Chris Christie Gives Hurricane Sandy Victims an Extension on FEMA Relief

At 11:59 tonight, across-the-board automatic federal spending cuts–aka THE SEQUESTER–are set to kick in. But that’s not the only deadline that was spooking folks ’round these parts. March 1st was also supposed to be the last day Jersey Shore residents and businesses could apply for relief from FEMA. (About 250,000 have already applied for aid, which covers things like home repair and temporary housing.) Governor Christie, feeling especially magnanimous these days, has extended that deadline until April 1st, at which point he’ll say “April Fools!” and change the deadline back to March 1st. [Newsworks]