Judge blocks ballot design in New Jersey primary

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Friday overturned New Jersey’s county organizational line for the upcoming primary, a move that could have major implications for elections in the state.

U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi granted a request for a preliminary injunction from Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, who is running for Senate, to overhaul the state’s ballot design. The line has long given preferential ballot placement to candidates backed by powerful county organizations, making it difficult to oust incumbent lawmakers.

In his opinion, Quraishi said he recognized “the magnitude” of the decision.

“The integrity of the democratic process for a primary election is at stake and the remedy Plaintiffs are seeking is extraordinary,” Quraishi wrote in the 49-page opinion.

Kim filed the lawsuit last month when the race for the Democratic Senate nomination was more crowded. After his chief rival, New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy, dropped out of the race last Sunday, Kim appeared on track to win the nomination. Democrats Patricia Campos-Medina, a labor leader, and Lawrence Hamm, a perennial candidate, are also on the ballot for the June 4 primary.

—CQ-Roll Call

Colorado bill targets pet facilities after canine illness outbreak

DENVER — A canine respiratory disease outbreak that sickened Colorado dogs last fall is motivating state lawmakers to find a legislative fix, but some pet care facilities say the proposed bill needs a lot more clarification to work.

The bill, HB24-1354, would require licensed pet facilities to “make every reasonable attempt to notify” pet owners of an infectious disease outbreak within 24 hours of the facility learning about that outbreak.

Rep. Leslie Herod, the Denver Democrat sponsoring the bill, said the bill was in response to the dog flu epidemic that hit Colorado in the fall. There was an outbreak at her dog Clinton’s pet facility, which she learned about after she called to ask about the respiratory illness.

“I was then able to go to my vet and get information about how to properly protect my pet so that he didn’t become sick. And that’s what I did,” she said.

The bill passed an initial vote in the House on Tuesday and needs a final vote there before crossing over to the Senate.

—The Denver Post

Law students call on Harvard to divest from ‘Israeli occupation’

BOSTON — After several months of turmoil on Harvard’s campus amid the Israel-Hamas war, the law school student government is calling on Harvard to divest from “Israeli occupation and genocide.”

The Harvard Law School Student Government on Friday voted to pass a resolution that urges the Harvard Management Corp. to “divest completely from weapons manufacturers, firms, academic programs, corporations and all other institutions that aid the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine and the genocide of Palestinians.”

The resolution also calls on all organizations at Harvard to “divest from institutions, weapons manufacturers, firms, academic programs, corporations, and all other institutions that aid the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestine and the genocide of Palestinians.”

The divestment resolution reportedly passed 12-3, with four abstention votes.

—Boston Herald

Family of Capitol officer who died in Jan. 6 riot slams Trump

The father and brother of Brian Sicknick, the police officer who died during the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol, blasted Donald Trump’s appearance at a wake Thursday for slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller.

Charles and Kenneth Sicknick on Friday both expressed condolences to Diller’s family, but they said Trump’s appearance, especially the press conference outside a Long Island funeral home, was nothing more than a highly inappropriate political stunt.

“He makes sure he gets his face out there. The guy’s a criminal. He’s the reason my son is dead — because of the riot at the Capitol,” Charles Sicknick, Brian’s father, told the Daily News. “He’s a publicity hound. Trump does whatever will get him votes and helps Donald Trump. There’s nothing good about that man.”

Speaking to reporters Thursday outside the Massapequa Funeral Home in Massapequa Park, Trump offered his sympathy to Diller’s wife and son. “The Diller family will never be the same. We have to stop it, we have to stop it. We have to get back to law and order,” he said.

—New York Daily News

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