OJ & Jersey

Good morning!

We here in the Garden State know that all roads lead to New Jersey one way or another, even if that road began 31 years ago at the OJ Simpson murder trial.

Mike Baker and Tim Arango at the New York Times got their hands on old criminal records that say a Jersey drug runner and mafia associate named — what else — Joey told authorities as part of a cooperation deal that he had information on the missing murder weapon used to kill Simpson’s ex-wife and friend. Joey, aka Joseph Ippolito, was at the scene of the killings, his brother told the Times before demanding money for his story and then recanting.

It’s a wild tale. Happy Monday.

Election 2026: Dana DiFilippo looks at the role foreign policy is taking on the campaign trail this year, with ongoing conflicts in the Middle East forcing even some Republican House hopefuls to put some distance between themselves and President Donald Trump. “He’s going to kill all of us in midterms,” said Republican Damon Galdo, who’s challenging Rep. Donald Norcross (D). “Trump made a promise that gas prices would be low, he’d ‘drill baby drill,’ and then we get into this conflict, and gas prices are through the roof.”

Who I Am Meant To Be: Anne-Marie Caruso has the second in her video series on the lives of transgender New Jerseyans, this time focused on Bernie Wagenblast, who you probably wouldn’t recognize if you walked by her in her hometown of Cranford but whose voice you almost certainly know if you’ve ever ridden the subway.

No Kings: Trump critics assembled state- and nationwide Saturday for the “No Kings” protests, this time saying they wanted to boost voter participation ahead of next month’s midterm elections. “Voting is so important,” said Douglas Anderson at the Somerville protest. “That’s the one voice that we have, the one power that we have, and we can’t take that for granted. If we want change, we’ve got to use that power.”

Wildlife: Gothamist on Saturday had the headline of the day — perhaps week, perhaps year:

Not sure how they managed to find a photo of a deer who looks like she’s … on the prowl, but they did.

ICYMI: From Friday, here’s why I do not think we should move to permanent daylight saving time, even as support for such a switch gains steam in Trenton and D.C.