Boring

Good morning!

Monday represented a gigantic milestone in the decadeslong saga to build a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River.

A massive cutterhead — Colleen Wilson at the Bergen Record described it as “a hollowed-out round face almost like a jack-o'-lantern with a scattered smile of tough tungsten carbonite teeth” — was put in place to start boring a 5-mile hole into the rock of the Palisades cliffs in New Jersey that will eventually be home to the new tunnel.

The boring will begin soon, as part of the $16 billion project called Gateway that is intended to replace the aging rail tunnels that now ferry commuters to and from New York City.

"Gateway will ensure New Jerseyans finally have reliable service that gets them to and from work, and home to their families,” Gov. Mikie Sherrill said at a ceremony in North Bergen.

Federal funding for the project is at the center of a legal tug-of-war between the Sherrill and Kathy Hochul administrations and the White House, a war the White House keeps losing.

NJ-07: As Rep. Tom Kean Jr. seeks a third term against Democratic challenger Rebecca Bennett, his stock trades are becoming a focal point of Bennett’s campaign to oust him. Nikita Biryukov notes that this is the third cycle in a row where stock trades are at the center of controversy in Kean’s district, which is one of the most closely watched in the nation. Bennett is dinging Kean for not putting his stocks in a blind trust. Kean says she’s lying about this and alleges he does not personally make any trades.

Media: NJ PBS has hired Sean Sullivan, Scott Minshall, and Asha McKenzie as it prepares to launch its new broadcast on Thursday. 🎉

Trenton: Gov. Mikie Sherrill has issued her first vetoes, and two of them reject bills aimed at helping Jersey City overcome a massive budget deficit. Sherrill used one of her veto statements to take a swipe at another Democrat who lost last year’s primary to her, Steve Fulop, the former mayor of Jersey City. Sherrill lamented the “fiscal crisis caused largely by the irresponsible decisions made by the City’s prior administration,” but said a bill aimed at raising new tax revenue at the city level is “not appropriate at this time.”

Courts: Cornell University is pushing back on claims that it gave slaps on the wrists to a group of fraternity brothers accused of gang raping another student in 2024. News of the alleged rape made national headlines last week when the student filed a lawsuit against the school and her alleged attackers, saying the men were allowed to “mitigate their conduct by submitting essays” to the school. A Cornell spokesperson told TMZ that it is false to say the university did not impose “consequential punishments” for those involved. A key thing to note: No one from Cornell would put their name on that statement.

Trump: President Donald Trump told Congress he was rescinding $810 million in approved spending that would have gone to refugee aid programs and more, a move that elicited criticism from GOP and Dem senators. The so-called “pocket recission” tactic is a controversial one that the Government Accountability Office calls illegal. Washington state Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, called Trump’s action “theft from the American people, plain and simple.”