Christie was referring to a $60 billion funding package that would have gone to Hurricane relief efforts, which Republican leadership failed to bring to a vote before adjourning last night. "Last night politics was placed before our  oath to our citizens," Christie said. "For me, it was disappointing and disgusting to watch."

He added that Sandy victims in New York and New Jersey have had to wait six times longer for federal disaster relief funding than victims of Hurricane Katrina, which Christie said shows a "callous indifference to the suffering of people in my state." The bill, which passed out of the Senate, "just could not overcome the toxic internal politics of the House majority," Christie said.

Continue Reading...

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., said he was told by the office of Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia that Speaker John Boehner of Ohio had decided to abandon a vote this session.

Cantor, who sets the House schedule, did not immediately comment. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland told reporters that just before Tuesday evening's vote on "fiscal cliff" legislation, Cantor told him that he was "99.9 percent confident that this bill would be on the floor, and that's what he wanted."

A spokesman for Boehner, Michael Steel said, "The speaker is committed to getting this bill passed this month."

In remarks on the House floor, King called the decision "absolutely inexcusable, absolutely indefensible. We cannot just walk away from our responsibilities."

The Senate approved a $60.4 billion measure Friday to help with recovery from the October storm that devastated parts of New York, New Jersey and nearby states. The House Appropriations Committee has drafted a smaller, $27 billion measure, and a vote had been expected before Congress' term ends Thursday at noon.

Continue Reading...

Concerned by the boy's notebook, a Cedar Creek High School staff member called the local police, who searched the school and the teen's home with sniffer dogs. When police found chemicals in the house which, when combined -- although they were not combined and are found in many households -- could be used in an explosive device as well as a number of electronics, the boy was charged with possession of a weapon, an explosive device, and was placed in Harborfields Detention Center before being released and having charges dropped.

The boy's mother explained that her son, who had no history of violence or threat-making, regularly assembled and dissambled electronics as a hobby. “He takes the parts and he builds things with them,” she told Fox. “Good things.” And as the local police chief affirmed, “There was no indication he was making a bomb, or using a bomb or detonating a bomb,” and the boy didn’t issue any threats.

Continue Reading...

Via NJ.com/Statehouse Bureau.

Continue Reading...

We lived in a small town in northern New Jersey. My parents — poorly educated but quite literate Jews from within the czar’s Pale of Settlement — had made their home in that town perhaps 20 years before. My father, who was deft and a quick learner, had first washed dishes there, then become a cook and then became the owner of a hotel, a restaurant, a big house (for those days) and much else.

Just as he was preparing to congratulate himself on his business acumen, however, the crash came. It took only a tormented year or so before he was back in an apron serving rib-eye steaks and fries. He’d managed to save from his creditors a truly forlorn two-story shack where he would eventually reopen his business, though there was hardly a customer in sight. Today, people would say he had a serious cash flow problem: I would be sent down the street to buy two pounds of tomatoes or hamburger, but not both at once. I learned how to two-finger type a menu because neither of my parents could print legible English. Overall, they had both lowered their sights considerably.

Continue Reading...

"Let there be no doubt, I will complete my full second term as mayor. As for my political future, I will explore the possibility of running for The United States Senate in 2014," Booker said.

Booker's run would be for the seat currently occupied by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, another Democrat. Lautenberg, who at 88 is the oldest U.S. Senator, has not announced whether or not he will seek another term when his is up in 2014.

Booker continued:

Continue Reading...

Christopher Ising, 31, a reported member of the Atlantic City Skins from Waretown, N.J., was arrested today by FBI agents on an indictment charging him with conspiracy and commission of a hate crime assault. Those laws are contained in the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, passed by Congress in 2009.

Michal Gunar, 27, of East Windsor, N.J., also faces the same federal charges. He is an alleged member of another New Jersey-based white supremacist group known as the Aryan Terror Brigade, the FBI said in announcing the arrests.

The arrests grew out of a New Year’s Eve party last year in East Brunswick, N.J., where Ising hosted a “meet and greet” gathering for white supremacists, FBI officials said.

Continue Reading...

Continue Reading...

"There are people who say you couldn't be president because you're so heavy," Barbara Walters said to Gov. Christie in a recent interview. "I mean, that's ridiculous," Christie told Walters. "I don't know what the basis for that is."

Continue Reading...

The Republican governor was asked about his weight problem during an interview with Barbara Walters for her "10 Most Fascinating People" special Wednesday night on ABC.

Walters told the governor some people say he is too heavy to be president one day.

"That's ridiculous," Christie responded. "I don't know what the basis for that is."

Walters said worries about his health were the reason for the concern. The governor then pointed to his widely praised handling of Superstorm Sandy, which has sent his popularity soaring.

"I've done this job pretty well, and I think people watched me for the last number of weeks and Hurricane Sandy doing 18-hour days and getting right back up the next day and still being just as effective in the job," he said. "So I don't really think that would be a problem."

Christie had considered a run for president in 2012. Last month, he announced that he would seek re-election as governor, saying he wanted to lead the state through its post-storm rebuilding and that the one year left in his first term wouldn't be enough to finish the job.

Continue Reading...

Booker, who leads the state's largest city, also says he's also thinking about running for the U.S. Senate.

He tells CBS' "Face the Nation" that he has to decide on a gubernatorial bid in the next couple of weeks out of respect for his party and the other Democratic candidates who'd like to take on the outspoken Christie.

Speculation about the 43-year-old's political future has been high for much of his second term as mayor.

Christie has said he's running in the November 2013 election.

As for the Senate, the seat held by 88-year-old Democrat Frank Lautenberg is up in 2014.

Continue Reading...

The week before the Hurricane Sandy, Stewart said, Christie criticized Obama's leadership skills. “And then right after the storm was over, you were like, 'This man is a leader.'" said Stewart. "Doesn't that tell you something about the game?"

"What it tells me is that people have different skill sets at different times,” Christie replied, which made the audience laugh. Stewart shot back: “So he wasn’t a leader until you needed leadership.”

"Maybe until he was presented with a stark opportunity," said Christie.

Here's part one:

Continue Reading...

Continue Reading...

According to PPP,  Christie, who recently filed for reelection in 2013, is beating out all possible Democratic opponents, including the very popular Newark Mayor Cory Booker. PPP reports:

He leads Cory Booker 50-36, Richard Codey 53-31, Steve Sweeney 57-20, and Barbara Buono 60-20. Against Sweeney and Buono Christie actually wins the Democratic vote, something I don't think PPP has ever found a candidate in any contest we've ever polled doing across party lines.

In a hypothetical match-up against Springsteen that PPP threw in there "just for fun," Christie is leading by a 61-25 percent margin.

As for 2016, 44 percent of voters say Christie shouldn't run, and only 38 percent say he should.

Continue Reading...

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, 88, also a Democrat, is the current seat-holder, and so far has not announced his plans for 2014. Lautenberg has a 43/36 approval rating, according to PPP, and would have a big win in a hypothetical race against Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.

But according to the poll, only 36 percent of Democratic primary voters in the state say he should run again, and 45 percent say he should retire. From PPP:

Continue Reading...

The 50-year-old Republican filed papers with election officials Monday cementing his intention to seek a second term, according to two people close to the governor. The technical step allows Christie to set up a campaign headquarters, hire staff and raise money toward his re-election, said the people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak before the governor makes a formal announcement in a few weeks.

Christie carried the Democratic-leaning state by 86,000 votes in 2009, an upset win over Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine.

Christie, who has become a national figure during his first term, is riding an unprecedented wave of popularity because of how he handled the storm. Even Democrats have applauded his hands-on response. He appeared on "Saturday Night Live" in his trademark fleece pullover this month to lampoon his own nationally televised storm briefings.

Continue Reading...

Watch:

Via MediaMatters

Continue Reading...

Continue Reading...

That dispute pits coastal advocates for some of the most valuable shoreline in the country against elected officials from inland states who say it's unfair to ask taxpayers from, say, the Great Plains to pay to keep rebuilding beaches they don't even use.

The storm caused major erosion along New Jersey's famous 127-mile coastline, washing away tons of sand and slimming down beaches. Some lost half their sand; the average loss statewide was 30 to 40 feet of beach width, according to findings that are not yet public but were revealed to The Associated Press.

Routine storms tear up beaches in any season, and even normal waves carry away sand. Over the years, one prescription for insulating communities from the invading sea has been to artificially replenish beaches with sand pumped from offshore. The federal government picks up 75 percent of the cost, with the rest coming from state and local coffers.

Continue Reading...

"It's basically fused to my skin at this point... I'm gonna die in this fleece" said Christie. He also took the opportunity to barb mayors who ignored his Sandy evacuation orders, "I do not thank any of the stupid mayors who ignored my evacuation orders. They're idiots. And when you ignore me, it makes you look like a real Seth Meyers."

Watch below, via Hulu:

Continue Reading...