Brussels learned nothing from Paris terror that killed 130

Belgian officials say the two men in black blew themselves up at the airport in Brussels on Tuesday, and that they are hunting the man at right. A total of 31 people were killed and more than 250 were injured in the airport blast and a second explosion in the subway.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In the 15 years since 9/11, the United States has spent billions on homeland security and successfully avoided another large-scale terror attack.

In November, an Islamic State cell killed 130 in Paris, and Belgian "counter-terrorism authorities" arrested the last known participant in those terror attacks last week, according to The Record's news services.

Despite all of that, other Belgian-born members of the same Islamic State cell were able to walk into the airport on Tuesday with suicide vests and a suitcase packed with explosives and detonators.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility, saying its members detonated suicide vests both at the airport and in the subway.

Local news

The 145-year-old First Presbyterian Church on the East Hill of Englewood was destroyed in a fire on Tuesday night, North Jersey.com reports today.

But the story in today's print edition of The Record is incomplete, apparently due to early deadlines (L-1).

The editors see no reason to delay the press run for important local news. Hey, let them read it on the Web site, the reasoning seems to be.

Later this morning, Hackensack Daily Voice.com described the church as "ravaged," not destroyed, and a photo showed the walls of the sanctuary intact and the steeple still standing.

In a rare story on Hackensack, the Woodland Park daily reports the City Council on Tuesday night approved a proposed settlement of a lawsuit filed by Anthony Rottino, who was replaced as interim city manager in June 2014 (L-1).

The city would pay up to $250,000 to settle the whistle-blower claim.