Terror Threats Rise as Presidential Issue After Blast

Homeland security and terror threats are back on the front burner for the presidential campaign after an explosive device blew up in New York City on Saturday night, injuring 29 people, following incidents in New Jersey and Minnesota earlier in the day. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump seized on the New York blast within hours as part of his public safety-oriented message, even front-running authorities in declaring that a "bomb" had gone off.

Ignoring Christie, the U.S. has now settled 275 Syrians in N.J.

WASHINGTON - New Jersey welcomed 275 Syrian refugees in the past 12 months, even as the state was one of only two in the nation that refused to help in the resettlement effort. The refugees were among the 11,491 from Syria who settled in the U.S. as President Barack Obama met his goal of accepting 10,000.

Final veto showdown for Missouri’s most-overridden governor

Missouri lawmakers are set to expand Gov. Jay Nixon's already historic status as the state's most overridden governor, a record the Democrat earned after years of clashing with a Legislature under virtually unchecked Republican control. Since Nixon took office in 2009, lawmakers have overridden 83 of his vetoes of bills and budget expenditures - nearly four times the combined total of all other governors' overrides dating back to Missouri's territorial days in the early 1800s.

Christie defends Trump’s immigration shift: “We don’t want people stuck in cement”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defended GOP nominee Donald Trump's seemingly shifting position on immigration Sunday, saying good leaders don't get "stuck in cement" on issue positions when presented with changing information. Christie told CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday that, if elected, Trump will prioritize deporting the approximately 2 to 3 million undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes in the U.S. After that, Trump would take a "pause" before deporting the remaining approximately 8 million people in the U.S. illegally.

Here’s how special interests lined up in fight over $15 minimum wage in N.J.

Gov. Chris Christie's veto Tuesday of a bill that would phase-in a $15 minimum wage for New Jersey has not ended the battle as Democratic legislative leaders now vow to put it on the 2017 election ballot as a constitutional amendment. But a behind-the scenes fight has already been waged over the bill, with big-time business interests who pushed lawmakers and Christie to oppose it, while unions and other interests lobbied for it.

Murphy calls for probe of Fulop campaign

The gubernatorial campaign of former Goldman Sachs executive and U.S. ambassador to Germany Phil Murphy is asking state election officials to investigate Mayor Steve Fulop, alleging Fulop is financing a gubernatorial campaign of his own with funds intended for his mayoral re-election "in clear defiance of New Jersey law." Fulop is widely believed to be gunning for the Democratic nomination for governor next year but he has not declared his candidacy.

To quell uproar, Maine governor seeking ‘spiritual guidance’

In this Jan. 8, 2016, file photo, Gov. Paul LePage speaks at a news conference at the State House in Augusta, Maine. Lepage said Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, he intends to seek "spiritual guidance" in hopes of quieting a controversy he created when he left an obscene message on a Democratic lawmaker's voicemail and then said he wished he could challenge him to a duel and point a gun at him.

White House officials meet Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton teams

Top White House officials met representatives of the Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton campaigns to "ensure a smooth transition to the next administration" which will take office on January 20, 2017. This is the first time that the President Barack Obama government has held a meeting with members of both campaigns to discuss the transfer of power that will take place after the November presidential election, White House Deputy Press Secretary Jennifer Friedman told EFE news on Thursday.

White House meets with Clinton, Trump teams to discuss transition

Top White House officials met on Thursday with Democratic and Republican presidential campaign representatives to discuss preparations for transferring power to whomever wins the Nov. 8 election, a White House spokeswoman said. The meeting was led by Denis McDonough, President Barack Obama's chief of staff, and included Ken Salazar, the former Interior Secretary who is leading the transition team for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is the transition chair for Republican candidate Donald Trump, the White House said.

Christie aide: – He lied’ about Bridgegate

A former aide to Gov. Chris Christie said the governor lied about his knowledge of his administration's involvement in the George Washington Bridge lane closures, according to a new court filing. Christie aide: 'He lied' about Bridgegate A former aide to Gov. Chris Christie said the governor lied about his knowledge of his administration's involvement in the George Washington Bridge lane closures, according to a new court filing.

Hillary Clinton is raking in millions from GOP donors

A surprising number of people who donated to former Republican primary candidates are jumping ship to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton rather than giving money to her rival, Donald Trump. Donors who contributed $200 or more to the campaigns of Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Chris Christie, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are overwhelmingly more likely to also have donated to Clinton than Trump, according to a New York Times report .