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TRENTON, New Jersey — Republican Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday touted an anti-tax crusader's endorsement of a proposed 23-cent- per-gallon gasoline tax hike along with a sales tax cut, sweeping aside objections raised by Democratic leaders in the state Senate and voicing confidence that the measure would be passed in that chamber. Christie all but dared lawmakers not to act on his plan during a statehouse news conference, a day after the Assembly passed the plan to pay for a $2 billion a year transportation trust fund for eight years. The fund runs out of borrowing authority Friday, and Christie's...

TRENTON — Conservative activist James O'Keefe has released a video — titled "Teachers unions gone wild" — claiming to show undercover footage from a New Jersey Education Association leadership conference at the East Brunswick Hilton hotel. The video shows people identified as teachers playing arcade games on "their dime," chanting about kicking Gov. Chris Christie "in the toolbox," and talking about how hard it is to fire a tenured teacher. NJEA spokesman Steve Baker said O'Keefe is "completely and utterly discredited." "It’s James O’Keefe and that’s all you need to know," Baker said, citing O'Keefe's legal troubles in the past....

Christians rally at statehouse over Obama mandate

Just when you thought New Jersey couldn't get any bluer ... Democratic leaders of the state Legislature in Trenton have quietly resurrected a controversial proposal to ask voters next November to approve a constitutional amendment overhauling how the state draws its legislative districts. Sponsors say the goal is to make the process of choosing state lawmakers more fair, rendering an electoral map more reflective of the voters in the Garden State. But critics warn Democrats are trying to rig the system in New Jersey -- home to 900,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans -- to tighten their grip on the...

The New Jersey woman who helped organize and film a protest in the state capitol of Trenton against Governor Phil Murphy's stay-at-home orders was charged by the state police with violating the emergency decrees. The information comes to us via a press release from the state's attorney general, Gurbir S. Grewal and Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. That's some pretty heavy artillery to keep a lone woman in line. All she did was exercise her right to organize a protest and film it. NJ.com: The protestors gathered outside the Statehouse and other locations in...

Trenton Councilwoman Robin Vaughn on Saturday let loose a stream of expletives and homophobic insults against the New Jersey city's mayor, who is gay, after a disagreement between the two about funding for nonprofit organizations during a conference call, according to a report. In audio obtained by The Trentonian, Vaughn, other members of the Trenton City Council and Mayor Reed Gusciora were discussing efforts to manage the city during the coronavirus pandemic when Vaughn and Gusciora got into a confrontation on "do-nothing" charity organizations getting city money and launched into an angry tirade over the phone. "The concern as to...

It was the call heard 'round the world. A May 2 virtual meeting meant for Trenton officials to discuss fighting the devastating coronavirus in the Capital City devolved into a mudslinging free-for-all of homophobic slurs and insults. **SNIP** But things escalated to new heights on May 2, when West Ward Councilwoman Robin Vaughn unloaded on East Ward Councilman Joe Harrison and Gusciora during a conference call for the local leaders to discuss the city’s response to the coronavirus. In her rant, Vaughn called Gusciora a "pedophile,” a “woman” and a “bitch a**,” among a flood of expletives. When Harrison tried...

It’s a done deal. Tolls on the states three major toll highways are going up in September, after Gov. Phil Murphy gave a final approval of the increases and the multi-billion dollar construction plans they fund. Murphy signed the meeting minutes on May 27 and sent confirmation letters to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and South Jersey Transportation Authority, said Jerrel Harvey, a spokesman for the governor. The approvals came on the same day boards of both agencies met, held lengthy public hearings and approved the toll increases. Governors have the option to approve authority board minutes, or not to...

TRENTON, NJ – Trenton liberal Democrats have completely lost their minds. First, let’s start with the left not even liking Christmas and wanting to cancel the entire deal. But, now since it can be used to push the vaccine agenda of the Murphy administration, the NJ DOH is paying, with taxpayer money to produce and run commercials of a boy with asking Santa for the COVID-19 vaccine instead of games and toys. “Dear Santa, I don’t want games. I don’t want toys. Just get me the COVID-19 vaccine,” the boy says. Many New Jerseyeans expressed their shock at the disturbing...

With COVID-19 cases once again soaring in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said the state could soon face new restrictions in response to a deadly pandemic that is once more growing. “My fear is we’re going to be getting back to capacity limits at some point,” Murphy said during an unrelated press event at Port Newark on Friday, where he warned “this thing is still with us and sadly, the numbers are still going up.”

Imani Oakley's campaign was duped into almost planning a fundraiser with a nonexistent rabbi. A lefty New Jersey Democrat learned the hard way that not all rabbis are kosher. The campaign of Imani Oakley, a 31-year-old progressive activist running for Congress in Newark, thought it was in negotiations to organize a fundraiser with like-minded Linda Goldstein — the “chief rabbi” of Gaza — but instead were chatting up a Big Apple lawyer running a parody Twitter account. On the bizarre parody account, Rabbi Linda Goldstein warns Hamas fighters to practice social distancing in terror tunnels; posts photos of herself posing...

A Newark Police Officer struck and killed a nurse with his car and then drove the body to his mother’s house seeking advice before returning to the scene with the body, officials said on Wednesday. Louis Santiago, 25, of Bloomfield was arrested and charged with reckless vehicular homicide, desecrating human remains and other charges after he hit and killed 29-year-old nurse Damian Dymka, of Garfield, on the Garden State Parkway, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.

The FBI is investigating the possibility that union boss Jimmy Hoffa’s body is buried in a former landfill in Jersey City under the Pulaski Skyway, a report said. The search was sparked after a tip passed down from a worker who said he buried Hoffa in a steel drum just outside the former PJP Landfill, now Skyway Park, the New York Times said. An FBI spokesperson confirmed to The Post that agents had conducted a “site survey” under the Skyway last month after obtaining a search warrant, but wouldn’t say if the search had anything to do with Hoffa, the...

The FBI is investigating the possibility that union boss Jimmy Hoffa’s body is buried in a former landfill in Jersey City under the Pulaski Skyway, a report said. The search was sparked after a tip passed down from a worker who said he buried Hoffa in a steel drum just outside of the former PJP Landfill, now Skyway Park, the New York Times said. An FBI spokesperson confirmed to The Post that agents had conducted a “site survey” under the Skyway last month after obtaining a search warrant, but wouldn’t say if the search had anything to do with Hoffa,...

Watching the shenanigans in the still contested New Jersey gubernatorial election, I have to wonder whether there has ever been a truly honest election in state history. From my own experience, I would say probably not and, as I also learned, there are a thousand ways to cheat. In 1982, through an odd sequence of events, I found myself with a ringside seat on a routinely crooked Newark mayoral election. I had been offered a job as “associate director” of the 1,000-employee Newark Housing and Redevelopment Authority. This being a recession year, and I needing to finish my Ph.D. dissertation,...

Glenn Youngkin has clinched the governor's race in Virginia. In fact, the GOP dominated the Old Dominion, sweeping all three major statewide races. Republicans won the lieutenant governor and attorney general races. They're poised to flip the House of Delegates. It's over in Virginia—but up the road on I-95, we have another close race in New Jersey. Yes, you read that right. The state has been a graveyard for Republicans, except for Chris Christie, Tom Kean, and Christine Todd Whitman. No one thought Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy was in danger. No one thought this was going to be a competitive...

The film whisks us back in time to a four-year period beginning in 1967, when violent race riots erupted in the New Jersey city of Newark. It introduces us to the generation of mobsters we only ever heard about in the TV series, and explains their formative influence on the young Anthony Soprano. [snip] Fans... will appreciate how well Gandolfini’s son Michael, who was just 13 when his father died eight years ago, plays the future crime lord as a teenager. It’s not just sentimental casting; he’s completely convincing. They will rejoice, too, in the portrayals of familiar characters as...

Woke up this morning, watched myself a film. Yes, 14 years after HBO’s groundbreaking drama series “The Sopranos” aired its final episode — controversial to this day — its movie prequel “The Many Saints of Newark” premiered Wednesday in New York. Fans packed every seat of the Beacon Theatre, and the dress code was “business.” Some ticketholders interpreted that as Tony Soprano-style tracksuits. They must’ve thought the invite said “family business.”

The anticipation keeps building as The Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark is set to be released in just over a week. But another film or series could already be in the works. Alan Taylor—who directed The Many Saints of Newark—teased the potential for there to be a movie centered around 'young gangster' Tony Soprano. The 62-year-old filmmaker told UNILAD on Monday that another prequel for the iconic HBO series could be on the way. Taylor said the ending of the upcoming flick is a bit open ended and those who are hoping to see Michael Gandolfini portray the...

David Chase didn't have to look very far for the actor who would play the young Tony Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark — a feature-length prequel to the iconic HBO series. The Sopranos creator cast Michael Gandolfini, son of the late James Gandolfini, in the highly-anticipated film, which premieres Oct. 1 in theaters and on HBO Max. But for the younger Gandolfini, inheriting the family legacy was a huge responsibility. "It's probably the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make," the 22-year-old actor confessed to Empire magazine in a new interview....