OPINION: Understanding What is At Stake This November. For all of the disagreements about the economy, immigration and other policy issues Republicans and Democrats have been arguing over since 1776, there is no dispute about the legislative agenda that will be driven if Kevin McCarthy has the gavel: revenge on behalf of Donald Trump. What Republicans have not offered is detailed plans for how they, as Tom Kean, Jr. proclaims, “break the back of inflation.” They fall back on platitudes like cutting taxes and easing of regulations, fixing supply chain issues and stopping the hiring of IRS agents. We are all feeling the effects of inflation affecting the global economy. We understand the inclination to remove those in power because of the rising costs around us. But the ramifications of having the GOP in power will be a gridlocked Washington that is fighting over the grievances of a former president and not moving America forward. North-JerseyNews.com
Tom Kean, Jr. stated he would support abortion restrictions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and back House Republican Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House during a rally with National Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel this weekend in his bid to beat Rep. Tom Malinowski in the 7th Congressional District. “I’ve got a very consistent mainstream position for the people of this state and the people of this country. In fact, 80% of people across this country oppose late-term abortions,” Kean said. News12 New Jersey
Republicans enter the final weeks of the contest for control of Congress with a narrow but distinctive advantage as the economy and inflation have surged as the dominant concerns, giving the party momentum to take back power from Democrats in next month’s midterm elections, a New York Times/Siena College poll has found. The poll shows that 49% of likely voters said they planned to vote for a Republican to represent them in Congress on Nov. 8, compared with 45% who planned to vote for a Democrat. The result represents an improvement for Republicans since September, when Democrats held a one-point edge among likely voters in the last poll. The New York Times
The two competitors for New Jersey’s 7th congressional district, Rep. Tom Malinowski and former State Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., got equal speaking time during Oct. 16’s New Jersey Globe-hosted debate. Much of the debate was defined by Malinowski, who lobbed repeated attacks at his opponent and fiercely defended his own legislative record; Kean maintained a more muted presence, largely focusing on a few core themes like inflation and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. New Jersey Globe
President Joe Biden in Oregon Oct. 15 promoted Democrats’ efforts to bring down health care costs, in a visit to a normally Democratic state three weeks before midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the next two years. Speaking on the first day of Medicare open enrollment, President Biden touted a $750 billion climate, tax and health care package Democrats in Congress passed along party lines earlier this year, giving particular attention to provisions to cap the price of insulin at $35 per month for Medicare patients and to allow federal programs to negotiate the prices of certain high-price drugs. “If we are able to keep the House and keep the Senate, we can continue to do the things we’ve been doing, which are really going to … change the country,” the President said. “We’re at a real inflection point in this country. What happens in the next four to six years is going to determine what happens for the next three or four generations.” New Jersey Monitor
Gov. Phil Murphy ripped into top Florida Republicans in a speech Oct. 15, saying the GOP is to blame for “activist judges” who dismantled many women’s right to seek an abortion in the nation. “There is no better example of trusting each other than trusting women, to make the right choices about their own reproductive health. That’s why Charlie (Crist), Val (Demings), and I have a simple message for Governor (Ron) DeSantis and Senator (Marco) Rubio: trust women,” Murphy said. “I do find it odd that after decades of the right-wing railing against so-called activist judges legislating from the bench, the only way they can force their unpopular agenda upon the rest of the nation is by seating activist judges who will legislate from the bench what they can’t get through Congress.” NJ.com
Rep. Josh Gottheimer officially called for a Congressional investigation and oversight hearing over the MTA plans for congestion pricing, saying they must answer questions surrounding how $15 billion in COVID-19 relief was spent, and why the agency wants to install a new $23-a-day Congestion Tax. The official call, which would open the investigation on behalf of both the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, would seek underoath testimony from MTA CEO and Chair Janno Lieber. “It’s time we get some answers from the MTA that keeps pouring the dollars we’ve sent them into a black hole,” said Gottheimer. North-JerseyNews.com
The sharp rise in gas prices over the last three weeks may be coming to an end. As of Oct. 17, AAA put the average for a gallon of regular in New Jersey at $3.69, which was up less than a penny a gallon from the day before. The national average was unchanged at $3.88 a gallon. AAA says the drop is partly due to ongoing economic concerns as well as a drop in crude oil prices. “If economic growth stalls or declines, crude demand is likely to follow suit alongside prices,” according to an AAA report. “Additionally, ongoing COVID lockdowns in China have also contributed to concerns that oil demand may stumble and push prices lower.” NJ1015.com
New U.K. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said Oct. 17 he is reversing nearly all the government’s proposed tax cuts and will pare back an energy price cap as he moves to undo Prime Minister Liz Truss’s debt-fuelled growth plan in an effort to reassure markets about the stability of the nation’s finances. Hunt, speaking ahead of an emergency statement to parliament on the economy, said “the most important objective for our country right now is stability,” as he announced a revised plan he said would raise around £32 billion a year, equivalent to $36 billion, for the government exchequer. The Wall Street Journal
At least three people were killed in Kyiv when Russia attacked the city early Oct. 17 with explosive Iranian-made drones, officials said, one week after Moscow unleashed a deadly missile barrage on the capital and other cities across the country. Two more people were trapped under rubble and 18 others were wounded in the blasts in central Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. The drone strikes appeared to be aimed at knocking out key electrical infrastructure as Moscow tries to make life miserable for Ukrainians even as Russian forces face setbacks on the battlefield. The New York Times
New Jersey’s latest gun safety initiative would require tougher background checks and concealed-carry laws within the state. Announced by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-19) and State Senate President Nick Scutari (D-22) Oct. 13, the legislative package would prohibit permit holders from carrying handguns in public areas including government buildings, sporting arenas, and bars as well as permittees being required to undergo gun safety training, including a gun range qualification. Additionally, new insurance requirements would be imposed on handgun owners to ensure victims of accidental discharge are appropriately protected. North-JerseyNews.com
A New Jersey woman who reportedly urged on rioters during the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty Oct. 14 to her role in the attempted insurrection which injured over 100 and killed five. Stephanie Hazelton, 50, also known as Ayla Wolf, a right-wing activist from Medford who had been at the center of a series of New Jersey protests during the height of the COVID pandemic, faces up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines when she is due to be sentenced on Feb. 1, 2023. NJ.com
The Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act of 2021 was added in the Senate substitute amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2023, according to Sens. Bob Menendez, Cory Booker, and Dick Durbin (D-IL). The proposed legislation would shield the personally identifiable information of federal judges and their immediate family who share their residence. The law is named for the son of a Judge Esther Salas who was killed by a man who was sentenced by her. “The inclusion of the bipartisan Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act of 2021 in the Senate substitute amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023 brings us one step closer to protecting federal judges and their families,” said three Senators. North-JerseyNews.com
Fewer than 5% of Americans got an updated COVID-19 shot in the month after the new bivalent boosters rolled out, a comparatively slow start as the Biden Administration encourages more Americans to get the vaccine this month. Health authorities have said they are counting on the new Omicron-targeting boosters to protect people during the cold-weather months from hospitalizations and deaths. Yet 7.6 million people in the U.S. got the shots in the four weeks after they were cleared for use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By contrast, 13 million people got at least one dose during the first month of the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program after authorizations in December 2021. The Wall Street Journal
Passaic’s mayor and the city’s school board are in talks to swap land, which would allow for a new high school to be built at the City Hall complex and in return have the city ultimately take over the high school grounds for a new municipal building, a community and performing arts center and perhaps a museum. In the short term, while construction is going on, city officials would move into the offices next to the high school on Paulison Avenue left vacant by the Board of Education when it moved to its 663 Main Ave. location. After the new high school is built, the city would retrofit the current high school for municipal offices, a community center, an arts center and a museum. The Record
The Jersey City Council has adopted the creation of a new affordable housing overlay officials say will encourage more affordable housing in the city. All developments in the overlay will be subject to two main tiers: Tier 1 will require developments in low, moderate or middle income census tracts to provide 10% affordable housing, while Tier 2 will require those in upper income census tracts to provide 15% affordable housing. Additionally, developments that obtain payment in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) from the city must provide 15% affordable housing. Hudson Reporter
A second adult-use cannabis dispensary gained Hoboken Planning Board approval. The store called Jersey Joint would be located in the northwestern section of the city, representing a different business approach than the approved dispensary for Washington Street and the medical-use facilities planned near the Hoboken Terminal. After the unanimous vote Oct. 13, Jersey Joint now only needs the City Council to sign off before it heads to the state for approval. The Jersey Journal
And finally…The New York Yankees will host a series-deciding Game 5 against the Cleveland Guardians tonight. NJ.com
