Grewal: N.J. intends to sue U.S. Postal Service

    Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced Tuesday afternoon on Twitter that the state intends to sue the United States Postal Service over issues regarding voting by mail.

    File photo
    New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.

    The point of the suit is unclear, but CNN reported several states are considering suing the USPS to stop it from instituting new operational changes that could slow mail service prior the election.

    Grewal, in a tweet shortly after 1 p.m., said, “I can confirm: New Jersey will be suing @USPS.”

    Grewal went on to tweet: “Voting is safe, secure, and reliable. We intend to keep it that way. As AG, I’ve made it my mission to hold accountable those who try to corrupt our political process. Lawsuit coming soon.”

    Other notes Tuesday:

    Health metrics

    Gov. Phil Murphy announced there were 400 new positive COVID-19 cases, pushing the cumulative cases to 188,098.

    There also were 10 new fatalities related to COVID-19, bringing the state total to 14,086. Nine of the ten fatalities came from Aug. 10 or sooner, including four Aug. 15.

    Other stats:

    • Hospitalizations: 486;
    • In intensive care: 106;
    • On ventilators: 41;
    • Rate of transmission: 1.05.

    State of quarantine

    Gov. Phil Murphy added Alaska and Delaware to the states from which travelers entering New Jersey are subject to a 14-day quarantine. There are now 35 states and territories.

    The travel advisory applies to any person arriving from a state or territory with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average. But it is unclear how effective the request has been.

    The list of state and territories:

    • Northeast/Mid-Atlantic: Delaware and Maryland.
    • South: Alabama; Arkansas; Florida; Georgia; Kentucky; Louisiana; Mississippi; North Carolina; Puerto Rico; South Carolina; Tennessee; Virginia; and the Virgin Islands.
    • Midwest: Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Minnesota; Missouri; Montana; Nebraska; North Dakota; Nebraska; Oklahoma; South Dakota; Texas; and Wisconsin.
    • West: Alaska; Arizona; California; Hawaii; Idaho; Nevada; and Utah.

    Final word

    Murphy, in a tweet, on word California had reached an emissions deal with automakers that was stricter than what was pushed by President Donald Trump.

    We were proud to join CA and sister states to oppose the Trump administration’s misguided rollback of vehicle emissions.”