ZFJ founder. Oxford comma enthusiast. Unfortunately specializes in the government beat. Computer science and economics undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park.
EDISON, N.J., Feb. 23 (ZFJ) — Igor Kirilenko, 61, of Keasbey, N.J., has been charged with the murder of Gregory Ginzburg, 72, of Edison on Sunday, Feb. 16.
On Feb. 16, at 6:39 p.m., Edison police responded to Clive Hills Road following a 911 call from Ginzburg saying that Kirilenko was in his house with a firearm. Dispatch heard a loud noise, believed to be a gunshot, during the call.
Civil discourse is critical for every democracy, and with Valentine’s Day tomorrow (today? I’m writing this at two hours past midnight), it’s about time we discussed an issue that really matters to society: the optimal location for a first date.
I have the answer. After extensive research and analysis consisting of musing in the cool wind while gazing at the full moon as well as the documented results of two practical tests by me and my associates, I have concluded that bubble tea shops are perfect for first dates.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (ZFJ) — The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under the fearless leadership of billionaire Elon Musk, has ordered the shutdown of the entire federal government of the U.S. on the grounds that it is the grossest inefficiency of all time.
After “extensive research and analysis” by a highly qualified team of college undergrads handpicked from Musk’s companies SpaceX and X, DOGE reached the conclusion that the government was nothing more than a “shockingly massive inefficiency,” according to an X post by the budget-slashing commission.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (ZFJ) — TikTok was briefly banned in the United States from late night Saturday, Jan. 18, to Sunday, Jan. 19, as a result of a law requiring TikTok to divest itself of its American operations.
TikTok is a social media platform for short videos with over 170 million American users and over one billion worldwide users. In 2023, American TikTok users uploaded over 5.5 billion videos, which were viewed over 13 trillion times globally.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (ZFJ) — Two new giant pandas made their public debut at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) on Friday, Jan. 24.
NZCBI Director Brandie Smith unveiled pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao in a ceremonial opening of the Asia Trail exhibit on Friday.
“For over 50 years, giant pandas have been an integral part of the fabric and culture of Washington, D.C., thanks in large part to the support of the communities that live and work in the District,” Smith said.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (ZFJ) — President Donald Trump moved to withdraw the United States from membership in the World Health Organization (WHO) in a Day 1 executive order.
In the order, Trump said the withdrawal was due to the WHO’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and China’s influence over the United Nations global public health agency.
“The United States noticed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020 due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states,” reads the order.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (ZFJ) — President Donald Trump implemented the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by executive order on the first day of his presidency.
The order renames the U.S. Digital Service, a technology unit within the Executive Office of the President, to the U.S. DOGE Service (USDS).
It also creates the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization within the USDS, “dedicated to advancing the President’s 18-month DOGE agenda” and terminating on July 4, 2026.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 (ZFJ) — President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of 40 federal inmates from execution to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Dec. 23, 2024.
The Justice Department, on July 1, 2021, imposed a temporary moratorium on federal executions pending a review of federal policies.
“These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my Administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder,” said Biden in a statement.
Jan. 20 (ZFJ) — Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are investing in nuclear energy as the race to develop artificial intelligence technologies heats up.
AI technologies, which are currently rapidly gaining traction, demand significant computational power to train and operate. Data centers house the hardware for them and are consuming increasingly more energy.
According to a December 2024 report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy research facility, total American data center electricity usage increased from 58 TWh in 2014 to 176 TWh in 2023.
Jan. 17 (ZFJ) — The Nintendo Switch 2 will be released in 2025, according to an announcement from the video game company on Thursday, Jan. 16.
Nintendo offered a look at the highly-anticipated successor to the Nintendo Switch in a trailer that rocketed to over 14 million views within 17 hours and became the top trending video on YouTube.
Video: Trailer released on Thursday, Jan. 16, for the Nintendo Switch 2.
