Le Journal

A 75-year-old woman and her dog were killed in a hit-and-run crash in Voorhees Township, New Jersey, on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, officials announced on Tuesday. The crash occurred in the area of Evesham Road and Alpha Avenue at around 6 p.m. on Saturday, officials said The woman — who is from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, but her name has not been publicly identified — was pronounced dead at the hospital later in the evening, officials said. Her dog was pronounce dead at the scene. The alleged driver in the crash, 34-year-old Shakira Carter, initially fled the scene, but then returned in a different vehicle, officials said. Carter, who is also from Cherry Hill, was charged with second-degree leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident on Monday, officials said. Carter is also an employee of the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission, but has been suspended pending the matter, officials said. Anyone with information on the incident is urged to contact Camden County Prosecutor’s Office at 856-225-8083.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will attend Supreme Court oral arguments on Wednesday in a case addressing whether President Donald Trump can fire Fed governor Lisa Cook, according to a person familiar with Powell’s plans. The Supreme Court initially allowed Cook to remain in office in October as they prepared to hear arguments in January. Powell’s planned attendance comes as he wages a broader battle to preserve the Fed’s independence from political pressure. Earlier this month, the Fed chair announced that the Justice Department served the central bank with grand jury subpoenas and threatened a criminal indictment. The subpoenas, which focus on a $2.5 billion renovation of Fed buildings, came after Trump has repeatedly pressured the central bank to lower interest rates further. The president has lashed out at Powell in particular, criticizing him as “too late” and “a major loser.” Economy Jan 12 Why the Federal Reserve has historically been independent of the White House Trump administration Jan 11 Federal Reserve hit with DOJ subpoenas, indictment threat, Chair Jerome Powell says The Federal Reserve declined to comment on Powell attending the arguments, which was first reported by The Associated Press. NBC News has reached out to the White House for comment. Powell said that the threatened indictment was related to his June testimony to the Senate about the renovations, but argued that “those are pretexts.” “The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” he said. Trump said in August that he was removing Cook from her position, citing Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte’s accusations of mortgage fraud. The Federal Reserve Act restricts presidents from removing governors unless there is evidence of wrongdoing. Cook has denied the allegations, and NBC News has previously reported that bank documents appear to contradict the allegations. In a statement shortly after Trump attempted to fire Cook, her lawyer Abbe Lowell said that Trump “has no authority to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.” “His attempt to fire her, based solely on a referral letter, lacks any factual or legal basis,” he said in a statement at the time. Cook’s term as Fed governor is set to end in January 2038. Lawrence Hurley contributed.

It’s been a year since a measles outbreak began in West Texas, and international health authorities say they will meet in April to determine if the U.S. has lost its measles-free designation. Experts fear the vaccine-preventable virus has regained a foothold and that the U.S. may soon follow Canada in losing the achievement of having eliminated it. The reevaluation is largely symbolic and hinges on whether a single measles chain has spread uninterrupted within the U.S. for at least 12 months. Public health scientists around the country are investigating whether the now-ended Texas outbreak is linked to active ones in Utah, Arizona and South Carolina. But doctors and scientists say the U.S. — and North America overall — has a measles problem, regardless of the decision. “It is really a question of semantics,” said Dr. Jonathan Temte, a Wisconsin family physician who helped certify the U.S. was measles-free in 2000. “The bottom line is the conditions are sufficient to allow this many cases to occur. And that gets back to de-emphasizing a safe and effective vaccine.” Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 2,144 measles cases across 44 states — the most since 1991 — and nearly 50 separate outbreaks. The problem has been years in the making, as fewer kids get routine vaccines due to parental waivers, health care access issues and rampant disinformation. More recently, Trump administration health officials have questioned and sown doubt about the established safety of vaccines at an unprecedented level while also defunding local efforts to improve vaccination rates. “The most important thing that we can do is to make sure the people who aren’t vaccinated get vaccinated,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of Brown University’s Pandemic Center. “We have not issued a clear enough message about that.” A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said Thursday that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has consistently emphasized vaccines as the best way to prevent measles, adding that the CDC is responding to outbreaks and working to increase vaccination rates. As of Thursday, the department said it doesn’t have evidence that a single chain of measles has spread for a year. Measles finds the unvaccinated There is little room for error in trying to stop measles. The virus is one of the most contagious, infecting 9 out of every 10 unvaccinated people exposed. Community-level protection takes a 95% vaccination rate. The current rate nationally is 92.5%, according to CDC data, but many communities fall far below that. The patient in Texas’ first known case developed the telltale rash on Jan. 20, 2025, according to state health department data. From there, the outbreak exploded. Officially, 762 people fell ill, most of them in rural Gaines County, and two children died. Many more got sick and were never diagnosed: 182 potential measles cases among children in Gaines County went unconfirmed in March 2025 alone, state health officials said, a possible undercount of 44% in that county. Such data gaps are common, though, making it especially hard to track outbreaks. Many people living in communities where the virus is spreading face health care barriers and distrust the government. Contact tracing so many cases is also expensive, said behavioral scientist Noel Brewer, who chairs the U.S. committee that will finalize the data for international health officials. Research shows a single measles case can cost public health departments tens of thousands of dollars. CDC data on measles is still among the best worldwide, Brewer said, but “the U.S. has changed its investment in public health, so we’re less able to do the case tracking that we used to do.” Genetic sequencing can fill some gaps. But that’s not always enough to say the outbreaks are connected. Genetically, the measles virus doesn’t change as often as, say, flu. “Within an outbreak, everybody is going to look the same,” said Justin…

Congressional negotiators in both parties released a massive bill Tuesday aimed at fully funding the government ahead of a shutdown deadline on Jan. 30. The 1,059-page bipartisan bill includes money for the Pentagon and the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, and reduces the chances of another funding lapse after the longest shutdown in U.S. history last fall. But the DHS measure is sure to be a point of contention for Democrats in the House and Senate, many of whom insisted they would reject any funding bill without policies to restrain ICE after an agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis this month. “There should absolutely be reforms to ICE. And if there aren’t reforms, I’m going to be a hard no on that bill, the DHS bill,” Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., the No. 4 House Democrat, told NBC News last week ahead of the release of the bill. The bill “leaves in place an additional $18 billion a year for ICE, tripling the budget,” Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat and top progressive in Congress, said Tuesday. “It is a surrender to Trump’s lawlessness. I will be a strong no and help lead the opposition to it.” The package would keep ICE funding essentially flat at $10 billion for the remainder of the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, even as the agency received $75 billion of additional money for detention and enforcement from Trump’s “big beautiful bill.” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the top Democratic appropriator, acknowledged that the package did not include broad reforms to rein in ICE in a statement from her office announcing the bill. But she endorsed the package, saying it would prevent a partial shutdown and argued it did include some Democratic priorities. The bipartisan deal allocates $20 million for the “procurement, deployment, and operations of body worn cameras” for ICE agents. And the bill “encourages” DHS to develop and implement a new uniform policy “to ensure that law enforcement officers are clearly identifiable as Federal law enforcement,” according to DeLauro’s office. DeLauro said the bill also cuts funding for ICE enforcement and removal operations by $115 million and reduces the number of ICE detention beds by 5,500. The House is expected to vote on the package later this week. DeLauro said that GOP leaders have promised to hold a separate vote on just the Homeland Security portion of the package, which would give Democrats an opportunity to oppose it, without moving Washington toward another shutdown. “I understand that many of my Democratic colleagues may be dissatisfied with any bill that funds ICE,” DeLauro said in her statement. “I share their frustration with the out-of-control agency. I encourage my colleagues to review the bill and determine what is best for their constituents and communities.” Democrats had sought policies such as requiring ICE agents to wear identification and barring masks during enforcement operations, as well as measures to prevent the detention and deportation of American citizens. “The Homeland Security funding bill is more than just ICE. If we allow a lapse in funding, TSA agents will be forced to work without pay, FEMA assistance could be delayed, and the U.S. Coast Guard will be adversely affected,” DeLauro added. So far, the House has passed eight of the 12 required full-year funding bills. Finishing this package would complete the appropriations work for the chamber, four months after the new fiscal year began. The Senate, which returns to Washington next week, just days before the deadline, has passed half of the 12 funding bills. It will require 60 votes to avoid a partial government shutdown affecting the remaining agencies beginning on Jan. 31. Republicans have 53 senators. The bipartisan deal released Tuesday also includes a package of health care changes that are largely backed by both parties, including more oversight of pharmacy benefit managers…

Usha Vance is expecting her fourth child, a boy, the second lady’s office announced on X. “We’re very happy to share some exciting news,” the announcement read. “Our family is growing!’ We’re very happy to share some exciting news. Our family is growing! pic.twitter.com/0RohEBYXM7— Second Lady Usha Vance (@SLOTUS) January 20, 2026 Usha Vance and the baby, due in late July, are doing well, the announcement said. She and Vice President JD Vance already have two sons, Ewan and Vivek, and a daughter, Mirabel. The Vances said they were particularly grateful for the military doctors who take care of the family. Vance was joined by his wife and children when he was sworn in.