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By Christopher Maag, The New York Times, June 2, 2026

Representative Tom Kean Jr. has not been seen in public for nearly three months. The mystery of his disappearance grew gradually, beginning with a news update in March by a political website noting that the New Jersey congressman had missed a week’s worth of votes in Washington.

He last voted in Congress on March 5.

Missing a few votes isn’t necessarily cause for alarm. But after the Easter recess, two of Mr. Kean’s Republican colleagues in Congress from New Jersey told reporters they had been told nothing about Mr. Kean’s whereabouts. Soon, other Republican leaders said they were upset that their texts to Mr. Kean had gone unanswered. The story eventually gained traction when Dan Scharfenberger, Mr. Kean’s chief of staff, told The New York Times in May, “There’s no cameras where Tom is.”

Ahead of a congressional primary Tuesday, in which he faces no Republican opposition, Mr. Kean’s only known campaign events involved making phone calls to a New Jersey political journalist and to Republican leaders in his district, one of whom asked if the missing congressman needed anything.

“Just your prayers,” Mr. Kean replied, according to the official, Joe LaBarbera, chairman of the Republican Party in Sussex County.

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By Michelle Myers and Vinny Vella, Philadelphia Inquirer

Newark officials instituted a mandatory curfew on Sunday around Delaney Hall after ongoing protests led to clashes between protesters and police officers late Saturday, even as Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced that family members will again be able to visit loved ones at the immigration detention center.

Three people were arrested after the skirmish, according to Sherrill.

Protests have roiled Delaney Hall since last week over conditions inside the facility. Family visitation had been suspended after protesters blocked entry to the facility on May 24, but Sherrill said Sunday that the Department of Homeland Security agreed to restart it.

The curfew announced by Mayor Ras Baraka came after continued clashes between police and protesters outside the jail, including a Friday night confrontation that led police to temporarily clear the area.

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New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said Sunday that protesters were “collecting wooden poles and other blunt-force objects for use as weapons.” According to one group taking part in the protests, law enforcement fired rubber bullets at protesters.

Baraka’s curfew, which began Sunday at midnight, will be enforced between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in all areas within a half mile of Delaney Hall.

Doremus Avenue will be closed to all pedestrians, and only vehicles with “verified official business” will be allowed in the area.

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By Maia Coleman and Mark Bonamo, The New York Times May 30, 2026

Protesters and the New Jersey State Police faced off outside a Newark immigration detention center late Saturday, hours after Gov. Mikie Sherrill urged demonstrators to remain peaceful after an overnight confrontation that led to multiple arrests.

Officers in riot gear formed shield lines outside the Delaney Hall detention center, while mounted troopers and officers on foot worked to push demonstrators back. Protesters pressed against police barricades and shields, wielded makeshift shields of their own, and at times struggled with officers for control of metal fencing. Police later deployed tear gas and flash-bang grenades as they sought to disperse the crowd.

Earlier Saturday, at an afternoon news conference at a New Jersey State Police station in Newark, Ms. Sherrill said that demonstrators must “bring the temperature down” to avoid escalating immigration enforcement operations and endangering the lives of detainees and other immigrants in the state.

“We know what ICE has done in other states,” Ms. Sherrill said, standing beside the state’s attorney general and several law enforcement officials. “I refuse to let that happen in New Jersey. I will not give ICE a pretext to expand operations at Delaney Hall or across our state. I will not put lives at risk.”

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State regulators are waging a multi-pronged campaign to tackle PFAS contamination from industrial sources, but they say funding from consent orders and existing EPA programs isn’t enough

By Jacob Wallace, Waste Dive

NEW YORK – State regulators say they need the federal government to direct more financial support to water systems struggling with PFAS contamination. The total costs to implement destruction and control technologies nationwide will be in the billions, speakers at the annual Summit on PFAS Regulation, Compliance, and Litigation in New York City said on Thursday.

Katrina Kessler, a commissioner with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, said the federal government may need to consider a fee system or other revenue-generating authority from upstream producers of PFAS chemicals in order to ensure the cost doesn’t fall entirely on taxpayers.

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While she is “sympathetic” to passive receivers of contaminated material, such as wastewater treatment plants and landfills, Kessler said she’s worried about shrinking the pool of facilities that can be held responsible for shouldering the costs.

“Frankly, this administration likes to talk about polluter pays, but I’m not seeing a lot of leadership on the polluter pays side,” Kessler said. “How are states and local governments going to meet the costs without bankrupting small towns across the country without a true polluter pays model?”

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