UNION TOWNSHIP — Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick on Tuesday said Democratic legislative leaders shouldn’t side with unions in asking the courts to order the restoration of $1.6 billion in state pension payments cut by Gov. Chris Christie. They should come up with the money themselves. “I think it’s simple: I just don’t think that we… Read the rest of this entry »

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie’s job approval rating is hitting historic lows as the governor continues to take steps toward a likely 2016 presidential campaign, according to a new poll. Fifty-six percent of New Jersey voters disapprove of Christie’s work in the Garden State compared to only 38 percent who approve of it, according to a… Read the rest of this entry »

Several benefactors to the Clinton Foundation — the nonprofit established in 2001 by former U.S. president Bill Clinton — received favors from the U.S. State Department during Hillary Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state, according to a soon-to-be-released book accessed by the New York Times. The book, “Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why… Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK CITY — Former governor and U.S. Senator John Corzine may soon add another title to his resume — hedge fund owner. According to the Wall Street Journal, the fund would likely be launched with Corzine’s own personal wealth, along with contributions from a handful of outside investors. Corzine has a background in high finance,… Read the rest of this entry »

KEYPORT – An anonymous call claiming a man was holding hostages and a female was stabbed on Sunday was determined to be a hoax, police said. The police department received the call at 1:37 p.m. and the anonymous male caller said he would shoot police and the hostages, Keyport Police Chief George Casaletto said. Police responded… Read the rest of this entry »

TRENTON — You could almost hear the gasps in Trenton when former Gov. Tom Kean criticized Gov. Chris Christie. “You assume that if the governor wins by 20 points or more you’d have coattails,” Kean said in November 2013, a week after Christie had won re-election by a landslide. “No governor I know in any state… Read the rest of this entry »

TRENTON — Minutes after being sworn in for his ninth term in January 2014, Assembly Majority Lou Greenwald pledged that the time had come for real property tax reform. “Let us join together. Let us do the unthinkable and prove the cynics wrong. Let us attack New Jersey’s property tax crisis once and for all,” Greenwald… Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON — All 12 of New Jersey’s U.S. House members called Friday for congressional hearings on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to allegations of fraud in payouts to Hurricane Sandy victims. The members asked the House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman to convene a hearing to look at how FEMA handled charges that insurance companies… Read the rest of this entry »

TRENTON, N.J. – In his “tell-it-like-it-is” tour of New Hampshire this week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the country needs a president who isn’t afraid to be honest about the tough fiscal choices needed to overhaul entitlement programs and keep deficits from ravaging the Treasury. He pointed… Read the rest of this entry »

FREEHOLD — A Toms River woman was convicted Friday afternoon of causing the death of a 14-month-old boy she was babysitting. Michelle Heale, 46, was acquitted of murder but convicted of aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment in the Aug. 28, 2012, death of Mason Hess. In the monthlong trial in Superior Court in Freehold, prosecutors contended… Read the rest of this entry »