In brief: Chris Christie administration denies claim of withheld funds

TRENTON, N.J. – Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s administration on Monday pushed back against a claim that Superstorm Sandy relief funding was withheld from a severely flooded city because its Democratic mayor wouldn’t sign off on a real estate plan.

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno called Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s claims “false” and “illogical” on the day before Christie’s inauguration.

Zimmer said Saturday that Guadagno pulled her aside at a supermarket opening in May and said Hoboken’s recovery funds hinged on Zimmer’s approval of a commercial development whose lawyer and lobbyist are close to the governor.

Nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis said he also experienced retribution from the governor’s office. Lewis said Christie dropped a plan to appoint him the state’s first physical fitness ambassador when he launched a political campaign against a Christie friend.

Lewis, a Democrat, withdrew from the Senate race after a court ruled he didn’t meet a residency requirement.

Rail spills of crude oil total 1.15 million gallons in 2013

WASHINGTON – More crude oil was spilled in U.S. rail incidents last year than was spilled in the nearly four decades since the federal government began collecting data on such spills, an analysis of the data shows.

Including major derailments in Alabama and North Dakota, more than 1.15 million gallons of crude oil was spilled from rail cars in 2013, according to data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

By comparison, from 1975 to 2012, U.S. railroads spilled a combined 800,000 gallons of crude oil.

Nearly 750,000 gallons of crude oil spilled from a train on Nov. 8 near Aliceville, Ala. The train originated in North Dakota and caught fire after it derailed in a swampy area. No one was injured or killed.

Last year’s total spills of 1.15 million gallons means that 99.99 percent of shipments arrived without incident.