Nearly two years after his release on "compassionate grounds" by Scottish authorities, the convicted bomber of Pan Am flight 103 from JFK that killed 270 people, 103 of them Americans, in 1988 was seen on Libyan state television yesterday being introduced at a tribal rally. The announcer in the video declares that Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was arrested because "half the world conspired against" him, and BBC reports that the broadcast yesterday was "live." Megrahi's appearance reflects poorly upon the Scottish authorities, who released Megrahi because Libya threatened to withold contracts to British-based oil giant BP worth "hundreds of millions of dollars." more ›

Last night, a statewide town meeting was held at Rutgers University in memory of student Tyler Clementi, who killed himself by jumping off the George Washington Bridge shortly after his roommate allegedly watched and attempted to share his sexual encounter via webcam. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) proposed legislation that would prohibit bullying and harassment at colleges. Lautenberg said of Clementi, "No one could have heard about this degradation he suffered without feeling pain themselves. This is a major problem, and we’re going to fix it." more ›

Hey, guess who, besides NJ Governor Chris Christie and Daily News columnist Denis Hamill, also wants to make it clear that the 2014 Super Bowl will be held in NJ? Why, the senior Senator of NJ, Frank Lautenberg. He sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last week, first congratulating and thanking the NFL on the decision. Then he got to the point—he doesn't want New York hogging the Super Bowl glory!

I am also writing to ensure that the NFL appropriately describes the site of the game as New Jersey/New York and not simply “New York.” I also urge the league to utilize and promote New Jersey in its marketing and events associated with the Super Bowl. To be sure, the entire New Jersey/New York region has much to offer and will benefit economically from the game. But the reality is that the Super Bowl will be played in New Jersey, and the NFL’s marketing, promotion, and events should reflect that fact. more ›

When the Bergen Record revealed that Senator Frank Lautenberg wanted to buy $108 tickets to Bruce Springsteen's Giants stadium concert--and then "sell" them at $1,500 a pop to potential donors--sparking outrage, the NJ Sports and Exposition Authority decided not to allow the campaign to buy the tickets. The agency has typically allowed the powerful to get coveted seats (in this case, they would have been at the 40-yard line) at cost. A Lautenberg spokesperson it would ask the NJSEA "to re-examine its practice of reserving tickets, in order to ensure that its tickets are available to all New Jersey residents, not just to VIPs." The Record, though, points out "the Lautenberg campaign seemed to have been perfectly content to take the traditional route through the Sports Authority’s back-door box office until the issue became public." more ›