A 52-year-old US man has been accused of stabbing his fiancee to death a day after he publically proposed to her in a video shared on social media. According to The Independent, the man, identified as Jose Melo, has been charged with first-degree murder after his 31-year-old fiance, Naket Jadix Trinidad Maldonado, was found dead at a home in New Jersey last week. He has also been charged with one count of third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and one count of fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed.

According to The Independent, Jose Melo, professionally known as DJ Melo, was a registered sex offender. He was previously arrested in 2010 when he allegedly threatened a woman with a box cutter and sexually assaulted her. 

A day before allegedly stabbing his fiancee, the 52-year-old shared a video on his Facebook page that showed him getting down on his knee and proposing to Ms Maldonado. In the clip, the 31-year-old is visibly shocked. She covers her mouth with her hand before taking the ring and hugging and kissing Melo. In the caption on the Facebook video of the proposal, Melo wrote: “I love you baby.”

Also Read | Miss Universe Argentina Stripped Of Her Title After Claiming Competition Was “Fixed”

Following the incident, Ms Maldonado’s family created a GoFundMe page where they described her as a mother-of-two. Ms Maldonado’s aunt said that the 31-year-old had been “senselessly taken from us” in “an act of evil”. 

“This horrible act by someone she trusted left her two children without either parent and with very little options for their future,” she wrote, adding, “I am also doing all I can to ensure her young daughters are safe and have the things they need.” 

In an update, Ms Maldonado’s aunt also thanked the public for their support. She also said that the victim’s daughters are being taken care of and that permanent arrangements are being worked out.

The page had raised almost $27,721 of a $35,000 target as of Tuesday. 

In what comes as an alarming development, a radioactive shipment in the US state of New Jersey shipped from the Nazha Cancer Center in Newfield has gone missing. Medical equipment used for cancer scans was in the consignment that arrived at its destination, ‘damaged and empty’. The development comes at a time when the mystery involving swarms of drones flying in the night sky has gripped the entire nation. The timing and nature of the missing radioactive material has led to theories suggesting the drones might be involved in searching for or monitoring the lost shipment.

As per a notification by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC), the device contained a small amount of Germanium-68 (Ge-68), used to calibrate the scanner’s accuracy. It has been termed a “Less Than Category 3” level of radioactive material by the agency.

“The shipping container arrived at its destination damaged and empty. The licensee has filed a claim with the shipper. If the source is not located within 30 days, the licensee will follow-up with a full written report to include root cause(s) and corrective actions,” read the notification.

“Sources that are “Less than IAEA Category 3 sources,” are either sources that are very unlikely to cause permanent injury to individuals or contain a very small amount of radioactive material that would not cause any permanent injury,” it added.

Reacting to the news, some social media users speculated that the drones could be hunting for radioactive leaks or other hazards. However, official statements have been cautious, with no confirmation of such activities.

Also Read | US Cop Sends “Industrial Grade” Drone After Mystery UFOs. Then This Happens

Trump reacts to sightings

The sightings first began in November near Morris County, New Jersey but have since spread to Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York among other states.

President-elect Donald Trump recently chimed in on the issue by suggesting that the mysterious drones should be shot down promptly.

“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge? I don’t think so,” Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social, a social media platform owned by him.

“Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT,” he added.

Meanwhile, the US government said the mysterious objects were “manned aircraft” being operated lawfully. “Upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully,” said White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby.

That buzzing coming out of New Jersey? It’s unclear if it’s drones or something else, but for sure the night time sightings are producing tons of talk, a raft of conspiracy theories and craned necks looking skyward.

Cropping up on local news and social media sites around Thanksgiving, the saga of the drones reported over New Jersey has reached incredible heights.

This week seems to have begun a new, higher-profile chapter: Lawmakers are demanding (but so far not getting) explanations from federal and state authorities about what’s behind them. Governor Phil Murphy wrote to President Joe Biden asking for answers. New Jersey’s new senator, Andy Kim, spent Thursday night on a drone hunt in rural northern New Jersey, and posted about it on X.

More drone sightings have been reported in New York City, and Mayor Eric Adams says the city is investigating and collaborating with New Jersey and federal officials. And then President-elect Donald Trump posted that he believes the government knows more than it’s saying.“

Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!” he posted on his social media site.

But perhaps the most fantastic development is the dizzying proliferation of conspiracies — none of which has been confirmed or suggested by federal and state officials who say they’re looking into what’s happening. It has become shorthand to refer to the flying machines as drones, but there are questions about whether what people are seeing are unmanned aircraft or something else.

Some theorize the drones came from an Iranian mothership. Others think they are the Secret Service making sure President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster property is secure. Others worry about China. The deep state. And on.

In the face of uncertainty, people have done what they do in 2024: Create a social media group.

The Facebook page, New Jersey Mystery Drones — let’s solve it, has nearly 44,000 members, up from 39,000 late Thursday. People are posting their photo and video sightings, and the online commenters take it from there.

One video shows a whitish light flying in a darkened sky, and one commenter concludes it’s otherworldly. “Straight up orbs,” the person says. Others weigh in to say it’s a plane or maybe a satellite. Another group called for hunting the drones literally, shooting them down like turkeys. (Do not shoot at anything in the sky, experts warn).

Trisha Bushey, 48, of Lebanon Township, New Jersey, lives near Round Valley Reservoir where there have been numerous sightings. She said she first posted photos online last month wondering what the objects were and became convinced they were drones when she saw how they moved and when her son showed her on a flight tracking site that no planes were around. Now she’s glued to the Mystery Drones page, she said.

“I find myself — instead of Christmas shopping or cleaning my house — checking it,” she said.

She doesn’t buy what the governor said, that the drones aren’t a risk to public safety. Murphy told Biden on Friday that residents need answers. The federal Homeland Security Department and FBI also said in a joint statement they have no evidence that the sightings pose “a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”

“How can you say it’s not posing a threat if you don’t know what it is?” she said. “I think that’s why so many people are uneasy.”

Then there’s the notion that people could misunderstand what they’re seeing. William Austin is the president of Warren County Community College, which has a drone technology degree program, and is coincidentally located in one of the sighting hotspots.

Austin says he has looked at videos of purported drones and that airplanes are being misidentified as drones. He cited an optical effect called parallax, which is the apparent shift of an object when viewed from different perspectives. Austin encouraged people to download flight and drone tracker apps so they can better understand what they’re looking at.

Nonetheless, people continue to come up with their own theories.

“It represents the United States of America in 2024,” Austin said. “We’ve lost trust in our institutions, and we need it.”

Federal officials echo Austin’s view that many of the sightings are piloted aircraft such as planes and helicopters being mistaken for drones, according to lawmakers and Murphy.

That’s not really convincing for many, though, who are homing in on the sightings beyond just New Jersey and the East Coast, where others have reported seeing the objects.

For Seph Divine, 34, another member of the drone hunting group who lives in Eugene, Oregon, it feels as if it’s up to citizen sleuths to solve the mystery. He said he tries to be a voice of reason, encouraging people to fact check their information, while also asking probing questions.

“My main goal is I don’t want people to be caught up in the hysteria and I also want people to not just ignore it at the same time,” he said.

“Whether or not it’s foreign military or some secret access program or something otherworldly, whatever it is, all I’m saying is it’s alarming that this is happening so suddenly and so consistently for hours at a time,” he added.

A New Jersey woman has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging that the carrier failed to prevent or stop a sexual assault she experienced at the hands of a stranger seated next to her on a flight. According to the Independent, the incident occurred on August 26, 2022, during a nighttime flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Newark Liberty International Airport. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims that American Airlines bears responsibility for not ensuring her safety and well-being on board.

According to the lawsuit, shortly after takeoff, the woman fell asleep, only to awaken to a horrific discovery. She found the stranger’s arm inside her pants and his hand forcing hers onto his p***s. The man had covered them both with his black puffer jacket, “digitally penetrating” her while she slept. The woman was left paralysed in shock and panic upon waking.

The stranger then climbed on top of her, ”attempting to penetrate her with his p***s, which he was partially able to do,” according to the lawsuit. The woman mustered the strength to push him away, and he promptly returned to his seat, ending the assault.

Later, the attacker attempted to downplay the assault by offering the victim water while forcibly holding her hand, only stopping when he noticed a flight attendant approaching. The victim then woke her friend and reported the incident to a flight attendant, who relocated her to a different seat for the remainder of the flight.

Upon landing, the perpetrator was escorted off the plane, and authorities collected statements from the victim and witnesses. But it is ”unknown whether the Perpetrator was taken into custody and/or ever charged with the sexual assault of Plaintiff,” the lawsuit claimed.

”As alleged in the complaint, we look forward to seeking justice on behalf of our client to remedy this terrible injustice for all that she has suffered,” the woman’s attorney, Brian Andris, told The Independent.

In an email, an American Airlines spokesperson said, “We are reviewing the lawsuit and the details of the flight. The safety and comfort of our customers is a top priority for Americans.”

The lawsuit alleged that the airline industry has been aware of the alarming increase in in-flight sexual assaults, with the FBI reporting 96 related cases in the previous year alone. The suit further emphasised that the victim bore no responsibility for the assault and that American Airlines had a clear duty to ensure her safety during the flight. 

”American Airlines breached its duty of care by failing to properly monitor the cabin, failing to prevent the sexual assault, and failing to promptly intervene when the assault occurred,” the lawsuit claims.

A special education teacher at an intermediate school in New Jersey was arrested for an alleged sexual relationship with a student, according to authorities. 43-year-old Allison Havemann-Niedrach at Freehold Intermediate School was charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced.

According to theNew York Post, she was arrested earlier this week after an investigation revealed that she allegedly began sexually abusing her student earlier this year. However, authorities did not say how the conduct came to light or how many times she had assaulted the student. The age of the alleged victim has also not been revealed, but grades six through eight attend Freehold Intermediate School.

She is currently being held at the Monmouth County jail in Freehold Township, pending a first appearance and detention hearing. A hearing will be conducted to determine whether she will continue to be detained while awaiting trial. 

The prosecutor’s office asked members of the public to provide more information about her activities. ”Anyone with information about Havemann-Niedrach’s activities is being urged to contact MCPO Detective Dawn Correia at 800-533-7443,” the release read. 

As per her LinkedIn profile, Havemann-Niedrach has been a special education teacher at Freehold Intermediate School since March 2022. She has been a teacher or a substitute teacher at several schools dating back to 2008, according to her profile.

The teacher describes herself as: “Passionate, results-driven, and sincere educator. Poised and competent and thrives in performance-driven environments. Demonstrated history of a ‘do what it takes’ work ethic and truly differentiated instruction.”

After the arrest, Asia Michael, the superintendent of the Freehold Borough School District sent an email to staff and parents that read, ”We have been informed that a former staff member has been arrested on allegations of third-degree aggravated sexual assault and inappropriate sexual conduct with a minor. 

Please be assured that our district has been fully cooperative with the prosecutor’s office since the outset of this investigation. The safety and well-being of our students and staff have been our top priority, and we took immediate measures to ensure their protection.”

The teacher’s attorney, meanwhile, said in a statement that she ”maintains her innocence” and refused to comment further. 

 

New York:

An Indian-origin woman was killed and another critically injured after they were shot in the US state of New Jersey, allegedly by a 19-year-old Indian-origin man, according to authorities.

The shooting occurred on June 12 in northeastern Middlesex County, the county prosecutor said in a press release.

Responding to the shooting report, officers located two female victims who had sustained gunshot wounds and airlifted them to the hospital in critical condition.

Jasvir Kaur, 29, of Carteret, was pronounced dead at the hospital, while the other victim, a 20-year-old woman, was in critical condition, it said.

The other victim was Kaur’s cousin, according to CBS News.

“They’re just laid out on the driveway. They weren’t really moving,” the report quoted a neighbour as saying.

Police arrested Gaurav Gill later in the day in connection with the shooting.

He was on the run for hours and was cornered by law enforcement in a backyard about a half mile from where the shooting happened, the report said.

Gill, a resident of Kent, was charged with “one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, one count of fourth-degree possession of a high-capacity magazine and one count of first-degree attempted murder,” the press release said last week.

Gurmukh Singh, the owner of the house where the two women were living together, described Kaur as a hard worker and nice person, the report said.

The motive for the shooting was not immediately known and it was unclear how or if the suspect knew the victims, it said.

Police have said that the investigation is “active and continuing” and have urged people with information to call and reach out to authorities. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Jersey:

Hours after a 4.8-magnitude earthquake, New Jersey was hit by another aftershock of 4.0 on Friday (local time), authorities confirmed.

“New Jersey just experienced an aftershock. Please follow the emergency guidance below and avoid calling 911 unless you have an actual emergency,” the Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy wrote on X.

Governor of the New York State, Kathy Hochul also confirming the same wrote on X, “A 4.0 magnitude aftershock from this morning’s earthquake in New Jersey just occurred.”

“We are continuing to review critical infrastructure and there are no reports of significant damage at this time,” she said.

The aftershock hit the same area of New Jersey as earlier, just before 6 pm on Friday (local time).

The epicentre of the aftershock was said to be 7.4 miles northwest of Bridgewater, which is just over the county line in Somerset County. The aftershock was significantly deeper than the initial quake, about 5.6 miles deep, which explains why it wouldn’t have been felt by many, according to NBC New York.

Notably, it was the second aftershock reported. Earlier, a much smaller aftershock of magnitude 2.0, was reported by the USGS in Bedminster, New Jersey, around 11:20 am.

The US Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday that the earthquake that affected several regions in the US might impact some air traffic facilities in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

“A 4.8 magnitude earthquake in New Jersey may impact some air traffic facilities in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Air traffic operations are resuming as quickly as possible,” the FAA posted on X.

The 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck 7 km north-northeast of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, on Friday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.

The quake occurred at 19:53:20 (UTC) and its depth was registered at 116.5 km.According to the USGS, the earthquake’s epicentre was found at 40.683°N latitude and 74.753°W longitude, respectively.

The New York Police Department stated that there were no damages or injuries reported, according to CNN.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Calling the recent crimes against Sikhs in New York and other parts of the U.S. “reprehensible” acts of hate and violence, the mayor of Hoboken city in the U.S. State of New Jersey expressed concern over the rising hate crimes against the minority community in the country.

Mayor Ravi. S. Bhalla’s October 22nd statement came days after he opened up about being the target of a series of letters that threatened to kill him and his family.

The letters that he received last year first called on Mr. Bhalla to resign but then began threatening his and his family’s life, targeting him for his Sikh faith, CBS News reported.

“I am disturbed and saddened by the recent hate crimes that have shaken the Sikh community in Richmond Hill, New York, where one Sikh man was assaulted and an attempt was made to forcibly remove his turban, and another senior Sikh individual was subjected to a violent assault and died of his injuries,” Mr. Bhalla said in the statement.

A 19-year-old Sikh boy was assaulted and injured in New York on October 18 for wearing a turban while travelling in a shuttle bus. A 26-year-old man was later arrested and charged with a hate crime for the attack.

“These reprehensible acts of hate and violence strike at the heart of our shared American values of unity, diversity, and acceptance,” said Mr. Bhalla, the only Sikh American Mayor in the U.S.

“In these moments, it is important that we come together to reaffirm our shared commitment to fostering a climate of understanding and compassion for our friends and neighbours everywhere,” he said.

“As a public official and Hoboken’s Mayor, I pledge to speak out and take action against any form of hatred, intolerance, or discrimination and to remember that diversity is our strength,” said Mr. Bhalla.

In the aftermath of the terrorist attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas against Israel, there has been a sudden spurt in hate crimes against the Sikh community in the U.S.

“I had seen the 9/11 time when we were at the forefront of hate crime because of our appearance. People co-relate us with the radical Islamic people,” said Gurinder Singh Khalsa, founder and chairman of the Sikhs Political Action Committee.

“We request all the Sikh community to be alert and immediately alert law enforcement agencies in the case of an untoward incident,” said Mr. Khalsa, who had launched a nationwide campaign that forced the federal government to bar law enforcement agencies from screening or touching pagris (turban) of Sikhs entering the security screening at airports.

“The recent surge in hate crime attacks against the Sikhs in the U.S. is unfortunate. It’s an alarming situation. We urge the Biden Administration and all the State Governments to take steps to prevent any such hate crimes and immediately bring to book those responsible for it,” said Jassee Singh, chairman of the ‘Sikhs of America’ organisation.

Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released its annual report of hate crimes statistics, reflecting information about hate crimes for 2022. It said anti-Sikh hate crime victimisations were recorded as the highest number ever at 198, and Sikhs remain the second-most targeted group in the nation for religiously-motivated hate crime incidents.

New Delhi:

The United States is set to get its largest temple next month. The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, located 90 m south of Times Square in New Jersey, will be formally inaugurated on October 8.

The 183-acre temple took nearly 12 years to be built and its construction involved over 12,500 volunteers from across the US.

Located in New Jersey’s Robbinsville Township, the temple is possibly the second largest after Angkor Wat in Cambodia, a UNESCO World Heritage site spanning across 500 acres.

The Akshardham temple in Delhi is spread over 100 acres.

The Swaminarayan Akshardham temple in US has been designed as per the ancient Indian culture. There are over 10,000 statues and carvings of Indian musical instruments and dance forms at the temple.

Besides a main shrine, the temple has 12 sub-shrines, nine shikhars (spire-like structures), and nine pyramidal shikhars. It also has the largest elliptical dome of traditional stone architecture.

Nearly two million cubic feet of stone, including limestone, granite, pink sandstone and marble, was used for its construction. They were sourced from different parts of the world, including India, Turkey, Greece, Italy and China.

At the temple, a traditional Indian stepwell called the ‘Brahma Kund’ has the water from over 300 waters bodies across the world.

The temple will open for visitors from October 18.