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Acting U.S. Attorney William Fitzpatrick and state Attorney General Christopher Porrino will announce several initiatives to combat gun violence in New Jersey, including a two-day statewide gun buyback program in three cities this summer. A formal announcement is expected at 1 p.m. in Trenton, but the gun buyback initiative being planned would include locations in Newark, Camden and Trenton, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office. The joint federal and state announcement comes after a deadly start to the summer. The amount of money made available for buybacks was not disclosed ahead of the annoucement.

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. — The Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey sat on a plush beige couch in the Republican mayor’s condo, surrounded by Republican county officials and politicians, and offered up her plan to stem what is perhaps the state’s most daunting challenge — its deepening property tax crisis. She adopted it, she said, from an unexpected source. “This is a page out of the Democratic playbook, it really is,” Kim Guadagno, the lieutenant governor said, noting that the plan came from a proposal in deep-blue Illinois. With Republicans controlling the White House, both chambers of Congress and having...

What happens if a state with a population roughly equal to that of Kentucky and Louisiana combined held a major election and no one noticed? That seems to be occurring in New Jersey, which is electing a new governor this year. It may be the Democrats’ biggest gubernatorial win in the state in over 40 years. A Democratic romp in a state Hillary Clinton won easily might not seem like a surprising result. But New Jersey usually features competitive governor’s races. Over the past 40 years, Democrats have won the governor’s mansion four times to Republicans’ six. New Jersey’s current...

NEWARK -- Two days after a relatively calm and cordial first debate, three Democratic hopefuls vying for their party's nomination to succeed Chris Christie as New Jersey's governor unleashed fury on front-runner Phil Murphy, whom they accused of trying to buy the nod from party bosses. Murphy, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany and ex-Goldman Sachs executive who has spent more than $15 million so far on his campaign, was assailed by rivals Jim Johnson, Raymond Lesniak, and John Wisniewski on Thursday night during the second and final Democratic primary debate before voters cast ballots June 6.

FULL TITLE: 'Everybody who flies United knows it's awful': Governor Chris Christie blasts airline for evicted passenger controversy and asks Trump administration to ban overbooking New Jersey Governor Chris Christie denounced United Airlines as 'awful' on Wednesday and demanded the Trump administration step in and prevent the aviation industry from overbooking flights following the forced removal of a bloodied passenger on Sunday. Christie was reacting to the national backlash that erupted against United after one of its passengers was filmed being violently dragged off a plane just before takeoff to make room for the airline's crew members even though he...

Two former cronies of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were sentenced to prison Wednesday for the politically motivated closure of traffic lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge that has come to be known as “Bridgegate.” Former Port Authority exec Bill Baroni was sentenced to two years in ​prison​ and ex-Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly to 18 months behind bars by a federal judge in Newark.

CEDAR KNOLLS -- Gov. Chris Christie announced Thursday that New Jersey added almost 13,000 new private sector jobs in February, building on last week's announcement that 2016 marked the largest annual gain in employment in sixteen years. New Jersey's unemployment rate fell from 4.6 percent in January to 4.4 percent last month, making it the lowest it's been since October 2007. The national unemployment rate for February was 4.7 percent. "Over the past year, New Jersey's private sector employers have added 77,000 new jobs," said Christie.

TRENTON -- "Saturday Night Live" alum Joe Piscopo has decided he will not run for New Jersey governor as a Republican and instead is planning to declare he will jump into the race to succeed Gov. Chris Christie as an independent candidate, NJ Advance Media has learned. Piscopo made his decision because he did not begin the process of running early enough to run as a Republican, according to two sources close to the performer who requested anonymity because they did not want to publicly discuss an official announcement that could trigger state election laws on fundraising.

Don't knock meatloaf. It's gotten a bad rap. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his wife Mary Pat had lunch with President Donald Trump on Valentine's Day and, according to Christie, Trump made him have the White House meatloaf. "This is what it's like to be with Trump," Christie said during a guest host spot on a radio show on Thursday, according to the New York Post. "He says, 'There's the menu, you guys order whatever you want.' And then he says, 'Chris, you and I are going to have the meatloaf.'" According to Christie, Trump said, "I'm telling you,...

Chris Christie: President Trump Made Me Order the Meat Loaf at White House Dinner Diana Pearl,People Fri, Feb 17 11:06 AM PST Comments Like Reblog on Tumblr Share Tweet Email Dining at the White House is an experience — but when President Trump is in office, there’s not much choice involved in the matter. According to Chris Christie, that is.

If you want to run for governor of New Jersey, you need to be good with names. Take the people who attended a Democratic breakfast at a meeting hall in Union County one week before November’s presidential election. Phil Murphy seemed to know them all. He took the slow route through the crowd, shaking hands, flashing his toothy smile and scrunching his 6-foot-3 frame down into selfie range. Reaching the podium, he gave shout-outs to others on the dais and to the local party officials at the balloon-festooned tables, where eggs were being served.

MORRIS TOWNSHIP -- A few people in the crowd wore familiar-looking red baseball caps with white lettering. But no, unlike the ones sported by Donald Trump supporters, they didn't read, "Make America Great Again." Instead, the hats read, "Steve Rogers for Governor." Rogers, a township commissioner in Nutley, has formally joined the ever-growing race to succeed Chris Christie as New Jersey's governor, kicking off his campaign for the Republican nomination with a Trump-like message Thursday.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is still under consideration for one of two Cabinet posts in the Trump administration, according to a report out of Christie’s home state. NJ Advance Media, which owns the Newark Star-Ledger, reported this week Christie is being considered to lead the Homeland Security or Energy departments. Either post would require Senate confirmation and would require Christie to resign as governor prior to the end of his second and final term, which concludes in January, 2018. NJ Advance Media cited three unnamed sources who said Christie remains under consideration for the jobs despite having been demoted...

President-elect Donald Trump is so disgusted with Chris Christie’s handling of the Bridgegate scandal that he’s kicking the New Jersey Gov. out of his inner circle, The Post has learned. “Trump thought it was shameful that Christie didn’t take the fall for [convicted aide] Bridget Kelly,” said a source close to the transition team. “Trump is really angry that Christie is sending a soccer mom to jail. He believes 100 percent that Christie was behind it all.” Christie’s former deputy chief of staff was convicted in federal court earlier this month along with former Port Authority executive Bill Baroni. They...

President-elect Donald Trump is so disgusted with Chris Christie’s handling of the Bridgegate scandal that he’s kicking the New Jersey Gov. out of his inner circle, The Post has learned. “Trump thought it was shameful that Christie didn’t take the fall for [convicted aide] Bridget Kelly,” said a source close to the transition team. “Trump is really angry that Christie is sending a soccer mom to jail. He believes 100 percent that Christie was behind it all.” Christie’s former deputy chief of staff was convicted in federal court earlier this month along with former Port Authority executive Bill Baroni. They...

Dive Brief: The Illinois Tollway announced Thursday that it had set a preliminary budget for 2017 that includes $951 million for Move Illinois projects, as well as $336 million for a maintenance and operation program, according to Equipment World.Major Move Illinois capital initiatives planned for next year include the Illinois Route 390 Tollway ($374.5 million), SmartRoad upgrades to I-90 ($163.5 million), reconstruction of I-294 ($56.5 million) and expansion and maintenance of the I-PASS system. The remaining funds will go toward development, repair and maintenance.Move Illinois is a 15-year, $12-billion capital project program financed by bonds and tolls. The Illinois Tollway,...

TRENTON — State Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli is set to become the first Republican to formally enter what's likely to be a crowded field seeking to succeed Gov. Chris Christie in next year's election. Ciattarelli (R-Somerset) is scheduled to declare his bid Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at Manville High School. "I feel very strongly about pointing New Jersey in an entirely different and new direction," he told NJ Advance Media on Thursday. "I've got specific ideas on how to do that."

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday maintained he has told "the absolute truth" about his knowledge of the 2013 lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, as two of his former allies stand trial in Newark for their roles in the scandal. David Wildstein, a former executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and federal prosecutors' key witness, has testified that Christie was told of the traffic jams in the midst of the gridlock during a Sept. 11 memorial ceremony. Prosecutors allege the shutdowns were retaliation for the refusal by the Democratic mayor of Fort...

Dive Brief: Passaic County, NJ, has announced its intention to sue the state's Department of Transportation for costs resulting from Gov. Chris Christie's order to shut down all projects funded through the near-empty Transportation Trust Fund (TTF), according to The Record.Citing safety issues, Passaic County officials said they used their own funds to continue with certain state projects after the shutdown, such as a $330,000 repaving project that left raised manhole covers exposed. The county has a multimillion-dollar lineup of infrastructure projects now on hold.Passaic County Counsel William Pascrell, who notified the state DOT of Passaic's intention to sue over...

PENNINGTON-Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday vetoed a proposal to boost New Jersey's minimum wage to $15 an hour. The Republican governor visited a Pennington grocery store to make remarks and announce the veto of the legislation. It's the second time during his time as governor that Christie rejected a minimum wage hike sent to him by the state's Democratic-controlled Legislature. The move was met with outrage by Democratic-leaning groups. Christie also argued more employees would be replaced by automated kiosks at small businesses if the state hikes its minimum wage. "That's the way of the future if we continue to...