The Morning Briefing - June 16, 2016

ATLANTIC CITY - Sure, New Jersey's gaming resort appears to be in a thick haze, but does that mean it should be legal to buy pot within city limits? That is the debate in Trenton this morning, as Assemblyman Reed Gusciora is set to introduce a bill that would generate revenue for the city on recreational marijuana sales, Politicker NJ reports. There would certainly be high numbers for the city in its latest monopoly: a 20 percent sales tax to help shore up municipal finances, fund road projects, pay for women’s health initiatives and, ironically, drug enforcement. While this bill will most certainly go up in smoke, expect heavy lobbying from the Frito-Lay lobby.

ON THE ROAD – How much pot gets you too stoned to navigate the Turnpike? “Impossible to say,” says a new study from AAA's Foundation for Traffic Safety. Unlike alcohol, blood tests for THC – the chemical in marijuana that gets you high – are largely unreliable for telling if drivers are impaired, the Washington Post reports. AAA suggests Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington abandon inconclusive THC blood-test laws and says states like New Jersey not bother adopting similar ones, nearly useless in court. AAA thinks it’s better to rely on old-fashioned police work with cops trained to gauge sobriety. Again, look for the Frito-Lay bags.

LINDENWOLD - You know you are careening toward trouble when you see your young children as little ATMs. Just ask a 40-year-old local man who is now looking at decades in prison for seeking money from insurance companies, claiming his young twins had spent weeks in the hospital. The scam worked magically at first, authorities say, as the first four claims were paid to the tune of around $140,000. But the fifth request was denied, and the investigation showed this guy forged doctor's signatures on fake hospital records for purported hospital stays ranging from 11 weeks to 26 weeks for the little ones. Daddy has been a bad boy.

ON THE AIR – His presidential hopes dashed, his VP chances slim, and his time in Trenton ticking away, could Gov. Chris Christie really be auditioning for an on-air gig with WFAN? That’s been the fun chatter over the past couple of days. Christie’s latest “audition” was Tuesday on WFAN's morning show “Boomer & Carton.” Later that day, when a caller asked if Christie's appearance was a job tryout, afternoon host Mike Francesa said: “I think that’s actually a possibility. I think he'd be interested (in my job).” The New York Post notes Francesa’s contract with WFAN expires three weeks before Christie’s term ends. Well, Christie knows his sports and Jerseyans know the governor could be the perfect shock jock: entertaining, edgy and melodramatic. With his political approval ratings in last place – just like the Yankees – maybe sports broadcasting is the governor’s most logical next step. Perhaps on the “Trump Radio Network.”

SURF CITY – Volunteer firefighters are mounting a “Save The Siren” campaign, eager to raise $15,000 to replace their fire company's now-silent siren. Its shrill “12 o'clock” blast had heralded noon every day for decades on Long Beach Island, besides being used for emergencies. Fire Chief Michael Wolfschmidt tells the Southern Ocean Times the salty sea air took just its toll and the siren recently went kaput. Unlike electronic pagers, the siren is “a time-tested method” to alert volunteers, the chief says. Plus, it reminds late night revelers it is time to get out of bed.

JERSEY CITY – The mayor's desk chair is still warm and Steve Fulop hasn't said he's going anywhere. Yet would-be successors are lining up. The latest hopeful is Councilman Michael Yun, who hosted a fundraiser asking $250-$2,600 from supporters last week, the Jersey Journal says. Assemblyman Raj Mukherji has steadily raised money for a year, and others oft-mentioned for the mayor's job include Sen. Sandra Cunningham, former Assemblymen Sean Connors and Charles Mainor, and a council trio: Rolando Lavarro, Daniel Rivera and Rich Boggiano. Fundraisers aside, no one has officially said anything about anything.

SOUTH JERSEY? – He was able to rise up to become one of the top college quarterbacks, leading the North Dakota State Bisons to greatness. And then Carson Wentz became the No. 2 overall pick this year in the NFL draft, as the future of the Philadelphia Eagles. But, can Wentz get himself out of a locked gas station bathroom? Apparently, not. Wentz tweeted last night that he had to be rescued by attendants with garden sheers and another person with a "leg kick" after he became locked in the bathroom, somewhere in New Jersey. WNBC-TV reports his comments were retweeted thousands of times and prompted plenty of social media responses, including memes and gifs. The AP reports it is unknown where the gas station is located in New Jersey, but there are already plenty of rookie jokes for training camp.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

GARDENDALE, AL. - Little Johnny is a deadbeat, according to the Jefferson County School District, which stamped the third grader's arm with this message: "I Need Lunch Money." The message was for mom and dad, who were furious the school district didn't communicate more discreetly. Moreover, Little Johnny still had $1.38 left in his account when he was stamped and spent the day trying to explain why he was such a broke, pitiful loser. School officials admitted there could be a "software glitch," which made it seem like the third grader was penniless gutter trash. The school also defended the stamp, saying "all children get stamps when [their accounts] are at zero dollars to get awareness up,” Alabama Today reports. Here's a stamp for school officials: "Send Notes Instead."

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Stuck as a passenger in crappy Fiats, Pope Francis was more than eager to welcome thousands of Harley Davidson riders to Vatican City on this day in 2013, as he blessed the hogs. The Pope’s very own 2013 Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide sold at auction that year for $327,000; his signed leather Harley-Davidson motorcycle jacket went for $77,485. Proceeds were donated to a hostel and soup kitchen at the Termini train station in Rome.

WORD OF THE DAY

Kismet – (KIZZ-met) – noun

Definition: Fate

Example: It may have been kismet that brought together Chris Christie and Donald Trump.

WEATHER IN A WORD

Wet.