New Jersey

Updated at 9:05 a.m. ET

The July 4 holiday weekend got off to a rough start for New Jersey residents and tourists wanting to enjoy the state's beaches, but a budget deal in the state legislature late Monday paved the way for the beaches to reopen.

A federal judge levied two punishments over the "Bridgegate" tale of political retaliation in New Jersey Wednesday, sentencing former Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni to two years in prison and Bridget Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, to 18 months.

The sentencing comes months after Baroni and Kelly were found guilty of crimes that included conspiracy and fraud.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie knew about a road study that would create a traffic nightmare — and used the advance notice to ask about his office's relationship with the local mayor, former top aide Bridget Kelly testified in court Friday. Kelly also said that Christie had cursed and thrown a water bottle at her.

The brakes on the New Jersey Transit train that crashed into the platform at Hoboken Terminal on Sept. 29 show no signs of any defect. That's according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board released Thursday.

One person on the platform was killed and more than 100 passengers and crew members were injured.

Data recovered from the wreckage of the New Jersey Transit commuter train crash last week shows that the train sped up to twice the 10 mph speed limit and the engineer hit the emergency brake less than a second before crashing into the Hoboken terminal, said federal investigators.

The crash killed one person on the platform and injured more than 100 others.

Federal investigators say they have recovered one of the "black boxes" from the commuter train that hit Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey on Thursday, as they work to discover why the train struck the terminal at a high speed.

The crash killed a woman and injured more than 100 people. The accident also caused structural damage to the century-old train station.

PATH trains and some New Jersey Transit trains have resumed service, but some rail services are still suspended, NPR's Hansi Lo Wang reports.

For those standing on the platform, there was no warning.

But inside the train, in the last few moments, some of the passengers could tell something was wrong.

The commuter train was approaching Hoboken Terminal in New Jersey, a crucial commuter hub for the New York City region, during rush hour Thursday morning. And it was going too fast.

The train smashed into the barriers at the end of the tracks, crashing through them and into the platform. It took out support beams holding up the ceiling of the Beaux-Arts terminal, and the roof began to collapse.

Donald Trump picked up his first congressional endorsements this week, and today he scored another major backer: one of his former rivals, Chris Christie.

"I've gotten to know all the people on that stage. And there is no one who is better prepared to provide America with the strong leadership that it needs, both at home and around the world, than Donald Trump," the New Jersey governor said at a news conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

Chris Christie may be running from behind in a crowded Republican presidential field, but he’s running hard. Tuesday was his 50th day of campaigning in New Hampshire. He’s made more visits to the state than any other candidate.

Now Christie is hoping a key endorsement this week, as well as his experience as governor of New Jersey, will help energize his New Hampshire campaign.

The United Airlines chief executive officer, Jeff Smisek, and two other high-ranking United employees resigned Tuesday amid internal and federal investigations.

"Jeff's departure is in connection with the company's previously disclosed investigation," board member Henry Meyer said in a conference call with analysts, according to Reuters.

The workweek got off to a rough start for New Jersey rail commuters recently. A disabled train blocked one of the two rail tunnels under the Hudson River to Penn Station during the Monday morning rush hour.

Thousands of people were left scrambling to find another way into Manhattan.

"This really sucks," said Ira Kaplan of Basking Ridge, N.J. "Much worse than past summers."

Kaplan was among thousands of commuters who took a train to Hoboken, where they waited on sweltering platforms for another train to New York.

Republican Chris Christie says the U.S. needs to boost military spending and not back off on intelligence and surveillance programs. 

Speaking in Portsmouth’s Prescott Park, Chris Christie said the army needs more soldiers, the navy more ships, the air force more planes --and the government more intelligence.

Christie called for an extension to the Patriot act, and said concerns over data collection and privacy are overblown.

It's been a tough week for New Jersey Gov. and possible Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie.

One of his former allies pleaded guilty and two others were indicted for allegedly creating a traffic jam at the George Washington Bridge as political retribution.

Now, New Jersey's highest court is set to hear arguments over one of Christie's signature accomplishments: his pension reform deal.

Updated at 4:34 p.m.

David Wildstein, a former official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of conspiracy in connection with lane closures on the George Washington Bridge in 2013. The case could have implications for his former friend New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a likely Republican presidential candidate.

Indictments in April against two other officials linked to the scandal were unsealed today.

(This post was last updated at 8:12 p.m. ET.)

Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, has been indicted on federal corruption charges.

The indictment alleges that Menendez abused his office to benefit Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye doctor who was the senator's friend and donor. Menendez has always maintained his innocence.

During a press conference in Newark, New Jersey, Menendez said he was "confident that at the end of the day, I will be vindicated."

In gambling, they say, the house always wins. But that hasn't been the case in Atlantic City this year. By year's end, the city that once had an East Coast monopoly on gaming may lose its fifth casino.

The city is reeling from the closures. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday that the first order of business is to "stop the bleeding." So city and state officials are trying to reposition Atlantic City by literally building it up.

Gov. Chris Christie says that a new rule requiring a 21-day quarantine for people who've been in contact with Ebola patients is necessary to protect the public in New Jersey and other states — and that the CDC "eventually will come around to our point of view on this."

Dr. Anthony Fauci, leader of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, disagrees, saying the quarantine could hamper efforts to combat the deadly outbreak in West Africa.

Travelers returning to New York and New Jersey from West African nations will be put under mandatory quarantine orders if they may have had contact with Ebola patients, Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie announced Friday, The Associated Press reports.

The U.S. may have added jobs to its payroll last month, but the losses are still huge in Atlantic City, N.J., where four casinos have closed this year. A fifth teeters, and more than 7,000 people — dealers, greeters, cooks and maids — have been laid off.

The job losses could mean a future of boarded windows and abandoned buildings.

In the 1970s, Atlantic City had lost the glitter of its golden years — the 1940s and '50s, when it was a favored summer spot with a broad beach, the Boardwalk, pastel resort hotels and the home of the Miss America Pageant.