Medical debt forgiveness for nearly 50K residents in NJ

Plus: Santos' guilty plea, Adams' subpoenas, adultery law and more [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] [Gov. Murphy to forgive $100M in medical debt for almost 50K residents]( Starting this week, tens of thousands of New Jersey residents struggling with piling medical bills are going to receive a letter in the mail saying that some or all of their debt will disappear Gov. Phil Murphy's administration plans to use federal American Rescue Plan funds to wipe out roughly $100 million medical debt for nearly 50,000 New Jerseyans. By doing so, the Garden State will become the first state in the country to forgive at least $100 million in medical debt, according to the administration. Shabnam Salih, the director of Murphy’s Health Care Affordability and Transparency Office, told Gothamist that eligible people would start receiving letters in the mail as early as Aug. 19. [Read more here.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- More politics stories to know this week George Santos is guilty of fraud, George Santos says. Former U.S. Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft charges in a federal courtroom on Long Island Monday afternoon, and will face at least two years in prison. He admitted to other acts including filing fraudulent reports to the Federal Election Commission and lying in a report to the House of Representatives. [Read more.]( Booze rules. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that will allow small craft manufacturers to ship cider, mead and spirits directly to consumers in New York. The law will bring the state’s craft alcohol producers into parity with its wine manufacturers. [Read more.]( Subpoenas for New York City's mayor. As Mayor Eric Adams joins his party at the Democratic National Convention, newly revealed subpoenas may pose a problem for his ability to flex his political clout. Legal experts told Gothamist the subpoenas were a sign the federal investigation of his 2021 campaign is heading toward a conclusion. [Read more.]( Adultery is a crime in New York. For the last 117 years, adultery has had a spot in New York’s penal code as a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail. But that may not be the case for much longer. [Read more.]( Filling Sen. Menendez's seat. In an attempt to please conflicting interests, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is making his appointment of George Helmy to the U.S. Senate even more temporary than it was in the first place. [Read more.]( Free transit in NJ next week. It's a treat after a summer of hellish service. On Thursday, Murphy announced a weeklong “transit fare holiday” from Aug. 26 through Sept. 2 — the week leading up to and through Labor Day weekend — with fares waived on all modes of transportation across the NJ Transit network. [Read more.]( Fake websites. The race for New York City’s next comptroller took an ugly turn last week as Democratic candidates entered the fray – and parody campaign sites surfaced to mock and attack them. [Read more.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- Did you know Brian Lehrer has a new newsletter? Get his exclusive weekly column, more listener stories (plus more ways to share your own online and on air) and an inside look at the show every Thursday. [Sign up here.]( Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential political coverage and more. [DONATE]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.