Thinking about holding your Fourth of July blowout in New Jersey? Better think again.The Garden State is the least patriotic state in the US, according to a by financial advice Web site WalletHub.com.Measuring 13 metrics on military and civic engagement including veteran residents per capita, percentage of adults who voted in the 2016 presidential election and rates of volunteerism the study ranked Jersey dead last among the 50 states.But flag-waving New Yorkers shouldn’t get too smug, asOn the left coast, California finished 48th to round out the bottom three.New Hampshire …Thinking about holding your Fourth of July blowout in New Jersey? Better think again.The Garden State is the least patriotic state in the US, according to a by financial advice Web site WalletHub.com.Measuring 13 metrics on military and civic engagement including veteran residents per capita, percentage of adults who voted in the 2016 presidential election and rates of volunteerism the study ranked Jersey dead last among the 50 states.But flag-waving New Yorkers shouldn’t get too smug, asOn the left coast, California finished 48th to round out the bottom three.New Hampshire WW…

A staggering 25 percent of mail-in ballots cast in Brooklyn for June’s primary elections were declared invalid, it was revealed on Tuesday, as Mayor Bill de Blasio called on the Board of Elections to shape up by November.More than 120,000 absentee ballots were filed in Kings County for the June 23 primary but about 30,000 were initially disqualified — and it wasn’t the fault of the voters, according to Rodneyse Bichotte, head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party.Bichotte — also a state assemblywoman whose district includes Flatbush, Ditmas Park and Midwood — said the disqualifying issues...…A staggering 25 percent of mail-in ballots cast in Brooklyn for June’s primary elections were declared invalid, it was revealed on Tuesday, as Mayor Bill de Blasio called on the Board of Elections to shape up by November.More than 120,000 absentee ballots were filed in Kings County for the June 23 primary but about 30,000 were initially disqualified — and it wasn’t the fault of the voters, according to Rodneyse Bichotte, head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party.Bichotte — also a state assemblywoman whose district includes Flatbush, Ditmas Park and Midwood — said the disqualifying issues...WW…

The grandmother of the 1-year-old Brooklyn boy at a barbecue made an anguished plea Monday to end the scourge of gun violence““They [are] talking about ‘Black Lives Matter,’ but black lives don’t matter because black people [are] trying to kill other black people. It needs to stop,” she added.Davell Gardner, just two months shy of his second birthday, was seated on a little plastic chair at the Sunday night gathering outside Raymond Bush Playground when multiple gunmen approached and before running off, cops said.Three adult men, ages 27, 35 and 36, were also struck in the fusillade, police...…The grandmother of the 1-year-old Brooklyn boy at a barbecue made an anguished plea Monday to end the scourge of gun violence““They [are] talking about ‘Black Lives Matter,’ but black lives don’t matter because black people [are] trying to kill other black people. It needs to stop,” she added.Davell Gardner, just two months shy of his second birthday, was seated on a little plastic chair at the Sunday night gathering outside Raymond Bush Playground when multiple gunmen approached and before running off, cops said.Three adult men, ages 27, 35 and 36, were also struck in the fusillade, police...WW…

Sign up for our to get a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.Mayor Bill de Blasio isn’t letting the controversy surrounding his wife’s embattled billion-dollar mental health initiative stop him from appointing her to head a new coronavirus recovery task force., de Blasio revealed Sunday that first lady Chirlane McCray, a rumored contender for Brooklyn borough president, would co-chair a Task Force on Racial Inclusion and Equity as the city plans its eventual reopening.“The economic and racial disparities that have been made so clear by this crisis, we knew about them before,” said de...…Sign up for our to get a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.Mayor Bill de Blasio isn’t letting the controversy surrounding his wife’s embattled billion-dollar mental health initiative stop him from appointing her to head a new coronavirus recovery task force., de Blasio revealed Sunday that first lady Chirlane McCray, a rumored contender for Brooklyn borough president, would co-chair a Task Force on Racial Inclusion and Equity as the city plans its eventual reopening.“The economic and racial disparities that have been made so clear by this crisis, we knew about them before,” said de...WW…

A gate at a closed Williamsburg playground was welded shut Monday to keep out those who repeatedly cut the lock to get in during the coronavirus shutdown — only for a bolt cutter-wielding mob to let themselves in hours later.The welding by city workers at Middleton Playground infuriated parents, who say the playground should be opened up, not sealed even tighter.“How long can we keep our kids in prison?” asked one mom of six in the predominantly Hasidic area of Brooklyn, who declined to give her name. “I don’t feel like I live in a free country.”Workers at the playground, which is bounded...…A gate at a closed Williamsburg playground was welded shut Monday to keep out those who repeatedly cut the lock to get in during the coronavirus shutdown — only for a bolt cutter-wielding mob to let themselves in hours later.The welding by city workers at Middleton Playground infuriated parents, who say the playground should be opened up, not sealed even tighter.“How long can we keep our kids in prison?” asked one mom of six in the predominantly Hasidic area of Brooklyn, who declined to give her name. “I don’t feel like I live in a free country.”Workers at the playground, which is bounded...WW…

Sign up for our  to get a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.The coronavirus has succeeded where lawmen like Bobby Kennedy and Rudy Giuliani failed for more than a century — by putting the freeze on the mob.The in the face of the contagion has wiped out tens of millions of dollars in illegal gambling income, a “historic” blow to the Mafia, law enforcement sources told The Post.“There’s never been a time when they weren’t making money through gambling,” said one insider. “Since the days of Lucky Luciano, when the Five Families started.“This is historic.”Thanks to the internet...…Sign up for our  to get a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.The coronavirus has succeeded where lawmen like Bobby Kennedy and Rudy Giuliani failed for more than a century — by putting the freeze on the mob.The in the face of the contagion has wiped out tens of millions of dollars in illegal gambling income, a “historic” blow to the Mafia, law enforcement sources told The Post.“There’s never been a time when they weren’t making money through gambling,” said one insider. “Since the days of Lucky Luciano, when the Five Families started.“This is historic.”Thanks to the internet...WW…

More than a dozen heartbroken relatives of Boeing 737 MAX crash victims confronted the company’s CEO during his Capitol Hill testimony Tuesday, in search of one simple gesture: an apology.Grim-faced family members held up giant photos of their lost loved ones from the gallery behind Dennis Muilenburg, who was addressing the Senate Commerce Committee about the crashes of two jets that left hundreds dead — and the model grounded amid a search for the cause.“I wanted to let you know, on behalf of myself and all of the men and women of Boeing, how deeply sorry I am,” Muilenburg said in an...…More than a dozen heartbroken relatives of Boeing 737 MAX crash victims confronted the company’s CEO during his Capitol Hill testimony Tuesday, in search of one simple gesture: an apology.Grim-faced family members held up giant photos of their lost loved ones from the gallery behind Dennis Muilenburg, who was addressing the Senate Commerce Committee about the crashes of two jets that left hundreds dead — and the model grounded amid a search for the cause.“I wanted to let you know, on behalf of myself and all of the men and women of Boeing, how deeply sorry I am,” Muilenburg said in an...WW…

Russia on Wednesday turned a cold shoulder to to meet with President Vladimir Putin for an in-person summit as US ships steam to the Black Sea to counter Moscow’s increasing military presence in the region. ​The White House said Biden extended the invite to Putin during a phone call Tuesday in which Biden warned the Russian leader not to violate the sovereignty of Ukraine and rebuked him for meddling in America’s elections. ​But Moscow remained noncommittal.“It’s still too early to talk about this meeting in tangible terms. It’s a new proposal and it will be studied,” Kremlin spokesman...…Russia on Wednesday turned a cold shoulder to to meet with President Vladimir Putin for an in-person summit as US ships steam to the Black Sea to counter Moscow’s increasing military presence in the region. ​The White House said Biden extended the invite to Putin during a phone call Tuesday in which Biden warned the Russian leader not to violate the sovereignty of Ukraine and rebuked him for meddling in America’s elections. ​But Moscow remained noncommittal.“It’s still too early to talk about this meeting in tangible terms. It’s a new proposal and it will be studied,” Kremlin spokesman...WW…

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she had no “response” from President Biden on Wednesday to heartbreaking apparently abandoned at the US-Mexico border — and snapped at a Post reporter who pressed on whether Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the crossing.During her daily press briefing, Psaki was asked by The Post why Harris still had not visited the border despite making several other trips around the country since being tapped to head up the administrations efforts to quell the crisis.“She hasn’t visited the border or Central America or spoken with leaders of El...…White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she had no “response” from President Biden on Wednesday to heartbreaking apparently abandoned at the US-Mexico border — and snapped at a Post reporter who pressed on whether Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the crossing.During her daily press briefing, Psaki was asked by The Post why Harris still had not visited the border despite making several other trips around the country since being tapped to head up the administrations efforts to quell the crisis.“She hasn’t visited the border or Central America or spoken with leaders of El...WW…

Bullets are whizzing around New York this month at a according to the NYPD — and police sources warned that the recent rate of gunplay may be the new normal.Through the first three weeks of June, which came to a close Sunday, city streets echoed with 125 shooting incidents, Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri told The Post on Monday.“We have to go back to June of 1996 to get a worse start for June,” said LiPetri. “That is a telling stat.”Twenty-four years ago, Rudy Giuliani was mayor and, while the city had made strides in tamping down crime, Gotham still saw 2,938 people shot...…Bullets are whizzing around New York this month at a according to the NYPD — and police sources warned that the recent rate of gunplay may be the new normal.Through the first three weeks of June, which came to a close Sunday, city streets echoed with 125 shooting incidents, Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri told The Post on Monday.“We have to go back to June of 1996 to get a worse start for June,” said LiPetri. “That is a telling stat.”Twenty-four years ago, Rudy Giuliani was mayor and, while the city had made strides in tamping down crime, Gotham still saw 2,938 people shot...WW…