Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show on Monday:

🔗 Noem's gone and ICE warehouse in Roxbury is on hold

☑️ NBC News reports a $129M DHS warehouse project in Roxbury paused for review
☑️ Contracts signed by previous DHS Secretary Kristi Noem are under scrutiny
☑️ NJ has filed a lawsuit to stop the facility

ROXBURY — The Department of Homeland Security’s $129.3 million purchase of a warehouse in Morris County has been temporarily paused pending a review of contracts and policies approved by former Secretary Kristi Noem, according to a senior official

The Route 46 facility in the Ledgewood section is one of 11 warehouses purchased by the agency for $1.074 billion. At least three lawsuits, including one by New Jersey, have been filed over the facilities. The lawsuits have a common complaint about decisions being made without consulting local officials.

Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill has joined with the mostly local Republican leadership in opposing the project to file a lawsuit. The lawsuit contends that Noem did not comply with federal law requiring Homeland Security and ICE to consult with state and local officials about major projects. They have said that the warehouse cannot handle the water, sewage and power needed.

"The Trump Administration’s plans for a detention facility in Roxbury will not make our residents safer. Instead, this facility will overburden local services and infrastructure," Gov. Mikie Sherrill said in a written statement. “These types of facilities also have a long track record of abuse, mistreatment, and unsafe conditions."

Two senior DHS officials told NBC News that the pause is likely temporary to give incoming Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin a chance to review Noem's policies.

During Mullin's confirmation hearing, U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., questioned Mullin about the Roxbury site. Mullin said he would visit the Roxbury site to address Kim’s concerns if he were confirmed as Noem's successor.

🔗 Ex-assemblyman killed, driver charged with manslaughter

🚨 Union County man charged in crash that killed former NJ assemblyman
💔 Victim died of heart attack following high-speed collision in Newark
🏛️ Former lawmaker remembered as key figure in Portuguese community

NEWARK — A 27-year-old Union County man has been charged with killing a prominent city figure and former lawmaker in a car crash on Sunday.

John M. Arango-Taborda, of Elizabeth, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter and second-degree vehicular homicide of Alberto Coutinho.

The 56-year-old Coutinho, a Newark resident, suffered a heart attack at the scene of the crash, according to multiple reports, including NJ.com. He died at nearby University Hospital.

Investigators said Arango-Taborda was speeding when he crashed into Coutinho’s vehicle around 7:30 a.m. at the intersection of McCarter Highway (Route 21) and South Street.

He was also injured in the crash, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II said.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka remembered Coutinho as a “central pillar of our Portuguese community, the Ironbound, and the city at large."

Coutinho served as a Democratic assemblyman in the 29th Legislative District for more than five years.

He was the first Portuguese American to serve in the Legislature, first from May 1997 to January 1998 and then again from January 2008 to September 2013.

🔗 NJ special ed instructor accused of using drugs at work

🚨 Bergen County teacher accused of using drugs while supervising students
🏫 Incident allegedly happened at special education program in Paramus
⚖️ Teacher charged and released pending further court proceedings

A 41-year-old Bergen County special education teacher has been accused of using drugs while at work.

Jenna Junio, of Nutley, was arrested on Monday and charged with fourth-degree cruelty and neglect of a child.

An investigation started a couple of weeks earlier. On March 11, the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency contacted the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit about a reported incident of child abuse.

Police said that Junio used narcotics while working as a teacher and supervising minors younger than 18 on March 2 in Paramus, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.

Officers did not specify what type of drugs she was suspected of using.

🔗 Despite rising costs, Sherrill’s approval is strong across NJ

🔹 58% of NJ voters approve of Gov. Mikie Sherrill in new FDU poll
🔹 Support crosses party and demographic lines despite rising costs
🔹 Voters want Sherrill to work with Trump when possible, poll shows

Sherrill approval rating remains strong despite NJ affordability crisis

Even as New Jersey residents grapple with some of the highest property taxes in the nation, rising utility bills and stubborn inflation, a new poll shows Gov. Mikie Sherrill enjoying strong approval ratings early in her first term.

A survey from Fairleigh Dickinson University finds 58% of New Jersey voters approve of the job Sherrill is doing as governor, significantly higher than the approval ratings of former Gov. Phil Murphy during much of his second term.

The numbers suggest that, for now, voters are willing to give the new governor time to navigate the state’s economic challenges.

“Sherrill is getting what no politician on the national level gets these days: the benefit of the doubt,” said Dan Cassino, professor of government and politics at Fairleigh Dickinson University and executive director of the FDU Poll. “Independents, and even some Republicans, have nothing bad to say about her yet, and that approval is political capital in her talks with the legislature.”

🔗 Trump says US forces will 'finish the job' soon in first prime-time speech since starting Iran war

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump sought Wednesday to explain his rationale for the war against Iran at a pivotal moment at home and abroad, but he offered few new details as he amasses extraordinary executive authority to prosecute the military operation.

Notably missing from Trump’s primetime address was his oft-repeated assertion that negotiations with Iran were underway. He softened his insults against NATO allies and did not indicate he was preparing to send in ground troops, particularly to retrieve Iran’s enriched uranium. But he gave no definitive end date for the conflict.

The war is fast becoming a signature of his second-term agenda, and the speech was a capstone to a remarkable day flexing presidential power.

The president said he wanted to “discuss why Operation Epic Fury is necessary for the safety of America and the security of the free world.”

He aimed to show that one goal of Wednesday���s speech was to take on the confusion that has persisted as the administration shifted its reasons for launching the war.

But over the course of nearly 20 minutes, Trump did not offer any new explanations.

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You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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