@traceytully.bsky.social
@traceytully
Followers
4K
Following
5K
Media
154
Statuses
2K
I cover New Jersey for @nytimes Reach me at [email protected]
Joined October 2013
Meet the 105-year-old badass who kicked Covid with a little help from Pfizer and a few gin-soaked raisins.
49
308
1K
A young man released from a NJ prison b/c Covid was just telling me his story. He said he contacted me b/c he figured I might respond because I have so few Twitter followers and 'only 3 likes' on tweets (he was being generous.) I can't stop chuckling at his spot-on reasoning.
12
13
396
Andy Kim, in an interview, noted that his last 3 opponents have also been wealthy, white businessmen from South Jersey. “This is actually my particular expertise.”.
2
31
288
Social justice groups in NJ have asked US Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate the Paterson Police Department after the shooting death of Najee Seabrooks
18
47
178
Andy Kim has won the Democratic nomination for Senate.
7
16
163
Yes yes yes. This type of stuff has nagged me since Day 1. I’m glad to now have a name for it: hygiene theater.
7
47
181
No remote education option next year in NJ. "All students will be back in school for full-time, in-person instructioon for the 2021-2022 school year. Full-time remote learning option for families will be removed.".
16
43
178
George Helmy, Menendez's replacement in the Senate, joined the Democratic Party just 5 months ago, records show. He will caucus and vote with Democrats when he joins the Senate next month, restoring the party's majority to 51-49.
8
27
145
Andy Kim begins his speech at the DNC with a joke, quoting his son. "I love the Capitol and lower-case too.".
3
11
159
NJ has vaccinated its first person - a nurse celebrating her birthday today.
2
13
162
“At a time when people everywhere are concerned about the health of democracy in our country,” an analyst with the League of Women Voters said, “this is just the antithesis of good government.”
22
56
150
More groups call for Senator Menendez's resignation as he pleads not guilty to plotting to be an agent of Egypt.
25
32
137
Princeton update: 13 people were arrested after a brief occupation of a grad school building. They’re barred from campus and will face discipline, including suspension or expulsion.
19
45
145
Senator Robert Menendez has pulled his name off the November ballot and will not run for re-election as an independent.
21
24
124
The man who set himself on fire near Trump’s trial was a witty and kind classmate at Rutgers. He sang karaoke and sought social justice. To earn his master’s, he spent 2 weeks driving through the South making a documentary on public policy @MWilsonNYT
54
35
132
Another way to see this is: @GovMurphy raises fares 15% for NJ commuters to plug a deficit he’d largely ignored for years, then puts service at risk to offer a feel-good gimmick to distract from other unpopular decisions
8
43
127
Breaking: A lawsuit from two whistle-blowers claims NY Waterway, the nation's largest private commuter ferry, dumped untreated sewage waste into the Hudson River for years.
11
64
120
New travel advisory by NY, NJ, Conn. requires people arriving from states with high virus rates to quarantine for 14 days
7
32
103
“Bruce Springsteen respectfully declined to have a service area named after him," NJ Hall of Fame spokeswoman Natasha Alagarasan told the Record's @Colleenallreds
11
36
111
Got to wondering in 52 Places season about 52 must-see, must-do, only-in-New-Jersey places. Cranberry bogs. Barnegat Lighthouse. 2nd Street Bakery. Branch Brook Park. Tick Tock Diner. Grounds for Sculpture. Climax Brewery. Yours? @NJGov.
29
2
106
New charges against Senator Menendez claim he used his political power to benefit the government of Qatar - in exchange for bribes from Fred Daibes.
25
49
113
Andy Kim just filed a federal lawsuit that challenges NJ's use of the county "line" in primary races. The line has been shown to give candidates backed by party bigwigs a big edge - and helps party leaders keep a firm grip on power.
24
30
102
The death toll in NJ is now 25 - more than any other state hit by Ida - and is expected to climb even higher. About a third of the people who died drowned after being trapped in cars. w/ @spiccoli and @KevinGArmstrong
12
63
102
I was honored to get the chance to talk with this gutsy NJ family. Their grace, fortitude and willingness to try to save the rest of us from the virus that ravaged them is remarkable.
The coronavirus has devastated families, particularly so for the Fuscos, of Freehold, New Jersey, whose surviving members say they want to help find a remedy for the disease that killed their mother, 3 siblings and an aunt.
5
30
107
As the mother of a current, recent and soon-to-be college student, my heart breaks for these 8 families and their wide circle of friends and relatives. The message on the Rock resonates deeply.
2
14
96
This is devastating. The Jersey was able to attract some of the state and country's best journalists over the years because of its aggressive and necessary coverage of NJ's 2nd largest city.
8
30
105
“I’ve been a Democrat for 10 years,” Tammy Murphy said when pressed by Andy Kim about her donations to Republicans and her history voting regularly in GOP primaries until 2014.
5
17
103
Politics in NJ are flat-out nuts right now and will be for the next 2 years. Here’s a weekend sampling:.
3
19
101
The backlog for coronavirus testing in New Jersey, the state with the second-highest caseload in the country, has been getting worse, not better @rcallimachi writes
2
39
92
Smoking is considered a condition that makes you eligible to get a vaccine in NJ, starting tomorrow, if you're younger than 65. No documentation needed. What could go wrong?.
18
20
97
If you’re wondering if your county exec/political party leader is one of the 17 who are spending your tax dollars to challenge a practice that a federal judge and the state’s attorney general have deemed unconstitutional, here’s the list. Mine is (Union @SenPresScutari)
21
40
87
Many donations to Tammy Murphy’s Senate campaign exceeded the limit for the primary race and were therefore earmarked for the general. The FEC sent a letter nudging her campaign treasurer to show proof they’ve been returned:
5
31
96
A new Menendez filing pulls back the curtain on the bribery conspiracy even further. Prosecutors disclose a diamond ring, infighting among co-defendants, Nadine's "James Bond" phone - and where investigators found 2 bags of $100K in cash. w/@BenWeiserNYT
24
41
84
With little fanfare, Fred Daibes pleaded guilty today in Newark to fraudulently obtaining a loan from a bank he ran in NJ. He faces between 18 and 37 months in prison - time that might be served concurrent to any sentence imposed for his conviction in Menendez bribery scheme.
0
25
75
Late Monday, the Coast Guard spotted the region's 13th whale floating south of the Ambrose channel shipping lanes. It's a humpback, but it's unclear where it might wash ashore in NJ or NY.
11
36
85
92 years ago last Friday, the world's most famous toddler was kidnapped from a farmhouse in rural NJ and then killed. The crime of the century is still an obsession of many, and there are a few new fascinating twists and turns:
11
30
86
President Biden has said he wants to get kids back in school quickly. But the union battles playing out in Chicago and in Montclair, N.J., show just how hard that may be.
17
20
88
Eve Morawski lost her childhood home to real estate investors after falling behind on taxes. She broke back in, police say, and lit it on fire. “Jersey Girl Justice will hopefully prevail in the end,” she ✍️. A paywall-free link
19
34
84
A confidential informant secretly recorded conversations and shared info with prosecutors who were investigating Senator Menendez and his wife, new court records show. w/@BenWeiserNYT
16
20
77
Union County’s primary ballots are out. The contrast between Democrats’ mandated block design and the Republicans” county line is something!
6
14
82
Senator Menendez is likely to claim he was duped by his wife, Nadine. If he testifies, he will outline "the ways in which she withheld information" and "led him to believe that nothing unlawful was taking place,” his lawyers wrote. w/@BenWeiserNYT
27
39
78
Steve Sweeney, the Democratic Senate president in NJ, has lost to Edward Durr. AP just called the race.
12
21
69
NJ voters have legalized marijuana for recreational use
1
15
68
738 votes in Bergen County for Tammy Murphy, the NJ governor’s wife who is competing to run as a Democrat for US Senate . 419 votes for Andy Kim, a South Jersey congressman.
11
15
65
Thieves searched the internet for owners of Asian restaurants and then used trackers made from magnets and cellphones to follow them home and later rob them, prosecutors say. The burglary ring is responsible for more than 50 break-ins in 4 states.
8
51
68
Important story by @wildstein + one of rare circumstances when the word unprecedented is warranted. Even if ads were running b4 indictment, it raises questions b/c there was a clear effort afoot even then to position First Lady for something more:
9
13
63
As the mother of a 16-y-o girl, I can’t stop thinking about the 16 years between when Dawn was killed and 1998, when the man now charged with Dawn’s murder was arrested - accused of another girl’s death
2
10
55
Stacey Abrams is expected to join Gov. Murphy by videoconference as he signs law authorizing early, in~person machine voting in NJ. For the Nov. election, when the governor and most sitting NJ lawmakers are on the ballot, it means 9 days of early voting.
5
27
63
There are days when it amazes me that I still get paid to do this work. This, from a few weeks ago, was one of them. Non-paywall link (ps: It’s a subscriber perk.)
2
13
63
Story is updated with information about why a friend says Michael Mordaga, a well-known ex-Hackensack cop, came to the scene the night Nadine Menendez was involved in a fatal car crash. w/@npfandos @luisferre
13
23
59
I had to stop by the Union County clerk's office this morning in Westfield, and it was hopping. People dropping off ballots. Requesting mail ballots. Registering to vote for the first time. Maybe it's always like this on the last day to register, but it sure was lively.
4
6
54
11,000 Afghans evacuated as the war ended are temporarily living on a NJ military base - more than on any of the 6 other bases being used for the historic resettlement effort. 🧵
9
26
57
Tammy Murphy's Senate campaign manager has departed in what aides described as a transition. There is no immediate replacement.
19
20
60
Menendez had argued that many charges he faces stem from legislative activity protected by the Constitution. A judge rejected that claim, setting up a possible appeal and trial delay. @BenWeiserNYT
9
18
54
Menendez's lawyer tells jurors that a U.S. senator was duped by his wife.It's a tale that involves a locked closet in a house he didn't own filled w/ women's clothing + and gold bars. Prosecutors say it's fiction .@BenWeiserNYT @npfandos @NYTimesCramer .
14
25
54
Full house at Monmouth County Democratic convention:
2
7
56
If I were a history teacher I would toss my lesson plans and make NJ’s Senate race - wannabes and current occupant - the curriculum for the rest of the year. I’ve learned more at Andy-Tammy conventions and in Menendez legal filings than in all of high school. (Sorry Mr. Sofia).
4
5
55
One NJ nursing home was so overwhelmed by deaths, 17 bodies were left in a small refrigerated room. Police came after getting a tip that one body was outside in a shed.
12
66
51
Big 6-soundstage movie + TV production hub is coming to Newark. Lionsgate Newark is expected to open by March 2024, according to Robert Halmi, who also founded the Hallmark Channel
6
19
55
On the Liberty State Park privatization deal in the stop-gap budget that @SenatorLorettaW decried but @GovMurphy just signed. "There was no time for public pressure," @StevenFulop says. "It was put in there at the last minute and rammed through.".
4
28
55
Schools in NJ will remain closed until at least April 20 @GovMurphy says (no decision on duration until April 17).
3
17
42
I sat through this and this is a superb account of what happened. Also, NJ reporters without access to the press room deserve hazard pay + a gold star for all they’re dealing with to bring this information to you (by which I mean writing stories in a courtyard or coffee shop).
Ex-insurance broker Jose Uribe testified that he bribed Sen. Menendez to kill a criminal probe that threatened his company, and that N.J.'s senior senator told him afterward: "I saved your little ass not once, but twice." via @njmonitor.
3
6
51
NJ Gov. Phil Murphy is one of 2 headline speakers at tonight’s Gridiron Club dinner in Washington. (The other is former VP Mike Pence.) . What exactly he’s auditioning for is an open question.
29
15
50
A NJ councilwoman shot dead a week ago was remembered tonight at a huge vigil as a trailblazer who broke through glass ceilings wearing her “signature, sparkling high heels,”
5
18
46
An elite boarding school in NJ has admitted that is failed to do enough to protect a 17-year-old student, who had been bullied and died a year today by suicide w/@BenWeiserNYT Gift link:
8
1
47
The full-page Spiller ad in NYT, for a governor’s race that’s a year away, is remarkable.
13
5
53
A NJ halal company got a sweet deal with Egypt. Months later, FBI agents searched its offices and its president's home. Now, it's come up as part of an inquiry into Senator Menendez. w/ @BenWeiserNYT @WRashbaum
11
23
37
A federal judge has granted Andy Kim's request to force a redesign of the ballot before the primary. "The Line" in NJ may be dead. "The integrity of the democratic process for a primary election is at stake," he writes.
1
11
47
Police in Lakewood were asked to stay on duty for a 2nd shift, and the Jewish Federation of Northern NJ activated its security warning system after the FBI took the unusual step of warning of 'credible information of a broad threat.' w/@OneJerseySchorr.
11
18
40
Just when you thought Senator Menendez's trial on bribery charges couldn't get more complicated . w/@BenWeiserNYT
7
22
44
My tabloid roots are coming in handy these last 2 weeks: an imploded Trump casino; a sassy 105-year old Covid survivor; and a celebrity DWI bust:
1
1
49
Just happened onto more than a dozen seals off Sandy Hook, minutes before they jumped off. Not a bad start at all.
1
2
46
“All of this Egypt stuff is very weird,” a Senate aide wrote in a text message shown Monday to jurors in Senator Menendez's corruption trial. “I’ve never seen anything like it." w/@BenWeiserNYT .
9
14
45
The judge has been notified that there is a verdict in the Menendez trial. People are beginning to assemble in the courtroom.
0
22
38
The 1st vaccines in NJ will be administered at University Hospital in Newark at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, @GovMurphy said in an ABC interview. 5 other hospitals in Camden, Atlantic City, Hackensack, New Brunswick and Morristown will also be part of distribution.
1
16
38
“I have respect for business owners. I would hope he would have respect for public servants.”.
3
2
39
Gurbir Grewal, NJ's former AG, testified at Menendez's bribery trial about a meeting with the senator. “He didn’t like how this matter was being handled by our office and wanted it handled differently." w/.@BenWeiserNYT
1
12
34
Newark was once synonymous with '60s riots. But peace prevailed this weekend as fires and violence raged at other big-city protests. Here's a look at how that happened. w/@KevinGArmstrong
0
21
38
Something that felt a lot like an earthquake just rumbled my house in NJ.
12
1
38
As insane as the Costco in Union was this morning (and me for even attempting it) I am extraordinarily pleased with my impulse buy. Also, forsythia!
3
0
40
The man who paid off Nadine Menendez's delinquent mortgage testified that neither she nor his boss, the founder of IS EG Halal, ever mentioned Senator Menendez's name in connection with the payoff.
6
13
37
Syringe-access sites have been proven to reduce opioid overdoses and curb the spread of HIV and Hep C. New Jersey is about to shut down its biggest one. 1/ .
3
27
34
Tough talk from Tammy Murphy against former Congressman Malinowski, who endorsed her main Senate opponent this morning. She and the governor’s investments are managed by her brother, in what they have termed a blind trust.
11
13
35
Yikes. And F has become a really important letter of late. Apparently overused.
8
2
36
this in a state known for Bridgegate, senator charged w/ taking gold bars as bribes and judge who told cops who stopped him on drunk driving charges, “I’m a f--king judge.” @GovMurphy can stop. by @spsullivan @johnsb01
2
21
35
Middlesex County awarded a Texas company a $7 million contract for improvements to New Brunswick's train station - 5 days after the company made a $50,000 contribution. @GovMurphy signed the law that suddenly made this all legal.
3
25
35
Surreal moment to be sitting through a senator's bribery trial and to get a computer-generated notice he's filed with the FEC to run for re-election as an independent
2
15
34
A ruling in Senator Menendez’s corruption case will preclude the gov’t from introducing some of the evidence it wanted to present to try to prove bribery charges, based on constitutional protections afforded members of Congress w/ @BenWeiserNYT
11
20
32
Students are joining their all-remote classes from outside the U.S. In one NJ district, computers were traced to 24 other countries on a day in March. I talked to a few:
2
19
35
The owner of Trentini’s, in Trenton, said a @NewJerseyEDA program that pays restaurants to make meals for the growing number of food-insecure families in NJ saved her from shutting her doors permanently during the pandemic. > @PreciousFondren
0
20
30
George Norcross and co-defendants accused in NJ of racketeering have filed a motion to dismiss the charges. The first graf is lively.
4
13
31
From the ‘why I love reporting on NJ’ file, a story about oyster aquaculture.
0
11
33
Andy Kim is staffing up in North Hudson and targeting Latino communities
0
5
28
Prosecutors amend the indictment against Senator Menendez a fourth time - and add 14 counts. “It says, once and for all, that they will stop at nothing in their zeal to get me," Mr. Menendez replied. w/@benweiser
20
12
29
“It is our collective responsibility not to shrug our shoulders and sink to tacit acceptance of the normalization of untruths," Dr. Fauci said. "Because if we do, lies become dominant and reality is distorted.”.
Fauci tells @Princeton grads COVID "left an indelible mark" and warns against the "normalization of untruths."
1
9
24
In between watching a convicted killer plead guilty to murdering a NJ political operative and listening for details on the state's first legal sales of cannabis, a text from high school daughter: "In shooting threat. I'm fine. Cops everywhere.".
14
0
31
NYC moving ahead with country's first congestion pricing plan. Starting this spring, xtra tolls into Lower Manhattan could look like this, @La__Ley writes: .Cars = $15 .Commercial trucks = $36.Taxis, $1.25 per ride + Uber and Lyft, $2.50
5
13
32