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NBC Page From NJ Makes SNL Debut With Aubrey Plaza NBC Page From NJ Makes SNL Debut With Aubrey Plaza
NBC Page From NJ Makes SNL Debut With Aubrey Plaza Starting his dream job in the NBC Page program two days after graduating from University of Virginia would've been plenty for Micah Rucci. But last Saturday, Jan. 21, the 23-year-old North Wildwood native's dream job got even cooler, as he made his "Saturday Night Live" debut with host Aubrey Plaza. Rucci and the other pages joked they'd be written into the script, as Plaza was famously in the same program when she was around their age. So when Rucci saw his name next to Plaza's, Amy Poheler's, and his coworker Talya Ozbelli's on the call sheet, he was in disbelief. "I thought, 'There's n…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
$400G GoFundMe Scam: NJ Woman Serving Federal Time Gets 3-Year State Sentence $400G GoFundMe Scam: NJ Woman Serving Federal Time Gets 3-Year State Sentence
$400G GoFundMe Scam: NJ Woman Serving Federal Time Gets 3-Year State Sentence UPDATE: A woman who helped pull a notorious scam that conned 14,000 GoFundMe donors nationwide was nearly 150 miles away when a judge in South Jersey sentenced her to a plea-bargained three years in state prison on Friday, Jan. 6. Katelyn McClure, 32, of Bordentown will be released in July after completing a federal sentence at a low-security prison in Danbury, CT, for scamming well-meaning donors out of $400,000 to purportedly help a homeless veteran. At that point, the year and a day federal sentence will be deducted from her state term and a determination will be made whether she shoul…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Obituaries
'Parks And Rec' Star Helen Slayton-Hughes Of NJ Dies, 92 'Parks And Rec' Star Helen Slayton-Hughes Of NJ Dies, 92
'Parks And Rec' Star Helen Slayton-Hughes Of NJ Dies, 92 "Parks and Recreation" star and New Jersey native Helen Slayton-Hughes died on Wednesday, Dec. 7. She was 92. Slayton-Hughes, who has ties to Glen Ridge, was known for her role as Ethel Beavers on the NBC show. “To the friends and fans of our beloved Helen, Helen passed away last night,” her family announced on her Facebook page. “Her pain has ended but her fierce spirit lives on.” Slayton-Hughes appeared in dozens of television shows and movies, including "New Girl" as Mrs. Raws, "Pretty Little Liars" as Mrs. Potter, "Malcom in the Middle" as Nana, and more. "She was such …

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by Cecilia Levine
Events
'AGT' Illusionist Holding Halloween Themed Show At Westfield Garden State Plaza 'AGT' Illusionist Holding Halloween Themed Show At Westfield Garden State Plaza
'AGT' Illusionist Holding Halloween Themed Show At Westfield Garden State Plaza One of America's top-touring illusionists will be making an appearance at the Westfield Garden State Plaza. David Caserta will be hosting his Halloween-themed show Haunted Illusions from 5 p.m. 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31. The show will be followed by a Mall-Wide Trick-or-Treat. The free and safe event was brought to mall in collaboration with Bergen Performing Arts Center. A lifelong magician, Caserta was featured on NBC’s "America’s Got Talent" making people disappear, reappear and more right before the audience’s eyes. Click here for more on Caserta's show and additional events at the We…

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by Cecilia Levine
Lifestyle
North Jersey Couple Helping Relatives Forced From Ukraine Featured On Home Renovation Show North Jersey Couple Helping Relatives Forced From Ukraine Featured On Home Renovation Show
North Jersey Couple Helping Relatives Forced From Ukraine Featured On Home Renovation Show A North Jersey couple helping relatives flee the war in Ukraine had help making the welcome an extra warm one from George Oliphant, of the NBC renovation show "George to the Rescue." A Montclair real-estate professional, Oksana Shevchuk-Shah came to Oliphant through his wife, Zoe, who also works in real estate, NJ Advance Media reports.  When 46-year-old George Oliphant — also of Montclair — heard Oksana and her husband Milind Shah were getting ready to take in Ukrainian relatives forced out of their home by the war, he knew he had to help, he told the outlet. With just three weeks before …

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by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
Anne Heche 'Came Into Her Own' During Adolescence In NJ Anne Heche 'Came Into Her Own' During Adolescence In NJ
Anne Heche 'Came Into Her Own' During Adolescence In NJ Emmy-winning actress Anne Heche, who died nearly a week after a fiery crash, had New Jersey ties. The youngest of five children, Heche was born in Ohio and moved nearly a dozen times with her family — eventually settling in Ocean City. It was there that she "came into her own," and worked at 76 House Dinner Theater in Swainton as a performer, earning $100 a week, South Jersey Magazine reports. "So, you could definitely say that New Jersey changed my life," Heche told the outlet. "I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Jersey." Heche was apparently living in New Jersey when he…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too
Federal Convict Who Hatched $400,000 GoFundMe Scam Gets NJ Prison Time, Too UPDATE: A New Jersey man already serving federal prison time for a GoFundMe scheme that conned 14,000 donors across the country out of $400,000 to purportedly benefit a homeless veteran got a state prison sentence, as well. The plea-bargained five-year term approved by a Superior Court judge in Mount Holly on Friday will run at the same time as the 27-month federal sentence that Mark D'Amico of Trenton received in April. The difference is that there's no parole in the federal prison system, which keeps D'Amico in the medium-security United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, PA for more than…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Autistic Pennsylvania AGT Contestant's Audition Gets '4 Million Views' Before Episode Airs Autistic Pennsylvania AGT Contestant's Audition Gets '4 Million Views' Before Episode Airs
Autistic Pennsylvania AGT Contestant's Audition Gets '4 Million Views' Before Episode Airs A 21-year-old musician on the autism spectrum is becoming a viral sensation before her audition on America's Got Talent ever airs. THE NEWS WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!! ( including me I found out last night for sure lol!! ) I am absolutely thrilled... Posted by Aubrey Burchell on Wednesday, July 27, 2022 Aubrey Burchell, may spend her days working at Target but she tells judges she wants "win Grammy's" and "sell out arenas." She mainly sings in the break room but when she took the stage belting the Weeknd's "Call Out My Name" she seemed like she regularly had audiences wowed by her v…

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by Jillian Pikora
News
NJ Amazon Workers Demand Details In Colleague's Death, Some Info Released: NBC NJ Amazon Workers Demand Details In Colleague's Death, Some Info Released: NBC
NJ Amazon Workers Demand Details In Colleague's Death, Some Info Released: NBC Amazon employees who worked alongside the man who collapsed and died during the company's Prime Day shopping rush at a New Jersey warehouse are demanding answers, NBC reports. While some staffers speculated that the death was work-related, Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson told the outlet that the incident was related to a personal medical condition, and ruled out working conditions as a culprit and disputed labor leaders’ account of the timeline. The worker, identified only as Rafael, experienced chest pains the evening before his shift on Wednesday, July 13, but didn't tell colleagues o…

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by Cecilia Levine & Eli M. Rosenberg (NBC News)
Obituaries
New Jersey TV Reporter Scott Babashak Who Met Wife Working On Air Dies Suddenly New Jersey TV Reporter Scott Babashak Who Met Wife Working On Air Dies Suddenly
New Jersey TV Reporter Scott Babashak Who Met Wife Working On Air Dies Suddenly Former TV news reporter Scott Babashak of Trenton died of a heart attack Friday, May 27, reports WFMZ, where he previously worked. He was 54 years old. The Hamilton native graduated from the Steinert High School in 1985, where he was president of his graduating class, his obit says. He went on to graduate from Rider University and subsequently landed a job at NBC in New York City. Babashak met his wife Liz Keptner while working on air together at 69-WFMZ-TV in Allentown, PA, before the two moved to Sacramento, CA. Babashak and Keptner moved back to the Lehigh Valley to raise …

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by Cecilia Levine
News
New Jersey's 'Suitcase Killer' Case Debuts As Lifetime Movie This Summer New Jersey's 'Suitcase Killer' Case Debuts As Lifetime Movie This Summer
New Jersey's 'Suitcase Killer' Case Debuts As Lifetime Movie This Summer A New Jersey homicide with Virginia ties will be detailed in a new Lifetime movie, set for release later this year.  "Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story," premiers June 18. The movie is a retelling of how the mom of two and ex-fertility nurse, of Woodbridge, killed her husband to continue an alleged affair. McGuire was found guilty of using a power saw to cut up her husband, Navy veteran William "Bill" McGuire, and putting his body parts into suitcases. Prosecutors say she chucked the luggage into the Chesapeake Bay, but the suitcases later washed up on Virginia Beach. The former …

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by David Cifarelli
News
Virginia Gunman Kills Himself After Quadruple Sniper-Type DC Shooting, Police Say Virginia Gunman Kills Himself After Quadruple Sniper-Type DC Shooting, Police Say
Virginia Gunman Kills Himself After Quadruple Sniper-Type DC Shooting, Police Say A Fairfax, VA man suspected of shooting four people in Washington DC — including a 12-year-old girl — was found dead in an apartment Friday, April 22, authorities said. Raymond Spencer killed himself in a fifth-floor bathroom of a building on the 2900 block of Van Ness St., Fox5 reports citing police. Spencer is believed to have fired several shots "at anyone who was out there randomly" from the fifth floor of the building around 3:30 p.m., NBC reports citing Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee. He struck four victims, who were reportedly in stable condition. *PHOTOS* Multiple fir…

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by Cecilia Levine