Assembly speaker to introduce new bill to help A.C.

The Democrat's statements on Tuesday are the latest attempt at reaching an agreement with Republican Gov. Chris Christie on how to help the financially struggling resort town.

"There has to be a give-and-take," Prieto said. "Even if you fire every employee in Atlantic City that still wouldn't get you out of the hole."

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I'm not going to go in and take over Atlantic City with one hand tied behind my back, Chris Christie said at a news conference on Tuesday

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Christie has said he will only support the takeover bill that has passed the state Senate and that the city has had six years and failed to make hard decisions.

"I'm not going to go in and take over Atlantic City with one hand tied behind my back," Christie said at a news conference on Tuesday.

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Prieto said he hopes to introduce the measure before Thursday's voting session. But he did not provide further details about the proposed benchmarks

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Christie and Prieto are wrangling about giving the state authority over the city's finances. Prieto objects to legislation approved by the state Senate and backed by Christie, saying it jeopardizes unions' bargaining rights.

Prieto said he hopes to introduce the measure before Thursday's voting session. But he did not provide further details about the proposed benchmarks.

The back-and-forth over the takeover proposal has been simmering for weeks.

Christie on Monday directed his education commissioner to sue the city to prevent it from making a payroll payment Friday because he said it owes its school district $34 million through July.

Atlantic City's city council is set to vote Wednesday on converting workers to a 28-day pay period, which would keep city government functioning after the city runs out of money on Friday. The state's lawsuit could put that plan into question.

Christie has said the city's government has done too little to close a $100 million budget gap and owes more than $150 million to the Borgata, which has prompted the casino to stop making tax payments. Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian responded that the city was taken out of the equation to negotiate with the Borgata after an executive order last year setting up an emergency manager.

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Chris Christie defended Donald Trump's honor and said he bears no responsibility for Atlantic City's dire financial straits

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Guardian, a Republican, opposes the takeover legislation backed by Christie and the Senate.

Atlantic City's financial crisis was brought about by the contraction of its casino industry, mainly due to ever-growing competition from casinos in nearby states. The city's casino revenue has fallen from $5.2 billion in 2006 to $2.56 billion last year. In 2014, four of its 12 casinos went out of business.

Chris Christie defends Donald Trump's honor on Atlantic City casinos

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie defended Donald Trump's honor Tuesday and said he bears no responsibility for Atlantic City's dire financial straits.

"He is an honorable person, and I don't believe he's ever been an office-holder in Atlantic City," said Christie, who endorsed Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, shortly after ending his own White House bid. "I don't remember Donald being mayor or on the (city) council."

The Republican governor was responding to a reporter who asked if he believed Trump, who once owned three casinos, was honorable and whether should be blamed in any way for Atlantic City's troubles.

Trump, the governor said Tuesday, had "no ability to make decisions, as far as I can tell, over how [Atlantic City's government] spent the money or how much debt they went into and whether there were pensions for lifeguards."