6+ mon, 2+ week ago (885+ words) The home's gas line had been tampered with, authorities said. A woman was shot in the head and a man died in the fire. The home's gas line had been tampered with, authorities said. A woman was shot in the head and a man died in the fire. The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday that its investigators are treating Sunday's massive house fire in Washington Township as a murder suicide, confirming rumors that had been spreading through the quiet New Jersey neighborhood since Mother's Day morning. The fire started around 2:03 a.m. Sunday and burned so intensely that neighbors heard an explosion. The house, located in a cul-de-sac on Tranquillity Court, was already fully engulfed in flames by the time the Washington Township Fire Department arrived. The sides of two neighbors' homes were partially melted by the heat. Once the fire…...

11+ mon, 1+ week ago (593+ words) The state Division of Gaming Enforcement said internet gambling brought in just over $214 million in November, even as revenue inside physical casinos continued to lag behind pre-pandemic levels. ATLANTIC CITY " New Jersey's red-hot internet gambling market continued to smash records in November, even as revenue inside physical casinos continued to lag behind pre-pandemic levels at six of Atlantic City's nine casinos, numbers released Monday show. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement said internet gambling brought in just over $214 million in November, narrowly eclipsing the previous record of $213 million set a month earlier. "The continuing success of online gaming and sports wagering has helped total gaming revenue achieve its best November monthly result in over a decade," said James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. But that's not necessarily great news for the casinos. They must share…...

11+ mon, 2+ week ago (584+ words) There's no question that people are seeing drones," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on ABC Sunday. Days after federal officials questioned the serial sightings of mystery drones above New Jersey, a member of President Joe Biden's cabinet confirmed Sunday that residents are in fact spotting drones crowding the nighttime skies. There's no question that people are seeing drones," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview. Mayorkas pledged government action into the mysterious, colorful drones that thousands have reported hovering over and streaking across the sky above New Jersey, New York, and the Philly suburbs " and which have stoked fear, confusion, and conspiracy theories. I want to assure the American public that we in the federal government have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone…...

11+ mon, 2+ week ago (1071+ words) The aircraft have been spotted from the Philly suburbs to Staten Island. "It's not terrifying, but it's a curiosity," one observer said. It started in mid-November. Residents in towns across New Jersey reported sightings. The large unidentified drones, some reportedly as large as cars, flew low and sometimes in formation with bright lights and loud hums, overwhelming once-peaceful nights. Now, locals have more questions than answers as the mystery drone sightings continue " and seem to have spread. Drones continue to be spotted in northern New Jersey, where they were once concentrated. There have also been recent reported sightings in South Jersey, Philadelphia's Pennsylvania suburbs, and New York's Staten Island. It's unclear if the drone appearances are connected, because nothing is clear. Michael Cush went outside his Haddonfield home Saturday night after seeing chatter online about drones being in his area....

11+ mon, 2+ week ago (472+ words) The competitors joined together to call for the primary date to change to accommodate the Jewish holiday. A bipartisan group of candidates for the New Jersey governor's seat resoundingly agree on one thing: The date for next year's primary election should be changed. New Jersey election law sets the primary on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in June, but the state legislature has the power to change the date. Next year, that day is June 3, which falls on the major Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Shavuot next year begins at sundown on Sunday, June 1, and ends the night of Tuesday, June 3. The holiday celebrates the Ten Commandments, and some observant Jews study Jewish law all night on the first night as part of their observance. The coauthors are in a crowded race of nearly a dozen candidates running to…...

6+ mon, 3+ week ago (557+ words) Authorities say Joseph Kling, 19, deliberately started the fire by soaking wooden pallets in gasoline and setting them aflame to start a bonfire that he left unattended. Authorities say Joseph Kling, 19, deliberately started the fire by soaking wooden pallets in gasoline and setting them aflame to start a bonfire that he left unattended. The 19-year-old South Jersey man who authorities say started a massive wildfire that burned for days in Ocean County last month was ordered released from custody with an electronic ankle monitor on Monday. Joseph Kling, of Waretown, N.J., who was charged with aggravated arson and related crimes in connection with the 15,300-acre blaze, will remain at the Ocean County correctional facility until the ankle monitor is installed and then be released on house arrest, Superior Court Judge Pamela Snyder said. Authorities say Kling deliberately started the fire by soaking…...

4+ mon, 1+ week ago (705+ words) A New Jersey law that prohibits contracts for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers is unconstitutional because it regulates the federal government, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals majority opinion found that New Jersey passed a law that "interferes with the federal government's core power to enforce immigration law" simply because the state "dislikes some of the federal government's immigration tools." Even though state and federal law often overlap, a state can't cross the line and regulate how the federal government does its business. "And when it crosses that line, it violates the Constitution," Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote. "New Jersey is on the wrong side of that line." The 2-1 ruling is a win for the private prison company that filed the lawsuit, CoreCivic. The company operates the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Elizabeth,…...

6+ mon, 12+ hour ago (1762+ words) The race to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy is crowded with six Democrats and five Republicans on the ballot. The Democratic primary in particular is the most competitive it has been in decades. Ras Baraka, 56, has been the mayor of Newark for a decade. He was previously a teacher and principal in Newark, and served on City Council. The son of poet, playwright, and activist Amiri Baraka, the mayor is also a poet, and his voice is featured on Beyonc's current tour. Baraka wants to take his efforts to reduce crime, build affordable housing, and provide home ownership opportunities for public housing residents in Newark to a statewide level. Baraka believes Democrats should be pushing further to the left in the face of the Trump administration, such as through a single-payer healthcare system, universal pre-K, and equity and DEI initiatives....

2+ mon, 6+ day ago (537+ words) NJ PBS will cease operations next year due to the combined forces of federal and state funding cuts. Across the river from Philadelphia, a second public media TV station will go dark after Republicans and the Trump administration stripped federal funding from NPR and PBS. New Jersey PBS, the state's only public television station, will shutter next year after suffering "very significant" budget cuts implemented by the Trump administration, the company announced. "We have been proud to serve the state of New Jersey with content that inspires, educates and informs," WNET, which manages New Jersey PBS, said in a statement. New Jersey PBS will remain on the air through June 2026. The station's nightly newscast, NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi, will continue to air on WNET's PBS station, THIRTEEN. NJ Globe's David Wildstein was first to report the news of…...

6+ mon, 1+ week ago (1045+ words) Even with the use of AI disclosed in ads, experts question the ethics of using the technology in campaigns designed to reach voters. Even with the use of AI disclosed in ads, experts question the ethics of using the technology in campaigns designed to reach voters. Candidates for New Jersey governor on both sides of the aisle are pushing the envelope with the use of artificial intelligence in their political ads. U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat, and former radio show host Bill Spadea, a Republican, are each breaking new ground with AI in their ads. Gottheimer's campaign made an AI-generated version of the candidate fighting President Donald Trump in a boxing ring. Spadea's campaign used AI to generate a voice recording verbalizing statements that had been previously attributed to his primary opponent Jack Ciattarelli in print. The use of AI…...