Legislative Director, Agudath Israel of America's New Jersey office. Formerly freelance reporter with bylines in the
@NYTimes
, The Lakewood Shopper, and others.
Some personal news: Excited to share that, beginning Tuesday, I will be leaving reporting and will join Agudath Israel of America (
@AgudahNews
) as the Associate Director of their New Jersey office.
#BREAKING
Absolute stunner of a race developing in South Jersey, where Senate President Steve Sweeney - the longest-serving legislative leader in state history - is now trailing his Republican challenger, a virtually unknown, by close to 3 points.
#Election2021
BREAKING: In a huge political upset, Democrat candidate Avi Schnall has defeated Republican incumbent Ned Thomson in the race for the 30th District Assembly seat, becoming the first Democrat in history to win in LD30.
Somewhat surprised that the Assembly race in LD30 has not gotten the attention that some other races (LD16, LD38 etc) have received.
At the very least, this race is a toss-up.
(Disclosure: My boss is the Democrat nominee but I have no connection to the campaign)
#BREAKING
The New York Assembly voted to allow President Trump's state tax returns to be released to Congressional Democrats. The bill must now be signed by Governor Cuomo.
#BREAKING
New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney has conceded defeat in his race to Republican challenger Ed Durr: “I of course, accept the results” of the election, he said, adding “it’s been an honor and a privilege” representing the 3rd legislative district.
Update: With 94% of the vote counted, Republican Senate candidate Edward Durr now leads New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney by roughly 2,000 votes; 32,134 to 30,125.
#BREAKING
The Associated Press is projecting that New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney - the longest-serving legislative leader in state history - will lose his re-election bid to Republican challenger Edward Durr.
#BREAKING
Absolute stunner of a race developing in South Jersey, where Senate President Steve Sweeney - the longest-serving legislative leader in state history - is now trailing his Republican challenger, a virtually unknown, by close to 3 points.
#Election2021
BREAKING: A source close to New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez tells
@isareport
that the three-term Senator and former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will not be running for re-election in November.
#BREAKING
The Associated Press has withdrawn its call of the winner of the New Jersey Assembly race in the 8th Legislative District.
The AP initially declared Republican incumbent Brandon Umba as the winner on election night.
A potential New Jersey Assembly race upset in the making as Democratic candidate Andrea Katz has now pulled ahead of Republican incumbent Brandon Umba by 27 votes, giving her a real shot at flipping the seat and adding to her party's majority.
#BREAKING
The U.S. Senate has just passed a bill making Daylight Savings Time permanent by unanimous consent
If this is approved by the House, there will be no more changing the clocks twice a year.
Former New Jersey Republican Governor Christine Todd Whitman (1994-2001) is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, the Harris campaign says.
Whitman had endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 and spoke at that year's Democratic National Convention.
Update: With 98% of the vote counted, Republican Senate candidate Edward Durr now leads New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney by roughly 2,000 votes; 32,134 to 30,125. Unclear why/how vote totals didn't change with more votes now in.
The
@nytimes
on
@GovMurphy
's decision to lift the mask mandate in schools: "The effort began last fall, after he was stunned by the energy of right-wing voters in his blue state, who nearly ousted him from office in what was widely expected to be an easy re-election campaign."
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the former press secretary for President Trump, will announce tomorrow that she’s running for governor of Arkansas,
@jdawsey1
is reporting.
#BREAKING
With all of Lakewood's precincts reporting, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli has so far received 11,644 votes (61.6%) while Democrat incumbent Governor Phil Murphy received 7,112 total votes (37.6%). Turnout was roughly 33%.
#Election2021
In Deal, New Jersey a town populated by mostly Syrian Jews and which typically votes for Republicans by massive margins; Democratic state Senator Vin Gopal received over 60% of the vote - 3 years after Donald Trump won the borough 74%-26%.
Via
@pocryphal
.
In this video from
@MarkFusetti
, you can clearly see the I-95 overpass in Philly beginning to buckle as a large tanker fire burns underneath.
The highway has now been shut in both directions.
I don't understand Hebrew, but listening to a young boy eulogize his two younger brothers who were brutally murdered while waiting at a bus stop in Jerusalem, goes directly to my heart.
New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez - who is scheduled to resign from office on Tuesday - is reportedly negotiating a pardon from President Biden before the president leaves office at the end of the year, associates of the recently convicted Senator tell
@isareport
.
#BREAKING
According to Lakewood Police documents obtained by NJ Advance Media, Dion Marsh, the man accused of the multi-hour antisemitic terror spree in Lakewood on Friday, allegedly told a family member, “it’s going to be a blood bath” and called Jews “the real devils.”
#BREAKING
A judge has denied a motion filed by Free NJ Kids who were aiming to block New Jersey
@GovMurphy
's mask mandate for schools. The group says they now intend to "immediately file an appeal" with the 3rd circuit court.
BREAKING: New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin is preparing to tell a federal judge that the state's county organization line is unconstitutional, and he is not prepared to defend it in court,
@wildstein
is reporting.
U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi will hear oral arguments on Monday in Trenton regarding the lawsuit brought by Rep. Andy Kim which seeks to redesign the state ballot before the June primary election and prevent ballots in the state from using the "county line" system.
Mind-blowing numbers for Republicans in the New Jersey Assembly tonight. Getting overshadowed by the
#NJGov
race but this is a huge victory for Republicans no matter the outcome at the top of the ballot.
Please pray for my colleague Malky (Lisa) Rosenberg, who is missing in the
#Surfside
building collapse along with her husband and father.
Chaim ben Sara and Yisroel Tzvi Yosef ben Toiba.
With 100% of Monmouth County districts reporting, Thomson leads Schnall 14,252 to 6,121 but Schnall is leading significantly in the Lakewood portion of the district 20,189 to 3,310 with 100% districts reporting, for an overall lead of 8,748 votes.
#BREAKING
The FBI Newark office is confirming that the suspect responsible for the threat made against New Jersey Synagogues "has been located and the threat has now been mitigated."
Security remains tight this morning in Ocean County and around Jewish institutions across New Jersey a day after the FBI issued a rare, but unspecified threat against Synagogues in the state. With
@traceytully
.
#BREAKING
A federal judge has dismissed the lawsuit brought by the Trump Campaign challenging the constitutionality of New Jersey
@GovMurphy
Executive Order mandating a mostly vote-by-mail general election.
This anti-Hamas billboard on Route 80 in Bogota Borough resulted in more than 100 calls to police before it was taken down by organizers, authorities say.
BREAKING: According to multiple reports, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will be suspending his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination as soon as today.
Asked what chance there is of him dropping out of the race before the New Hampshire primary, 2024 Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie tells
@MatthewArco
"zero," adding "like, less than zero."
Somewhat surprised that the Assembly race in LD30 has not gotten the attention that some other races (LD16, LD38 etc) have received.
At the very least, this race is a toss-up.
(Disclosure: My boss is the Democrat nominee but I have no connection to the campaign)
Have confirmed reports of long lines of voters in Lakewood, where Orthodox Jewish voters -- many clutching their Vaad card -- are waiting to cast early votes today. Democrats are trying to flip one Assembly seat in the staunchly GOP 30th district.
Asked if he was worried that the
#GeorgeFlyod
protests violated his ban on large gatherings,
@GovMurphy
says "it's one thing to protest what day nail salons are opening and it's another to come out and peaceful protest about somebody who was murdered right before our eyes."
BREAKING: Three multiple family homes on 3rd street and 7th avenue in Newark, New Jersey have been evacuated and condemned following this morning's earthquake. Houses are leaning into each other and a chimney is crumbling,
@reporterrina
is reporting.
Damage from tonight's storm seen in Jackson, New Jersey in this photo provided by the Ocean County Sheriff's office. Numerous trees and power lines are down.
There are unconfirmed reports of a possible tornado in Howell and Jackson.
#BREAKING
New Jersey Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski has conceded his race for the 7th congressional district to his Republican opponent, Tom Kean Jr., saying in a statement "The new district proved too much of a hurdle to overcome."
Lakewood stabbing victim, originally thought to be dead with a nearly 0% chance of survival, will return home from the hospital this afternoon, a family member tells The
@LakewoodScoop
.
Beginning Wednesday, all students and employees of the Passaic, New Jersey public school district will be required to wear face masks at "all district facilities, school grounds and buses" due to a "High Activity Level" of Covid-19 in the county.
Child at a New Hampshire townhall for former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has a question about traffic.
"It feels like there is traffic everywhere, right? ... Would you make sure there is less traffic on the roads?"
New Jersey Rep.
@MikieSherrill
tells
@axios
she is "strongly considering" running for governor of New Jersey in 2025.
Sherrill, a former Navy pilot and former prosecutor who is running for re-election in November, says she will make the decision after Election Day.
BREAKING: New Jersey Sen Bob Menendez may blame his wife for the couple's legal troubles by claiming that she hid information from him, leading him to believe that “nothing unlawful was taking place,” per newly unsealed court papers,
@traceytully
and
@BenWeiserNYT
are reporting.
A potential New Jersey Assembly race upset in the making as Democratic candidate Andrea Katz has now pulled ahead of Republican incumbent Brandon Umba by 27 votes, giving her a real shot at flipping the seat and adding to her party's majority.
Right now, Democrat Andrea Katz has a 27 votes lead over GOP Assemblyman Brandon Umba in the 8th district. There are 675 uncounted provisional ballots, so I still think Umba wins -- but this is close.
#BREAKING
The race for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District seat is now even closer, with Democratic incumbent Rep. Tom Malinowski now leading Republican Tom Kean by just 5,780 votes, down from an election night lead of 28,412, with at least 37,259 ballots still to be counted.
With his upset victory tonight, Democrat candidate Avi Schnall is the first-ever Orthodox Jew from Lakewood to win a seat in the New Jersey Legislature, where he will sit alongside fellow Orthodox Assembnlyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic).
BREAKING: In a huge political upset, Democrat candidate Avi Schnall has defeated Republican incumbent Ned Thomson in the race for the 30th District Assembly seat, becoming the first Democrat in history to win in LD30.
I'm told no more ballots will be counted in the
#NJGov
election tonight. Expected to resume in the morning.
With 82% of the vote in, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli is maintaining his lead over Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy, 1,136,778 to 1,094,515.
Linden, New Jersey mayor Derek Armstead, now a candidate for Congress in the 10th Congressional District, opposed hiring Jews, warned of ‘guys in big hats and curls’ in a secretly recorded meeting, a new, explosive lawsuit claims.
Via
@TedShermanSL
.
When a state Senate Committee is cancelling a hearing on a bill designed to protect the safety of a minority - because they cannot ensure the safety of the people the bill is aiming to protect - then we have a serious problem.
Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla is officially entering the Democratic primary race for Congress in New Jersey's 8th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Rob Menendez.
Bhalla is looking to be the first Sikh to serve in the House of Representatives since 1963.
The New Jersey State Police bomb squad unit is in Lakewood this morning after a grenade was found taped to a street pole outside a popular Synagogue.
The grenade was later determined to be empty.
All public polling for the 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial race between Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy and Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, with just hours to go before
#Election2021
. RCP average is Murphy +7.8.
#NJGov
U.S. District Court judge Marie Bumb has scheduled a January 5th hearing for oral arguments regarding a motion brought by
@gunpolicy
seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the concealed carry restriction bill signed last week by
@GovMurphy
.
The Eva and Marvin Schlanger Family Foundation, which has donated over $130,000 to Rutgers University, has announced they are halting contributions to New Jersey's flagship university over what they consider its poor response to antisemitism on campus,
@deenayellin
is reporting.
New data from the FBI and Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that Lakewood, New Jersey had the lowest violent crime rate for large cities in 2021, with just 6.15 violent crimes for every 100,000 residents. Mobile, Alabama had the highest, with 2,042 violent crimes per 100,000.
Two massive fires are burning in Hudson County, New Jersey right now, one is at an apartment building in West New York and the other is at a Salvation Army thrift store in Union City. There are no reports of any injuries at this time.
#BREAKING
The New Jersey State Assembly voted 49-24-6 to approve the marijuana legalization bill.
Bill must also be approved in the state Senate, expected to happen this afternoon, before
@GovMurphy
can sign it.
Bob Beckwith, the FDNY firefighter who famously appeared with then President George W. Bush atop the rubble of a smoldering World Trade Center, passed away earlier today. Rest in peace.
#BREAKING
The U.S. has approved the direct delivery of Stinger missiles to Ukraine as part of a package approved by the White House on Friday, the
@AP
is reporting.
Arranging a series of focus groups across the state to see what they had missed, Murphy’s advisers were struck by the findings: Across the board, voters shared frustrations over public health measures, a sense of pessimism about the future and a deep desire to return to normalcy.
Spotted at the New Jersey Statehouse: Former Republican Senator Ed "the trucker" Durr.
Durr, who lost his re-election bid in November, is widely expected to jump into either the 2024 Senate race or the 2025 gubernatorial race.
Update: With 96% of the vote counted (revised downward), Republican Senate candidate Edward Durr has expanded his lead over New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney and now leads him by 2,330 votes; 32,682 to 30,352.
#ElectionsResults2021
In the
#NJGov
race, with 92% of the vote in, Democratic incumbent Phil Murphy is now leading Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli 1,176,253 (49.6%) to 1,174,587 (49.6%).
#Election2021
The
@CityofNewarkNJ
City Council voted 8-0 Wednesday on a first reading of an ordinance which will allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in school board races.
If approved on the second reading, Newark will become the first city in New Jersey to allow people as young as 16 to vote.
Speaking in Hillsborough this afternoon, New Jersey
@GovMurphy
said no coronavirus outbreak has been linked to President Trump's fundraiser in Bedminster late last month.
Hoboken, New Jersey Mayor
@RaviBhalla
has worked to redesign city intersections, install bike lanes and slow traffic. The result? Not one pedestrian death since January, 2017 and a 41% reduction in injuries. Via
@sarahsholder
.
BREAKING: The state of New Jersey is making a serious push to convince the Philadelphia 76ers to move to New Jersey and into a new arena that would be built in Camden, four people familiar with the discussions tell
@TomBergeron5
.
#BREAKING
In a statement tonight, President Trump says he will support a primary challenger to New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith for voting in support of the infrastructure bill which Congress passed earlier this month. “You will have my backing,” he says.
#BREAKING
In a new superseding indictment, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, the former Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes while aiding the government of Qatar.
#BREAKING
New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, the former Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is accused of acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government according to a superseding indictment filed by a federal grand jury in Manhattan,
@tom_winter
is reporting
#BREAKING
New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez will step down as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, multiple outlets are reporting.
Maryland Democrat Senator Ben Cardin will likely replace Menendez as Chairman - as he did the last time Menendez stepped down.
Effective 5pm Eastern time today, the resignation of New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez will take effect, ending a nearly 50-year political career, during which the son of Cuban immigrants was elected to almost every level of public office - from the Union City Board of Education,
More drama in Trenton today as Assembly Republicans are being denied access to the statehouse by state troopers after refusing to comply with the entrance requirements, which are either proof of vaccination or a negative test result. They say they will file another lawsuit.
BREAKING: New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy will announce today that she is dropping out of the race for the United States Senate held by Bob Menendez,
@wildstein
is reporting.
BREAKING: New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin will hold a press conference this afternoon where he will announce the indictment against South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross,
@danieljhan_
is reporting.