nj • 1st November 2021

N.J. reports 6 COVID deaths, 686 cases. Hospitalizations drop to lowest number in months.

New Jersey on Monday reported another 686 COVID-19 cases and six deaths, while the number of coronavirus patients hospitalized has fallen to its lowest point in nearly three months. The state’s seven-day average for confirmed positive tests dropped to 1,129, down 2% from a week ago and 31% from a month ago. The statewide rate of transmission increased to 0.96, up from 0.93 a day earlier. But the rate remains below the key benchmark of 1, which suggests the spread of COVID-19 is slowing. Any tr

nj • 17th October 2021

N.J. man set off roadside explosives, police say

A Hamilton Township man was arrested after police say he detonated an explosive on the side of a road. Branton B. Meshofski, 47, was arrested Saturday evening in Hamilton after officers “witnessed and stopped a vehicle occupied by a male suspect that detonated an explosive device on Groveville Allentown Road,” according to police. Officers stopped his car a short distance from the explosion site and he was taken into custody. Residents in the area had reported several loud explosions in the a

nj • 10th October 2021

Moped driver killed in crash with truck on N.J. highway

A man driving a moped was killed in a crash on Route 202/206 in Bridgewater Saturday afternoon, police said. Richard Peterson of Princeton was driving northbound on the highway near Brown Road around 4 p.m. when he was involved in a crash with a truck, Bridgewater police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Information on the crash was limited Sunday morning, including the circumstances and cause. The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Officer Jo

nj • 10th October 2021

N.J. nurse dies after being shoved following a mugging in Times Square

An oncology nurse from New Jersey has died less than 24 hours after she was shoved to the ground by a suspected mugger in Times Square. Maria Ambrocio, 58, who worked as a nurse at Bayonne Medical Center, was “viciously attacked in an unprovoked assault by a deranged man” in Times Square on Friday, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis said in a Facebook post. Ambrocio was taken off life support the next day, a friend told CBS 2. She was reportedly knocked to the ground when a 26-year-old man was fleeing

nj • 10th October 2021

2 killed when truck veers off Parkway, crashes on local road

Two people were killed in a Saturday night crash just off the Garden State Parkway in Tinton Falls, officials said. A 40-year-old Baltimore man and his 35-year-old passenger were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, Monmouth County officials said. The Toyota they were driving was struck by a pickup truck that was going north on the Parkway, drove off the road and over a patch of grass before striking the Toyota on Asbury Avenue, officials said. The driver of the pickup gave police his ce

nj • 7th October 2021

10-digit dialing will soon be mandatory for all N.J. callers

Seven-digit dialing is going the way of the rotary phone, as phone numbers in all area codes will soon be required to use the full, ten-digit number even when making local calls. Ten-digit dialing will go into effect for 908 and 856 phone numbers on Oct. 24, even for phone calls placed to other numbers with the same area code. Calls placed with only 7 digits won’t be completed, the Federal Communications Commission said. For most of New Jersey, this isn’t anything new: 908 and 856 are the two

nj • 2nd October 2021

7 important deadlines to know if you plan to vote in this year’s election

As the General Election approaches in New Jersey, which includes a gubernatorial race this year, there are some key dates residents should be aware of if they plan on voting. Residents in New Jersey will get the chance to vote for governor, state Senate and Assembly seats, as well as county, municipal and school board races this year. There are also two public questions on the ballot about expanding sports betting to college events, and allowing certain organizations to use proceeds from Bingo,

nj • 28th September 2021

N.J. professor who studies race and economics awarded ‘Genius Grant’

A Princeton University professor has been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship grant, sometimes called a Genius Grant, for her research into the intersection of race and economics. Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor was announced as one of 25 people to earn the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, which comes with a $650,000 award . The no-strings-attached prize is paid out over five years. In a press release issued by Princeton University, Taylor said she was in a state of shock when she received the call. “I p

nj • 26th September 2021

$1 million Powerball ticket bought in N.J. as jackpot rises to $545M

A second-prize, $1 million lottery ticket was sold in New Jersey for Saturday’s Powerball drawing, officials said. New Jersey Lottery officials will disclose where the lucky ticket was bought in the upcoming week. It matched five numbers but not the Powerball. Saturday’s winning numbers were: 22, 23, 37, 62, and 63. The Powerball drawn was 19 with a Power Play of 3X. The jackpot for the next drawing on Monday is worth an estimated $545 million with a cash option of $392.1 million. The odds o

nj • 26th September 2021

Man killed in New Brunswick shooting, police say

A New Brunswick man was fatally shot in the city early Sunday morning, police said. Cedric Paige, 37, was shot near Fenwood Court during the early morning hours, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. No arrests have been made, but the shooting does not appear to be random, officials said. Additional details about the circumstances around the shooting were not released Sunday afternoon. Anyone with information or surveil

nj • 22nd September 2021

Already accused in sexual assault cold case, N.J. man faces more charges

An Egg Harbor City man who was arrested last week in connection to a 1996 sexual assault cold case in Brigantine now faces additional sex-related charges stemming from a 2003 incident in Galloway. Brian Lee Avis, 59, charged with sexual assault of a victim younger than 13 but older than 4, endangering the welfare of a child by a sex act abuse, or neglect by a non-caretaker, burglary with bodily injury, and criminal attempt, court records show. The details of the 2003 charges are unclear, altho

nj • 22nd September 2021

Fingerprint leads to charges in sexual assault cold case from 18 years ago

One cold case helped crack another in Atlantic County this week, officials said, after fingerprints collected for one decades-old case turned up a match in a second, similar case. Brian Lee Avis, 59, was arrested on Friday after forensic genealogy connected him to a 1996 home invasion and sexual assault of a young girl in Brigantine, officials said. Police obtained Avis’ fingerprint after he was booked into the Atlantic County Detention Center on the 1996 charges. His print matched fingerprint

nj • 20th September 2021

N.J. reports 1,392 COVID cases, 8 confirmed deaths. Schools report hundreds of staff, student cases to start year.

New Jersey on Monday reported another 1,392 confirmed COVID-19 cases and eight more confirmed deaths as schools around the state have reported hundreds of positive tests among students and staff, with at least one district forced to switch to virtual learning for a week. The seven-day average for confirmed positive tests is now 1,878, up 4% from a week ago and 23% from a month ago. Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday a requirement that all child care workers must be vaccinated by November or fac

nj • 20th September 2021

N.J. child care workers must get COVID vaccine or face regular tests, Murphy announces

Child care workers in New Jersey will be required to be fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 by November or face weekly testing, Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Monday. The order covers all employees of child care facilities, and mirrors the ones currently in place for teachers, healthcare workers, and state employees. It takes effect Nov. 1. The latest a second dose of Moderna or Pfizer, or the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, can be received to be considered fully vaccinated by t

nj • 20th September 2021

‘Self-described religious leader’ accused of sexual assault during ritual, officials say

A “self-described religious leader” is accused of sexually assaulting a man while providing spiritual guidance, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. Wayne Ram, 44, from Newark, was arrested on Aug. 27 and charged with two counts of sexual assault and three counts of criminal sexual contact, officials said. Ram is accused of meeting with a young man at a family member’s home in Orange on Aug. 7 for a religious ritual, officials said. Ram told the family member to leave the

nj • 19th September 2021

$1 million Powerball ticket sold in NJ for Saturday night’s drawing

A second-prize, $1 million Powerball lottery ticket was bought in New Jersey for Saturday’s $457 jackpot drawing. No one across the country won the top prize as the jackpot for the next drawing Wednesday jumped to $472 million with a cash option of $342 million. The lucky Garden State ticket matched five numbers, but not the Powerball. It was immediately disclosed where the ticket was sold. Saturday’s winning numbers were: 5, 36, 39, 45, and 57. The Powerball drawn was 11 with a Power Play of

nj • 19th September 2021

1,658 new cases, 8 COVID deaths announced as rate of transmission held steady at 1.07

New Jersey on Sunday reported another 1,658 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 8 more confirmed deaths as the state’s transmission rate held steady over the weekend. The seven-day average for confirmed positive tests is now 1,893, up 4% from a week ago and 31% from a month ago. New Jersey’s statewide rate of transmission held steady at 1.07 from Saturday, after sitting at 1.05 on Thursday and Friday. It was 1 last Sunday. Any rate of transmission number over 1 indicates that each new case is leading

nj • 19th September 2021

Man who dropped infant off balcony in Jersey City charged with attempted murder

The man who dropped a one-month-old baby out of a second story balcony in Jersey City has been charged with attempted murder, officials said. The man, who has not been identified, was arrested Saturday night after a tense stand-off with police on Rose Avenue, officials said. He was charged on Sunday with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and endangering the welfare of a child Officer Eduardo Matute caught the child after the baby was dropped from a second floor balcony on Rove Avenue, the

nj • 16th September 2021

N.J. mom accused of murdering 2 daughters in Arizona

A mom from New Jersey is accused of murdering her two young daughters in Arizona, court records show. Retta Cruse, 35, originally from Atlantic County, is accused of killing her 4 and 9-year-old daughters inside their Phoenix home on Sept. 8, records obtained by NJ Advance Media show. Royal McIntye, 4, and Aleyah McIntyre, 9, were found dead by the younger girl’s father, Michael Coleman, records say. The girls had been positioned facing each other in an embrace, “like they had been placed in t

nj • 13th September 2021

Does my kid qualify for a mask exemption at school? Doctors say they’re not easy to get.

As New Jersey students head back into school for the year, some for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic took hold, mask wearing will be mandatory — with a few exceptions, including if a student has a doctor’s note that exempts them. But, the number of students that would likely qualify is incredibly small, according to pediatricians interviewed by NJ Advance Media. “I don’t know if (my practice) has written any” exemption notes, Dr. Bert Mandelbaum said just before the start of the s