The House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the United States Capitol opened a set of hearings on by showing video of numerous aides to former President Donald Trump testifying that his claims of a stolen election were false, as the panel laid out in meticulous detail the extent of the former president’s efforts to keep himself in office. Over about two hours, the panel offered new information about what it characterized as an attempted coup orchestrated by Trump that culminated in the deadly assault on the Capitol. The panel’s leaders revealed that investigators heard testimony that Trump endorsed the hanging of his own vice president, Mike Pence, as a mob of his supporters descended on Congress and had evidence that members of Trump’s cabinet discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. The New York Times
Ryan Kelley, a Republican candidate for Michigan governor, was arrested by federal agents at his home on June 9 in connection with his role in the U.S. Capitol riot. The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Kelley on four charges connected to the Capitol riot, including that he entered or remained on restricted grounds and engaged in physical violence on restricted grounds. Kelley had previously stated he was in Washington, D.C., during the Capitol riot, but claimed that he left “once things started getting crazy.” The Wall Street Journal
The new Moderate Party in New Jersey is being formed to appeal to voters who “feel that their party of choice, whether the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, no longer shares their views,” according to one of the organizers, East Amwell Township Committeeman Richard Wolfe. Rep. Tom Malinowski, who has accepted the party’s nomination along with the Democrats, believes The Moderate Party is part of a growing alliance in this country, where Democrats, Independents, and moderate Republicans occupy the middle ground on such issues as law enforcement, immigration, energy, gun laws and the economy. “There’s a yearning out there for leaders who when they see a fire burning, reach for a bucket of water, not…gasoline,” he said. North-JerseyNews.com
The Consumer Price Index climbed 8.6% in the year through May, a rapid pace of inflation that is making it increasingly difficult for consumers to afford everyday purchases. Prices climbed 1% from April—far more quickly than in the previous month—and by 0.6% after stripping out food and fuel prices, which can be volatile. That so-called core inflation reading matched April’s reading. Central bankers are raising interest rates to make borrowing money more expensive, hoping to cool off consumer and business demand and give supply a chance to catch up, setting the stage for more moderate inflation. The New York Times
A new report from the bill payment company doxo finds New Jersey is the third most expensive state in the U.S. for household bills, ranked only behind California and Hawaii. Data shows residents are spending more than $2,600 a month on the 10 most common household bills. That number is 30% higher than the national average. News12 New Jersey
State Sen. Anthony M. Bucco (R-25) said it is unacceptable the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission has yet to produce rules for businesses nearly two months after sales became legal in New Jersey. “[Legalization] could be extremely dangerous at a construction site, in a hospital, or in the airline industry where any level of impairment could result in serious accidents,” said Bucco. “Even though the start of recreational pot sales was delayed by months, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission still hasn’t found the time to issue the rules for the drug recognition experts that employers are required to have to determine if employees are high while they’re working. This continued inaction is an unacceptable failure that hopefully won’t result in tragedy.” North-JerseyNews.com
The standoff between cannabis retailer Ascend and Montclair officials escalated when Ascend’s store on Bloomfield Avenue sold recreational weed for about three hours before being threatened with legal action by the township attorney and shutting those sales down. Ascend has been approved by the state to sell recreational marijuana, but it still needs approval from the township. The township put out a statement saying Ascend applied for a conditional use permit but those applications have not yet been accepted, making Ascend’s sale of recreational pot illegal. The Record
Attorneys for Long Branch have gone to court seeking a temporary restraining order against the six organizers of another unlicensed pop-up party being advertised for later this month. In the filing in Monmouth County Superior Court, the city asked a judge to enjoin organizers from advertising, promoting, or encouraging any events within the city without applying for and obtaining a special event permit. Additionally, they asked for an order requiring the removal of any advertisements or postings promoting the June 19 event that has already appeared on Instagram and other social media sites, “or any future pop-up parties planned for the City of Long Branch.” NJ1015.com
The three sizable urban centers in the United States where the coronavirus is spreading fastest right now have something in common: warm-weather tourist destinations. Miami-Dade County, Fla., Honolulu County, Hawaii, and San Juan, P.R., are all averaging at least 85 new cases a day per 100,000 residents, with test positivity rates above 20%. By contrast, the nation as a whole is averaging 34 newly reported cases a day per 100,000 residents, with a positivity rate of 13%. The New York Times
New Jersey on June 9 reported 11 new COVID-19 deaths and 3,120 new confirmed cases. There were 862 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases in the 71 state’s hospitals that reported. Of those hospitalized, 92 were in intensive care and 37 were on ventilators. New Jersey’s statewide transmission rate was 0.87 with the positivity rate at 15.5% for tests conducted on June 3. North-JerseyNews.com
Gov. Phil Murphy said Liberty State Park “is a gem, but it’s punching way under its weight” in response to a question on the Liberty State Park Conservation, Recreation, and Community Inclusion Act that would provide $250 million for the recreational overhaul of the park. The park “could be so much more than it is particularly for the residents that live right around there in Jersey City, obviously,” he said, adding “I don’t comment on legislation that isn’t on our desk and where we’ve made a decision, so my commentary is not about anyone’s particular bill.” The Jersey Journal
Starting July 10, the George Washington Bridge will go cashless and tollbooths will be removed as cars will pay tolls by driving under overhead gantries equipped with devices to scan an E-ZPass transponder or capture a picture of the license plate and send a bill in the mail to the address associated with the car. This is the latest Port Authority crossing to make the transition to cashless. The three Staten Island bridges and the Holland Tunnel made the switch in 2019 and 2020. The Lincoln Tunnel will follow later this year. The Record
Gov. Phil Murphy and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul jointly announced a request for a proposal to reimagine and redesign New York Penn Station. Proposals are due July 28, with the winning design and engineering firm will be selected in the late Summer or early Fall. The renovation of Penn, estimated to cost around $7 billion, could include consolidating the concourse waiting area into one level, constructing more escalators, stairwells, elevators and entrances, and connecting Penn and Herald Square with a new underground pedestrian corridor. The Daily Record
A New Jersey program that incentivizes unemployed people to return to work has only distributed a small fraction of its $10 million budget since it launched in late September. Payout totals for the Return and Earn program show that just $289,400 was paid out in wage subsidies to businesses that hired 165 workers through the end of April. Most employers hired one or two workers, with just a handful hiring up to five. Gothamist
The Assembly Education Committee advanced three bills June 9 that would require more training for school security officers, provide law enforcement with maps of school buildings, and help school officials and students recognize threatening behavior. The proposed legislation would require schools to create guidance for students and staff on how to recognize threatening behavior, designate how and to whom such behavior is reported, and develop a policy to assess at-risk students; mandate school officials, including at private and charter schools, to submit building maps to law enforcement; and require training for school security employees to include behavioral threat assessments so they can identify students who could pose a risk as well as creating a behavioral assessment team. New Jersey Monitor
State lawmakers are considering a bill that would permanently increase the number of hours teens are allowed to work in New Jersey. The legislation would permit teens who are 16 and 17 to work up to 50 hours per week during the summer, up from 40 hours. It also clarifies the hours of the day that 14- and 15-year-olds, who can work up to 40 hours a week during the summer, are permitted to work. It would make permanent the expansion of hours that was initially instituted for the summer of 2021 as employers struggled to find enough seasonal workers, a difficulty that continues today. NJ.com
State Sens. Troy Singleton (D-7) and Joseph P. Cryan (D-20) have separately introduced legislation that would require independent groups to disclose their financial activity in New Jersey elections. Singleton’s bill approaches disclosure by independent groups by setting up two distinct groups subject to reporting requirements—be independent expenditure committees that engage in electioneering communications and those engaging in lobbying-related issue advocacy. Meanwhile, the Cryan proposal focuses solely on independent groups involved in electioneering activity and contains no regulatory provisions for issue advocacy reporting. Insider NJ
Assemblyman Raj Mukherji confirmed he has met with potential running mates in his bid for State Senate but wasn’t prepared to make any announcements. His Senate candidacy leaves an open State Assembly seat in the newly drawn 32nd district, and perhaps a second seat, if Democrats decide to replace the four-term incumbent, Annette Chaparro (D-33). “When I have something to announce I’ll definitely share it, but I don’t yet,” said Mukherji. “I think it would be safe to assume one of my running mates will be a Jersey City resident and one of my running mates will be a Hoboken resident.” New Jersey Globe
The Jersey City Zoning Board of Adjustment refused to allow the demolition of the historic St. Peter’s Prep buildings, upholding a decision made by the city’s Historic Preservation Committee about three years ago. St. Peter’s Preparatory School appealed the HPC’s decision that prevented them from tearing down the St. Peter’s Parish School Hall and the St. Peter’s Hall and Parochial School at York Street, which date back to the late 1800s, with plans to turn the site into a parking lot. Representatives from St. Peter’s argued that the buildings were in “dangerous conditions” that were exacerbated by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, and that it made it unfeasible or unsafe to restore them. Hudson Reporter
And finally…Former New York Giants player and coach Jason Garrett is set to replace Drew Brees as studio analyst on the network’s NFL pregame show, “Football Night in America.” NJ.com
