WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (ZFJ) — The federal government has been unconstitutionally targeting pro-Palestinian foreign students for deportation for protected speech, ruled a district judge on Sept. 30, 2025. U.S. District Judge William G. Young, a Ronald Reagan nominee, came to the conclusion that Secretaries Kristi Noem and Marco Rubio of the departments of Homeland Security and State “acted in concert to misuse the sweeping powers of their respective offices to target non-citizen pro-Palestinians for deportation primarily on account of their First Amendment protected political speech” after a nine day bench trial in Massachusetts.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (ZFJ) — All Washington Metrorail lines returned to automatic train operation (ATO) this year for the first time since 2009. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) returned ATO to the Green and Yellow lines on May 23 and Blue, Orange, and Silver lines on June 15 after “rigorous internal training and testing and concurrence from the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission.” The Red line already returned to ATO in December 2024.

Dec. 27 (ZFJ) — GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke resigned on Aug. 11, with the platform’s leadership now more integrated into Microsoft’s CoreAI team. In an internal memo sent to employees of the code repository service, Dohmke announced his decision to leave GitHub to become a startup founder again. He said that “GitHub and its leadership team will continue its mission as part of Microsoft’s CoreAI organization, with more details shared soon” and added that he’ll be staying through the end of 2025 to help with transitioning.

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 27 (ZFJ) — Baltimore County has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to cooperate on immigration enforcement. On Oct. 31, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Baltimore County’s removal from the department’s list of “sanctuary jurisdictions.” “Despite restrictions from state leadership, Baltimore County has shown a willingness to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement,” said U.S. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Dec. 27 (ZFJ) — Human remains found in a park in College Park on Nov. 3 have prompted a homicide investigation. The Prince George’s County Police Department was assisting the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and FBI Cross Border Task Force with a missing persons investigation when it searched Indian Creek Stream Valley Park and found human remains. The remains were sent to the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which ruled the case a homicide.

METUCHEN, N.J., Dec. 27 (ZFJ) — Metuchen resident Sener Kalkan was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said borough Mayor Jonathan Busch on social media. Busch said that Kalkan, who is married to Metuchen native Jennifer Poandl, “appeared in Newark for a scheduled immigration hearing as part of his ongoing legal process” in early December. Kalkan attended the hearing, passed his scheduled interview, received a future court date, and then went out for lunch with his wife.

EDISON, N.J., Dec. 27 (ZFJ) — Anjana Patel, a member of the Edison Board of Education (EBOE), received a 30 day suspension from the state on Dec. 12 for an ethics violation. The state School Ethics Commission (SEC) found on Oct. 28 that Patel violated the School Ethics Act by failing to file her Personal/Relative and Financial Disclosure statements on time. Patel was elected to the board of education in the 2023 general election as part of the Students First team and was sworn in as a board member starting January 2024.

NEWARK, N.J., Dec. 27 (ZFJ) — Jean Wilson Brutus, 41, died in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Newark, N.J, on Dec. 12, from “suspected natural causes.” ICE says in a press release that they arrested Brutus on Dec. 11 and held him in the Delaney Hall Detention Facility in Newark, where he experienced a medical emergency. Local EMS was called and took him to University Hospital, also in Newark, where he was pronounced dead the next day.

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Nov. 12 (ZFJ) — Rapper Adamn Killa visited the University of Maryland, College Park, during homecoming festivities on Oct. 31. The Chicago rapper, whose real name is Adam Kelly, has gone viral on social media. His popular content includes shorts where he says “if you a ___ baddie, this is for you” (inserting many adjectives in the blank space) and does a dance where he moves his clasped hands around his head in a circle.

EDISON, N.J., Nov. 5 (ZFJ) — Sam Joshi won reelection for Edison mayor by a landslide in the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The Democrat garnered 71.51% of the vote, putting him ahead of independent candidate David Tingle by about 12,000 votes. “Since first announcing my candidacy for Mayor four years ago, I was determined to make decisions based on putting the public first,” wrote Joshi in a victory post on social media.