Free Republic

As far as I can understand, it looks like NJ's sales tax on precious metal purchases will be going away. Last year, the bill passed both houses, but the governor failed to either veto or sign within 45 days -- and because this happened at the end of a legislative session, it automatically became a "pocket veto." The bill was reintroduced, again passed both houses (on June 28), and the governor once again took no action within 45 days. However, because it was not the end of a legislative session, the bill should automatically pass and become law (according to...

A New Jersey Transit bus driver has been arrested for allegedly pummeling a straphanger and putting him in a chokehold in a caught-on-camera attack after the passenger apparently spat on him mid-route. The driver, Toron Walker, was nabbed after the violent altercation with the male passenger erupted on a crowded bus in Newark on Friday afternoon, RLS Media reported. Footage of the ordeal allegedly showed the driver pinning the male passenger down to one of the seats by his neck before slamming him down in the middle of the aisle.

An estimated 1.5 million taxpayers will be notified of their automatic eligibility for a new round of state-funded Anchor property-tax relief benefits starting next week, state Treasury officials said Tuesday. The benefits, intended to help offset the state’s high local property taxes, will once again total as much as $1,750 per household. Those eligible for automatic enrollment will see letters notifying them that their applications for Anchor benefits will be filed with the state automatically beginning Aug. 19, the officials said. Later this month the Department of the Treasury’s Division of Taxation will also be sending out information via mail...

This drunk driving lesson was a little too realistic. A golf cart rigged to simulate the dangers of tipsy motoring went out of control at a New Jersey police fair and struck five people — landing them all in a hospital, authorities said Wednesday. A teenager was behind the wheel with a cop riding shotgun Tuesday evening when the cart swerved off its special orange-coned course at the National Night Out event in Wildwood on the Jersey Shore, according to police. The off-the-rails vehicle plowed into four adults and a child — prompting firefighters who were already there to rush...

A natural gas expansion project spanning portions of New Jersey, Delaware and New York was dealt a legal setback after a federal appeals court vacated the approval of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The U.S. Court of Appeals overturned federal approval of the $1 billion expansion of the Transco natural gas pipeline, which would run through sections of New Jersey and Pennsylvania with extensions stretching into southern New York. The panel ruled that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission overlooked studies that the market for expanded natural gas in New Jersey was low when it granted approval last year to the...

Their business is Donald Trump, and business is good. The owners of a Toms River, NJ, store specializing in all things MAGA wasted no time churning out a fresh line of shirts mocking opposing Vice President Kamala Harris as Democratic party’s presumptive presidential pick. “We made them on Monday,” boasted co-owner Vincent Scuzzese of the “Let’s Go Brenda” T-shirts now available at the Let’s Go Brandon store. “It’s Uncle Vinny, of course I have all the latest designs,” said Scuzzese. “I don’t let nothing sleep.” The shirts feature a smiling Harris, decked out in clown makeup. “We’ve sold between 50...

The body of a New Jersey dad reported missing just before Father’s Day was recovered 100 miles from his home, New Jersey State Police said, but the mystery of what happened to him is still unsolved. Family members reported Isaac Bishop, 33, of Irvington, missing on June 11, authorities said. His body was found June 30 around 2:30 p.m. in a heavily wooded area near 13th Avenue in Weymouth Township, Atlantic County, a state police spokesman confirmed. The cause of death was not disclosed and his family is searching for answers. “From Our Family: Thank you so much to everyone...

Pray for the kids of Wayne, NJ: If the “adults” running its schools are any indication, they’ll grow up unable to recognize evil, let alone fight it. We’re looking at the apology from Mark Toback, Wayne’s superintendent, after a question on a middle-school quiz identified the Islamic State as a terrorist group, drawing heat from the radical, anti-Israel group Teaching While Muslim. The question: What is the name of “a terrorist organization that commits acts of violence, destroys cultural artifacts, and encourages loss of life in order to achieve its goal of global rule under strict Islamic Sharia law?”

President Biden’s debate debacle has giddy New York and New Jersey GOP leaders believing former President Donald Trump could be the first Republican to win their states in four decades. Even if carrying the blue states is a longshot, party insiders and independent analysts expect Trump will do strongly enough in the suburbs that he can help Republican House incumbents defend seats they won in 2022 – and maybe even make gains. “Trump can win New York just like Ronald Reagan did in 1980,” said New York State Republican Party chairman Ed Cox. A recent Siena College poll had Trump...

@TheInsiderPaper JUST IN - Trump may be first Republican to win NY, NJ in decades after Biden debate debacle, GOP leaders say - NY Post

We've seen all kinds of movement in the polls away from Joe Biden and toward former President Donald Trump, and it has to be giving the Democrats fits behind the scenes. All the groups the Democrats think are normally with them seem to be having folks abandoning Biden, and even traditionally blue states are showing shocking poll numbers favoring Trump, like in Virginia and Minnesota. Even New York has been moving into single digits. As former Republican congressman and gubernatorial candidate in New York, Lee Zeldin explained, it was pretty astonishing how close it was getting there. READ MORE: Lee...

Many of us have expressed alarm at the politicization of the criminal justice system in New York by figures such as Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. It now appears that New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin is angling to get into the lawfare frenzy. The conviction of Trump on 34 felonies has either thrilled or repelled citizens. For many of us, it is a sign of the degradation of our legal system. Even the chief CNN legal analyst has acknowledged that Bragg contorted the law to bring the recent case against former President Donald Trump...

Ajudge in New Jersey ruled that about 1,900 mail-in ballots that were prematurely opened have to be counted and accepted in Atlantic County. Superior Court Judge Michael J. Blee ruled Friday that the prematurely opened ballots will be counted in the county's primary race. This decision could determine the outcome of the state’s 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary. [snip] One official testified that there was chaos with too many workers sorting ballots, leading to disorganization.

NEW YORK — In May 2018, a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffer asked a State Department official how many Americans were “posted” in the American embassy in Egypt, but with a cryptic condition: “Don’t ask why I’m asking.” The official, Tiernen Miller, emailed the staffer back saying that they would have to ask for the information — and that “someone is going to ask why.” “Menendez is asking,” the committee staffer replied, referring to New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez — then the top Democrat on the powerful Senate panel. The email exchange was just one slice of hundreds of...

Former President Donald Trump announced he is endorsing Christine Serrano Glassner in her bid to represent New Jersey in the U.S. Senate amid a heavily-watched race for the seat of incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez. "She’s a fantastic woman," Trump said about Serrano Glassner, mayor of Mendham Borough, during a New Jersey rally on Saturday. "I’m giving her my complete and total endorsement." His endorsement comes less than a month before the state is scheduled to hold its Republican Senate primary. Trump also said Serrano Glassner's GOP opponent Curtis Bashaw is a supporter of New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie,...

Trump: Is there anything better than a Trump rally? These liberal singers, they actually vote for me. You know, like Bruce Springsteen. We have a much bigger crowd than Bruce Springsteen. Right? pic.twitter.com/avB1njR58v — Acyn (@Acyn) May 11, 2024 A spokesperson for the city of Wildwood backed Trump’s claim. Lisa Fagan told The Associated Press she estimated the crowd had to be between 80,000 and 100,000 people, based on her observations of smaller events which took place in the same space. But footage from the rally made those stats fairly hard to believe. While Trump fans packed the rafters behind...

President Trump is set to deliver remarks to a massive crowd of roughly 80,000 supporters at 5 pm tonight in Wildwood, New Jersey. Many, including Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), are calling this the largest political rally in the history of New Jersey. Doors to the event opened at noon Eastern. At approximately 2 pm, there were thousands still lined up awaiting entry: MASSIVE crowds inside and out for Trump in #Wildwood, NJ Definitely more than 40k pic.twitter.com/kYTS8nf43r — Jordan Conradson (@ConradsonJordan) May 11, 2024 WATCH:

[WILDWOOD, N.J.] Former President Donald J. Trump returned to South Jersey as he continues to put the Garden State in play. He held a Saturday night rally for 100,000 Trump supporters, who packed out the Wildwood Beach boardwalk, beachfront, and bars and restaurants, in addition to the more than 20,000 tickets distributed for inside the fences.Read: Trump Drawing Thousands to Rally in Wildwood As People Camp Out on New Jersey Beach OvernightTrump Rally Draws Between 80-100k on the Beach in Wildwood, NJ; May Be 'Largest' in 'State History'“Even on television, they said [it] might be the biggest political rally they’ve...

Supporters of Donald Trump came out in droves Saturday to hear the former president speak at a campaign rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, as the GOP front-runner faces ongoing trials in New York, D.C., Georgia, and Florida. The rally was expected to draw more than 40,000 supporters. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., who spoke ahead of Trump, dubbed it the largest political rally in the state of New Jersey.