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ASBURY PARK PRESS :: MONMOUTH EDITION

USA TODAY

IRAQI FORCES TAKE IT SLOW, METHODICAL ON RAMADI PAGE 1B

CAN CHRISTIE TRUMP

TRUMP?
Governor struggles to tell it like it is
as rival steals the GOP race spotlight

THURSDAY 07.23.15

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beachedition
YOUR WEEKEND GUIDE DOWN THE SHORE

Have a night
at the carnival
Monmouth County Fair runs all this weekend in Freehold
featuring rides, games, food and animal shows.

BOB JORDAN@BOBJORDANAPP

ew Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his telling it like it is campaign might be floundering in the national polls, but he has perhaps the most to gain should firebrand Republican Donald

Trumps presidential campaign fall off the rails. There is no clear evi-

dence that the business moguls sharp criticism of Arizona Sen. John
McCain or any of his recent antics will hurt Trumps standing in the
polls, including an ABC News/Washington Post survey out Monday in
which Trump garnered a GOP-leading 24 percent.
But, as Fortune magazine noted,
Trump support in that survey fell off
considerably in the data collection that
followed Trumps weekend attack on
McCain, a broadside denounced as overthe-top by many GOP candidates and
leaders.
Herein lies opportunity for Christie,
who by most surveys languishes in the
rear of the GOP field.
The governor and Trump staked out
similar ground as self-described truthtellers, both vowing to shake up the sta-

INSIDE
Christie says Bon Jovis new Boss. STORY, 8A
Govs travel wings clipped? STORY, 8A
Take a peek at Trumps wealth. STORY, 1B

tus quo with unflinching candor. Only

Trump has delivered on his promise, at
least in terms of roiling the crowded
See TRUMP, Page 11A

NJT: Amtrak is to blame

MIKE DAVIS @BYMIKEDAVIS

For NJ Transit rail commuters, its been the week of

nightmares.
They have waited hours upon hours for trains to
and from New York. And when theyre aboard, their
routine commutes from the Shore to Manhattan have
turned into unpredictable journeys.
This has been the worst week Ive ever seen, said
Joshua Crandall, founder and CEO of mobile transit app
Clever Commute. NJ Transit customers are up in arms

right now.
Three consecutive days of rush hour delays of an
hour or more coupled with a fare-hike plan approved
last week have made this a week of hellish commutes, which NJ Transit blames solely on Amtrak.
Amtrak owns the rails along the Northeast Corridor
Line and leases operation to NJ Transit. However, the
upper stretch of the line from Rahway to New York
is shared by the North Jersey Coast Line, the only
See BLAME, Page 12A

SUSAN LOYER @SUSANLOYERMYCJ

ADVICE
CLASSIFIED
COMICS
LOCAL
LUXURY LIVING

5D
1E
4D
3A
1D

OBITUARIES
OPINION
SPORTS
WEATHER
YOUR MONEY

San Francisco rockers will

take the Summer Stage
with Dinosaur Jr.

Happy hour
Court Jester, Freehold, 4 to 6 p.m., draft beers
$2.95, Selected domestic monster mugs $4.50,
selected wines $3.50

All this and more inside! 2A

NORTH BRUNSWICK Residents displaced in a

See FIRE, Page 12A

The 6th annual Visionary

Tattoo Arts Festival will
celebrate tattoo culture all
weekend long.

Primus at
the Stone
Pony

Dive Coastal Bar, Sea Bright, 3 to 7 p.m.,

$4 all beers on tap, $5 house wines, $6 fruit
infused cocktails.

Massive Jersey fire seen from space

smoky warehouse fire that could be seen for miles, including on weather satellite photos in space, were
barred from returning home Wednesday night as officials continued to monitor the air, which has so far been
deemed safe, officials said.
The fire broke out in the center of the warehouse on
Livingston Avenue about 1:37 a.m. Wednesday, Fire
Chief Donald Salzmann said.
Smoke billowing around the scene was seen throughout central and southern Middlesex County and farther.
The flames quickly overtook a sprinkler system and
spread from one end of the building to the other.
Officials said the investigation into the fire has

Get inked
in Asbury

PHOTO BY KEN TERNLUND

Firefighters from all over Middlesex and Somerset counties

were on hand to battle a warehouse blaze in North Brunswick
Wednesday that sent smoke miles around.

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VOLUME 136
NUMBER 175
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