The Morning Briefing - April 27, 2015
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL - If Gov. Chris Christie is serious about running for president, perhaps he needs to move to another state. The "New Jersey success story" is of little help, The Record reports, noting Congress's recently-released Joint Economic Committee study. It says the state has the seventh highest unemployment rate in the country, lagging behind states with other presidential contenders in such areas as job growth and gross domestic product. One tough fact to whitewash: New Jersey had 63,600 fewer jobs in March than it did in December 2007. Only Alabama is worse, another stat offering little help.
NEWARK - It's fine that Gov. Chris Christie is always willing to appear on 101.5 FM's "Ask the Governor" program, which made statewide headlines when Christie had a local car dealer loan a blue Corvette to the station's news director. Ethicists howled - while the news director gushed about the "sweetest ride of my life." Most news organizations balk at any freebie, including a cup of coffee. Media is also ticked that Christie always appears on "Ask the Governor," known for its softball questions, but hasn't had a press conference for New Jersey media since November 12. He will be back on "Ask the Governor" tonight at 7 p.m. Expect to learn little, other than the fact the 2015 Corvette can hit 60 mph in only 2.95 seconds.
MARGATE - Locals are trying to save terrapins, who now think the perfect place to nest is along the Margate Causeway. In an effort to greatly reduce the amount of turtle roadkill, volunteers with the aptly named "Margate Terrapin Rescue Project" have been installing corrugated tubing along the sides of the road. But now, as the Press of Atlantic City reports, the terrapins are digging under the tube or, amazingly, propelling themselves over it. Project members are now trying to raise $7,500 to pay for a new type of barricade to control the runaway turtles. Can they rely on your help?
NORWOOD - Besides all the wandering coyotes, there is another big story in Norwood: the return of Callahan's. What's that? The Record reports Callahan's was a local hot dog joint that opened at a Fort Lee gas pump in the 1950s and gained a local following. It closed 10 years ago, but now the grandson of the founder has re-opened the famous Callahan's. The Record reports one loyal supporter camped out in a beach chair for 17 hours over the weekend to be the first to order a hot dog. He probably wanted to beat the coyote rush.
IN THE MEDIA
MIDDLETOWN - It is getting increasingly evident that Brian Williams will never again appear at the NBC anchor desk, with both The Washington Post and The New York Times reporting that internal probes at the network show Williams may have stretched the truth on 11 occasions. Everything from Williams' Hurricane Katrina coverage and SEAL Team 6 stories to even his recollections about college are being questioned. It is unclear if NBC will ever report its findings. It depends on how much the execs want to humiliate a fallen star.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
MOSCOW - Russians take their World War II monuments very seriously, evident in the fact that three young women are heading to the slammer for twerking next to a memorial by the Black Sea. Prosecutors note that five women, in total, were guilty of "hooliganism" but two twerkers slipped away, claiming poor health. This is the second twerking case in Russia in the past couple of weeks; a YouTube video shows school girls dressed as bees, somehow twerking a Winnie the Pooh routine at a dance school, now shuttered.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1990 that the barbershop quartet singing convention, in Michigan, marked its 50th anniversary, preparing for another 50 years of enormous popularity.
WORD OF THE DAY
Verisimilitude - noun
Definition: Seeming to be true, like "truthiness."
Example: "I couldn't believe all that verisimilitude during the latest "Ask the Governor" broadcast!"