students policy, during a marathon action meeting on Tuesday, May 20.
Policy 5756 was issued by the N.J. Department of Education as guidance to local school districts. It directs schools to accept a student’s asserted gender identity and, controversially, eliminates an “affirmative duty” (in other words, an obligation) for staff members to notify parents of the student’s new gender identity.
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., May 23 (ZFJ) — Three Rutgers students and one Cranford man unaffiliated with the university were charged with rioting and other offenses during a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Rutgers Hillel on April 29, 2025.
On that day, Rutgers Hillel, located on the College Avenue campus, held a roundtable with U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer to, according to a press release from the congressman, “speak with students about the alarming rise in antisemitism on college campuses across the country.
GREENBELT, Md., April 19 (ZFJ) — U.S. immigration authorities have erroneously deported Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia of Maryland, who was protected from removal by an immigration judge, to an El Salvador mega-prison.
Abrego Garcia’s case was brought before U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis at the Maryland federal court’s division in Greenbelt.
Xinis wrote in her memorandum opinion that Abrego Garcia came from Los Nogales, El Salvador, and illegally entered the U.
WASHINGTON, April 7 (ZFJ) — Americans took to their public spaces in over 1,300 demonstrations nationwide to protest the Trump administration on Saturday, April 5.
Various scenes from the Hands Off demonstration at the Sylvan Theater in Washington. ZFJ/Alvin Wu The organization Hands Off!, named to tell Trump and Musk “hands off” the government and partnered with numerous advocacy groups and labor unions, called for a “National Day of Action” on Saturday to demand “an end to the authoritarian overreach by Trump and Musk.
EDISON, N.J., Feb. 23 (ZFJ) — Igor Kirilenko, 61, of Keasbey, N.J., has been charged with the murder of Gregory Ginzburg, 72, of Edison on Sunday, Feb. 16.
On Feb. 16, at 6:39 p.m., Edison police responded to Clive Hills Road following a 911 call from Ginzburg saying that Kirilenko was in his house with a firearm. Dispatch heard a loud noise, believed to be a gunshot, during the call.
Civil discourse is critical for every democracy, and with Valentine’s Day tomorrow (today? I’m writing this at two hours past midnight), it’s about time we discussed an issue that really matters to society: the optimal location for a first date.
I have the answer. After extensive research and analysis consisting of musing in the cool wind while gazing at the full moon as well as the documented results of two practical tests by me and my associates, I have concluded that bubble tea shops are perfect for first dates.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (ZFJ) — The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under the fearless leadership of billionaire Elon Musk, has ordered the shutdown of the entire federal government of the U.S. on the grounds that it is the grossest inefficiency of all time.
After “extensive research and analysis” by a highly qualified team of college undergrads handpicked from Musk’s companies SpaceX and X, DOGE reached the conclusion that the government was nothing more than a “shockingly massive inefficiency,” according to an X post by the budget-slashing commission.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (ZFJ) — TikTok was briefly banned in the United States from late night Saturday, Jan. 18, to Sunday, Jan. 19, as a result of a law requiring TikTok to divest itself of its American operations.
TikTok is a social media platform for short videos with over 170 million American users and over one billion worldwide users. In 2023, American TikTok users uploaded over 5.5 billion videos, which were viewed over 13 trillion times globally.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (ZFJ) — Two new giant pandas made their public debut at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) on Friday, Jan. 24.
NZCBI Director Brandie Smith unveiled pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao in a ceremonial opening of the Asia Trail exhibit on Friday.
“For over 50 years, giant pandas have been an integral part of the fabric and culture of Washington, D.C., thanks in large part to the support of the communities that live and work in the District,” Smith said.
