NTD News Today

A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck New Jersey on April 5, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and was likely felt by millions of people in the New York City metropolitan area and across the northeastern United States. The USGS said the quake struck in Lebanon, New Jersey, at around 10:23 a.m. ET. At a briefing, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said her administration is taking the earthquake "very seriously,” while New York City Mayor Eric Adams said there were no reports of major damage to infrastructure, and no reports of injuries so far.

Just over a week after the catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced that it plans to fully reopen the channel leading to the Baltimore port by the end of May—a significant update, since the disaster halted shipping traffic and delivered a serious blow to a port critical to both the local and national economies.

The Israeli military has dismissed two officers and formally reprimanded senior commanders after an inquiry into the killing of 7 aid workers in a drone strike in Gaza this week found serious errors and breaches of procedure, the IDF said. The inquiry found that Israeli forces mistakenly believed they were attacking Hamas gunmen when drones struck the three vehicles of the World Central Kitchen aid group convoy late on Monday night, and that standard procedures had not been followed.

President Joe Biden will speak by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 4, three days after an Israeli airstrike killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers. The White House said President Biden was "outraged and heartbroken" by the attack, but the president has made no fundamental change in the United States' steadfast support for Israel in its conflict against the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza.

NATO is marking 75 years of collective defense across Europe and North America, with its top diplomats vowing to stay the course in Ukraine as better-armed Russian troops assert control on the battlefield. The anniversary comes as the now-32-nation alliance weighs a plan to provide more predictable, longer-term military support to Ukraine.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has arrived in China for a 6-day visit, a trip she said was necessary to “advance America’s economic and national security interests.” Ms. Yellen landed in the southern Chinese export hub of Guangzhou. The Treasury Department said her trip, the second in less than a year, aims to press her Chinese counterparts on Washington’s concerns about the regime’s “unfair trade practices” and “industrial overcapacity,” which pose a threat to economies around the world.

Taiwan was shaken by its strongest earthquake in 25 years on April 3, causing buildings to collapse and landslides to crush highways and tunnels. The 7.4 magnitude quake triggering tsunami warnings across the region, and resulted in at least nine deaths. More than 1,000 have been reported injured, according to the Taiwanese government. Rescuers in Hualien City are scrambling to free dozens of people still trapped in road tunnels.

Voters in Wisconsin’s April 2 primary made up their minds on two election measures introduced and championed by Republicans in the state and commended by former President Donald Trump. Wisconsinites voted 'Yes' on a measure restricting private money from entering elections—a concern of many GOP voters and elected officials after the 2020 presidential election, which saw significant donations from tech billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in Wisconsin and other states. Conservatives have been referring to the liberal donor’s massive contributions as “Zuckerbucks.”

Customs officials in Texas are working to deport 215 illegal immigrants charged with various offenses in connection with breaking through a razor-wire barrier in El Paso County and stampeding through a group of outnumbered Texas National Guard troops. Some of the illegal immigrants, however, were released on their own recognizance, according to earlier reporting by The Epoch Times. A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told The Epoch Times that, to date, 64 individuals have been taken into ICE custody and are being processed for deportation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on April 2 that an Israeli airstrike that killed seven people working for celebrity chef José Andrés' World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity in Gaza was unintended and "tragic," and that the Israel Defense Forces have pledged to support an independent inquiry. The Israeli military confirmed the deadly strike on a WCK convoy that killed citizens of Australia, the UK, and Poland, as well as a number of Palestinians and a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.

President Joe Biden held a phone call with Chinese communist leader Xi Jinping on April 2 as tensions between the United States and China remain elevated. The call was the first contact between the two leaders since meeting in Woodside, California, last November. It is their first phone call since July, 2022.

The judge in former President Donald Trump’s so-called hush money case has warned President Trump that he might lose access to juror names in his upcoming trial if he continues to speak about the case in a way that the judge deems a “risk” to court proceedings. Meanwhile, President Trump posted a $175-million bond on Monday in his New York civil fraud case, halting collection of the more than $454 million he owes and preventing the state from seizing his assets to satisfy the debt while he appeals, according to a court filing.

Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh received another prison sentence on April 1—this time in federal court, where a judge sentenced him to 40 years for stealing from his clients and his law firm. The 55-year-old disbarred attorney is already serving a life sentence without parole in a state prison for killing his wife and son.

President Joe Biden declared March 31, 2024—the day on which Easter Sunday fell this year—as “Transgender Day of Visibility,” sparking uproar among conservatives and eliciting scathing criticism from former President Donald Trump, who demanded that President Biden apologize to the millions of Christians in the United States.

Most fast-food workers in California will be paid at least $20 an hour beginning Monday, when a new law is scheduled to kick in. The law will give higher pay to a historically low-paying profession—but also threatens to raise prices and cut jobs in a state already known for its high cost of living.

Georgia lawmakers approved new rules on March 28 for challenging voter eligibility and qualifying for the state's presidential ballot—changes that could impact the 2024 presidential race in the battleground state. The bill would grant access to Georgia’s ballot to any political party that has qualified for the presidential ballot in at least 20 states or territories. The change could be a boost to independent candidates such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The bill also spells out what constitutes “probable cause” for upholding challenges to voter eligibility, which could lead to voters being removed from the rolls.

Former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton teamed up with entertainers on Thursday to fundraise for President Joe Biden, raking in a record-setting $26 million-plus for his reelection campaign. The event at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall was, however, marred by disruption from pro-Palestinian protesters shouting from the audience. The protestors yelled “blood on your hands” and interrupted the three presidents as they attempted to make their remarks on Gaza.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been behind bars in Russia for a year now. A Moscow court extended the journalist's pretrial detention again until June 30, which is when his trial is due to start. Russia's Security Service have accused Gershkovich of being a spy—a charge he and his employer, The Wall Street Journal, have denied. The Kremlin says there are ongoing negotiations regarding a potential prisoner swap that could send Gershkovich home.

A federal judge sentenced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison on March 28 for defrauding investors in his fallen cryptocurrency exchange. In November, jurors convicted Mr. Bankman-Fried on all seven counts of conspiracy and fraud with which government lawyers had charged him. Mr. Bankman-Fried and his attorneys had repeatedly argued that he didn’t intentionally do anything wrong, and that he deserved no more than 6 1/2 years in jail.

In Georgia, former President Donald Trump’s lawyers are in court arguing that the sweeping RICO case against him should be thrown out, because President Trump’s political speech is protected by the First Amendment. The case was on hold during two months of disqualification hearings over Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ romantic relationship with her lead prosecutor, Nathan Wade. President Trump did not attend the hearing, as he is in New York to attend the wake of a slain New York police officer.

Officials in Baltimore say they are focusing on reopening a key shipping route blocked by the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Divers recovered the bodies of two of the six construction workers who were reported missing and presumed dead, but officials said they would need to start clearing away the debris before anyone could reach the bodies of four others. Divers are to resume searching once the debris has been cleared.

With six individuals missing and presumed dead after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the U.S. Coast Guard has transitioned its search and rescue operation to a search and recovery mission. Hours after a container ship struck the bridge in the early morning of March 26, a team from the National Transportation Safety Board boarded the ship late Tuesday night to gather evidence for their investigation, according to CNN. Officials obtained the ship’s data recorder, or black box, which the NTSB said would help investigators develop a timeline of the events leading up to the collision.

A divided appeals court has upheld a preliminary injunction against the State of Texas, thus continuing to stall the enforcement of Senate Bill 4—a state law targeting illegal immigration that allows the state to arrest and deport suspected illegal immigrants. The decision comes after weeks of legal back and forth.

A bomb threat and a threat of a mass shooting have been sent to the New York headquarters of Shen Yun Performing Arts, a classical Chinese dance group founded by Chinese dissidents that has long faced harassment by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Shen Yun’s portrayal of authentic Chinese culture under the tagline of “China before communism” is perceived by the CCP as a threat to its dominance in China's cultural landscape.

The U.S. Supreme Court will start hearing arguments against the abortion drug mifepristone this week, with a decision expected in around three months. Pro-abortion activists claim that mifepristone has been proven safe, and that blocking the drug would harm the interests of millions of women. However, the pro-life Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine is arguing that the FDA made two changes related to mifepristone in 2016 and 2021 that removed key safety protocols protecting women.

A cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland in the early hours of March 26, causing the bridge to collapse. At least seven vehicles and as many as 20 people fell into the water, according to city officials. Some of them have been rescued, but search and rescue crews are still searching the river for around 7 people who remain missing. President Joe Biden addressed the collapse, promising federal support.

Former President Donald Trump has entered Bloomberg’s list of the world's 500 wealthiest billionaires after his stake in Truth Social was valued at nearly $4 billion. Truth Social parent company Trump Media & Technology Group has gone public following its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. President Trump holds 78.75 million shares in the entity.

A New York appeals court agreed on March 25 to hold off on the collection of former President Donald Trump’s $454-million civil fraud judgment—if he puts up $175 million within 10 days. If he does, the new move will stop the clock on collection and prevent the state's attorney general from seizing the presumptive Republican presidential candidate’s assets while he appeals.

The United Nations Security Council has issued its first demand to halt the fighting in Gaza, calling for a cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in a vote that drew an immediate protest from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He canceled a planned visit to Washington by a high-level delegation, and accused the United States of “retreating” from a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass without conditioning the cease-fire on the release of the hostages still held by Hamas. The resolution passed 14-0 after the United States decided not to use its veto power and, instead, abstained on the resolution.

Three senior Boeing executives, including chief executive Dave Calhoun, are stepping down as the commercial airliner manufacturer finds itself embroiled in a deepening scandal over the quality of its products. In a company-wide message, Mr. Calhoun said it was a “watershed moment” for Boeing when a door-plug panel blew out on a 737 Max-9 flown by Alaska Airlines in January.