Good morning, it’s Monday. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news (for those of you who are not on vacation, if you are, you probably don’t know what day it is and don’t want to, either).
If you are a native New Yorker (and by that I mean you were born and raised anywhere in the Empire State; I do not discriminate against upstaters or share the Big Apple bias), you likely feel some kind of way about our neighbors across the Hudson.
I am not entirely clear what New Yorkers have against the Garden State. But New Jersey has long been the butt of jokes and object of derision. Political watchers of a certain age will remember the infamous Saturday Night Live skits featuring Fred Armisen playing then-Governor David Paterson cracking New Jersey jokes.
New Jersey is known for many things.
It is, for example the supposed final resting place of mobster Jimmy Hoffa; the home of many celebrities (most notably, of course, the Garden State blue collar bard Bruce Springsteen); site of home games for two New York football teams, the Giants and the Jets (this one stings); has a deeply entrenched diner culture; serves up signature dishes like pork roll (AKA Taylor Ham) and tomato pie; and, of course, birthed one of the original big hit reality TV series, the Jersey Shore.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Nevertheless, New Yorkers persistently turn up their collective noses at New Jersey, particularly downstate, where the words “Bridge and Tunnel Crowd” are spoken with particular derision. We may share a Port Authority and the Statue of Liberty, but that doesn’t mean our state governments get along – the most recent fight sparking over congestion pricing.
New Jerseyans remain steadfast in their love of their home state – warts and all.
That includes many former New Yorkers who have braved the Hudson River crossing in search of more reasonable rents, something that increasingly is hard to find, especially in communities that have reasonable commutes to New York City like Jersey City and Hoboken.
New Jersey is also home to numerous hoaxes, including (most recently) the story of Natalie Greene, a former congressional staffer who claimed to be the victim of a vicious political attack that prosecutors say she staged herself. Going further back into history, New Jersey hoaxes include but were not limited to the 1909 Jersey Devil panic, the 2009 Morristown UFO prank, and the 1730 Mount Holly witch trial hoax.
So I guess it’s fitting that the interwebs falsely claim that today is National New Jersey Day, supposedly commemorating the Garden State’s decision to ratify the US Constitution and join the union. The only problem? That historic milestone actually took place on Dec. 18, 1787.
Today will be the last dry day for a short stretch, (more on that tomorrow), with intervals of clouds and sun and temperatures peaking in the mid-80s. Enjoy it while you can.
In the headlines…
Oil prices fell and stock futures rose modestly today after a pause in the fighting between the United States and Iran gave investors hope that more energy might soon start flowing from the region.
Trump has set aside plans to sharply escalate the US military assault against Iran, with concern that intensifying the war could drain the Pentagon’s already diminished stockpile of Patriot antimissile interceptors and other air defense munitions in the Middle East.
Facing criticism that it had minimized the number of U.S. soldiers killed and wounded in the war with Iran, the Pentagon on Sunday changed the way it reports casualties as it announced a higher number of wounded service members this month.
Trump used his speech at Friday’s rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner to condemn the political violence that postponed the annual event — and in the next breath attack and insult the gathered press.
Ahead of his remarks, several Wall Street Journal reporters were honored for their report that uncovered a bawdy letter that Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. “This has not been an easy evening,” Trump said, referring to the awards.
Democrats in Maine have reset a Senate race seen as critical to their party’s chances of retaking the chamber after an improvised scramble to swap out a damaged candidate, Graham Platner, for a new one, Troy Jackson. Now comes the tricky part.
Tom Homan, the Trump administration “border czar”, on Sunday said he did not believe the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer at the center of a recent fatal shooting in Maine “should have ever cleared vetting”.
Three people were killed and four others wounded on Sunday in a shooting at a food festival in Seattle, the authorities said. The shooting occurred at Seattle Center, which was hosting the Bite of Seattle food festival and is also home to the Space Needle.
The police on Sunday evening shot and killed the man suspected of killing a woman and injuring 29 other people near a Berlin gay Pride celebration after he charged at officers with a weapon, the German authorities said.
Firefighters in Spain and France were battling fast-moving and deadly wildfires on Sunday, with extreme heat and strong winds fueling new fronts even as others were contained.
The string of rapidly spreading blazes near Madrid and Bordeaux have engulfed fields, forests and homes, forcing more than 300,000 people to evacuate or take shelter.
In little-noticed court documents, federal officials acknowledged they had terminated energy funding “based solely” on political criteria, targeting states that were represented by Democrats and had voted for Kamala Harris for president in the 2024 election.
The Democrats should be well positioned to make gains in this year’s midterms. But inside party headquarters, every week brings paranoia, worries about money and, on occasion, emotional eruptions.
Democrats are favored to win the House but are slight underdogs in the fight for the Senate with 100 days to go before the midterms, according to the latest forecast from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ).
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries yesterday unveiled the party’s Fighting for an Affordable America agenda, as he kicks off 100 days until the midterm elections and works to focus voter attention ahead of November.
State lawmakers who pushed through a one-year halt on data center construction in the final days of session aren’t wholly satisfied with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive order enacting a similar, but slightly weaker moratorium.
The grieving parents of the 18-year-old Westchester County native killed by an illegal migrant in Chicago ripped Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York Democrats Friday, demanding they reverse new, sweeping sanctuary laws.
The state attorney general’s office sent letters to 12 local law enforcement agencies statewide last week, asking the departments to respond by Aug. 14 with the steps they have taken to end the written agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A State Police recruit alleges she was fired after being “strip-searched” in the hunt for an Apple Watch that never materialized, raising questions about whether the core constitutional rights of State Police recruits are suspended or significantly reduced while training.
All SUNY students — including incoming freshmen who will have just attended their first classes — have been given a new perk: free admission to the state fair.
Moderate Democrats in the Empire State are being forced to evolve — or risk going extinct.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie is good at wielding power in back rooms. The Bronx Democrat is usually terse in public, has a keen memory for past slights and whips votes when he needs to. But he’s got a big soft spot for a goldendoodle named Paisley.
Hochul’s re-election campaign raised $43 million from 27,000 unique donors – a complete break from a system of high-level fundraising in New York that has ignored small contributors for decades.
Court of Appeals Chief Judge Rowan Wilson’s latest appointments to a key judicial screening panel comply with constitutional limits on its members’ political party affiliation. But one appointee met that standard only after canceling his voter registration.
The Salamanca City Central School District has put its plan to put a nearly $58,000 A.I.-powered robot to the classroom on hold after a torrent of criticism engulfed the decision to introduce an artificial educator.
The state Education Department wrote a letter to the district warning it about using the robot, which local officials initially insisted on keeping the robot despite the state’s concerns.
After a string of political victories, the DSA’s next order of business, its members agreed in a recent meeting, is to pressure Hochul, a centrist Democrat, to raise income taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers when the state Legislature convenes in Albany in January.
The head of the powerful NYC teachers’ union has threatened “all-out war” against Mamdani if he does not support granting hefty bonuses to teaching assistants, setting up a potential rift between the democratic socialist mayor and the influential labor leader.
Last week’s stabbings of two men – one Jewish, the other Asian – have deepened the tension between many Jewish leaders and Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Mamdani of “fomenting” hate and making Jews less safe through his fierce criticism of Israel.
“I speak to Jewish Americans in New York, and they’re afraid right now,” Netanyahu said. Arguing that Mamdani was creating divisions among New Yorkers, he said, “He’s supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers, Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone.”
Former Gov. David Paterson compared Mamdani to segregationist George Wallace as he pushed for a federal investigation into whether the mayor is inciting anti-Jewish violence.
Jewish leaders and New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman blasted Mamdani for fueling antisemitism and creating a climate that led a madman to stab a Jewish New Yorker and another victim during a rally in Manhattan Sunday.
Jewish leaders and elected officials rallied a day after a Jewish man was stabbed on the Upper West Side, pleading for Mamdani to contain his rhetoric over Israel.
During last year’s New York City mayoral race, outside advisers to Mamdani reportedly urged him to stop making public threats about arresting Netanyahu, warning that his focus on the issue could put him in a politically precarious position.
Mamdani has promised that city-owned grocery stores will bring down prices. Today, he will announce the exact discount: 30 percent for some basic groceries, including vegetables, meat, bread and milk. The stores will sell other products at regular market prices.
Mamdani on Friday announced that the Bureau of Coastal Resilience, the agency in charge of the gates, would receive a substantial infusion of money, with its budget increasing to more than $43 million in coming years.
Longtime opponents of helicopters in New York City are hoping Mamdani will end their decades-old battle against noise by keeping a campaign promise to restrict flights from city-owned heliports.
Families of 9/11 victims are demanding that Mamdani be banned from the 25th anniversary of the attacks at Ground Zero, branding him an apologist for Islamic terror whose presence would be an insult to the memories of nearly 3,000 people murdered.
The NYPD says two people were found dead in a Far Rockaway rowhome where a man emerged after an explosion wearing a tactical vest, refused to drop a shotgun and was ultimately shot by police Saturday afternoon.
Companies offering for-hire vehicles via apps that compete with Uber or Lyft are hoping to make inroads in New York City with driver-friendly overtures. Others have tried and failed.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to block any bills that would rename Penn Station for President Trump.
A 43-year-old Upper West Side woman has emerged from a coma nearly two weeks after being mowed down by an e-biker while jogging in Central Park and left with a traumatic brain injury — but her full recovery is far from assured, relatives fear.
New York’s foie gras farmers are making one last stand against the Big Apple’s ban on the French delicacy — taking their fight to court once again.
Farms across the state, including in the Capital Region and Hudson Valley, will be able to apply for federal financial assistance for damage they sustained during a spring freeze in mid-April.
SUNY Ulster will become the first community college in New York to enroll in a national program that will reimburse the college for student support programs while helping low-income students complete their education.
State Police are investigating after a circus performer was shot with an arrow during a show at the Orange County Fair.
In a settlement agreement with the Town of Clifton Park and CSEA, the majority of Republican political appointees have been removed from the local union’s bargaining unit.
Researchers at the University at Albany’s RNA Institute revealed they have been awarded $7.3 million in federal research grants ahead of World RNA Day last week.
An appellate court last week upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Sunoco to annul the Papscanee Island Historic District in East Greenbush and remove its fueling station from the district.
Flock Safety license plate readers were damaged in the City of Troy last week, according to Mayor Carmella Mantello, who posted about it on social media.
Mayor Mantello’s opponents on the City Council took steps last week to limit her power to declare public emergencies.
A single-engine plane that crashed earlier this month at the Piseco Airport, killing its pilot, bounced several times on the runway before hitting trees as it took flight, federal authorities said.
The number of people experiencing homelessness in New York fell in 2025, because of a sharp decline in New York City. Across much of the rest of the state, homelessness continued to rise, according to a report by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
