The Countdown: NJ temple firebombing suspect in court; Ilhan Omar ousted

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Friday, February 3, 2023
The Countdown: Temple firebombing suspect in court; Omar ousted
In this edition of 'The Countdown,' we learn more about the case of an attempted firebomb attack on a New Jersey synagogue.

In this edition of 'The Countdown,' we learn more about the case of an attempted firebomb attack on a New Jersey synagogue.

A 26-year-old faces the possibility of 20 years in prison if convicted of throwing a Molotov cocktail at a temple in Bloomfield.

Authorities say his arrest is the direct result of the community's cooperation. Law enforcement in New Jersey have been targeting potential bias criminals.

Eyewitness News reporter NJ Burkett had more on the case.

Ilhan Omar ousted from major committee

The Republican-led House voted after raucous debate Thursday to oust Democrat Ilhan Omar from the chamber's Foreign Affairs Committee, citing her anti-Israel comments, in a dramatic escalation after Democrats last session booted far-right GOP lawmakers over incendiary remarks.

Lincoln Mitchell of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University discusses the topic and more.

Here are the other headlines from Thursday's show:

Gateway Tunnel interview

Efforts to advance the Gateway Tunnel Project pushed forward this week. President Joe Biden formally committed $292 million for the new commuter rail tunnel. The funds are just a drop in the bucket. The full cost of the project is a whopping $16 billion. It has been long stalled as lawmakers in new york and new jersey argued over who should foot the majority of the bill. President Trump also put the project on hold for several years downgrading its importance. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigeg joined Eyewitness News Thursday morning to talk about the importance of timing when it comes to breaking ground.

Ticketmaster woes

The agency will face its biggest test since being overloaded in November. Tickets for Beyonce's Renaissance World Tour will soon go on sale. Everyone is hoping to avoid another server meltdown. It comes after thousands of Taylor Swift fans were shut out from buying tickets, ultimately causing Swift to apologize on social media. While a record-setting 2.4 million tickets were sold in a single day, Ticketmaster had outages and long wait times leaving many questioning why they couldn't go elsewhere to buy seats.

You can watch 'The Countdown' live Monday-Friday at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7NY.com or our ABC7NY app on Roku, FireTV, Apple TV and Android TV.

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