Jersey Shaw: New Jersey’s Lieutenant Governor this morning denied holding Hoboken’s storm relief money hostage in exchange for approval of a major development deal.

  It’s a case of she said, she said. As Chris Christie’s political swamp grows, the Mayor of Hoboken claimed over the weekend that Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno threatened to withhold federal aid after Hurricane Sandy if the mayor did not approve a redevelopment project favored by Christie. Mayor Dawn Zimmer told CNN,  “I stand by my word. They were holding our Sandy funds hostage.”

  Zimmer released notes from her journal, quoting herself and the Lt. Gov’s reply. “I know that’s not right — these things should not be connected — they r.” She says – if u tell anyone that I will deny it.”

 It was a bad week for Christie. Florida’s governor refused to be seen with him in public. On Friday, investigators handed out 20 subpoenas to Christie aides and associates in an investigation into September’s four-day traffic jam entering the George Washington Bridge.

World: A demonstration to protest new laws limiting public protests turned into a melee in Kiev, Ukraine yesterday. Men wearing balaclava masks attacked the police with sticks, also throwing firecrackers and cobblestones. Riot police responded with teargas, but one of their vans was gutted by fire. At least 100 policemen and 40 protesters were reported injured. Periodic protests have continued since November when the Ukraine president signed a trade deal with Russia rather than the European Union.

>Despite entering peace talks this week, Syrian President Bashar Assad says he’s not quitting. The Interfax news agency quotes Assad telling Russian politicians, “If we wanted to surrender we would have surrendered from the start.”

>Iraqi forces backed by tribal militias have launched a counter offensive against al Qaeda militants occupying part of the city of Ramadi in Anbar Province. At least 20 people on the government side were killed in what was described as fierce fighting.

The Matchup: Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos will face the Seattle Seahawks at the Super Bowl in New Jersey. With 22 seconds on the clock, Seattle intercepted the ball in their own end to save a 6-point win against San Francisco.

 Tom Brady and New England were never really in the game, falling to Denver 26-10. The Super Bowl is Sunday, Feb. 2. In East Rutherford, NJ. It will be 17 degrees there tonight.

Mary Jane and the Prez: President Obama told The New Yorker that marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol.  Obama admits he inhaled. “As has been well documented, I smoked pot as a kid, and I view it as a bad habit and a vice.” But the president said getting high is “not something I encourage.”

Also Ran: Former Presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City for the debut of the documentary “Mitt”. The movie made with complete access to Romney during the campaign details his ups and downs. The night of the election he can be seen asking, “Does anyone have the President’s phone number?”  Romney told reporters before the showing, “The ending I probably won’t like.”

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