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New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation to boost lawmakers’ salaries from $49,000 to $82,000 along with raises for his successor and other top officials.
Murphy signed the bill on Tuesday, according to a news release from his office. He made no comment on the measure, which passed the Democrat-led Legislature on the final day of the previous legislative session earlier this month.
LEFT-WING POLICIES TO BLAME FOR MASS EXODUS OF NEW JERSEY RESIDENTS IN 2023: EXPERT
The bill doesn’t take effect until 2026, so Murphy, who leaves office in January 2026, won’t benefit. The two-term incumbent cannot run for a third straight stint as governor. The Assembly will face voters in the regular 2025 general election before the raise takes effect.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy speaks to reporters after signing a bill in Paulsboro, N.J., Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)
Lawmakers haven’t voted themselves a pay increase since 2002, and some argued that the 67% increase is needed to keep up with rising costs. They also said they sometimes had to dip into their own pockets to perform the duties the job requires.
Republicans questioned the soundness of a pay raise, and many opposed it.
The legislation increases the governor’s salary from $175,000 to $210,000 annually and boosts the top rate for Cabinet and other top officials to $210,000 from $175,000 as well. It also boosts the amount lawmakers get specifically to pay their staff, from $135,000 to $150,000. Legislators, unlike in some other states, don’t get a per diem rate or car mileage reimbursements.
Just how much the measure would cost taxpayers wasn’t clear. Simple math suggests the increase for lawmakers’ salaries would come with a nearly $4 million price tag.
New Jersey’s Legislature is considered part-time, meeting regularly from January to June and typically taking time off over the summer and in the lead-up to elections before returning for a lame-duck session.
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Nikki Ogunnaike, the editor in chief of Marie Claire magazine, did not grow up the scion of an Anna Wintour or a Marc Jacobs.
But, she said, “my mom and dad are both very stylish people.”
They got dressed up to go to church every week in her hometown Springfield, Va. Her mother managed a Staples; her father, a CVS. “Presentation is important to them,” she said.
Since landing her first internship with Glamour magazine in college, Ms. Ogunnaike, 40, has held editorial roles there and at Elle magazine and GQ. She has been in the top post at Marie Claire since 2023.
She recently spent a Saturday with The New York Times as she prepared for Milan Fashion Week.
Health
Massachusetts health officials have confirmed the state’s first two measles cases of the year, a school-aged child and a Greater Boston adult.
The Department of Public Health announced the cases Friday, marking the first report of measles in Massachusetts since 2024.
According to health officials, the adult who was diagnosed returned home recently from abroad and had an “uncertain vaccination history.” While infectious, the person visited several locations where others were likely exposed to the virus, and health officials said they are working to identify and notify anyone affected
The child, meanwhile, is a Massachusetts resident who was exposed to the virus and diagnosed with measles out-of-state, where they remain during the infectious period. Health officials said the child does not appear to have exposed anyone in Massachusetts to measles.
The two Massachusetts cases come as the U.S. battles a large national measles outbreak, which has seen 1,136 confirmed cases nationwide so far in 2026, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Our first two measles cases in 2026 demonstrate the impact that the measles outbreaks, nationally and internationally, can have here at home,” Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said Friday. “Fortunately, thanks to high vaccination rates, the risk to most Massachusetts residents remains low.”
Measles is a highly contagious disease that spreads through the air when an infected person sneezes, coughs, or talks. The virus can linger in the air for up to two hours and may even spread through tissues or cups used by someone who has it, according to the DPH.
Early symptoms occur 10 days to two weeks after exposure and may resemble a cold or cough, usually with a fever, health officials warned. A rash develops two to four days after the initial symptoms, appearing first on the head and shifting downward.
According to the DPH, complications occur in about 30% of infected measles patients, ranging from immune suppression to pneumonia, diarrhea, and encephalitis — a potentially life-threatening inflammation of the brain.
“Measles is the most contagious respiratory virus and can cause life-threatening illness,” Goldstein said. “These cases are a reminder of the need for health care providers and local health departments to remain vigilant for cases so that appropriate public health measures can be rapidly employed to prevent spread in the state. This is also a reminder that getting vaccinated is the best way for people to protect themselves from this disease.”
According to the DPH, people who have had measles, or who have been vaccinated against measles, are considered immune. State health officials offer the following guidance for the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine:
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