Regional Briefs – August 21, 2019

Authorities: Man Had Weapons, Ammo, White-Supremacist Items

LAFAYETTE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) – Federal prosecutors say a large weapons cache was found at a New Jersey man’s home after he was involved in an auto accident last month.

State police found numerous weapons and ammunition inside Joseph’s Rubino’s vehicle after it crashed on July 24. They later executed search warrants on the vehicle and at Rubino’s home in Lafayette Township.

TSA Says Traveler Forgot Snake at Newark Security Checkpoint

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – A young girl discovered something slithery at a New Jersey airport security checkpoint: a 15-inch-long snake.

Transportation Security Administration officials at Newark Liberty International Airport said in a release that it appears the thin, black snake with a yellow ring around its neck was forgotten by a traveler Monday night.

The girl alerted a TSA officer and a grey checkpoint bin was placed over the snake that officials said was harmless.

Officials closed the security lane temporarily and Port Authority police took the snake away.

State Worker Fired After Anti-Semitic, Racist Posts

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – A state worker who also heads a local NAACP chapter has been fired from his state job after several anti-Semitic and racist social media posts.

A Labor Department spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday that Jeffrey Dye was dismissed. He had been hired in February as a business representative, earning a $56,000 salary.

The online posts by Dye included one that alleged Israel harmed Ethiopian Jewish immigrants and another that sought to compare atrocities against blacks to those against Jews.

NY Rancher Says Bison Are Back Home After Month on The Lam

SHARON SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) – The buffalo are no longer roaming.

An upstate New York rancher who lost about 100 bison last month says he believes the last stragglers are back in their pen.

Rancher Brian Grubb posted a short clip of two bison running back into their pen Tuesday. Grubb tells the Post-Standard of Syracuse he is “pretty confident” that his entire herd has now rejoined the fold.

NY Mayor Says Pizza Joint Closed Over Taxes ‘MUST Be Saved’

NEW YORK (AP) – The tax department shut a beloved New York City pizza place, but the mayor vowed Wednesday to help save it.

Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted Wednesday that Brooklyn’s Di Fara Pizza “MUST be saved.”

“I’m ready to do anything I can to get them reopened — as are thousands of New York City pizza-lovers,” de Blasio tweeted. “My team and I are looking into how we can help resolve this situation.”

Teen Arrested in Chain-Reaction Crash That Killed Cyclist

NEW YORK (AP) – Police say a teenager who they say caused a chain-reaction crash in Brooklyn that killed a bicyclist has been arrested.

Mirza Baig was arrested Wednesday in connection with the Aug. 11 crash that killed 52-year-old cyclist Jose Alzorriz.

Police say the 18-year-old Baig was driving a Dodge Charger that struck a sport utility vehicle broadside. The SUV hit Alzorriz, who was pronounced dead at a hospital. The SUV driver and a pedestrian hit by debris suffered minor injuries.

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