Both the prosecution and the defense have vowed to appeal the judge's decision to sentence 20-year-old Dharun Ravi to 30 days in jail for spying on his Rutgers roommate, Tyler Clementi, who later committed suicide. But if Ravi's sentence stands, New Jersey law may allow him to serve less than 30 days provided he maintains good behavior and completes his designated chores. The Star-Ledger reports that short-term inmates in county jails "are seldom kept for their full terms unless they are charged with rules infractions," and a 30-day sentence is automatically reduced by 10 days for good behavior. more ›

Plans for a 30-inch natural gas pipeline that would run underneath the Hudson from New Jersey into Manhattan's Meatpacking District have been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. "We determined that construction and operation of the NJ-NY Project would result in limited adverse environmental impacts," FERC's report states. We're guessing they wrote that sentence after being denied entry to Le Bain. more ›

After helping take down a powerful governor, opening a fake restaurant in LA with Heidi Montag for reality TV, giving out sex advice for the Post, posing for Playboy and not writing her promised tell-all, what's a former working girl to do? Why, open a lingerie store in New Jersey, of course! more ›

Nope, nothing unsettling about this: A longtime security supervisor at Newark airport has been arrested and charged with using a dead man's identity for two decades. According to the Port Authority, Bimbo Olumuyiwa Oyewole worked for the airport for roughly twenty years and had totally passed background checks he'd been given. To his co-workers, the illegal immigrant from Nigeria was known as Jerry Thomas. Which must have been hard for a guy with a name as fun as Bimbo. more ›

A judge has ruled that the blind New Jersey man who has been fighting for his right to bear arms will get his guns back. Last year, the state had confiscated the weapons of Steven Holper and pushed to remove his gun rights, but a judge decided that the decision goes against a constitutional right to bear arms. “I’ve handled guns for many years — being sighted and being blind — and I’ve never had a problem,” Hopler told CBS. Err, except for that time Hopler shot himself in the leg. more ›

City Councilman Peter Koo, the Queens Republican-turned-Democrat, may be starting an international incident. He is considering whether to create a memorial to honor Asian "comfort women"—a touchy topic for the Japanese. more ›

One year before he faces re-election, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is flying high in the polls. According to Farleigh Dickinson University the Rubenesque governor is approved of by 56 percent of New Jersey voters—including 36 percent of the Garden State's democrats. That's way up from the the 44 percent overall approval rating he got last May. Our favorite part of the poll, however, is probably the steady one percent of those New Jersey residents who just didn't know who Chris Christie, their own governor, was. America! more ›

A roofer jumped into a vat of acid to save his co-worker who fell 40 feet through the roof into the liquid. NorthJersey.com reports that the men were working on the roof of the Swepco Tube LLC tubing company in Clifton when one fell and was fully submerged in a solution that contained 40-70% nitric acid. The worker was waist-high in acid pulling his peer out, while three other employees assisted. "It takes a lot of courage," Fire Chief Vince Colavitti said, in what strikes us as an understatement. more ›

At the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington Saturday night, Jimmy Kimmel cracked wise about husky New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who was in the audience seated next to television's Sofia Vergara. Kimmel made three jokes at Christie's expense, first telling the health-conscious first lady that Christie was in the audience and that she should "get him." Then, directly addressing the governor, Kimmel said, "You might be misunderstanding the New Jersey state slogan. It's not the 'Olive' Garden State." Here's video, in case you missed it: more ›

Reports of a stranded seal on a New Jersey beach caught the attention of the local media this weekend but were quickly tossed back. Mostly because it is totally normal for seals to swim ashore. Doesn't mean it didn't make for a cute photo op, though! more ›

A New Jersey police officer has been arrested for allegedly attempting to spark a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old girl. Woodland Park Police Officer Steven Vigorito Jr., 39, has been charged with attempted aggravated sexual assault as well as luring and enticing a child—he met the alleged victim while assisting her family in an unrelated police matter. "What is so disturbing about this, is the person who was to assist the family, ends up preying on the family," said Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes. more ›

A rainy car ride from Long Valley, NJ. to Brooklyn never looked more enjoyable. One Redditor put together this time lapse showing his journey from the rather rural looking New Jersey town, back to his home in Brooklyn, just off the Williamsburg Bridge. He says the trip took 90 minutes, and there's one photo per second. The real sell? It's set to "Desperation Breeds" the enthralling opening track on Andrew Bird's masterful new album Break It Yourself. more ›

Residents of New Jersey spent nearly $40,000 to send their Governor to Israel for some non-campaigning earlier this month. According to his office, Chris Christie's trip to the Middle East cost $39,871 to taxpayers. Those costs covered State Trooper protection for Christie, his family and 13 other delegates on the trip to Israel and Jordan that totally had nothing to do whatsoever with rumors of Christie running for President in 2016. Nothing at all. more ›

And now, a Public Service Announcement from two girls in New Jersey, regarding accents and stereotypes: "Why do people make fun of people's words? People don't make fun of people from the South, like Texas... people just make fun of New Jersey. We don't put an 'a' at the end of everything, like 'mirra,' or 'sista.' And we don't always like to go tanning, that's not our favorite thing to do in the summer." And their final plea? If you're going to make fun of anyone, "Make fun of Staten Island!" Fair point, ladies. more ›

When Newark Mayor Cory Booker isn't personally shoveling constituents' driveways or donating kidneys to homeless people (only one of those is a joke) he's rushing into burning buildings to save neighbors' lives. Last night Booker arrived home to find the second floor of the house next door going up in flames, and no firefighters or EMS in sight. Naturally, he shoved past his security detail and dashed into the inferno. more ›

That large brush fire burning near MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands yesterday consumed over one hundred acres, with flames leaping as high as 20 feet and spewing smoke visible as far as Brooklyn and Queens. Officials shut down part of the New Jersey turnpike for almost an hour as firefighters battled the blaze, which also dumped considerable ash on Brooklyn. In DUMBO, black ash was seen falling across the neighborhood, and one observer tells us, "It was flying down near the Watchtower. It looked like a black twig, and when I stepped on it, it disintegrated!" more ›

Amid all of the fresh ideas about giving more money to people who already have a lot of money—and after some sweet shuteye—New Jersey governor Chris Christie had a somber message for the crowd at yesterday's "Tax Policies for 4% Growth" conference. According to Christie, the Gub'ment is telling us to "stop dreaming, stop striving, we'll take care of you. We're turning into a paternalistic entitlement society." Christie's right: if you want a tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey, grab a shovel. more ›

We've been getting worried emails from Brooklyn readers who are wondering if that giant black plume of smoke is coming from a catastrophic fire in Manhattan. Turns out that a major brush fire is raging in New Jersey just off the turnpike near MetLife Stadium. The three-alarm fire began around 1:15 p.m. according to officials and has sent smoke billowing high above the Manhattan skyline, making it visible all the way in Brooklyn and Queens. more ›

A report [pdf] released by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office reveals that "straight-shooting" New Jersey Governor was more Dick Cheney than Annie Oakley when talking about how much the scrapped Hudson River tunnel project would have cost his state. Despite Christie's warnings of ARC costing as much as $14 billion, the report states that the actual cost according to state transportation officials, would have been no higher than $10 billion. And though the governor stated that New Jersey was shouldering 70 percent of the cost, the GAO report put it at 14.4 percent. more ›

From the president's remarks on the scope of the Supreme Court's power to the fractured 5-4 decision that allows law enfacement to strip search an arrestee, no matter the offense, the high court's decision-making process seems to be particularly drenched in politics. The effect isn't lost on New Jersey resident Albert Florence, who was detained for six days on mistaken charges and was subjected to humiliating strip searches several times. "I read [the decision]…It seems political, which in all honesty, I think it is," Florence told the Star-Ledger. "It kind of brought back old feelings and disgust; and just disdain for some of the politics garbage that happens." more ›

In the end, it was all just a pipe dream. Though the MTA got our hopes up last fall that the plan might make it, it appears that a 7 train extension to New Jersey is not likely. Or, in the words of MTA Chair Joe Lhota it is "not going to happen in our lifetime. It’s not going to happen in anybody’s lifetime." more ›

Everyone was so stoked to have a bangin' time at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, New Jersey Thursday night, and then the Man had to ruin what the media calls a "night of mayhem." Dude, has the media ever even partied at a Barstool Blackout party, like for real? It's about oneness. It's about day-glo clothes, bacchanal dancing, and waking up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. And on Thursday night, it was also about biting ladies' calves and jumping on cops' backs. more ›