Former Trump campaign chief is indicted in probe of Russian meddling in election

To emphasize President Trump's insensitive comments to the widow of a black soldier killed in Niger, political cartoonists Marian Kamensky, above, and Steve Benson, below, invoke the image of Trump tossing paper towels to storm victims in Puerto Rico.

Many more cartoons can be found at Cagle.com, a website that relies on contributions from the public.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

UPDATE: President Trump's ex-campaign chief, Paul Manafort, and his former business associate were indicted today. And a Trump aide, George Papadopoulos, pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contacts with a Russian professor who said Moscow had thousands of emails with "dirt"on Hillary Clinton.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

No major news outlets, including The New York Times and Washington Post, have been able to add details to a CNN report that a grand jury has "approved the first charges" in the probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 Russian election.

On Friday night, CNN claimed an exclusive, reporting "the charges are still sealed under orders from a federal judge."

"Plans were prepared Friday for anyone charged to be taken into custody as soon as today, the sources said.

"It is unclear what the charges are," CNN said of the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Could this first indictment mark the beginning of the end for Trump, who was elected nearly a year ago, when millions of Democrats sat out the election?

All he has accomplished so far is dismantling many of the health and environmental achievements of former President Barack Obama.

Residents of Clinton Place in Hackensack go all out in the weeks before Halloween, above and below, drawing hundreds of visitors from near and far.

Most of the decorated homes are on Clinton Place between Summit and Prospect avenues.

The Record

On Saturday, my so-called local daily newspaper, The Record of Woodland Park, ran a Page 1 story from USA Today on CNN's report, but there was no follow up on Sunday.

Instead, most of Page 1 was devoted to the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. One sub-headline said:

"The Garden State is still storm proofing its vulnerable infrastructure"

In nearly five full pages of coverage, there was no blame placed on the Christie administration for bungling the recovery from Sandy (1A, 5A-6A, 8A-10A).

And a front-page column by Mike Kelly defended wealthy Margate residents who fought the construction of protective dunes that block their beachfront views of the Atlantic Ocean (1A).

NJ Transit

Also on Page 1, The Record reported NJ Transit's rail ridership declined 3 percent last year, echoing declines in public transit ridership in almost every major urban area.

"According to the American Public Transportation Association, U.S. transit ridership fell 2.88 percent in the first six months of 2017, almost identical to the 2.9 percent annual decline at NJ Transit," Staff Writer Curtis Tate said on 10A.

Tate reported low gas prices have lured many commuters back to their cars.

But The Record has never reported on the lack of rush-hour seats on NJ Transit trains and buses, or written about growing traffic congestion and air pollution at the Hudson River crossings, where toll-booth waits of an hour or more are commonplace.

Christie helped cripple NJ Transit by cutting state subsidies to the agency by more than 90%.

Endorsing Murphy

On Sunday, The Record's Editorial Board endorsed Democrat Phil Murphy for governor in the Nov. 7 election.

"Murphy promises a more progressive, inclusive agenda than [Republican Lt. Gov. Kim] Guadagno," an editorial on 2O stated.

"Guadagno ... has moved further to the right, abandoning her centrist roots during these last weeks of the campaign," according to the editorial.

Defense of Christie

Sadly, The Record mentioned that it endorsed Governor Christie in 2013, when the GOP bully won a second term.

His re-election came just two months after his aides and a crony at the Port Authority secretly ordered the closure of access lanes to the George Washington, causing five mornings of traffic chaos in Fort Lee. 

The editorial claimed Christie "during his first term" showed "an ability to forge deals with Democrats who controlled the Legislature."

But, of course, The Record forgets  Christie used hundreds of vetoes and the threat of more vetoes to achieve his deals.

And Sunday's editorial shocked readers by mentioning Christie's "stalwart defense of Muslims living in New Jersey," without providing any context.

That ignores he tried to ban all Syrian refugees from coming to New Jersey and the rest of the United States after the Paris terrorist attacks in November 2015, a few months before he dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Trump.

Pedestrian deaths

A column on Sunday's Local front raised an alarm over the 166 pedestrians killed crossing New Jersey "roads" last year (L-1).

But for some reason, Staff Writer John Cichowski pads the column with 10 or 11 paragraphs (8L) on a Ridgewood woman who was severely bitten on her arm by a small dog "upon leaving Saddle River County Park" (he doesn't say whether she was driving or walking out of the park or whether the dog walker was in a crosswalk).

Most of the rest of the column discusses crackdowns in Hackensack and Paterson on jaywalking pedestrians, and drivers who violate state law by refusing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.

The headline over this rambling piece:

"The price we pay for

darkness, deer and dogs"

I'm waiting for who will tell Trump to his face: Stop lying to the American people

Cartoonist R.J. Matson on the influence of President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, above. And here's cartoonist Dave Granlund's take on the Liar-In-Chief's first 100 days in office, below.

PLUS: THE RECORD'S HALF-ASSED JOB COVERING ELECTIONS IN HACKENSACK 

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

I doubt the first reporter to confront President Trump on all of the lies he's been telling will come from the demoralized White House press corps.

And The Record of Woodland Park has recently stopped running Page 1 stories about the president's Tweets and public statements, nearly of all of which are filled with falsehoods, exaggerations and distortions.

On April 4, The Washington Post's Fact Checker took a look at "President Trump's six flip-flops in less than 24 hours."

Thanks to the news media, Candidate Trump got away with every lie, "alternative fact" and "truthful hyperbole" during the 2016 campaign, allowing him to win the White House on a technicality.

Since he was sworn in as president nearly 100 days ago, little has changed. 

Our illegitimate president continues to exaggerate his showing in the Electoral College, while ignoring his loss of around 3 million popular votes.

See Addicting Info, a website that was started to "discredit all the lies and propaganda that the right- wing spreads."

Hackensack elections

It's only a week until the school election in Hackensack, but The Record still hasn't reported on any of the issues involved or given details of the $109 million Board of Education budget.

Next Tuesday, voters have the opportunity to vote "yes" or "no" on the $81.2 million tax levy, plus choose among four candidates vying for three seats on the school board.

So far, Staff Writer Rodrigo Torrejon, who covers Hackensack, hasn't said a word about what the candidates stand for.

If past elections are any guide, fewer than 1,500 of the city's 20,000 registered voters will cast ballots, and the budget will be approved.

School taxes comprise 44 percent of every resident's property tax bill.

City Council race

Today, on the Local news front, Torrejon reports three slates competing for 5 seats on the Hackensack City Council will present "their platforms and field questions at a private event at an apartment building on Prospect Avenue" (1L).

That will be similar to a campaign forum held in 2013, when Mayor John Labrosse and his slate of reformers were elected.

But The Record hasn't reported on the platforms of the slates in the May 9 municipal election, when the Labrosse Team is seeking re-election.

Today's paper

Page 1 today carries two major stories from Paterson, which is covered in far more detail than any of the 70 communities in Bergen County, where the majority of readers live.

The lead story on the corruption charges against Paterson Mayor Joey Torres reports three co-defendants are being offered deals in return for their testimony against him (1A).

That's the way it's been done since time immemorial.

Let's hope starting tomorrow, Editor Richard Green and Paterson Press writer Joe Malinconico spare Bergen readers every single burp, cough and fart in the case against Torres in the year or two before he most certainly will be convicted.

The second Paterson story on Page 1 -- reporting Syrian refugees shared their experiences with fellow students at John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson -- was already the subject of an editorial that ran in Sunday's paper.

There's no explanation why the news story is running after the editorial instead of in the usual order -- news story first, commentary second.

Recycling news

Monday's front page was dominated by two stories that could have been written anytime in the last five years -- a so-called apartment building boom and the "out-of-towners" who buy drugs in Paterson.

That day's Better Living cover on Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari, 38, contained a bizarre reference to the Holocaust.

Freelancer Jackie Goldschneider identified Ben-Ari as "a third-generation Holocaust survivor" (Monday's 2BL).

Huh? If I follow that reasoning, I'm a first-generation resident of Aleppo, Syria, where my parents were born. (I was actually born in Brooklyn, N.Y.) 

Then, my friend Aaron would be a first-generation survivor of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

You get the idea. It's a ridiculous assertion to make for Ben-Ari or anyone else.

Don't waste your time at N.Y. Auto Show

Big Oil tried to destroy Gulf seafood industry

The Record continues embargo on Zisas

If Ruskies did help elect Trump, then now is the time to 'Lock him up! Lock him up!'

A cartoon from Jeff Darcy of Cleveland.com portrays the warped mind of President Trump, who is shown equating Nordstrom "killing" daughter Ivanka's fashion line to President Putin killing thousands of civilians in Aleppo during the Syrian civil war and in Ukraine.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The New York Times is reminding readers that President Trump "has still refused to answer questions about contact between his campaign and Russia," and an Op-Ed columnist called that "an unacceptable silence."

Meanwhile, a Times editorial notes:

"President Trump may have thought the departure of his national security adviser, Michael Flynn, would end the controversy over his administration's involvement with Russia, but the damning revelations keep on coming.

"The whole fiasco underscores the dysfunction and dishonesty of his White House and how ill prepared it is to lead the nation."

The New York newspaper has taken the lead in reporting Trump-Russia contacts, as is evident on the front page of The Record, where a USA Today story quotes The Times:

"The New York Times reported that law enforcement and intelligence agencies intercepted calls and phone records showing Donald Trump's presidential campaign aides, as well as other associates, having repeated contact with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the [Nov. 8] election" (1A).

As evidence mounts of Russia's role in electing Trump, many recall how The Record of Woodland Park and news outlets across the country demonized his opponent, Hillary Clinton, without any evidence her private email server endangered national security or broke the law, as Republicans claimed.

They also recall how our very own GOP thug, Governor Christie, whipped the Republican National Convention into a frenzy of calls to "Lock her up! Lock her up!"

So, now may be the time for Trump critics to start chanting, "Lock him up! Lock him up!"

The FBI is calling

Also on Page 1 today, Staff Writer Hannan Adely reports:

"FBI agents have been calling Syrian refugees in New Jersey and asking to meet -- alarming advocates who say they fear the visits could be a first step toward surveillance at a time when refugees have been cast as a suspect group" (1A).

Christie was the first, in November 2015, to advocate barring Syrian refugees, including children, from New Jersey and the rest of the country.

Then Trump incorporated that Syrian refugee phobia into his controversial travel ban, which has been suspended by a federal appeals court.

Local news?

Gannett's editors have put readers of local news on a starvation diet.

That's the only conclusion you can reach after looking at today's Local front and seeing a story on who will pay for replacing "the high school's aging synthetic turf field" in tiny Waldwick, population 9,839 in 2013 (1L).

Gannett editors ban African-American achievement from The Record's front page

Actress Melissa McCarthy made a surprise appearance on "Saturday Night Live" to deliver a hilarious send-up of White House press secretary Sean Spicer losing it time and again, above and below.

Here, McCarthy as Spicer uses a lectern to assault a reporter at the press briefing.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Before Gannett Co. bought The Record last July, African-American readers could expect Page 1 coverage of their achievements every February.

But five days into Black History Month, I haven't seen any mention of the annual observance on the front page or any page of the Woodland Park daily.

Instead, today's Sunday edition squanders precious Page 1 space on "sexting" and a column on one of the coaches in the Super Toilet Bowl.

With Gannett, as with former Publisher Stephen A. Borg in any month but February, one of the few ways blacks get on the front page is to be elected president, kill someone or commit some other horrible crime.

Court stops Trump

A federal appeals court early today denied a Trump administration request to immediately restore the travel and refugee ban after a Seattle judge blocked it (1A).

The State Department said it was restoring tens of thousands of canceled visas for travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, while the Department of Homeland Security "suspended" all actions for enforcing the ban, a front page story reports.

The Record's story refers to people who were affected by the ban as "foreigners" (1A).

Dictator Trump's many executive orders in his first two weeks have been greeted with horror, but they were also lampooned on "Saturday Night Live," "Real Time with Bill Maher" and other programs.

Maher said he believes Trump is "mentally ill," and that only the "sane Republicans" who control Congress can save the country.

On Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jews were stunned when Trump neglected to mention 6 million of their ancestors were slaughtered.

In the opening sketch on "Saturday Night Live," a cast member played White House senior counselor Stephen K. Bannon as the Grim Reaper, who is called "president." Actor Alex Baldwin, right, did his usual send-up of President Trump.

Terrorism debate

See Columnist Mike Kelly on the Opinion front today for a tedious discussion of the debate over whether Trump's travel ban was effective in keeping terrorists out of the country or unfair to refugees and other immigrants (1O).

The opening paragraphs scream "me, me, me" as the veteran reporter hits readers over the head with his credentials -- he researched a book on terrorism and studied "suicide bombing."

Isn't that impressive?

Food coverage

Food Editor Esther Davidowitz doesn't spend much time discussing heart disease, obesity and healthy food.

So, you might want to read a seven-paragraph story on 3L in Local today about Ridgewood firefighters who are shopping and cooking healthy with a grim statistic in mind:

Cardiovascular disease is cited in 45 percent of on-duty deaths of firefighters and, as one said, "diet can help that."

More typical was the Better Living cover story on Friday.

In place of a weekly restaurant review, editors ran a story on the Dumont Crystal diner, and a dish called "Dumont Police Sandwich" (Friday's 1BL and 10BL).

The ingredients are described as "hot roast beef, brown gravy, sauteed mushrooms, onions and fresh mozzarella," but the story doesn't warn readers all of that saturated fat from the cheese and the mystery meat is really bad for your heart.